A multi-phase RC aircraft project culminating in a 3D-printed, VTOL-capable F-35B. Code, docs, decisions, and build log all live here.
Each doc in docs/ covers one subsystem. Design decisions and build progress are tracked in journal/ (decision log + devlog).
| Phase | Build | Status |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Trainer prop plane (foamboard) | Built & repaired — awaiting re-flight (runway needed) |
| 2 | VTOL F-35B (3D-printed) | Primary focus / in design |
The trainer (Phase 1) validates basic flying and the FC/RX setup; the F-35B (Phase 2) is the real goal.
- Scale: 70mm EDF class — ~700–800mm wingspan, ~900–1100mm fuselage, ~3445 g AUW
- Propulsion: 2× QX-Motor 70mm EDF (main + lift), 6S, individual Hobbywing 100A ESCs
- Hover control: ArduPilot quadplane — 4-motor mix (main EDF vectored via 3BSM, front lift fan, 2× wingtip micro motors). See Propulsion.
- Flight controller: CoreWing F405 WING V2 stack (FC + PDB PLUS + wireless), ArduPilot
- Secondary I/O: two RP2040 boards (WeAct avionics + Pi Pico servo bank) for extra PWM, temperature sensing, and LED control
- Airframe: LW-PLA print + carbon spars
| # | Doc | Covers |
|---|---|---|
| 01 | Project Overview | Phases, goals, aircraft spec, open design questions |
| 02 | Power System | Batteries, ESCs, BEC rails, connectors, current budget |
| 03 | Flight Controller | CoreWing F405 stack, PDB, UART/ADC/PWM map, firmware |
| 04 | Raspberry Pi Pico | Pin map and roles (PWM expansion, temp, LEDs) |
| 05 | Servos | Flight-surface + VTOL servo assignment, torque math, STS3032 |
| 06 | Propulsion | EDFs, lift fan, 3BSM thrust vectoring, roll posts, trainer motor |
| 07 | Sensors & Monitoring | NTC temp + ACS712 current sensing, blackbox logging |
| 08 | Lighting | Nav lights, strobes, 3W LEDs + drivers, Pico control |
| 09 | Materials & Airframe | Filaments, carbon spars, bearings, fasteners, glue |
| 10 | Wiring Diagrams | Consolidated power/signal wiring and pin connections |
| 11 | Bill of Materials | Master parts list with own/order status and cost |
| 12 | Public Fab Lab Access | Helsinki-region makerspace/fablab survey — access, machines, costs |
Detailed per-part specs (weight, dimensions, electrical) live in components/ —
datasheet-style cards that back the BOM and feed the CG/AUW and power-budget math. Firmware lives
in code/ — the Pico firmware is not written yet (planned modules + wiring
recipes documented there).
Keep originals in docs/img-high-res/<subfolder>/ (gitignored). Compress into docs/img/<subfolder>/ before committing:
sips -Z 1920 -s format jpeg -s formatOptions 82 docs/img-high-res/vtol-day/photo.jpeg --out docs/img/vtol-day/photo.jpeg- Units & numbers are kept as recorded during design (mostly metric, currency in €).
⚠️ marks unresolved risks or items needing verification before flight.- 🛒 = to buy, ✅ = owned/decided.