Electrifying The Midget Mustang 60 - The Wings Maker · Electrifying The Midget Mustang 60 Converting this ... Futur-E speed controller from Dymond Model Sports. ... So How Does the

Electrifying

The Midget

Mustang 60

Converting this

high performance

thriller to electric

was surprisingly

simple.

Distributor’s Supplied Specificatins (See Bench Test at End of Article)

Wing Span: 59.5 in / 1510 mm

Wing Area: 6657 sq in / 43.0 sq dm

Flying Weight: 7.5 / 3400 g

Fuselage Length: 51.0 in / 1290 mm

Engine: 2-stroke 0.61 or 4-stroke 0.91

Radio: 4-channel radio with 5 standard servos

Available from The Wings Maker.com

By David Blensky

Page 1 of 1Mustang Page 1

7/1/2011http://www.electricflyermagazine.com/mustang-page-1.html

e’re not really big on “what’s in the box” reviews. In fact, most of them

bore us. So we’re not gong to do that

here. However, when we did open the

box and after carefully examining the

parts, and studying the overall

construction, it became apparent that

this is one hell of a high quality product

that The Wings Maker people have

made available.

So how did we arrive at that conclusion

before even building the kit? By

checking the manufacturer’s attention

to details, the little things, like the way

holes have already been drilled to

accept the control horns, how the pre-

drilled hole for the canopy screws fit

the holes in the canopy

for the fibreglass cowling and wheel

pants. Note how considered were the

designers in supplying grommets for

the screw heads to protect the canopy

and fuselage surfaces.

The included control horns and

connectors are all first class–EZ Links

that connect the push rods to the

servos. No need for a Z Bender

here–just, a 90-degree bend and

snap on the links.

Surely we should be able to find

some glaring fault in this kit? After all,

it IS just an ARF. So we had a look

at the hinge lines. No gaps to be

seen in the elevators; the same can

be said for the ailerons.

The instructions manual that comes

with the Midget Mustang 60 consists

of 11 pages of some of the clearest

instructions we have ever seen with

just one exception: Nowhere does it

indicate the amount of dihedral in

the wings, nor if any is even

necessary. However, the wing joiners

are canted, so if you glue ‘em right I

guess it will be ok. We hope! Any

how, with such great instructions–

other than how we did the electric

conversion–we are not going to bore

you with a step-by-step build. But

some of the design and construction

features are particularly interesting.



The high-quality control horn mounts

are pre-drilled as are the holes in the

control surfaces to receive them. The

trick here is to run the screws about

half way through the mount as shown

in the photo bottom left. Then simply

push them through the holes in the

control surface, elevator or aileron,

and then screw to the mount on the

opposite side. If you have never used

this type of connector before, note that

you screw the rod connection down

for more throw, screw it up for less.

More in photo photo below:

This is a bottom view of the tail wheel

assembly and control connector to the

rudder. Screw the connection down for

more throw, up for less. Note the high-

quality metal pin in the white clevis

providing a more secure connection.

Installing the wing servos:

Wing servo openings are already

prepared with a cover for each. The

cover is slotted for the servo arm to

stick through. Note the strings in the

photo below: Their purpose is to

assist you in pulling the servo wires

through the wing to the receiver

located in the fuselage.

Below is how–after opening the round

holes in the wing covering–we pulled

the strings through. Careful: If you lose

control of those strings you are in for a

fishing trip.

Our servo wires turned out to be a bit

short, so we had to lengthen them.

Covering is already stripped from the

horizontal stap to provide a gluing

surface. But before you glue on either

of the tail stabs you must, of course,

remove the fitted balsa blocks that fill

the slots, placed there to protect those

areas in shipping. Just another

indicator of the care that went into this

kit.


7/1/2011http://www.electricflyermagazine.com/mustange-page-3.html

Below is one of the wing servos

mounted on it side and attached to the

cover and two wood blocks provided

in the kit.

The connector that joins the two push

rods leading to the split elevators

(right photo) comes in two parts, top

and bottom and three screws. The

push rods are over-long to

accommodate various servo positions.

Once you have determined the correct

length, cut to fit. But be sure to

account for the “L” bends that you

must make for them to fit into the

three pre-drilled holes in the bottom

part. Fit the top and tighten the

screws. See the above right photo.

Now Let’s Make It Electric

There really isn’t much more to say

about the basic construction, so lets

now move on to converting this glow-

powered Midget Mustang 60 to

electric.

With any electric conversion, the

builder must first decide on what kind

of power system he will use and why.

On this Midget Mustang 60 we will

deal with the specifics of those

decisions on a separate page.

Meanwhile consider the primary

construction problems that must be

solved. They are: Where and how to

install the battery for easy removal for

charging. Mounting the motor with its

connectors to the ESC, and mounting

the ESC where it will receive as much

cooling air as possible. Let’s start with

installing the battery:

Cutting the Battery Hatch

On most low wing electric ARFs the

canopy and cockpit are often

removable for inserting batteries. We

considered that, but it would have

meant chopping out a nine-inch hatch

in the top of this beautiful fuselage,

and the original construction did not

make that option easy. Also, the

batteries would have wound up behind

the CG, never a good idea. And

anyhow, we were afraid it would have

been sin ugly, so that was out.

This meant not only cutting through the

bottom of the cowling but the flat

plywood fuselage section ABOVE it.

Note: As you look at the following

photographs keep in mind that you

are looking at the bottom, not the

top.


7/1/2011http://www.electricflyermagazine.com/mustang-page4.html

We cut the hatch between the first former and the firewall and

installed the battery tray. Once the cowling is on, it would have been

a deep reach to get a hold of the batteries and our fingers are not

that long, so we raised the front end of the tray. Of course this

meant that the batteries are going to slide down the sloping tray. See

next photo. On the firewall in this photo you can see a section of

PVC pipe that we first attempted to use as the motor standoff. As you

shall see, we later changed this.

Below, wall installed to prevent tray from sliding backward. Note

in this photo and the one below it that the cowling is fully in

place.

Another Battery Tray Problem

In level flight the rear end of the

battery would fall. (Remember,

this is a bottom view.) So we put

a block over it to prevent that.

Also note the small blocks on

each side to prevent the battery

from shifting side to side.

Looking into the back of the cowling you can see

how we mounted the ESC directly in the airflow

through the cooling vent in the front of the cowling.

Note: Unlike most of these photos, this one is

right side up as is the one below it.

Below you see the 100 amp Futur-E speed

controller mounted directly in front of the bottom

cooling air inlet. and the ESC plug that goes to the

battery. Also the 4130/6 Gunther motor. Both from

from Dymond Model Sport

Futur-E speed controller from Dymond Model

Sports. It is 100 amp, opto coupled–no BEC. Here

the plugs have not yet been soldered on.



Below are the two Dymond 5000 mAh,

11.1 volt batteries with the series

harness in place. Wiring in series in

this way turns the two 11.1 volt

batteries into one 22.2 volt. The 5000

mAh remains the same. This series

harness is available from Atlanta

Hobby.com. They also have available

a parallel harness. For installation in

the Midget Mustang 60 the batteries

are bound together with tape and

stacked one on top of the other.

Note that in this photo the cowling is only partially installed.

In the photo below the cowling is fully installed.



Installing the Motor

Below is the original firewall for

mounting a glow engine. We would

very much like to make use of the blind

nuts already installed in this firewall

After mounting the cowling and taking

a measurement (see next photo

below) we found a 2 ¼ inch standoff

would be necessary for the spinner and

propeller to clear the front of the

cowling. Of course, the cross mount

provided with the Dymond Gunther

4130/6 motor from Dymond Model

Sport would not fit those blind nuts.

We used nylon standoffs available

from Hobby Lobby. They come in

various lengths, so we were able to

get a perfect fit as you can see in the

spinner photo at right.

Switch harness. Plug on right is

inserted to power-up system. Harness

available from

Atlanta Hobby.com

Remove plug to disconnect power.



So How Does the Midget Mustang 60 Fly

Scott Brown, Electric Flyer Mgazine’s chief test pilot, makes some last minute checks in preparation for the

Mustang 60’s maiden flight at the Field of Dreams in San Pedro, California. Scott is president of SULA.

With 1lb, 14.2 ounces of Dymond Li-

Polymer batteries in the fuse, the 10

oz Dymond Gunther motor mounted in

the nose, our Midget Mustang 60

came in at 8.5 pounds. Even though

our bench tests predicted it would be

flying on 125 watts per pound we were

still a bit concerned about the weight

and cautioned our test pilot, Scott

Brown. Scott said no, that that was

just bout right. And off he went.

Since there is now a video of the

maiden flight that pretty much tells it

all, we won’t give a maneuver

Watch the video of the maiden

flight with Scott Brown on the

sticks, and Mike Baltes flying in

fog.

by maneuver flight description here

except to say that it was a beautiful

thing to behold. Smooth take offs with

not even a wing quiver, landing

approaches were long smooth flairs a

foot above the grass, ending in slick

wheeled landings.

Mike Baltes, another of our favourite

test pilots, flew it on a foggy day. He

commented on the excellent slow flight

characteristics. His landing approach

was with power full off.

A Few Specs on the Power System

The Dymond Gunther 4130 with a KV of

430 is good for 16 to 25 volts, so two

Dymond 11.I V 5000mAh batteries

wired In series for a total of



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Electrifying The Midget Mustang 60 - The Wings Maker · Electrifying The Midget Mustang 60 Converting this ... Futur-E speed controller from Dymond Model Sports. ... So How Does the