User manuals are publicly available on each aircraft’s webpage. Simply click the image or the label at the top that represents the manual.
As described on the website, each project includes a complete set of STL files, along with a few selected STEP files to help with customization for cameras, sensors, antennas, etc. A full list of all files in both formats, including part orientation on the print bed, is available in the user manual.
Not all STEP files are publicly available. A full STEP version of the project can be purchased through individual offer negotiation and licensing agreement via email
No. Purchasing the files from the website grants a private, individual license for recreational use only. Full license terms are available here: https://flightory.com/license/
Everyone who purchased the product before the update still has access to it using the same download link found in the order confirmation email. If you created an account on the website, you can also access the files by logging into your customer panel. If you created your account after placing the order, please contact us via email and we will assign the order to your account.
Technically, yes, but printing with regular materials results in significantly higher print weight, often almost double. While the aircraft may still fly, keeping weight low is crucial in aircraft design. Heavier builds often require a lighter battery, sacrificing efficiency and flight time. Beginners often fall into a trap: they build an airframe that’s too heavy, then compensate with a more powerful and heavier motor, followed by a bigger battery, ending up with an overloaded aircraft that underperforms or can’t fly at all.
For absolute beginners, it’s best to start with a flight simulator like RealFlight. It helps you learn the basic controls and reflexes without risking any real planes.
Foam planes are generally more crash-resistant, especially in light crashes. If they break, you can usually fix them quickly with glue. 3D printed planes can suffer more significant damage from crashes. So if you’re a beginner prone to crashing often, a foam trainer might save you time and money. That said, major crashes can destroy any plane regardless of material. But normal landing, even hard ones, won’t usually break a properly made 3D printed plane.
Traditionally, model aircraft were made from lightweight materials like balsa wood, plywood and paper or film cover. Everything was built by hand-cutting, shaping, assembling. These planes were beautiful but extremely fragile, especially in crashes. Losing one after many hours of work was painful. But with proper craftsmanship and careful flying, even these hand-built wooden planes could last for years. The same principle applies to today’s materials: whether it’s wood, foam, or 3D printed plastic, proper use and good piloting keep planes flying for a long time.
3D printing has become one of the most modern and exciting forms of model aircraft/drone building. It allows hobbyists to produce, and fly their own airframes from scratch, all at home. What makes it really powerful is how interdisciplinary it is, you’re not just flying models, you’re also learning about 3D printing, basic electronics, and even modifying designs in CAD software if you want to tweak or improve parts.
It’s also part of a broader trend: 3D printing is developing rapidly, with new materials, methods, and machines being introduced all the time. Many of the technologies used in industrial-grade manufacturing are gradually becoming more accessible and affordable for hobbyists. This means the quality, durability, and functionality of home-printed aircraft will only continue to improve.
In the future, 3D printing is likely to play a major role in both hobbyist innovation and larger technological shifts, some even see it as a cornerstone of the next industrial revolution. Drones are just one area where you can already see that potential in action.
Scaling is not straightforward. These aircraft are designed with exact slots for specific carbon rods, servos, motor mounts, and screw patterns. Airfoil thicknesses and all geometry are optimized for a specific size. Properly scaling a model is essentially re-designing it from scratch based on the original geometry.
Technically, the aircraft can be built with only basic RC equipment and flown LOS in manual mode. However, the primary purpose of these models is FPV flight, typically with stabilization and autonomous flight modes. All our aircraft are tested using a flight controller.
These are carefully chosen and optimized motors that work very well on 4S. Most high-quality 5S/6S motors like the T-Motor F90, are efficient and reliable at lower voltages,
The reason we recommend this setup is twofold:
– There are very few motors on the market with the same low weight and compact size that deliver equal or better performance natively on 4S. Most 4S-optimized motors in this weight class are either too weak, heavier or simply not available.
– Running a 6S-rated motor on 4S reduces RPM, but not necessarily performance, especially for cruising or endurance flights. You get smooth power delivery, cooler components, and good efficiency.
– These motors are designed to deliver optimal performance with 5S/6S voltages. When using a 4S battery, the overall performance of the motors is slightly reduced, but the difference is small enough that the motors still remain very efficient. This allows for the use of higher capacity batteries in setups where full thrust is not required. If full power is needed, it’s easy to switch to higher voltage batteries.
When using much larger props than recommended (called overpropping), you can run into issues like:
– High current draw
– ESC or motor overheating
– Lower responsiveness or ESC desyncs in extreme cases
However, in Flightory designs, we don’t use such large props relative to motor limits. Any mild overpropping (if present) has been thoroughly tested in real world conditions, and:
– Does not cause thermal issues
– Does not result in dangerously high current draw
– Remains within safe operating margins for both ESC and motor
This balance of voltage, motor size, and prop selection has been validated and is suitable for most users, especially those prioritizing longer flight times, quiet cruising, or simplicity.
Not at all. Quality motors operate just fine at lower voltages. The key is prop matching. With a 4S battery, you can:
– Keep the recommended prop
– Or increase size/pitch slightly for more thrust
As a result, you simply get lower RPMs proportional to the voltage used.
Ideally, both, but with caution. Here’s why:
– Motor manufacturers often publish specs for just one voltage and very limited prop combinations
– Those values are lab estimates, not real-world conditions
– Tools like eCalc.ch can help, but they’re also theoretical and sometimes unreliable in non-standard setups
What you see in Flightory documentation is typically based on real-world testing with actual prototypes. This means that recommendations like motor and propeller combinations shown in the prototype documentation are not theoretical guesses. They have been flight-tested and confirmed to work reliably in real conditions.
Absolutely! These are guidelines, not strict rules, so feel free to adapt your setup as you like. However, keep in mind that if your build ends up significantly heavier than the prototype, it creates a vicious cycle. Increasing weight often means you’ll need more powerful motors or higher voltage batteries to compensate, which in turn adds more weight, it might result in low performance or even make flying difficult.