This was probably the best purchase I have ever made from Filtetest! It flies amazing! Maybe a bit more strength in the motor mount and it would be perfect!! 10/10 would and will buy again!
:)
I received this kit with the C power pack. The build process was very fun and just the right amount of challenge. If you are new to these quick build kits, i would recommend building some of the simpler planes such as the Simple Cub, or even the FT 3D before attempting this build. There are a few complex folds to do with this kit. Other than that, the rest of the build is pretty straight forward. The Video is pretty good, but some of the steps seemed to be out of order, or a tip was thought of after the build step was shown, so i would recommend watching the whole video once through before doing the build. Then use the video as you build. The flight of this plane is amazing! I am cheating a bit though, I am using the AS3X receiver from my wrecked Visionaire in this, so I have a ton of crisp control for 3D flight. This is a must have for any intermediate or advanced pilot if you want the performance of a wonderful 3D plane. Great job to Andres Lu on the design of this kit. Keep it up, you have a great future! Can't wait to see what else you come up with! And thank you to everyone at FliteTest. You have really made this hobby accessible to most who may have never thought it was affordable, or approachable.
Thank you
Sean Hicks
Keep making memories!!
Excellent design, easy to build, everything fit together perfectly. I used larger wheels (2.5" dia). Flies great too, on a 4 cell, 3 cell it's o.k. Best plane ever from F.T.
I've built about a dozen different flitetest planes and this was the most complicated, not that it was particularly challenging. I'm so confused by this plane. Andres says he wanted a lighter wing loading than the FT3D, this is about the same. I knew that before I built it so I was light on glue, after some paint, still ended up heavier than spec because I had to use extra glue when I cut the fuse and canopy apart to move the wings back 2" to get the CG to work. I have the original EMAX 2215 "C" pack motor with a 10x4.7 and this thing can barely hover. Got my 1300 3S 30-40C battery warm. 3D planes are supposed to have 1.5-2X thrust:weight ratio and this ended up being about 1:1. I could put a faster/smaller prop and motor on it but then it won't 3D. I can't add enough motor or battery to overcome the weight of this pig. That said, it flew great for about 2-3 minutes, while the voltage was high enough-as long as I wasn't doing anything I couldn't do in the tiny trainer. After running 3 batteries through it I'm taking the electronics out.
Cons:Tail heavy, just plain heavy, overly complicated design
Pros: Looks cool, flies like a really slow, well controlled trainer for a couple minutes
Going to try the FT3D or profile 3D plane...something lighter than the 30 oz this is.
Hi I purchased the edge as soon as I saw it available. More than impressed with it using a 1400 4s. I have troubles with it being nose Hevy but have read that other say there’s are tail Hevy. Can’t complain mine was an easy fix and flys amazing. Fun easy build. Pause the video between steps to keep up works great.
However I’m not too tickled with the new store. Has become very impersonal and very long “if ever” response times. Liked dealing with the flitetest personnel much more.
Recommend the game lane though. Thanks Jimmy
I spent almost all my money to buy this plane and a new transmitter for it and when it arrived, I spent around 6 to 7 hours putting it together over a few days. It was just recently when I finished building it and decided to fly it for the first time. I was amazed at how well it flew, and how strong it was even though it is made of foam. this plane is my second one, and the first that I have bought that does not have SAFE technology, or something to keep it from crashing. I had a couple of successful flights with it, however, on my third flight of it though, the plane nose dived into the ground from about 6 metres and at around 60% throttle, due to the fact that I was flying in very low light and did not know weather it was upside down or not. I went to examine it though, and all that had happened to it was a broken propeller, a crinkled front and the motor mount had become very wobbly. I was amazed though at how easy it was to fix though, and after about 10 minutes, I had the plane back in flying condition, with the help of some hot glue.
I am extremely happy with this purchase, as this plane flies great, and is very durable, even though it is made out of foam board. I bought the c pack motor with this, and found to work very well, and the fact that you put it together adds a lot more satisfaction to this project. as long as you are a relatively experienced pilot, I would highly recommend this, and I will be sure to by from this site again.
Great design but did not come with the sheet of wood with a bunch of pieces for strength.
The FT Edge is the best Flite Test 3D airplane I have ever had. I love 3D flying and this airplane does almost every 3D maneuver great. I love it!
This is my first plane I love to build it. very tail heavy . the motor is not powerful need upgrade crash 6x easy to repair buy minimume 5 propeller just eneve power to flight sorry for me english im french
Really fun plane to fly. Not a true 3D platform, but very nimble all the same. Despite this, it cruises along at low speed fantastically and with very low rates could be mistaken for a trainer.
Scratch building is a bear as there are many small precision cuts to make. One of those sitations where. Speed build kit would be worth it for most people.
Major criticism is the landing gear. Dont even waste your time with it, engineer your own fix or fly without it.
This was my first kit from Flite Test and I have to say it was really well put together. I've been out of the hobby for about 10 years and, after watching the show quite a bit over the past few weeks, I was inspired to jump back in with this plane. It took a bit for me to dial in the hot glue/foam building techniques, but thankfully most of the early steps in the process are concealed on the inside. It looks fantastic from about > 5 feet away. Some of the foam was a little less than perfect (smushed a bit during shipping or something), and it was on one of the wings, which is unfortunate, but it doesn't seem to be more than a visual imperfection.
I bought the 35A speed control from Flite Test, but everything else was put together from HK. I went with a slightly larger than power-pack-C motor that is only a few grams heavier (and 1200 kV). I think it goes fairly well with a 3S pack and APC 10x4.7SF. Some have reported tail-heavy issues, and I would say mine is very slightly tail heavy, but with the battery about half way into the motor mount box, it balances perfectly.
I set mine up as in the build video with maximum allowable throws, and I've flown it twice now. It is one heck of a hand full (in a good way). Definitely keeps me on my toes, but I got this specifically to become a better 3d pilot. It could be my setup, or my skill level, but I do get some wing rock in a shallow harrier. I'm going to experiment with some spoileron mixing on the next flight to see if it tidies it up a bit.
This is an all-around fantastic plane. I'm already looking forward to the time when this plane can no longer be repaired, and I need to try another FT kit.
While this is not a suggested first timer scratch build due to some tough bends in the nose and canopy, it is a fun and challenging build to do. I lawn darted my first one due to a poor choice in paint colors that made it impossible to tell if it was upside down or right-side up from a distance, but after cutting it in half and building a new front end, she was back in the air, no problem. I wish I could post a picture in the reviews to show my experience! If you are scratch building this, expect to spend at least 3 hours getting it cut out, and about 3 hours building it minimum for a nice job. I suggest a 3mm carbon fiber rod split in two as a spar cut and glued into the length of the elevator rather than the Popsicle stick to give it more rigidity. Cheers to the guys here at flight test for this one!
If you are browsing the comments and want to know if you should build this, the answer is yes. Do you fly planes? Even better.
I built one from the free plans and am halfway through my second one with a better paint scheme and a few upgrades. Here is what I learned. 3M Super 77 for your paper adhesive? Yes (but go light)
The free plans are awesome. So I bought a motor from FT. Its more powerful than a similarly spec'd motor from dys/turnigy/other 'not quite the cheapest amazon stuff'. And its comes in a nice box. Also, I really felt like I owed Andres and the team something. Its that great.
If you are thinking that its going to look great, you are absolutely right - even unpainted. You should decide right now that you are going to reinforce the motor mount as some builders have said. And I will clarify here. Having replaced the front end 4 times, the motor mount is not the weakest link. Its actually the platform below the motor mount and the wall behind the motor mount (nose former). Its very easy to reinforce these with some of the scrap material. I found that doubling up (on the bottom) the thickness of the section below the internal fuselage structure from the nose former forward and gluing two ribs down to fuse former 1 did the job. Negligible additional weight. I rebuilt my front end 4 times and never had to replace the cowling, to give you an idea of how easy it is to rip the engine out without crashing. (This comes mostly from hard landings in my case).
On that note, I also agree with the comments about the landing gear. Its basically a big deformable shock absorber that does a split on most (of my) landings. I tend to plop down more than run out since I fly only on snow or grass. I was surprised how many times I bent mine back into shape with no fatigue issues though, so maybe it literally IS a shock absorber, and that's okay.
On my round two I glued a small straw in between the hatch side doublers where you place the skewer (on the circly bits). This will serve as a guide for the skewer and save you from poking and searching blindly around your receiver and wires for the other side of the plane. This one can be done after the build is complete if you decide it sounds right for you.
I cant tell you how many times I felt like this was a more gratifying and more clever design than most balsa builds I have done. Also, I will happily trade CA fumes and my phone not recognizing my hard glue thumb for hot glue.
I also put in some reinforcement on all of my control surface hinges on my second round, but was pleasantly surprised at how long the glue hinges actually lasted. Still not long enough, so I used a reinforced tape and pinned it through as close to the hinge as possible.
Oh, and I also enjoy flying it.
STAR STAR STAR STAR STAR
Hey Guys, Awesome plane. Great build techniques. Looks like manufacturing is using a thicker plywood for the control horns. This is making it so the elevator support and rudder support plywood brackets are not fitting properly. Recommend you update the laser file to have the CC machine cut a slightly larger gap so the new thicker horns will fit. Keep new planes coming. Semper Fi!
Wow! This plane is amazing. I have built 17 other Flite Test speed builds and this one is unique. After progressing from the Pietenpol to the Storch, to the Duster to the Scout, I finally built the Bushwacker. While the Bushwacker can hover, rotate quickly and land on anything, I really wanted to push the envelope and try the Edge 540.
It was the longest build ever, and I had to stop and start the video 600 times. I recommend actually watching the video and taking notes before you start building. Having read all the reviews, I went light on the tail, scraping off as much glue as I could at every step. So naturally, my Edge is NOSE Heavy! I almost pancaked it twice on the maiden, but quickly added 10 degrees of nose up elevator. Although it’s not easy to hover, it knife edges like a rock with the winglets and I did a knife-edge loop.
A note about the recommended wheels: They don’t fit in the wheel pants! I quickly yanked the gear out and it flew fine, landing easily on the wingtips and tail-wheel. Since the maiden, I have trashed the wheel pants and replaced the wheels with 3” skinny Flite Test wheels. With the nose up trim, my Edge flies better inverted. Upside-down, I have plenty of elevator authority and can high-alpha it just fine. Previously, my favorite planes were the Mini Guinea and Bushwacker. Now I just need my Edge with me wherever I go. It would be 6 stars, but for the inoperable landing gear.
Love this plane. Flies exceptionally well. Have not experienced it being tail heavy at all. Motor mount is very weak and so is customer support. Bought the C pack motor and could not get the ESC to arm. Tried to get some help from customer support but after telling me to try a few things quit talking to me. Would like to buy another kit but not sure if that is all the customer support you get.
What an amazing plane!
The build process is broken down into simple steps, this is the first build I have attempted and I had very little difficulty building it. The only preparation work I had done is a little bit of practising on cutting the edges/lines like the control surfaces.
She is a BIG plane and is currently hanging from my ceiling (as I have no where else to put her).
As I am a beginner, I have not maiden-ed her yet. but I am working up to it. i have heard that she flies amazing though.
If you love model planes you NEED this in your collection!
This isn't my first FT plane that I've built, but, it is the first one I've bought from them.
It was a fun plane to build, my only complaint is fitting. Got the fuselage put together and fit the canopy to the fuselage and the fit is way off, not enough off that I won't fly it, but, enough to make a good looking plane ugly. To spite the fitment problem with this plane I will be buying other planes from them. By the way, these planes are so easy to build, I've only been flying for about 8 months and have built 7 different FT planes, all easy to build and fly, these guys are great.
be very careful when buying this item. I bought one and it will not do unlimited vertical on a three cell. The control horns are plywood and two broke on mine while flying (very sobering:) ) the motor mount needs some serious bracing, mine ripped out and tore the cowl to shreds, that was after i had braced it. also plan on getting some different landing gear, the gear that comes is just foamboard with wire through, it last approximately two seconds. But it does fly.
I got my plane from my local hobby town. I built the plane to what i can. parts in the kit are to small or doing properly fit ( cowling, vertical stab, and some other smaller parts. The build video is rushed and hard to keep up with and understand. I have built many FT planes and love them with how easy they are to build, but this plane with the incorrect parts and rushed video make this plane hard to work with.
