Mini Blue Max Nippy Slow Stick

Nippy Stick

Flying The Sound Of Silence

This plane had a number of inspirations and is probably my most total hack. First, I saw someone flying a brushless outrunner motor and fell instantly in love. They're very, very quiet and I like that.
A great deal of research and $80 later, I had a Nippy Black 0808/78. Years later, it is still my favorite motor (though not by much). It flies fine on two or three lithium cells and is extremely quiet.
It does have a 'firewall' mount though, so putting it on a GWS stick style plane required a little engineering. After monkeying around with various parts lying in a box on the floor, I came up with this:

It's basically a GWS 280 gear drive housing with a nippy mount screwed to it. As a bonus, I could put a small washer behind one screw spot and get down and right thrust. (The washer can be seen just right of the foreground mounting screw).
After seeing a Wattage Crazy Max fly at Baylands, we were convinced that was the right wing for fooling around with, so we got one each and set about making planes. (One of the few truly cool things about Wattage planes -- which are otherwise generally crap -- is they let you order parts. We didn't have to buy the whole crappy plane ... ) The tail feathers should look familiar: yet another reincarnation of the Mini Blue Max.
It was my first truly successful aileron plane, and saw service for several months. It flies fine with a GWS 370 motor/gearbox, but I just love the Nippy.
The wheels are a really spiffy set I bought from Perry at Aeromicro, but I had to hand-bend the gear wires. I think the obvious visual quality reflects my level of skill fairly accurately.

Launching it for the first time. Action shot!

Note the climbout angle. I loved that about the plane, since I was still having 'infant mortality' (takeoff crashes due to wind, ineptness, and general confusion). Getting some quick elevation is a real virtue at times.

Back To Planes Index