[1st Attempt] [Carbon Skeeter] [Kolibri] [LeTTO] [Mala Bdzhola I]
[Micro IFO] [Micro Kolibri] [Minor] [Trenton Terror] [Kits]


"Mala Bdzhola I" (MBI) is the second electric powered plane I constructed. The weight of MBI is just over 118g (4oz), which I was pretty happy with. The difference in weight with that of 1st Attempt is about 28g (1 oz). The wing loading is about 7.0 g/sq.dm (2.3 oz/sq.ft), which is less than half of 1st Attempt's. Here is a summary of the specifics:

Plane characteristics   Radio and motor
Wing span: 91cm (36in)   Component Type Wt (g)
Wing cord: 18cm (7.25in)(constant)   Rx FMA Tetra 14.9
Wing loading: 7.0g/sq.dm (2.3oz/sq.ft)   Servos 2 @ Cirrus CS-20BB 2x9.0
Fuse length: 58cm (22.75in)   ESC Pixie-LITE 2.3
Control: 3 channels (rudder, elevator, throttle)   Battery Pack 7-cell 50mAh NiCd 25.9
Materials: balsa and mylar   Propulsion VL HY-50B and P-2 prop 26.0
Ready to fly weight: 118g (4.2oz)     Total wt 87.1


"Mala Bdzhola I", my second electric powered plane.
(There are more images of MBI in the Photo Gallery.)

Construction details:
When building this model to cut down on weight I used a number of different construction techniques and materials then what I used on 1st Attempt. For the landing gear support I used 1.5mm (0.06in) carbon rods, for the landing gear, plastic 19mm (0.75in) diameter wheels (Sig I think), the control linkages made use of 1mm (0.04in) carbon rods, the fuselage is sheet balsa, but not covered, the wing is balsa covered with aluminized mylar and the tail is balsa covered with mylar. Using these materials I was able to cut the weight of both the wing and the of the fuselage by about half.

I designed this plane to be easily taken apart so it could transported in a box without too much trouble. The wing is two pieces and comes apart in the middle, the landing gear pulls out as well as the vertical tail.

Flight characteristics:
I took MBI out one evening when there was no wind to see how it flies. Unfortunately, I had the center of gravity in the wrong spot. I had it about an inch further back then I wanted it (I must have measured wrong when I glued on the wing supports), and the flight didn't last too long and ended in a crash. Not too much damage, the fuselage and tails were fine, but one of the wings snapped in half. I have built a new wing for MBI which you can see in the picture below. The new wing is balsa covered with crystal blue Reynolds plastic wrap. More info about its flight characteristics with its new wing once I get a few more flights in.


MBI with new wing, on top of its travel box.


[1st Attempt] [Carbon Skeeter] [Kolibri] [LeTTO] [Mala Bdzhola I]
[Micro IFO] [Micro Kolibri] [Minor] [Trenton Terror] [Kits]

© 2001-2004, Matthew J Litke
Contact: uplanes [at] litke [dot] info