Attempting ailerons on an FT Miniscout

[dylanbeaudette]

The FT Miniscout is one of my favorite all-purpose planes. It flies fast, slow, in the wind, and is very portable. Our favorite configuration is with a 3S 850mAh battery and navigation lights for enhanced visibility. Only downside… turns with only rudder/elevator are sloppy. This little beast is asking for ailerons!

Some great research and discussion here: https://forum.flitetest.com/index.php?threads/ailerons-with-under-camber-wing.72546/

I wanted to try converting a 3-channel to 4-channel, despite some wing repair and limiting the conversion to a single additional servo mounted topside.

I modeled the ailerons after the full sized Scout, but had to shorten due to supports added after a crash.

This is clearly not the best servo/control rod placement. I’ll give it a try and report back soon. Next time I build a Miniscout, I’ll leave the rudder fixed and use two 5g servos mounted to the outside of the fuselage to actuate full-length ailerons.

 

[ColoFlyer]

The FT Miniscout is one of my favorite all-purpose planes. It flies fast, slow, in the wind, and is very portable. Our favorite configuration is with a 3S 850mAh battery and navigation lights for enhanced visibility. Only downside… turns with only rudder/elevator are sloppy. This little beast is asking for ailerons!

Some great research and discussion here: https://forum.flitetest.com/index.php?threads/ailerons-with-under-camber-wing.72546/

I wanted to try converting a 3-channel to 4-channel, despite some wing repair and limiting the conversion to a single additional servo mounted topside

Here is how I did mine.
I put the single 3g servo cut into the middle of the bottom of the wing to control the ailerons. I also added an Aura5 Controller built into the 3D printed landing gear.
I will never build another Mini Scout without ailerons. They work great, and the plane definitely has more control and maneuverability.

 

[dylanbeaudette]

Excellent! Thank you for sharing. That looks like a much better place to put the servo and control wires. Also, a good reminder to use linkage-stoppers. Where did you get the 3D printed landing gear? It looks like a huge improvement over the standard.

 

[ColoFlyer]

Excellent! Thank you for sharing. That looks like a much better place to put the servo and control wires. Also, a good reminder to use linkage-stoppers. Where did you get the 3D printed landing gear? It looks like a huge improvement over the standard.

Landing gear I designed in Fusion360 and printed myself. If you have a 3D printer, I can upload the STL file either with or without the Aura5 slot.

 

[luvmy40]

Landing gear I designed in Fusion360 and printed myself. If you have a 3D printer, I can upload the STL file either with or without the Aura5 slot.

I'd be interested in the landing gear .stl, with the aura mount.

 

[ColoFlyer]

I'd be interested in the landing gear .stl, with the aura mount.

The Gear is printed in 2 parts. The main gear can be printed with a brim, and without supports . The Aura5 box needs to be printed with the flat side down and supports holding the over-hang around the box. Once the 2 parts are printed, the box is then super glued to the main gear as shown in the picture. Note the orientation of the box on the main gear.

Note the orientation of the gear as mounted on the plane. I use the smaller size BBQ skewers to hold on the gear, but the holes can be drilled out to accommodate the larger skewers. I use a 1.6mm wire for the axle, but you can drill it out to what you want.

I can change the dimensions of this if you need me to, just let me know.
Let me know if you have any questions.

 

[dylanbeaudette]

The FT Miniscout is one of my favorite all-purpose planes. It flies fast, slow, in the wind, and is very portable. Our favorite configuration is with a 3S 850mAh battery and navigation lights for enhanced visibility. Only downside… turns with only rudder/elevator are sloppy. This little beast is asking for ailerons!

Some great research and discussion here: https://forum.flitetest.com/index.php?threads/ailerons-with-under-camber-wing.72546/

I wanted to try converting a 3-channel to 4-channel, despite some wing repair and limiting the conversion to a single additional servo mounted topside.

View attachment 241221

I modeled the ailerons after the full sized Scout, but had to shorten due to supports added after a crash.

View attachment 241222

This is clearly not the best servo/control rod placement. I’ll give it a try and report back soon. Next time I build a Miniscout, I’ll leave the rudder fixed and use two 5g servos mounted to the outside of the fuselage to actuate full-length ailerons.

Well, long story short: terrible idea, forward-mounted servo and after-thought ailerons failed miserably!

 

[Shurik-1960]

I have been using one 9 gram servo for a long time to control the ailerons in all models with a span of up to 1 meter. An example is in the model drawing. On the upper planes, I install the servo mechanism in the center of the wing and closer to the front of the wing.

 

[Draftman1]

One think I did to help improve the mini scout was to put clear tape on the bottom of the wing, keep it tight from the leading edge to the trailing edge, And not smash it down underneath the wing, keep it hollow, it creates a flat bottom wing, better airfoil.

 

[dylanbeaudette]

I have been using one 9 gram servo for a long time to control the ailerons in all models with a span of up to 1 meter. An example is in the model drawing. On the upper planes, I install the servo mechanism in the center of the wing and closer to the front of the wing.

Thanks! These are beautiful plans! I'll try again.

 

[Shurik-1960]

These are the plans of a model Gluk that walks across the sky and can perform all classic aerobatics or 3D aerobatics (it depends on CG).I have 2 of these models broken and waiting to be restored + one model is new for soul flights.