Hi guys,

after my introduction in the world of RC, FPV, etc with bixler, I am planning to buy a new plane. I have an APM2 for autopilot and these kind of things, and I want it to be a FPV platform as well. I have read a lot about the benefits of Skywalker V5 and its former versions as a FPV platforms. People is talking as well about the X8 wing, mentioning how nice it flights and its capacity to carry heavy loads ( same as skywalker V5 ). So the question that come up to my mind is...if you were planning to buy a new, reliable and more "serious" FPV platform + APM2.0 ...what would you do?

I know that one is a plane, the other is a wing...hard to compare..but..keeping that in mind...what do you think?

Cheers!!

Nobody by any chance has both??

I've only owned the Skywalker and I must say it's really awesome.
Key benefits of the plane are:

• Stability
• Good cruise speed
• Easy to fly
• LOTS OF ROOM for FPV stuff
• Easily transport it by using the rubber bands to put the wings on.
• Cheap

I haven't got an X8 but to me it "feels" like so many people are having trouble with it. Falling into some kind of death spiral when stalling, hard to launch, etc.

But I haven't flown the X8 so I can't really say much about that flying wing.

Oh, another thing that made the buy the Skywalker is cause I love flying models that look like normal planes

Ive got both but not flown the X8 yet. By rights the X8 should be able to cover a lot more distance, looks cooler and carries more payload. Until I`ve flown it ( Saturday ) I cant comment anymore

I have both. Both are nice planes if added strenghth used in key places. If you have the landing room and careful launching I would go with the X8. Lots of room for batteries and electronics. only 2 servos. I cruise at 8 amps with a 8000 mah, 3S battery. I use a bungee launch most of the time just for safety reasons (like my fingers), But have hand launched without a problem. Skywalker is easier to grip and hand launch though.

Thanks for the repplies! I would be very interested though in what Coyote64 has to say about it and compare it to what vertcnc says! Keep posting please!

Guys! How is it going? any more impressions??

I own and fly both. Skywalker is more versatile. X8 is faster and
can carry enough battery to go long distance, but launching and especially landing
in tight spaces is a problem as there's no way to run flaps on the X8 and it floats
in ground effect forever. Can hand launch and land the Skywalker almost anywhere (especially if
you use flaps) and if you need to carry more weight to loiter for a long time, could use the
1900mm wings. Both require some mods to improve strength/rigidity, but are fairly easy builds.
Easier to mount an HD camera on pan or even pan & tilt on the Skywalker.
X8 has the coolness factor, but being a big distinctive drone-like plane, may also attract a lot more
unwanted attention if you're trying to fly discreetly.

I do not see one as a direct replacement for the other at all. I think any well rounded
FPVer needs a plane like the Skywalker, plus some sort of faster flying wing, like the X8,
Foamaroo, ZII, etc..

ian

There is also the Hobbyking EPP FPV 1.8 meter fpv plane Im in the middle of building one right now.

HK EPP FPV plane is not in the same league as the SW. It's very slow,
and hits a brick wall of drag when you try to go faster. Seems to require
shimming and such just to get the wing and horizontal stab aligned.

ian

I'm exactly 5.5 Oz nose heavy and never ever have a hard time with that! I can say with confidence that is you make the plane neutral on the center of gravity then you have the potential to have such a problem! but! if you have a nose heavy plane you don't really have to worry about such a thing!

Originally Posted by raRaRa

I've only owned the Skywalker and I must say it's really awesome.
Key benefits of the plane are:

• Stability
• Good cruise speed
• Easy to fly
• LOTS OF ROOM for FPV stuff
• Easily transport it by using the rubber bands to put the wings on.
• Cheap

I haven't got an X8 but to me it "feels" like so many people are having trouble with it. Falling into some kind of death spiral when stalling, hard to launch, etc.

But I haven't flown the X8 so I can't really say much about that flying wing.

Oh, another thing that made the buy the Skywalker is cause I love flying models that look like normal planes

Originally Posted by Markgeard

I'm exactly 5.5 Oz nose heavy and never ever have a hard time with that! I can say with confidence that is you make the plane neutral on the center of gravity then you have the potential to have such a problem! but! if you have a nose heavy plane you don't really have to worry about such a thing!

Also makes any flying wing considerably less efficient. Lower L/D and thus
higher average current draw in level flight, poorer climb rate, shorter
flight times, etc. One of the reasons you can't get it to spin, is that
it's just constantly trying to pull the nose down.

ian

I have ordered an X8 and do still wait for the delivery. But I am interested in buying a SW as well, exactly for the reason that it is much more convenient to handle by means of launching and landing.

Now I have seen that there is a real MONSTER thread with almost 17000 posts which is basically impossible to read before I retire.

For that reason, could someone summarize the pros and cons of the SW versions which are available? I've seen that there is a 1680mm Version, one with 1900mm and one with 1880mm. Besides this there seem to be not only foam-versions but glass-versions as well.

It seems hopeless to filter that out of the SW thread.

If there is already such a comparison somewere in the forum, I would be happy if somebody could point me to that thread. Searching didn't reveal reasonable results.

But I would as well appreciate a summary here in this thread very much!

Noboy to share ideas ?

Ok, lets try a different question: Is there somewhere a versions list of the SW ?