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The Firebird version #2 is now available to download
www.thingiverse.com/thing:6211986
The V2 has many upgrades and fly's much better.
The V1 is no longer supported.
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The Firebird is a 1.1m wingspan RC plane for FPV & LOS flying. It’s free to download. This fast agile flying wing is easy to launch and offers excellent handling. Included is a comprehensive part list and detailed printing information with recommended slicer settings. There is a range of accessories available including parts for the Walksnail Avatar HD FPV System.

The Firebird is very easy to build and comes with a complete instruction manual. It’s put together using the 3D printed parts, carbon fibre rods, assorted hardware & glue. It is recommended to print the Firebird in PLA+ and will require approx. 660g of filament. The 3D printed parts will fit onto a print bed no smaller than 200x200x200mm.

Specifications

• Wingspan = 110cm
• Length = 61cm
• Empty weight = 700g
• Flying weight = 950-1300g

Features

• Swept wing with semi-symmetrical airfoil
• Spacious fuselage with canard
• Streamlined drag-free profile
• Secure bolt-on canopy & hatch
• Removeable motor mount
• Battery attachment plate
• Easy launch finger holds
• FPV flight controller mounting tray
• Range of accessories and alternative parts

NEWS

September 2023

The second version of the Firebird is just about ready for release. The V2 has some changes to the wing layout and a new airfoil. Gone are the twin tail fins, replaced by a single larger fin. The old canopy has been replaced with a magnetic slide on setup.

EQUIPMENT

Hardware & supplies

• Filament PLA+ 660g
• Carbon fibre rod 6mm x 950mm (1)
• Carbon fibre rod 6mm x 350mm (1)
• Carbon fibre rod 3mm x 300mm (2)
• Hex head screw M3 x 6mm (4)
• Hex head screw M3 x 8mm (4)
• Hex head screw M3 x 10mm (1)
• Brass heat-set insert M3 x 10mm x 5mm OD (4)
• Locknut M3 (1)
• Push rods, ball links, clevises (2)
• Battery strap 20mm x 200mm (1)
• Velcro adhesive strip 25mm x 150mm (1)
• Medium CA
• UHU Por
• Sandpaper

Servos

Two 12-13g mini sized metal geared servos are required. Measuring approx. 24x11.6x24mm. The Emax ES08MDII digital servo is recommended.

Motor

A 28mm O.D. outrunner with a 19/16mm bolt pattern is required. Weight between 35-70g. The T-motor F80 PRO 2500kv (on 4S with a 6x4 prop) is recommended for a lightweight setup or the SunnySky X Series V3 X2216 1400kv (on 4S with a 8x6 prop) for a more efficient FPV setup.

Propeller

Use a propeller between 6-9 inches.

ESC

It is recommended to use a small lightweight BLHeli 40-50A ESC such as the Flycolor Raptor 5 40A.

Battery

A 4S 1500-3000 mAh Li-po or Li-ion is required. Weight between 150-300g. The CNHL Black Series 4S 1500 mAh 100C is recommended for a short duration setup or the CNHL Black Series 4S 2200 mAh 40C for a longer flying FPV setup.

Flight controller

A compact flight controller with 30.5x30.5mm or 20x20mm mounting holes is required. The Matek F405-TE is recommended.

FPV

The Walksnail Avatar HD FPV System is recommended. There are accessories designed specifically for this product.

PRINTING

Filament

It is recommended to print the Firebird in PLA+ (such as eSUN brand). Regular PLA is not suitable, PLA+ is much stronger. PETG or ABS could also be used. It has not been tested yet, but the Firebird could also be printed in light-weight pre-foamed PLA (such as Polymaker PolyLite LW-PLA).

Print bed

The 3D printed parts will fit onto a print bed no smaller than 200x200x200mm. This will be suitable for common printers such as the Ender 3 series, Prusa & Bambu Lab range.

Nozzle

Use a standard 0.4mm nozzle.

Slicer

The Firebird has been successfully printed using UltiMaker Cura v4.13. Note the newer versions of Cura (v5.x) are known to have issues when printing the single wall parts that are used for RC aircraft.

Use the default Line Width of 0.4mm.

A Layer Height of 0.28mm can be used for most of the Firebird parts such as the wings, elevons, fuselage, canopy & hatch. Items requiring more strength such as the motor mount, tail fins & battery plate are best printed at 0.2mm.

The most important slicer settings are the Wall Line Count & Infill Density. These two settings play a big part in determining the weight of each part and it is important to keep the overall weight of the plane as low as possible. Most of the Firebird parts such as the wings, elevons, fuselage, canopy & hatch are printed with a single thin wall. A small amount of infill is used, typically around 3% using the Cubic Subdivision pattern. Other parts are printed solid.

All parts have been designed to be printed without Support.

A Brim should be used on taller/wider parts to prevent warping and bed detachment.

Pay attention to the Z Seam Position for each part. The Z Seam is quite noticeable on single wall prints so it’s best to hide it as much as possible or use it to add strength to a part. The Z Seam can be seen on the preview page after slicing.

The Hole Horizontal Expansion setting can be used to increase the size of the spar holes if they are too tight.

Increasing the Printing Temperature & reducing the Fan Speed can help improve the strength of single wall PLA+ parts.

Recommended slicer settings

Below is a list of recommended slicer settings for a PLA+ Firebird printed with a 0.4mm nozzle. All parts use a 0.4mm Line Width & no Support. These settings have been tested on a Creality Ender 3 S1 Pro with eSun PLA+ filament.

There are two types of part settings:

1. SINGLE WALL PARTS - 0.28mm layer height, single wall, 3 top/bottom layers, 3% cubic subdivision infill, increased print temperature, reduced fan speed. A brim is used on the taller & wider parts. Note the Elevon Inner parts have additional bottom layers, and the Nose has increased infill density.

2. SOLID PARTS - 0.2mm layer height, 3 walls, 100% infill, default printing temperature & fan speed, no build adhesion.

ACCESSORIES

Walksnail

Here are some parts for the Walksnail Avatar HD FPV System. There are canopy parts for both the V1 and the V2 vtx’s and parts for the pro, micro & nano camera (19x19mm or 14x14mm). There is the option to have the camera positioned forward with the vtx & antenna(s) at the rear of the canopy or to have all items on the front section of the canopy. There are also experimental hatch parts with the camera elevated and positioned rearwards for a different perspective.

FPV

Here are some canopy parts for FPV setups. There is a camera mounting bracket up front and an antenna hole behind. These parts are suitable for analog 5.8GHz setups.

Other Accessories

Here are some alternative parts. There is a canopy section without the air intake, a smaller flight controller tray with the GPS mount removed and a plain nose with the canards removed.

GALLERY

HISTORY

June 17, 2023 – Firebird_20230617.zip

• Winglets added.
• Hatch, Tail Fins, Wing Outers modified.
• Accessories added – Hatch With Vents, Winglets Flat.

May 20, 2023 – Firebird_20230520.zip

• Accessories added – Canopy Front Walksnail Camera 14x14, Canopy Front Walksnail VTX V1 Camera 14x14, Canopy Front Walksnail VTX V1 Camera 19x19, Canopy Front Walksnail VTX V2 Camera 19x19, Canopy Rear Walksnail VTX V1, Hatch Walksnail VTX V1 Camera 19x19, Hatch Walksnail VTX V2 Camera 19x19.

May 13, 2023 - Firebird_20230513.zip

• Accessories added - Canopy Front Without Intake, Flight Controller Tray Small, Nose Without Canards

April 29, 2023 - Firebird_20230429.zip

• Fuselage Mid & Fuselage Rear modified. These parts now use the Insert Block part for attaching the canopy & hatch. The Insert Blocks use brass heat-set inserts and replace the embedded locknuts.

April 22, 2023 - Firebird_20230422.zip

• Accessories added – Canopy Front Walksnail Camera 19x19, Canopy Rear Walksnail VTX V2, Canopy Front Walksnail Camera 19x19 Rearwards, Canopy Front FPV Camera 19x19, Canopy Front FPV Camera 14x14.
• Tail Fins modified.
• Slicer settings updated
• Instruction manual updated

April 15, 2023 - Firebird_20230415.zip

• Firebird released.

BACKGROUND

I started drawing planes in CAD back in 2021 during the covid lockdowns and my goal became to design, print & fly my own 3D printed plane. I have built & flown many flying wings over the years and thought it would be the easiest platform to begin with. My inspiration for the Firebird came from the Multiplex Funjet. I've had a few of these and they fly great, however I always wanted something that was a bit bigger and easier to launch. So I started with wider swept wings, increased the wing area, and added a larger sleeker fuselage with canards. Then I added features like a secure bolt-on canopy & rear hatch, flight controller mounting tray, removeable motor mount, secure battery attachment plate & stronger elevons. After many designs and lots of testing, the Firebird finally came to life.

In the past I had drawn quadcopter frames in CAD but had never tried a plane before. At first I found it very difficult, planes are much more complex compared to quadcopter frames and it took me a very long time to understand how to join all the parts in CAD. The biggest mistake I made was persisting with Sketchup because there are so many issues if you don't know some of the tricks. I really should have spent the time to learn Fusion 360 or SolidWorks. After a while I finally figured out how to draw everything properly in Sketchup and the design part of the challenge was under way.

The next part of the challenge was to print the plane. I started printing parts on a very old Duplicator i3 printer but I wasn't able to successfully print the single wall parts needed for light-weight RC planes. So I bought a new Creality Ender 3 S1 Pro. There were a few issues with this printer in the beginning but I got them sorted and was now able to print good quality parts.

The easiest part of the challenge was to fly the plane. To my delight, the first prototype flew straight out of my hand and only required a few clicks of trim. It was much faster than I expected, it was very stable and easy to fly. The biggest surprise was just how easy it was to launch. I knew I was onto something good so I continued to develop the design and decided to upload it here for others to enjoy too.