Super tiny micro planes

Vlad

Uber Noob
I would like to see how small the crew can make a plane and still manage to fly it. Since foam board is rather thick maybe card stock or reinforced construction paper for the body of the plane. This would be very cheap and very easy to replace parts. Just food for thought.
 

Montiey

Master Tinkerer
I printed the full plans onto one sheet of thick paper and made these, but they are not powered, just paper. If I break my hobby zone champ, ill put the board on one of these and see if it flies! Screen Shot 2014-04-22 at 5.49.55 PM.png
 

Turorit

Junior Member
I would like to see how small the crew can make a plane and still manage to fly it. Since foam board is rather thick maybe card stock or reinforced construction paper for the body of the plane. This would be very cheap and very easy to replace parts. Just food for thought.

Great idea Vlad, I think that would be a fun thing to see :)
Budget micro planes could be the next trend?
 

rcspaceflight

creator of virtual planes
These are the smallest planes I've ever found. http://www.microflight.com/Online-Catalog/Ready-to-Fly-Airplanes

I don't think they're horribly priced. $120 for an RTF isn't bad. I may even eventually buy one.

The biggest thing with micros is what electronics you use. So I'm not sure what the guidelines as to what electronics the Flite Test crew could use. But it would be an interesting episode to see how small they could go. Maybe a price limit on the electronics would be best. I know the Bixler is all about being cheap. I'm thinking buying an Air Hogs $30 plane. Fly it until it's not fixable. Then reuse the electronics for a scratch build. That would be the cheapest route.
 

Vlad

Uber Noob
My biggest concern is affordability. With the swappable series you are looking at about $100 for an initial start up cost. With these maga micros it would hopefully cost a lot less, with the most expensive part being the radio. We live in an amazing time. Just 50 years ago if you were going to have a heart transplant you would be out for several months and be in therapy for a year or more, now you are back to your evening walks in just a week or two. Technology, man, it does some crazy stuff.
 

rcspaceflight

creator of virtual planes
I'm not sure, but I think the electronics for micros cost more than the electronics for FT planes. It's a supply and demand thing, I think. Like how HO scale trains cost a little less than N scale. N scale is half the size, but HO is much, much more popular. Plus more details means more money.

For cheapness, it needs to be a balance. You need to be able to use normal sized Rxs, because the micro ones cost so much more. You need to be able to use standard ESCs, but low amp rated ones for maximum cheapness. Then use a small motor, again for cheapness. Then I think 500mah 2S and 3S batteries are about the cheapest. 9gram servos are the cheapest due to popularity.

Although, the micro stuff can be only a few bucks more, and whats a few bucks here and there?

I dunno. I was looking into it, and I did find this cheap micro Rx, but I think it's an exception. And I found this prop, motor, ESC combo for $22. But you can buy a Hextronic 24 gram motor for about $10, and an ESC for the same price.

I know somewhere on this forum someone made a profile indoor 3D plane using more standard sized electronics than using micro stuff. He wished the plane was slower, but it was close to being a micro indoor plane. I think something like that is the best route for a cheap scratch built micro plane. Small, but not technically micro.
 

Vlad

Uber Noob
I need to do more research in the area of what is involved and cost, this is restricted currently by my very basic understanding of electronics and wiring gained mostly from trial and error with LED projects and Nerf mods. I am mostly self taught in almost every aspect. Correction: Important aspect.