Mini Scout Speed Racer! (Yep, doing it!)

[buzzbomb]

I changed a bunch of stuff on the Mini Scout and came up with the Mini Scout Biplane. It flies awesomely. It flies well enough that I posted the plans in the Resource section so everyone else can build and fly it if they so wish.

Then I crashed a couple, and then I made a monoplane of it and ripped a darn wing off it was so fast! Just a modified Mini Scout with an "F" pack motor and 6x3 prop and it ripped across the sky.

More modifications. The wing is now one piece and straight. It was moved forward a bit in the extended fuselage I made with the Mini Scout Biplane. I straightened out the vertical stabilizer and extended both the rudder and elevator hoping to get some more stability from a plane I've just made really, really slippery.

Lots of speed while increasing the control surface size? Recipe for excitement! The best part is that it's so few parts to assemble! Here is the entire plane, minus the turtle deck.



Here's the three major parts of the plane.



I traced the line in the wing, just to help center it. It's all one piece. The whole plane is less than a sheet of DTFB.

The exciting thing is, I have no clue what this thing is going to be like when I throw it into the air! There is one thing I know for certain. It won't be boring!

 

[kilroy07]

Yea, looks like it’ll have plenty of “control“... the fun part will be watching you try!
😂

 

[basslord1124]

Awesome, can't wait to see it. I've got one of those in the works too that I'm just going to do aileron, elevator, and throttle.

 

[Grifflyer]

Haha that's awesome!!!

I've never seen a mini scout move that fast!!

 

[buzzbomb]

Here's the maiden!

Not as fast as I'd hoped. I'm not sure why. Also my landing might have gone a little bit smoother...

I separated the firewall from the powerpod and that was it. I didn't bring an extra power pod. I don't feel like I really got to fly it. It wasn't as fast as I'd anticipated, or maybe I was just ready for it this time. Regardless, repairs will be made and she's going back up in the air!

The crash was my fault. I was snap-rolling and went the wrong way with the elevator. Still, this bird has potential. I like my changes to the tail. I wasn't impressed by the straight wing. I'm going to put it back up and fly it some, before I settle on future modifications.

 

[Grifflyer]

Here's the maiden!

Not as fast as I'd hoped. I'm not sure why. Also my landing might have gone a little bit smoother...

I separated the firewall from the powerpod and that was it. I didn't bring an extra power pod. I don't feel like I really got to fly it. It wasn't as fast as I'd anticipated, or maybe I was just ready for it this time. Regardless, repairs will be made and she's going back up in the air!

The crash was my fault. I was snap-rolling and went the wrong way with the elevator. Still, this bird has potential. I like my changes to the tail. I wasn't impressed by the straight wing. I'm going to put it back up and fly it some, before I settle on future modifications.

If you want more speed ditching the undercamber will get rid of a TON of drag.

 

[buzzbomb]

If you want more speed ditching the undercamber will get rid of a TON of drag.

Didn't build the plane with one, with just that in mind.

 

[basslord1124]

Speed isn't too bad. Try upping the pitch on your prop. Maybe 6x5 or something.

@Grifflyer ...hadn't thought about the undercambered wing causing drag. Wonder which would be better...a flat bottom wing OR symmetrical? Gives me ideas for when I try this. Of course I think the motor I picked for my speedster Scout is a 2600KV.

 

[basslord1124]

@buzzbomb...I just plugged your specs in my brushless motor speed conversion spreadsheet and with your setup:

2300KV motor, 3S battery (I'm assuming it's 3S), 6x3 prop...you're getting a max of 82mph off the prop. (This doesn't count for airframe drag)

If you bump the prop up to a higher pitch...a 5 pitch will be 137mph and a 6 will be 164mph. Now, higher pitch will draw more amps too so you gotta watch out for that.

 

[Grifflyer]

Didn't build the plane with one, with just that in mind.

Ah I see, couldn't tell from the video, do you have a cover over the electronics bay? A big gaping hole out front won't do much for you. If you do add a cover make sure you add a way to get some airflow to your batt and esc.

@basslord1124 buzzbomb could also use a smaller prop, say a 5x5 on 3s which would keep amp draw lower compared to the 6x5 and 6x6, and it would have lower drag.

 

[basslord1124]

Ah I see, couldn't tell from the video, do you have a cover over the electronics bay? A big gaping hole out front won't do much for you. If you do add a cover make sure you add a way to get some airflow to your batt and esc.

@basslord1124 buzzbomb could also use a smaller prop, say a 5x5 on 3s which would keep amp draw lower compared to the 6x5 and 6x6, and it would have lower drag.

Yeah I forgot to mention that a lower diameter prop would help on the amp draw.

 

[buzzbomb]

If you want more speed ditching the undercamber will get rid of a TON of drag.

You wrote "undercamber" I read "undercarriage." Doh!

I'm having fun with this project. What wing type would you suggest?

 

[Grifflyer]

You wrote "undercamber" I read "undercarriage." Doh!

I'm having fun with this project. What wing type would you suggest?

A regular FT foldover should get you a bit more speed,

 

[buzzbomb]

Had an unexpected opportunity to fly today. The MSSR V1.0 did not survive the evening.

I put a 6x4.5 on it and she got her oomph back. Boy was she hard to control, though! I think I'm going to leave the wing where it is, but put the dihedral back into it. I'm also toying with the idea of sweeping it back a bit, but the plane already loses a lot of lift on a simple turn. Maybe a foldover wing is the way to go, but I was trying to avoid the weight.

I'm currently working on my Spitfire group build, so I've some time to noodle the design. V1.0 may be RIP, but the next version is already churning the mental juices!

 

[basslord1124]

Just watched the video. That bird was definitely looking into the ground for a tasty worm.

 

[buzzbomb]

My MSSR was DOA. Mini Scout Speed Racer, Dead On Arrival. Fuselage crumpled. Wing completely torn off. I was truly inspired by @Jimun and his repairs to his Master Series Corsair:

https://forum.flitetest.com/index.p...es-sir-yes-sir-three-planes-full.59362/page-8

If he can repair that beautiful bird with hotglue and tape, then surely I could do the same to my little experimental Speed Racer.



The repairs aren't pretty. Too much hotglue, but I had to hold the wing in place and couldn't rub off the extra glue. I glued in some popsicle sticks on the inside of the forward fuse where it was crumpled.

It ain't pretty. It's going back in the air, though! Booyah! Thank you, @Jimun!

 

[Chuppster]

Had an unexpected opportunity to fly today. The MSSR V1.0 did not survive the evening.

I put a 6x4.5 on it and she got her oomph back. Boy was she hard to control, though! I think I'm going to leave the wing where it is, but put the dihedral back into it. I'm also toying with the idea of sweeping it back a bit, but the plane already loses a lot of lift on a simple turn. Maybe a foldover wing is the way to go, but I was trying to avoid the weight.

I'm currently working on my Spitfire group build, so I've some time to noodle the design. V1.0 may be RIP, but the next version is already churning the mental juices!

If you take the foam off the inside of a foldover wing, it'll be lighter and a TON stronger than the undercambered wing.

With your repairs, if there's an "intimidating" gluing that I have to do, I have found that using white Gorilla Glue is an excellent way to fix things. It cures in an hour, it foams up to fill voids left from the crash, and it holds a lot stronger than hot glue. You may want to give it a try!

 

[Jimun]

My MSSR was DOA. Mini Scout Speed Racer, Dead On Arrival. Fuselage crumpled. Wing completely torn off. I was truly inspired by @Jimun and his repairs to his Master Series Corsair:

https://forum.flitetest.com/index.p...es-sir-yes-sir-three-planes-full.59362/page-8

If he can repair that beautiful bird with hotglue and tape, then surely I could do the same to my little experimental Speed Racer.

View attachment 138953

The repairs aren't pretty. Too much hotglue, but I had to hold the wing in place and couldn't rub off the extra glue. I glued in some popsicle sticks on the inside of the forward fuse where it was crumpled.

It ain't pretty. It's going back in the air, though! Booyah! Thank you, @Jimun!

Looks good and it is a little bit tougher now. Now it is time for more practice.

 

[buzzbomb]

Had some build time tonight. I spent it shoring up the broken wing. It is seriously sketchy and soft. We'll see how she does!

 

[bracesport]

@buzzbomb - that was super fast - maybe is time to build this from @FAI-F1D (simple and maybe faster)!