Kamdax Mig!

[easytiger]

Here are some photos! I don't mean anything political about the Nationalist Chinese decals, I just had them sitting around. They are Comet Brand decals from 1944.

Some details of the pictures:
While I never had a problem with the rubber band on the tail on the previous mig, this time I used two pieces of soft wire to permanently mount the tail. Looks cleaner, and no maintainance. The clear rubber band that comes with the kit, it will not fit on the tail, I used another rubber band on my last mig. Maybe the clear rubber band is meant for something else?

I fiberglassed the inside of the nose on the bottom with light glass cloth and foam safe CA glue. When the cheater hole is cut, the nose becomes very fragile. The last mig fell off my bench and broke there, and it was never the same afterwards. I cut two smaller cheater holes on the sides. Last time I had one larger one behind the nosegear, as shown on the "racing" version in the instructions, but I thought the nose gets weak with the big hole, so I am trying this differently this time.

The compartment above the fan for the receiver will not take anything but a GWS type super mini receiver. The only problem with that for me is those receivers are only single conversion, and if you fly at jet meets and crowded fields, it is very easy to get shot down. With a dual conversion receiver, the problem goes away. When flying alone, the single conversion receiver is fine. On the last mig, I put a Hitec 555 in the canopy, it was fine, but too many servo leads going up to the removeable nose top and canopy, too much mess when getting the nose on with the engine running.
So, on this one, I put a 555 receiver in the bottom of the fuselage. Notice the square bulge on the bottom center of the fuse. That is the receiver, painted silver. All the wiring is below the fan, the 110mah battery is above the fan. I tried a 50mah battery on my first flight, it is not enough, it went flat as I was taxying in. 110 is safer, only another half ounce.

I put the fan in the most forward mounting position this time, it balances slightly nose heavy, just great, 17.4 ounces. If I did not paint it, it might be an ounce less. Maybe more. I used formula U polyurethane, which is foam safe and fuel proof, but very heavy.
Looking forward to testing this one tomorrow!

[easytiger]

picture

[easytiger]

another

[Eddie P]

Perry cool, how did tests go? :D

[easytiger]

Oh, it flies BEAUTIFULLY. It's a tremendous amount of FUN to fly. Quick and agile and lands very well. I really love this plane. Put thirteen flights or so on it at the LIberty Bell Jet Rally, everybody seemed to be highly entertained! I let a friend fly it, and somehow, it ended up destroyed(interference), but I will have another on the way to me shortly. This is a great model.

[Eddie P]

Good to hear it flew well, sorry to hear it crashed due to a shoot down maybe?! :(

[easytiger]

The crash will remain a mystery. All gear was working in the wreckage with no problems. Who knows? Have to move on, minus $261 for the plane, and perhaps six hours building it. No great loss, I'll get over it! Was having fun, though!
The next one will be hand launched, maybe down to twelve ounces...

[ESB]

hey easytiger, i just purchased a mig from kamdax any pointers in my construction would be apreciated!(the instructions are'nt the best) lmk, hanks, john

[Don Sims]

Isn't FMA or Berg making a micro duel conversion reciever now? Maybe you could check into getting one of those. It was a great looking plane!
Don

[easytiger]

Originally posted by ESB
hey easytiger, i just purchased a mig from kamdax any pointers in my construction would be apreciated!(the instructions are'nt the best) lmk, hanks, john


Yes. Glass the fuselage inside bottom in front of the fan up to the tip of the snout. This area becomes weak once you cut the cheater hole.
You can get rid of the rubber band on the tail with some soft wire.

Hit me up right here if you have any questions as you go along, I have built two, and have a third on the way.


I am hesitant to try another FMA receiver, they have cost me two planes, but the Berg sounds good!
I will look into that.
A really tiny receiver would make things simpler and lighter.
Again...the reason I need dual conversion is that I fly in a club environment, and the single conversion does poorly when people are on adjacent channels. If you are flying by yourself, a $20 GWS should do fine...

[ESB]

okay thanks! what about glassing the whole bird with .06 cloth, it would only add maybe tops a nother 2-1/2 oz.? and what about fuel proofing the exhaust behind the fan? or is this foam fuel proof! lmk john( 1 more ? what bran fuel and nitro content are u using, and how reliable is the engine? does it have good throttle response, thanks)

[Chris True]

Originally posted by ESB
okay thanks! what about glassing the whole bird with .06 cloth, it would only add maybe tops a nother 2-1/2 oz.?

Eeek - that's 15% of the gross weight of the airplane! It isn't exactly a missile to start with....

[easytiger]

I would not glass it, just no need.
The engine is dead reliable. You will be doing all your flying at full bore, and the idle is perfect. Don't know about the midrange, as I never use it!
I use 30% heli fuel.
The foam and paint is fuelproof...

[ESB]

thanks for the info, i'll leave as is for now(no glass) i'll lyk how i like it when ready for flight! 1 more? what servos are you using? hs-55? or will gws pico-naro type work? i have both so it dos'nt matter, just to me it seems like the wing loading is'nt very much at the weight that it is!! lmk, thanks again from a brother slimer!!!!

[easytiger]

Go pico. I had a 55 type on the elevator, but I think a pico would do it. But like you say, it's not that much of a weight difference. Use somethign more substantial for the nosegear servo, unless you LIKE breaking geartrains. The wings, picos are the ticket.
I'm even a stinky DIESEL slimer!

[ronstahl]

GPA hobbies the local hobby shop in my area just got them in stock if anyone needs one

[easytiger]

What are they selling them for, retail? Tower is getting $250...

[b1driver]

EASYTIGER...hows it going man. Finally found ya hehe. That mig looks like ALOT of fun..convinceing the wife to get me one for x-mas :)

[easytiger]

Hey, mah man! How you been?
The Mig, well, it is NEAT and FUN. Very reliable, very low maintainance. Very good deal for the price. VERY fast build, like a few hours.
Compared to, say, the Toki A7, it is
"quicker", I don't know if it is actually GOING any faster, but it sure FEELS faster due to the size. It's just too cool!
All the best,
Curtis

[ESB]

hey there easytiger hows it goin! well almost ready for the maiden on the mig! like you,i found it hard to fit the 555 rec in the designated area! so i'm using a gws pico type for the initial flight, i'll be alone so should be no interferance problems, servos all in and ran the engine rich in the driveway today, sounds good and started on the 2nd try! my only thing is they did'nt have any 30% h-fuel at the hobby shop so i have to settle for norvel 25%! what do you think? engine sounded good and would'nt quit untill i ritchen it up! oh well hopefully tomorow if the wheather holds up, i'll lyk, talk to you later, john

[easytiger]

The GWS receiver will be fine, just put something between it and the fan, some foam or something...sitting right on top of the engine doing 25k is probably asking for a cracked crystal or something...I trashed a hitec 8 channel receiver because it was touching the fan unit...the upper circuit board actually seperated from the lower!
Well, being that it's a norvel engine, it should be fine on the norvel fuel! 5% nitro is not much of a difference, if any...

[b1driver]

Easy, sounds like a great time. Speaking of the A7..hehe..Im still flying the living S*#T out of it...in fact I just up'd the throws on the ailerons and elevator to see what that gives me :) I also got rid of the wood T in the rear of the duct..made sure I epoxy'd the stabs and rudder ofcourse. I hope this gives me a little more out of it....Its a GREAT little jet to throw around and very durable to :) Sorry to derail the thread a bit...BACK TO THE MIG!!

[ronstahl]

Easytiger,
You can check with them, there number is 301-858-0004 and they are at www.gpahobbies.com on the web.
I am out of town right now or I would check for you myself.

[easytiger]

I finally sold my A-7. I had hung it up for a year at least, then brought it to the Liberty Bell Jet Rally, put eight flights on it there. I'm kind of thinking I might build another, but only if there would be some substantial increase in performance somehow. Not sure what that would be....
Getting rid of the "T" in the tail seems like good idea...
Thanks for the number, Ron. I prefer to deal with more local places like GPA rather than Tower and such when I can. I have been dealing directly with Hong Kong, but the shipping gets expensive.
Nice bobcat, by the way...

[rc.hackmaster]

hey guys, i just seen the mig at my lhs. if somebody buys my heli (hummingbird) i just might have to get the kamdax mig. i did have the yellow f16 but it just gave me nothin but trouble and i sold it b4 i got to fly. i really want to do the ducted fan thing. i can land anything you put in my hands but i have not gotten the opportunity to do a ducted fan! it seems really easy on the simulator w/the f16 and the f4. i hope theres some more difficulty than that. sheesh too easy. its gotta be hard or its not any fun! hooyah! sorry for ramblin! doug

[ESB]

hey there everyone, well have'nt had a chance to fly the mig yet, wheather has been crappy!! easytiger, i took you advice and glassed the inside of fuse from front of fan to nose, it turned out so good that i got carried away and ended up glassing the whole airframe!!!! - the tail feathers i think i'll leave them as is, yeah it only added a ounce more , not bad+ now you can handle it with out putting dents and marks all over it!!! little more durable now! i figured that i can always order a replacement fuse and wings if it was to heavy and use this one for my bl edf setup, i needed practice glassing any how, got to get ready to glass my b-17 this winter! well keep you posted on the mig, gtg now, later, john

[mario alvarez]

$250.00 for a foamy!! Get real guys, you'll be better off buying either of K&A's fiberglass Mig-15s. Foam is for Zagi's!!

[b1driver]

Mario..you got a link to K&A?

[easytiger]

Originally posted by mario alvarez
$250.00 for a foamy!! Get real guys, you'll be better off buying either of K&A's fiberglass Mig-15s. Foam is for Zagi's!!

Err...not quite. For $250, you get an 061 RC engine, a fan unit, one servo(the throttle servo), a special electric starter with a 90 degree bend, a metered fueling syringe, a plastic work stand for the airplane, two servo y-leads.
Scale landing gear, scale tires, ALL hardware...
Add four servos and receiver and battery, that's IT.
And it's prepainted. And it goes together in four hours or so.
You are not going to put together a K&A mig for less, and it's not going to be a fun and reliable 16 ounce airplane like this one...
It's really apples and oranges, though. The k&a is nothing like the kamdax.
As far as dinging the plane goes, well...all foamies are vulnerable to that, but at least the Kamdax uses a decent hard foam, it's not as bad as some.

[ESB]

aah! hey there mario! you get more then a so called piece of foam! you get the fan unit the engine,electric starter, servo exstention wires,landing gear, all you control rods, fill bottle for the nitro and all the tubing!!! so get real!!!! and i'll spend my money where i want and you spend yours where you choose!!! (and i do own a zagi, razor,viper twin, wattage f-22, tiger moth,gws zero and so on and so on! and if you ask me i paid a lot more then their worth anyway!!!

[mario alvarez]

b1driver,

K&A link: www.kamodels.com They are EDF's and you do have to build them.

ESB:

It's still a foamy and what I'm saying is that it just won't be as durable as a fiberglass or balsa aircraft. Let me know if you still have the Mig after 100 flights.

[b1driver]

Thanks Mario

[ESB]

if i bought any model as using that as a guide line(100 flights!) then i would'nt be in this hobby!!! like easytiger said its apple and oranges!! for the time involved and money spent its worth it to me!! maybe not to you, and thats okay! what i do'nt need is someone telling me to GET REAL on how i spend my money!! i'm having fun!! are you?

[ESB]

i did check out the k&a link, pretty cool stuff!! i'll probably end up looking harder into them also! some of their products look like stuff i seen on aeromicro website, well i did do maiden on the mig today, went without the landing gear and belly flopped it! flys quite nice, if i had to compare it to something i'd say it flys alot like the kyosho t-33 edf!! the only thing i do'nt like is the way the top hatch is held on at the fan end!! think i'm going to put 2 small dowel rods and guides at the stationary end, vibrates alot, probably due to the impeller out of balance+ being a ic powerplant, all in all pretty fun!! flys scale like and has no problem climbing out, and think that mine is all glassed i could of saved some weight if i left it as is but when the first hard one comes it will help to keep everything in 1 area!! next flight with the landing gear, lyk how it go's! oh and mario, do'nt mean to sound so defensive!! i apoligize!! it's just that i 've heard that before and i always wondered what do they care what i spend on stuff!! as long as we're having fun!!! if you think of it wheres the logic in me putting a $225. BL motor with $60. in batts into a balsa and foam jet!!! i guess it's nice to know that we have the $$$$ to do so, when theres people in this world that do'nt even know when they're eating again!!!! lets just have fun!!!

[mario alvarez]

ESB,

Thats cool! Peace Bro!

[littlepiston]

Easy!!!! whats up my buddyOpal

were have you been ??? well i found you

i just got my mig friday and flew it today (saterday)

i did not cut the cheaterhole ?? if flys fine and fast i Love it

great little plane i didnt even read about it i just saw it and bout it im glad if flew and vary well i mite add better than the Kyosho f-86 !!!! i can wait to fly it again


AND TO THING IT FLYS ON PENNYS OF FUEL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! AND ALMOST FOREVER!!!!!!!!!!!!! EVERYONE IS FORGETING ABOUT THAT!!!!

[b1driver]

how much fuel does it hold and how long is forever? :)

[littlepiston]

50CC
AND I FLEW IT A LONG TIME I WILL TIME IT NEXT WEEKEND AND FIND OUT HOW LONG IT REALY TAKES I WOULD SAY A GOOD FIVE TO SEVEN MIN.

[b1driver]

wow..thats awsome!

[easytiger]

Hey, mahman, wassup!

I get about seven minutes out of mine, all at full bore.
I am glad you tried it without the cheater hole, I am going to do my next one the same. The only bummer about the cheater hole is that it weakens the fuselage a bit. It's barely noticeable, from a looks point of view, so that's not really a problem, it's just it leaves not too much foam holding the snout onto the plane. That's why on my second one, I did two smaller cheater holes on the sides, rather than one on the bottom.
On the next one, I need to figure out how to make the landing gear removeable. Maybe just a screw through the top of the wing.

100 flights? Sure. I had 75 on my first one before I pranged it. It looked slightly rough, but not from flying wear...from getting blown off the worktable at the field and landing on it's nose!
I know what people are saying about the durability of foamies, but the foam on this model is injection molded, nice and hard, and prepainted from the factory. It is much tougher than, say, the GWS foam, or the Wattage stuff. And the plane is very, very light.
It would be very, very, very tough to duplicate what is done here in glass and foam, and make a similar weight. If not impossible. You might do it out of contest balsa, if you are very careful, but perhaps not, even then. I'm not a huge foamy fan, but it is the right call for this airplane.

ESB, better balance the fan. It should NOT be vibrating at all, the unit should be very smooth. Almost electric smooth. If you are vibrating, you are losing substantial power, too.
The hatch fitting...with pins, you might have problems with the angles of the way it goes in. Instead, try shimming the surfaces you cut when you removed the front hatch with thin balsa or something, until you get a tight fit.
On my first one, I did not do such a neat job of cutting it out, and the hatch never fit that tightly. It never came off in flight, but it looked a little funny, and was a bit of a pain. On the second one, I cut it out very carefully with a supersharp new blade and a straightedge, and minimal sanding afterwards, and it was much better.

Like you , lil' p, I got mine on one day and flew it on the next, maybe four hours from box to field! I like that!

Flies MUCH better than the Kyosho Sabre, just a lot more fun.

I dorked my last Kyosho Sabre, the one with a Tokifan, a few weeks back, when somebody shot me down. I may strip it out, soon, and close the book on Kyosho Sabres.

[ESB]

hey easytiger, where are you ordering your migs? i'm assuming when you say your second and third one you dont mean the whole kit! i need to order spare fuse and wing parts! i want to make the first one bl, and put all the ic componets in the spare, like you i've already exsperianced the weak nose area!!!!! second flight was a hard nose in!!! and i pushed the snout in about 2 in.!!!! it came back to shape its just smooshy now, stupid me had to fly in 15mph windy conditions!!! definetly a no!no! these suckers are lite!!! i dont want to order directly from the manufacturer their in china i think, lmk if you can help me out,thanks, john

[easytiger]

I got mine right from Hong Kong, I ordered two complete ones, the new one on the way is without the fan, I have two fans and a third I got from bob ruff.
Problem with ordering from HK is they only accept wire transfer, and my bank charges $25 for that....

[Starguard]

Hi Everybody, I too have this plane and I need to know something?


So far I've installed a GWS pico receiver and have it set up to work with a Futaba SkySport 4YF 4 Channel Transmitter. For those of you that have this same setup, did you use a Mixer cable with your setup or did your Mig fly well without it?

Also, I couldn't help but notice that the recommended servo's for this plane were 4-5 micro 50+ oz/in torque minimum. See here: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=19164&item=5907317801&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW


These are the servo's I used http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=2563&item=5908003464&rd=1

Do you all think that these will work well? How reliable can I expect them to be?

[Starguard]

ESB - There's a Hobby Shop right here in the US that sells this Jet right off the shelf http://www.alshobbyshop.com/ Even though they don't list Kamdax in their ad, they DO have it in stock, they just havent updated their website yet. I've been there often and they ship nation wide to just about anywhere in the lower 48 states!

[littlepiston]

its not a mixer cable its a "Y" extention for the alir.servos ,,,, pico servos are fine except for the elevator everything else can be use a a micro 15oz or grater give or take 3oz

[Starguard]

its not a mixer cable its a "Y" extention for the alir.servos ,,,, pico servos are fine except for the elevator everything else can be use a a micro 15oz or grater give or take 3oz


Thanks.

The Y extension that came in the box is exactly the one that I installed. The people who sold it to me on eBay sent me an e-mail saying that I'm going to need a mixer cable in place of the Y extension. I have the Y cable installed and thats what I'm gonna use on her maiden flight..Thanks again

[Starguard]

One more question

Right now I'm almost finished with her. The Radio tramsmitter and receiver are both on the charger and the fuselage has been glued with elmers glue and I'm waiting for it to dry. I've been studying the entire planes structure trying to figure out the best place to put the fuel filler tube where it be easily acessable and won't leave a mess, but so far I haven't made a final decision. Where would you recomend the best place for it?

[Starguard]

Anyone? :eek:

Thats O.K. I found a good place to mount it. I placed it right behind the Cockpit on the lower bottom of the plane :D

[easytiger]

Hey, my review in RCJI just came out...next issue, the mirage...

[Starguard]

How well does the Mirage fly? Does it fly as good as the Mig-15?

[easytiger]

Beautiful, maybe more fun, different. Very pleasant.

[easytiger]

One more question

Right now I'm almost finished with her. The Radio tramsmitter and receiver are both on the charger and the fuselage has been glued with elmers glue and I'm waiting for it to dry. I've been studying the entire planes structure trying to figure out the best place to put the fuel filler tube where it be easily acessable and won't leave a mess, but so far I haven't made a final decision. Where would you recomend the best place for it?
Make the filler tube really short, only an inch or two out of the fan, so it cannot possibly get loose and hit the fan rotor.

[jacob]

how fast would you say it flies and what servos exactly should be used.

[easytiger]

About 55-60, the lightest servos you can find.

[jacob]

i have 4 hs 55s and 1 hs 81

[jacob]

would you suggest this as a first jet, does it sound mean and tuff. my friend just got a pylon and it screams at a 120 haha.

[easytiger]

Sure. Perfect first jet. Use the 81 on the elevator and two 55s on the ailerons, leave off the landing gear, and have fun.

[jacob]

well how do u launch it at the field, we have a paved runway

[easytiger]

Put a skid on it. Throw it and land on the skid.

[jacob]

does it pick up speed well enough to be thrown

[easytiger]

Sure. Maybe, though, you want to do a quick site search...you will probably find all the info you need is already written down somewhere.

[jacob]

i understand that this doesnt come with a muffler, is it ama legal to fly at my club.

[jose415]

When u said put a skid what type of material would u recomend the skid to be made of.............

[MikeDPP]

Skid..

I haven't built my MiG yet, but I have found that coroplast is an effective skid when flying my Wing Warrior wings. I live in the desert, so grassy fields to fly in are few and far between.

Mike

[easytiger]

i understand that this doesnt come with a muffler, is it ama legal to fly at my club.
Most clubs specify a muffler is only needed on engines larger than 061.
Ask.
A muffler is available from Kamdax for $25 if you want one.

[MikeDPP]

Easytiger,

Have you ever bothered with the muffler?

What Hitec servo would you use for the throttle servo?

Mike

[easytiger]

An Hs81 is fine. Smaller, and you will need to shim out the mount a bit.
I did try the muffler...not much quieter, and costs 400 rpm.

[MikeDPP]

Most mufflers on an engine that small wouldn't do much more than reduce flow and power anyway!

[N925WB]

I just took a look at the Mig on Tower. They're currently selling for $129.99 (http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/WTI0001P?&I=LXFAT7&P=V). The fan unit and engine alone are selling for $159.99 (http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXFHE8&P=0)!!! Now that's a good deal!!!

-N925WB

[parrothead]

Man, if I only had more experience than just RE poly sailplanes, I think I'd save up and buy one of these :p !!! This looks like fun :D ! They also have the fuselage and other parts (http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXFHF4&P=M) avialable separately, too.
[Thinking out loud] OK, so if I get the surfboard sold after I get the foamie thermal plane, I can get this and use it for my first power plane, right :D ? [/Thinking out loud]
Great thread guys! Thanks for showing me and many others that jets don't have to be more expensive than my first car :cool: !!!

[easytiger]

If you can hack an aileron sailplane, you could fly this. But it's foam, and not very forgiving of crashes!
Mikedpp, you CAN have an effective muffler on an 061...but the price you pay in power is too much, in this case...

[tran1172]

Thanks to this thread, I got in on a Mig for $109.99 along with a spare fuse and wing for a few more bucks. I had seen it on the Tower Hobbies 1 week sale but just passed it by until I came across this discussion. It arrived today! I have quite a collection of GWS foamies and a Wattage F86 and I have to say that the quality of this kit is impressive for the money. I am floored how absolutely complete it is with electric starter and fueler et al. Makes me feel silly for having spent $82 on a GWS A10.

I've also puchased some stuff from Keith at www.stuffwelike.net and I'm looking forward to getting a Mirage from him at some point. He's got the prop pusher conversion kit for $25 and I'm tempted to get that and use the spare fuse/wing to make my first Mig an electric pusher to get the hang of it before I set up the glow df.

[Bipe Flier]

I'm just assembling mine now.

How well does the landing gear work on grass?

[easytiger]

Not very, only because it is a little fragile and the wheels are small. Better to take the gear off, unless you have really smooth grass. The nosegear frame is the weak spot, you can shim out the gaps in that with blocks, that will help. Or try hand launching and landing on the gear.

[jacob]

ok so i have already used the landing gear, the nose gear poped off on a barely hard landing, thinking of going to belly is it better, will the area where the nose gear was really help the perfromance as a cheater hole, also i just got some hobbico 1/a 25% fuel for the engine and plan on taking a shim out. only reason i like langing gear is becuase of the scaleness it is to be able to taki, and such

[easytiger]

Much more fun without the gear, though taxying and taking off IS fun, too.
The nosegear hole makes a perfect cheater hole. Make sure you re-balance the CG after taking the gear off.
Get better fuel with more nitro. It helps. Most hobby stores will stock 30% heli fuel as their highest, it works great.

[jacob]

i have 30 % heli fuel, but the guys at the field said it sounded like it was just barely below the sweet spot sound
are you running yours with 1 less head shim.
also what do you use to rebalance the plane
i used caed Quarters which lowers the scale appearence

[easytiger]

Sweet spot? You think LESS nitro will help? Nope! More. Bet you ten dollars that none of the local guys at your field have ever run a norvel 061 in a kamdax fan and have a clue of what you are talking about.
The goofiness i have heard from the old crows sitting on the fence about the Kamdax Mig is just astounding sometimes...
"Oh, you should put a fifteen in that instead..."
"You can't hand-launch a jet!"
"That thing will never fly..."
"Oh, you NEVER use more than five percent in a jet..."

Just ignore them. For god's sake!

With or without the extra head shim, just put in that thirty percent, fire it up, let it warm up for thirty seconds, put the hatch on, then lean it out to the max. Back off the needle a little bit, then hold the nose up and make sure it does not lean out. All good? Go fly.

Balance...move the fan all the way forward to the foremost position, it should give you about the right balance. You can add weight, if need be, in the cockpit, where nobody will see it. But moving the fan should cover most of it.

[spencer6891]

Yeah, don't you just hate 'experts' who know more about your plane than you do? Definitely go with as much nitro as possible. I use 35% fuel from SIG manufacturing Co. I would not recommend any lower than 35%, but I guess 30% would fly it.

Unfortunately, ET, I nosed her in today! I had about 6 really great flights on her and I guess I just got too comfortable flying the thing. I was flying too low and before I knew it the ground just jumped up in the air and grabbed my innocent little mig by the nose! However, the damage was minimal. I was very surprised to see that only the top hatch broke into a few pieces, while the rest of the plane is as good as new. That could be because it went into soft dirt. But dirt sure has its downside! I had to completely disassemble the engine and fan unit to clean all the dirt out of it, as well as all the dirt that flew up in the duct of the mig. I will epoxy everything back together and she WILL fly again. This plane is too cool to retire so soon. In fact, I'd say it is probably my favorite model of all time because it's just so unique.

I ran a strip of packing tape on the bottom of my mig to protect the foam. Because of this, I was able to carve some foam out of the bottom of the fuse at the very front and put some lead in. Then I put the strip of tape over it and painted the tape silver. It worked perfectly, and I didn't have to add a lot of weight. If you put weight in the canopy you'll be putting a lot more.

ET, I havent' been flying with a cheater hole but I do want more speed. While I was cleaning my engine today, I removed a head shim. So is there any noticeable difference in top speed with a cheater? I really like the looks without it. Do you think removing the shim is enough?

Spencer

[easytiger]

Yup. Expert opinions vary wildly! But I do know that taking baby jet advice from some old chump who has never shown up at the field with anything but the same old Ugly Stick with a Fox 40 is really not wise!
30% will fly it fine...more is better.
The head gasket removal? Minor improvement, but I did not measure it. I am in the middle of making a proper test bench with a scale to get more accurate figures on stuff like that.
Cheater hole WILL increase your performance.
How about this? Get a new exacto and CAREFULLY cut out teh nosegear opening. Keep the piece. If you do not get a performance improvement, just glue it back and you have lost nothing.

"In fact, I'd say it is probably my favorite model of all time because it's just so unique."

There it is. If not my very favorite, at least in my top five. Just neat and UNIQUE. Now people are realizing why I was so hot on this plane for so long!

[jacob]

i have the engine in the farthest position and i still need 2 quaters w/ landing gear to get a good cg level.

[jacob]

i have a strip of fiber cloth that would go great down the bottom of the plane, is that a good place and if i do fiberglass it i should be able o do belly take offs right

[spencer6891]

Good idea, I'll cut it out as clean as possible. ET, is Tower the cheapest place to get replacement foam parts? I think what I'll do is just use my first mig as an experiemental model since it's already been crashed and has a lot of wear on it. Then my next one will be prettied up. Maybe I'll paint it with the red top, silver bottom. Right now I'm looking for some lightweight fuel proof paint. Kamdax has some on their website but I don't want to know what it'll cost to ship a little bottle of paint from overseas. I remember you painted yours with some Formula U but commented that it was a bit heavy, so I'm looking for something else.

Jacob, you are testing the CG with the battery in, right? Don't mean to insult you, but just want to make sure. Also, that glass strip on the bottom should work well. It definitely needs something to protect the foam on rogs. I still haven't had a chance to rog mine because my yard isn't long enough. Most of the time I fly in a field about 100 ft behind my house. I angled the mig to get the maximum distance on the grass from my house to the field, which was about 130 ft, but it wouldn't rog . Guess I'll have to save that for the flying field.

Spencer

[Bipe Flier]

I guess I'll go with hand launching. Takeoffs and landings are cool, but the plane spends most of the time in the air, so that's where I want the performance. I might take a well run in AME out of another plane to test this baby out with.

[jacob]

yes w/ batt in

[easytiger]

Kamdax does not have RED paint, far as I know. I got some of their paint from HK...I wanted to spray it, it said water reducible, so I mixed it with water and it was ruined. When I used it straight with a brush for touch ups, it was fine. To brush-paint an entire plane with that small bottle of paint they give you would be tough...it may thin better with mineral spirits, I dunno.
Best thing I can THINK of is Formula U. Foam proof and fuel proof. I'm sure it's not the ONLY answer...I have another mig that I want to paint, so if anybody thinks up a better idea, I am all ears...
Don't use the AME...not sure if the porting is different from the norvel/kamdax or what...just fly it as is, run a few tanks through first, that's all.
I HAVE gotten the Mig off of grass, but it took getting a bump at the very right moment to get the nose gear out of the grass. Landing on the grass is no sweat. Taking off, you hit a rut, you break the nosegear. If you have really nice golf green grass, you will have no problem. The rest of us, pavement on hand launch.
You can make the gear removeable and get the best of both worlds. Just hold the mains in with a screw and washer through the top of the wing. The nosegear and servo are removeable with three screws. Flying the the landing gear is actually a LOT of fun...the thing taxies really, really well, and you can taxi down to the end of the runway, wait your turn to take off, then turn onto the runway and take off, just like the big boys, then land and taxy back to your feet. IF you have pavement! But in the air, there certainly is a difference in performance with the gear hanging out.

[jacob]

k ill just try it w/o the gear this time, also w/o gear would i be able to do more agile turns

[Bipe Flier]

It's a Norvel AME .061 and it does have different porting from the supplied engine, wich is a BigMig. The AME revs higher than the BigMig, that's why I thought it would be better.

[spencer6891]

Kamdax does have red paint now:
http://kamdax.com/acces.htm

Well, if I don't use Kamdax paint (doesn't sound too promising) it's between these two:

http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXECL0&P=ML
http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXAV06&P=7

However, both say they're fuel proof up to 15%. Hmm...
What do you think?

Spencer

[easytiger]

I am pretty sure lusterkote is NOT foam safe. That's the catch with most paints...

[easytiger]

Note Tower SAYS it will curl butyrate plastic...that is a very, very bad sign! If my memory serves me correct, lusterkote will eat foam as fast as you can spray it on.

[Bipe Flier]

Yes, Lustrekote will eat through foam faster than the "acid blood" ate through the floor in Alien.

I think that the only fuel proof and foam safe paints are epoxy or polyurethane. Whatever you get, test it on a styrofoam cup first.

[spencer6891]

Well that's not cool. Looks like Formula-U.

Spencer

[easytiger]

The floors of the Nostromo were made out of foam, and alien blood contained gasoline. Works like a charm.
You also be careful, whatever paint you use, not to get the nozzle too close, as the aerosol can melt the foam.
Form-U is a known quantity. A safe bet. Takes a full day to dry, but it won't eat the foam, is totally fuel proof up to high nitro fuel, and it does add toughness too the foam. Just go easy and don't slop it on, it's not light.
If it was an electric plane, you would have all sorts of other options, but fuel proof AND foam safe is the trick.

[jacob]

k jets ready for hand launching, any tips easytiger

[easytiger]

Hold the Tx in one hand, and the plane with the other. Be SURE to throw the plane, NOT the transmitter!

Nothing special to note, just throw it hard as you can, a little bit up is okay. It's not critical to launch.

[jacob]

does it pick up speed fairly quickly, i noticed w/ the Landing gear it was kinda slugish on take offs

[Starguard]

Hold the Tx in one hand, and the plane with the other. Be SURE to throw the plane, NOT the transmitter!

LMAO - :D :D

[realdeal]

Kamdax does not have RED paint, far as I know.

As Spencer said earlier they offer Red now. I have a couple bottles in stock with more on the way if anyone wants to try it.

http://www.stuffwelike.net/store/product.php?productid=16412&cat=385

Keith

[spencer6891]

Keith, have you tried the paint on anything?