Slofly 43-inch Wing

Easy Hacks Here, Some Stupid

My Quick-release Battery Holder

The pocket for the battery is the one thing I cut out before covering the wing. It's easier to cut a flat bottom from the inside. I cut the compartment as a pure rectangle first, then make the bevel cut from the rear so the battery can slide in.
It's not easy to see, but there's no tape over the ESC/BEC unit to promote air flow and cooling -- EPP is a pretty good insulator and you do not want an insulated ESC. As a nifty bonus, the Pixie lights up when it's working ... handy at night.

Funky Tape-on Relocatable Motor Mount
Especially useful during the 'balance' stage, which never seems to end. Note the grungy black line between the wing halves -- this is actually rev2. My black solarfilm covering didn't take well, nor did it ever support the wing as well as clear tape, which I think I'll stick with (per the designer's recommendation. All his recommendations have been spot on).
That's a mighty GWS 280 mill, by the way, sucking a monster three amps. Yes, it's more than enough power for a nine ounce 43-inch wing (well, more like 41 since I had to trim the tips because of burn damage. No, I'm not real good with a covering iron on 1-lb EPP as it turns out).

The Slofly Ascendant
It can fly fairly briskly, but as the name implies it's really more fun to throttle down, bring it in tight and play right in your own face.

A Low Pass
Fortunately for those of us who do dance with the devil, it does ground effect great. Yeah, I made it back up.
Oh yeah. Notice the shape of the tips? Looks kind of like Darth Vader's flyer, which is cool, but there's a method to my madness. I'm convinced putting about 2/5 of the tip below the wing makes it more stable. Works especially well with the EPP tips as they have sustained no landing damage, even when I bring it in without slamming the nose.

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