Hyperion Reborn

About a year and a half ago, my brother gave me a 3D profile electric plane for my birthday. Made by Hyperion for extreme 3D aerobatics, it was a lot of fun and got me back into RC modeling after many years away. However, after subsequently building and flying my UK Aerobat, I was unhappy with the Hyperion's lack of stiffness. So, I retained the original symmetrical wing and tail feathers, junked the flat plate fuselage, and designed & built a new one. The result I call Hyperion II and I'm very pleased with it!

Keeping with the original "profile" design, I drew a simple straight body, just wide enough to accommodate a battery, micro receiver and servos. Construction employed familiar balsa stick and light ply techniques. Bolstered by previous successes, I crafted a new custom canopy. However, this time I planned ahead and enlisted my family to find me a suitable pilot. After searching an old collection of Pokemon figures, we decided on a standing ninja, since everything else was too big for the small canopy.

I'd recently discovered Heads Up RC, a discount retailer in Florida, and decided to try some of their products for the power train - motor, ESC, receiver and servos. I designed the forward compartment just behind the firewall to accommodate the same 1000 mAH batteries I use in the UK Aerobat. I stripped the original covering off all surfaces and applied Ultracote, using leftover transparent yellow for the bottom surfaces,transparent red for the fuselage and a new pearl green on the top surfaces. With leftover decals from the original Hyperion applied, my Hyperion II was ready for first flight.

I'm happy to report that the reborn bird is better than the original! I've only flown it a couple of times and am still trimming out the controls, but she's so much stiffer than before. I'm looking forward to honing my 3D skills with her. See the gallery for all the photos.