After the last of the painting details were added, the wings and tail section were permanently mounted and the windshield was glued in place (at left). The wheels and prop were added (above), the battery mounted and the c.g. set up along with the control system to complete the Kitten.
to secure the rod at the servo arm and at the control surface, but don’t make the rear bend until final assembly. With the push - rods in place on the servo output arms, fit the component board into the model and se- cure with silicone.
Mount the motor on the firewall, then lo- cate and glue it in place in the fuselage with a bit of right and down thrust as shown. Connect the system and insure that every- thing is working properly. And with that, the model is ready to cover.
Covering and final assembly I covered the model with Coverite Micro- lite, but the Kitten is a perfect platform for tissue and dope as well, and can be painted using acrylic paint. I also used graphics from
www.callie-graphics.com, but hand cutting tissue trim will work well also. Before covering begins, do a good detail sanding to remove any remaining bumps and boo-boos, then cover and trim the model as desired. Make the windshield from .004- inch acetate using the provided pattern and glue in place. Glue the wing in place on the fuselage and using it for reference, align and glue the tail section in place. Align the ser- vos to the neutral position and make the Z- bends at the rear, aligned with the hinge spar. Set the controls in the neutral posi- tion, slip the control horns over the Z-bends, and then glue the control horns in place.
Build up and install the lift struts and glue in place with a degree or so of washout in the wings. The jury struts are made up from round tooth picks, fitted to the struts and glued in place. Now you can add the wheels and whatever added detail is desired to finish the model. The battery was at- tached to the IP using hook and loop fasten- er and, as luck would have it, it worked out just about right for balance. Next up is to set up the controls and the Kitten will be ready to fly.
Setting up the controls
Things got a little tricky here for a minute. Using the control system from the Beast, the rudder ended up on the left stick. For those who like to fly 3-channel models with the rudder on the right stick, you’ll have to set up the rudder throw with the aileron/rudder mixer, then using the end point adjustment, turn the aileron travel ad- justment to zero so that if you do inadver- tently get into the left stick, it won’t add con- trol input where you might not need, or want it. The elevator is in the standard lo- cation, so no sweat there; just set up the travel and you’re good to go.
Flying the Kitten By nature, the Kitten is a very stable plat- form, so it’s an easy model to fly. But, it’s also small, so it does things rather quickly
as compared to larger models of the same type. Ground handling for ROG takeoffs was surprisingly good, and once in the air I was pleasantly surprised as to how well bal- anced the model was in both power and con- trol input. The model is what I would de- scribe as “overly stable” in roll, so a little rudder input is required all the way through the turn to prevent the model from return- ing to level flight before the turn is complete. Landings require carrying a little power. Without it, the elevator becomes extremely ineffective resulting in a steep glide angle, and no flair—not a good thing. But, with a little power she flies the glide slope beauti- fully and flairs nicely.
In the end I was really happy with the out- come. I was a little concerned going in that the E-flite 180 on two cells might be a whole bunch too much power, but as it turns out, the model performs beautifully. It’s certain- ly not under-powered, but it’s not spastically over-powered either, and cruises nicely at about two-thirds power. For indoor flying in a single gymnasium the Kitten might be a little on the large side, but for a double it’s just the ticket; but remember we’re up here at 6,000 feet too, so at sea level might be just about perfect. However, even in light breezes the Kitten handles very well out- doors, so will be a good versatile platform, and a good home for the guts from that shelled-out Beast.
On the ramp ready for her maiden flight (above). The preflight inspection was done and then it was into the air. In the air (at right) the Kitten is a solid stable flyer. Control is quick but very manageable, and using the power system from the Beast the model has more than adequate power without being twitchy or unmanageable. In all, a great combination of airframe and components.
FLYING MODELS 39
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