- Type
- Build Plan (PDF, AI, etc.)
I chose the Mini Scout to make a biplane from because it is super simple to build. The Mini Scout Biplane will fly as a 3ch or 4ch, but it's more rewarding as a 4ch. It can fly slow, or it can fly fast. It will even float in the wind. It can do loops and rolls and otherwise get crazy if you want. In short, it's easy to build and a blast to fly.
At the time of this posting the MSBP has only been tested with the following:
2205 2300kv "F" Pack or equivalent motor
30 amp esc (overkill for the "F" Pack, 20amp will do fine)
3s 850mAh battery
6x3 prop
The plans are of course based on the Mini Scout with extensive modifications. The tail end was lengthened. The nose was lengthened. The turtle deck was lengthened. The vertical stabilizer was increased in height.
The wing was moved from the center of the fuselage to the bottom. Ailerons and a servo mounting hole were added to the bottom wing. The bottom plate was redesigned using the SE5 as a template. The landing gear mounting was changed. The size of the notch on the now bottom wing was increased to allow space for the landing gear.
The struts are straight from the SE5 and the cabanes are modified from the Baby Blender.
The large space between the wings exists to improve the performance of the aircraft. The large cabane struts help support and center the top wing.
The Mini Scout build video can be followed to construct the power pod, fuselage, wings and tail, and to attach the tail to the fuselage. Also the bottom plate assembly is very similar and the tail skid remains the same.
The wings will mount similar as shown in the SE5 build video.
Some construction notes:
1. The plans are split into four pdf files. The fuselage and wing files should tile two pages wide and two pages tall with cut marks. The strut file is two pages total, do not use cut marks. The tiling is sized for 8½" x 11" cardstock.
The layout may look strange, but is designed to make assembling the tiles and cutting the plans as simple as possible.
2. In order to make it fit in the plans, the turtle deck is a bit short. Simply extend the lines all the way to the edge of the paper and you should have enough extra to trim at the nose.
3. I left the cut lines for the tail servos in the plans in case you wish to mount the servos internally, as per the build video. I personally cut holes in the fuselage and mount the servos externally.
4. The hole for the aileron servo is sized for a 5gram servo. The bottom of the servo will butt up against the bottom of the wing. You can notch the wing or use hot glue to fill the gap where the servo sticks out a little bit. 9gram servos should work fine, but you'll have to account for the larger size.
5. Be careful when you cut the front notch in the bottom wing (the green line). That notch is how you will align and center the wing in the fuselage. It can be cut before the wing halves are glued together, but doing so afterward will help insure that the leading edges of the wing halves meet flush.
6. If you are unsure how to make the bottom plate, refer to the SE5 build video. The large area of foam removal in the center is unique to the MSBP, but necessary for the bottom plate to fit flush against the bottom wing.
7. The landing gear is optional. I bent the wire for the landing gear so that it is 2 1/2" tall instead of 2" as per the build video. That increased height seemed to improve take off. 2" still works fine.
8. Once the landing gear wire is bent, it is simply slid into the fuselage between the bottom plate and the bottom wing. The landing gear mount is then glued to the inside of the bottom plate, over the wire. The landing gear mount should fit very snugly inside the notch cut in the bottom wing.
9. I personally remove the foam from the holes where the struts mount in the wings, and leave the paper on the other side, purely for aesthetics. There is no performance difference if you simply cut the holes out.
10. The cabanes struts mount at an angle. Bevel the inside of the struts, top and bottom so they sit flush against the top wing and fuselage. Refer to the cabane strut section of the Baby Blender build video if you are unsure how to do this.
11. To me, mounting the cabane struts is the only difficult step. Test fit them so the angle at the top of the strut fits into the angle on the bottom of the top wing. Angle them inward so the bottom of the strut meets the fuselage just below the turtle deck. Apply glue to the top and bottom of the strut and hold in place until dry.
12. If your top wing is not centered, you can use the cabane struts to center it. Test fit, then glue the bottom of one strut to the fuselage. Move the top wing to center and then glue in the top of the cabane.
13. All builds are different. If the angles on the struts and cabanes don't exactly match your wings, simply trim the struts and cabanes to fit. I had to shave off the "point" of the angle on the struts in order to make them fit flush against the top wing.
14. The scallops in the wings are there just because they look cool. You can simplify your build by making the trailing edges straight.
15. The CG has not been calculated. I use just under 9 grams of nose weight. Two U.S. nickels are 10 grams.
Video of the maiden flight can be found here. These plans are the X2 version of the plane.
I think you'll be really happy with how easy this plane is to build and fly, and how well it performs in the air. If you've any questions, drop them in the discussion tab, and I'll lend a hand.
Happy Flying!
At the time of this posting the MSBP has only been tested with the following:
2205 2300kv "F" Pack or equivalent motor
30 amp esc (overkill for the "F" Pack, 20amp will do fine)
3s 850mAh battery
6x3 prop
The plans are of course based on the Mini Scout with extensive modifications. The tail end was lengthened. The nose was lengthened. The turtle deck was lengthened. The vertical stabilizer was increased in height.
The wing was moved from the center of the fuselage to the bottom. Ailerons and a servo mounting hole were added to the bottom wing. The bottom plate was redesigned using the SE5 as a template. The landing gear mounting was changed. The size of the notch on the now bottom wing was increased to allow space for the landing gear.
The struts are straight from the SE5 and the cabanes are modified from the Baby Blender.
The large space between the wings exists to improve the performance of the aircraft. The large cabane struts help support and center the top wing.
The Mini Scout build video can be followed to construct the power pod, fuselage, wings and tail, and to attach the tail to the fuselage. Also the bottom plate assembly is very similar and the tail skid remains the same.
The wings will mount similar as shown in the SE5 build video.
Some construction notes:
1. The plans are split into four pdf files. The fuselage and wing files should tile two pages wide and two pages tall with cut marks. The strut file is two pages total, do not use cut marks. The tiling is sized for 8½" x 11" cardstock.
The layout may look strange, but is designed to make assembling the tiles and cutting the plans as simple as possible.
2. In order to make it fit in the plans, the turtle deck is a bit short. Simply extend the lines all the way to the edge of the paper and you should have enough extra to trim at the nose.
3. I left the cut lines for the tail servos in the plans in case you wish to mount the servos internally, as per the build video. I personally cut holes in the fuselage and mount the servos externally.
4. The hole for the aileron servo is sized for a 5gram servo. The bottom of the servo will butt up against the bottom of the wing. You can notch the wing or use hot glue to fill the gap where the servo sticks out a little bit. 9gram servos should work fine, but you'll have to account for the larger size.
5. Be careful when you cut the front notch in the bottom wing (the green line). That notch is how you will align and center the wing in the fuselage. It can be cut before the wing halves are glued together, but doing so afterward will help insure that the leading edges of the wing halves meet flush.
6. If you are unsure how to make the bottom plate, refer to the SE5 build video. The large area of foam removal in the center is unique to the MSBP, but necessary for the bottom plate to fit flush against the bottom wing.
7. The landing gear is optional. I bent the wire for the landing gear so that it is 2 1/2" tall instead of 2" as per the build video. That increased height seemed to improve take off. 2" still works fine.
8. Once the landing gear wire is bent, it is simply slid into the fuselage between the bottom plate and the bottom wing. The landing gear mount is then glued to the inside of the bottom plate, over the wire. The landing gear mount should fit very snugly inside the notch cut in the bottom wing.
9. I personally remove the foam from the holes where the struts mount in the wings, and leave the paper on the other side, purely for aesthetics. There is no performance difference if you simply cut the holes out.
10. The cabanes struts mount at an angle. Bevel the inside of the struts, top and bottom so they sit flush against the top wing and fuselage. Refer to the cabane strut section of the Baby Blender build video if you are unsure how to do this.
11. To me, mounting the cabane struts is the only difficult step. Test fit them so the angle at the top of the strut fits into the angle on the bottom of the top wing. Angle them inward so the bottom of the strut meets the fuselage just below the turtle deck. Apply glue to the top and bottom of the strut and hold in place until dry.
12. If your top wing is not centered, you can use the cabane struts to center it. Test fit, then glue the bottom of one strut to the fuselage. Move the top wing to center and then glue in the top of the cabane.
13. All builds are different. If the angles on the struts and cabanes don't exactly match your wings, simply trim the struts and cabanes to fit. I had to shave off the "point" of the angle on the struts in order to make them fit flush against the top wing.
14. The scallops in the wings are there just because they look cool. You can simplify your build by making the trailing edges straight.
15. The CG has not been calculated. I use just under 9 grams of nose weight. Two U.S. nickels are 10 grams.
Video of the maiden flight can be found here. These plans are the X2 version of the plane.
I think you'll be really happy with how easy this plane is to build and fly, and how well it performs in the air. If you've any questions, drop them in the discussion tab, and I'll lend a hand.
Happy Flying!
