Hey all
I bought a mini rc plane at the dollar store for 8 bucks, wasn't expecting the best thing in this world, but I was flying it and the little magnet in the back broke off and I lost it at the golf course. Is there any way of fixing it? Everything else is in tact no other damages were done, just that little magnet in the back fell off.

I believe it uses regular neodymium magnets right?

well, pics would greatly help.
without knowing the plane (just the price) we cannot, for sure, know what it should have.
but most bets would say...yes.
do you know where to get a new one? there are hundreds of places to get them.

I was just doing that now. Here are some pics.

i could be wrong (wait for a real airplane RC-er..i have just begun the micro flight myself) but i beleive it would be 2 neo mags, on a u shaped piece of metal.

so that it puts a mad on each side of the coil.
run electricity one way it goes left, the other it goes right.
but like i said, i could be wrong.

if i am right, i bet you could gut a spinbrush (or any small vibrating type thing)for the mags and make the metal u out of...well anything. paperclips come to mind first.

and....

what!?!?! an 8 dollar plane at the dollar store!!!!!

(goes to the dollar to see if there are any at my dollar store....shooom!)

Yeah I was quite surprised myself. They got this dollar store here in texas called dollar general, and they sell all sorts of stuff. If anything I'll try returning it or try fixing it.

i would say reapir...or use it for parts for a custom project.
$8 for a full working rc plane is awesome....all you need is the replacement magnets.

you should look at the dollar store for what exactly is missing (they prolly have more)...then again....it might cost more to fix it....

heck buy another, then you have spare parts for if you break #2...all for 16 bucks....still a winner.

(my dollar general has nothing like that...perhaps later they will get some in)

Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. I thought about going and returning it, but something tells me they wont but oh well. For sure look into seeing if your dollar general has them, there a steal.

hey! sorry I didn't see this topic earlier. Thats a clone of the wattage microflier. The Wattage version retails for between 20 and 30 dollars. It has a small lipo battery and a geared drive motor... i believe its an m20 motor, not sure. The tail is a magnet actuator coil with a magnet in the rudder. it just needs a single magnet held in the center of the coil. Depending on the polarity of the voltage through the coil, it will flip it to one side or the other. The magnet can be glued on to a piece of plastic or balsa and using a foam safe glue you can mount the magnet and its tab into the rudder. You can use Goop perfect glue number 2, or if you don't mind the wait, you can just use standard elmers white glue. Most solvent based glues will disolve the foam in the tail. Don't glue the magnet in place untill you are sure you have it in the right direction. If you put it in the wrong way it will go left when you want it to go right. Test the direction of the throw and if its wrong, flip the tab over, THEN glue it in. the magnet should be suspended just outside of the coil perfectly centered with it.

you can buy neo magnets at Radioshack, or you can pull them out of the steering of a bit car or a microsizer. You can also find them at some craft shops. Normal ferrite magnets won't work. You need the neo magnet to get the propper strength to hold the rudder durring flight.

Well I returned it, but a piece of the antenna broke off at the tip. I fixed it with some wire, then used some tape to stick it. The only problem I noticed is that it turns allot more to the left then the right. So its a bit hard to fly it. If anything I'll buy the real one instead of this clone. For 8 bucks you cant beat it for spare parts.

The real one isn't a whole lot better than the clones. On the turning issue, you might check to make sure the magnet and coil are alligned correctly. Often times they aren't centered very well and need a little tweek to get them turning correctly

I see. Oh well. Lets see what other plane I could find. I really would like to get me a plane under 30 bucks that flies descent and turns lol. Any thoughts?

If you don't mind that it doesn't have a rudder, the aero ace is a great plane to play with. It comes in a bi-plane, a canard style and a delta wing jet looking plane. It has two engines and uses vectored thrust to steer (slows one motor down and speeds the other up to turn the plane left or right) They are practically indestructable and a lot of fun for first time flyers as well as experienced flyers. They're distributed in the U.S. by airhogs.

Oh great. Do you have a linky?

you can get them at most walmarts.

which is good for those of us 5that want it....now.

Oh I think I saw it. It looks like a little wing with two props at the back of it. I think I saw one that was green and black, and they had a biplane model as well.

i hear the biplane is the best one.
(and fastest once you remove one of the wings)
but that could just be a rumor....

I see. Which one should I get

The jet is actually the fastest. It actually has larger 7mm motors in it instead of the 6mm motors in the biplane. I prefer the handeling characteristics of the biplane though. If you have a breezy area that you fly in, the jet model will be better for you though.

This page has pictures of the biplane and the jet at the bottom of the page.

http://www.lukesrcplanes.com/pb/wp_42030990/wp_42030990.html

just to make sure then:
i have also heard that the shape of the jet lends to rotor destruction on landings (or in my case crashes), while the biplane keeps them out of harms way..

is this true, barat?

the rotors on the bi-plane are up out of harms way. It is nearly impossible to land it upside down on the props.

If you power the jet into the ground, it will dig the props, but most times when landing these, you are power off. They don't land well with the throttle on since they use the thrust to control altitude, and with the jets large wing area, it glides really well.

One mod that you'll probably have to do to it (both the jet and the biplane) is to add a little nose weight. A push pin or a tiny finishing nail in the nose will keep it from "porpoising" or lifting the nose and stalling when it catches a head wind.