After spending some time talking about it, I decided to buy a full kit to try it out – and this is a kit, not ARF by any means. I took my time building it to document the build – I would guess that it takes about 4 – 5 hours actual building time and at least that waiting for glue to dry.
“The closest thing to a ‘NERF’ plane you’ll ever find” – inspired by the legendary IFO
MSRP: $149 full kit – just add receiver
The instruction manual is 23 pages long – if you’re dyslexic, you’re going to have a problem with this one! I found the manual complete but a good editing job and some more pictures would help. I bought the full kit which includes everything but a receiver, the contents shown below:
Recommended props for 2 cell Lipo batteries (7.4 volt):
The GWS EP1060 produces about 12 ounces of thrust at 6.5 amps with a pitch speed of 28 mph
The APC 9x6E produces about 11 ounces of thrust at 6 amps with a pitch speed of 29 mph
The APC 10×3.8SF produces about 12 ounces of thrust at 6.5 amps with a pitch speed of 17 mph
Recommended props for 3 cell Lipo batteries (11.1 volt):
The GWS EP 9050 produces about 18 ounces of thrust at 9 amps with a pitch speed of 34 mph; This prop is a tight fit on the included prop adapter – the hub may need to be filed down a little; APC props fit perfectly.
The APC 9x6E produces about 17 ounces of thrust at 10 amps with a pitch speed of 36 mph.
The APC 9×3.8SF produces about 18 ounces of thrust at 9.5 amps with a pitch speed of 25 mph.
The GWS EP1060 works great and produces about 18 ounces of thrust at 8.5 amps
Kit Parts
The Bug comes in a relatively flat cardboard box with scads of little pieces:
RC “BUG” Parts List
EPP Foam parts:
Main Wing, (2 ) left and right elevons, fuselage, rudder, (2) control rod standoffs
Hardware Kit:
1- 34” .098 Carbon rod main spar prop guard
1- 20” .098 Carbon rod rear frame spar
1- 14” .098 Carbon rod front frame spar
1- 14” .050 Carbon rod landing gear bow
1- 9” .050 Carbon rod axle
1- 3 ¾ “ .050 Carbon rod landing gear strut
1- 2 ½” .050 Carbon rod rudder surface control rod brace
3- 9 1/2” .050 Carbon rod servo linkages
3- 5” .050 (2) – Carbon elevon surface control rods (1) – fuselage stiffener
4- sm cable ties (landing gear and receiver/esc)
1- lg cable tie (servo horn, tail skid)
1- large black tubing (main frame)
1- small black tubing (landing gear)
1- clear tubing (landing gear and servo linkages)
1- thin styrene strip (fuselage landing gear brace)
1- thick styrene strip (servo plates)
2- wheel tread rubber bands
1- magic motor mount tube and x-mount motor base
1- .032 music wire (servo linkages)
1- large red heat shrink tube (servo control horns)
1- sm heat shrink (servo linkages)
1- roll “Blenderm” tape (hinging)
The full kit incudes the motor with prop saver, 10 amp ESC with connectors, 3 Tower servos and a 2 cell 480 mah Lipo, 15 – 25C burst. In addition, some acetone comes in handy to remove the UHU glue that comes with the full kit. The only thing I had to buy was some CA, kicker and some JST connectors (20 AWG) for the battery/ESC and charger.
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Body Assembly
The carbon fiber frame is the stiffener for the wings. The large front rod has to be held in tension and glued together – I found the easiest way was to use string to hold it together while the glue dries:
Once the glue dries, then glue the frame to the wings (the ailerons have been taped on):
Next add a small cf rod to stiffen the aft body:
The glue the body to the wing:
Motor Mount
The motor mounts into a small plastic tube which is glued into the body – you have to cut it to 1 ½” long and then score it so the glue holds better:
Then insert the mount into the front of the body:
Finally, push the motor into the mount, tighten the lock nut and secure the prop with the included rubber “O” ring:
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Control Surfaces
The control surfaces are actuated by small cf rods – glue one rod to the rudder:
The aileron requires gluing a stand-off onto the aileron:
Note that the kit includes marks which indicate where components are to be mounted:
Glue the standoff and rod per the directions:
The small rods are joined to longer rods that reach the servos using clear tubing and CA with kicker:
You build a long aileron servo arm with a plastic tab and heat shrink:
The aileron servo glued in place – I used some Blenderm tape on the servo’s body, then glued the servo to the wing; this way it you have to change the servo, it can be removed easily:
Finally the rudder servo – note again that all locations are clearly marked:
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Landing Gear
The landing gear consists of small diameter cf rods:
Clear tubing is used with CA and kicker for the joints:
You make the wheels out of foam, plastic pads and rubber bands – very clever!
Drill a small hole and mount to the landing gear.
Electronics
With the servos installed, add the ESC, receiver and battery:
The rod behind the axle is the shock absorber for the landing gear
I installed the battery using velcro – it’s the way to balance the model for flight:
Lightflite RC Bug
One of the intriguing planes I saw at the WRAM Show was the The Lightflite RC “Bug”.
After spending some time talking about it, I decided to buy a full kit to try it out – and this is a kit, not ARF by any means. I took my time building it to document the build – I would guess that it takes about 4 – 5 hours actual building time and at least that waiting for glue to dry.
The instruction manual is 23 pages long – if you’re dyslexic, you’re going to have a problem with this one! I found the manual complete but a good editing job and some more pictures would help. I bought the full kit which includes everything but a receiver, the contents shown below:
Key Specs per Lightflite:
Looking at the wing loading and thrust/weight ratio gives you an idea of what’s in store – performance can range from sedate to all-out crazy.
Motor Specifications:
This is a real beauty – very quiet!
Tower Pro SERVO SG50 Specs
Recommended props for 2 cell Lipo batteries (7.4 volt):
Recommended props for 3 cell Lipo batteries (11.1 volt):
The Bug comes in a relatively flat cardboard box with scads of little pieces:
EPP Foam parts:
Main Wing, (2 ) left and right elevons, fuselage, rudder, (2) control rod standoffs
Hardware Kit:
1- 34” .098 Carbon rod main spar prop guard
1- 20” .098 Carbon rod rear frame spar
1- 14” .098 Carbon rod front frame spar
1- 14” .050 Carbon rod landing gear bow
1- 9” .050 Carbon rod axle
1- 3 ¾ “ .050 Carbon rod landing gear strut
1- 2 ½” .050 Carbon rod rudder surface control rod brace
3- 9 1/2” .050 Carbon rod servo linkages
3- 5” .050 (2) – Carbon elevon surface control rods (1) – fuselage stiffener
4- sm cable ties (landing gear and receiver/esc)
1- lg cable tie (servo horn, tail skid)
1- large black tubing (main frame)
1- small black tubing (landing gear)
1- clear tubing (landing gear and servo linkages)
1- thin styrene strip (fuselage landing gear brace)
1- thick styrene strip (servo plates)
2- wheel tread rubber bands
1- magic motor mount tube and x-mount motor base
1- .032 music wire (servo linkages)
1- large red heat shrink tube (servo control horns)
1- sm heat shrink (servo linkages)
1- roll “Blenderm” tape (hinging)
The full kit incudes the motor with prop saver, 10 amp ESC with connectors, 3 Tower servos and a 2 cell 480 mah Lipo, 15 – 25C burst. In addition, some acetone comes in handy to remove the UHU glue that comes with the full kit. The only thing I had to buy was some CA, kicker and some JST connectors (20 AWG) for the battery/ESC and charger.
{mospagebreak}
The carbon fiber frame is the stiffener for the wings. The large front rod has to be held in tension and glued together – I found the easiest way was to use string to hold it together while the glue dries:
Once the glue dries, then glue the frame to the wings (the ailerons have been taped on):
Next add a small cf rod to stiffen the aft body:
The glue the body to the wing:
The motor mounts into a small plastic tube which is glued into the body – you have to cut it to 1 ½” long and then score it so the glue holds better:
Then insert the mount into the front of the body:
Finally, push the motor into the mount, tighten the lock nut and secure the prop with the included rubber “O” ring:
{mospagebreak}
The control surfaces are actuated by small cf rods – glue one rod to the rudder:
The aileron requires gluing a stand-off onto the aileron:
Note that the kit includes marks which indicate where components are to be mounted:
Glue the standoff and rod per the directions:
The small rods are joined to longer rods that reach the servos using clear tubing and CA with kicker:
You build a long aileron servo arm with a plastic tab and heat shrink:
The aileron servo glued in place – I used some Blenderm tape on the servo’s body, then glued the servo to the wing; this way it you have to change the servo, it can be removed easily:
Finally the rudder servo – note again that all locations are clearly marked:
{mospagebreak}
The landing gear consists of small diameter cf rods:
Clear tubing is used with CA and kicker for the joints:
You make the wheels out of foam, plastic pads and rubber bands – very clever!
Drill a small hole and mount to the landing gear.
With the servos installed, add the ESC, receiver and battery:
I installed the battery using velcro – it’s the way to balance the model for flight: