From the publishers of

JANUARY 2005

IN THIS ISSUE
PLAN OF
THE MONTH
1 Butterfly
A true indoor flyer
by Dave Robelen

2 On the Fly
by Debra Cleghorn

MODEL
REVIEW
4 WattAge
Micro Flyer
Worlds
smallest RTF
by Bob Aberle

MODEL
REVIEW
6 Matchless Aero
Micro Edgling
by Roger Carignan

PRODUCT
REVIEW
9 Hobby Lobby Intl.
Axi 2204/54
Brushless
Outrunner
Motor
by Bob Aberle

PRODUCT
REVIEW
10 Bob Selman
Designs
LiPC2080
Li-poly Charger

A true indoor flyer

by Dave Robelen aplusfarm@hovac.com

ON THE WEBSITE
rcmicroflight.com/jan05

T
TH
H

F LY

With the winter flying season upon us, Ive

been thinking in terms of a true indoor RC
model. What do I mean by true? In this case, the model
should have a very light wing loading and be capable of maneuvering in tight quarters.
To keep the cost down, I chose the popular RFFS-100 receiver and actuators for control.
This allows me to create a design that uses a single Li-poly cell for power. Meanwhile,
the well-known Mabuchi M20 (KP-00) drive develops good power on a single Li-poly cell.
N

16 SOURCE GUIDE

RO

by John Worth

PPL A

12 Cloud 9
RTF World
Expands

by Matt Keennon

F T E M
H

RCMICROFLIGHT.COM

ONTHE

BUTTERFLY
Left: the fuselage parts, ready
to be assembled. Be sure to
use the light wood specified
in the Construction Hints.
Below: the covering materials.
Krylon spray paint and lightweight Polymicro yielded
excellent results for my
Butterfly. I used a hot soldering iron to trim the edges of
the film.

FLY

Debra Cleghorn
rcmicroflight@airage.com

2 RC MICROFLIGHT

CONCEPT ENGINEERING
From the beginning, I decided to treat this project
more like an RC indoor free-flight model and use the
materials and techniques typical of the construction
of these models. In certain areas, I went outside of
the hobby to find parts and materials that would
yield the best result. For example, I found an excellent gear set in a broken battery-operated alarm
clock (the sort that works on one AA cell). This gave
me the desired 6:1 ratio to drive a larger, more
efficient propeller with the same motor. In other
cases, I selected materials from free-flight specialty
businesses to get the lightest model.
My role model for this project was the Sky
Hooks & Rigging Mosquito. Its handling qualities are
superb and well worth imitating. My first effort was to
duplicate much of the Mosquito with thinner, lighter
materials, along with changing to a V-tail. The V-tail
works well and keeps the delicate tail farther from
the surface when landing and taking off.
I built the first version fairly quickly. The weather
was unusually calm, so I headed out for a test flight.
Big surprise! The Butterfly went about 5 feet from a
hand-launch and proceeded to dive steeply to the
ground. Not believing these results, I tried again,
holding up-elevatorno change. I had built an

Wingspan: 25 in.
Length: 17 in.

SPECIFICATIONS

Welcome to our first newsletter

of 2005! We look forward to
bringing you the latest news on
small RC as micro flyers continue to push the envelope.
This months featured plan is yet another
winner from the workshop of master modeler
Dave Robelen. A true indoor flier, Daves
Butterfly features built-up construction and
magnetic actuator controls. Daves article
highlights construction tips and tricks for
building lightweight models and, if you build
this plane, he notes, you may get hooked
on this peppy, ultralight style of flying!
The smallest ready-to-fly plane available,
the WattAge Micro Flyer flies incredibly well
and is destined to attract many first-time
pilots to RC. But dont discount its appeal to
experienced modelers: this great little design
just begs to be tinkered with! Weve already
seen biplane Micro Flyers, and other variations are surely underway as I write. Why not
use its power and control systems in your
own design? The possibilities are only limited
by your imagination.
Roger Carignan test-flies the Matchless
Aero Micro Edgling 3D, a built-up aerobatic
plane powered by a KP-00 motor on 2,
170mAh Li-poly cells. This lightweight showstopper has just a 16-inch wingspan and is
quite possibly the smallest model ever to
perform 3D maneuvers! Check out Rogers
assessment on page 6.
Brushless outrunner motors are rapidly
gaining in popularity for larger electrics, and
now Axi has added a micro version to its
lineup. Distributed by Hobby Lobby Intl., the
2204/54 weighs just 0.8 ounce and is
designed to be powered by 2 Li-poly cells.
Read more about this little powerhouse in
Bob Aberles review this issue.
In another product review, Matt Keennon
tests the latest Li-poly charger from Bob
Selman Designs, the LiPC2080. This $25 unit
is ideal for charging small-capacity cells like
the popular Kokam 20mAh as well as Li-poly
cells up to 145mAh. Matts writeup starts on
page 4 this month.
In Cloud 9, founding editor John Worth
shares news of some interesting new ready-tofly planes, insight on differential-thrust control,
the latest magnetic-actuator design, a 3.5gram outrunner motor from India and more.
Heres to 2005! Safe landings.

Wing area: 138 sq. in.

Weight: 23g
Wing loading: 0.85 oz./sq. ft.
Power system: Mabuchi M20 LV motor
geared 6:1

Propeller: 5x4
Battery: 170mAh Li-poly
No. of channels: 3
Radio system: RFFS-100 receiver and actuators
Flight duration: 15 to 20 min.
Comments: the Butterfly is a true indoor
model with a minimum speed thats low
enough for flights in very tight quarters. Its construction is not complicated but makes use of
special lightweight materials and techniques.
The model has superb handling qualities with a
3-foot turning radius and a rapid rate of climb.
Cruising at 30- to 40-percent power, flights last
between 15 and 20 minutes on a full charge.
The minimum flying area is a large recreation
room or small social hall.

unflyable airplane! Reviewing the problem, I realized

that the wings were twisting a lot under load and
were losing lift. Armed with this information, I built
another, stiffer set of wings and headed out again.
Problem solved! The Butterfly cruised at 30- to 40percent throttle and turned in a 6-foot circle.
Meanwhile, it could fly really slowly and was about
as gentle as they come.

CONSTRUCTION HINTS
Wood selection. There is nothing especially tricky
about the basic structure, but some of my materials
choices and techniques are worth discussing. Balsa
is a marvelous material, but it can be mighty
rustrating to find the magic piece for the job. Those
who follow my articles are used to my specifying
light balsa for a project. To be specific, wood for
this application should weigh no more than 6 grams
for each 132 inch of thickness in a 3x36-inch sheet.
The problem goes deeper, though. This light wood
can be cut in a variety of ways, dramatically
affecting its stiffness and quality.
Probably the best way to get just the right
amount of suitable wood is to purchase it from one
of the indoor specialty supply houses that services
the free-flight community. I recommend Indoor
Model Supply (indoormodelsupply.com) as a source
of excellent wood, and they also carry Polymicro, a
special lightweight covering. Dave Lewis
(homefly.com) is a very good source for the small
carbon-fiber rods and ball bearings as well as a lot
of other great indoor supplies. Dynamics Unlimited
(slowfly.com) also carries carbon-fiber rods as well
as a line of light RC equipment. Bob Selman
(bsdmicrorc.com) has some great stuff, too. Check
out all of these folks, and you will find all the
goodies needed to build a Butterfly.
Covering tips. Because I was going to use a clear
covering on my Butterfly, I chose to paint the woodwork before covering it. I used Krylon spray paint, and
it added a total of 0.5 gram to the model. I am very
fond of CA in my work, but it is incredibly easy to
apply too much to these light structures. By the way,
I am talking about medium-thickness CA. I either use
a nozzle with a very small hole for application, or I put

The Hutchison micro plastic horns work great.

The lightweight drive has plenty of pep.

The control installation.

a puddle on a scrap of wax paper and then transfer

drops to the joints with a toothpick.
Working with really light covering such as
Polymicro is another area that requires a variety of
methods. For one thing, forget about cutting this
stuff with a blade; it will tear, and you will get really
frustrated. A hot tool such as a soldering iron does
a super job of slicing as needed. I use 3M Super
77 spray cement to attach the film to the framework, but there are special techniques involved to
get the best result.
Start by laying a clean, flat sheet of paper on
the work surface that is larger than the part to be
covered. Unroll a length of plastic film onto this, and
slice it off the roll with the soldering iron. Work
slowly, and smooth away any wrinkles. Spread
sheets of newspaper over about 6 feet of floor in
your work area. Begin by laying a wing panel rightside up in the center of the newspaper. Holding the
can of contact cement about 3 feet above the
structure, lightly dust the frame with a mist of glue.
Carry this sticky frame to the plastic, and lay it glueside down on the plastic. Rock it back and forth to
attach it completely. I found that I could also get a
tail half on the same sheet before I began trimming

the parts. Next, run the hot soldering iron around

the edges, and the job will be half done. There is
still some time to work around the edges and
smooth out small wrinkles while the glue is damp.
Please be sure to clean up all the messy
newspaper before someone walks on it! One more
thing: avoid the temptation to heat-shrink the
covering because this will surely warp the structure.

need a safe method to store and transport them. A

cardboard box of suitable size works great. It keeps
the dust off in the shop, and you can walk from the
car to the gym in a strong wind with no problem.
You will notice that I marked the dimensions on
the plan sheet in decimal format. You will be slicing
your own strips of wood to the various sizes, and
this system of measurement is more precise. One of
my favorite tools is a 6-inch-long steel ruler with
decimal graduations. These can be found in tool
catalogs and in stores such as Sears.
The Butterfly is an
example of a peppy,
ultralight indoor flyer,
and you may get
hooked on this style
of model. I certainly
hope so; I have! 

Miscellaneous hints. I am fond of using Hutchison

control horns for these models, and a few strips of
frosted mending tape cut
14-inch wide make fine
hinges attached to the
uncovered side of the
controls. You can make
pushrods out of 0.5mm
carbon-fiber rod with
brass wire ends and
small lengths of heatshrink tubing to hold
them together.
Along with special
building methods for a
really light model, you will

The actuators are

ready to be
installed in the
plane. They provide
excellent response
for indoor flying.

MFP0105A
Butterfly
Designed by Dave
Robelen, this indoor model
uses typical free-flight
construction methods and
materials. WS: 25 in.;
L: 17 in.; power: geared
Mabuchi M20; 1 Li-poly
cell; 1 sheet; $12.95

FREE!
Download
this plan from
rcmicroflight.com.

January 2005 3