Mini Backyard Flyer?

[Lorenzo]

Here's the situation:
I built a Mini Scout, I like it, though it's a daily struggle to find the sweet spot for the CG. I had hoped to build it light enough to fly in my backyard and have some fun dodging trees and whatnot. It came in at about 5 ounces RTF and is just a bit too fast to fly in tight quarters.
Here's the question:
Has anyone designed a very slow yet nimble plane with similar electronics as the Scout that can fly in tight quarters, dodge trees, shrubs, etc.? I think it would be a fun project and wanted to check with my fellow FT crew to get some design ideas before I embark. Again, the goal is small and slow yet nimble enough to make some relatively sharp turns...if that's even possible...

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated

 

[BC12D]

I am in a similar situation with trees and a gazebo to dodge. I have found that something that can fly in high alpha like the nutball is perfect for tree dodging.
I have been working with a parkzone brick so high alpha is a challenge. I just ordered a mimi power pack and I plan on a mini nutball-like thing. I can share when I get the power pack and the first prototype.

 

[Lorenzo]

Not a bad idea; I have a nutball, but it was WAY over-powered (not with the scout setup, this was a 350 sized motor or so) so I put the electronics in a Old Fogey. A mini nutball may do the trick. I started contemplating a very mini triplane design...something that could float but still be nimble. I would just like to have something that is slow enough to fly around the tiny backyard as trips to the field are less frequent with a 2 and half year old and constant friends and family at the house (not complaining, it's just how it is).

 

[Stape]

I can't say that I have a specific plane in mind, but I would suggest that you consider something a little larger with a light setup... even though the physical size may be bigger than something like the mini scout, the low wing loading should let you fly a lot slower which would make a small space easier to manage. Just my 2 cents! (I've been flying the old fogey recently and I think it's a pretty nice plane for slow and relaxed flying..)

 

[Lorenzo]

Good point...maybe something along the lines of a smallish slow stick.

 

[Lorenzo]

Good point...maybe something along the lines of a smallish slow stick.

 

[schrodingerslapdog]

Foam board and hot glue aren't a super light building material, especially for tiny planes. The minis fly comfortably in small parks and fields, but you're going to have to think outside the box to get anything really slow. Experiment with removing paper, glue lightly. The motor is a little heavy, too.

 

[Snarls]

How big is your backyard? I recently built the FT Flyer with backyard flying in mind and was very impressed with it's maneuverability. My yard has plants, objects, and structures strung about but the FT Flyer can nimbly dodge it all. It turns on a dime and you can put it into very high alpha or even hover to slow down and get technical. With a 1300mAh I get about 20mins flight time to 3.8V/cell.

Edit: Forgot to mention that if you want something more capable than an FT Flyer (which is more capable than I originally thought) then you can check out the Delta Yak from RCTestFlight. He flies it in his yard and all around the objects in it. I built his flying sled a few weeks ago and it was a handful, but loads of fun.

 

[TheFrogman123]

A great plane to try is the ft trainer. Free plans are out now, and she floats like a dream

 

[Lorenzo]

Yes, all good suggestions. I'll mull it over, may have to make a franken-plane of some sort. My yard is pretty small, lots of little trees, shrubs, work sheds, with big old oaks around the perimeter.

 

[Jrl]

TI am building a leadfeather epp yak 55 for my yard. You can find the plans on rc groups. Check out you tube videos and you will see its a real floater. I hope to finish it next week. I have a sport cub s, but I'm hoping the yak will be slower.

 

[BridgeInspector]

You could try a mini mini guinea. 26" wing span and flies like the MG.
I will upload photo later of my 75% FT Mini Guinea and will also be starting a thread. ( photos too large on phone for upload)

Photos and video on Instagram as tn_bridge.

 

[PhenomPilot]

I have been a big fan of the FT flyer for my backyard even more so than the minis. Recently I built the blu dart (which is what the Flyer was based on) for someone and was amazed at how slow the the dart could fly. The flyer is almost identical to the dart except the dart is lighter because it doesn't have the swappable power pod. I kept it light with a blue wonder motor, 2s 370-800mah, 10a esc and two 5g servos. Also used two pieces of packing tape to hold the wings on (like FT did in their first FT Flyer video) so you can access the electronics without destroying the wing. It had unlimited vertical until the battery pretty much reached the nominal voltage. I set it up high and low rates so you can use it for a trainer or have a blast with loops, tail slides, rudder rolls, ect.

 

[Lorenzo]

Haha, you went and built a Mini mini guinea huh? I'm throwing together a tiny trainer - see how slow I can get it.