Read Time 4 mins
Written by Don Slusarczyk Jets Column As seen in the Spring 2017 issue of Park Pilot.
Pusher park-flyer jets have been around for many years. Until EDF (electric ducted-fan) units became more powerful, pusher jets were the only way to fly a decent-performing RC electric jet at your local park. When looking at HobbyKing’s (hobbyking.com) recent arrivals webpage, I noticed the MiG-29 that the company was offering as part of its Glue-N-Go series of airplanes. The kit has laser-cut, preprinted foam board, carbon-fiber spars, pushrods, the motor mount, and the control horns. The kit’s price, depending on which HobbyKing warehouse you buy it from, is approximately $20, so I ordered one.
I chose an APC (apcprop.com) 5.5 x 4.5 propeller as a good compromise of thrust, speed, and amps with the 2,200 Kv motor. I am a fan of APC propellers because I find them efficient, but with the large number of quadcopter propellers now available, I am sure there are other acceptable alternatives. You will need two 8- to 9-gram servos to complete the build.
The wing’s main carbon-fiber spars will probably need to be trimmed in length to fit properly, so check their length before you start to glue them in. I decided to try UHU por (uhu.com/en/home.html) foam glue, which is similar to Beacon Foam-Tac glue (foam-tac.com). UHU por is used mainly in Europe, and until now has been difficult to find in the US, but it is available on eBay (ebay.com). Either brand will work. I made a couple of small changes to the airplane that I want to mention. First is the propeller slot. The slot is narrow and can generate a lot of noise because of the proximity of the propeller to the edges of the slot. The closer the leading edge of the propeller is to the front of the slot, the louder it is, so I widened the slot to reduce noise.
The next item was to improve the battery access hatch on the underside of the fuselage by adding a swinging latch made from some scrap foam and a spare screw. The result is an accessible battery hatch that locks into place.
The model started to climb out nicely, but suddenly pitched straight up on its tail! It was very tail-heavy. Luckily, I was able to power through it and land without damage, but the CG had to be moved forward before another flight was attempted. I added some ballast to the nose to move the CG 10mm forward, and it was a different airplane. It flew great. I flew around for approximately 5 minutes before landing. I then adjusted the control throws to close to a 25mm deflection in each direction and added a little more exponential. The second flight was slightly more aggressive on the throttle, and after 5 minutes I decided to land. Recharging the LiPo batteries, I found that the first flight used approximately 650 mAh and the second flight approximately 750 mAh, so I could fly longer. The airframe’s ready-to-fly weight (with ballast) is 11 ounces and 14.7 ounces with the LiPo. If you are looking for a low-cost, easy-to-build park-flyer jet, the HobbyKing MiG-29 might just be the airplane you are looking for. -Don Slusarczyk [email protected]
Written by Don Slusarczyk Jets Column As seen in the Spring 2017 issue of Park Pilot.
Pusher park-flyer jets have been around for many years. Until EDF (electric ducted-fan) units became more powerful, pusher jets were the only way to fly a decent-performing RC electric jet at your local park. When looking at HobbyKing’s (hobbyking.com) recent arrivals webpage, I noticed the MiG-29 that the company was offering as part of its Glue-N-Go series of airplanes. The kit has laser-cut, preprinted foam board, carbon-fiber spars, pushrods, the motor mount, and the control horns. The kit’s price, depending on which HobbyKing warehouse you buy it from, is approximately $20, so I ordered one.
The laser-cut foam pieces come preprinted.
Power System and Components
For the power system, the manufacturer recommends a motor in the 2,000 to 2,800 Kv range. For park flying, you will want something at approximately 2,200 Kv to keep the speed and amps down. Fortunately, with the recent popularity of quadcopters, motors in the Kv range for park jets have become plentiful and inexpensive. Suitable motors can now be purchased for approximately $10. I chose a HobbyKing 35-amp ESC, which is overkill, but it was available at the time of purchase. However, after flying the airplane, I think a 25-amp ESC would be plenty if you set it up the same way as I did mine.The power system uses a low-cost motor and ESC.
I chose an APC (apcprop.com) 5.5 x 4.5 propeller as a good compromise of thrust, speed, and amps with the 2,200 Kv motor. I am a fan of APC propellers because I find them efficient, but with the large number of quadcopter propellers now available, I am sure there are other acceptable alternatives. You will need two 8- to 9-gram servos to complete the build.
Building
The actual assembly process is fairly easy. I am not going to go over all of the step-by-step instructions because I had no real assembly issues, and the included manual is quite complete.Foam-Tac or UHU por glue can be used to assemble the foam parts.
The wing’s main carbon-fiber spars will probably need to be trimmed in length to fit properly, so check their length before you start to glue them in. I decided to try UHU por (uhu.com/en/home.html) foam glue, which is similar to Beacon Foam-Tac glue (foam-tac.com). UHU por is used mainly in Europe, and until now has been difficult to find in the US, but it is available on eBay (ebay.com). Either brand will work. I made a couple of small changes to the airplane that I want to mention. First is the propeller slot. The slot is narrow and can generate a lot of noise because of the proximity of the propeller to the edges of the slot. The closer the leading edge of the propeller is to the front of the slot, the louder it is, so I widened the slot to reduce noise.
Widening the propeller slot will help reduce propeller noise.
The next item was to improve the battery access hatch on the underside of the fuselage by adding a swinging latch made from some scrap foam and a spare screw. The result is an accessible battery hatch that locks into place.
Flying
The recommended CG (center of gravity) location is 75mm from the back of the motor mount. I balanced my model to this location using a 3S 1,300 mAh LiPo and went for a test flight. Launching the model is achieved by an underhand toss with partial throttle. Just make sure your hand is out of the propeller’s way when launching.Pushpins were used to hold the foam in place while it was drying. Here you can see the added latch on the battery door.
The model started to climb out nicely, but suddenly pitched straight up on its tail! It was very tail-heavy. Luckily, I was able to power through it and land without damage, but the CG had to be moved forward before another flight was attempted. I added some ballast to the nose to move the CG 10mm forward, and it was a different airplane. It flew great. I flew around for approximately 5 minutes before landing. I then adjusted the control throws to close to a 25mm deflection in each direction and added a little more exponential. The second flight was slightly more aggressive on the throttle, and after 5 minutes I decided to land. Recharging the LiPo batteries, I found that the first flight used approximately 650 mAh and the second flight approximately 750 mAh, so I could fly longer. The airframe’s ready-to-fly weight (with ballast) is 11 ounces and 14.7 ounces with the LiPo. If you are looking for a low-cost, easy-to-build park-flyer jet, the HobbyKing MiG-29 might just be the airplane you are looking for. -Don Slusarczyk [email protected]
Article:
Comments
John Byers (not verified)
Propeller Reversal
Wed, 08/16/2017 - 14:37Is there some particular reason why your propeller is mounted backwards in these pictures?
Dana Marsden (not verified)
Propeller Reversal
Tue, 10/10/2017 - 19:39The prop is mounted that way because it is a pusher jet. The motor is pointed to the back of the plane but the prop numbers ( 6x4 ) lettered on the prop should be pointed to the front and the prop should spin counter clockwise as you look at it from the front of the plane. Hope that makes sense. This is a great plane.
Carl Angleberger (not verified)
Mig 29 glue and go
Wed, 08/16/2017 - 15:43I have been flying ducted fan jets for years but this little Mig 29 is one of the most fun jets that you can put in your fleet. We fly formation with these jets at our field and if you hit somebody elses plane with one it just bounces of and keeps flying. Great fun for a small investment.
Andrew (not verified)
Control Surfaces Question
Tue, 09/12/2017 - 16:42Hi Carl,
Something I haven't found addressed regarding this plane: It seems like it only uses the elevators for control. How do you turn this model?
Thanks.
Klaus Döhne (not verified)
CG MIC 29
Wed, 01/09/2019 - 03:23The MIC was tail-heavy and you added some ballast to the nose to move the CG 10mm forward???
I think, you mean 10mm backwards???
Chris A (not verified)
MiG29
Sun, 01/13/2019 - 05:25I think it’s right, move the CoG forward by 10mm means it’s 85mm from the back of the motor mount, I.e 85mm forward
Ray Armes (not verified)
HobbyKing glue and go mig 29
Sat, 01/12/2019 - 00:05When setting up the tailarons for this jet, what settings are you using
Ray Armes (not verified)
Hobby King mig 29 glue&go
Tue, 01/15/2019 - 09:23Is this aircraft setup in a delta wing control and what are the settings.
Chris A (not verified)
MiG 29
Sat, 01/19/2019 - 10:16I set mine as elevons, but delta does the same.
Craig (not verified)
Mig 29
Wed, 02/06/2019 - 16:02I just put two of these mig-29s together and used a NTM 2836 2200 KV motor with a 6 inch prop and the other one I put a Park Zone 480 2200 with a 7-inch prop. I used a 3-cell 2200 battery and put it on the outside of the plane next to the fuselage so I could get the CG correct. The smaller motor and smaller prop work much better then the larger one. And yes elevon is the setup with one Servo wire going into the aileron the other into the elevator of your receiver and you then set in your transmitter the elevon function.
Dennis (not verified)
2200 Bat 3 cell OK?
Wed, 07/17/2019 - 10:45Is this too much Batt and will it make the CG with it?
Chris Clark (not verified)
Radio setup??
Fri, 10/25/2019 - 14:27Hi,
Is this a flaperon setup? I'm currently building one of these jets, and I'm a bit confused. This is completely new for me. Does one of the servos plug into the aileron port on the receiver, and the other servo into the elevator port? And I think I need to go into the transmitter (DX6), and make some adjustments for this setup. Not exactly sure how all this works. If you have the time, I would GREATLY appreciate a quick email. If you're busy or not interested, I completely understand. Thanks for all your help!!
Chris Clark
cac5000#gmail.com
Huntington Beach California
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