JOE HASS
joehass@gmail.com
tac.myshopify. com) and Deluxe Materials Eze-Kote (deluxematerials.
co.uk). These are both water soluble and dry quickly— creating a harder surface on the foam. The first coat requires a touch of 220-grit sandpaper before applying a second coat. Make sure you check compatibility with your finish paint by using some scrap foam. I tried some paint that was labeled “foam compatible” with disastrous results. Both of my
A pair of Mega Bats is ready for sport, formation, or combat flying. Both were painted with ordinary brush-on latex house paint.
While the adhesive for the fuselage
parts is curing, work on the firewall and installing the included blind nuts for the motor mount. My original (white) Mega Bat used a RimFire .15 motor (electrifly. com). A RimFire .10 should work as well, but I have not tested it. The red Mega Bat uses a BP Hobbies (
bphobbies.com) Cheetah A2814-6 brushless outrunner motor. Both drive a 10 x 6 APC electric propeller and are controlled by an ElectriFly SS-35 ESC. Epoxy the firewall to the front of
the fuselage. You will notice that some downthrust has been built into the fuselage sides. Epoxy the foam cheek cowls to the front of the firewall. Round the edges of the fuselage and the cheek cowls. Add a bit of filler for any cracks. Although you can use a variety of techniques to prepare the foam for finishing, I have had good luck with Beacon Adhesives Hobby Coat (foam-
Mega Bats were painted with latex house paint brushed on with a 2-inch brush. For the red Mega Bat, I took a piece of UltraCote iron-on covering to a local
paint store to see if it could be matched, and it could. Most stores sell a 4-ounce bottle of flat or satin latex paint that can been mixed to match your sample for approximately $4. Application, cleanup, and drying of the finish paint were easy. Epoxy the magnets for the hatch
into the recesses in the foam fuselage bottom. All wood surfaces were covered with UltraCote iron-on film. Assemble the plywood hatch using the provided foam spacer and plywood tongue. Complete the hinging of the ailerons
and elevator, then install the motor, ESC, and the servos. I used a few drops of epoxy to hold the Tactic (tacticrc. com) TSX10 servos in place. Mount the control horns and fit the pushrods. Tactic TR624 receivers completed the radio installation in both aircraft. The final assembly consists of attaching the optional canopy, the wingtips, and the twin vertical stabilizers.
Fit them by trimming and sanding the foam as needed. I used 5-minute epoxy and attached each piece individually. Dennis Waske, of Waske Sign Studio,
in Dearborn, Michigan, came up with the Mega Bat design from vinyl sign material that I had created. Adjust the location of the 3S 2,200
mAh LiPo battery to get the CG (center of gravity) at least 81
/2 inches
back from the firewall. This should be approximately 1 inch behind the first spar location. Set the control throws per the instructions. The ailerons are responsive, so resist the temptation for more throw until you feel comfortable. Although the Mega Bat is a solid performer with no bad tendencies, it is best to have a helper launch it for the first flights. At full throttle, the Mega Bat will quickly pull out of the launcher’s hand. The flight performance is solid throughout all flight speeds. Punch the throttle and extended vertical flight is no problem. Add in some rolls for excitement. Loops can be huge or tight, and
Cuban 8s can take up the entire sky or be in close. Throttle down and you will see that the stall is clean with no tendency to slip off to either side. I do a lot of flying at half throttle—just cruising around and having fun. Landings are easy, but be aware that the Mega Bat seems to glide forever, even after the power is cut. While I was experimenting with
the CG position, I didn’t completely secure the battery. It fell out during flight, but stayed connected to the ESC. The battery was swinging beneath the aircraft and decided to swing completely forward while it was roughly 2 feet off the ground. The very forward CG caused an instant dive onto the ground with many broken foam pieces. When back at the shop, I used 5-minute epoxy to quickly glue everything together. In 20 minutes, and with a few strokes of the latex paint, I was back in the air with a machine that looked as good as new. The Mega Bat goes together quickly,
flies great, and is extremely durable. With a wide flight envelope, it will be a welcome addition to your aircraft inventory.
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