novabill

After reading the article on the Mini I.F.O. in FLY RC, it peacked some intrest. I have mainly been building and flying S.P.A.D. glow aircraft, but wanted to get into electrics so I can enjoy more opportunities to fly. This looks like the perfect front yard plane.

Any comments or suggestions on this plane would be welcome.

Thanks
WILLIAM

Jason Beach

My Feedback: (4)

This is the perfect front yard plane.
You can find a video of my 3rd flight here.
I was still getting the feel for the plane in this vid, and at 7000' it was a bit underpowered.

It's since been fitted with a geared Astro 010, and really rips up the sky.

Jason

novabill

Jason,

The thing looks like an absolute blast to fly. It seems really responsive, but everything happens so slow as well. What is appealing about this plane is that I think I would spend more time flying and improving my thums also, no gooy, oily mess.

Thanks for your input and video. I'm sold

WILLIAM

Jason Beach

My Feedback: (4)

Yep, it is a blast.
The Mini IFO can be a very responsive plane, but can be set up with small throws and be very docile. I myself have it set up with dual rates so I have a choice of adrenalin pumping tumbles, or just float around for a half hour or so.

Jason

novabill

Are you running LI-Polys with the astro, and how many cells. Also, does the astro have a gear box and was installation straightforward and finally what size prop with the astro. Oh one more, what's the AUW with your combo.

Thanks
William

Jason Beach

My Feedback: (4)

I'm running the 2cell 7.2v 950mah pack that Wild RC sells.

The Astro was purchased through Aero Micro with a GWS gearbox at 4.43:1 gearing. I've been using an APC 10x7SF prop, and have reciently tried a GWS 10x4.7SF to get the pitch speed and weight down. I have yet to decide which prop I like better. Just remember with these particular batts, amp draw is 4 amps max. The Astro likes a 3cell pack better, but the 2cell pack was all I had.
My AUW is 5 1/2 - 6 ounces (cheap wallmart food scale).
My mounting setup is kind of hard to explain, but I'll try to get some pics for ya tonight.

Jason

novabill

Thanks Jason

William

RC-Captain

I NEVER LIE ! I live by these words and will die by these words .
this craft I saw flying in the film looks like it is very very weak ! You didnt ven get the thing 50 feet off of the ground , show me some footage where this thing is soaring 1/4 of as mile or higher in the air and I might purchase it , and man was the motor loud !

novabill

RC-FIEND

That's not what the IFO is for. I was looking for something to fly in the service department where I work or in my very small front yard. As far as the noise, hey I'm used to glow. Sounds quiet to me.

WILLIAM

lburou

RC-FIEND, Here are the key words in Jason's post:

I was still getting the feel for the plane in this vid, and at 7000' it was a bit underpowered.

10 feet above ground in Wyoming is equal to 7,000 AGL in NJ

Jason, are those the Laramie mountains on hte horizon in hte video? Not many towns above 7,000 feet without mountains close by

Clayshobbies

My Feedback: (16)

Jason,

I like the part where you almost hit your self J

It must be your altitude because I fly the Mini with the stock setup (IPS motor) and the 2 Cell and have no problem with power, I can even hover for a bit, but with out a rudder it is hard to hold.

The T-IFO is also very nice and if you leave the dihedral out it is just as aerobatic as the Mini. You might want to check out the Mini Gee Bee it is a similar design.

PS….at 50’ up it would be a bit hard to see, I like to fly mine right over the runway and some times in my very small back yard; however, the dogs on both sides of my yard are bound and determined to get a hold of it J

-Clayton
www.clayshobbies.com

novabill

Glad to hear the positive feedback from IFO OWNERS. It sounds like this is exactically what I was looking for and thank goodness our neighbors dont have dogs.

Jason Beach

My Feedback: (4)

RC-FIEND, I haven't seen any lieing in this thread. However, altitude is not what I have this plane for. This plane is no fun at altitude. This plane is fun when you're doing half loops and quick rolls 2 or 3 feet from the ground.

Yes, on the IPS-A and the 2cell Li-poly it is a bit underpowered at my altitude, but with that same batt and a geared Astro 010, it'll climb vertical until I decide to stop it or can't see it.

lburou, nope. Laramie is about a 5 hour drive from here. Those mountains are the Uinta Mountains. I live about 40miles from the Utah/Wyoming border.

Clayton, Thanks!
Yeah, the stock motor is a bit anemic up here. I do prefer it with the Astro, it increases the weight a bit, but not enough to overide the power increase and fun.

Where's your sense of adventure? The Mini IFO is great fun to play around with the neighborhood pets. Just watch out for the quick ones.

I'm sorry I haven't been able to get you a pic of my motor mount, my webcam has been acting up and not connecting to my vid cam.

Now for the bad news. Last night I was using the trees and telephone poles at my parents to slalom, and weaving my way through the cableTV and telephone lines. Loooooots of fun. Unfortunately, I cut it a bit too close and was snagged by a tree about 25' up. I was able to recover and fly out, but it was acting funny and pulling left very hard every time I gave up elevator. I brought it in for a very rough landing (nose down about 30degrees). Damage is control horn on right elevon pulled off in colision with tree, my motor mount broke, and the prop shaft is bent.

Jason

novabill

Sorry to hear about your mis-adventure, but it sounds like you will have it back up in no time.

Jason Beach

My Feedback: (4)

Yeah, it won't take long to fix.
Anyway, I've got a crude drawing of my motor mount.
It's made from 1/16" or 3/332" (I don't remember which) lite ply, 1/8" balsa, and a motor mount stick for GWS motors.

The lite ply is cut into a T to fit the front of the IFO, then I glued the balsa on top of the T and cut a "trough" down the balsa for the Fuse rod of the IFO to sit in. When doing this step I did cut it a bit crooked to give the motor some right thrust. Then I took another peice of lite ply and glued it to the rear half of the mount stick, followed by gluing the other side to the bottom of the T mount. This way I was able to slide the motor onto the mount stick. Then a screw is run through the top of the lite ply near the front of the T, through the top of the plastic mount, and into the mount stick. This ties the front of the T into the mount stick, and plastic motor/gearbox mount. The whole assembly is then ty-wraped (zip tied) to the IFO. 1 wrap on each side of the T and 2 down the "body" of the T.
I hope I didn't confuse you too bad.

Jason