Tiniest Micro's make for Neck jurking, eye straining flights

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Micromeister

Micro Craftman/ClusterNut
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Had some fun over the weekend....well it actually started last week when I ran across an old Jim Flis 13mm model design from 1990. Jim called it the "Micro-Dot" which immediately caught my attention...funny how certain words trigger some folks:) Anyway; I thought HUMM!.... Can I possibly downscale this to 6mm motor size?

Took a couple dry runs to discover this little bugger could be done out of cardstock for much of the construction better then with wood, liteply or waferglass. So that's where she went. a set of 3 folded 110lb cardstock fins with 2 tiny T2+ body rings.
If your really feeling strong eyed, you can also roll the rings from the same cardstock. I found it easier to just cut the rings from T2+ tubing rather then roilling them....but I have the tube anniliator-42000.
To align the fins and attach them I used a 1/4" wooden dowel, spot gluing the fins with plain old white glue then applying thin fillets at the joints and added stir straw launch lugs.
Next the nosecone...Doggone; aren't they always the toughest part to come up with. Having put off several other micro models waiting for a spirit to move me to firing up the micro lathe these little Micro mosquito style cones gave me the urge to spend a day turning. Wanting to keep the newly dubbed "Nano-Dot" as light as possible I decided to go with balsa first, but quickly decided to find another medium. Ended up using 17 lb/cu ft High density foam (SignFoam) which is a little grany but I cranked out about 15-16 in pretty short order.

As with most downscales, I wanted to check stability before going to much further, so a quick swing test right in the basement showed the foam cone was gonna require added a bit of nose weight. Adding tiny bits of clay
she finally stabilized with just under .3g of clay. Hollowing out the foam I dropped in 6 -#9 lead shot pellets and a drop of CA...... We were off to the field for a test flight.
Sorry NO flight pics:( I didn't even get close to catching the liftoff. OH MAN! talk about a neck jerker! Thank the good lord for the white tracking smoke or i'd have never seen the model at all. As luck would have it the slight breeze drifted the tiny tumbling "DOT" into the woods next to the field. Deeee-RATS. Back to the house to make a couple more just for good measure, and promptly lost both to the same woods later Saturday evening. but what FUN! Had a bunch of the local kids tramping through the woods trying to find one to no avail. I'm hoping on our larger open club flying field I'll be able to recover one.

Seeing how Quick and HIGH these bitsy models went I set up the one page plan to print fins and rings for a dozen models anyway:lol:

I didn't think to take pics of the folding, fin gluing process, I'll add them soon when I build the next 3 or 4:)
So Heres the "Nano-DOT: Standing just under 1-5/8" overall length it's the tiniest Micro model I've build and flown so far. Tipping the scales at .8g after adding the necessary .3g nose weight it's also the lightest, with a LOWT of 1.9g

As always a much best Hi-res pdf file is posted in the files section of the MicroMaxRockets Yahoo group if you'd like to try building some of these fun little fliers.

MM 345b-sm_Nano-Dot Plan_06-18-08.jpg

MM 345p01-sm_Nano-Dot rings & fin body_06-18-08.jpg

MM 345p02-sm_Nano-Dot,Body & Nosecone_06-22-08.jpg

MM 345p03-sm_Nano-Dot,Body & bag-O-Cones_06-25-08.jpg
 
Ain't that a hoot??

Fun to see that some of my old designs are still causing a stir :)

When I did the Micro-Dot I called it the "closest thing to actually gluing fins and a cone to a motor casing" LOL

I know that the Micro-Dot can vanish on a 1/4A motor. I can not IMAGINE what the Nano-Dot can do on the 1/8A motors... man...

Still waiting for that launch pix though... :D
 
LOL!!! yep yep yep! it did Vanish off the pad....even with the button half way down already. all I caught was a smoke trail! by the time I looked UP...and I mean WAY UP.....I just could make out the white smoke trail. Heard the pop but only caught sight of the tumbling body about 40 feet above the trees as she came back.

I'm gonna have to throw together a 13mm Micro-Dot just for fun at the July sport launch. I've had a bunch of 13mm 1/4A's laying around looking for something to do for awhile now LOL!!!

Jim:
I can't remember where I ran across the Micro-Dot plan, it's been sitting in my "To Build" file since 02. but the partical page I have isn't dimensioned at all. Was it drawn Full size? more importantly is the Nosecone a BNC-5V Mosquito cone?
Thanks for letting me downscale it. What a fun little build:)
 
John,

I believe that it is drawn full size. I'd have to print and measure... That is the same cone as the Mosquito and the Tumblweed) (NCB-5V) so knowing the body is a BT-5 makes it easy to verify the scale in the drawing...

That design is about 18 years old now. I have only ONCE launched and recovered one...

Those interested can find the original plans by clicking this link.
 
Well Dang Lost another one with about 40 pair of eyes watching! Jim they are just TOOO quick. had 3 camera pointing at the model at zero and it just dissapears!!!!
Woosh..........very very faint POP! and nothing. the better 2/3rds spent almost an hour combing where she "thought" it might have landed...no luck.
but very very funny!! talk about a neck jerker!!!

I have one made for you, when I see you next weekend. didn't even marker it up so you can use whatever homing colors you like:)

View attachment MM 345a-Lp01a-sm_Nano-Dot on pad_07-19-08.JPG

View attachment MM 345a-Lp01b-sm_Nano-Dot -Woosh IT's GONE_07-19-08.JPG
 
Thats exactly what I did Dick:
put a dozen sets of fins and rings on the plan page :lol: that way all ha have to do is come up with the nosecones and LL's tho the lugs could be rolled from some of the cardstock scrap:)
 

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