fatedev.com - Dynam IcanFly - Extreme mods with reversed mounted engine, FPV live video and more.

I originally bought the Dynam IcanFly when I moved and wanted to something to fly that was cheap. This RTF (Ready To Fly) kit is super cheap and you can still pick them up from lots of places like:

Nitroplanes - IcanFly ($99.00)

However I quickly found other things to fly and it remained new in the box until just last month! It's about time I stopped talk about getting into FPV and get into it! So I got myself a FatShark 5.8GHZ kit with goggles.

Dynam IcanFly specifications

Wing Spawn: 1200mm

Total Length: 750mm

Fuselage Length: 905mm

Fly Weight: 530g

Wing Area: 20.4dmÂ²

Wing Load: 26dmÂ²

Main Motor Brushless A21 Motor

Battery: 11.1V 1250mAh 10C Li-Poly

Charger: 2~3 Cells Li-Po balance charger

Transmitter: FM 4 CH

Servo: 8.4g high-speed (4 PCS)

ESC: 18A

5CH Receiver

FatShark specifications

A plug and play 5.8Ghz 100mW FPV system.
Great for people with 2.4Ghz radio systems who dont plan to fly 2km high!

Fatshark goggles are known for their easy set-up and great clarity as well as wide viewing angle. Combined with a reliable low power consumption 5.8Ghz Tx and you have a simple, reliable no fuss FPV system that will have you flying in no time.

Standard anetnna will give you 350-500mtrs range.

Included:

FatShark FPV Goggles w/ inbuilt Rx.

FatShark (Airwave) Tx 100mW 5.8mW

Charger

LiPo Battery

Cables

Spare Foam

All the kit contents, a pretty simple build with most parts having lock and key area's meaning pieces slot together.

This is the plane built still stock and first few flights I noticed the wings bend like crazy.

So I added a carbon fibre rod 2MM across the entire wing almost (1 meter length) which helped so much I recommend doing it as you build.

The fuselage of this plane has plenty of space inside but it's hard to get too, so I created an access panel in the bottom.

The panel itself is held in using snap magnets available from many crafting/hobby shops. These weight almost nothing but have plenty of magnetism to hold things in place.

I used plastic sheeting for end caps attaching foam back over the plastic to give it a full foam finish.

There is already a cross piece of foam which will work great for mounting electrics on.

You can see how the panel sits flush in place and also notice no landing gear.

Our next mod is preparing to change the engine location where we need a mounting plate on top of the wing. I'm using 1MM thick ply and cut 2 layers.

It's important to have the grain of the wood running alone the wing so the wood has flex to be bent from front to back. Using wood glue I sandwiched the 2 pieces together and bent them in place over the wing.

Masking tape was used to hold the wood down over night so the glue had a good chance to dry. Once dry the 2 pieces will be solid in the exact profile of the wing so a perfect fit.

The IcanFly uses a single servo to operate the ailerons which works OK but using a pivot system sometimes leaves the ailerons slightly left or right when the stick is actually center. Instead I've opted on using 2 servo`s, one on each wing for maximum precision.

My intention is to place the camera in the cockpit position so I cut out an area on the front of the canopy, then made another cut out from the original piece leaving a frame shape.

I used OHP (Over Head Projector) sheet for the window and the mini magnets so it's easily removable.

You can see the cut out area clearly here and the location of the magnets.

The front removable nose cover was used to attached an over-lapping piece of OHP plastic on the cockpit window. This makes it more aerodynamic and secure.

The engine mount uses the same 1MM ply in 2 main support columns which are 90MM heigh by 70MM long. The engine mount starts on the Centre Of Gravity (COG) point towards the leading edge of the wing. This puts the engine over the COG spot.

The sides are double thickness using the same wood glue method as before. I used masking tape to hold it in place while all the glue dried.

These are triangle balsa chunks each 1-2CM wide to go on the outside of the supports wedging the plates into place further.

You can see the engine test mounted for clearance which was 6-8MM.

The back of the engine mount is a support beam sitting flush up the angle of the support.

A plate was added on the back of the engine mount for structural support and aerodynamics. Also a full plate on the bottom of the mount creating a box shape area which naturally adds more strength especially on side forces.

Of course it needs to look decent so I used black permanent marker on the inside of the mount where I wouldn't be able to reach with an iron.

First I added red solar film to the engine mount itself which requires ironing single pieces on at a time. Once finished I used blue over the large plate area, this combination should be highly viewable in the air for whoever is spotting for me while using FPV.

Now the plate is finished I used UHU Por glue to attach the plate too the wing and give it a full hour to dry.

You can see how much more aerodynamic a folding propeller is. However in order to do this I modified the folding prop mount by cutting off the nose cone, then drilled through the shaft hole so it can be mounted reversed.

This also means reversing the ESC power (black and red, leave blue as is) so the motor turns the opposite way to normal. Note the position of the ESC inside the engine mount held in place with a couple of tacks of glue from the hot glue gun. This will allow maximum cooling for the ESC.

Here is the finished pusher propeller set-up on the plane, note the 10 degree angle upwards on the plane. Normally a front mount engine will be angled downwards to counter the upward pull the engine give.

I don't care much for cheap radio kits in planes even if 2.4GHZ so I changed it out too use the Futaba 6EX 2.5GHZ. This will work perfect with a 5.8GHZ FPV kit.

As it stands at this point the plane is tail heavy with the engine weight and ESC moved too the center of the plane. This is exactly what I want with the video equipment like the transmitter, camera and extra battery can all go up front.

The primary battery pack will also be moved more forward from its stock position to counter balance and get COG back to normal. COG on this place is 7CM back from leading edge OR where the original aileron lines run (assume on purpose from manufacture although not a printed fact).

In part 2 I'll go through modifying the nose area for better aerodynamics and mounting the FPV equipment!

*** EDIT ***

This project failed with the motor acting as pivot on the wing which caused a nose down action snapping the tail clean off lol. Failed but fun and learnt some stuff.