RC India

Very Grateful to Vishal Anna(Owner of KineticHobbies) for sending me the Mini Floater :bow: :bow:
Thank you very much Vishal Anna.

For those who may not know- The Kinetic Hobbies Mini Floater is a lightweight,small and gentle flying Trainer plane that can fly in small fields too (http://www.kinetichobbies.com/kinetic-hobbies-mini-floater.html)

In short if you dont want to go through the whole build-
Its a superb plane, awesome flier and a really good primary trainer :thumbsup:
If you are a beginner looking for a first plane then it is definitely for you.
If you are an intermediate or expert flier looking for a nice slow flier for those lazy days then the Mini Floater is recommended and should be on top of the list :thumbsup:

Lets go ahead with the build-
The ARF version comes 90% assembled(Takes approximately 1 hour to complete). How much is 90% you ask?
1)Fuselage is fully assembled, with the motor and ESC installed and wiring already soldered and landing gear mount already installed.
2)Wing has been assembled completely and carbon spar has been added for reinforcement.
3)The rudder and Elevator have been hinged on the Tail Feathers and slot has been cut to insert the control horns(no aligning of the horns,push-rod and servo arm is needed for placement of the control horn)
4) The whole plane has been laminated with clear tape adding strength and protecting the surface from dirt :thumbsup:

All you need to do(takes approx 1 hour to complete)-
1)Install the vertical and horizontal stabilizer and connect servos to the rudder and elevator with the provided push-rods and control horns, then center everything and set your throws.
2)Assemble the landing gear and install it into the mount.
3)Attach the wing with the provided rubber bands.
4)Connect the ESC and servos to your Rx, and set it up.
5) Connect your lipo and make sure the C.G(Center of Gravity) is at the correct point.

With this done the Mini Floater is now Ready to Fly :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
Building the ARF version takes only 1 hour as i mentioned earlier, this is for the absolute beginner who has watched the Build Videos of the Mini Floater that Kinetic Hobbies have put up on their youtube channel( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hPPwOWxFU4E )
If you have the ARF version you only need to watch parts 4,5,6,7. Though watching the entire Mini Floater build series is recommended.
For experienced builders everything should go together in 30 minutes or less depending on the skill of the builder :)

The Mini Floater ARF version with LiPo retails for Rs.4990+shipping(http://www.kinetichobbies.com/kinetic-hobbies-mini-floater.html)

Specifications(ARF version with electronics and lipo):-

Wingspan- 760mm(approx- 30 inches)
Motor- MotrolFly DM2204 1600kV
ESC-ZTW Mantis 12A with BEC
Servos- Emax ES9051 4.3gm
Propellor- 8040
Battery- Haiyin 2S 500mAh LiPo

Here is the maiden flight, it was windy but the floater flew awesome
https://youtu.be/fE1TQ4C8jsA

Now for the build pics ;D





 

1) The box that the ARF version ships in
2) All components that come with the Mini Floater ARF with electronics and lipo)
3) Horizontal and vertical centerlines marked
4) Vertical stabilizer slot cut(This slot come pre-cut for you in the ARF version, i was lucky i could do something on the Mini Floater :) )

1)Vertical Stabilizer installed with hot glue
2)Horizontal stabilizer installed
3)Getting ready for installation for pushrods and control horns
4)Push rod and control horn set up for installation

1) Made a small mistake by flipping over the horizontal stabilizer and installing :banghead:(That is how i usually install my elevator with the side of the hinge with maximum deflection on the top)(not an issue it is a quick fix just have to align the control horn, cut the slot for it and install)
2) Both control linkages in places
3)rudder and elevator centered
4) Another view of tail feathers

1)Ready to assemble the landing gear
2)Inner stoppers for wheel inserted
3)Outer stopper inserted and both sets have been glued
4)Landing Gear installed in the mount on fuselage

1)Wing holder rod inserted centered and glued in place
2)Tail Landing skid installed(The tail landing skid is included in the box of ARF version) This one i cut from the scrap depron i had.
3)Removed case of Flysky 6 channel receiver(FS-R6B or HKTR6A-v2). This 6 channel receiver should fit in the fuse of the Mini floater perfectly with the case removed,even with straight pins.
4)Getting ready for installation of the receiver(all the wires have been tagged, R- Rudder, E-Elevator. The third wire goes to the ESC)

1)Wires connected to respective channels for mode 2
2)Wing mounted and prop attached to motor wit O-ring(its recommended to use the provided rubber bands for attaching prop to motor)
3)Ready for maiden(no decals applied, will be done after the maiden. Either way works and i would recommend finishing the plane before the maiden flight)
4)Top view

1)Mini Floater at the field ready for the maiden(more rubber bands have been used for the wing not just one like in previous pictures)
2)Another view of the Mini Floater
3)Mini Floater and the simple stick,they look cool together, formation flying perhaps ;)
4)Battery placement inside fuse

Will soon post video of the maiden flight and will also post an unboxing video :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

Would like to clarify two things, which I noticed after seeing the pics:

1. Slot for the vertical fin will be made in the ARF version. Apologies for not doing it in your model.
2. The tail skid (triangle piece of foam) was not provided too. Apologies again.

Looking forward to the maiden video Neil  :)

Nice review Neil!  :thumbsup:

Waiting for the maiden video too!  :)

Thank you very much Vishal anna and swapnil :thumbsup:

Maiden Flight has been posted on post #1 please check it out :thumbsup:

Will also be adding a short video review highlighting what are the reasons to choose the mini floater :salute:

Nice flying!  {:)}

 ;D I guess you had a great time flying the Mini Floater Neil. I read your comments in the video, but it still looked like little bit tail heavy (or elevator trim). May be you can reduce the throws and add some exponential to get smooth flights.

Thank you swapnil :thumbsup:
Vishal anna the plane flies awesome really had a great time flying it thank you for this great oppurtunity :bow:

It has a great speed envelope, does vertical without problems(unfortunately couldnt get footage of that).
It is not only a great slowfly trainer for orientation and to get a really good hang of flying a 3ch plane but you can also learn to do mild aerobatics with it :thumbsup:

Pure fun {:)} {:)}

Next time will try inverted, and try to get better footage :thumbsup: