Eclipson Horten 229 Test Flight - 3D-printed twin 50mm EDF

Flying starts at 4:10
I was lucky to be a part of the Horten 229 beta testing with Eclipson. Here is a [long, uncut] video of the maiden flight. After a couple failed takeoff rolls (one front flip and one abort), she got airborne with authority and looked really great in the sky. The wing was very controllable (and my build was on the heavier side). It flew fast under throttle and glided very nicely too. I needed a tangible amount of down trim, enough so that commanding pitch down after trimming was a little anemic. Had I a second flight, I would have adjusted the linkages mechanically to center the servos.
I really like the design of the printed parts. The steerable gear is fun, if not wholly relevant to my flying sites. I am very impressed by the stiffness of the wing despite the lack of any spar. It's really quite stiff and even with my heavy build displayed no flex I could detect. Assembly was very straightforward and fairly quick.
At the end of the maiden flight, my battery went 100% flat and the RX (and everything plugged into it) died. The Li-Po could have been defective, as I think that was only the 2nd flight on that battery. I have limited access to takeoff/landing pavement, so if I was going to re-print this plane I would probably opt for a smooth bottom or a bungie hook arrangement.
What a great-looking, fun-flying plane.
// Equipment, affiliate links where relevant
// In the air
Elipson Horten Ho 229: www.eclipson-airplanes.com/ho...
FMS 50mm 4500kv EDF x2: amzn.to/3RnOEGy
Hobbywing 40A X-Rotor Opto ESC x2: amzn.to/3yYH8f3
Towerpro MG90S servos x3 (elevons plus nose gear): amzn.to/3L0Ns8J
3300 4S Li-Po (link is different than the suspicious one I flew): amzn.to/4bWkEdf
Frsky RX6R: amzn.to/4aZfn3g
Clear PET sheet (for "invisible" vertical stab): amzn.to/4ejgYnq
2.1mm stop collar: amzn.to/3KHaa5u
2mm steel rod (landing gear): amzn.to/3xgJ8yQ
Insta360 Go 2: amzn.to/3VDzLSV
// On the ground
Jumper T-Pro (v1): amzn.to/3wGl9Zn
// Printing things
Bambu Lab P1S: us.store.bambulab.com/product...
Kingroon KP3S (small parts): amzn.to/4ckLNGj
Artillery Sidewinder X1: amzn.to/3XDI0QH
Overture Air PLA (primary airframe): amzn.to/4eyb6XJ
Voxel PLA Pro (front fuselage, hatch, elevons): voxelpla.com/products/voxel-p...
Overture TPU (tires): amzn.to/3KHrOpA

[@tsunami6253]

I am almost done with my build. Just finished painting and gluing it together.

[@apa1982]

Hola, usando dos edf el consumo es bestial, nunca debes volar mas de 4 minutos con turbinas, felicitaciones por tu video.

[@FireN2k9]

😮

[@brubakerjm]

Yep! I agree!