Warbird magic with Tiny Brite Lights
Joe Malinchak | [email protected]
Adding a light system to your model can add to your flying fun. Lights increase the airplane’s visibility indoors and in low-visibility conditions, and they allow you to fly at night.
Lighting systems have been around for several years, but most have been too heavy for use on small RC aircraft and helicopters. That has changed with the rising popularity of ParkZone and other RTF micromodels. Tiny Brite Lights has designed a lightweight plug-and-fly system precisely for our micromodels. I was excited when I learned that the company is selling a SubMICRO Warbird set that features six machine-gun lights you can turn on or off with your transmitter.
SubMICRO Warbird set — contents and specs
- One 10-inch red LED
- One 10-inch green LED
- One 10-inch strobe-type white LED
- Six 10-inch white strobing machine-gun LEDs
- All LEDs wired on 30-gauge twisted-pair enamel wire
The lights and wires weigh only 1.1 grams and draw only 20 mA.
Installation
To test the new system, I put it in my ParkZone Ultra-Micro P-51. Installation was simple. I cut open the fuselage using my X-Acto knife, slicing along the decal line on one side. The control board was installed just ahead of the receiver and plugged into one of the extra channel ports on the Spektrum AR6400. I ran the wires through the hole on the bottom of the fuselage and neatly secured them in place using small, thin strips of Blenderm tape.
After making sure everything worked correctly, I closed the fuselage and used Blenderm to resecure the halves. I used my Spektrum DX7 transmitter for control. I was amazed by how the system could be turned off completely or set so only the navigation and strobe lights worked. The best effect of all was the six beautiful blazing gun lights. I could hardly wait to take the Mustang out and give it a try.
Flight impressions
After flying the model, I was even more impressed. The LEDs looked great in the air, and the machine-gun effect has to be seen to be appreciated. I removed the main landing gear from the P-51, so the added 1.5 grams of the light system was not even noticeable. This was the first time I had flown the P-51 without the gear, and the Mustang performed better than it did before. Low passes with the guns firing were a dream come true. I give this new SubMICRO Warbird lighting system two thumbs up and plan on using it on many future projects.
MICRO Heli Lights
I also tested the MICRO Heli Lights set from Tiny Brite Lights. It includes a 4-inch red LED, a 4-inch green LED, two 4-inch white LEDs, 7-inch strobing white LEDs, and a 7-inch strobing red LED. This system is plug-and-fly and can be used with any single-cell helicopter, such as the mSR or mCX from Blade. I installed the lights in my Blade mCX, which also had glow-in-the-dark upgrades.
As with the SubMICRO Warbird lights, the MICRO Heli Lights were a breeze to install. They merely plug into the receiver's battery connector and then need to be routed to the desired positions and taped in place. I installed the two 4-inch white LEDs on the bottom of the nose; they provide a nice spotlight effect. The helicopter lights combined with the glow-in-the-dark upgrades look great and make the mCX a fantastic night-flying model.
Other Tiny Brite Lights products
In addition to the two lighting systems described above, Tiny Brite Lights also sells MICRO Plane Lights and SubMICRO Deluxe lights.
- MICRO Plane Lights set:
- One 9-inch red LED
- One 9-inch green LED
- One 14-inch strobing white LED
- One 14-inch strobing red LED
- Two 9-inch white landing LEDs
- All on 30-gauge twisted-pair enamel wire
- SubMICRO Deluxe set:
- One 10-inch red LED
- One 10-inch green LED
- One 10-inch strobing white LED
- One 10-inch strobing red LED
- Two 10-inch landing LEDs
- This set can be controlled by the transmitter; lights can be turned on and off, and the landing and spot lights can be switched as desired.
The new Tiny Brite Lights MICRO line of RC lighting is a welcome addition to the growing line of accessories available for micro models. Please see the company's website for more information.
How the Wrights used wing warping
More recently I set out to build the most realistic micro-size scale version possible of the 1909 Military Wright Flyer. Arizona Model Aircrafters has a beautiful set of plans for the Military Wright Flyer, which I obtained and reduced to a wingspan of 13 inches.
Research and documentation
Good documentation is a fun and important part of scratch-building a scale model. The full-scale Military Flyer is hanging in the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, and a replica is on display at the National Museum of the US Air Force. This gave my wife, Cindy, and me a great reason to visit these museums. I took many photos of the airplanes to get the details right.
Drive system
One of the biggest challenges was the drive system. I decided to use O-rings to replicate the chains on the full-scale aircraft. I had planned on making the pulley system myself, but after corresponding with my friend Stefan Gasparin on the project, he graciously offered to make it for me based on my specifications.
Stefan, who is known for his work on CO2 motors, is an expert at making small parts from lightweight aluminum. I am using his 2-gram G10 micro brushless motor, which will provide plenty of power with this drive system. The drive unit runs well and looks fantastic in static tests.
Construction
I constructed the wings from contest balsa to save as much weight as possible. I built the wings on a small foam building board that was cut with the proper camber. Then I covered them with Japanese tissue and airbrushed them to simulate the look of the original fabric.
I am using muscle-wire servos for control because they are thin and fit flush with the bottom of the wing.
Next steps and testing
I still have a long way to go to complete this project. Next I will mount the drive system in the wing and test the wing-warping control. I am hoping to have this model up and flying in time for several upcoming modeling events.
Events
The 2010 Keystone Indoor Electric Fly will be held October 15–17 in Muncy, Pennsylvania, near Williamsport. As it was last year, this will be one of the best events in the world for micro-RC enthusiasts. Some of the world’s best micro modelers will be in attendance. The gathering features lots of open flying and friendly competition. Please see the event website for more information.
Sources
- Tiny Brite Lights
(630) 352-1383 www.tinybritelights.com
- ParkZone
(800) 338-4639 www.parkzone.com
- Arizona Model Aircrafters
(602) 971-5646 www.arizonamodels.com
- Gasparin CO2 Motors
- Keystone Indoor Electric Fly
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
