Model Airplanes & R/C Flight

A new Blu Cub

2017-12-26T09:36:00.003-08:00

For the last few years we have lived the city and flying was limited to micro quads and slow fliers at the park. In June of 2017 we moved to a rural location in northern Minnesota. Our new property is roughly 10 acres which is split by a river. There is just enough space on our property to get a small park flyer sized in and out.

With that I decided to recreate the Blu Cub profile foamy that I had made and flown several years ago. However, this time I decided to keep the wing flat and add in ailerons.

For the build I decided to use waterproof foam board from Flite Test. This foam is easy to work with and the plane went together quickly. I used the old electronics from the original Blu Cub, and the with two additional 5 gram micro servos for ailerons the weight came in at just under 7 oz. Now that the kids are getting old enough to follow what's going on, we built the plane in several sessions over about a month of weekends.

Flying the plane in the backyard has proven to be great fun. Here are a few shots.

Having a flat wing makes the plane require a fair amount control input to fly smoothly. The plane loses the gentle tendencies that it has when built with dihedral in the wing. This is hopefully just the start of several more foam planes that we'll be flying in the new backyard :)

Flying in Bozeman MT - Thanksgiving 2015

2015-12-10T09:30:00.002-08:00

On our Thanksgiving trip to Bozeman, my brother-in-law offered to take me flying. We took off mid morning and flew from Bozeman to Townsend. The weather was beautiful and we had a good flight.
My wife captured a few photos as we flew by the house.

Visibility was great and the air was smooth :)

Building the Flite Test - Tiny Trainer

2015-11-08T12:43:00.001-08:00

My oldest daughter is now six and a half and has a mild interest in the airplanes she frequently sees me flying. Upon asking if she'd like to learn how to fly one, she jumped up and down and screamed for several seconds. Working off that bout of enthusiasm we started looking online at different planes that might make good candidates as a training platform. Being familiar with Flite Tests foam planes, it didn't take long to decide on the Tiny Trainer. The tiny trainer can be built as a glider, or a powered plane. It also has two wing designs, one is straight with ailerons and one without. I decided to build this as a two channel glider to keep it simple.

I've assembled just one other Flite test plane, the Baby Blender. I was considering purchasing the kit for the Tiny Trainer but after looking at the plans it didn't seem like that much foam to cut. :) After several evenings of cutting foam, we got started assembling the plane. Flite Test provides a build video which is very helpful. I utilized my phone to keep pace with the build video as I assembled things. It makes for a very convenient way to build a plane.

All told it only took one and a half sheets of foam board and took about a week to finish. I completed it right at her bed time but managed to sneak it up to her room so she could give it a quick look over before morning.

The next morning we went to the hardware store and purchased purple and pink duct tape for decorating the plane. We balanced it out before taking it to a nearby park. She got to fly it several times before we headed home.

We now have a couple of weekends of flights on the plane, considering it has seen several hard landings it's holding up quite well. The only issue encountered while building was getting the balance right, it took much more weight in the nose than I would have guessed. On average flights are about 80 yards off a hard throw.

Flight Over Moose Lake MN - KMZH

2015-08-05T19:34:00.001-07:00

Recently we relocated to Minnesota. My brother-in-law flew into the area with a 172 for a family function last week, so had the opportunity to get in a few minutes of flying with him. We also were able to take along a friend that hadn't been up in a plane before. Was a nice evening flight, here are a few pictures.

Lone Star Flight Museum

2015-01-21T19:35:00.000-08:00

After Christmas we had a few friends in town from Oregon. We went on a mini vacation to Galveston for a few days to explore and relax. While the women and children went and enjoyed an aquarium, my friend and I ended up over at the Lone Star Flight Museum exploring their aircraft collection.

Several of the planes are flight ready which is very cool. The collection isn't huge but there are around 40 to 50 planes to admire. Admission was very reasonable for a flight museum. While I enjoyed looking at the planes, I found myself fascinated by the artwork displayed in the museums gift shop. I would love to have one of these to hang up in my office :)

Photos of the originals taken using my iPhone 5...

Gullows Model - Piper Super Cub 95.

2015-01-12T06:44:00.004-08:00

My wife came home from Hobby Lobby with a small balsa model that she'd picked up at the discount rack. I let it sit in the box for a couple weeks knowing that I didn't have much time to contribute to building the model. After several weeks I could no longer resist, so I talked our oldest daughter (who is 5) into helping me assemble the model. She was immediately a big help, dumping the contents of the box on the table and announcing that she would break out all the die cut parts. :)

I'd never built a Gullow's kit before having been suspicious of the pile of thin balsa inside the box. This particular kit is a build by number kit... meaning there are numbers printed on one side of the balsa pieces and numbers printed on the plans. Simply align the pieces on the plan with the pieces of balsa in the kit.

One issue I had was that I did not have a dedicated work-space for this project so when I finished working on the project for the day, I'd stick it up on the shelf. The entire project was small enough that I'd just find places around the living room to stick parts and pieces for the glue to dry. After a few weeks we'd completed the plane's skeleton and it was ready for the tissue paper covering. I gave the plane a quick sanding and we moved onto the covering step. Not wanting to deal with model dope because its pretty nasty stuff, I decided to use the alternative method of white glue and water. It's much easier to cover a plane with this method than I had imagined... perhaps easier than using a plastic covering material. It's a very forgiving method. In areas where I accidentally tore the paper, I'd just rip off another small piece of tissue wet it and stick it in place.

My daughter seemed to enjoy the experience of busting out the balsa wood, handing me the parts and gluing things. She didn't quite have the patience or strength to pin things to the building board. While fun to build, I didn't feel the urge to make this a flying model so it is a designated hangar queen.

The translucent film showing the ribs gives the plane a vintage look and makes an interesting nick-knack to stick on the shelf. Those of you that stick electronics in these kits and fly them have more patience than I do.

Proto-X: The Original Nano Quadcopter

2014-12-28T14:02:00.001-08:00

A good friend of mine gave me a Proto-X Quadcopter. I've really enjoyed flying my Blade Nano QX so I was excited to see how the Proto-X would fly. It turns out that it's every bit as, if not more fun to fly than the the Nano QX. The quad is only 1.8" in size. It's quite diminutive when compared with the larger Nano QX. Mine is white but the quad comes in several different colors.

The controller that comes with the Proto-X is very small as well. It's so small that if you have very large hands it may be a bit challenging to use. The transmitter is set up in standard mode 2 fashion with throttle and yaw on the left stick and pitch and roll on the right.

Red LED lights on each rotor boom, plus two blue ones in the front help with orientation. Flight times are around 5 to 6 minutes with my flying style and recharging is easy with the included USB charger. I've been very impressed at how easy this quad is to fly considering its tiny size. You can learn more at the Proto-X site.

Parkzone Piper Archer - RTF

2014-04-19T13:46:00.000-07:00

Recently, I picked up the Parkzone Piper Archer from the local hobby shop. This plane has a pretty incredible price point. Currently it's about $130 for the ARF version. They only had RTF version in stock so that's what I got. The transmitter with the RTF version has a trainer port, which is something lacking in many of the older 4 channel 2.4ghz transmitters that came with other Parkzone planes.

Now that we have another child, I can't easily fit the Fun Cub in our van. The Archer fits nicely behind the back row of seats, nose down in a Styrofoam cooler. The plane is a nice size, not too big, not too small...

The plane required a small amount of modification to suit my needs. The 2 cell 1300mah battery and the speed controller had the standard Horizon Hobby battery connectors. I replaced those with XT60 plugs that I have on the rest of my planes. The cockpit has a clever latching mechanism which uses the aerial as the latch button. Problem is, the area they give you to put the battery inside the plane is incredibly small and you have to have the wires lined up just right or you can't get the cockpit back on the plane. To help with this, I removed about a quarter inch of foam from the bottom of the cockpit. The last modification I made was the addition of a small plastic skid on the bottom of the tail. The plane is very light in the nose and if you hit a bump or feed in up elevator too early you'll drag the tail.

The wheels are fairly small and don't provide much prop clearance. I've taken off and landed on short mowed grass and it works okay... Take off from the grass a few times and it will look like you spray-painted portions of the wing green :)

Overall this has proven to be a very fun plane. It flies great, is easy to transport and looks great too. Parkzone has a winner with the seldom modeled Archer.

Teaching the little ones

2014-03-01T19:08:00.000-08:00

I have two daughters. One is four and the other is twenty months. They both enjoy going anywhere with me to fly my R/C airplanes, and they seem to enjoy any time they can get on the simulator with my transmitter. While they just crash over and over and giggle, I'm sure it's helping build important neurological pathways :)
While at Target the other day I saw one of the Planes characters, El Chu, with an infrared remote. It was a bit of an impulse buy, but it has proved to be quite fun for me, and I think the girls are enjoying it from time to time as well.

New Creations R/C

2014-02-22T19:00:00.000-08:00

Just wanted to do a plug for the local hobby shop. Hobby shops seem to be dying out in most parts of the country, replaced by the larger, internet based hobby retailers.
We currently are living just north of Houston and we just happen to live close to a really great hobby shop.
New Creations R/C is the type of hobby shop that I used to dream about when I was a kid. It's packed with R/C airplanes and helicopters, just like a hobby shop should be. They are a Horizon Hobby distributor, so you'll find the same prices in the store as you'd find online. Better than that though, you'll get personalized service. Just don't go at peak times or you might be waiting while all the customers in front of you get help for their "how do I" questions... The Fun Cub, and Nano Qx that my wife got for my birthday both came from New Creations. It's a great shop and if you're ever in the Conroe, Texas area, stop by and check it out.

Fun Cub - Flight Review

2014-02-08T18:48:00.003-08:00

The Fun Cub flies beautifully. Trimming the model required only a few clicks of trim. With the power setup I used take off performance ranges from scale at 1/3 throttle with a notch of flaps to unrealistic vertical performance at full throttle.

The plane required almost four ounces of lead in the tail to get it to balance, but it flies and more importantly, it lands easily. Take the time to properly balance your Fun Cub. I originally planned to paint the plane, but I'm glad I didn't. The kit decals give great visibility in the air and were alot easier to put on than paint. I've been flying at the local school on the football field. The huge tundra tires handle the short grass with ease.

I'd heard of people having issues with vibration, but my plane certainly has no such issues. Build it carefully and it will treat you right.
This truly is a Fun Cub.

Multiplex - Fun Cub

2014-01-18T16:09:00.000-08:00

Work has been taking quite a bit of my time lately, so it's taken me a few month's to get my Fun Cub built. This was another one of my birthday presents from back in August, and I just finished the plane up in the first week of January. The build time can only be contributed to a lack of time contributed on my part. The actual time spent working on the plane was only a few evenings.

For my setup I used the following:

Hobby King 40A ESC 4A UBEC
Turnigy Aerodrive SK3 - 3536-1050kv Brushless Outrunner Motor
ZIPPY Compact 2200mAh 3S 25C Lipo Pack
OrangeRx R800X Spektrum Compatible DSMX 8Ch 2.4Ghz TwinPort Rx
Prop is a 12x4

Build Tips

After cutting out the flaps, pay attention to which is the left and which is the right.
The Fun Cub should now come with a metal motor mount, if the one in the kit is plastic, get a metal one, this helps with vibration.
User three screws per side of the metal motor mount. You'll need to drill tiny tap holes above and below the center hole on both sides of the motor mount.
Use loctite or equivalent on the screws holding the motor to the motor mount
Glue everything with lots of medium thickness CA, use kicker only where necessary.
Grab a building square and a friend to help you glue the tail feathers on straight.

So far haven't had the chance to fly it, but hopefully will get a chance this month. Initial testing of the systems and a few taxi tests have peaked my interest in flying this plane...

Carbon Cub - Use the flap switch for the flaps Dx7s - DX8

2014-01-11T20:10:00.000-08:00

On radios equipped with the three position flap switch, using it instead of the default gear switch is a nice improvement you can make when flying the Carbon Cub. I struggled to figure out how to program this, and had to contact Horizon to get the exact instructions. In my Carbon Cub post I did mention this, but here are the exact instructions.

Select wing type DUAL AILE / SINGLE FLAP (the AUX1 channel is simply ignored by the receiver) (***Do Not! change the receiver programming to AUX1 for dual aile/flaperon).

This will force the FLAP system to the GEAR channel.
Then set the NORM position to -100% (yes, that minus 100%)
The MID position can be set to a position of your choosing for take off flaps

The LAND position can then be set to 100% … *** Do Not! exceed 100% (actually never do this on any linear servo)

Blade Nano Qx

2014-01-07T16:20:00.000-08:00

For my birthday this year my wife bought me a few toys, one being the Blade Nano Qx. This is one of the funnest ultra micros that I've flown. It's a different flight experience from a helicopter or airplane, but it's very easy to fly as long as you leave the SAFE flight stabilization mode on. If the light under the canopy goes red, watch out as your in agility mode. Flips are possible in agility mode, but you will need some space unless you've got skills...

AS3X Ultra Micros - Carbon Cub & Spitfire

2013-08-10T10:53:00.000-07:00

I've had a Blade mSR X heli for about a year now. Horizon introduced the mSR X as a fixed pitch helicopter without a fly-bar, and it has an amazing amount of stability due to the 3-axis stabilization system Horizon calls AS3X. Over this last year, AS3X has made its way into more and more of the ultra micro lineup.

A few weeks back I picked up a crashed Carbon Cub, and a brand new Spitfire and the local hobby shop. After flying both a few times I have to say that AS3X does indeed help with the wind. We are currently living on Lake Conroe here in Texas, and it's as if the wind never stops blowing. AS3X smooths out some of the bumps caused by the wind, and makes flying in windy conditions a much pleasanter experience.

The crashed Carbon Cub was a good deal, and I'm glad I got a pre-crashed one, saved me some crying. The flaps default to the gear switch on Spektrum radios, on or off. My DX7s has a three position switch for flaps, and it took several calls to Horizon before someone finally found the correct combination of radio settings to reroute the flaps to the three position flap switch. In case someone else is trying to figure this out, the key is to set the wing type to 2 ailerons, 1 flap, and then to set the default flap switch position to -100%.

I flew my Carbon Cub before I had the flaps sorted out and turning on the flaps caused the plane to do a loop close to the ground and to crash. Be careful with those flaps till you figure out how to fly the plane, it is a little tricky to use the flaps.

Both planes are quite fun to fly, and I have to say that now I'll probably only buy ultra micros that have AS3X.

Tx-R (Transmitter Ready) Airplanes - The verdict!

2013-08-03T10:21:00.002-07:00

Back in February I posted about a getting two more Tx-R airplanes. In retrospect that was probably a mistake. The final story is that if you don't have a radio that the AnyLink adapter can draw power from, Tx-R with AnyLink is a real pain. To the point that I did not ever feel like flying any of my planes with AnyLink. For folks that use Tactic radios Tx-R is probably great. The fact of the matter is, if you already own a Spektrum Radios, its allot easier to just buy BNF airplanes from Horizon.

I put all my Tx-R micro airplanes up for consignment at the local hobby shop, and bought a few more Horizon micros...

Extra 300 Profile with KFm-4 Airfoil

2013-05-04T18:28:00.000-07:00

Recently there has been a revolution within the model aircraft community surrounding the KF airfoil. One day while surfing the Flite Test site I ran across an interview that was done with Dick Kline, the inventor of the KF airfoil. The interview is in the format of a YouTube video, but the video is far less interesting than the audio, I'd recommend just turning it on and letting the audio run. The audio is fascinating.

After listening to the interview with Dick Kline, I knew I had to try the KF airfoil on a plane. I was in the process of building a new R\C Powers - Extra 300 profile foamy, so I decided that it would be a good test platform for the KFm-4 airfoil.

I've flown the plane several times now, and I have to say that the airfoil makes a noticeable difference in the performance of the airplane. The plane in general seems to handle better all around, especially landings, which seem to be better due to less wing rocking tendency at low speed.

Another benefit was the elimination of the carbon fiber spar in the wing, due to the lamination of three pieces of foam to create the stepped airfoil. The plane does have a few bamboo rods for bracing, but that is all I've used, and so far the wings are still attached...

Foam Airplane Construction Techniques

2013-04-30T13:49:00.000-07:00

Profile planes are fun to build due to the simplicity of construction, however they lack a certain aesthetic appeal. Quite a while ago, I started experimenting with several different construction techniques to make foam scratch-builds more appealing to the eye.

I created foam wings with true airfoils by using ribs on top of the bottom sheet of foam, and then folded the wing back over itself onto the airfoils. For fuselages I created box air frames much like you'd do when creating a larger balsa wood model. However, much of what I was experimenting with was fairly labor intensive, and while it looked better it was still blue foam.

I've been following Flite Test ever since they started up, and while I have not yet tried any of the plans from their swappable series, I have to say I have been impressed with the aesthetics of these airplanes. The best part is, people smarter than myself have come up with some incredible construction techniques for foam air frames.

If you haven't checked them out, take a look.

http://flitetest.com/articles/FT_Old_Fogey

http://flitetest.com/articles/FT_Flyer_Scratch_build

http://flitetest.com/articles/Baby_Blender_Biplane

http://flitetest.com/articles/Swappable_Nutball_and_Hots_Dart

http://flitetest.com/articles/Fowl_Flyer_FPV_Swappable

As always the flitetest website is a huge wealth of knowledge, and it's more than worth the time for a look around. Hopefully, during 2013 I'll get time to build one or two of these planes.

National Naval Aviation Museum

2013-04-02T16:26:00.000-07:00

For Thanksgiving 2012, we decided to drive to Florida to be with my wife family for the holidays. From our current home in Texas this is only a ten hour drive, and we thought it would be a nice chance to see some new country. It was a good trip, but we didn't get much of a scenery change between south-eastern Texas and northern Florida. Aside from the swamps of Louisiana, glancing out the window you would think you were still around Texas somewhere...

While visiting, we took a trip to Pensacola to visit the National Naval Aviation Museum. I didn't realize it till we were there, but Pensacola is the home of the Blue Angles, so the locals must get a free airshow. I was quite impressed with the fact that this museum is free of charge. You can of course donate something to help keep the lights on.

On display are several WWI aircraft that I had not seen in other museums I've visited, as well as a whole host of WWII aircraft. One of the more interesting things I learned, was of the naval training program during WWII that was ran out of Chicago. Many planes crashed into Lake Michigan as pilots learned to takeoff and land on a training aircraft carrier. Several of these planes have been brought out of the lake and have been restored.

The museum offers quite a few exhibits related to life in the navy during the world wars, and has many displays related to those times in general. This is great for those more boring people among us who might enjoy that more than the airplanes.

Free is hard to beat, so if your in the area go have a look-see.

MUSEUM
http://www.navalaviationmuseum.org/

Up close they smell just like an old Volkswagon bug that's been burning oil :)

Parkzone Ember 2

2013-03-30T16:55:00.000-07:00

I've started to pick up on a trend with the Parkzone airplanes, especially the ultra micros. They make a good airplane, and then they refine it and make a great airplane, and they charge the same. So, wait for the second version of the airplane :)

On a whim in the hobby shop, I picked up an Ember 2, got a good deal on it, otherwise I probably would not have been interested. However, having owned a Vapor and having really enjoyed its slow flight characteristics and easy fly attitude, I had a feeling the Ember 2 would be similar.

If you've flown a Vapor, the Ember 2 feels right at home, it doesn't fly exactly the same, but its comparable. I'm having more fun with the Ember 2, than I had with my Vapor. Turns out, the Vapor I had started to act up after several month and the linear servos would get really twitchy during flight. I have a feeling it was a problem on the brick somewhere, but it was being manifest through excessive servo movement.

I've had the Ember 2 for three months now, and it hasn't given me any problems. Flight times are in excess of 10 minutes with a 150 mah battery. Touch and goes are fun with this plane, but it's so light you have to carry quite a bit of power otherwise it will quickly stop after a touch... I don't think I've ever looped the plane, nor have I rolled it. I suppose given the right conditions and with some coaxing it'd be capable of a loop, and a rudder roll but the roll would be ugly.

On my DX7s have have both the right and left sticks set to control the rudder, and then I fly it like any other four channel. Also, this plane was a RTF, so I got a E-Tomic transmitter with it, I've used it several times, and while it's not much of a radio, it is pretty effective for the ultra micro line.

If you can get a deal on one, it'd be worth picking it up.

The Museum of Flight

2013-03-02T15:01:00.000-08:00

As you may have noticed, recently I put up a few posts about the local aviation museums I used to frequent. I was noting while looking for pictures for those posts that we have been to several other aviation museums around the country that are of merit. In the next few post I'll try to touch on a few of those, and then perhaps when I visit a new museum I'll keep the blog up to date.

While living in Oregon it was not uncommon to take a trip or two a year up to the Seattle area for one reason or another. Seattle is of course home to Boeing, one of the worlds most well known aircraft manufactures. Boeing has a great museum, called The Museum of Flight, as you might guess it has many Boeing aircraft, but thankfully they let a few of their competitors store some of their old planes there as well.

This is another museum that is well worth the time, effort and money to go and see.

MUSEUM
http://www.museumofflight.org/

Evergreen Aviation Museum

2013-02-28T14:19:00.000-08:00

In April we moved from Yamhill, Oregon to Willis, Texas. One of the things that we miss about back home is the fantastic aviation museums that we had within a short driving distance of our house. The first museum I'd like to mention is Evergreen Aviation Museum which is located right across the road from the McMinnville Airport.

Evergreen is an interesting collection of aircraft, much more assorted than you'd imagine and it's a private collection. The centerpiece of it all is the Spruce Goose which is a sight to behold. Without actually seeing the plane in person, you'll never fully be able to appreciate the immensity of the undertaking.

Recently Evergreen added a Space Museum and a water park. I believe they have plans for a hotel as well. I'm not so big on boring things like water parks but the museums are really spectacular. Just have your wallet ready... it's not the cheapest form of entertainment.

Here is a shot I have of the museum from the air. I took this a few years ago on a small plane departing McMinnville. The main museum is on the left, the IMAX is in the middle and the Space Museum is on the right.

A side note:
This is not only a Museum, there also happens to be an AMA flying field right out back. DeAlton field is worth a stop if your already at the museum. You'll most likely see several folks out flying.

MUSEUM
http://www.evergreenmuseum.org/

Evergreen Aviation Museum from the air

A large plane parked under the wing of the HK-1

The Spruce Goose HK-1, well 1/10th of it...

Tillamook - NAS (Naval Air Station)

2013-02-27T14:47:00.000-08:00

My hometown back in Oregon is fairly famous, due to the local population of cows that produce milk that the local creamery turns into all sorts of dairy based goodness, and then markets all over the world. Tillamook Cheese, ice cream, butter, etc. That's all good and well, but it has lost some of awesomeness due to corporate greed, and new management. I have to say their add campaigns went from classy to trashy, and the product is on a slow downhill slide thanks to a bunch of cows living in a barn on the east side of the state. Well probably can't blame it on the cows actually, more likely on the management. Ha and you thought this was a blog about model airplanes!

Thankfully, the town has another redeeming quality. It is home to what was once Naval Air Station Tillamook. The history is quite fascinating, but you can find it all over the internet. The quick story is the navy needed a home for K-Class blimps, so they built several bases on each coast of the U.S. with Tillamook being one of the lucky towns.

When I was growing up, there were two blimp hangars out at the air base, sadly hangar two was lost to a fire. Hangar one became home to one of the most unique Air Museums in the U.S. Unfortunately, many people don't know the story of the K-Class blimps, the bases that were constructed, or that today one of them houses an impressive collection of historic aircraft. One of the more interesting features of this museum is that many of the aircraft are still flown. As a kid growing up it was not unusual to see old WWII planes flying overhead, made for lots of staring up at the sky.

If your ever in the Portland, Oregon area, your only an hour away from Tillamook. Take the time to go out and visit the museum.

HISTORY

http://nastillamook.org/index.htm

MUSEUM

http://www.tillamookair.com/

Tillamook Air Museum

An old target practice drone

A shot from inside the hangar

The Smithsonian - National Air & Space Museum - Museum on the National Mall

2013-02-23T15:56:00.000-08:00

Shortly after graduating from high school, I took a trip to Pennsylvania to visit distant relatives. While visiting, one of the memorable places we went was Washington D.C., which aside from the politicians turns out to be a really neat place.

The obvious reason people go to D.C. is the Smithsonian, it's the grand-daddy of Museums. The one that really stands out though is the National Air & Space Museum. Back when I went, Udvar-Hazy center was not yet opened, so the last hyphen in the blog post title would not have been necessary. However, now we have to distinguish between the museum on the national mall, and that other one that has airplanes in it ;)

Some day perhaps I'll get back to the Udvar-Hazy portion of the museum, but till then I have fond memories of our nations air museum. Most planes housed in the NASM are of historic significance, and as such it is remarkable to be able to see them and get glimpse back into history.

MUSEUM
http://airandspace.si.edu/museum/flagship.cfm

Micro EP Tx-R Model's Flight Review

2013-02-22T14:59:00.000-08:00

In my post on the Albatros ultra micro, I mentioned that I'd purchased two more. I ended up with a Nieuport 17 and a Playmate. One can not deny that both planes have good looks, but beauty is more than skin deep:) After flying these ultra micros on several missions down the street and through the neighbors yard, I've discovered some things.

First the Playmate, this plane flies great for the most part, and it is aimed at a beginner. The unexpected and somewhat unacceptable fact is that without power, the plane has no rudder authority. When you chop the power, your stuck going in the direction you where going when you chopped the power. Obviously, if your headed toward something and you think your going to crash, your only option is to throttle up and hope you can turn tight enough to avoid it.

The Nieuport 17 is the first bi-plane I've flown, and as such, I'm not sure how much I can criticize, but I can say this plane is not for a beginner, and its not really intended to be an outdoor plane. The issue I've had is that it stalls incredibly easily, and I've ended up crashing it several times just trying to fly avoid something so slowing and turning... Once again, you have to keep some air going over the rudder, but more importantly you have to keep the speed up in the turns so you don't stall. One not so hard crash resulted in a landing gear that pulled out of the foam, below is the fix.

Both plains are incredibly loud for ultra micros, all the noise coming from the motor gearbox. That isn't so bad, the worst part has been flying these with my DX7s has been very annoying. Tx-R is a great idea, and I think I'd be more apt to enjoy it, if my transmitter didn't have to have an auxiliary battery pack to power the AnyLink transmitter, the DX6i would be a simpler setup for Tx-R. I forgot to unplug the pack from the AnyLink and sure enough I ran it dead beyond recharge-ability. I think I'll make my own pack for it next, but still its another annoyance... One reason I like ultra micros is because they are simple to fly, having issues with planes, radios, batteries etc is part of the hobby, but one wishes to avoid that as much as possible...

Overall, the planes don't fly terrible, but I really am not sure I'd buy another in the future...