Mr_Stripes
Elite member
This is my favorite plane I have built to date. I charge up a couple batteries, walk out my door, and fly it over the (not busy) street in front of my home. It is glorious.
Specs:
WS: 18.5in
AUW: 82 g
DW: 74 g
Motor: 1204 5000kv
Prop: HQ 5x3 T-mount
4x 2g Servos
As you can see it has had its fair share of abuse, but it is still flying fine. I am pretty sure that it will be swappable with any other 50% size planes which would mean that each additional micro would only cost roughly 15-30$ each (instead of HHs whopping 100-150).
BUILD
The plans are 50% size swappable full size FT Sportster. I used 3mm depron that I got from rcdepron. The guy running it was kind enough to send a free 6mm sample sheet with the order. I'm not sure if it is this depron specifically but it has a sort of skin you can use to create folds like you can with FB. However, you cannot create cavities, so to make an A fold you just score on the inside line of the cavity and for a B fold you score on the outside. Then you can make a 45 degree bevel on both surfaces and glue them together. Reinforce any areas that split or are likely to split with a bit of tape. Other than that, all non master series FT techniques seem to work. Because the depron is 3mm thick you can actually just friction fit the power pod in (the plans think the foam is 2.5mm thick, not 3). For push rods I just used .8mm music wire, control horns I cut out of an old plastic container, and I used a plastic lid for the fire wall. Do not paint, as it will add too much weight. I used sharpie and it looks good once it is in the air. If you look at the pictures you can see that I did end up needing 2 quarters for nose weight.
Electronics/Materials
DSM ESC RX brick (you can get it in almost any reciever type, look on their ebay store)
1.7-2g servo (I used these)
1204 5000kv brushless motor
GNB 380mah 1s 3.7v battery (or similar size 1s)
3mm depron
.8mm music wire
Scrap thin/thick plastic
Flight
As far as I can tell it flies like a UMX size sportster. It will fly nice and slow/floaty, but you can ramp it up quite a bit. Loops and rolls are a breeze, corkscrew and rolling dives feel good, wingovers are a breeze, and you could probably do some light 3d with more power (more on that in a minute). Basically anything in the envelope of lazy circles or patterns, cruising on the wind, or sport flying can be done. Because it is very light and has relatively large wings it does get blown around a bit, which can be pretty fun ie flying backwards. Flight time is about 7-8 minutes.
Future Mods
The biggest thing is MORE POWER!!! I am currently thinking that a 1207 5000kv (roughly 75% more thrust) paired with some 1s 450-550mah batteries would be perfect and give me roughly a 1:1.5 PW ratio. This would also give me more nose weight allowing me to drop some of the deadweight from the quarters.
Any input is welcome. Hope you enjoyed this or decide to build it for yourself!
Specs:
WS: 18.5in
AUW: 82 g
DW: 74 g
Motor: 1204 5000kv
Prop: HQ 5x3 T-mount
4x 2g Servos
As you can see it has had its fair share of abuse, but it is still flying fine. I am pretty sure that it will be swappable with any other 50% size planes which would mean that each additional micro would only cost roughly 15-30$ each (instead of HHs whopping 100-150).
BUILD
The plans are 50% size swappable full size FT Sportster. I used 3mm depron that I got from rcdepron. The guy running it was kind enough to send a free 6mm sample sheet with the order. I'm not sure if it is this depron specifically but it has a sort of skin you can use to create folds like you can with FB. However, you cannot create cavities, so to make an A fold you just score on the inside line of the cavity and for a B fold you score on the outside. Then you can make a 45 degree bevel on both surfaces and glue them together. Reinforce any areas that split or are likely to split with a bit of tape. Other than that, all non master series FT techniques seem to work. Because the depron is 3mm thick you can actually just friction fit the power pod in (the plans think the foam is 2.5mm thick, not 3). For push rods I just used .8mm music wire, control horns I cut out of an old plastic container, and I used a plastic lid for the fire wall. Do not paint, as it will add too much weight. I used sharpie and it looks good once it is in the air. If you look at the pictures you can see that I did end up needing 2 quarters for nose weight.
Electronics/Materials
DSM ESC RX brick (you can get it in almost any reciever type, look on their ebay store)
1.7-2g servo (I used these)
1204 5000kv brushless motor
GNB 380mah 1s 3.7v battery (or similar size 1s)
3mm depron
.8mm music wire
Scrap thin/thick plastic
Flight
As far as I can tell it flies like a UMX size sportster. It will fly nice and slow/floaty, but you can ramp it up quite a bit. Loops and rolls are a breeze, corkscrew and rolling dives feel good, wingovers are a breeze, and you could probably do some light 3d with more power (more on that in a minute). Basically anything in the envelope of lazy circles or patterns, cruising on the wind, or sport flying can be done. Because it is very light and has relatively large wings it does get blown around a bit, which can be pretty fun ie flying backwards. Flight time is about 7-8 minutes.
Future Mods
The biggest thing is MORE POWER!!! I am currently thinking that a 1207 5000kv (roughly 75% more thrust) paired with some 1s 450-550mah batteries would be perfect and give me roughly a 1:1.5 PW ratio. This would also give me more nose weight allowing me to drop some of the deadweight from the quarters.
Any input is welcome. Hope you enjoyed this or decide to build it for yourself!
