Few weeks ago I got an offer from our beloved Moderators Maayan and Izik
to do a Review on one of the products distributed by our sponsor
HobbyKing
This was a kind of an offer that can't be refused, it took me almost 10 seconds to accept
The chosen plane was the Newly Park Flayer EDF "Rafale" which comes in a form that I call MRF - "Mostly Ready To Fly
The kit is manufactured by FMS - Shenzhen Famous Electronic Tech Co. LTD
Specification:
Wing span 660 mm
Length 1000 mm
Weight 610 gr (with 1300 mAh battery)
Channels 4
Servos 9g 1.3 KgxCm 0.12S/60 Deg
As the kit is 97% pre built (according to the site) it takes short time to Assemble and setup
The box came in shortly after
The Box is big, but the weight is surprisingly light, Mail handling of the box made some dents
but the inside was in tucked :
Unpacking the box:
Opening the box reviles a nicely packed almost finished plane
All parts were nicely packed and guarded by EPO cage and nylon wrapping.
The body of the plane was locked to place by a block of EPO that locked the nose to the side,
Lift it up to loosen the body from the box (see attached picture)
The plane was divided into fully built sub Parts:
fuselage:containing the installed EDF, ESC ,1 servo and extension cables for the elavons servos
Pre built wings and rudder were packed bellow
Landing gear, plastic Canopy and nose cone were laying in the side of the box
Also in the box was a small Build and operating manual in a pictorial brochure clearly describing the building process and installation
First Impression:
The kit looked fabulous, all parts were nicely build and had painting and decals. the kit looked very realistic, resembling the real fighter
I Was impressed!!! (and in love from the first sight)
Building:
The process of assembling the plane can hardly be called "building
mainly, all you have to do is glue some parts, install the radio and go flying... I like it
First step:
Check all parts are in and nothing is broken or bent or missing
Second step:
Review parts connecting method, peel off guarding parts attached to the leading edge of the wings
Make sure alignment and matching of the wings and the rudder to the body by positioning the parts in place
Note: the Rudder connecting rod has a
small tube installed in order to safeguard the rudder during installation
Make sure you know how to insert the rudder and don't forget to loosen the rudder hinge bolt so the rod will enter it during installation
check wings alignment and matching - if needed sand a little bit. check nose cone position and alignment - note: the cone is not symmetrical
Third Step:
Gluing: Straight forward, follow the steps as seen in the brochure
use the Epoxy glue that came with the kit, the glue is fast hardening (5 Min) so be quick and keep it light - use a little glue
Landing gear installation: Main gear - put in place and lock the latch
Front - put in place (note the notch) and lock with the Allen wrench supplied
Forth Step:
Installing the Receiver and connecting the electronics
I used the Berg light receiver which I prefer for its ability to withstand noisy environment, and has a failsafe feature
Check servo movement, centers and travel
note: mechanical center of the nose wheel/Rudder servo should be as in the following picture
This is the end of the "Building" part, it should take about 30 min. to finish
Now it is the time to do all programming needed on your transmitter
I use the good old Futaba 9CHP so some travel adjustment and Exponential assigning is needed
Jet or Ducted fun is being flown in 70-100% throttle mostly, so an exponential of 50% was put on the motor channel
Elevator exponential was initially put on 25% and Ailerons on 35%
Pre Flight checks:
CG was checked to be found in the exact position noted on the manual
Weight was checked to be found 605 gram (a little lighter then the anticipated 610 gram)
Engine static thrust was checked (by measuring weight and then total weight and thrust)to be around 440 gram, not bad, but will not make nice verticals
Current draw and battery time was checked on ground to be found around 20-25 Amp (250-300W) at about 5 min flight time, battery used during the tests were 1300 and 2200 mAh 20-25C
no significant noise or heat were shown during the ground tests
>>>> Flying Time >>>>:
The big day arrived almost two weeks after finishing the plane. As the manual says a clear paved 20 meter runway is needed
so a landing strip that will allow such long takeoff was found and weather was king enough, all was GO
With the help of my good friend Ilan and my son Ido, we constructed the test team 'that included me as the pilot and a crew of two rolling cameras
As the runway is not paved and had small granular stones the take off roll was somewhat bumpy
I let about 10 meters of accelerating before applying slight elevator only to find myself in the air without enough energy to stay airborne
having to let the plane sink, I hit lightly the ground, this was enough to detach the right main gear from the wing
but still airborne I continued gaining enough speed to start climbing
At a secured altitude some minor trims were made and a few flyby over the runway were done
The battery run down at about 5 min. flight, Power was drastically low and a quick landing was needed
Landing gently and easy on the left gear, no harm done or scratches on the plane
Attaching back the right main gear to place with sticky tape... and rock n' roll again
The maneuverability was found to be excellent, ability to fly at low and high speeds,no tendency for abrupt stalls
canards and delta wing combination was found to be stable easy and fun to fly
Eventually, 4 batteries later and at sun dusk, Alas, we had to return home but with a big smile enjoying a happy day in the field
Learned Tips:
Initial setup of the elevator is de-cambered a little (about 1 mm Up)
Exponential is a must, the plane is very sensitive on the roll axis, and sluggish at pitch axis
Be patient,Let the plane build up speed before pulling up at take off
The following movie filmed and edited by Ilan:
Conclusion:
This Kit is aimed to the intermediate flyer that can handle fast maneuvers and unstable platforms
The kit is built in a good quality and has a good real like visual view,I also likes the Jet Turbine like sound
Requires small time and expertise to build and comes almost RTF
Good build instruction and operating Manuel
! ! ! An Excellent Value for the money
ארר.. זו כבר פעם חמישית שהפיירפוקס קורס אחרי ששיניתי והוספתי הרבה חומר... אצטרך
להעלות ולעדכן בקטעים, עמכם הסליחה...
לא עוזר כלום, הפיסוק בסוף המשפט קופץ להתחלה...
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מנהל פורום מסוקי דלק
by ZvikaF Published on 10-01-2011 20:41:49
Zvika
תגובה להודעה: HobbyKing park flayer EDF "Rafale
נכתב במקור על ידי MDreamer
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