I started designing the X-29 way back in spring. It took a while to get printing as I soon realised that regular PLA wasn't going to give me the kind of wing loading I wanted and so I have to wait until I had got my hands on some LW-PLA.
The filament was a joy to work with and printing the X-29 was super easy, its a big plane so it took a while but, being and EDF, it felt like it actually didn't have that many parts.
The model itself is super simple, inspired by the foam board X-29 from Flite Test.
I have done away with the moving canard and tail strakes of the full size aircraft and gone with a simple elevon setup, just like the Flite Test model. There is no rudder as the forward swept wings result in a reversed roll yaw couple. With LW-PLA I ended up with a flying weight of just over 1000g, giving an easily manageable wing loading. Due to the models size I have added a landing gear, although I think to looks better without, so dolly launches and belly landings may be the order of the day. I recommend a 4S battery as a minimum.
One of the problems I have talked about before if finding suitable flying sites near my home, especially after a housing developer bought an old disused runway nearby for housing and employed a security guard to keep everyone away. After a couple of friendly discussions with the guy he agreed to allow me back onto the runway to fly models, so long as I went up to the far end out of the way.
This agreement came just in time for the return of COVID restrictions in the UK, specifically the area around London where I live. For the foreseeable future we live under a 'stay at home order' and whilst there are plenty of reasons you can get out of the house, going to fly my models isn't really one of them.
SO this leaves me in a quandary. I have spent hundreds of hours developing this model, but equally I have lots of other project I want to push on. I have also had a lot of people ask me if they can have the files so....
Rather than keeping this model under wraps and clogging up the workshop, I have decided to put it in the shop discounted and with a disclaimer that I haven't flown it yet. I hope I will see some video of your prints in the skies soon and I will follow with mine when I am able. If you send me some video of your printed X-29 that I can use on my site I will refund the purchase price.
In the meantime, happy printing and a happy new year! (it cant be as bad as the old one...)