I Pre-ordered the NEW Parkzone Sukhoi SU-26M Indoor Aerobatic Plane!

This is too good of a plane to pass up! “The first 4-channel Ultra-Micro™ aerobatic flyer for experienced pilots.”  It runs off the same batteries that my MCX helicopter does, so that will save costs and make for easy recharging. Also, it’s a bind-and-fly, which means of course that I can use my JR X9303 radio to fly it. For $99 this plane will be great to fly on wind-less days here in AZ, or indoors wherever I can find enough room. While I can see the control movements (throws) are not great enough to support heavy 3-D with this plane, that is not what I am interested in. There are plenty of cheap “profile fomies” for that purpose. What I am interested in is the scale looks of this Sukhoi. Let’s face it, many of us got into this hobby because we love planes, and we like to see things that resemble planes fly in ways that resemble how planes fly. Profile foamies do anything but that! They hover, swing, flip, and do all sorts of neat things that you will never see a real plane do.

So I will report in once this plane ships and arrives at my door. That should be in a few weeks, so stay tuned!

For a high resolution Windows Media video, go here:
http://www.horizonhobby.com/ProdInfo/Files/PKZ3580_hi.wmv

To take a look, and pre-order this plane:
http://www.horizonhobby.com/Products/Default.aspx?ProdID=PKZ3580

Overview

You’ve never seen anything this small that flies so big. As the first 4-channel Ultra-Micro™ flyer to utilize Bind-N-Fly™ DSM2™ technology, the Sukhoi Su-26m will thrill experienced pilots with its amazing aerobatic capabilities. Based on a Mike McConville design, this exciting addition to ParkZone’s family of Ultra-Micro aircraft definitely doesn’t fly like a toy. Instead, it gives you the feel of being at the flying field, and its incredibly lightweight Spektrum AR6400 receiver and ESC board provide further value and convenience. An additional servo also plugs into the board to drive the Sukhoi’s ailerons.

The Sukhoi has been engineered for a true 4-channel experience, with its remarkable precision control making it perfect for flight in a large yard or gymnasium or even a park on a calm day. To start, all you need to do is charge the included 110mAh Li-Po battery and bind the plane to one of the many compatible DSM2 transmitters*.  From rolling circles, loops and snap rolls to aileron rolls, spins and inverted flight, the maximum aerobatic performance of the Ultra-Micro Sukhoi Su-26m is unlike anything else this size.

After spending the day out at the field, unwind with ParkZone’s 4-channel Sukhoi SU-26m, offering you more flying challenges and capabilities than you ever thought possible in an Ultra-Micro flyer.

 

Specs

• Wingspan:15.75 in (400mm)
• Overall Length:14.25 in (366mm)
• Flying Weight:1.1 oz (34 g)
• Radio:Spektrum AR6400 receiver (installed), 5+ Channel 2.4GHz transmitter with Spektrum DSM2 (required)
• Charger:DC single-cell Li-Po

SAPAC T-45 EPP EDF, Maiden Flight!

I recently received a SAPAC foam Electric Ducted Fan scale jet model for Christmas, and I documented the entire process of putting it together so I could share it on this blog.  However, near the end of my documentation process I decided to show-off to some friends on the second flight, and I rolled the plane straight into the pavement at the flying field.  The crash was nothing short of spectacular, with my sister, her friend, and the “jet-guys” all watching as I made such a silly amateur mistake.  I decided there was nothing to do but buy a replacement and do it all over again.

There is a big lesson learned in the above crash, and I will share that here as well as add it to the “Thing’s we’ve learned” page, which you can always access by clicking the top menu of this page.  I use that section to document everything important that I learn in the process of writing this blog and enjoying the hobby.

When replacing the T-45 I contacted SAPAC America, and it appeared that they sold an ARF version for much less than the PNP version which is commonly sold.  I ordered the ARF, (which is supposed to require a motor, battery, servos, and all that junk which was recoverable from my crashed PNP version), but to my surprise when it showed up at the door it was exactly the same as the ARF!  So the re-build was much easier, and I now have a completely extra set of equipment as well as another battery!

Now, on to the lesson learned…
I did not crash the first T-45 simply because I am a bad pilot, although at the moment that certainly crossed everyone mind :).  I crashed because I failed to set up the plane properly.  I had thought I understood the importance of plane setup before, but what we had here was a real moment of understanding.  See, upon the maiden flight I found that the ailerons were not centered, and my radio required full left trim in order for the plane to track straight.  In fact, it still tended towards the right even with full trim.  This maiden flight information should have resulted in me taking off the wing, removing the servo control horn, and adjusting so that the ailerons were centered properly when the radio was at neutral.  But because I was capable of flying with full trim I decided I was in no rush to make that change.

Now, to the fateful moment when I decided to roll the plane in front of my friends at low altitude…
If I had rolled to the left, the plane would have followed its natural tendency and rolled quickly.  This is how I had been testing the plane’s roll.  We are all used to our planes acting similarly in each direction – we have a symmetrical expectation.  But because the plane was not setup correctly, a roll to the right would behave much slower than a roll to the left.  Without thinking, I rolled to the right, and the result was not the quick roll I had noticed, but instead a slow, gradual, flop into the ground, followed by pieces of foam showering the ground and the audience lowering their opinion of my flying skills. 

So on  this second version of my T-45 I decided to dedicate an entire evening to the plane’s setup, prior to the first flight.  I checked every surface, and ensured that every servo at neutral (with the radio turned on and centered) was connected to a neutral control surface.  I also checked all throw angles, and ensured the symmetry of both elevators and ailerons.

Yesterday I did the maiden flight, and I am happy to report that the T-45 was the best maiden-flying airplane I have ever flown.  It tracked perfectly straight (nearly) with absolutely no trim.  I was truly impressed with the performance, and it was an easy and fun experience to fly around the park.  It attracted a lot of attention for its scale appearance and quick rolls (from both left and right this time!)

I have tons of pictures, but I don’t have access to them here in Seattle.  I will add to this post next week with the full report.  Thanks for reading!

Holiday Flying: My New Radiocraft Extra 330 35%

My '78 Ford Bronco sporting a new Extra 330

Taking the big step up from a .46 glow sport trainer (the red Pulse I am holding in the photo on the top left of the page) to a 35% 100cc scale aerobatic plane is a little nerve racking.  Fortunately for me I fly at a field that is full of extremely talented world-class flyers who are willing to help and offer advice, free of charge.

I purchased my new plane last week, and didn’t fly it for 3 days.  Finally, yesterday, I packed it into the bronco and took it to the field.

  I met up with Dan, who sold me the plane, and he assisted me in the range-check and flight test.  He trimmed the plane and put it through it’s paces before doing a second flight where he let me take the control.  I did some basic turns, and 2-point turns.  It was certainly a world away from what I am used to, but just the little flying I did was very exciting.  After I was through Dan came in for a perfect landing, and experienced a very unfortunate accident shortly after touchdown.  When he turned the plane to come back to the gate, the gear ripped out, and the plane fell to the ground.  The prop was destroyed, and we both headed for the end of the runway to assess the damage.

It turns out that during a gear rebuild there was a flaw in the assembly that caused it to come undone with relatively light force.  Fortunately Dan offerred to take it home right then and work with me to fix it.  We spend about 3 hours doing a really solid repair, resulting in these changes:

1:  Aluminum braced landing gear mount
2:  New carbon-fiber tail wheel with a very effective steering wheel
3:  Aluminum landing gear instead of carbon fiber.  The plane has the power to carry them, and they will be sturdier as I learn to land perfectly.
4:  New larger, wooden prop.

I had the opportunity to fly the plane again today.  I only expected to fly in the air, and let Dan handle the landings and take-offs.  However, I was encoraged by Tony, who formerly owned the plane and actually assembled it.  So, soon enough I had done my first takeoff, and was coming around for a landing.  After one go-around, I was lined up for a perfect one, and I sat her down perfectly.  I did 3 more landings today, all of which were good, not great, not bad.  It was very encouraging to be able to nail landings.  I found landing a plane this size to be much easier than the smaller planes.  It flies the whole way down, and is very controllable.

That’s enough rambling – let’s get to the photos!  Marty Jones was kind enough to take some great photographs just for the AddictionRC blog gallery.  Here they are, enjoy!

My ’78 Ford Bronco sporting a new Extra 330

Extra 330 and JR 9303 DSM

David Ebel and Dan Jacobsen pause to pose for a picture.

Dan thinking about the gear-repair job he did…

Dan and David discuss the optional retracts…

Dan considers strengthening the landing gear…

Dan and David perform setup procedures

Extra 330 on run-up

Test Flight #1 – heading out!

Landing at dusk

Ebel recovers the plane – all is well

David Ebel’s Radiocraft Extra 330 35%

Great Planes RealFlight G4.5 Review

Saturday I received RealFlight G4.5 RC Flight simulator.  I had to purchase a new video card for my PC for it to even work, which was very frustrating because I had purchased a relatively new, very fast computer recently.  But the program does not work with Intel-based graphics cards, so I am told.  So the cost was an additional $150 for my implementation.

Now that it is up and running I am very impressed.  It’s something I have played with at the hobby store a number of times, so I am not that suprised it is so great, I have seen it before.  But for the purpose of the review, I must say its amazingly realistic. 

The crashes, and the way different planes fly seems particularly accurate.  It’s clear that they have tried to represent many of the most common types of planes, and with the available expansion packs there are quite a lot of planes and locations to fly.  My hope is that this tool will get me to where I want to be (flying 40% composite planes) sooner, and with less expense incurred in crashes. 

I tried the helicopters available in the simulator, and I have to say they are as hard to fly as I imagined.  I am able to hover and prevent them from crashing, but not much else.  I will measure how my airplane skills translate to the helicopters as I progress.  My general theory right now is that the coordination developing will have positive affects for all types of RC flying.  Again, I will report on the results after a few weeks.

So if you can afford it (and maybe you can’t afford not to afford it) then RealFlight seems to be a great tool for progressing skills.  I initiall thought it would be poor at training for landings, but after a few evenings of use it is clear that it will be just as helpful in that area as in all others.  I am really amazed that 3D flight, and some of the maneuvers I see my friends do are just as hard as they seem to be.  I guess somewhere deep down I hoped there was a “torque-roll” button hidden somewhere on the transmitter 🙂  (there is not.)

Me using RealFlight

Review: Parkzone Trojan T-28 RTF

I began my recent training in remote control flight with a Hobbyzone Super Cub RTF (ready to fly) electric plane that my dad bought me for Christmas of 2007.  To everyone’s suprise (not) I began flying that plane nearly every day.  I would ride my Segway to the park near my house, carrying the plane in my right arm, with the controller and batteries in the segway pack on the front.  While it was a challenge to fly perfectly at first, I soon got to the point where I could do nearly anything with it, including two stunts I challenge the rest of you to attempt (at your own risk)

1. Flying inverted
2. Flying around the bases of a small field at eye-level

Once I mastered these tricks it was time for a more advanced plane, and I quickly choose a very attractive 4-channel RTF by Parkzone.

Parkzone Trojan T-28

Key differences:

1. This is a 4-Channel plane, which means it has Ailerons, as well as elevator and rudder controls.  (Throttle makes 4)
2. This plane uses a brushless electric motor.  Brushless motors deliver more power and better performance than the normal brushed motors which are more common.
3. This plane uses Lithium Polymer batteries, instead of the more common NiCad.  Lipo batteries deliver longer power at higher voltage.  They are also more challenging to charge and keep safe.

This is a ready to fly plane, which means it comes with everything you need and it is all assembled.  You can find lots of information on what is included on the web, so I will move into my personal experience with the plane (which y0u will not find anywhere else).

I have mentioned before that I am not very patient.  That being said, I chose a very bad day and time for my first flight.  When the plane arrived I put it together (15 minutes), and immediately headed for the park (after a few hours waiting for the battery to charge before I left work.)  It was dark, and the field I chose was full of tall lights and obstacles.  There were even kids on the field at the time, something I told myself was unimportant.  In hindsight I should have waited for a better day, a better field, and a more planned first flight.

I had not flown a 4-channel plane since high school, so Ailerons were going to take some getting used to.  When it came time to take-off the plane did so effortlessly.  I noticed right away that I had the new ability to quickly rotate the plane using the controls that I was previously using for rudder.  That was completely expected, but it was clear that some practice would be in order to master this new skill.  I was able to control the plane well, and as I decided it was time for a landing, I came around for final and suddenly slammed into one of the tall lights surrounding the park.  It turns out that human depth perception is not all it’s cracked up to be.  The wing ripped off, and the fuselage headed right where you would expect – into the ground.  So I left the park in shame, but determined to get back in the air quickly.

My beat-up Trojan after many, many flights.

After a quick order for new fuselage, I was ready for take 2.  From that point on everything went much better, and I have not had a significant crash yet.  So here is what I love about this plane:

• It is very good looking
  • Looks do matter.  And this is a scale plane that really looks like the real thing.  Even though it is a foamie (made of foam), it gives a very mature and realistic look on the ground and in the air.  The clear cockpit with the pilot figure add a lot, and if you are looking to advance your skill-set without flying something that looks like a child’s toy, than this is the plane for you.
• It flys perfectly
  • Even as I grow into more and more advanced airplanes, made from wood and running on nitro, I am still impressed with the flight characteristics of this plane.  It is very stable, quick, and responsive.  Its an absolute blast to fly, and it will do almost anything you throw at it – especially if you are an intermediate flier.
• It is durable and cheap to repair
  • If you crash this plane, you will be able to fix it for cheap.  And what’s more, it’s likely you will not even need to fix it.  I put it into a tree at full speed and had no flight-restricting damage.   A replacement fuselage costs about $28 and is likely in stock at your local hobby store.  You can buy a whole new plane, minus the radio and battery pack for about $150.

The best testament to this plane is the fact that everyone has one.  I’ve seen competition-level pilots bring these to the field.  I saw 3 flying at one time at the SVF field.  After a long day of practice on my Pulse 40 nitro, I will break out my Trojan for some fun low-stress flying.

If you have any questions about this plane, and are thinking of buying it or something similar please ask.  Also, if you have a favorite 4-channel plane please share.

From the beginning… Part 1

I’d like to take a moment to tell the story of how I began the hobby of flying remote controlled airplanes in order to bring some perspective to new readers as to how I arrived at this point in time.  Perhaps my story is not very different from some of yours, and maybe it will encourage someone else to pursue their interests.  One striking thing about all hobbies is that the experts you see in the hobby shop all started out knowing nothing.  Only through effort, luck, and dedication were they able to get to the highest levels of skill and experience.  Asking a lot of questions also helps a great deal.

My first experience with RC flying came when I was about 13.  My parents purchased a Spectra electric powered glider for Christmas.  The Spectra is a kit in every sense of the word, meaning in comes in a small box filled with tiny wooden pieces.  The entire plane needs to be built up with wood, glue, sweat, and tears.  Once that process is complete it must be covered in a plastic film, and heat-shrunk to create a tight surface for the wings and fuselage.

Great Planes Spectra Glider

The project sat in its box for almost a year.  Only when the sheer boredom of being 13 kicked in did I finally decide to begin by following the instructions.  Unexpectedly, I found that once things got rolling, the plane built up rather quickly.  I even found that I had a talent for covering the plane.  Once completed, my parents were truly in awe. 

Unfortunately there was not a single soul in my life that had any experience with RC.  Add that with the fact that I have a well documented lack of patience, and it equals a 13 year old kid at the park with his Grandfather attempting to fly a 6-foot wingspan glider with zero experience.  In case you haven’t guessed, my Spectra had but one single flight in its entire lifespan.  Even though the damage done just following my brief, and beautiful powered-glide was minimal, I never got around to repairing the Spectra.  It was still beautiful, though, and I hung it up on the ceiling of my bedroom where it impressed me every day.

I learned a few very important lessons from the Spectra experience.  Not in order, they are:

• I was capable of doing much more than I imagined when it came to following instructions and building
• I had an almost artistic talent for covering planes with Mono-cote (or similar product)
• Flying an RC plane with no experience or help is extremely difficult
• Without support, learning to fly, repair, and even know if you are doing anything right is a very limiting and frustrating place to be.

I still have the Spectra in the garage somewhere.  Maybe someday I will take it on as a project, and build her back up to perfect status.  At my current skill-level I could certainly fly her.  And what’s even more interesting, is even in 1994, my first plane was an electric.  Somehow that was a sign of things to come in a hobby where electric planes of all sorts are dominating the leading edge of hobby technology.

The Spectra was not just a fun project that garnered a few lessons learned, because ultimately it incited in me a deep fascination with remote control flight.  It was only a few years later, in high school, when I purchased my second model.  This time it would not be electric, and it would not be a glider.  In fact, the choice of my next plane would show my determination to learn to fly without the risk of destroying a beautifully built aircraft.  It would also validate my feeling that a support group of some kind was going to be required if this hobby and skill was ever going to get off the ground…