Mighty Minis on 1s

Michael77

Junior Member
I am a beginner in the RC plane hobby and I have a HobbyZone Duet and an Eflite UMX Radian. I'd really like to try my hand at scrach building a Mighty Mini, but if possible, I'd like to use the 1S batteries and charger that I already have. Would the Mighty Mini designs work on a 1S setup? If so, can anyone recommend some Spektrum compatible electronics that would be suitable and (if possible) inexpensive.

It looks like Hobbyking have a brick with spektrum receiver, brushed esc and two linear servos that seems like it might be a good start and is quite reasonably priced. Would this be a possibility?

Alternatively, the 4 channel Orange receiver, maybe with a brushless ESC and motor and some really small servos might work.

If the Mighty Minis are a bit too big for 1S, can anyone point out any plans that would be suitable for a 1S power train?

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
 

Michael77

Junior Member
Thanks for the reply: that looks like a nice little plane. I might have a go at building one!

I'd really like to do a FT mini on 1s though :-(
 
Well you could try it with a 1s system but I don't think those little brushed motor will put out enough thrust. You could try scaling down just a bit further and maybe peel the paper off to save weight.
 

Mid7night

Jetman
Mentor
I think it's doable, and would make for a nice light flyer. It's most important to get the tail-weight down, so you need less nose-ballast, so maybe just remove the paper from one side of the horizontal stab, or maybe downsize the tail surfaces altogether to further reduce tail weight. The nice thing is DTFB is easy and cheap to experiment with! :)

Definitely go brushless though. Hobbyking has some cheap 1S brushless ESC's and a bunch of tiny 1S brushless motors. Give it a go and keep us updated!
 

capeair

Junior Member
I am going crazy trying to find the 1s brushless motors and esc on Hobbyking site. Can anyone give me an HK product number or link that will get me to the right part of their site? The smallest brushless motors I can see are 10 gram 1800 type for 2s-3s.
 

Winglet

Well-known member
I don't think this is going to work very well. I need a 850mah 3 cell in my Mini Scout to get it to balance. The Scout has a short nose and builds tail heavy. No way a one cell will work. By the time you balance it, it will simply be to underpowered and heavy to fly.
 

Mid7night

Jetman
Mentor
I am going crazy trying to find the 1s brushless motors and esc on Hobbyking site. Can anyone give me an HK product number or link that will get me to the right part of their site? The smallest brushless motors I can see are 10 gram 1800 type for 2s-3s.

Here's two I found:

https://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking...ss_Inrunner_Motor_10300kv_USA_warehouse_.html

https://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking...rushless_Outrunner_7700kv_USA_warehouse_.html


Another option is to go brushed/geared, with one of these combos:

https://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__10005__GPS_7_Micro_Brushed_power_system_combo_.html


As was stated; weight will absolutely kill this idea quicker than most, so an ultralight build is VITAL. I would actually try stripping ALL the paper off, cutting the tails down a bit (reducing tail weight), and use as little glue as possible everywhere. Start with "too little" and you can always add to it, but go overboard and there's no coming back. :)

Also; ditch the turtle-deck, landing gear and tail skids, since you'll probably have just enough power to sustain flight around the room, but not necessarily take off.
 

Mid7night

Jetman
Mentor
OOOH....IDEA!

What if you made the Mini-Scout wing and tails entirely out of poster-paper? I wonder if you could you make the whole thing that way too...?
 

Biff45452

Senior Member
OOOH....IDEA!

What if you made the Mini-Scout wing and tails entirely out of poster-paper? I wonder if you could you make the whole thing that way too...?

I don't think it would be strong enough. I think the key here is to lower the weight. What I was thinking is:

  1. Cut out plan
  2. Remove the paper
  3. Remove as much "inner" foam as you can without compromising the structure
  4. Cover with packing tape
  5. Assemble

Also you might have to be as stingy as possible with the hot glue because it is very heavy.

Another thing that would lower the weight alot would be to make the fuselage a "profile" instead of a box.
 

Biff45452

Senior Member
I just bought a 1s setup that I am going to build a micro stearman with. I think while i'm waiting for the electronics to come, I'll make an attempt to build a lightened FT Scout too and give it a try. Wish me luck!
 

capeair

Junior Member
Thanks Mid7night,

Those little guys look like just the ticket. Looks like I'll be busy in the basement when the cold winds take over the field. I'll get back to this thread when I have something to show.

Thanks again to everyone for the great ideas.

Capeair
 

Michael77

Junior Member
What components did you choose for your Stearman, Biff? I've spent a fair bit of time on the HK site but can't quite up my mind...
 

capeair

Junior Member
75% FT Flyer on 1S

It seems doubtful to me that the mini flyers will be successful on 1S without a reduction in size as well as light building technique. However, I have just made a successful 75% FT flyer with a 1S power system.

I bought a UMX 3X "brick" salvaged from another club members crashed P-51. The 3X stabilizer is not needed for indoor flying, but it came with the system. The entire power and control system, including 1S battery, runs about 20 grams.

I reduced the FT flyer plans by 75% and built out of 1/8" (3mm) craft foam from my local hobby shop. The wing leading edges are reinforced with thin BBQ skewers and I reinforced the dihedral with a very thin CF rod.

I did not build the swappable pod and instead mounted the power and controls as a single unit on top of the wing frame slightly behind the front of the plane. This is especially helpful where indoor head on crashes with walls will do a number on the electronics if they are mounted up front. the BBQ skewer reinforcements come together at the front and make good impact protection. The power and control module is mounted with velcro in order to facilitate easy experimentation for CG and thrust angle. The servo controls are connected via a wire-in-tube system, again to facilitate adjustments.

The air-frame alone is another 20 grams for a total AUW of 40 grams. This is about the AUW of the orginal UMX model types that the "donated" electronics came from.

Our club's indoor flying space is a small elementary school gym, barely one basketball court, so I was looking for slow flight and reasonably tight turns. so far I am still tweaking the CG and thrust angle, but the maiden flight video, linked below at least shows proof of concept, as well as what a poor pilot I am.

http://youtu.be/I7A_5CFH4Lc


Photos show the comparison in size with my full size FT flyer as well as motor mount details.

FT FLYER CARD compare size.jpg FT FLYER 75% 1S.jpg
 

MikeJM

Member
Take a look at my Mini Mini Scout

I am a beginner in the RC plane hobby and I have a HobbyZone Duet and an Eflite UMX Radian. I'd really like to try my hand at scrach building a Mighty Mini, but if possible, I'd like to use the 1S batteries and charger that I already have. Would the Mighty Mini designs work on a 1S setup? If so, can anyone recommend some Spektrum compatible electronics that would be suitable and (if possible) inexpensive.

It looks like Hobbyking have a brick with spektrum receiver, brushed esc and two linear servos that seems like it might be a good start and is quite reasonably priced. Would this be a possibility?

Alternatively, the 4 channel Orange receiver, maybe with a brushless ESC and motor and some really small servos might work.

If the Mighty Minis are a bit too big for 1S, can anyone point out any plans that would be suitable for a 1S power train?

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

I was just flying it tonight at our indoor fly, It is a sweet flying airplane. It has all the components you need. It weighs 1.5oz with the battery.
Here is the thread with my components: http://forum.flitetest.com/showthread.php?14385-Mini-mini-Scout
 

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dalaman

Junior Member
Mini Scout AUW 4.5 oz. with 2-cell battery

Below are photos of my "un-maided" Mini Scout. AUW is 4.5oz. with a 2-cell 500 mah battery! Paper has been removed everywhere (both sides) except for the power pod. I used credit cards for the motor mount and the control horns. Used hot glue for all. Oh, the homemade decals are paper spray-glued and the turtle deck is poster board. :eek:

Denny...
 

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Biff45452

Senior Member
What components did you choose for your Stearman, Biff? I've spent a fair bit of time on the HK site but can't quite up my mind...

I bought all micro components:
HK-5320 Ultra-Micro Digital Servo 1.7g / 0.05sec / 0.075kg
http://hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/uh_viewItem.asp?idProduct=17540
EPS8 Combo motor/gearbox/ESC/Prop (1s)
http://hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/uh_viewItem.asp?idProduct=17156
OrangeRx R415X DSMX/DSM2 Compatible 4Ch Micro 2.4Ghz Receiver
http://hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/uh_viewItem.asp?idProduct=47012

Also, I can say that I gave the Mini Scout on 1s a good try. By cutting as much foam as I could away I got the AUW to about 70g but it was just too heavy for the above components. I figure the AUW would need to be around 40g so i'm going to try something different.