micro_builder

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after getting my JMP RX back from a 9 month break, i'm finally able to start building micro planes with standard controls (throttle, rudder, elevator). it sure is a nice change after doing so many twin engine planes with the AA. the first one i did was originally meant for the AA equipment, but i went with the JMP instead. this is the P-82 Twin Stang that i posted in the X-Twin/AeroAce airplane thread. it uses two AA motors and props, wired in parallel, two .6 gram actuators, JMP RX, and a few differant lipos (130-160mah). AUW came in at 17.5 grams. it flew nicely, needed some more downthrust on the motors, and the elevator needs to be trimmed, as its very sensitive to stick inputs. but, it looks excellent, and i didnt have to do the graphics this time (thanks, Mike).

the 2nd one was also drawn up by Mike Glass. i started and finished it today, i dont do many full fuse models, so this one was done just to learn a few things about it. it went together quicker than i was expecting, and it glides flat and straight. i'll be throwing in the JMP and other equipment today, and if all goes well, i'll be doing a 2nd version of it with some graphics added. empty weight as of right now is 7.3 grams. all 1/32" balsa except for the bottom wing, which is 1/16th. it could be lighter, but i only sanded the LE of the bottom wing.

i've got 3 or 4 more planes waiting to be built, so i'll post those when completed as well.

nick

Chris 1

Nice! i lek the p82. it looks great man keep it up!

micro_builder

My Feedback: (1)

thanks i decided to go with ailerons, rather than a rudder on the Micro Ultimate, and the motor i'll be putting in will give me over a 1:1 thrust/weight ratio...prop hangs from a 9 inch wingspan plane!

i just noticed that you joined one day before me and you live in washington, quite coincidental as i have family over in washington

if you want to try the P-82 or the micro ultimate, let me know and i can send you the .pdf files.

nick

Chris 1

do you just make them out of balsa wood?

micro_builder

My Feedback: (1)

yep, balsa on both planes (1/16th and 1/32). the p-82 is covered in printed tissue paper to give it its graphics. i'm in the process of building a trailer for my Associated RC18MT truck to carry the Micro Ultimate around (just for show, really). when i do the 2nd version of the micro ultimate, it'll get a printed tissue job to match the paint scheme of the 18MT, it should look pretty freakin cool [8D]

nick

micro_builder

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i got the trailer finished tonight, functioning ball hitch and all. now its on to the graphics, which will take much more time than the trailer did. it'll look excellent when finished though, i'll probably send it into RCCAM's "Readers Ride". the landing gear is temporary, the wheels are too big, but i might be able to sand them down a bit.

nick

makg

Thats a pretty cool idea, i should do that with my Traxxas Nitro Rustler and my aero ace

micro_builder

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stayed up pretty much all night starting and finishing this little bird, a Prairie Duster Bipe. all 1/32" balsa, 7" wing span, JMP RX, AeroAce motor and prop, 60mah lipo cell, home wound in-hinge actuator for the rudder, and an AUW of 9.7 grams. i dont know if it'll fly, the CG might be back too far and i really dont have much more room to move anything around, but if it does fly, it'll be a quick little thing thats for sure.

i'm thinking about getting a much lighter reciever, so i could use a 4mm motor and smaller lipo cell (30mah, here i come), then i should be able to shrink the wing span down to around 4 or 5 inches. i'm also in the process of drawing up some graphics for some printed tissue art work to give it some scale look.

so far, this is only one of a very few full fuse models i've done, and so far its my favorite, its just so cute maiden flight should be later today.

nick

edit: i almost forgot, i finished the graphics on the micro ultimate to match my RC18MT. used 3mm foam, printed tissue graphics, but i havent flown it yet, i've been getting side tracked a lot lately! the graphics didnt turn out exactly like i was hoping, but, it SORT OF matches the truck

Chris 1

dude how dose that little thing turn!?!?!?!

micro_builder

My Feedback: (1)

the Prairie Duster has a functional rudder, driven by an actuator (you can see it mounted to the bottom of the tail in the 3rd pic, and can see it laying on the cutting board in the 4th pic). the Micro Ultimate is going to have rudder and elevator eventually, i did fly it with the AA equipment, but it was too tail heavy due to the printed tissue. i'll be making a 3rd version of it after i finish working on the Prairie Duster.

speaking of that plane, i got a quick chance to fly it yesterday. the CG wasnt as bad as i thought it was going to be, but the winds were too strong and the battery was too weak, so i was only getting powered glides. its blowing like crazy today, so i may have to wait till later this week to try flying it again, unfortunately.

nick

Seek and Destroy

is balsa very strong cause i would really like to start makin some planes.for the actuator where do you get them and how do they work cause someday i would like use actuators for a rudder and elevator. what brand is it from plantraco and how much is it.

micro_builder

My Feedback: (1)

the streangth of the balsa is dependant on two things, the thickness and the grade. AAA balsa in 1/32" thickness is very light, but also incredibly fragile. its usually meant for doing the outer skin of a full fuselage airplane, but when you're building a plane that only weighs a few grams, it can usually handle the stress. 1/16th balsa is usually used, its strong enough to withstand a couple impacts, and light enough to not make a flying brick.

the actuator in the Prairie Duster is home made using some wire i dug out of a clock. making your own is quite easy, it just takes some practice and patience, a magnet, and an RX thats meant for powering them (micro RXs). an actuator works on the same principles of a speaker. a single strand of wire, wrapped up into a coil, pass some electricity through the coil and it creates and electromanget. in a speaker, this is what makes the cone move up and down, and in an micro airplane actuator, its what causes the rudder or elevator to move (technically, the actuator in a speaker is reverse in comparison to what we use for airplanes - the coil is on the cone of the speaker and the magnet doesnt move, where in an actuator for a plane, its the coil that stays in place, and the magnet that moves). very basic design, but they work wonders for micro planes.

you can get actuators from a lot of micro RC vendors. Plantraco is one, http://bsdmicrorc.com is also an excellent vendor that carries pretty much everything you'd need to get flying. if you're lucky, you'll find an actuator for 10 bucks, but they're usually more, which is why i make my own

nick

Seek and Destroy

thank you so much micro builder i'll try that.

Seek and Destroy

micro builder, i need your help, i went to hobby lobby today and got 1/32 and 1/16th balsa. i want to know what size to use and where to use that size. i want to make it into a bipe.
would aero ace electronics work in it?

micro_builder

My Feedback: (1)

wings can usually be made out of the 1/32, anything that needs to be supportive or have streangth needs to be 1/16th, like the fuselage.

the AA electronics should work in just about any plane, including a bipe.

however, bipes are a little more difficult to do for a first plane. there's one more set of wings that need to be aligned closely to the bottom wing. a single wing plane doesnt have that 2nd wing, so there's one less step to try to do. you could do what they call a profile fuse, like the P-82 thats in the first post of this thread. these are much easier to build than a full fuse plane like the Prairie Duster or the Micro Ultimate - there's a lot more steps to do with a full fuse plane. there's one plane i'm thinking of that has been a time tested design for beginers, tons of people have made it, and you can do it with a profile fuse, or a full fuse. i'll dig around and find the link.

nick

Seek and Destroy

how did you make the fuselage. cause i think if i bend it that much it will just snap. also any plans or instructions would help a lot since this is my first EVER plane that i have tried to make.

monstermaker13

get the balsa wet

Seek and Destroy

thanx monstermaker13 my dad had just told me that a second ago.

Seek and Destroy

micro builder, if you had the time do you think you could walk me threw on how to make a mono or a bipe. some pics and how exactly to do it and what you used would help alot.
and what tools did you use to make and put it together. i know it's a lot to ask but it's my first time ever trying to make a plane. so i want to do it right and have a positive experience doing it.

monstermaker13

use gorilla glue if you want it to last

Seek and Destroy

what about would glue, would that work or would gorilla glue work better. i have a lot of gorilla glue and i use it on almost everything.

micro_builder

My Feedback: (1)

the link i'm looking for, for the plane i was talking about has a step by step guide with pictures i believe. its a good little plane.

the fuselage on the micro ultimate and the prairie duster are 1/32" balsa, its just an outer skin so it doesnt need to have any structural streangth. it should be sanded a little, and yes it has to be wetted down a bit or it will break. i sanded the outer skin on the prairie duster to about the thickness of a sheet of paper, but i did that to keep the weight down.

basic tools for making any airplane:
XActo razors
SuperGlue (gorilla glue is too heavy if you're wanting to build lighter)
sand paper (fingernail files work great too)
ruler
tweezers (not really an absolute must, but they're very helpfull)

your first plane doesnt have to be perfect, and it doesnt even have to fly. think of it this way: the more times you fail, the more you learn how NOT to do it the next time. thinking of it this way makes messing up not seem so bad. it took me many tries to get my very first plane to even go 2 feet before smashing into the ground. its can be frustrating at times, but you just have to keep in mind that there's always more balsa out there to start over. now days, after doing this for nearly two years, i usually do two builds, one to see whats the best way to do it and what to expect, and the next one to get it best as possible. there's been more than a few times that i've built the same plane 3 or 4 times in a row before i liked what i ended up with.

nick

edit: speaking of making the same plane a few times, this is a good example. this is the 2nd version of the Prairie Duster i posted above. same dimensions as the first, 7" wing span, but this one has printed tissue for some color. the first one i built with no printed tissue came in at 2 grams with no electronics. this new one, with printed tissue (which adds more weight) comes in at 1.7 grams. i'm expecting a completed weight of around 4 grams with the electronics installed.

micro_builder

My Feedback: (1)

i went thought and built a plane and took pics along the way and am writing up the procedure to build it right now. i cant post it untill tomarrow because i dont know where to install the electronics and motors to get the best flight characteristics from it. once i do that, i'll post the build in a seperate thread.

here's a pic of the completed plane for a taste, i've built a number of them and they fly very nicely.

nick

Neurotex

You never cease to amaze me with these planes of yours micro!
Some of this stuff I wouldn't of thought possible, but some how
you make it all work. Truly remarkable!

Seek and Destroy

micro builder, how did you angle the wings in the middle of the prarie duster. i'll post pics when and if i get done. i like that small little plane that you made in post #23.
edit: on the p-82 could i mount the motors on the wings?