MICROACES
BRISTOL F.2B
BRISFISH
By Joe Malinchak | joemal@echoes.net
“MICROACES IS MAKING HISTORY.” That is what the opening page of the Microaces website states. The company is doing a wonderful job of designing beautifully detailed micro RC kits.
Each model that the company designs is of a particular aircraft that earned its place in history, because of its reputation or the pilot who flew it. I’ve built several of the Microaces kits, and each one was enjoyable to build and fly.
Microaces recently made some upgrades to its Bristol F.2b. I really like the look of its Brisfish version, so I decided it was time to build one! With a wingspan of 19.7 inches, it features beautifully printed foam and plastic parts. The Brisfish version has a unique livery of a rampaging fish!
The kit includes the Brushed Motor/Gearbox PLUS with a standard propeller shaft, GWS 5030 propeller, a laser-cut foam and polypropylene sheet, a polyester sticker sheet, a printed assembly guide, and other loose parts. To complete the model, you will need a receiver, servos, or an all-in-one receiver that is compatible with your transmitter, foam-safe glue, and some basic tools.
Construction starts with the fuselage. Build the basic frame with several upright formers, and then apply the fuselage skin. You first have to score the back of the fuselage foam parts in a few places using the bevel and scoring guide. I used the back side of a #11 knife blade to score the parts. Practice on some scrap foam before doing this on the actual kit parts. I also beveled the edges of the foam using a sanding stick, as per the manual. Test-fit the foam skin, and then glue it in place when you are satisfied.
The main landing gear is constructed from a combination of foam, carbon fiber, and plastic parts. When it is complete, it is glued to the fuselage and a sticker is applied. Stickers are used throughout the construction to cover uncolored foam parts. To help with the application of some of the tricky stickers, use soapy water to help you slide them into place.
The main wheels are made up of O-ring tires that are stretched around a built-up foam and plastic wheel. I had to sand down my wheels a bit and stretch the O-rings to fit. The tail skid on the model uses a rubber band to give it some flex, and it looks great. The bottom wing panels are glued to the wing’s center section that is part of the main landing gear assembly. You want to make sure that everything is straight and correctly aligned before gluing.
When the bottom wing is secure, add the wing struts, and then all of the rigging. I used a rigging tool that I purchased from Microaces to make the rigging process easy.
Next, the top wing is assembled and glued into place on the wing struts. Finally, tighten the rigging, making sure that the wings are not twisted.
This model has some really nice scale details, such as a 3D-printed, rotating fuel-pressure propeller, a pitot tube, and a pair of Lewis machine guns mounted on a Scarf ring. I wanted to make this model special, so I decided to install an Arcox machine gun simulator. Richard Cox sold this system a few years ago but stopped manufacturing it because of a lack of interest.
The system provides flashing lights and a machine gun sound activated by an extra channel, only adding 4 grams to the model’s weight. I used a 0.31-gram, seven-channel DT Rx37 receiver in this model and two 1.5-gram servos. The sound system, servos, and receiver are mounted in the nose. The brushed motor is glued to a laser-cut mount and sits on top of the servos.
Another scalelike feature that can be added is bomb racks. Microaces sells bomb rack kits for the model, with the option of a scalelike rack that held four full-scale, 25-pound Cooper bombs or one that have held a Royal Laboratory 112-pound HE bomb on the full-scale aircraft. I chose the HE bomb rack. I wanted to make this functional, so I mounted a 400-mg Micro Flier Radio servo to the rack to be able to drop the bomb!
The completed model weighs 52 grams when empty and 56 grams when it is ready to fly. I checked the center of gravity and it was right at the recommended point that is shown in the guide. It actually felt nose-heavy, but on the first test flight, it flew perfectly right out of my hand! I proceeded to make some right- and left-hand turns, along with some stalls, and found the model to be fairly easy to fly with no bad characteristics. I did not do any aerobatics, but it is a scalelike model that was not designed to be flown that way. However, if you do want more power, Microaces has a brushless upgrade available.
With the added machine gun sound system and bomb drop, this model is a blast to fly! I really love the Brisfish graphics. Overall, this was a great build.
To find out about current pricing and for more information about the model, please see the Microaces website, listed in “Sources.” Also see my YouTube channel for some flight videos and a closer look at my build.
SOURCES:
Microaces
support@microaces.com
www.microaces.myshopify.com
Micro Flier Radio
(941) 377-9808
www.microflierradio.com
Richard Cox
arcox.com@verizon.net
Joe Malinchak’s YouTube Channel
www.youtube.com/user/joemal214/featured
