14/05/2012
I went to an airshow in early June where they had some SAAB/MFI T-17 Supporters on display. These will surely help me complete this model.
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Jesper Broe Photography
Hi!
Thats a really interesting project! I would like to ask, if there are any news right now and how much a kit would cost?
Best regards,
Elmar
Hi Elmar,
Thank you for your interest. There is not much progress at this time. I am busy moving house. Also, as you can see from the website, I am working on various models at the same time. Whichever I like right now gets my attention. The SAAB/MFI T-17 is one of the airplanes I will be finishing first, though. Plans will surely be available, together with fibreglass and vacuum formed parts. I am thinking about making kits, but for now this is just a hobby project.
I will let you know when the plans are done (We are realistically talking January/February next year).
Cheers
I surfed Saab Safari/Supporter and found your website. I’ve been wanting to build this plane since Count von Rosen’s time in the 1970s but never had enough scale info to do so.
Thanks to the Internet I finally have enough info and have started construction by making a fuselage plug out of wood and foam. Rather than making a mold from the plug I intend to vacuum bag the fuselage using fiberglass or kevlar cloth. Rather than built-up wings, my wings will foam cores, covered with balsa and fiberglass cloth, and then vacuum bagged. A firm decisions has not been made, but right now I’m thinking of using the NACA 4412 airfoil.
I’m building the plane as 1/4.5 (i.e. 22.22% scale). The reason I chose this odd scale is that I don’t want the plane too large, but want it to meet minimum Giant Scale standards in the US which is 80 inches. Like all of my planes, the Safari will be electric powered.
This plane is a challenge because I see three potential problems in modeling it. The first is the CG which will be further forward than usual. Balance can become an issue with so much of the plane’s mass behind the CG. The second is overall weight due to the surface area of the large boxy fuselage. The third is wing loading due to lesser wing area since much of the overall wingspan is in reality fuselage canopy. The forward sweep I see not so much as a problem. To counter the sweep I will be adding stiffness beyond the strut and I will use no tip washout (I’m even considering washin).
If you want to communicate with me on your build or mine my email address is cjsasso@cs.com
Best Regards,
“CJ” Sasso
Pennsylvania USA
I’d be happy to assist.
It took more than two long years of decision making and effort in the build, but my MFI-17 – not yet painted and without a cockpit and canopy – is finally flight worthy. After some ground checks I made a short 3 minute initial test flight on December 1st, 2014. The plane was stable and flew very well in the narrow and safe envelope that I kept it in for this first flight. My previous email provided general construction info – additional flight related info is as follows:
Flight Weight: 7.17 kg (15 lbs 13 ounces)
Wing Area: 6193 sq cm (960 sq in)
Motor: Hacker A60-5XS V2 Prop: APC 15×10 thin electric
Batteries: Qty 2 – 5400mah 3s Lipos – (total of 23 volts)
ESC: Castle Creations Phoenix Edge 100 amp
The ESC recorded Max RPMs as 7900, Max Watts 1359, Max Amps 62.5
The 15×10 prop for this first flight had proven adequate but I’ve calculated that a 16×10 will be the best power choice especially in anticipation of a final weight (with scale features, canopy, paint, and cockpit) in the vicinity of 8 kg (18 lbs). Of course the 16×10 will drain the battery quicker (at around 75 amps max). I have yet to verify what the actual current draw will be in a standard flight cruise mode, but I believe that the 16×10 will give me reasonable flight times.
Since my MFI-17 inspiration came from reading the exploits of Count Von Rosen my plane will be finished in the paint scheme of his plane. I anticipate completion over the winter months of 2015.