Mine is 17.5oz.

Mine was right around 17 too.

Mine is heavy at 29oz AUW with the 2200 battery. Flies great have to watch the speed on a tight bank but she will still harrier around and then do a 45% climb.

Originally Posted by davereap

All done with a 25oz AUW.... what are your weights?...

Hey Dave, It looks like you are in the same ballpark as me. My KFm4 Mako came out at 24.5ozs. I am blaming the hot glue for some of the weight.
Still with the power system I am running I have a 200watt/lb plane. It doesn't notice the weight.

Chris

I blame the extra layers, hot glue, and the tape.. my builds always are over weight,never on the light side, but the extra strength and damage resistance makes up for it..

I get about 9ozsqft for this model with a 2.8sqft total horizonal area and 25oz weight, so its no floater compared to most of my models where I average 4-5ozsqft

Ive maidened the KFm4 Mako, and it was a real treat.. only a few clicks of aileron trim were needed to keep the wings level...
Take off from my sports field was a bit reluctant...but it got going and then was fine.. I think my taped floats give it a bit too much drag, on the damp grass, so I am thinking of solutions to increase the slip ..
My flying was at the uprate settings and those suited me just fine..all the controls are effective...sweet...

The first video was the trimming flight.. mostly a lot of figure eights, showing how nicely it tracks .. Its a real smooth flier... half power is enough and plenty for a good speed cruise, full power doesn't make it a lot faster but does improve the vertical.
I flew this on the up rate settings specified in the early posts. This for me was just right.. All the responses are good and rudder especially is well effective

I will give this model a high recomendation... If you haven't already made one, give it a go, either exactly as the plan or with the addition of a Kfm4 section...its a keeper...

video1 trimming and easy flying

Mako KFm4 trimming flight (8 min 47 sec)

.
second flight.

Mako KFm4 flight2 (6 min 6 sec)

Nice job! Great video Dave.

Originally Posted by davereap

Ive maidened the KFm4 Mako, and it was a real treat.. only a few clicks of aileron trim were needed to keep the wings level...
Take off from my sports field was a bit reluctant...but it got going and then was fine.. I think my taped floats give it a bit too much drag, on the damp grass, so I am thinking of solutions to increase the slip ..

I have been told that pam kitchen spray on the floats works great. A wise old Polaris convert used to use it on his polaris when it was sticking to the grass.

Great Tip John (aka aircontrol)

Originally Posted by davereap

Ive maidened the KFm4 Mako, and it was a real treat.. only a few clicks of aileron trim were needed to keep the wings level...
Take off from my sports field was a bit reluctant...but it got going and then was fine.. I think my taped floats give it a bit too much drag, on the damp grass, so I am thinking of solutions to increase the slip ..
My flying was at the uprate settings and those suited me just fine..all the controls are effective...sweet...

The first video was the trimming flight.. mostly a lot of figure eights, showing how nicely it tracks .. Its a real smooth flier... half power is enough and plenty for a good speed cruise, full power doesn't make it a lot faster but does improve the vertical.
I flew this on the up rate settings specified in the early posts. This for me was just right.. All the responses are good and rudder especially is well effective

I will give this model a high recomendation... If you haven't already made one, give it a go, either exactly as the plan or with the addition of a Kfm4 section...its a keeper...

video1 trimming and easy flying
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ewywao_EgUg
.
second flight.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n7w1Tow1YvA

Hey Dave. Nice Mako! Thanks for posting the videos, your plane flies great! If you put some no stick cooking spray on some paper towel and wipe it on the floats your plane will slide better. I have not needed to do this with my Mako, but did it with my Polaris which was much heavyer. Do not spray the cooking spray directly on the plane becuse it will make everything slippery.

John.

Originally Posted by WMParkFlyer

I have been told that pam kitchen spray on the floats works great. a wise old Polaris convert used to use it on his polaris when it was sticking to the grass.

Great Tip John (aka aircontrol)

(A wise old Polaris convert) Sounds like a good user title!

I was thinking along the lines of some PTFE sheet..cut to strips.but a spray or wipe on would go further...cheers for the info..

Does the mini Mako hover with the 2 cell setup or do you need the extra power with the 3cell? I am not a speed freak but like to 3D.

Rick

Originally Posted by jrsflyer

Does the mini Mako hover with the 2 cell setup or do you need the extra power with the 3cell? I am not a speed freak but like to 3D.

Rick

After flying the Mini indoors I am not going to be recommending the 3 cell setup. 2 cell 610 and this motor is what I recommend
C2403 Brushless Outrunner 2100kv. No stick mount, just the pancake motor Mounted to the light ply firewall. Plenty of power to spare.

KRAM is kicking off the indoor flying season in our new location - West Michigan Aviation Academy! Dec 1st will be the first of 8 indoor sessions at the WMAA gym this winter. To kick it off, the first one is FREE to everyone! West Michigan Park Flyers will be on hand selling their goodies, and WMAA will have snacks and drinks available!

After the FREE e-fly on December 1st, join us through the rest of the winter every other Saturday (12/15, 1/12, 1/26, 2/9, 2/23, 3/9, 3/23). Pilots fly for only $5. All proceeds go to the WMAA R/C club.

Ive removed the black tape from below... it was a bit soft and had poor adhesion, its been replaced with the blue tape from staples...
Whilst wandering round a supermarket today I had a look at furniture polishes thinking about the extra slip I need..one extremely cheep product (£0.38p) said don't use it on baths or floors because it ends up dangerouly slippery... so I bought some to try..
The food type sprays are £4+ so cheap is good..
I think the original tape over did make the bottom more draggy than the uncovered depron would have been.. but I wanted the tape for damage resistance..
hopefully the polish will give me back the slip I lost, it already feels a lot better with a simple test, just rubbing my finger along the coated floats, and rubbing along an uncoated area..
I sprayed a cloth then applied the polish quite thickly...left it to dry, then lightly polished it up...