Model glider mini minimoa

Advertise with us
Shop deals on ebay
shop deals on amazon
UKworkshop.co.uk

Help Support UKworkshop.co.uk:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
S

stuckinthemud

Established Member
Joined
17 Jun 2019
Messages
655
Reaction score
428
Location
Caerphilly
Don't want to hijack the plane threads elsewhere, but, seeing the r/c gliders in those threads makes me think I want to buy and build an old favourite of mine, a mini minimoa, and lo and behold vintage aircraft have re-imagined the 50inch keel craft kits for 2 chanel r/c. TBH even 50 inch is bigger than I like in a model plane as I prefer parcel shelf or suitcase size but a minimoa at 50cm seems unlikely to be a working proposition. Anyone know if the 50inch version are good fliers as well as good looking? Any thoughts on how accurate they are as scale models- I would guess stand-off scale but "adapted " for practical reasons?
 
Not familiar with vintage aircraft (kit manufacturer??) but I had a FF Keil Kraft Minimoa in the late 50's and A) it looked great (but was a bit of a PITA to build because of those gull wings) and B) like a lot of KK's FF gliders, it flew brilliantly (I also had a Caprice, if you're familiar with that - not a scale model at all though, but a great flier - if I remember, someone won the British national champs with a Caprice one year - against a lot of "proper" A2 contest designs).

I would GUESS that like the KK kit, the model you're referring to is stand off/semi scale, but it "must" (???) fly well if you build it straight.

My aeromodelling days are over now, but there's a member here, JonzJob who is still very much into scale and semi scale gliders (but bigger, up to quarter scale I think), and he posts here quite frequently.

I suggest you send him a PM, because he seems far more up to date with the scene than I am nowadays.
 
Wheres the secret plane thread what have I missed?

Fox35 C/l for me anyday!

Cheers James
 
I'll dive into my (non-digital) "archives" and see what I can do Adam.

@Gerry - ah, PAW, near the pinnacle (Oliver Tiger).

@Jamesshow: NOW yer talking matey - in a Crusader or even better, a Nobler I hope

(It's really nice to be "in the know" for once. Usually in this sort of thread drift it's me wondering what everyone's talking about)!
 
This is my Minimoa. 10' span, balsa built from a plan, rudder/elevator and spoilers and a lovely model to fly. I've only had it about 25 years or so now ;)

IMG_2139 copy.jpg


IMG_2146 copy.jpg


I have found the 50" model you mention and to be honest if you go any smaller than that you may well be disapointed with the result. It looks fairly scale, but if you do go for it I would steer vlear of the tissue covering. All very traditional, but very fragile, especially if you are going to go slope soaring. Apart for anything else it looks to e a very good price.

https://www.vintagemodelcompany.com/minimoa-50-inch-rc-glider.html
I also have a Crick kit Grunau Baby and that was originally tissue covered. That got changed toot-flamin-sweet to a heat shrink fabric.
 
Jameshow said:
Wheres the secret plane thread what have I missed?

Fox35 C/l for me anyday!

Cheers James
Click to expand...

I had a fox 35 with carb shoehorned into a Cambria ME109 Funfighter. Unfortunately it was a big disappointment being both gutless and unreliable. It did a good job of being ballast to get the CG right though.

Gerry
 
stuckinthemud said:
Don't want to hijack the plane threads elsewhere, but, seeing the r/c gliders in those threads makes me think I want to buy and build an old favourite of mine, a mini minimoa, and lo and behold vintage aircraft have re-imagined the 50inch keel craft kits for 2 chanel r/c. TBH even 50 inch is bigger than I like in a model plane as I prefer parcel shelf or suitcase size but a minimoa at 50cm seems unlikely to be a working proposition. Anyone know if the 50inch version are good fliers as well as good looking? Any thoughts on how accurate they are as scale models- I would guess stand-off scale but "adapted " for practical reasons?
Click to expand...


I meant to ask before, but so you have any experience in flying RC models?
 
If I've learned one thing in my 60 odd years of aeromodelling, then that's that a larger model will always fly better than a smaller one. Main reason being that air molecules are the same size, whatever the size of the aircraft. That being said, smaller models can be made to fly fairly well, though will always be more susceptible to wind gusts etc. Give the Minimoa a try, but find an experienced modeller to help with first flights if you have little experience.

G.
 
I have a little experience , started with a Bullet glider (still have it), an indestructible high density foam and tape type, also built a few balsa crunchies. Mostly I enjoy mini park fly/indoor semi scale electric for relaxed circuits, can't do stunt flying though
 
Don't forget that you will need to be CAA registered now thanks to the idiots who just buy and fly their quad drones anywhere and everywhere. I am not talking of the responsible people here, just the ones who have no idea what they are doing. I belong to the club South Cotswold Soaring Association and have done so since 1984. If you aren't in a club then it's a very good thing to join one near you. They will teach you how to fly and fly safely. Plus they will probably be affiliated to the BMFA too and that brings very good insurance with it and insurance is essential.

This should show you where your nearest club is

https://bmfa.org/Clubs/Find-a-Club
Edit. : - Sorry to get so serious, but the fines if you are found not to be CAA registered can be a bit heavy and if you were to hit someone whilst flying the BMFA insurance will cover you up to £25 million per claim.

BMFA = British Model Flying Association.
 
Last edited:
I used to fly with South Wales Slope Soaring Association when they flew off of Eglwysilan as it it only 15 minutes away but their preferred slope at the Bwlch is too far. I guess I should think of getting back in touch, but there are so many cracking slopes all around me...
 
@Jonzjob: Lovely looking aeroplane mate.

Re your QUOTE: I also have a Crick kit Grunau Baby and that was originally tissue covered. That got changed toot-flamin-sweet to a heat shrink fabric. UNQUOTE:

I hope this will satisfy ole grumpy above about "wrong sort of plane", 'cos it's not really about model aero at all, but my goodness I could really have done with your help about a couple of weeks ago Jon!

For the MG TC Midget kid's pedal car (still in write up as WIP) I wanted to use heat shrink mylar film (in my case brand "OraCover" 'cos it's what the local shop stocks) to represent the highly chromed radiator grille.

Blimey, what a mess, and a complete and utter disaster!

I appreciate heat shrink film is a knack that needs developing and I do NOT have it (just like dope, tissue, water spray and dope - now I AM yer man there!) but what a mess I've ended up with!

In the end I've had to strip the whole lot off, sand it back to bare ply, (really hard to get off in places), re-primer and am now fiddling with "chrome paint" in a rattle can.

You'll have to wait until the complete WIP write up is finished to see how it turns out finally, but that rattle can stuff can't be any worse than my OraCover efforts! Why don't you pop over for the weekend Jon and show me how it's done (I've got plenty of that "Horror Cover" stuff left)?
 

Latest posts

Back
Top