I haven't seen the Higley book, but I'd be curious about the mod myself. I just flew my Mini for the first time last weekend, and as everyone said, it's a blast (but it does balloon under power). I built the N-struts per the plans, but I beefed up the plywood blocks (they're basically glued to the wing sheeting). Assembly/disassembly is time-consuming, but part of that's because the plane draws a crowd at the field.

The only other mod I made is replacing the wire landging gear with a Hangar-9 .40-sized aluminum gear. Stronger and better-looking, IMO.

So, 52 or a 72??????????????????

Would a 72 II OS be too much for this plane?
I have a kit...now power for it, yet!

I think the OS.52 is a dog, but the .70 would be a LOT of torque to compensate for on take off. The miniplane is a ground-looping queen!!!

I use the Saito .56 GK (Close to the same displacement as the OS, but the power is far more acceptable.) and it has all the power I want. This plane is not 3D material, so I would never recommend that much power for this bird (the .70).

A pic with my motor!

[img][/img]

Nice looking plane!

Did it come out tail heavy?

I have a ST .46 in mine and it's definitely not tail-heavy. The plane was most likely not designed with a four-stroke in mind.

Maybe it was not, however, the kit was made in 1977. I also want the sound to go with the bipe! I do not want it too heavy, but I want power!

Yes, it came out tail heavy. I had to put an ounce of lead in the nose. My first build balanced out perfectly-using the same set up. That was a first for me. I think the reason this one ended up tail heavy is because I scratched this airplane from the original plans of the first one I built. I changed the tail sufaces from being stick-built to solid balsa with some lightening holes. I wouldn't recommend the solid balsa choice, IMHO, building it the way the plans show is a stonger and lighter design. I also wouldn't recommend easy hinges on the horizontal. They caused a lot of flex on my first mini. I would recommend pinned hinges or hinge points if possible. I used pinned hinges on mine, but I prefer hinge points.

Did you know that you can order the plans and hardware from Sig? Plans building this airplane is not much different then building the kit, and probaly half the price of the kit-not that this kit is in anyway that spendy to begin with.

All the formers and ribs are printed on the plans. VERY nice. And then you can order aftermarket cowls and wheel pants that are top notch too.

nickj: I'm glad you were able to work with your n-struts. They have a tendacy to be pesky little buggers to use as stock.

Does anyone have any picks of their Mini's? I would love to see more of these.

Here's a couple of pics of my long deceased 44% Smith MiniPlane. It was powered by a Sachs 5.2, Airtronics Championship 7 radio (am), was 88" wing span, weighed around 30 lbs if I remember all the details. Was sold and finally met its fate some years later somewhere in the Houston area. Have plans, wood and a fiberglass cowling aready for another after about a 15 year time lapse. Flew like a big Cub, lots of plane, but a really good flyer. Was scratch built by a fellow modeler and after changing hands several time, I got it and totally rebuilt and refurbished it.

In december I started my Smith Mini Plane, it's almost ready but the construction is hard and I got a rest for it.

Nice!

My Smith Miniplane flow well. It's finish.

Excellent job. Makes me want to build another one.

my current project, gp super skybolt, next is ugly stick 40, and then this beautiful little beaut of a plane. might have missed the post- has it maidened yet?

Enjoyed reading this ongoing board on the mini. I've got one in the hanger that I built 25+ years ago one that I'm scratch building that will be ready to cover in just a few more days & one new in the box. the one on the bench I was planing to put a Rossi 45 in it if I can balance it w/o adding weight to the tail. Problem with the Rossi is the head will stick-out the side of the cowl but I think it will get it off the ground at our 7200 ft elevation.

I just got done reading all the remarks about the Smithmini Plane. I might a year late but I have just started my kit and I thought this would be a good site to read of any problems with building it. This will be my 2nd kit to build and I'm looking forward to finishing it and getting it to field. I plan on using a Thunder Tiger 46Pro in it, any suggestions about this?

Regards
Mark

that engine should be fine, ive got an os 46la in mine and it flies great, may even be alittle fast

What type of muffler did you end up using. I want to keep the plane close to scale if I can. It doesn't look like there is a whole lotta room in there for a pitts style.

i have a pitts muffler on an os46 la and it fits fine, it does rub a litttle on the cowl, but it fits fine

I put mine in. Stupid flying. I manuvered into a snap roll straight down directly after I stalled her going straight up. Never do this. I put it into an unrecoverable stall. I just didn't have enough power to force it out of a stall with my Saito .56. A .91 would've saved me, as well as a .46+ sized 2stroke.

Oh well. I guess I'll just have to build another after I'm done with my Hog Bipe.

You are right when you said it takes a while to assemble at the field because it does draw a crowd. It's a great little biplane-1/4 scale to boot!

-bipes

mine fits in my car assembled, no assembly at the field required. sorry to hear about your mini goin in, this plane is a blast to fly, i havent really been able to put it through its limits yet cause of a balance issue, but i should have it all worked out so im anxious to get it back out.