u/fhammerl

A while ago I posted about the Spark #1 I had built from Bavafil Olefin (the red one), which worked out well and it's a fantastic plane. But there was room to grow. While #1 came in somewhere around 750g, it was cool, but lacking punch and energy retention.

So physics dictates that more weight is more faster. I built one in full Sunlu PLA+ 2.0, bigger motor, higher pitch prop, higher voltage.

#1: Sunnysky 2212 1250kV, 8x6 Aero-naut CAM, 3S 1000mAh

#2: Sunnysky 2220 970kV, 9x7 Aeronaut CAM Z, 4S 1300mAh

The changes are DRASTIC. Firstly, it no longer glides as well, it sinks A LOT faster, but that was expected. But now we climb vertically and straight line speed is up A LOT, too. It has good energy retention and punching this thing straight down from 200m through a low pass is insanely satisfying. The whistle is addictive. Stall behavior is still well mannered, but landing without spoilerons is not a good idea. I needed the entire 150m runway and then some to go from less than .5m in altitude to standstill. With spoilerons, it cuts it in half, but it still needs a long approach, which it shares with other hotliners.

If you have a 3d printer, this is easily one of the best planes to print. It sits at the sweet spot where it's already serious plane, but not too much hassle to reprint if the inevitable happens. I 100% recommend it, both versions are great.

Edit: Sunlu PLA+ 2.0 is just above 10€/kg, so this plane prints for just around 6€ :)

Folks, if you need a really good all round glider, I cannot praise the rock_it v1.3 highly enough. It's quick if you want it, it circles on a pasta dish if your thermal demands it, it's light and it soars like crazy. This is easily the most fun I have had with a glider, period.

It was hard to land because our runway is a black tarp material that warms up quite a bit and it kept rising in final approach even with spoilerons up.

2m, 800g, full balsa build. Sunnysky 2212, 9x5 Aeronaut CAM Z, 3S 1000mAh.

This plane is absolutely fantastic. It is light enough to be tame, but you can absolutely punch it. Even at full speed, it's never aggressive. Flies like it's on rails and is 100% dialed in. Roll rate could be a bit higher and a bit of differential helps, but that's it. Printed in Bavafil Olefin with a blue Sunnysky 2212v3 on a 8*6 folding prop and 3S. Ran a couple of batteries through it today and I love it.

That being said I'll print it again from PCTG for comparison because a bit more weight might be even more fun and punch-through after high speed passes.