December 9, 2023

Yoshioka Bingo.F3A


Photo: Ivar HÃ¥kerud

The Yoshioka Bingo.F3A is done, and it has been a journey. I bought the kit from Ishii Mokei several years ago and have built it in stages, enjoying it a lot. The Bingo.2M is originally a 3D plane for YS engines with oversized control surfaces. Mine is the first F3A-variant called Bingo.F3A with normal ailerons and elevators. I ended up buying a new wing for it, the “Pro” version which has is fully sheeted, features more taper and flaps. So mine has ended up a hybrid. The current version being sold by Yoshioka has support for electric motors, angled stabilizers, smaller flaps and other minor modifications.

The finished weight is 3,85 kg without batteries. I’m using Hacker EcoX F3A 4600 batteries that weigh 900 grams, for a flying weight of just over 4,8 kg. That’s not bad considering it has a clear plastic cockpit and a pilot on board, and 7 full-sized servos! I could have made 4,5 kg if I had used a  smaller RX battery, eliminated the flaps and pilot, smaller servos, used a carbon prop etc. The kit is extremely lightweight.

Equipment used:

  • Plettenberg 30-9 motor
  • 19x15x5 Xoar Prop
  • F3A Lorenz carbon undercarriage, fibreglass wheelpants, MK wheels
  • Futaba R7008SB receiver
  • Futaba T16SZ transmitter
  • Futaba S3073 Servos (4) for elevator and flaps
  • Futaba BLS171SV Servo (1) Rudder
  • Futaba BLS174SV Servo (2) Aileron
  • Graupner 1200 mAh 2S LiPo RX battery
  • RCsense.com efuelgauge for S.Bus
  • Oracover

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Underside of the removable canopy shows the construction used – all laser cut balsa and ply

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The tailwheel came with the kit and is a high quality item

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I painted the carbon undercarriage white to match. (I know, I know…)

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Of course I had to have matching wing bolts

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The interior is spacious and fairly straightforward. It took a bit of work to convert it to electric, with a reinforced battery tray and modified nose.

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I painted the rudder horns and linkages white (Never said I was sane…)

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Flaps allow for some creative mixing. When the throttle is pulled back, the entire wing can be an airbrake if I want it too.

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Contrasting underside

As always: more pictures to be found on my Flickr page.

 Yoshioka Bingo.F3A

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