The small number of parts, with all electronics installed and mechanical linkages in place, speak to the short amount of assembly time required to go from the box to the flight line for Flyzone’s Mini Switch. The two fuselage configurations (above left) share the same nicely decorated flying surfaces. The landing gear, wheels,
The Mini Switch spans 34 inches in the high wing version (dropping to 31 inches in the low-wing configuration); and has a wing loading of 15.1–18.1 ounces per square foot. The main difference is that the Mini Switch is not aimed at the beginning flyer, but rather toward those with successful flight experience who can handle and enjoy its greater speed and maneuverability in either its high-wing or low-wing configuration. The Mini Switch comes in either an RTF (Ready-to-Fly) version, which includes a Tac- tic 404 2.4 GHz transmitter and charger, or the TX-R (Transmitter-Ready) version dif- fering only in that the transmitter and charger are not included. In both cases, the
plane has a 20-amp ESC, a 28-30-1100 Kv brushless motor, and a Tactic TR624 6-chan- nel receiver already installed in the fuselage, as well as four installed 8-gram servos for the ailerons, rudder and elevator. It also comes with a Flyzone 3S 11.1V 1300 mAh Li- Po battery, which proved more than suffi- cient for flights in excess of eight minutes. I chose the transmitter-ready version be-
cause I have a Tactic TTX650 6-channel transmitter I’m using on all of my electric models at this time, and adding the Mini Switch to the existing selection of seven oth- er models was convenient. I should mention
and wheel pants come pre-assembled, but the author found that the foam wheels were binding against the inside of the wheel pants. The easy fix was to insert an emery board nail file (above right) between the wheel and the pant and simply rotate the wheels until the surfaces no longer touched.
that I am very enamored of the radio for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is an abundance of features usually found on much higher cost radios, including a 20- model memory.
Constructed primarily of “Aerocell” foam with carbon fiber reinforcement, the Mini Switch arrived in its colorful external box, well-packed and undamaged. As I removed the parts and pieces it didn’t take me long to empty the box. There just isn’t that much to put together, because so much of the work has already been done for the modeler. As I progressed in the assembly, I was im- pressed by the fact that even the control sur- face settings were pre-set at the factory and I didn’t have to change any of them, including the elevator and rudder, which at least re- quired connecting clevises to control horns. With only one or two exceptions (which I will comment on as we move through the review) everything fit squarely and perfectly.
Assembling the Mini Switch The nicely-illustrated assembly manual guides you through the process of assem- bling the high-wing version first and then offers two pages of instructions in convert- ing the plane to its low-wing configuration. Paging further through the manual reveals
an exceptionally detailed set of program- ming instructions for the 20-amp ESC, should you want to do so, a most unusual in- clusion for most assembly manuals that ac- company nearly ready-to-fly models. Since the fuselage setup is essentially common to both configurations, the first steps are to prepare the fuselage to accept the stabilizer. Installing the stabilizer in- volves the simultaneous steps of guiding the tail wheel tiller arm through a plastic fitting while at the same time sliding the stabilizer into its pocket. Both fit perfectly and al- lowed the tail assembly to be completed by attaching it with the two 30mm machine screws provided. Attaching the two wing panels onto the high-wing canopy hatch is accomplished by inserting the carbon fiber wing tube through the hatch and then sliding each wing panel and aileron servo lead into position. The wing tube is positioned by a stop screw in the outboard section of each panel and a lock screw further inboard, which is tightened down to keep each panel in position. A small alignment pin is built into the canopy hatch to keep the wing from twisting and fits into a small tube pre-glued into each wing panel. I found it difficult to slide the wings fully into position because the carbon fiber joiner
All of the electronics, including the motor, ESC, receiver and servos are already installed. Note the carrier tubing (above left) that keeps the elevator and rudder carbon fiber pushrods from flexing. The bundled wire between the servos and the receiver is the Y-harness for connecting the aileron servo extensions. One of the few assembly tasks that even require tools is installing
FLYING MODELS
the stabilizer, along with inserting the tail wheel tiller (above right) into the keeper attached to the rudder. The stabilizer is held in place with two machine screws. The clevises for the rudder and stabilizer are already the correct length held by screws going through the clevis collars and the carbon fiber pushrods.
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