You have built 3 of the most unique Smith Mini's out there being the only ones I have ever heard of that don't ballon on power... The plans call for zero engine thrust angle... basic design principle says there's gonna be some issues with that... but I also tried combinations of right and down...

I have spoken to several people about the Smith Mini... all with the same balooning problem. In fact I spoke to SIG and they told me themselves it was an inherent design personality.

bottom line is it isn't a big deal... in fact a mix could be setup to gradually add a little down elevator as the throttle increases... It's no problem to fly with as is anyway, just alittle more difficult to hold a nice level line in a high speed pass...

See below SIG's answer to an inquiry about this very "feature"...

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Hello David,

The "ballooning" you refer to is normal for this, and every other, biplane I have flown. Biplanes, especially when they have a semi-symetrical or flat bottom airfoil are very speed sensitive, just like an R/C trainer. The faster you go, the more it wants to climb. And you have a pretty powerful engine in the OS 46FX. Much more than the old Enya 45 that was in the original. You can try some downthrust, but my experience is that it takes a LOT to even be noticable. My advice is to simply trim it out with a little down elevator and go fly.

I haven't flown a Smith Miniplane in a lot of years, but I distinctly remember that it really performed nice snap rolls.

Sincerely,
Mike Gretz
SIG Mfg. Co.
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