cde

HI everyone, our club had their first and very succesful season of 1/2 A pylon racing using the Herr Little Somethin Xtra arf. We all had a great time flying these little "bumble bee's" for many races. As the season closed, we realized that Sig had stopped making or importing the kit. It's a real shame as it was an arf, and easy for those in our club that did not want or could not build. We limited our size to .10 size engnes and this plane really fit the bill. My question to all of you is..... do you know of any manufacture that is currently offering a .10 size plane that could fit the bill for a mini pylon racer? Our cub would be very thankful for any advice and insight you may have!!!

Calvin

Thumbsticks

cde, one option is to convert to the offering on eBay ".10-15 Extra Sportster Airplane RC Sports Plane ARF Kit" listed under " Toys & Hobbies > Radio Control & Control Line > Radio Control Vehicles > Aircraft > Gas Powered. This model I believe is built in China and is a very close copy of the Herr Little Somethin Xtra both in size and outline. I haven't put one together so I'm unable to attest to the quality, construction or issues of this ARF copy. The benefit would be that it is so close to the existing Herr model that those who have theirs could continue to race what they have.

vpresley

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I bought one of the 10-15 Sportsters, $83 and change, with shipping. Am in the process if doing an article on it. Made by AEROMAX and sold on Ebay. I stripped off the "ChinaCote". Its 1.5mm laser cut plywood fuse. Has 1.5mm ply ribs, with balsa leading and trailing edges. There are a few things to keep in mind. The Chinacote clearcovering comes off very easy, leaving the color behind. The hardware is very cheap, as in I would use different stuff. I posted some pictures of the before and after stripping. Going to do either a red or yellow color scheme with solid colors on top, and checkerboard on the bottom. Ultracote of course.

SGC

Though not an ARF , raindaves Shark 15 is a simple to build model that would probably make a good .10ci club pylon model.
Stewart

bps

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You might take a look at this. Plans are a free download and its very easy to build. Mine is under 27 ounces and the more I fly it the more I like it. Very quick and responsive.
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_9120520/tm.htm
jeb

flyinrog

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We talked here once awhile back about getting a kit made and everyone with the same engine...but if you guys are needing arf's and I get that too..there are lots of lecky planes out there that can be converted that would run on a .10 engine....someone is always converting some plane either glow to lecky or vice versa...Rog

Mr Cox

If it has to be an ARF then there is another version of the "stick" here: [link=http://www.topmodel.fr/product_detail.php?id=13554]Topstick[/link]
(see also pict below)

I have one of these but haven't assembled it yet. With an Enya 09 the weight will probably be below 25oz. I have estimated it to 23oz but there is always some small stuff that add weights in the end.

For Pylon though I think it would be better to allow .15 engines, there are several BB version available and they are a little happier to rev. I have an ASP .12 in a pylon plane and it is quite nippy but somehow doesn't feel as fast as the 1/2a ones though. Might be due to the size, the smaller ones get "small" really quick, the revs are higher etc. Why not have a low budget 1/2a pylon race allowing for instance the AP wasp to be used? One engine without mods and a minimum weight and wing area.

Mr Cox

There are also kits for the E2k class, should be fine with something around .15 too.
Kits are here: [link=http://www.cloudmodels.com/wasp.html]wasp[/link]

MJD

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I'd look at what the Aussies and whoever else fly when they do "1/2A" pylon racing - their 1/2A is actually up to .11 or .12 or something like that. There must be club racer designs on the 'net somewhere.

MJD

Dan Vincent

Back in the late seventies I tried to get a Formula-10 class going but the .15 quarter midgets were still flying and most guys thought it was too close in size to warrant a new class.

Now that QM-15 is gone and there are some great .10 engines it might be time for it and the lighter radio gear available today is a big plus.

Australia included .10 engines in their 1/2A pylon racing and the OS CZ .11 was the hot one at the time.

Since QM-15 was 300 Sq in and 1/2A was 200, seems 250 would be ideal for Formula-10. I scaled down a Miss Dara .15 plan to about 91% linear dimensions and came pretty close to 250 sq in.

Too bad my eyes are giving me trouble or I could really get interested in Formula-10.

mtntopgeo

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Search out the "Counterfit Little Extra" thread. If you guys are happy with the Herr Little Extra, then by all means, stick with that design. You're not gonna see any difference (in the air) with that e-bay "Extra Sportster". Just follow BTerry's advive 'bout sealing up the trim/covering with P.U., or strip the old stuff off like VPRESLEY & others have done, & do the covering right. Note the couple of weak areas that I have mentioned in that thread. I've flown the plane 3 or 4 times a week since I've slapped it together, & it appears to be holding up fine. Been playing around with a couple of diff. power-plants on this particular model. The .09 Enya does very well with a 7x4 [I like the old (GF2) MAS props for these smaller engines.] Also using an Enya .11. More performance, but the 11CX really needs a plane that is smaller/cleaner. so that it can get into it's power making range with a 6" diameter prop. Have fun, that's what this all about. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ............................ George K.

jeffie8696

My Extra, oh my Extra.
And Iwasnt the pilot.

GrahamC

The Topstick is an interesting variation on the Stick like designs. I have always thought that the Eflite Ultra Mini Stick with a .10 size engine would make for great fun flyer and could substitute for some good old pylon style flying. Inexpensive and available from a great many sources, specify a OS LA 10 for an entry level and OS 15 LA for the advanced.

The link to the Wasp was also interesting as is the E2K class. The Ultra Mini Stick is 325 sq in and the Wasp E2K class is spec'd at 300.

cheers, Graham in Ottawa Canada

MJD

My Feedback: (1)

What about this guy? I've flown my buddy's .25 version, it's a smoothie.

[link=http://www.e-fliterc.com/Products/Default.aspx?ProdID=EFL2375]Mini Pulse[/link]

Just a thought, sure looks slicker than a Stik. And it's a ARF.

MJD

combatpigg

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House of Balsa still has that whole series of similar sized warbirds that would be fun to watch ripping around the poles.
Depends on the guys participating if they want a certain look for the planes or just the easiest to build and repair planes that get the job done.

What will kill interest is a design that takes too much time to build. For simple repairs it helps if the plane is made from mostly solid sheet balsa. Same goes for the wings, a simple framework built over a flat sheet bottom is strong, light, accurate and fast.

cde

I want to thank each of you for your idea's. I've spent the last hour going through all of your possible planes idea's and that mini sportster may work... in particular because the dihedral, chord and wing thickness is the same or seams to be close to the Herr Lil Xtra. I am concerned about the quality of the kit but we're kind of stuck between a rock and a hard spot. The best thing (based on what I've read and your reponses) is that it would allow those who still have the Somethin Xtra to still fly their birds until they meet terafirma...then transition to this plane. My only concern is that availability will be limited by next season. Im also going to look into the warbirds, and as combatpig said, it must be very easy to build and or repair otherwise it wont work. Our club believes that to be true as well. If there are any more idea's, please keep them coming! Thank you all very much!!
Calvin

mtntopgeo

My Feedback: (12)

[quote]ORIGINAL: GrahamC





The Topstick is an interesting variation on the Stick like designs. I have always thought that the Eflite Ultra Mini Stick with a .10 size engine would make for great fun flyer and could substitute for some good old pylon style flying. Inexpensive and available from a great many sources, specify a OS LA 10 for an entry level and OS 15 LA for the advanced.

The link to the Wasp was also interesting as is the E2K class. The Ultra Mini Stick is 325 sq in and the Wasp E2K class is spec'd at 300.

cheers, Graham in Ottawa Canada



Yep, even though the plane is a bit large, wing is a little on the thick side, & the fuse is kinda "boxy", the MUS can still move quite well. This one is powered by one of my Conquests. ...................... George K.