crasher_2

My Feedback: (8)

[&:] Is it ok to fly the wattage micro-flyer in the snow? I've only done 3 flights in it so far this morning, it should be fine shouldn't it?

Greg Covey

Yes, it should work fine. If you get snow in the rudder actuator, just blow it off and toss it again.

Snow makes a nice natural safety net for landing or crashing in.

Leety

Is it okay to fly any foam type plane in snow?
becuase we still have about a foot of snow, and it's 10ish degrees...

heading out to fly in about an hour or so (letting last Lipo charge)

I heard Li-Po's get low voltage when cold...?

Benthehen

i have never tried any planes in the snow, but, i was using a few of my 1/18 cars, and the electronics sure didnt like the cold. i only got around 10 feet of range, and they were glitchy.

benthehen

Leety

I went out...

plugged in the batteries... fingers were mostly numb by that time (about 30secs-1min to do that).

throttled up and threw (right hand numb by now).

tried to fly.. wind knocked it around alot, plus totally frozen fingers.. =/
Landing was nice though, snow is good

fingers were too cold to disconnect the battery though.
had to turn on the car and warm my hands up a little before I could diss them =/

no wind at home... 10mph winds when trying to fly.
figures.

Greg Covey

Lithium cells or packs should be protected from the direct cold.

First, keep the pack initially warm in your pocket or a heated room. I typically set my planes up indoors or in a warm car before going outside. If the cell is directly exposed to the cold like in the Wattage Micro Flyer, cover it with a thin piece of foam or Velcro strip.

The cold will make your plane seem like it lacks power. This is a great environment to modify a plane or find a plane that works well. My Zagi wings or Graupner Terry fly very well in the Winter and easily land in the snow.

I specifically bought my Hobbico FlyZone Ventura RTF package so I can take a cheaper transmitter and plane out in the Winter snow for some fun. It flies great in the Winter without any modifications.

Leety

Ah, thanks.

Yea, I'm flying the electric edge in my gallery...
hardly any protection from cold.
I'll pile some foam infront of it I think.

Does it draw as many amps when it's cold?
I mean, will running it at a higher throttle than normal be harmful to the battery/motor?

(running it at 3/4 or more the whole flight)

whackinski

My Feedback: (2)

Hi Greg, I just want to stress it is not very safe keeping Lipo's in your pocket. The exposed contacts of the micro flyer battery could easily short to a loose coin in the pocket. It is true it's best to keep Lipo's warm but we can't underestimate the damage these things can cause. I bought a micro flyer because of the videos on your website. Have you flown it indoors yet? Do you plan any modifications to your MF? I am thinking about converting mine to work with my JR radio.

Whack

Lee Sherwood

I am flying a Diddle Bug with a 2 cell 250 Lipo HR winters here in upstate New York tend to be cold. Cold as in its already been +6F here. The Mon. after X-mas it started at 39 and fluctuated between that and 28 and up and down. The Battery was indeed weakest at the lowest temps. I did have a few very nice flights with my EASY 4oo with a 6V 400 ans 8 cell 1300 nimhi. My friend Ed, said Nicads perform well in the cold, then nimhi and then Lipos. Have fun this Winter. Lee

Matt Kirsch

My Feedback: (21)

whackinski,

I've flown Greg's Micro Flyer indoors. I don't think he's had the courage to try it himself, and his MF's battery was sausaged. They're pretty fast. I'm able to do figure 8s with mine in a regulation size basketball court gym (like the colleges/pros play on).

My next plan is to buy a second MF, a spare wing, and replace the stock receiver with my RFFS-100 receiver, and join the two wings together to increase wing area. The plane runs on a single-cell LiPoly, has essentially the same motor as the RFFS planes, and has a magnetic actuator. It should be a plug-n-play operation.

blswinney7

Somewhere I saw an article on a biplane connversion for the Microflyer. They took a replacement wing and added it to the Microflyer without any stagger or change in incident from the original wing. The finished biplane was painted a bright piper cub yellow. Supposedly the only change to the Microflyer's flight is a slower flying speed that accomodated indoor flying. I have check all of my publications and the internet to get further details without any luck. Has anyone seen the article or know where it may be found? Your assistance is greatly appreciated. Thanks ahead of time.

Bryan Swinney
Native Texican & US Westerner
Hoouston, Texas, USA

RC_kid

i have a brushless Formosa on snow skis. I beat the s#!t out of it add it has less then 20 flights on it. It flies as good in the cold as it does in the summer and I have lithium in it.

johnboyrc

Snow is okay as long as it doesn't melt on your electronics. Do worry about water proofing, but pay attention to your equipment if you make snow angel-planes with your plane. The prop likes to let the fluffy stuff fly everywhere.