FT Mighty Mini Corsair - Build

by FliteTest | December 9, 2015 | (38) Posted in How To

FTScratchBuild-Advanced

FT MIGHTY MINI CORSAIR SPECS

  • Weight without battery: 5.5 oz (156 g) 
  • Center of Gravity: 1 inch (25 mm) from leading edge of wing
  • Control Surface Throws: 12 ˚ deflection (elevator/aileron/rudder) Expo 30%
  • Wingspan: 24 inches (609 mm) 
  • Recommended Motor: 2200 kv 2204 size motor
  • Recommended Prop: 6 x 4.5 prop 
  • Recommended ESC: 12 amp minimum
  • Recommended battery: 800 mAH 2s or 3s 
  • Recommended Servos: (4) 5 gram servos
 


FT MIGHTY MINI CORSAIR PLANS

STORE LINKS

New to the R/C hobby?
Here's some resources to help get you up to speed!

Beginner Series: WATCH HERE!
Electronics Setup: WATCH HERE!
First Flight Quick Tips: WATCH HERE!

Got glue?? Get Some Here! 

PICK UP A SPEED BUILD KIT HERE!

- Find this article & others like it at www.FliteTest.com -

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COMMENTS

latios2468 on December 10, 2015
I was just wondering, what program do you guys use to design these planes? I've been trying to use Google Sketchup to create warbird plans, but to no avail.

Thank you!
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tho1999mas on December 15, 2015
would it be safe to install 3.7 g servos on this or would there not be enough torque
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Superfly FPV on December 10, 2015
Wow this little guy has a 112amp recommended esc. That is huge.
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The-One-Who-Never-Crashes on December 10, 2015
Yep. Saw that too :).

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trogalko on December 10, 2015
Its 12 Amp ESC, look here : http://store.flitetest.com/power-pack-f/
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trogalko on December 10, 2015
I saw typo on plan title : FT MIGHTY MINI SPORTSTER PLANS,
so it could be a typo too?
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timmyklus on December 10, 2015
Could you guys output the plans in a .dxf cad format also? I have a cnc router and would like to cut the parts out and this would save a ton of time having to reprocess the plans.

Thank you for all the awesome plans! A scratch builders dream come true :)
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eternalfire1244 on December 11, 2015
I am going to be doing up these plans in DXF for a laser cutter I am willing to share at least some of the work on this one. If we want to tag team some of these plans I would be up for collaborating. My goal is to have a full set of cleaned up plans ready to be laser cut for all flite test models so we can have them available as projects in the local maker space. I had a bunch of stuff done for the other minis, but the laser cutter I had access to was tiny (14x9in) and now with a larger cutter I am looking forward to much less work.
I am gone for the next week, but when I get home I will be getting on the files for the Corsair.
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grether2000 on December 14, 2015
Inkscape and possibly a few other software will saving the PDF as a DXF It works ok, but you usually have extra duplicate lines that need cleaning up.
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fetchbeer on December 15, 2015
I've found that the version of Adobe Illustrator that was released for free in Creative Suite 2 a couple years ago is about the best thing for getting CAD drawings back out of pdf documents. (I've mostly used this so I could actually measure things instead of playing with calipers, but it seems perfectly suited to extracting plans for cutting.)
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bbdro_siren on May 10, 2017
I have in ACAD 2007.
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Croom on December 10, 2015
Can you fit a 300 class blue wonder with a 7 inch prop on there? It weighs around the same, and it will give it an extra kick. (Its all I have in my stock lol)
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The-One-Who-Never-Crashes on December 10, 2015
I imagine that you could. You might want to add some right thrust to counter the torque of the larger prop though.
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david_isr on December 15, 2015
do you think it can handle a 1000mAh battery that weighs 72g?
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MUniFlight on January 1, 2016
Peter, Dan. Thanks for this amazing design. Looking forward to start building and flying this plane with my son!
Just wanted to point one little thing out: The drawings are missing the templates for both the firewall and the control horns. No biggie since they can be taken from the Mustang design for instance, but still... ;-)
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jordy123 on December 9, 2015
Could you guys make spare wing, fuselage, etcetera kits?

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Godfrey on December 30, 2015
As inexpensive as these kits are, just buy two and you have your spares...
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Battershell on December 10, 2015
Peter your plans say CG is 1.5 inches and specs here on this page say different (1.0 inch)????? Which is correct???
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raydar on December 11, 2015
Battershell, in the video at 53:25 Peter states his intention(s) for the c.g. location(s). The plans show the intended 1.5 in. but Peter suggests for the 1st. few flights that 1 in. will make the plane easier to control. Hope that helps clarify the issue.
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QuadReaktor on December 15, 2015
Like that Plane, like Flite Test.
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sheldonc on December 24, 2015
Just got done building the Corsair, went easy with Peter's build video!
Desperately anxiously looking thru the forums for someone to post up larger plans! Same size as the Spitty and Mustang..?
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AnythingWillFlyOnce on December 26, 2015
I have a question, does the speed build kit include everything but the electronics? (in other words, does it include the firewall, foam for the power pod, push rods, control horns, etc?)
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Papo_60 on January 16, 2016
Peter, really like the corsair! Thank you for your efforts to make this happen. I completed my build and found that it is quite tail heavy. I needed to add about a 1/2 oz to get the CG at 1.5 in and another 1/4 oz to move the CG to 1 in. Is this normal or am I doing something wrong?? I noticed you said in your video that you were flying yours just as built in your video. Why is mine so much more tail heavy? I was careful not to use too much glue and always whipped off all excess glue, if any. Thanks for your advise, I am a little frustrated right now with the outcome of my build!!
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The-One-Who-Never-Crashes on December 9, 2015
As always, great job and thanks for the design!
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EagleRC on December 10, 2015
Great. Been looking for an FT Corsair. Would love to see a full size/full function FT version. I'm just getting started with scratch building, but I have dreams of a scratch built 60" corsair with retractable landing gear and folding wings. It'd be great if you guys had a similar dream (hint, hint). I like the design posted by "aviator08". Could you get a truly round fuselage tho' by peeling the paper off one side of the foam and using round formers? I think I need to get a few more air frames in my hangar before tackling that one, tho'.
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dkruger` on December 29, 2015
I'll second that for a "full size" Corsair. I'd really like to see a wingspan around 1200mm or larger. Easier to see and better in "normal" winds.
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Kevinjt4 on February 5, 2016
Full size Corsair (or at least "noraml size" - http://flitetest.com/articles/corsair-swappable-with-plans
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Kevinjt4 on February 5, 2016
Full size Corsair (or at least "noraml size" - http://flitetest.com/articles/corsair-swappable-with-plans
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paultbg on December 11, 2015
many thanks for your hard work guys. small request: where are the plans for the mustang please? we are waiting for those as well. many thanks, Paul
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Michiel. on December 13, 2015
Would it be possible to fly this plane with a board cam/mobius fpv setup? Its risky, but it seems sooo nice!
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Ron DuBray on December 10, 2015
How would you go about slowing down this speed demon for indoor flying? (add a inch or two to the wing and tail? for more lift and control at slower speed?)
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The-One-Who-Never-Crashes on December 10, 2015
You could do those things, although it already slows down pretty well. You could add landing gear and/or flaps to add drag and lift, respectively.
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pegaso203 on December 10, 2015
Minimum 112 amperes??

That is an outrage.

Indicating that the plane does not fly by the wings is only propeller engine

It is the problem of small aircraft
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raydar on December 11, 2015
Not an actual outrage but more of an outrageous typo.
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trogalko on December 10, 2015
12 Amp ESC, here : http://store.flitetest.com/mighty-mini-corsair/
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jelle.sarita on December 13, 2015
I really like your designs, and allready build a couple of them. And I wait for a very long time for the corsair, But in 40 or 60 size. Would you please scale up this plans ?
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pabeader on December 20, 2015
Is there a list of the contents of the speed build kits for this plane?
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AnythingWillFlyOnce on December 26, 2015
I'm looking for the same thing. Let me know if you find out.
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Kunzie on December 14, 2015
Come on guys, STOP it. I get started on one design and before I know it, you come out with two more that I can't live without. Seriously, well done guys. You have brought me back into the hobby. I am having a great time sharing it with my grandkids. John
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RCMasterx on December 10, 2015
Great job. I have sent the plans to a print service and should have the plans tomorrow. I can't wait to dig into it!
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Old Ed on December 15, 2015
Recently discovered this site, and think it is great.
I have one question, do you remove the paper from the foam board? It is unclear in the videos, and I haven't seen anyone do that in the videos, or heard it mentioned.
This would reduce weight, but sacrifice some strength.
Keep up the great work!
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raydar on December 16, 2015
Old Ed, if you pay very careful attention to the video, you'll see that the paper is sometimes removed on one side if that particular part requires curving. Very rarely, you'll see the paper removed on both sides. This is why the videos are an integral portion of the build instructions. Hope that helps.
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Old Ed on December 17, 2015
Thanks for they reply.
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The Dodger on February 26, 2016
Mine is very tail heavy. I had to stuff a second battery in the cowling just to get the CG right. Has anyone else had this issue?
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Robert4613 on March 23, 2016
The last time that I had visited flite test was just before December. I came back on today and found that the flite test crew had made a scratch build Corsair. This was a very pleasant surprise! The Corsair F4U is my favorite plane. You can bet that I'll be building this one! Thanks guys for giving us Corsair guys something to build!

I had built a slow fly Corsair last October, but it didn't survive the 5th crash, so I had built a second one with design improvements to create a better center of gravity. But unfortunately the winter had set in and thus ended my flying. I'm now waiting for the perfect day when I have the available time to finally fly my new warbird.


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scratchbuilder on June 4, 2016
Just built the Ft Mini Corsair and was wondering if I could put 3.7g servos in it instead of 5g servos.
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matjey on June 24, 2016
the 3.7g servo would fit just fine for the mini version FT plane.
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meistras on March 20, 2016
Nice job!I am thinking about something like that
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Enderman231 on May 16, 2016
i love the way how you guys make all the planes so easy to build
thanks and i also subscribed to your channel

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Astrojack98 on October 16, 2016
Did anyone else have problems getting the CG far enough forward? I bought the F power pack and 3s battery, and the CG is between 1.5 - 1.7 from the leading edge. Before I start making major modifications to move CG forward I wanted to see if anyone else had similar problem
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jfrederick77 on December 17, 2016
I just built my corsair and I am having similar issues...I am wondering if I had left the power pod out a little further if that would have helped
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js on March 21, 2017
If you are using their speed build kit, you should be able to get it right. But if you are scratch building, then using a more heavy type of foam board or just adding weight to it in some manner could give you this problem.
I have tried to build with a heavy duty foam board and I had to move the wing quite much backward to get cg right, to the extent that rudder and elevator control basically disappeared.
E.g. Paint could cause this also.
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amirsolo on May 20, 2016
hi guyes first i wanna thank you for great jobs and designs , i really love ur works .
i build ur mustang design and it's very nice plane , but ur mini plans pdf r not working and when i put them in coreldraw for laser cut export it said "file corrupted" !!
i don't know why :(
could you help me please ?
thank you again
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arayeshdigi on July 26, 2016
hi.how is thickness foam board?
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jackweed on April 1, 2016
LOL
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andremendes on May 7, 2016
Hello people,
this project is simply fantastic (flite test), I always wanted to get into the hobby , but with great difficulty ... Thank you supply , today started my Corsair ! And I have to thank ! Thank you so much I always wanted to fly !
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RC Plane Addict on December 3, 2016
yes, i has the same problem. its the paint job
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ExoNeoS on April 18, 2017
Hey guys whats the Building materials for this plane ? depron ?
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EddyZ on May 1, 2017
You can get some at Dollar Tree. Or, You can get some online at www.modelplanefoam.com for a fair price. Of coarse I couldn't leave out FliteTest.com #25count foam board in the store section... ;)
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bbdro_siren on May 10, 2017
I have ACAD plans.
c:
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dimao on March 30, 2018
hola. el 2200 kv 2204 size motor puede soportar 11.1 v 850 mah?
Hi. The 2200 kV 2204 size motor can support 11.1 v 850 mah?
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clinton.harris on October 24, 2018

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MJPlays on November 23, 2017
Urgent:
What is the best battery to purchase for this plane?
https://store.flitetest.com/g5-50cmax-2s-850mah-4-2v-max-lipo/#product-description
https://store.flitetest.com/gpr-800mah-3s-20c-lipo-battery/#product-reviews
https://store.flitetest.com/hyperion-450mah-3s-50c-lipo-battery/
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Whistlinginthedark on August 22, 2017
I've seen a lot of comments about the CG issue and I'll share what I did with mine that leaves it spot on, super fast and steady, and a blast to fly.
I always start my builds by modifying the DTFB. I remove the paper and relaminate it with red rosin paper and a slightly watery mix of regular white glue (PVA with a little food coloring). Put it on the paper (the rosin paper , let it dry, put it on the foam and let it dry then use a cheap iron to iron it on. Makes everything MUCH stronger but doesn't add a ton of weight.
I make the fuselage and empenage as per the plans. The cowl just didnt look right as designed (in my opinion) it ends up with a conical or truncated look which the corsair doesn't have so I modify the cowl to form a cylinder and laminate it with the rosin paper twice, radiusing the front edge by pinching and bending. (Adds a little more weight upfront and looks the part).
The biggest difference is in the wing.
I mount a 12 gram metal gear servo cut into the top of the wing just above and in front of the spar in the center section. During the wing building I used heavy coffee stirs and very fine gauge music wire to make my own flexible pushrods so everything is concealed (No unsightly servo sticking out the tops of the wings. The heavier servo just slightly ahead of the CG, the esc mounted between the cowl and the bottom of the slot for the power pod, and an 850 mah 3 cell placed into the space of the power pod gives me spot on balance that I can adjust from 1in to 1.5in as recommended, not to mention a sweet looking plane that is more durable and FAST (I'm using the Emax rs2208s, 6x5.5 HQ prop, and YEP 30 amp esc). I never bothered to weigh the completed plane but it's never been an issue. Not the easiest modification but well worth the outcome for such a great plan to start with.
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Richb77 on February 1, 2018
Plans are down

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jehavener@aol.com on May 20, 2018

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detoeuf albert on February 19, 2019

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jimy2wheels on April 23, 2019
I just built and flew the mini Corsair. I did some things I think are improvements.
I replaced all the turtle deck paper with plastic from elsencia or smart water bottles, the bottom of the 20 oz bottle is the perfect size for the cowling, presenting the natural curve of the cowling and the natural curve of the bottles fits the bottom and rear deck perfectly. it glues on to the flite test foam board using supper glue. Just trace the deck parts on to the bottle and cut it out. looks more finished and is easy to paint.
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Tzell on February 20, 2020
Hello.
l did exact the same project but when l run the bldc motor after a few seconds it stops.l tried the same with a power suply and it worked like a charm!
l used 3s lipo battery (2200 mAh), 2200KV bldc (6T model) motor, 30A ESC.
Someone who can help or give a suggestion please ??
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Tzell on March 6, 2020
The problem is wire. İf you face the same problem use thicker wire to connect lipo battery and the receiver.
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davitezzo on November 8, 2019
Do you think I can mount a 5x4 propeller on It?
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hob88 on July 14, 2020
Just a note for those with tail heavy issues. Make sure the poster board you use isn't too thick compared to that used in the build video. What I have available around me is about twice as thick as he used, which caused my CG to be 2-7/8" back on the wing. I used office paper for the turtle deck to fix the problem. The CG is now at 1-1/4". I hope this helps.
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dabasi.akos on September 26, 2019
Hey guys! Id just like to know what kind of material is used for this build. Also the width of the material. thanks!
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spitfire211 on October 6, 2021
Can anyone help. I'm looking for the build plans for the Mini Zero for my Grandson. I'm guessing they have taken it off , or I am not looking in the right place. Gary
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FT Mighty Mini Corsair - Build