Building a Light, Night Stryker – Part 1

Seems I’ve always got another project in mind in the basement. My latest is a ‘light’ Stryker. Where most modify their Strykers for speed, a few go the other direction: building a Stryker that’s as light and slow as possible.

That’s where this one is going. Goal weight is 11oz (I’ll never make it.)

Planned components are:

• Naked Stryker fuselage
• TURNIGY Plush 10amp 9gram Speed Controller
• GWS EP Propeller 8040
• Turnigy 2730 Brushless Motor 1500kv
• HXT900 9g Servos
• 800 mAh 3S LiPos
• OrangeRx Spektrum-compatible receiver
• LED light strips

I did a quick test of the lights, taping  a strip of red, upside-down, on the top of the wing. This way they shone down through the wing, lighting up the white foam like a Chinese lantern. I’m not entirely sure it’ll be bright enough, but I’m planning on this being a low-and-slow plane, so I think I’ll be okay. (I hope.)

I removed the reinforcing rods from the bottom of the Stryker’s wing and the slots left behind are exactly the right size for a strip of LED lights. So that’s one decision made: the LEDs are going into those slots, upside down, to illuminate the foam from inside. I’ve installed them and they look awesome.