Mini FAI (oz4485)

About this Plan

Mini FAI. Free flight power model, for TD .010 engine.

Hi Steve - Here is Loren A. Williams' Mini FAI from Model Builder magazine issue 10-72.

Direct submission to Outerzone.

Update 13/09/2020: Added complete article, thanks to theshadow.

Quote: "Thirty-eight years of model building has brought me to the conclusion that, there will never be enough time to build all the designs I dream of. Each month the major model magazines present us with enough plans to fill a year's sabbatical. The selection of your next model be it an original or a proven design, is based on the amount of time that can be devoted to that specific model (count your unfinished projects). We will automatically reject a plan that will take 3 months to build, daydream of our super job that will take at least a year, then turn to a 5 hour peanut scale to satisfy our craving. The problem: Time.

The solution: Shrink size and we shrink building time. Build a scale version of that project you have never started, to fit a Cox .010 engine. Most magazine plans need only be doubled. The Cox TD .010 turns 27,500 R.P.M. (FAI enthusiasts take note), enough power for our scale version to simulate the most competitive of large engines.

The scale FAI presented in this article is a merger of highly desired design factors, which result in a model that reaches full flying speed almost instantly, climbs in a controlled vertical spiral, and flows smoothly into a floating glide pattern. MINI-FAI has 100 square inches of total flying surface (wing and stab areas combined) and a total all up flying weight of 50 grams (1.8 ounces). A special machined aluminum plate, for low profile, replaces the bulky plastic tank. See Workbench section for availability. Only 25 hours of building time required. Ready to start?

Construction: The key to fast building is to accurately fabricate all components to their exact finished shapes. All your planning of how the model will go together is done during this stage. Although this article will be broken into basic assemblies, read each one carefully and pick out all components that can be prefabricated.

The author even goes so far as to cut all tissue pieces to size before assembly of model begins. Careful selection of wood should be made to produce as light a structure as possible. When construction begins, there is no lost motion; there is always something to put together while something else is drying. Ambroid fast drying cement was used for all joints, except the firewall which uses Titebond..."

Supplementary file notes

Article.

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