Suggestion for small indoor flyer

[Jeffer949]

Hello everyone. I am wanting to build a small plane for indoor flying at our church gym. Its not very big only around 60x100. Is there any ft planes that could do this? I'm currently building s dr1 tri-plane. But I'm not sure if its slow enough. If you have some suggestions on what plane to build or how to make it lighter. Like which pieces I can remove the inside paper etc. And what electronics I should use. I got gift cards to amazon for Christmas so things from there would be helpful.

Thanks!

 

[Paracodespoder]

Hmm, maybe a mini scout built as light as you can with an 1806 or even an 1804, 10-12amp esc, 5x3 prop and a 400-500mah 2s might work. Just be sure to build as light as possible. You can remove paper from the inside of the fuse on the mini scout, but that’s about it. I personally don’t have any experience whatsoever with indoor flying, so don’t take my advice as a fact, take it as a thought. Hopefully this helps you.

 

[d8veh]

The mini Scout flies quite fast. I think a mini Sportster would be better.

 

[CarolineTyler]

How about a FT-Nutball???

 

[OliverW]

NUT BALL

 

[JTarmstr]

The FT Old fogey was designed to fly indoors.

 

[Jeffer949]

I have a nutball.. it doesn't fly that slow.. granted I have a 2212/13 1000kv motor on it. And to be honest I was wanting something with an actual wing. I do have the flyer also but again with the same motor so not slow.

 

[CarolineTyler]

It's slow when you hover it

 

[Paracodespoder]

I just went and built a mini scout right after I posted, but I built it with all paper removed from the foam board, using tape for hinges and folds. I’m hoping to power it off an 1106, with an 800mah 2s (it’s the smallest I have), I’m hoping that I built it light enough to work. Btw @d8veh , in the mini scout release video they were flying it indoors in a rather small area, so I think it would work, but again, I’m no expert on slow flying indoor planes.

 

[Grifflyer]

You could try and design something like a mini bipe, here I'm flying it in a tight area.

 

[Paracodespoder]

Another thought would be a profile 3D plane, I’ve seen people flying them in a small living room! Built light with a powerful motor = hours of fun, plus it improves your 3D skills.

 

[FoamyDM]

Another thought would be a profile 3D plane, I’ve seen people flying them in a small living room! Built light with a powerful motor = hours of fun, plus it improves your 3D skills.

Like with a Vapor setup, but a 3d profiler... nice. I will have to try that too. I have a stem event I want to show them all the next step from the foam gliders.

 

[dentedvw]

I miss the old Aero Aces. I dug one out tonight, and remembered why I shelved it. It's got one motor failing. So many hours of fun in the winter on that thing. I wonder if it can be upgraded with new motors.

 

[FastCrash45]

T

You could try and design something like a mini bipe, here I'm flying it in a tight area.

That's an AWESOME video! I'm still relearning basic flight skills but will want to hover around. What do ya do, lots of elevator with throttle? I've seen videos but never seen the control surfaces.

 

[Hai-Lee]

T

That's an AWESOME video! I'm still relearning basic flight skills but will want to hover around. What do ya do, lots of elevator with throttle? I've seen videos but never seen the control surfaces.

It is actually a balancing act! The control surfaces are quite large and work exactly as those in a standard flying RC model BUT in the hover mode the only airflow they get is from the propeller wash.

You normally just nose up and use the throttle to get the plane to hang by its prop and use the control surfaces to keep it in the attitude you wish it to remain! Not a big trick but a MASSIVE balancing act!

have fun!

 

[Grifflyer]

T

That's an AWESOME video! I'm still relearning basic flight skills but will want to hover around. What do ya do, lots of elevator with throttle? I've seen videos but never seen the control surfaces.

What I do is get decent airspeed to get good control from the surfaces, then pull all the way back on the elevator to get it into high alpha and start balancing between throttle and elevator as Hai-lee said. Turning is pretty basic I'll use just a little bit of rudder to change direction when I need to. I find that I usually hold my elevator in one spot (normally 3/4 up elevator) and control the angle of attack using the throttle, this might shorten your flight times but I feel like I have more control when I use the throttle.

This reminds me I need to get back to work on designing a slow bipe...

 

[Tench745]

I just went and built a mini scout right after I posted, but I built it with all paper removed from the foam board, using tape for hinges and folds. I’m hoping to power it off an 1106, with an 800mah 2s (it’s the smallest I have), I’m hoping that I built it light enough to work. Btw @d8veh , in the mini scout release video they were flying it indoors in a rather small area, so I think it would work, but again, I’m no expert on slow flying indoor planes.

How did your paperless mini scout do? I built mine with the interior paper removed and loved it, but it's getting a bit ratty and I'm thinking about a rebuild.

 

[Paracodespoder]

How did your paperless mini scout do? I built mine with the interior paper removed and loved it, but it's getting a bit ratty and I'm thinking about a rebuild.

It needed more power, but I did not have a better motor. However, I used a mini scout wing (paperless) and tail paired with a half-inch (16 inch long I think) balsa stick with the 1106 and it flew great .