If you're looking for a fun and easy way to enter the world of 3D-printed RC airplanes and FPV flying, you might want to check out the Craycle FPV Ranger V2 Sports. This is a training model that can help you learn how to build and fly your own 3D-printed airplane, while also experiencing the excitement of flying from a first-person perspective (FPV).
The Ranger V2 Sports comes in two versions: a 3-channel Version without Ailerons and FPV compatibility (still free to download) and a 4-channel Version with Ailerons and FPV compatibility. This is the 4ch FPV Sports Version. 3ch Free Version here.
The FPV system can be DJI Air Unit or Caddx Vista etc. which is compatible with the fuselage of the Ranger V2. The FPV system will allow you to see what the aircraft is seeing through a nose-mounted camera and transmit the video signal to your glasses or monitor. In this way, you can fly the plane as if you are sitting in the cockpit and experience a more immersive and realistic flight experience.
The Ranger V2 Sports is designed to be easy to build and fly, even for beginners. It has a stable and slow flight performance, making it ideal for learning the basics of RC flight. It will also help you improve your flight skills by performing basic acrobatic maneuvers with its 4-channel sports wings. The Ranger V2 Sports is also durable and crash-proof thanks to its 3D-printed Regular PLA construction and PetG parts.
What was it designed for?
Ranger V2 Sports is now our newest 3D Printed RC trainer plane. With this model, we aim to reach people who have just started making 3D Printed Model Airplanes and who already have a 3D printer. You don't need to have model airplane building experience. Following the simple instructions in the PDF, you can build the model and experience your first flight immediately. Don't be afraid to crash! It's always easier and more enjoyable to rebuild a model you made. Ranger V2 Sports also protects all electronics, motor and propeller thanks to its component positioning. We'll help you here, send us videos and photos about the problem or crash. Share them on our Facebook Group. We'll assess the situation and help you identify the problem.
General Specs
- Length: 575 mm
- Wingspan: 800 mm
- Print Weight: 311 grams
- Flying Weight: 500-650 grams
- Wing Area: 11.1 dm2
- Wing Loading: 49.4 g/dm2
- Airfoil: NACA 2412
- Minimum Printer Size: 150x150x180 mm
- Material: Regular PLA (LW-PLA Compatible)
Download Included
- STL Files.
- Cura Profile.
- Ready to print G-code files (G-codes need min 180x180mm print area).
- User Guide (Detailed for assembling and printing).
- Tech support.
Note: DJI Air Unit and Caddx Vista Canopies are not included in the files.
Click to download DJI Air Unit Hatch
Click to download Caddx Vista Hatch
Required Electronics
- 4ch+ Radio / FPV System
- 2205 2300kv Brushless Motor
- 5040 Propeller - 3 blades
- 30A ESC
- 2200 mAh 3S-4S Lipo
- 4 pcs, 9g servos
- Carbon Rods
- Ø4x250 mm
- CA Glue
Buy Ranger Power Pack for electronics.
Ultimaker Cura Slicer is recommended! Click for download craycle.curaprofile
Blog Article for Build/Flight videos, Required Electronics, and more information.
egodsey –
Am now in the process of printing the Ranger V2 … using LW PLA (active foaming) for the wings and tail control surfaces … and PLA+ for everything else. In my opinion Cemal Ozelik has done a fantastic job in the overall design of this aircraft. I have printed (and flown) planes from both Eclipson and 3D Lab Print … and I think Cemal’s design is superior. For example: The others have complex hinges for the control surfaces … but very simple bearings for the landing gear. Their hinge designs add unnecessary weight and complexity … with no improvement in functionality. (Foam planes have used tape for hinges for years … without any problems.) My guess is that Cemal’s simple TPU hinges will work just fine … while being lighter and simpler to print. And Cemal’s attention to detail on wheel bearings should help handling on takeoff and landing … with no increase in the weight of the aircraft.
Meanwhile … I do take issue with his insistence that the Ranger V2 can be printed in its entirety with active foaming LW-PLA (ColorFabb and/or 3D LabPrint PolyLight). The fuselage and canopy parts cannot be sliced and printed without retraction … which is more or less incompatible with LW-PLA. In my experience the ONLY parts that can be successfully printed with LW-PLA are those that are designed (right from the start) to be printed in one of the “single line per layer modes” … vase mode, spiral mode, surface mode etc. depending on your slicer. The geometry of wings (and control surfaces) is almost always conducive to this. And the aircraft fuselage would be as well … if it weren’t for the pesky issue of it needing to be strengthened in the areas where the wings, the motor and the landing gear attach.
And perhaps that’s a design approach that Cemal could explore in a future design. Typically the engine mount is already a separate PETG part …. do the same for a wing attachment point and for landing gear attachment … and then make the fuselage a LW-PLA mesh print “skin/covering” … mostly for aesthetics.
And one more plus for Craycle Hobby … Cemal’s documentation is very complete … in that he is VERY careful to denote slicer settings for each part … see page 3 of the 2022 RangerV2 User Guide … and the seven page “Print Guide” that is included as an Appendix to the User Guide. Successful 3D printing is still very much printer, slicer and material dependent … and he supplies the information you need for your prints to be successful.
Cemal OZCELIK (store manager) –
Thank you for your kind words. I spend a lot of time on the details you noticed and seeing this motivates me to do the same for the next models.
It is also very nice that you have such good thoughts for the Ranger V2. We recently updated all the models and called them Next Generation Craycle Planes. The Discover was updated last and only the Ranger remained. I am working on the Ranger right now, new PDF and product images. Actually we worked on the Ranger first but it was the last to be published.
Yes the Ranger V3 is coming and you can see what is coming in the blog post: https://craycle.com/the-next-generation-craycle-planes/
The Ranger was our second model, it was free from the beginning and our aim was to bring more people into the hobby by offering a nice free model for people who have 3D printers. The most discouraging thing about model aircraft is the equipment that gets damaged in accidents. We paid attention to this issue in the free model and the Ranger design came out.
The problem with the Ranger is the nose pulling down when you throw it by hand at launch. The easiest way to solve this is to take off from the ground, and when the model accelerates enough to fly, the nose-down behavior disappears. The Ranger is truly an incredibly stable, slow-flying and efficient model. However, if a beginner gives it full throttle and throws it away, if there is no wind, it will most likely crash in front of him.
The Ranger has been downloaded by thousands of people, and although we have only received one or two complaint about this in 3 years, but I am sure that people have experienced it a crash beacuse of nose down.
Landing gear is needed for takeoff from the ground, and it is difficult for a beginner to bend the landing wire correctly.
Nowadays, I wish we had specified a standard glider model as a free model instead of the Ranger. Still, everyone likes the Ranger and it is our most popular model after the Orca. The nose-down behavior has been largely eliminated in the Ranger V3. We finally did it and made the model 110 grams lighter with normal PLA.
As for LW-PLA, yes you are right, FS2 does not have fully continuous printing, so LW-PLA can be a challenge, but it has as little retraction as possible and almost all other model parts are retraction-free.
Fs1, and Fs2 should not be printed with LW-PLA in Ranger anyway. Other parts are sufficiently weight-saving when printed with LW-PLA, and FS1 is both very solid and helps the CG tremendously when printed completely filed like a bracket or mount. You can use this method. Fs4 and tail parts can be LW-PLA.
The new PDF manuals are much more detailed and we no longer need special printer profiles in the new versions. We have added explanations about this in the PDF manuals and the Cura Profile blog article, and will add them in Ranger V3 User Guide. All the details you liked have been made much better in the new versions. We are very proud of this and it makes us feel ready to produce larger quantities of Printed Kits.
Thanks again for all your kind words. If you would like to write a blog post about Ranger along with V2 and V3 when Ranger V3 is released, please contact me.
fabiopace1981 (verified owner) –
I have printed the Ranger V2 Sport 3 times now
I have not had any success with it at all. Every attempt was off a runway with landing gear.
As soon as it is airborne it nose dives at an alarming rate.
I have a collection of 25 3D printed air craft, this is the only one that I giving me trouble.
Either the whole fuselage needs to be redesigned
Moving the battery toward the rear, and the angle at which with motor is applying the force is very wrong.
Please left me know what I can do to get this bird in the sky.
Thank you.
Cemal OZCELIK (store manager) –
Hello, I am sorry about your bad experience with the Ranger V2. It took us a really long time to figure out the problem while we were developing the model, but unfortunately the reason for this is the flight weight of the model.
In this type of models, the tendency to pull the nose down when taking off is quite natural. For this reason, it makes more sense to take off from the runway with the landing gear. But the Ranger V2 takes this a bit too far. To solve the problem, we increased the motor angle extra, but this does not help at all. Because when the model is in the air, too much thrust actually pulls the model up, but when the model takes off it pulls it down. Once you take the model into the air, you can see how stable and efficient its flight is. It can remain airborne with 10% thrust. Since the center of gravity is low, the motor forces the model down in the takeoff.
As the model weight increases, the tendency to pull the nose down increases. This is our main problem. If you were to print the model with LW-PLA and fly with a 3s 800mAh battery, 2204 motor and 15A ESC, you would never experience this problem.
In order to have a successful flight with the recommended electronics and Regular PLA, you need to make the model accelerate before giving throotle and do not give more than 60% thrust. As the surface speed of the model increases, the rate at which the nose pulls down gradually decreases. Andrew Newton has an excellent video explaining some techniques on “Pusher Launch”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uFwSEsqb3Fw&t=4s&ab_channel=AndrewNewton
Watching this video can be very useful.
Conclusion: It may be a mistake to recommend printing this model with Regular PLA. I’m just realizing this. Because this model requires experience when its heavy. Our aim in developing the Ranger was to be an entry model for beginners. A design where the motor, propeller and electronics are protected. We did it because we liked the idea, but now I’m starting to think that it was a mistake and that even Orca is easier for beginners. Because in all manuals and explanations we recommend printing the model with Regular PLA and this makes the model heavy. As the model gets heavier, the problem in takeoff increases.
Solution: We will be making a mass update for all models soon. In this update, the Ranger V2 will be a little lighter and I want to give another chance to the model I have worked diligently on. If the model is not light enough, I will start recommending printing it with LW-PLA and I will develop a simpler flying Glider that will not demotivate beginners and publish it for free. In this case, Ranger will no longer be promoted as a training model. Even in its current form, the Ranger is a great flying FPV sporty model.
Sorry for realizing this late. I hope you can give the Ranger another chance. Make it lighter or takeoff on runway.
Wishing you a wonderful Spring.
CAMARTING (verified owner) –
I printed this model in PLA_LW of yellow polymaker, it is a beauty, very light. On my first flight it crashed because I did not adjust the CG, this point is very sensitive. I always recommend using landing gear, I threw it by hand and crashed it, the reconstruction is a bit tedious due to the splices… you have to sand them very well and also reinforce them… for the rest… I hope to put the landing gear on soon caddx view and test with the weight of that unit and a mateksys FC
Cemal OZCELIK (store manager) –
Thanks for your valuable comment, it is very nice to print with this model LW-PLA. It would be nice if you could share this process with other people on Facebook Craycle Crafter Group.
This model is more suitable for take-off from the runway. Takeoffs require quick throws, it’s not easy to get it right the first time. You can order it for powerful landing gear. The new PetG shafted wheel design will also ensure you get a long-lasting landing gear.