• Wing Span: 46 in (113 cm)
• Wing Area: 774 sq in (4994 cm²)
• Length: 38 in (97 cm)
• Weight: 3.0 lbs (1.4 kg)
• Engine: .25 - .32 2 - cycle
  (4.1 cc - 5.2 cc 2 - cycle)
• 4 Servos required

Jerry Smith holds several NCFAA Fun-Fly records and has desiged quite a few fun-fly airplanes. The Smith Super Special is one of his designs that is a competition fun-fly plane from AirFlair Inc. Mr. Smith usually exhibits his flying talents at the prestigious Tournament of Champions, held in Las Vegas, NV every year.

The kit comes in a box measuring 3" by 3" by 36". At a glance, the box contains precision machine cut parts, a filament wound composite tail boom, a state of the art fiberglass landing gear, and over 14' of carbon fiber. The kit content is very complete and contains all material needed, except for covering, glue, tank, wheel, radio and engine. This is one of the few kits that has numbered parts all the way through the kit. The simplicity and intellectual design scores very high. The construction of the Smith Super Special involves extensive use of carbon fiber, balsa and plywood. The carbon fiber used, should by no means intimidate anyone who is unaccustomed to the material since it is very simple in construction and no other glues than thick and thin C/A are required. Although it can be built very quickly for use for R/C sport, combat or NCFAA events, the Smith Super Special is not recommended for beginners but should only be attempted by more seasoned pilots. It features laser cut parts, AutoCAD generated plans, semi-symmetrical airfoil, and very easy to follow instructions. The cut parts came nicely packed and numbered in a small box. The plans are one sheet printed on one side. The absence of control surface throw and setup should not cause any frustration, since the target group is Fun-Fly NCFAA competitors.

Building time for this kit was around 10 hours. The construction method consists of building the wing, ailerons and the tail feathers. To describe the building process is to recite the manual verbatim. Rather than doing that, some of the building steps will be highlighted. The upper and lower spars have carbon fiber laminated on the upper and lower side. The trailing edge has a carbon fiber lamination. The shear webs are very small but functional and the leading edge sheeting is one piece wrap around. The boom fits snugly into the engine mounting plate, which also has a carbon fiber lamination. Add to that the stick building of the tail feathers and construction is basically complete. Sanding and covering took six (6) hours. Installation of hardware, radio component, engine and tank took another three (3) hours. Although time was taken to ensure that everything was correct the first time, this airplane took less time than some ARC kits, which was a very pleasant experience. The covering adds some rigidity to the airframe. It is not brittle without it but there is no excessive wood anywhere, which saves as much weight as possible. All sub-components were covered prior to final assembly, which helped speed the assembly process.

Setting exponential at around 40-50%, both on high and low rates, is a necessity in order to feel comfortable with the maneuverability achieved. A Futaba S-133 was used to control the throttle. Since the ultimate goal is high maneuverability with very large control surfaces throws, Hitec 605 servos were used on the ailerons and the elevator. No rudder is required. A Futaba 8UAP was used with a flat 110mAh 5-cell battery pack to save weight while maximizing servo speed and torque. The throws of all control surfaces throws were set at +/- 45° with 40% exponential. If a dual rate system is used, the low rate throws should be set to 1/3 the recommended throws and high rate throws should be set to the +/- 45°.

The recommended engine is a two-stroke .25 - .32 but a sport .40 is probably suitable for use on the Smith Super Special. In the NCFAA circuits, the most common engines have been OS .32, Webra .32 or sometimes Thunder Tiger .28. The best choice is the all-new combat MVVS .26. This engine has more power than the Webra, better throttle transition than the OS, comes with a tuned muffler, and starts on a back flip after it is primed. If NCFAA is the purpose with the machine, the whip-crack acceleration of the MVVS .26 is probably the most enjoyable feature and benefit if this engine. Since the intended application is to maximize number of loops, roops or Dixie death within a given time period, the proper engine is of utmost importance. A dead stick in the third or fourth quadrant of a loop below three feet off the ground leaves very few options to save the plane. The reliability that the MVVS .26 has shown in the combat circuits makes it the engine of choice. It is also very light weight. With an APC 10x3 prop, the Smith Super Special hovers at about 1/2 throttle, with instant vertical acceleration.

Owing to the choice of engine, the finished plane came out perfect with the battery moved all the way to the front requiring no extra weight to balance. Planning ahead will result in the CG being on the mark without added ballast. Of equal importance to the CG, lateral balance must be ensured to avoid trim changes going from high to low speed. The thrust angle of the engine was set to 0-0 and the wingtip incidences at exactly 0-0. These checks must not be omitted. Start out with trimming CG lateral and horizontal, by moving the on-board equipment around. Ensure that there are no warps in any of the flight surfaces. Trim for straight and level flight and check the CG while inverted and establish how much elevator pressure is preferred while inverted. Ensure the rolls to be axial and if they are not, adjust the individual aileron throws to compensate. Establish elevator to flap mixing by minimizing the radius of the loops. The mixed amount should be increased to the point where the radius will start to increase again. The last item on the list is to mix low throttle with flaperons, in order to kill lift and come down quickly for repetitive touch-and-go's. This function was set up on a separate mixer. For safety reasons, a timer was mixed on throttle so that when the timer beeps, there is 1/4 tank of fuel left.

The first flight, after a substantial preflight check was conducted in 52° F. weather. After setting the high and low needles on the MVVS .26 it was time for the first flight. The takeoff speed is very low and the MVVS .26 will allow take off within the length of the fuselage. The flying was uneventful and needed just a few clicks of elevator and aileron trim. The elevator to flaperon mix was switched on and a few outside and inside loops were attempted. It took three to four flights before the percentage mix was fine tuned. At full elevator the Smith Super Special, will loop within the length of the fuselage, with minimal yaw or roll. A full flight was made with full up elevator and after about 40 or during the first minute, its looping capability was apparent. Next a few roops and roops to touch and go were done and the throttle spoiler mix was increased a bit. A little up elevator to low throttle was mixed when the spoileron mix was active to improve hands-off flying. Touch-and-go to roops to touch-and-go can be done within 10-15 feet of the runway. This is a very smooth model. Landing is something that has to be experienced. At an altitude of two to three feet with about 1/4 throttle, the airspeed is allowed to bleed to zero. Just before the plane stops, the elevator is slowly pulled full up elevator with flaperon mix on. The plane sinks to the ground like a helicopter. If a touch and go is desired, throttle is added when the plane sinks to the ground and bounces. The large ailerons contribute to so much lift even at low idle that there is no risk of damage. Dead stick landings are very easy. The glide is pretty short since the wing has a very large, high-drag, profile.

There have been recent developments in design improvements and material selections, which significantly contribute to and enhance flight envelopes. AirFlair Inc., with the Smith Super Special, is defining another milestone in terms of radio controlled offerings. The very short building time is noteworthy, and the stability and rigidity of the airframe is exceptional. The maneuverability reaches into the top positions in fun-fly competition, and the machine should be considered as such; a thoroughbred, no-compromise, competition machine. However, with lower control surface throws and gentle use of throttle, it can be a very good learning platform for advanced aerobatic maneuvers.