Micro Corsair!!

[Chris]

After a winter's hiatus, I'm finally building again... and the result? The Micro Corsair!! I literally just finished it 15 minutes ago (still need to come up with a canopy), and thought I'd tease you guys with a sneak peak.

I need to make some minor modifications to the plan and build another wing (somehow this one lost an inch of wingspan along the way). It's a bit tricky to build because of the round fuselage, but it goes together fairly quickly - I started coloring the wood around noon and started building as soon as it was dry enough to do so.

Here's the specs:

- 14 inch wing span, although this one is 13. The entire wing and belly is removable and held on with small magnets (or will be when I receive my order tomorrow...)
- Removable landing gear - they clip in for display or for ROG attempts (I never seem to have any luck and end up hand launching everything...)
- Approx. 35 inches of wing area
- 19 grams total weight ready to fly (including landing gear).

Hopefully I'll be able to test fly it soon...

[CalmAir]

Hi Chris,

Another great looking little warbird. What did you use for color on this one?

Dale

[Chris]

Thanks Dale, I used a combination of Carters stamp pad ink and some blue food coloring. The stamp pad ink was extremely vibrant and the food coloring did a good job at toning it down. We'll see how it holds up, but my planes are typically damaged beyond repair long before the color fades ;)

Here's the latest.... it's all ready to go.

[Dave Robelen]

Hi Chris,
Very well done! You should put this one on display, and build another for flying. It is really cute. When I was using the actuators on a small tail assembly, I noticed a fair amount of interaction. Have you seen this on the Corsair?
Like the others, I am waiting on that flight report.
Regards, Dave

[CalmAir]

Chris,

I agree with Dave. You better hang that one up. It just looks fantastic. You really have the knack for bending the balsa.

Dale

[cyberbipe]

Awesome Model Chris
I agree with Dale. You certianly can bend balsa. I have tried twice to make the Pitts Special fulsulage and both times I end up with splits and so much ca that it looks terrible. Do you have any tips for a beginner on making those bends? Are you going to publish your plans? The other two are great! I would be willing to pay for the Coursair.
Michael Perry
Largo FL::eek:

[Chris]

Thanks Dave, Dale. I won't mind beating this one up, the plans need a little refining - things you just can't foresee without building one first. Once I get it flying good, I'll build another and THEN be reluctant to fly it...

Dave, there's a good inch and a half between the magnets on the Corsair. I get some slight twitching in one control surface when the other is at full throw, but no deflection to speak of. The magnets are about 1/4 inch closer on the Pitts, and I never noticed any problem there either. Maybe I've just been lucky.

[toekneesoaprano]

Hi Chris - I just completed the fuselage for the Micro Pitts with formers and all! I'm ready for the cowl, wings and landing gear.

I have a question though, I went to click on the link to take me to the Micro Pitt's plans and I couldn't get it. Have you taken this link off or has it expired. How can I get you plans again? I am more than halfway done but I need to print more plans and I never saved it or downloaded it. Can you help me. I really need this soon if possible as I can't build anymore without them - thanks again.

Thanks,

Tony.

[Dave Robelen]

Hello Chris,
I meant to ask earlier, what is your "secret" to getting such a neat looking insignia, and keeping it so light. That 19 gram weight is really impressive.
Regards, Dave

[toekneesoaprano]

Dave - since you are a moderator or simply have an interest in the micros - would you by chance have the plans to the Micro Pitts saved? The link that Chris provided doesn't seem to work anymore and I'm halfway done now. But I need to print more plans to cut. Can you help me. I would like to begin building again tonight as I have some free time. Can you imagine if I can't finish this now.

Do you need my email address or can you get it since you're a moderator?

Please help Tony - Thank You:(

[Chris]

Hi Tony, the PDF files are still on my site, not sure why you can access them. The address is: www.chris3d.com/files/micropitts.pdf If you still have trouble, give me your e-mail address and I'll send it to you.

Michael, you have to start with the right wood. My rule of thumb is if you can't roll a piece of wood into a tube with a diameter of about 1 inch, it's too stiff for the fuselage. I'll save the stiffer wood for the wings and, especially, the tail surfaces. But here's what you can do to bend wood: First, take a pen and roll it on the back of the wood to squash it a bit. You have to be careful not to squash it right to the edge because you want a decent edge to glue. Second, pinch the wood very tightly between your fingers (see attached picture) and sloooowly bend it. You can also hold the wood up to your mouth while bending it and breath on it as if you were trying to warm your hands. The heat and moisture will soften the wood more than you'd think. Finally, you can steam wood and it should bend around nearly anything. I'd use steam as a last resort, though, because if you need to use it, the wood you're using is probably too heavy. Also, I've noticed staining the wood (with ink, dye, food coloring, etc.) seems to really soften up the wood as well. And I'll make the plans available as soon as I make sure it flies.

Dave, I was surprised at the weight as well. The Corsair uses very little wood and I use super thin CA as sparingly as possible. I recently built a new Moth and Pitts, and they came in at about 22 and 24 grams respectively, so the Corsair is in line considering there's only 1 wing and the fuselage is so much smaller. The markings were made with decal paper - just run them through any inkjet printer, spray them with any clear acrylic/enamel, cut them out and they apply like real decals. Best of all, they weigh virtually nothing. You can get the paper at www.decal-paper.com

[toekneesoaprano]

Chris - still can't get through with link. Please email to me at joe_sparacino@xiotech.com

Thank you so much. I hope to receive tonight so that I can begin building again.:)

Tony

[miraclesailor]

Chris:

That is a Very nice looking plane. I am so excited about trying it out that I may go over to Staples tonight to get my Carter Ink Pad. I was just going to start design on a foam version of what you made (13 inch Corsair). I glued together one wing to see how it would last. It seems to work fine. It was a trick that I got from someone at an indoor meet. He said to use airmail package ripped to 1/2 the thickness and oderless CA glue directly on the foam. I made the wing with a knuckle in it and it is strongest at the seam. Great Job on yours!

Later,
Dan

[toekneesoaprano]

Hi Chris,

I know you are working on wrapping up the Corsair now but I have a quick question on the Pitts.

Does C1 go closest to the inside of the fuselage, then C2 is in the middle and C3 is furthest out or on the outside?

Thanks,

Tony.

P.S - look forward to getting the plans sent when you get a chance. My email address was on my previous thread - thanks again.

I will sent some photos - tommorrow of my progress.

[Trikster]

Man Chris, another awesome plane! How hard are these to fly? I have just recently stepped into the field of the backyard flyer and would love to go even smaller with your Pitts or Moth or even the Corsair... Can a relative novice fly these, or does it take more of an intermediate or advanced flyer to get these off the ground?

[Chris]

Thanks Trikster. The flight qualities depends on the plane - the Moth and Pitts flew great, the Corsair is proving to be more temperamental. On some advice from Dave Robelen I'm switching to ailerons which will hopefully correct issues.

If you wanted to build one of my planes, I'd suggest starting with the Moth - it's very easy to build and it flies really well. The Pitts flies nice as well, the stalls are a little more abrupt, but it still very tame. The thing with the Pitts is that it can be a little challenging to build, and with only 12 inches of span, it really needs to be as light as possible.

I can't really compare their flight characteristics to larger planes, as I've never flown larger ones. The Moth was the first plane I really learned on. I had built a number of planes prior to the Moth, but was always ignorant to things like accurate CG, wing incidence angles, etc. and they always crashed. I would think that if you've flown anything before, you won't have the slightest trouble flying these. The only thing you have to be careful about is wind - planes this small can't take a whole lot of it. A bit of a disadvantage, sure, but on the other hand, you can fly them in a small yard and within inches of yourself without worrying about injury.