1. FT Mini Scout (with Floats)
I'm currently building my 4th Mini Scout, all the previous ones not lasting well with my inexperienced flying skills and the cold Canadian winter (untreated foamboard and snow are not the best of friends)...
31 January 2022:
Cut Parts and create the experimental Jacob's Ladder hinges.
1 February 2022:
Built the Mini Scout! But promptly forget to photograph the process. Oops.
Add Decals! (Printed and simply glued on)
Time to maiden! (I didn't get a video here, unfortunately), but found she yawed heavily to the left.
But she survived!
Next steps, some pencil work to create the material effect:
7 February 2022:
Next flight! Got her into the air, but managed to execute an excellent snow-plow landing:
Wheels didn't survive, and at this time, floats were decided upon.
Found a plan on the forum for
DTFB floats, so took them, reduced them and hacked together the floats in the evening.
Attached them to the plane with some Amazon-purchased pushrods (that are too short and too thick for mighty minis IMO).
I also added the FT navigation LEDs into the plane, and tucked the wires into scores in the wings and the paper covered over.
I'll maiden this new setup and see if she can land and takeoff on snow
13 February 2022: MAIDEN FLIGHT!
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Floats need some refining, but they work well on the snow! I had them too far forward, so they sometimes interfered with the prop.
19 February 2022:
I thought about having the floats be integrated with the wheels, and as I had accidentally removed them from the fuselage on a not-so-delicate welcoming to the earth, the time came to give it a try.
I hacked a slot in the pontoons, got the old wheels back on the Scout and created a bracing that when the floats are removed, it simply rotates 180° and rests in slots created on the wing.
I foresee that the problem I'll have is that the floats are too close together, but if that's the case, I think there's a simple and possible even better solution available to have the wheels attached without hacking holes into the floats...
Then they'll still be useful for water and not just snow.
Test flight to come when it's not -20° and howling outside...
21 February 2022:
Test flight with the new floats actually worked! (Until the hot glue gave out). I initially removed the tape I had underneath the floats, but the bare foam did not like the wet snow and didn't move. After putting tape on and fixing my unglued anchor, the plane whipped across the snow. No evidence unfortunately, as my 6-year old videographer decided that reading a book with my wife under a cosy blanket was a better option that trudging around in the snow...
And now, with many a great flights, some fantastic crashes, 2 broken props, and the testing phase of the floats pretty much complete (even though I think I only managed about 15 flights with her until the wing-tip/leading edges were buckled with wet snow, the motor-mount repositioned due to a fantastic inverted nose-dive and earth-welcoming, the fuselage cracked in that vicinity and the area where the wheel's get glued on pretty much down to bare foam, hopes and dreams), I have as such, removed all the electronics and what-not and have mounted this bird on the wall to remind me of her glory-days and a great building challenge.
For my next Mini Scout, I plan to do a crash-test skinned version, albeit not the WWI theme but a modern take, so there won't be the material-spar textures as seen in other great skins (and I'll probably leave out the curved arches in the wings and keep them straight). I think it will look cool, nonetheless, and the floats will also accompany this next build. I guess I'll add the modified floats as a resource, as well as the skin once I have them created and refined.
26 February 2022:
I got itchy after retiring the white Mini Snow Scout, so the Crash Test version has been in production!
Skins made, printed and glued, then the plane made. I still want to do floats, but think it might be better to have them interchangeable, so wouldn't magnets be a good idea?
Well, we're trying it in any case. Landing gear is simple, so that's where I'm starting:
I also found the one useful thing from a Powerup kit, the landing gear. Why not try a steerable rudder!?!?
Going to maiden this one today. There's still snow everywhere, so not too sure how successful the wheels will be...
27 February 2022:
It was too windy yesterday to fly, so I instead spent some time cutting, shaping and glueing the floats together.
I sealed the edges and bottom with wood glue, and this morning applied a thin coat of polyurethane.
The magnets have been a great success in attaching the gear and switching out to the floats. I added a couple toothpicks in the fuselage to keep the gear in place with elastics, and so now they even have a bit of flex when I land unceremoniously (as is usually the case), and super easy to change out. I think I'll do a quick video of that when I do the maiden.
Then, I also need to create some plans for the floats as well as a build thread, as they're not just simple cut-and-paste creations...
28 February 2022:
MAIDEN!
Swapping out the wheels and floats:
In the end, I added toothpicks and elastics at the back of the floats (where they attach to the fuselage), as the magnets weren't strong enough on their own to hold them in place.
Still, a good experiment as they hold them in place a bit with the elastics help, and so easy to change out when not in snow or water!
01 March 2022:
Attached the
PDF Plans (I still need to refine the floats, but they're there). You can get the skins early on this thread, and I will continue to refine and clean up the design and then eventually I'll add them a resource.
Summary of this Build:
- Build: 2½ /5 - This was a simple build, apart from the floats that I have been refining. The Mini Scout is so easy to make, and following the build instructions, this is a 1/5. the Floats added the additional 1½.
- Even with the added skins, building it was quick and fun. For the first (white) plane, I had fun doing Jacob's ladder hinges, but didn't use them in the Crash Test edition, as they looked cool, but it was too much effort for such a small gain. I did learn a lot on the thread about waterproofing foam board, so the Crash test edition has both white glue edges as well as a spar-urethane coating. Super easy and definitely worth the extra bit of work. The plane actually looks a lot better too with the coat of the satin finish. I used the Rustoleum 'Varathane' brand.
- I guess I didn't add any difficulty in the skins, which I might need to do, but as a Graphic Designer by profession, this was more of me just having fun and tinkering on the PC than actual effort. I could add a 1-point on the difficult scale for them, now that I think about it, as there has been a decent amount of trial and error in the application of skins on foam.
- I added the Flite Test navigation LEDs to the original (white) scout, and adding them so that the wires didn't show was pretty easy, but needed a decent amount of precision with the blade. I might add the lights onto the next Mini Scout I eventually end up making.
- Flying: 1/5 - Super simple to fly, even with the floats. I flew this with a 2S 650MaH as well as a 3S 450MaH, and the Mini Scout flew awesomely on both. It really zipped around on the 3S. The maiden videos were both taken with the 2S battery.
- The floats work amazing on snow and ice, but still need to e tested on water (most likely not by me, I'm too inexperience at flying and don't want a submarine, and in any case, all the water is still frozen here).
- I added black Gorilla tape for the edge of the wheels, and that has added a decent amount of strength and I think will add to the longevity of them.
- Adding a tail wheel was a stroke of brilliance, and now I can't wait for warmer weather, to be able to go taxi and take off on tar/asphalt.
