Rx and Battery to keep FT Tiny Trainer under 250g?

[Dbasile]

I'm hoping to get back into the hobby after a hiatus, and I like the idea of building my own plane and watching it fly. I'm looking at the Tiny Trainer for its versatility and for being essentially a powered glider that is okay in smaller spaces. I also like the A powerpack that could be swapped into the Sparrow pretty easily. I want to stay under the 250g limit so I avoid paperwork. Apart from the plane itself and the powerpack, the rx and the battery add up to the total flying weight. What budget 4+channel options would you suggest?

I have an MLP DSM transmitter already that I'd like to use for short-range practice flights, so I have looked at the Spektrum AR410 rx, but I'm not sure how much weight that would add. I may be looking at a choice between a heavier rx that works with my tx, or a lighter rx that will require purchase (and justification to family!) of a whole new tx.

Thoughts or guidance here on staying below the weight limit while using what I have?

 

[GliderFlyer]

Welcome back!
I've flown the Tiny Trainer off of batteries as small as 300 mah. However, it required some nose weight and the flight time was very short.

The easiest way to save weight on a foamboard airplane is to peel off the paper on the inside and use minimal glue.

 

[JasonK]

I'm hoping to get back into the hobby after a hiatus, and I like the idea of building my own plane and watching it fly. I'm looking at the Tiny Trainer for its versatility and for being essentially a powered glider that is okay in smaller spaces. I also like the A powerpack that could be swapped into the Sparrow pretty easily. I want to stay under the 250g limit so I avoid paperwork. Apart from the plane itself and the powerpack, the rx and the battery add up to the total flying weight. What budget 4+channel options would you suggest?

I have an MLP DSM transmitter already that I'd like to use for short-range practice flights, so I have looked at the Spektrum AR410 rx, but I'm not sure how much weight that would add. I may be looking at a choice between a heavier rx that works with my tx, or a lighter rx that will require purchase (and justification to family!) of a whole new tx.

Thoughts or guidance here on staying below the weight limit while using what I have?

I have managed to get the TT under 250g with a 2s 650mah battery, but only the 2 channel trainer wing, and I did paper stripping and very careful use of glue/etc. If your goal is to stay under 250g, you probably need something slightly lighter/smaller then the TT. I think the lightest I got the sport wing down to something like 270g with said battery (I suppose I could have stripped some more paper in a few spots).

 

[Dbasile]

I have managed to get the TT under 250g with a 2s 650mah battery, but only the 2 channel trainer wing, and I did paper stripping and very careful use of glue/etc. If your goal is to stay under 250g, you probably need something slightly lighter/smaller then the TT. I think the lightest I got the sport wing down to something like 270g with said battery (I suppose I could have stripped some more paper in a few spots).

Thank you. I'll look at other models.

 

[JasonK]

Thank you. I'll look at other models.

if you stripped all of the internal paper and used a gluing method that could be lighter then hot glue, you probably could get the TT even with the sport wing under 250g, but it would be a bit of work.

You definitely can get a plane with an A-pack with a battery of that size (or even 3s 650mah) under 250g, I have a few different examples (IE my pfp) which has plans in the plans archive and a few others (less detailed plans).

 

[PsyBorg]

You can also de case the receivers to cut back on weight. Heat shrink can be used if you are worried over shorting anything out. Every gram counts when trying to hit that 250g limit.

 

[SSgt Duramax]

Build with something other than hot glue, wood glue, white gorilla glue...

Like the others have said, depaper. I haven't seen anyone mention the servos, but maximum 5g servos. You could scale the plane down some and use 1.7g servos.

No paint/minwax/tape will also help. Everywhere it calls for tape you can simply white gorilla glue it and tape around it with masking tape, when you peel the tape off, the glue should have mostly formed to the shape you drew out with the tape.

Also really thin pushrods, the thinnest you can get that won't buckle.

 

[luvmy40]

I'm sure there are comparable receivers for other radios, but FlySky has a 4 channel micro receiver that weighs less than 1 gram. I have 2 but no flight time with either yet.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B081CJFVFV/?tag=lstir-20

 

[JasonK]

my 5channel ELRS PWM RX is ~2g vs my 6channel DSMX RXes which were ~8g (so that would be ~4g savings over what I was working with above).

 

[Bricks]

Me personally don`t worry about the 250 gram limit, I guess I have never been legal according to the FFA, never signed up never will.

 

[bisco]

you could shrink the plans