Four Ounces, Seventeen Inches That Really Fly
Mark III Before Wheels Were Added. Mk1 Wing.
|
After diddlebugging, I started to wonder just how nifty these mini
balsa planes could get. A little web research led me to
Radical RC and the Micro Stick.
Intended for a GWS IPS DD, I first tried to fly it with an LPS 11-gram motor. It did fly, but not well. For Mk2, I used the specified motor, which flew okay and was a lot of fun, but requires a bit of run-up to behave well -- which also means there's almost no immediate power to recover from boo-boos. Further, the magnetic wing attachment is a little tricky, and I had the wing pop off a few times.Here's a shot from the Mk1 trials:  Mark III uses a 4.8v LPS A geared drive with a 2-cell Lipo and a 5040 prop. Pretty fast, very thrusty, great response. A fun, fast aerobat that can fly in any size field and is very portable. I took it to LA for xmas in a modified shoebox. It can be fitted out with a rudder but I'm flying aileron/elevator only.  After a while I added rubber-band mounted front wheels so I could fly where there's no grass. I have since started to consider various brushless power plants to give it an insane degree of speed, but that will come in due time. |
.
Copyright 2005 by David Mark North
Action Photos by Akkana Peck