The Husky - Unexpected Twin Engine Favorite

The Husky is a very capable and remarkably fun to fly twin engine electric aircraft.
 
Designed to work - the Husky fits a 21700 4s Li-Ion battery pack, with generous room for a flight controller with an internal GPS, and optional FPV gear.  Alternatively, the plane is exceptional for your experiments, or small payloads, or simply as a fun line of sight plane.  Designed for (4mm thick) 32 ECT single wall cardboard - it's rugged and capable of withstanding remarkable abuse.
 
I first built this plane to experiment more with my plank pusher design.  I used the fittings and parts from that as my basic design language, and had a model flying in short order.  As usual - there we're changes and tweaks that took several revisions - but very early on - I knew I had something special.
 
This airplane is a joy to fly.  She pulls gracefully from your hand with just over half throttle and a gentle toss - and tracks straight and true.  She's stable, predictable, and incredibly capable.  The twin 2205-2300kv motors and 30 amp esc's provide all the pull you'll need - and she can easily go vertical if asked.  But in more civilized behavior - the induced flow from the props wash the ailerons and elevator providing exceptional control response.  Roll rate can be blinding at full deflection - or gentle with a finessed input.  Pitch can be held full aft and with power brought on slowly, you can explore the back side of the power curve in high alpha flight.  Asymmetrical power on demand provides all the yaw control you could ask for to coordinate turns or bring the nose over in a hammerhead.
 
As an FPV platform, the Husky is beautifully capable.  Stable and enjoyable on calm days with a simple receiver and no stabilization, she'll give you the confidence to explore proximity flying and maneuver around in formation with other aircraft or in proximity.  When the wind kicks up and turbulence rocks her - you've got all the authority to react and carry on.
 
With a flight controller - she only gets better.  All the power to play, yet still efficient for 40+ minutes of flight time in a gentle cruise, the Husky flies longer than I like to sit still with googles on.  It does take some planning to get the wiring for a flight controller together and installed - but if I can figure it out - I'm sure you can too.
 
I know we're talking flight controllers and FPV - yet I keep coming back to bringing her to the park just as a line of sight plane.  The quiet, gentle hum of the motors, the stability of the airframe, and the capable performance she has in the air just makes for a fun flying plane.  Small enough to fit in the trunk - she's just a great break from the day to spend a blissful break flying in that zen-like trance that refreshes... I just really like this plane.  She's a great flying friend.
 
Pitch and roll are responsive - both power settings and airspeed will determine your rates - but there are plenty of throws.  Three servos drive your ailerons and elevator - so flaperons are possible if you've got the desire, but if you want to keep things simple - a splitter on the ailerons will reduce roll to a single channel.  Stall response is conventional - the nose falls and if your power is symmetrical - so recovery is simple.  Asymmetrical engine power can get you into or out of any spin.  While the plane was not designed for aggressive acrobatics or 3D flying - if you're gentle with your G-loading, she'll do just fine (I am not a 3d pilot). In general - it's remarkable what abuse a spar-less cardboard plane will take.
 
Center of Gravity markings indicated (marked with cutouts under the wings just aft of the leading edge adjacent to the fuselage) as flown conditions and are not limiting.  Use a small amount of nose up trim (about 4mm at the aft trailing edge of the elevator), for takeoff when operating on the CG markings. Equipment installation will determine CG - so build your fuselage and mount your motors and then place the remaining avionics to achieve your desired CG.  If you're building a line of sight build and want the option to install an FPV camera - use nose ballast as shown in the pictures.  The airframe is robust - but load limits will depend on completed weight.
 
The Motor mounts are designed for a 2205-2300kv motor.  Anything with a 16X19 M3 mounting pattern will work.  The ESC's are mounted to the motor mount - and ensuring they're getting plenty of cooling airflow.  The wiring runs aft of the wing's foldover (inverted KFM).  This minimizes drag, and a fuselage cutout will fit an XT30 terminated wiring harness and the ESC's signal cable.
 
Endurance depends on power settings and other electrical draws - but it can be made to fly for around 35-40 minutes on a 4S 5000mah Li-Ion pack.  Longer flights may be possible - but I generally fly this plane more for fun / proximity flying rather than endurance.
 
Included drawing files for cardboard components are in provided in the following formats:
DXF (Drawing Exchange Format)
AI (Adobe Illustrator)
CDR (CorelDRAW 2025)
PDF
 
I use the DXF files to run my laser.  Black lines indicate cut lines, and red lines are fold lines.  You'll need to experiment with your laser or cutting tool to determine your settings to cut where required and mark fold lines without cutting all the way through the cardboard.
 
Included 3d Printed files are provided as STL files.  I print my 3d printed parts exclusively in white PLA (to reflect as much heat from the sun as possible) - and have had no issues with my aircraft in the heat of Arizona summers.
 
Cardboard tools (5mm fold tool and 8mm crush wheel) are included.  They're not required - but they're tools that I designed and use for all my builds.  The fold tools assemble and I attach them to a piece of (3/4" Schedule 40) PVC pipe for a handle.  If you do not have PVC pipe available - there is also a file to print an handle to be glued in place.
 
44 Files delivered in a zip file via immediate download link upon purchase.
 
Current Build file is V7.