Midwest Attacker
#1

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Does anybody remember The Midwest Attacker .40 size foam airplanes? I have a freind with 2 of them and I have one that I am rebuilding currently. If anybody has a picture of one they still have can you post it for me? I also would like to know where the center of gravity is measured on them. Thanks for any replies. I am currently rebuilding parts of one to fly it again.
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I have the wing that survived when my Attacker crashed in 1986 or thereabouts. (I also have two Attacker kits unbuilt) I never got around to photographing it before it augered in. It was (is) a great airplane, but like all styrofoam planes, hard to repair when crashed.
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Mudbug,
Great plane, I can scan a picture from an old magazine if that will do. I have had 2 (lost 1 on inverted limbo pass, the other unflown) and found one in a box a couple years ago in a hobby shop in Florida. WooHoo! Great plane but funny on the rudder cuz of the annhedral I suppose. I have pleaded with Midwest to bring back the Attacker, the Chipmunk, the Cessna and perhaps even the 2-meter glider...the name of which I now forget.
(Anyone, anyone...Bueller?)
They would be kinda lost in limbo land nowadays with "true" ARFs. They were sold as ARFS back then, but todays ARFFERS would be appalled by how much work they took to complete.
Dave
Great plane, I can scan a picture from an old magazine if that will do. I have had 2 (lost 1 on inverted limbo pass, the other unflown) and found one in a box a couple years ago in a hobby shop in Florida. WooHoo! Great plane but funny on the rudder cuz of the annhedral I suppose. I have pleaded with Midwest to bring back the Attacker, the Chipmunk, the Cessna and perhaps even the 2-meter glider...the name of which I now forget.
(Anyone, anyone...Bueller?)
They would be kinda lost in limbo land nowadays with "true" ARFs. They were sold as ARFS back then, but todays ARFFERS would be appalled by how much work they took to complete.
Dave
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Thank you so much for the pictures. My attacker has been modified from a crash in past years. I had no idea what the canopy and front looked like. I am going to show you some pictures of mine. The entire front has been rebuilt and looks more like an Ugly Stick front end. I also rebuilt the wing and it now has full length ailerons. The wing looks alittle crooked because I do not have it strapped down in the photos. I am also rebuilding the elevators.
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You can see how it has that Ugly Stick look from the front. The front part of the fuselage is now all light ply. It still flies extremely fast. It does not like slow flight.
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No problem MudBug, just get some soft balsa 1/2 sheet, fill it in and start carving (I love carving wingtips, noses, fillets...).
I highly recommend the Stanley mini hobby/trimming plane for such operations, better by far than the X-Acto and Master Airscrew ones.
I think I still have the wing from my first Attacker somewhere.
When I bulit my last one, I added a spruce longeron the length of the fuse along the joint, and then glassed it with 3/4 oz cloth. The Wing and tail are Ultracote. I also added lite ply wingtips that hang down at the TE (anti vortex type, but done strictly for looks and ding-proofing). I built that thing 15 or more years ago and just never flew it.
Actually, I had asked someone at Sureflight if thay ever contacted Midwest about selling them the molds for those planes, and they actually had done that. It did not look like it was going to happen for some reason (an interested party in Europe seems to be what I remember hearing).
Have fun with it!
Dave
I highly recommend the Stanley mini hobby/trimming plane for such operations, better by far than the X-Acto and Master Airscrew ones.
I think I still have the wing from my first Attacker somewhere.
When I bulit my last one, I added a spruce longeron the length of the fuse along the joint, and then glassed it with 3/4 oz cloth. The Wing and tail are Ultracote. I also added lite ply wingtips that hang down at the TE (anti vortex type, but done strictly for looks and ding-proofing). I built that thing 15 or more years ago and just never flew it.
Actually, I had asked someone at Sureflight if thay ever contacted Midwest about selling them the molds for those planes, and they actually had done that. It did not look like it was going to happen for some reason (an interested party in Europe seems to be what I remember hearing).
Have fun with it!
Dave
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I was delighted to see a thread discussing this kit. I've built and flown many RC planes over the years and this was always one of my faves. It was an easy build and one heck of a lot of fun to fly. My first one was in my late teens and I flew the crap outta that first one. I was in an RC club on Hilton Head Island SC and we got together and flew a couple of weekends a month at the polo field in Hilton Head Plantation. I had cut the canopy area out so that I could remove it whenever I wanted access to the fuel tank etc. I snapped the nose off on a hard landing many flights later, because of my modification, LOL. I epoxied it back together and reinforced it with imbedded plywood planks and it never broke again. I eventually sold that plane and radio and moved on to something else.
I came back to the Attacker a few years later because I really enjoyed how it flew and it's ease of build and maintenance. Also, as long as you didn't plow it into the ground, it was fairly durable. That one ended it's life after several years of fun flying when an aileron servo malfunction turned it into a lawn dart.
I built a third one and flew it for a while. By then I was married, was a young father and ended up selling it to someone and got out of the hobby for a number of years. If I had access to a kit I'd build another one today.
I came back to the Attacker a few years later because I really enjoyed how it flew and it's ease of build and maintenance. Also, as long as you didn't plow it into the ground, it was fairly durable. That one ended it's life after several years of fun flying when an aileron servo malfunction turned it into a lawn dart.
I built a third one and flew it for a while. By then I was married, was a young father and ended up selling it to someone and got out of the hobby for a number of years. If I had access to a kit I'd build another one today.
Last edited by P.A.Bathe; 05-03-2021 at 01:33 PM. Reason: Correction
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Super stoked! Just found 2 NIB kits at a local hobby shop and snagged them both.I had a couple when I was un Okinawa, Japan with the USAF in the early 80s and love how they flew. Has anyone covered one with low temp film?
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#20

I would say it depends on what weight you have..
Mine (above) is planked/ heavy and is crazy over powered.
If I remember correctly the weight is about 80oz.
If you manage to keep it at about 50-60oz I would
suggest a SunnySky 2814 motor 1000-1250kV and on 4 cell, 9x6 APC prop.
SunnySky is a very good motor at a reasonable pricing.
A quick calculation with a 2200Mah lipo will give you plenty power and a flight time of 5-7 minutes.
(if more power is needed you can go with a 3 blade instead)

Mine (above) is planked/ heavy and is crazy over powered.
If I remember correctly the weight is about 80oz.
If you manage to keep it at about 50-60oz I would
suggest a SunnySky 2814 motor 1000-1250kV and on 4 cell, 9x6 APC prop.
SunnySky is a very good motor at a reasonable pricing.
A quick calculation with a 2200Mah lipo will give you plenty power and a flight time of 5-7 minutes.
(if more power is needed you can go with a 3 blade instead)
