It's here! It's here! My Micro Flash (hereafter referred to as MF, not to be confused with the Mini Funtana) in the yellow and blue trim scheme arrived from Esprit Model, after some headaches (that's another story for another thread...). This will be a build thread with plenty of pics, although they'll have to wait because I'm still "working" right now and then going out flying. To start with, some weights:

Fuse: 124 g
Vtail assembly: 27 g
Wing: 233 g
Hardware kit: 18 g

The advertised specs:

Airfoil: RG 15 mod.
Wing area: 340 sq.in.
Wing loading: 13-15 oz/sq.ft.
Empty weight:13 oz.

The wing is a two-bolt 1-piece job. The V-tail assembly is a one-piece removeable setup held down by a single socket-head screw. One hatch on the left side behind the wing for a rudder servo with a pre-modled servo cutout, another hatch on the right side that doesn't have a servo bay like the other one, but presumably it's there so you can stuff a second servo in for full ruddervators, like I will be doing. No manual but the CG location and suggested throws are available at the MiBo Modeli site: http://www.mibomodeli.com/

Hardware kit has molded servo covers, linkages and pushrods for ruddervators and ailerons (the single rudder pushrod is already installed), a glass motor mount and the screws to mount the wings and tail group. Only thing that is missing is some kind of hold-down contraption for the CF canopy. Should be easy to rig something up.

Initial setup will be very tame, because that's what I have lying around the house:

4x JR241 servos
Electron 6 Rx
Mega 16/25/6
11x6 CAM folder w/spinner
CC 35 ESC
TP 3S 2100 Gen 2

Target weight for this configuration is 29 oz or less. I could go lighter on the packs and the ESC with that little prop and motor but like I said it's what I have in hand. With this setup it'll be pretty tame and very easy on the batteries and ESC. MC predits 2000 fpm climb which I'll be happy with. Flight times with those packs should be forever, and it should thermal pretty well. If I hit 29 oz the wing loading'll be around 12 oz/sqft. If I want a little more weight behind it I can throw in a 10-cell GP1100 pack that I have. Ultimately I *do* want to pump at least 500 Watts into it but that'll be for later.

In following soholingo's new penchant for XXXXX-liner variants, I think this one is kind of a sporty thermalling liner, hence I dub it the spermliner. On second thought... no. Sleepy cat-liner? Whatever, in this configuration it should be a very nice low budget all-rounder.

Pics to follow later tonight or tomorrow.

Hi Neil,

I'm looking forward to this build. I finished a build thread about 2 weeks ago, and although it seems like people aren't reading or replying, many folks enjoy but don't say anything. Plus you can usually get great tips from current owners.

The build quality from Mibo Modeli looks pretty good--I was tempted by the Micro Flash myself.

Peter

OK, here comes some pictures. Finish quality is decent but the seams are a little rough where paint has chipped off. Only visible damage was on a v-tail tip:




Very nice full-span ailerons:




Here's the hardware bag. Motor mount doesn't come with holes, I already drilled it out. Notice one missing clevis. The included pushrods are a bit silly - I don't know what they were thinking. Far too long, too thin and not threaded. Whatever.. basically I'll junk the whole aileron setup. The v-tail ball-links and couplers will work well though. Also there's nothing to hold down the CF hatch cover:

Now for the fuse. Plenty of room in the main compartment:




The front has little air ducts that would be good for cooling but they're not cut out yet. I guess that's a good thing because if you don't need them you'd be adding extra drag if they were open:




Here's the fuse wing saddle area. More of the chipping of the paintwork around the holes. I wonder how well the paint job will hold up, especially on the bottom of the fuse (where there's a seam) after a few landings?




Little pieces of ply inside the fuselage to act as blinds for the wing bolts. Ermmmm... I'm sure it'll work fine but I could have done a prettier job than that!

On the left-hand side of the fuse behind the wing we have the little rudder servo bay with the pushrod already installed. Pretty nice:




On the other side there is another bay, but no pre-molded mount for a servo. This is probably where my other rudder servo will go, depending on CG issues. I'll just epoxy in some little hardwood blocks to hold it. You can see the pushrod and the molding from the other servo bay. Also note that the little hatches are just flat pieces sooooo. tape 'em on? Or be brave and once everything's adjusted glue them down?



Finally the end of the boom. V-tail alignment is impossible to screw up, with a single socket-head bolt to hold it on. I've already checked the alignment and incidence with the wings and it's straight and true. More of the chipping and cracking of the paint around the seam and bolt hole.

Both the v-tail assembly and the wing have nice beveled holes for the hold-down bolts:





Threaded V-tail horns make a tidy little setup with the ball-links that come with the kit. You can also see the moulding of the bottom of the assembly where it all fits snug onto the end of the boom. I guess this makes it super-easy to install and not muck up, but the only thing that kinda bugs me is that it's not a flat piece. Everything else could be packed quite easily into a thin case, except the v-tails:




Servo bay on the wings. Don't really uinderstand what the little round depression where a control horn would go is for. I think I'll make a little wood insert to fit flush inside it with a grooved slot to hold the horn:




And finally the servo wire hole in the middle of the wing. There is no matching pre-cut hole on the wing saddle. Still have to decide what I want to do - something fancy with a 6-pin connector or 2 3-pin deans mounted into the wing and fuse, or just cut a hole in the saddle and have connectors stick out with standard servo plugs?




That's it for now, back to work!

The other access hatch in the side is so you can install your rx a little easier as there is no cut out in the wing saddle. And yes just tape them on.

Heather

Fantastic photos Neil, thanks

I haven´t ordered anything yet. When there was stock of Spirit and Micro Flash again I had spent part of the money, so I´m waiting for next month

Probably I´ll follow your sugestion and I´ll go for a 1,5m. With my esc and a cheap motor I´ll have much better perfomance and not expensive.

Do you think 3s2p would fit?

What´s your impression about wing construction?

Good luck

Originally Posted by Heather

The other access hatch in the side is so you can install your rx a little easier as there is no cut out in the wing saddle. And yes just tape them on.

Heather

Ahhh, I see. Thanks. I think it will serve as a good spot for a second rudder servo though

same minute....

Originally Posted by AndrésMtnez

Do you think 3s2p would fit?

What´s your impression about wing construction?

I think 3s2p would fit, but would depend on the pack configuration. If you give me some dimensions for the pack you're thinking of using I can measure things and see if it would work.

Hard to say about the wing construction as there isn't much to see - you can see part of a wooden spar through the servo cutouts but that's about it. Hard to tell what else is there, and to be honest I'm not a real expert on molded wings. But if the price is any indication I wouldn't expect this to be a super-tough wing...

Neil, usually on a 60" plane a rudder is not needed, the reason for one servo bay is that reason, just a elevator. I have flown several Banana's and the rudder really could be deleted, less weight and the ailerons with differential works fine, most like an oversized pylon ship!

Doug

For thermaling I would think a rudder would be an advantage? I don't have one on my present hotliner and am constantly cursing it for the lack. After flying a full house thermal glider you kind of notice it.

If just wanting to hoon around, then don't bother.

Heather

That's the reason Heather, for thermalling. I've heard many different opinions on this pretty much evenly split between wanting a rudder and it being useless for a 60"er. But from my planned setup it should be apparent that this isn't just going to be something for blasting around, it's intended to be a cheap and portable all-rounder that I can thermal with and do some aerobatics as well. A friend has a similar plane - the 1.5m Max (now out of production I believe) that he has set up with rudder. I've flown it and it *does* make a difference in thermal turns.

I've kind of run out of sailplanes actually and needed a new one - I originally started R/C solely with thermalling in mind but lately have been bitten by the 3D bug and most of my money is now tied up in aerobatic power models. Please don't hate me! This little guy is just to fill the need to have at least one nice sailplane to play around with. All the components came out of other planes and the cost of the airframe was made by selling some other stuff, so it's a "freebie". I think I'm really going to like it!

Neil,

If you haven't done so, check out the Monny thread in the high performance chapter. The two planes follow essentially the same pattern of construction.

A couple of tips with the v-tail as it is identical to the larger monny v-tail - tap the holes for the ball links otherwise you run the chance of splitting the nice mounts (first hand experiance at doing that - grr). I wrapped with kevlar string after I split them and it probably wouldn't be a bad idea to do this anyway.

Some of us also had issues with the vtail cracking on hard landings. Remedy was to get some carbon tow and insert it into the back of the vtail so that you have one continuous run from one side, through the V and onto the other side (Lift up both elevators and you will see what I mean) and thin CA it into place. Pretty easy fix

cheers, Shawn