J-10B EDF Test pg 76 World’s Most In-Depth RC Aircraft
Sukhoi SU-26MM Flight Report
3 BIG BUILDS
THUNDER TIGER Raptor G4 MOUNTAIN MODELS HiperBipe Wings Part II |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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MAY 2012
USA & CANADA $6.49
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PLUS:
SOARING COLUMN PA R K Z O N E ® MICRO STRYKER MULTIPLEX® EASY GLIDER
Jim Cooney launches his Multiplex Cularis RTF glider at the Alpine Soaring Adventure—pg 41
Get the inside scoop on how to build this Mountain Models Hiperbipe electric-powered airplane—pg 24.
Daniel Holman gives you a very in-depth flight report of how the huge Hangar 9 ARF 3.1m Sukhoi SU-26MM performs when powered by DA-170 two-cylinder engine.
HUGE! Hangar 9® 3.1m Sukhoi SU-26 MM Flight Report, pg 54 6
RC SPORT FLYER — MAY 2012
DEPARTMENTS 10
LEADING EDGE
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ADVERTISER INDEX
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MYSTERY AIRPLANE
BUILD
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WINGS, PART TWO The second part of Building Wings explains how to cut, sand and make wing ribs and sheeting. By Jeff Troy
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SORRELL SNS-7 HIPERBIPE See why building a laser-cut kit can and does provide real enjoyment for you as a modeler and pilot. By Jerry Smith
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THUNDER TIGER RAPTOR This step-by-step build on the new Raptor G4 will show you how a pro builds an RC helicopter. By Marcus Hubbard
MARCH/APRIL 2012 SOARING—FOX GLIDER Learn how to make a direct-drive rudder control system for your next large-scale glider. By Wil Byers
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AEROTOW GLIDER Dave shows you how he converts an Easy Glider to a glider that can be used as an aerotow trainer. By Dave Darr
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PARKZONE SPITFIRE Check out this liittle warbird to see why it makes for a great looking and flying WWII fighter. By Marcus Hubbard
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WING MAKER J-10B EDF In this report, we put you in the cockpit of this electric-powered ducted fan Chinese jet fighter. By James VanWinkle
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PARKZONE F-27 STRYKER See why pilots are raving about how much fun this new UM F-27Q Stryker flying wing is to fly. By Daniel Holman
pg 45
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PHOTO SPREAD PAU 35% EXTRA 300 Get a close-up look at Herve Lejeune’s big DA-120-powered PAU Extra 300 3D machine. By Joe Nave
COLUMN
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HOW TO
REVIEWS
FLIGHT TEST
HANGAR 9 SUKHOI SU-26 We give you a huge test report on the DA-170-powered 40-percentscale 3.1m Sukhoi SU-26MM. By Wil Byers & Daniel Holman
pg 70
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BY Jeff Troy
WINGS, PART TWO HOW TO GIVE YOUR AIRPLANE’S WINGS A LIFT
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hile the fuselage of an airplane typically carries the pilot, the engine and all or part of the landing gear, the wing is the airframe component that carries it aloft. Five wings will be constructed in this build series, each of which will present an opportunity to pass along a few tips to make building more fun, more accurate and easier than ever. My last installment showed you the basic framing of three one-piece wings for the Fokker Dr.1 triplane, a quarter-scale model designed by Nick Ziroli. Future installments will detail the Super Sportster 60 aerobat from Great Planes® Model Manufacturing Company, the sporty Super Decathlon from Dynaflite® and the popular two-place Spacewalker II, a quarter-scale kit from the Sig® Manufacturing Company. Today’s installment covers the wing framing of the 108-inch Dallaire Sportster, an absolutely lovely version of the classic oldtimer design, brought to you in kit form by Bill Shive and Bob Klaus of Shive Specialties and sold exclusively through Penn Valley Hobby Center (pennvalleyhobbycenter.com). The Dallaire Sportster features a
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combination of cleanly die-cut wing ribs, dozens of hand-selected balsa sheets and sticks, laser-cut flying surface tip pieces, an ample selection of hardwood sticks, music wire for the landing gear, clear acetate for the cockpit glass and a few bits of hardware. The Dallaire’s instruction manual assumes that the kit builder has some degree of previous modeling experience, and when you think about it for a minute, it’s a very logical assumption. The Dallaire Sportster spans 108 inches, which makes it a fairly sizable airplane. It’s also a basic “stick” model, so very little in the way of bulkheads, formers, keels or other factory-formed parts are needed. Construction is easy, but different in many ways from how many contemporary model airplanes are constructed. A beginner can get through it, but his or her absolute attention and concentration are mandatory. RC pilots who are just getting into model airplane construction would have no reason to know about one of the legendary Carl Goldberg’s most significant contributions to the aeromodeling hobby: the Eaglet 50 trainer. Regardless of whether you
The shape of the Shive Specialties Dallaire Sportster’s undercamber airfoil is clearly demonstrated against the grid lines of this Excel cutting mat. The bottom of each rib is concave, much like the wing of a bird.
RC SPORT FLYER — MAY 2012
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built the Eaglet for three-channel flight or chose to add ailerons for four-channel, full-house control, the Eagle 50 was a very nice airplane. However, the little Eaglet’s groundbreaking feature was not its performance, not its kit quality and not its good looks. It was the instructions. Mr. Goldberg changed the way the entire hobby industry operates with his innovative and then-unique, step-by-step manual for the model. Before the Eaglet 50, most airplane kits had a good portion of their written instruction printed directly on the plans in short bursts of text. Now and then you might find some form of detail in those instructions, but more often than not, all you got was a simple, “Build the wing according to plan.” Carl Goldberg’s game-changing manual took you through every phase of his Eaglet’s construction from basic preparation to adhesive and accessory selection and specific recommendations, to sanding procedures, covering instructions and even basic flying techniques. Each step had a photo or drawing to complement the information on the full-size plans, and every
Four ribs must be trimmed to accommodate the wing’s 1/16-in. center-section sheeting. I made quick work of this by positioning one rib over another rib with a 1/16-in. difference, then trimming the edge of the lower rib. I made the bottom cut first, then the top.
WINGS, PART TWO
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This image clarifies the trimming required for the four centersection ribs. Lay one rib down on the work surface, then place another rib over the first rib, sliding it slightly upward and then downward to get its edge 1/16 in. away from the edge of the lower rib.
Several sheets of 1/16-in. balsa are provided in the Dallaire Sportster kit. A few of these are used to create the wing’s center-section sheeting. Measure the width of the sheeting, then use a straightedge over the sheets to ensure a straight cut with the hobby knife and the least amount of waste.
step concluded with a check box to remind you that it had been completed and the next step could be started. Today, almost every model you purchase comes with just such a manual, and because of this, the chances of beginners building a properly constructed model have gone from merely hopeful to almost certain. I’ve explained all this to help you understand why the Dallaire Sportster is not recommended as a beginner’s project. The kit is professionally done, the quality of the contents is top shelf and the model isn’t particularly difficult to construct, but missing from the kit, and the reason that some degree of previous modeling experience will be helpful if you choose to build one, are all those
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The Dallaire’s wing tips are made from three laser-cut balsa parts. Pin the center part, then hold the other two parts in position while applying thin CA adhesive. Parts can all be pinned down for a few minutes to ensure a thorough cure.
Five lengths of 1/16-in. balsa are glued together to make each of the four required sheets. Line the pieces up as closely as possible and glue them together with drops of thin CA along each seam.
Goldberg-esque infinite details in the instruction manual. The model comes with a manual, and it’s a very good one, but it’s written for people who already have a basic understanding of model airplane construction. It just doesn’t go into all the little items that an experienced builder would most likely take for granted but a newbie would have no reason to know. That’s where RC Sport Flyer and I come in: the primary purpose of this ongoing build series is to suggest methods and materials to help you build better model aircraft. The primary difference between the Dallaire’s wing and most modern model airplane wings is its undercamber airfoil. Undercamber indicates that the airfoil shape of
the bottom of the wing is neither flat nor convex, but concave. Almost all early full-scale aeroplanes used undercamber in an attempt to emulate the wings of a bird. It worked but gradually fell to the wayside as aircraft designers strove to attain greater airspeed and aerobatic capacity from their aircraft.
UNDERCAMBERED
Model wings with undercamber can sometimes be time-consuming or even difficult to construct, but not the Dallaire Sportster’s wing. Begin by taping the plans to your work surface and covering them with waxed paper, baking parchment or Great Planes Plans Protector, then follow the parts locator in the manual to collect all the sticks, sheets, die-cut and laserRC-SF.COM
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BY Jerry Smith
THE SORREL SNS-7 HIPERBIPE MOUNTAIN MODELS RECREATES AN EXCITING BIPLANE
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ack in the “old days,” and I was there, model airplane kits were built by the modelers who flew them. The kit came in a box that was adorned with an enticing picture of the airplane on it. The airplane on the box was built by a professional, so it looked its best. Inside the box were the construction plans, sticks of wood along with sheet balsa that had printed parts on them, and there was some hardware included too. Cutting the parts from the sheets of wood was the hard part. How well you cut the parts The Hyperbipe kit parts are laser-cut sheets—37 in out of the wood was all. The windshield and cowl are vacuum-formed. It directly proportional comes with Du-Bro hardware and the necessary music wire for landing gear and servo linkages, plus a great to the fit when building. set of instructions. What a pain! I can remember filling the gaps between parts with designed offered almost every white glue. At that point in time it month. Alternately, there are a few was a fun and rewarding experience. manufacturers who have remained It was another age. committed to the kit builder. Today the manufacturers sell However, their kits do often provide almost-ready-to-fly (ARF) aircraft. the builder with laser-cut parts. It seems that there is a new Mountain Models is one such 24
RC SPORT FLYER — MAY 2012
The Sorrel SNS-7 Hiperbipe looks fantastic from any angle. It is a Mountain Models laser-cut kit that you must build. The model is powered by an electric motor and a LiPo.
The cabin area is shown complete and ready for the sides to be joined. Note that there isometric drawings in the instructions, which provide and excellent references for the builder. The sides are precisely keyed to the cabin.
manufacture. The company is located in Wisconsin and operated by Brian Eberwein. Brian’s kits are laser cut. Mountain Models’ kit parts offer breath-taking accuracy for ease of assembly. Brian has taken his kits a step further by providing an
THE SORREL SNS-7 HIPERBIPE instruction manual with isometric 3D CAD drawings of the parts as they must be assembled. This provides a very clear picture of assembly for the builders. This is the first kit that I have seen where the manual offers this level of detail—and I have looked at many! To see their manual go to mountainmodels.com, click on HiperBipe, then the manual tab. You will see what I mean.
This shows the nearly complete fuselage. When the sides are joined, everything is squared before glue is applied—no worry about a crooked fuselage. Just make sure the tabs are fully engaged.
The tail feathers build fast because of their interlocking joints. No plans are required either. Just press the parts together, apply thin CA on each joint and you are done with the part. What could be easier
The tail feathers are shown installed. The laser-cut parts mean all the parts are located properly. The vertical locks into a slot in the horizontal stabilizer, with the sub fin providing positive alignment for both.
Here you get a good look at the underside of the fuselage and how well all laser-cut parts fit together on my little HiperBipe. It made for a very fun project as well as good flyer.
HISTORY
The full-scale HiperBipe was never offered as a real plansbuilt airplane. Instead the builder got four wood wings. They were built like an RC airplane wing: wood spars, wood ribs and plywood sheeting on the bottom surface. They were ready for inspection and closing up by the builder.
This gives you a good look at the airplane and what a nice model it makes. The full-scale airplane was also a kit project for homebuilders.
The fuselage was delivered with the left and right sides welded to form the airfoil shape, but the builder had to weld the tubing! Add to that the fabrication of the aileron/flap mixer (a whole lot of parts), as well as the rest of the airplane and you can see that the build had about 3,000 manhours to get the airplane airworthy.
The electric motor system I used in this Hiperbipe provides lots of power for steep climbs, aerobatics, and just fun, relaxing sport flying
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BY Marcus Hubbard
THUNDER TIGER RAPTOR G4 With all the standard features and a beautiful color-changing canopy, the Thunder Tiger Raptor 90 G4 Nitro is designed to please the crowd at any RC airfield.
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started attending helicopter fun fly events in 2006. Then you could walk down the flightline and see that almost everyone flew some version of the Thunder Tiger Raptor. The following year other companies realized that helicopters in the U.S. were selling much better than airplanes. Suddenly there were many alternatives to the Raptors being marketed. This year Thunder Tiger introduced their new flagship, the Raptor 90 G4 series. It is available as a nitro- or electricpowered helicopter. You get it with a flybar or as the new flybarless version. With its patentpending Quick Calibration System, and abundance of aluminum and carbon fiber components, Thunder Tiger has established once again that their Raptor is the one to beat!
The hardened steel 15-mm main shaft and all aluminum parts are nicely packaged and covered in clear plastic that will catch your eye as soon as you open the box.
KIT
You’ll be impressed by the packaging of this helicopter. It comes in four large boxes. All the aluminum pieces are well packed in cutouts in the injection-molded foam box inner. They are shrinkwrapped so they are the first thing to catch your eye. In the largest box you’ll find a beautifully painted canopy that changes its hue between blue and green when viewed from different angles. The large box also contains a few bags of components that you’ll 30
RC SPORT FLYER — MAY 2012
find inside the canopy. There is a long, thin box that contains the carbon fiber tailboom, boom supports and tail control rod for the rudder. The last box in the package contains some tools and the rest of the parts, including the carbon fiber frames
and instruction manual. Don’t worry about the thickness of the manual. Thunder Tiger printed one manual for the four versions of the G4, which is nice if you decide to convert your model to electric power or vice versa.
THUNDER TIGER RAPTOR G4
KIT CONTENTS
• Hue-changing fiberglass canopy • 2-mm carbon fiber frames • Carbon fiber tailboom, boom supports and tail fin • Torque tube drive system • Aluminum head, tail and frame components • Aluminum control arms with Futaba servo horns • Various plastic components • Various hex wrenches and special Torx driver • Pre-assembled control rods • Pre-assembled 650 cc main and header tank
Futaba’s BLS256HV servo is designed for precise tail control while getting power from the high-voltage 2S LiPo power system. It has a speed of .050 sec/60° and a torque of 69.5 oz/in.
The Futaba S9070SB is the perfect servo for a highvoltage throttle setup. It is smaller and lighter than the standard servo and at 7.4 V produces 94.5 oz/in. at a speed of .012 sec/60°.
Futaba’s BLS255HV high speed cyclic servos are a perfect match for the Raptor G4 and Futaba’s CGY750. At 7.4 V they produce 166.7 oz/in. with an amazing .08 sec/60°.
Futaba’s full range FASST receiver is high voltage capable and is the perfect setup to use with Futaba’s CGY750 3-axis gyro. With a weight of 7.2 g, it makes saving weight a breeze.
NEEDED TO COMPLETE
• Motor—O.S. Speed Tuned .91 HZ-R 3D This inverted shot took very little effort to achieve. The CGY750’s stability again impressed me. I was able to let the heli hover with almost zero cyclic inputs. Everything was very smooth throughout the flight.
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BY Wil Byers
RUDDER CONTROL HOW TO DIRECT DRIVE A FOX’S RUDDER
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efore becoming a magazine publisher I had a love of building gliders and sailplanes— mostly from scratch. I found it amazingly relaxing to build molds, cut foam cores, sheet wings, vacuum-bag foam cores, etc. The payoff of course was getting to fly the sailplanes and gliders after they were finished. These days my rear is mostly parked in the editor’s chair, not at the workbench. However, I try to build at least one day a week, usually on Saturdays when the phone isn’t ringing off the hook and there are no interruptions. And, I still have a passion for building sailplanes. I think that is because I love the art of quiet flight! You see, only when you fly a glider or sailplane do you go in search of thermals as a way to keep the aircraft aloft. Alternately, gliders let you blast off when slope soaring (Spencer Lisenby turned in a 468 mph DS run on February 2, 2011), where you can take advantage of the wind and the huge lift it can and does generate.
I used one of Hitec’s large plastic servo wheels as the output from the servo to the rudder. I felt the wheel would be more rigid than just an arm. Then too, the wheel needed some kind of coupling to the rudder. I found some 4-40 shoulder bolts in my RTL Fasteners kit, which I though would work well. I used my Dremel tool to cut the heads off the bolts and my sander to round the ends on the bolts. If you make this drive system, you’ll need to screw some 4-40 nuts on the bolts and add a washer to each. I recommend using either LocTite® or cyanoacrylate (CA) glue to lock the nuts in place on the bolt. Then I drilled the wheel to accept the bolts. Once you have the bolts in place, bolt them to the wheel with an additional nut and lock them in place so they do not come loose in flight.
I get pretty enthused about new ways of building a model or controlling it, too. So when my new 33-percent-scale Fox glider arrived from Soaring USA, I enjoyed looking over the assembly plans to see how Valenta Model recommends building their glider. I was immediately intrigued by their recommendation for the control of the rudder. Note that large-scale gliders typically come with very limited instructions, if any. My Fox came with only a two-page drawing that detailed where the servos, battery, receiver, etc. were
My dial indicator was used to determine that the shanks of the bolts were .106 in. in diameter. You’ll need something that will glue in the rudder and mate with the shank of the bolt. I recommend some kind of plastic that will fit the shank snuggly and provide frictionfree movement.
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RUDDER CONTROL In my case I wanted to make the fit between the shank of the bolt and the bushing loose enough to provide the friction-free movement required. I pulled a .108 drill bit from my drill index and fitted it into my cordless drill. It is only .002 inches oversize, but guarantees the bushing fit is not too tight.
to be installed. In the drawing, they recommended using a servo to drive the rudder direct. Unfortunately, there were no additional details. Consequently, I set about engineering how I would engineer a system to drive my Fox’s rudder.
HOW TO
Here is my solution for how to drive the rudder on the Valenta Fox, along with step-by-step photos. First, I decided to use a Hitec RCD servo to drive the rudder. The rudder is pretty large, which means it will require a significant amount of torque to drive it, especially during high-speed maneuvers. The servo I chose is a high-voltage, digital HS7950TH. The reason I chose this servo is that it delivers 486 oz-in. of torque when powered by a 7.4-volt LiPo battery, which I planned to use in the Fox. Also, the servo uses dual ball bearings, which means a smooth, friction-free output travel. The servo has an extremely durable titanium gear train, so it will take a beating and keep on ticking! The aluminum case works as a heatsink, even though
What I found in the workshop to use as a bushing was a T-fitting for a fuel system. All you’ll want to do is drill it out with the .108in. drill bit. That will give the shank of the bolt just a little room to move inside the bushing, but without binding, which would consume the servo’s power.
In this photo you see how I cut the T-fitting so that I had two parts to fit over the bolt shanks. You’ll want to rough them up a bit with some sandpaper as a way to get a strong bond between the plastic and the epoxy resin that you’ll use to bond them into the base of the rudder. RC-SF.COM
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My friend, Dr. Kelly Couch, flew in for the event with his wife in his Mooney. The runway is 4,200 ft ASL and is 5,000 ft long. There is jet fuel on site too!
Here you see Kelly’s LMR machine rocketing skyward. That motor will guarantee your model a hilltop landing or a good chance at getting it into a thermal.
This is what the driving range that Michael owns looks like. It is a pretty darn nice place to fly, and you won’t find a bluer sky!
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RUDDER CONTROL
You can fly discus-launched gliders as well as sailplanes at this event. Again, it is about having fun, so we don’t prohibit any type of airplane from flying.
We’ll have aerotow tugs available at the driving range at least two days out of the four for pilots that need to have their sailplanes pulled to altitude.
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PAU 35% EXTRA 300-SP T
his 35%-scale Extra 300SP—big brother to the 30% version—is owned and flown by Herve Lejeune. It is powered by a DA-120 engine on stock mufflers. Its guidance system is by Futaba. The model has a wingspan of 105 inches, is 101 inches long (including spinner) and weighs 26 lb. The 42% high-performance, precision and 3D airplane took
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third place at the 2011 Futaba XFC in Indiana in June. The 100-ccpowered version took second place in freestyle at the 2011 Tucson Aerobatic Shootout in October with Gabriel Altuz at the controls.
FMI:
Performance Aircraft Unlimited Phone: 808-782-7171 flypau.com
BY Joe Nave
PAU 35% EXTRA 300-SP
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BY Wil Byers & Daniel Holman
3.1m SUKHOI SU-26MM PRECISION AND GRACE WITH 3D PERFORMANCE!
I’m flipping the DA-170 to life while Daniel gets ready to fly the Sukhoi. It took only about five flips on this brisk morning to bring the DA-170 to life. It has tons of power too!
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HANGAR 9® 3.1M SUKHOI SU-26MM
The big Sukhoi leapt down the runway once Daniel hit the power! It took only about 30 feet of roll before it was in the air and climbing.
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t has been about four months since I first received the Hangar-9 3.1m Sukhoi SU-26MM. From start to finish, building this airplane has been a fun and educational experience for me. I’ve learned how to install radio gear, battery packs and an engine and fuel system in a large-scale airplane, and how to program the radio for proper control, set up rates, etc. Although I’m not a International Miniature Aircraft Club (IMAC) pilot, I just plain love airplanes, especially big, powerful machines
that make your eyes open wide when you look at them. Moreover, largescale airplane feel fantastic to fly! They have grace and power that puts them in a league of their own. And while not cheap, they do take you to a whole new level in terms of being an RC pilot. The culmination of this project was getting to see the Sukhoi fly. Even though I did not have my hands on the control sticks for this first outing—read why I didn’t later—I had a blast! I have to tell you, standing in front of that DA-170-powered airplane and looking at the big purple TruTurn spinner while I flipped the engine to life was a real turn on.
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BY Dave Darr
EASY GLIDER PRO RR M A PERFECT PICK FOR AEROTOW TRAINING
ultiplex introduced their Easy Glider Pro a few years ago. This 70-inch wingspan sailplane has become a powerhouse in the world of slope, hi-start and aerotow gliding. The Easy Glider Pro is a serious glider, so don’t let its size fool you. You can also build it as an electric-powered glider, which will let you fly just about anywhere. Our group, the HighPoint Aviation Aerotow Team, has adapted the Easy Glider Pro exclusively as a training platform for aerotowing. What we discovered, right from the first flights behind our Telemaster 40, is that the Easy Glider makes a fantastic aerotow trainer. Moreover, while traveling around the country we have logged hundreds of flights with RC pilots at the controls of the Easy Glider, and typically they have had little or no aerotowing experience.
Our completed Easy Glider Pro got its wing tips painted to help students with airplane flight orientation. We also applied clear packing tape to the bottom of the fuselage to let the Easy Glider Pro slide across the grass during the tow.
Most of the assembly is done for you.The kit comes with a good manual that will walk you through the building process. All the wiring is installed, complete with aileron extensions in the wings and fuselage. Even the control horns and canopy mounts are installed. Here are the parts to buy for your Easy Glider Pro. You’ll need to score on a six-channel receiver, although you’ll likely only use four of the six channels. I recommend the Hitec Optima and at least an Optic sixchannel transmitter. You must make a small hole in each end of the battery and insert a small nylon tube through its center. This allows the 0.047-in. piano wire to run through the tube from the servo to the release mechanism. The nylon tube also acts as an insulator so the wire does not short the battery pack. The Easy Glider Pro’s nosecone comes with a hole in its center that is designed for the Multiplex Aerotow Coupling (# 72-3470). Once you install the aerotow release mechanism, the nosecone fits in a keyed recess in the fuselage, which makes alignment quick.
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MULTIPLEX EASY GLIDER PRO RR They experienced the joy of discovering how easy it is to do aerotowing, thanks to the gentle handling characteristics of the Easy Glider Pro—even when flown behind a tug. That is because of the Easy Glider’s wide wing chord, shouldermounted and cambered You’ll need to insert the Multiplex Aerotow Coupling wing, upswept tips and in the nose cone. Then turn it until the crossbar is ailerons. Consequently, horizontal with the center hole. CA is then applied to the coupling, and accelerator is used to kick it. anyone with a little RC experience can feel the sense of accomplishment and fun that aerotowing offers pilots. The Easy Glider Pro is a Multiplex product. Multiplex airplanes are made of Elapor® foam, not Styrofoam. Elapormolded foam airplanes are durable and easy to build—even for the rank beginner. You glue them together with medium The wings for the Easy Glider Pro RR come with the viscosity cyanoacrylate servos and their leads installed in the wings, which (CA) adhesive and CA makes assembly very quick. You’ll discover that working with Elapor is easy. accelerator to make the CA “kick.” You simply spray one side of the parts that will be glued together with the accelerator and apply the glue to the other. Then you hold them together, making sure the parts are properly aligned, and in an instant you have a bonded part. It doesn’t take long before you’ll have an Elapor airplane built and ready to fly. Even though accidents do happen on the airfield, if you have some CA and accelerator in your flight box you’ll have your glider flying again in no time. Also, Multiplex now offers a Receiver Ready (RR) version of the Easy Glider Pro. The RR version requires only minimal effort by the modeler to have it ready to fly. These new Multiplex RR versions come with all servos, wiring and pushrods installed in the airplane. You simply add a receiver and battery to have it flight ready.
AEROTOW GLIDER
The Easy Glider Pro is an excellent glider, as it is built by
On the rear of the Elapor nosecone there is a key to align it with the fuselage. It makes fitting the nosecone to the fuselage a snap. The release wire will connect to the Coupling.
Like the nosecone, the fuselage’s tailboom is keyed to the vertical stabilizer, as is the horizontal stabilizer. Multiplex goes above and beyond to make it easy for you to get this airplane.
Notice that Multiplex has even installed the rudder’s control horn. You’ll fall in love with this kind of construction because it will get you to the airfield quickly. Their new Cularis RR uses the same type of construction.
This shows you how the elevator’s control horn is installed as well as how the elevator’s underside is keyed to mate to the tailboom. You’ll want to doublecheck all the glue joints.
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BY James VanWinkle
THE WINGS MAKER’S J-10B JET FIGHTER AN EDF FIGHTER YOU’LL WANT TO FLY
The full-scale J-10B is a formidable fighting machine in the modern day Chinese Air Force. It is making a mark at air shows around the world for its fighter capabilities.
Mostly assembled, the J-10B will go together for you very rapidly. The color scheme is bright and easy to see in the air.
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THE WINGS MAKER’S J-10B JET FIGHTER
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hina has been quietly developing a formidable air force! For decades the Chinese have relied primarily on Russian airframes, although the modern aircraft in the Chinese Air Force inventory are increasingly domestic designs. Aircraft such as the Chengdu J-10B, known as the Vigorous Dragon in the West, are providing a multi-role, all-weather strike capability. With its very agile airframe married to a Russian jet engine, the J-10B is thought to provide a strong match to the F-18 Hornet, the mainstay of the United States
Navy. Moreover, several countries such as Pakistan are looking at the J-10 to equip their air forces. Distributed by The World Models, The Wings Maker has introduced an elegant, agile version of the J-10B, made up in the brightly colored air show paint scheme. This jet comes mostly assembled, so it can be in the air within a few hours.
IN FLIGHT
With the model built, balanced, and batteries charged, my J-10 was ready to take to the skies. One last check of
proper flight control deflections and a smooth application of power had my model rocketing down the runway. Its takeoff required only about 40 feet of runway, with the jet then climbing well to altitude. With ailerons and elevator mixed in the transmitter’s programming, the airplane provides plenty of authority at high and low speeds. Computer radios make the setup of the airplane pretty straightforward without any special mixes other than selection of elevons. The rudder and the nose wheel use the same servo, so only the throttle
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BY Daniel Holman
UM F-27Q STRYKER WILD, CRAZY AND THRILLING FLIGHT IN A LITTLE FLYING WING
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he Parkzone® UM F-27Q Stryker is a model that you could take the airfield in your bicycle basket. It is the cutest little flying wing you’ll ever lay eyes on. Yet, it is a basket full of thrills to fly! What you get in the Stryker is an airplane that is ready to fly. All you’ll need to do is charge its battery pack and bind your 2.4-GHz DSMX transmitter to its receiver. The manual gives you all the set up data you’ll need too. So, from kit box to airfield should not be more than 30-minutes, unless of course you’re charging the battery with solar power.
The model kit is very complete. All you’ll need to provide is a 2.4-GHz DSMX transmitter.
IN THE AIR
Takeoff and launch of the UM F-27Q Stryker is very simple. My preferred technique is to throw it fairly hard straight ahead, but with the motor off to ensure that the
My brother Michael launched by little Styker for me. It has handholds in the bottom, so launching is easy.
Here I’m flying my model in knife-edge flight, which it will do, but you need to work at them a bit.
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RC SPORT FLYER — MAY 2012
UM F-27Q STRYKER 180 BNF
propeller doesn’t accidentally cut my hand if the model should veer during the launch. Then as soon as it leaves my hand, I just open up the throttle to 60% or so and fly the little wing up, up and away. It is very stable in normal flight, slow flight is quite good but the controls start to mush before it stalls due to the fact that it’s a pusherpowered design. Inverted flight is also quite stable, and the airplane only requires a little down elevator control to remain in level flight. What I found when flying my model is that knife-edge flight is sketchy, but it can be done. The dual rudders are very powerful, so inverted flat spins are a blast—the are very flat and slow too, which you’ll enjoy just watching. Upright spins can be done, but they don’t flatten out as well as those when it is inverted.
The day we flew our UM Stryker it was a little breezy, but the model performed well. Don’t fly it in winds more than 10 mph.
Snap rolls are one of my favorite maneuvers to do with this little wing. With the dual rudders and maxed-out throws on the elevons, it will do wildly fast snaps, and then it will exit them quite predictably. Another fun thing to do with the UM Stryker is take it very high and then cut the throttle while you hold full, high-rate, up elevator control. Using the rudders to keep it flying straight, the airplane will float almost straight down, if it is pointed into AJ Byers shows off the size of the little Stryker. As you can see this is a flying wing type airplane that gets power from a pusher propeller.
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