I'm a big fan of the 64mm HLI F-86, but I never went for the Sabre's adversary: the HLI Mig 15...Until now.
I remembered hearing some, not so flattering, things about this Mig. But, what the heck. I need a Mig 15 in the hangar.
I'd had a couple of the Arttech Mig 15's, but had dumb thumbed the last one. I'd done some mods. Mainly, removing the ESC from behind the fan. What a huge difference that made in performance. Who would have thought putting the ESC in the thrust of the fan would make it produce low power?
So, when I dumb thumbed the Arttech, with its EPS foam, it didn't fair well. Fortunately, the HLI Mig is EPO.
www.hobby-lobby.com/mig_15_epo_jet_arf_528669_prd1.htmWith the F-86 I discovered, after some fairly disappointing hand launches and flights, that it launched and performed much better with the erc 5000kv motor as opposed to the stock 4300kv. I thought I'd give the stock set up in the Mig a chance. It was a waste of time.
I'd read the RCGroups thread on the Mig and there was a lot of talk of how it had to be launched very level, with quite a firm toss, to avert a stall. It was said it that it would roll over to the right and nose in without a very accurate launch technique. They were correct. I did that twice; damaging the nose and right wing with the tail section popping off both times. Oh, horse puckies!
Enough of that. After I epoxied it back together, the second time, I removed the lackluster 4300kv and slipped in the 5000kv.
The stock 1500 20C 3S pack seemed anemic both on the bench and at the field. I installed the 1650 25C GensAce I've been using in the Sabre.
That did the trick. The motor/battery combo is what this plane needs. A firm toss, level, almost aimed down, (completely different than the Sabre that needs to be launched at a slightly up angle) got the plane moving fast enough until the EDF thrust caught up with it. Once moving, it performed nicely. Not quite as nicely as the sabre, which was fitting, as that's how the full scale versions measured up, but plenty good enough.
In all fairness; the Mig is some 2 1/2 ozs. heavier than the F-86, what with the plastic nose cone, armaments and wing air dams. Those items, while adding the the scale appearence, certainly hamper the performance a bit.
I mostly did circuits trimming and some loops and rolls. At close to the end of the battery, I was at the apogee of a loop, and the Mig lost steam and just started to slide backwards and flopped over. Momentarily there was no control until it gained speed in the dive. This is characteristic of the Mig with its elevated horizontal tail surfaces.
LVC is soft, and as it came on, I put it into a deadstick glide for landing. Very smooth, with no hint of a stall, right to a gentle rest on the grass.
I'd have to say, that the only way to really enjoy these HLI jets, is to make the power mods. If you don't, then they aren't that much fun. Touchy on the launch and lacking power for any fun maneuvering. In particular the Mig. Once modified they are both a treat to fly. Just the right planes for a quick toss and fly at the park.
So, when I dumb thumbed the Arttech, with its EPS foam, it didn't fair well. Fortunately, the HLI Mig is EPO.