SPECS

MODEL: Mini Funtana 3D ARF MANUFACTURER: E-flite DISTRIBUTOR: Horizon Hobby Inc. TYPE: electric 3D park flyer SMALLEST FLYING AREA: baseball field IDEAL FOR: intermediate to advanced pilots WINGSPAN: 37 in. WING AREA: 329 sq. in. READY-TO-FLY WEIGHT: 21 oz. (with battery) WING LOADING: 9.2 oz./sq. ft. FLIGHT DURATION: 8 to 10 min. at full throttle PRICE: $89.99

SCOREBOARD

Fast construction. Precise parts fit. Easy to see aircraft orientation. Tip-stalls easily.

FEATURES

Balsa and lite-ply construction expertly covered with Hangar 9 UltraCote; carbon-fiber landing gear and wing tube; lightweight fiberglass cowl and wheel pants; 6.6:1 gearbox and 12x6 prop included. Two wing positions for precision and 3D flying.

WHAT YOU NEED

• 4-channel radio with   sub-micro-receiver • 4 sub-microservos • ESC • Brushless motor • Battery

GEAR USED

DRIVE SYSTEM E-flite Park 400 brushless 3700KV and 4200KV motors w/6.6:1 gearbox and 12x6 prop; Castle Creations ESC RADIO SYSTEM Quattro Lite system with a JR R610M receiver and 4 JR S241 sub-microservos BATTERY Thunder Power 3-cell, 1320mAh Li-poly

TIP

To give the Mini Funtana 3D a little more control, I sealed all of the hinge gaps with Scotch tape (just as I did on the large Funtana). Cut the tape to the proper length, and apply it to the underside of the control surface along the middle of the hinge line. This prevents air from slipping through the hinge gap and creating a bumpy airflow over the control surfaces.

Horizon Hobby’s high-quality line of Funtana ARFs has a new addition: the E-flite Mini Funtana 3D. This little gem is an outstanding park performer; it combines great looks with a versatile flight envelope that even the most experienced 3D fliers will appreciate.

OPENING THE BOX
The Funtana 3D is extremely well packaged; each piece is taped into its own compartment. Styrofoam padding protects each end of the fuselage from shipping damage. The kit includes a balsa fuselage, wings and tail feathers, all expertly covered in Hangar 9 UltraCote with most of the graphics already applied.

The kit comes complete with carbon-fiber landing gear, a fiberglass cowl and wheel pants, wheels, a sheet of decals, a motor mount and gearbox, a 12x6 prop, a bag of hardware and a wellillustrated, 43-page assembly manual.

ASSEMBLY
I read through the assembly manual completely and couldn’t wait to get started. The covering didn’t require any shrinking, so I got right into the assembly. The Mini Funtana 3D’s assembly proceeds quickly, and I began the construction by installing the landing gears and attaching the wheel pants.

WING
The wing assembly involves hinging the ailerons, mounting the servos and attaching the pushrods. The hinges have small center slots that I used to align them along the hinge line. I cut four small, triangular wedges out of a standard business card, slipped them into the center slots and then slid the hinges into the wing and aileron. Working from the wingtip, I aligned the edge of the aileron with the edge of the wingtip as I pulled out the wedge and applied three drops of Bob Smith Industries Insta-Flex CA hinge glue on each side of the hinge. I continued to do this until all of my hinges had been firmly glued into place.

I installed large servo arms on each of the JR 241 sub-microservos that I used for the ailerons. I attached a 6-inch servo extension to each aileron servo and installed the servos in the appropriate cutouts. The cutout openings for all of the servos on this plane already have the covering trimmed and sealed along the edges—something not usually seen on a small backyard flyer. I glued the control horns into their respective slots on the ailerons with 5-minute epoxy.

I slid the wings onto a wing tube that runs through the fuselage and provides strength and support for each wing. There are two wing-attachment positions: forward and rearward. For precision aerobatics, the rearward position allows you to balance the aircraft with a forward center of gravity (CG). The forward wing position moves the CG rearward for extreme 3D aerobatics. For my first flight, I mounted the wing in the rearward position as the manufacturer recommends.

TAIL FEATHERS
I installed the stabilizer and fin next. Position the stabilizer in the slot at the aft end of the fuselage and center it. Make sure that the stabilizer tips are also equal distances from each wingtip. When I had aligned the stabilizer correctly, I traced the outline of the fuselage onto its top and bottom. I removed the covering from within these lines and hinged the elevator to the stabilizer. It’s much easier to install the elevator control horn at this time than it is after the stab has been glued into place. Reinsert the stabilizer in the slot, check its alignment and then glue it with thin CA. Do not use accelerator because that will prevent the CA from wicking in as far as possible. I installed the vertical fin and the rudder in the same way. Just make sure that everything is positioned perpendicular to the stabilizer.

POWER SYSTEM
I chose E-flite’s Park 400 brushless motors for the power system; I used the 3700 and 4200KV. I glued the motor-support stick into two formers at the front of the fuselage. The motor is simply held in place by a screw that is screwed into the gearbox that, in turn, is slid onto the support stick. When you install the motor in the gearbox, it is important to make sure that the gears mesh properly. If the gear mesh is too loose or too tight, you could strip a gear. Before I installed a small screw to secure the gearbox to the support stick, I trial-fit the cowl in position to ensure that everything lined up.

RADIO GEAR AND FINAL ASSEMBLY
I installed the rudder and elevator servos at the tail end of the fuselage near the control surfaces. The pushrods come cut to length and with Z-bends that go into the control horns. I inserted the micro control connector into the servo arms; it connects the pushrods to the control surfaces, and that hastens the pushrods’ installation.

I used Velcro® to install the receiver and ESC in the fuselage. Velcro® also secures the battery in the fuselage near the firewall to achieve the correct CG. I attached the canopy to the canopy hatch with canopy glue. Place wax paper under the canopy hatch to prevent the glue from sticking to the fuselage; this
procedure results in a very clean canopy installation. To secure the cowl, I inserted four 2mm wood screws into the firewall. I attached the propeller to the earbox and checked the CG. The low rates for the control throws were set to the manufacturer’s recommendations.

FINAL THOUGHTS
The E-flite Mini Funtana 3D is a great-looking electric park flyer. Its fine-quality construction and outstanding flight performance rival those of larger aircraft. You’ll enjoy building this electric park flyer as much as you’ll enjoy flying it. Order yours without delay, though; when word gets out about how much fun the Mini Funtana 3D is to build and fly, it will most likely disappear from hobby-store shelves in a flash!