Hi All,
I haven't seen any posts on this new plane yet, so I thought that some of you might be interested in seeing this kit being built and flown. After seeing my friend Don Belfort’s beta version fly, I knew that I wanted one for myself. The kit was just released by Radical RC about a week ago, so I picked one up while I was at Toledo show.

The plane is quite small and is intended to be powered by a direct drive IPS motor and 3x2 or 3x3 prop. Compared to my E-spresso, this plane has a shorter wingspan (17.5”), a wider chord, and a shorter fuselage length. I like flying my E-spresso; however, after seeing the beta Micro-Stik fly, its looks and performance appeared to be different enough to justify owning both. While my E-spresso is like a mini-pylon racer and feels best when flown fairly fast, the Micro-Stik seems to be able to fly more slowly and is easier to hand-launch and belly-land on grass fields. Of course, I’ll have a better idea of how it performs when I get mine done and in the air. So let's get started!

The kit consist of a few sheets of balsa and ply, all nicely laser cut, a few pieces of hardware, and a six page instruction book. The directions are short, but more than adequate. No full-size plans are included or needed.

Construction starts with the wing. The plane uses a unique method of attaching the ribs to the main spar. The ribs are split in half, front and rear. The rear ribs have tabs that fits into slots in the spar and extend out through the front. The front ribs have a cut out that matches the tab, and are placed in front of the spar in line with the rear ribs.

The rest of the wing is pretty standard. The trailing edge and wing tips interlock to the ribs and spar. I didn't use any thin CA until I got to this point in the construction.

The leading edge is cut to length and added. A balsa plate is added between the two inner most ribs to act as a servo mount. Total time to build and sand the wing: 50 minutes. The kit includes a couple of easy hinges for the ailerons, but I plan on using tape hinges, so I beveled the aileron leading edges accordingly. Note how small this wing is.

The horizontal and vertical stabs are next. A rudder is optional, but I'm not adding it. Total time for both stabs and elevator: 10 minutes.

One hour after starting, and I'm ready to start the fuse! Construction is straight forward, with two formers, laser-cut slab slides, top and bottom all interlocking together. Very easy to get a straight fuse this way. Note the small magnet at the rear of the wing opening. It will be used to retain the rear of the wing.

The kit comes with two firewalls. One is laser-cut to mount a GWS motor using a heatsink as part of the mount. The other is left solid and can be modified for mounting other motors. I think that using one of the new small outrunners in this plane would be a blast, but I plan on using the GWS motor and therefore chose the first one. Note the cut-outs that make the firewall look like the Red Baron's face complete with moustache - a nice touch!

Here's my progress after two hours' worth of work. Ready for a final sanding and then covering.

I used red and a little white Solite to cover the plane. Covering is definitely not my forte, but I have to admit that after a covering a couple of other planes with Solite, it's really no more difficult to use than any other covering. It just takes getting used to. Total covering time: 2.5 hours (told you it wasn't my forte ). I hinged the ailerons and elevator with SR hinge tape and installed one of the supplied ply control horns on the elevator. However, I will use Dubro micro-horns instead of the ply horns for the ailerons, as they are easier to install and I have have had good luck with them in the past.

Here's the plane so far, after about 5 hours of work:

So this is a 3 channel then?

One channel for the ailerons, one for the elevator, and one for speed?

So this is a 3 channel then?

Yes. Aileron, elevator and throttle control using very small (PS-20, HES 4.9, etc.) servos. Rudder is optional, but not required, and probably not too effective on this plane. The plane does all aileron/elevator aerobatics.

The target weight is 3-3.5 ounces, so every little bit of weight left off helps.

Don

Wow, I really like this little plane and would love to hear your flight reports when you get it airborn.

Hey, that's cool! I can't seem to find it on Radical's site. What's the wing area?

Martin

Martin,
Try this link and go to page 2. It's about half way down the page. Wing area is 88 sq. in.

Don

Don, looks very nice. At least, you choose the right resolution to make your covering skills look first rate. ;-)

You cover much faster than I do really. I do love the So-Lite and Nelson.

Thanks for sharing our kit here on the Zone. We're very encouraged as it sold very well at Toledo considering its realy not "known" yet. I also look forward to your flight report.

Happy Flying!
Dave