Michael Heer
Dec 22, 2003, 12:07 PM
| spec2
| @905525
|> <b>Airfoil:</b> |< MH 32
|> <b>Length:</b> |< 40 inches
|> <b>Wingspan:</b> |< 81 3/4 inches
|> <b>Wing area:</b> |< 505 sq. in.
|> <b>Weight:</b> |< 32-35 ounces
|> <b>Wing Loading:</b> |< 10 ounces sq. ft.
|> <b>Motor:</b> |< Aveox 27/26/1.5
|> <b>Planetary Gear Drive:</b> |< Maxon 4:4.1
|> <b>ESC:</b> |< Phoenix 60 from Castle Creations
|> <b>Radio:</b> |< Transmitter Jr 1083
|> <b>Servos:</b> |< Ailerons 2 Hitec 55s, flaps 2 Cirrus 22s V-tail 2 Hitec 81s
|> <b>Battery pack:</b> |< Diversity Model Products 8-cell 1950 zapped
|> <b>Available From:</b> |< <A href="http://www.nesail.com/">Northeast Sailplane</A>
!Introduction
<b>Note:</b> Castle Creations supplied the motor, gear drive and controller for this review.
The Adriana is a thin wing full house electric glider. It is the first plane I have reviewed that has been out for a while and it is somewhat different to be reviewing a plane on which I have seen other people comment. Keeping this review different you are getting three mini reviews on the components that make up the final parts for this quick climbing electric glider. The mini reviews include the new Aveox Brushless 27/26/1.5 motor with the Maxon planetary gear drive, the Castle Creation Phoenix 60 speed controller and the Diversity Model Products 8-cell zapped 1950 Nimh battery pack.
Interestingly, a number of the comments I read about the Adriana in Ezone and then the Liftzone were from people who had never flown the plane but were simply passing on comments they had heard from others. In these comments the only real concern I saw appeared to be related to the strength of the wing. There was concern dealing with wing flexing, but not wing failure. I will look for that in the flight stage but otherwise I am starting the review with a clean sheet on the plane and the electronics.
I know that there is now an Adriana sold without flaps and I will discuss the benefits and negatives of the flaps with the other version of the Adriana in mind. I assembled the wings and installed my servos into them and installed the V-tail. After some months I received the motor and speed controller and then installed the radio components into the fuselage last into the already finished glider. Nevertheless, I will start with the motor and speed controller because I would have started with them if I had had all the components at the start.
!Motor/Gearbox and Speed Controller Assembly
@905526: The Aveox 27/26/1.5 with MP Jet connectors and heat shrink attached.
@905527: The Aveox motor mated with the Maxon gearbox using an aluminum spacer.
@905528: Castle Creations Phoenix Speed Controller for brushless motors drawing up to 60 amps continuous power is well suited to this motor if a little bit bigger then needed with just eight cells.
The Aveox 27/26/1.5 motor comes fully assembled with the three wires tinned (solder already on them). Mine came with a German Maxon planetary gearbox to install. I was slightly concerned about installing the gearbox but it was simplicity itself. The first action is to secure the pinion gear with the Locktite glue that came with it. This is done flush with the end of the drive shaft. After allowing it to dry I secured the brass base plate from the gear drive to the motor using three screws and a large aluminum spacer that came with the gearbox. These fit over and behind the pinion gear. With the plate secured to the motor you simply fit the pinion gear into the three gears in the planetary gear drive and then screw the planetary gear drive onto the plate. That was it, the assembly was done. This is my first time using this motor and gearbox combination but since I have had some troubles in the past with another companies planetary gear drives coming apart with use I simply added a little plastic tape around the outside of the gearbox and the base plate and aluminum spacer to make sure they remain together. This tape is perhaps an unnecessary step but very easy to do and gives me security and peace of mind.
Next I soldered three male MP Jet gold connectors onto the end of the motor wires to connect the motor to the Phoenix 60 speed controller. I also heat shrank the black tubes that come with the connectors and some extra shrink tubes to cover the remainder of the exposed wire. These extra heat shrink tubes came from an assortment bag of shrink tubes from Radio Shack. With the motor done I soldered the matching female size MP Jet gold connectors onto the speed controller and then shrank the heat tubing from the connector set around these connections. Finally, as a last step on the speed controller I soldered a pair of Sermos connectors onto the wires that connect to the battery pack. I test installed a Hobby-Lobby Turbo spinner with 13 x 7 folding propellers attached. I connected the speed controller to the motor and battery and receiver to the speed controller. Firmly holding the motor I armed the speed controller. Next I applied just a little juice to make sure the prop would turn in the proper direction and it did. I disconnected the speed controller from the battery and receiver but not from the motor. The motor/speed controller was ready to install into the plane.
!Kit Contents
The Adriana comes with two wing panels pre-built and covered with ailerons and flaps already cut out and covered. There are two molded wingtips that need to be attached to the wings. The fuselage comes molded and finished with tubes and wires inside it. These tubes and wires need to be installed as linkage for the V-tail. The V-tail comes built and covered, as are the tail control surfaces. There is a nice bag of hardware with control linkages for the V-tail, the flaps and the ailerons. There are wooden dowels to use to help secure the wing tips to the wings and dowels and bolts for securing the wing to the fuselage. To join the wing panels there is a light carbon fiber rod and a metal pin. The instructional manual is a picture book showing how to assemble the kit. The quality of all the parts looks good. This will not be a build so much as merely an assembly of the already built components and installation of the electrics.
@905529: Here are the parts. Showing the top and bottom covering, white on top and pink with white stripes on the bottom, very nicely finished.
The ailerons and flaps are fully shaped and covered. You will need to supply your own tape for hinging these parts onto the wing. Molded servo covers are also included for the wing and only need to be trimmed with scissors. The plane's parts and the hardware all look to be ready to assemble and of good quality. Despite the lack of any written instructions for assembling the glider, the pictures only instructions manual should be sufficient to finish this plane. After all the skill level of pilots for this plane is intended to be intermediate and higher. This is because the planes potential speed envelope and the full house aspect of the controls make the kit inappropriate for a beginner.
!Assembly
@905530: The rear air vent after being drilled out aids in the flow of cooling air for motor and battery.
@905531: The front air vent after drilling and cutting but before final sanding.
@905532: A molded wingtip with the dowels that connect it to the wing. Here the dowels are being trial fitted into holes I drilled.
The fuselage requires very little work in the assembly process as it basically comes finished. The first thing to do on the fuselage is drill some holes in the area of the air vents to allow air to enter and exit the fuselage to cool the motor and batteries. Inserts are molded into the side of the fuselage for this purpose. I simply drilled some holes in the appropriate places and then cut out the remaining material with an Exacto knife and used a file to smooth the edges. I had one small piece of gel coating chip while I was using the Exacto knife so I finished the work with the file. I determined how high I wanted the control wires for the V-tail for the servos and for the V-tail controls at the back and glued the control tubes into the fuselage at those heights being sure to secure the tube in several places in the middle of the fuselage as well as at the ends of the tubes. I don't want those tubes to be able to flex or move at all when I am flying the plane. When the control linkage tubes were fully secure I mounted the wood piece that goes under the back lip of the wing saddle. This will be the main wing mount and I will later drill holes here for securing the wing to the fuselage. With that done I set the fuselage aside and went to work on the wing. If I had the motor from the start I would have mounted the motor at this time but since the motor was coming at a future date it would be one of the last things installed on this plane.
As mentioned above the wing is pre-built. The first assembly process is to cut out the covering over the two servo bays pre-cut into each wing panel and the wire access hole near the wing root. I next ran servo wire to the two servo bays in each wing half. I did this by running a small piece of music wire down from the servo bays to the center wing wire hole and taping the servo wire to the music wire and pulling it to the servo bay. I cut the connecting plug off the end of the servo wire and soldered the wire I had pulled down to the servo bay to the servo. That done I soldered the plug onto the end of the servo wire down at the center section of the wing. Next I plugged my aileron servo into the receiver I was going to use and made sure it was properly working and centered. <EM>(Before you secure the servos into the wing, now is the best time to position the control arms, as you want them to be in neutral position. Although I want double the aileron movement up over down with the ailerons, I set those arms at straight up or neutral and will adjust the amount of throw in each direction with my computerized transmitter. For flaps I set both arms at about 45 degrees up facing backwards. This gives me maximum movement forward with the flap servo arms and that pulls the flaps down the maximum amount. I will still do final tuning of throw movement with the transmitter but this helps get the downward movement I need for the flaps.)</EM> I glued the tape wrapped servo into the servo bay in the position shown on the instructions. I repeated that process on the other wing panel aileron and for both flap servos. My servos were now installed and wired. You might prefer to use a different connector on the wires where they leave the center of the wing and enter the fuselage and have a harness to plug into those wires that remains plugged into the receiver at all time. I kept mine simple. I added a piece of colored tape by the plug on the aileron wires to tell them apart from the wires coming from the flap servos.
@905533: Aileron servo soldered to extension wires before final mounting in wing.
@905534: The molded wing tips add a nice finishing touch to the wings and look great!
With the servos installed I taped the ailerons to the wing using tape on the top of the wing panel and aileron. For the flaps the tape goes on the bottom of the wing and flap. Next, I used a 4 mm drill bit and drilled out holes for the control horns on the ailerons and flaps as shown in the instructions. I screwed the control horn into the mounting base and secured them with five-minute epoxy into the control surface. The next step was to screw the control rod into the plastic connector and measure the proper distance to place a Z-bend in the control rod so that it lined up properly with the servo control arm. Make the Z-bend into the wire at the control arm. Then cut off the excess wire forward of the Z-bend. The Z-bend then slips into the control arm on the aileron or flap servo. Snap the plastic connector onto the ball linkage mounted into the control surface and the servos and control surfaces are connected and ready to go. With servos and linkage installed I taped the servo covers over the servos in the wing.
The final assembly step with the wing is adding the wing tips to the wing panels. Two dowels each are installed by drilling 3mm holes into the molded wingtips and gluing the dowels into the wingtips with epoxy. When the glue is dry, measure and drill matching holes into the wing panel. When satisfied with the fit and alignment of the wingtip and the wing panel use epoxy (five-minute) on the wooden dowels and the matching surfaces of the molded wingtip and wing panel and make sure it is where you want it to be as the epoxy sets up. I gently held it in position while the glue dried to make sure it didn't move. Repeat the process on the other wing panel.
The wings are now ready to attach to the fuselage. Using the carbon fiber wing joining rod and the metal pin, assemble the two wing panels into one wing. Center the wing on the fuselage in the wing saddle. Carefully drill two 4 mm holes, one into each wing panel and into the back wing saddle of the fuselage as shown in the instruction booklet. When that is done weakly secure the nuts to the base of the wood supports in the fuselage and test fit the mounting bolts through the wing and into the securing nut. When satisfied with the alignment permanently secure the mounting nuts but don't get any glue on the mounting bolts. Next remove the wing from the fuselage and mount the two positioning dowels in the leading edge of the wing panels as shown on the instructions and secure the dowels into the wing panels with epoxy. When they are dry drill matching holes in line with the dowels into the fuselage per the instructions to finish securing the wing. Now remove wing and set aside while installing the V-tail and radio system.
Controls for the V-tail are made by drilling a hole and cutting a channel for a wire that will come out the bottom of the control surface in line with the back of the fuselage. When satisfied with the fit and location secure the wire into the hole and the channel with epoxy carefully. When the epoxy is dry, tape the control surface to the stab with hinging tape and repeat on the other half of the V-tail. The V-tail is mounted to the fuselage with a small flat tongue connector that fits into pre-built slots in the fuselage and end of the V-tail. I first glued the joiners into the V-tail and trial fit to the fuselage. I did use a small file in some places on the slots in the fuselage to clean them up. When happy with the fit, I glued the V-tail to the fuselage. This was a simple and easy process.
@905535: This picture shows the joining piece and control wire mounted and glued in the V-tail section.
@905536: Trial fitting the left side of the V-tail into the fuselage after right side is finished.
Having previously mounted the wing to the fuselage as described above I was ready to mount the two servos for the v-tail inside the fuselage at the back of the wing saddle. I simply glued the first mounting rail to the back location as shown in the instructions, fitted the Hitec 81 servos into place and secured the front servo rail with epoxy. When the glue was dry I drilled holes and permanently secured the servos in place. Contrary to the picture in the plans I decided to mount the receiver in front of the servos but that would be done later.
@905537: Gluing the plywood wing mount to the bottom of the back of the wing saddle area. Clothespins hold it while epoxy sets up.
@905538: This shows all parts installed and wing bolts in holes drilled in back of wing saddle.
The plane was finished and just awaited the motor and speed controller. Castle Creations supplied the Aveox 27/26/1.5 brushless motor, Maxon gearbox and Phoenix 60 controller as described at the start of this article. I contacted Aveox by e-mail and asked if they had a mounting diagram for mounting the Maxon gearbox to the front of the fuselage. Andre Soukasian e-mailed me an adobe file that had just such a diagram on it along with stats on the gearbox. I printed that out and confirmed the measurements were accurate and cut out the diagram and taped it to the front of the fuselage to use as a guide for drilling the mounting holes. I drilled the three small holes for the mounting screws through the gel coating and through the wooden bulkhead (pre-installed) behind the coating. I drilled out a 5 mm hole in the center and then expanded that hole with a file. While doing this I discovered that there were hollow spaces in the gel coating on the front of the fuselage. One of these went through an area where I had drilled for a mounting screw and as I expanded the central hole with the file some of the gel coating cracked and broke off. I showed this to my friend Jeff Hunter and he had a ready correction. He mixed up a batch of epoxy with filler material and packed it in where the gel coating had broken away and refilled two of the small screw holes in the process. When it had set up he drilled new mounting holes through the epoxy/filler and the motor was mounted without further problem.
@905539: Prop and spinner attached to motor/gearbox.
@905540: Plane assembled and ready to fly.
With the motor mounted I installed the Turbo Spinner from Hobby Lobby and I have several different pairs of folding propeller blades to use on this plane. I started with a pair of 13 x 7 folding blades.
I assembled the plane and tested out the radio system to make trim adjustments and discovered that my right flap servo in socket seven of my receiver was twitching. I tried plugging a different servo into that socket and it twitched as well. I tried a second identical transmitter and still a twitching problem. I even tried a servo in socket seven in an identical receiver in another plane and found it was twitching in that receiver as well. (Expletive deleted!)
<b>Houston We Have a Problem</b>
<br>
There was definitely a problem with socket seven on my receiver. I really didn't want to buy a new receiver because I know channels 1-6 work fine. Problem was I mounted the servos into the wing planning with my JR transmitter to control throttle with servo 1, ailerons with servos 2 and 5, elevator/rudder with servos 3 and 4 (with computer mixing) and flaps with servos 6 and 7. I couldn't simply use a Y-connector with the flap servos as mounted because with a Y-connector one servo would pull a flap down and the other would push a flap up. If I took a flap servo out I could flip it over and mount it to match the other servo. Then with the servos mounted the same way I could use a Y-connector to control both flap servos. That would be a mechanical correction by physically repositioning a servo. I chose to use a programming solution with my transmitter to correct my flap problem. I used a Y-connector for the two aileron servos (Since they go in opposite directions anyway.) and plugged it into socket 2 and programmed socket 5 as a slave to socket 6 in mix one of my JR 8103 transmitter. Now sockets five and six both work off of the flap control on my transmitter. I was able to work out a solution with my transmitter. I will go back at a future date and make the mechanical correction by cutting out and reinstalling one of the flap servos and the corresponding control horn in the flap so that the flaps will both work off of socket 6 in unison with a Y-connector. That will allow me to again use two sockets for the ailerons and I will program in Crow (Flaps and ailerons working together as brakes.) and have individual control of my ailerons. In my crude drawing below right you see how the flap servos are installed per the plans on the top and how they would look installed so that a Y-harness could be used with the flaps. On the bottom drawing the servos arms are both on the right side of the servo. It would work just as well if both were on the left side of the servo.
@905541: Note the four servo covers. The control arms are set up on the outside on all four servos.
@905542: Top of picture shows how flap servos were installed per plans. Bottom shows how to install to use Y connector with flap servos.
<b>What I Should Have Done</b>
<br>
I should have completely tested my radio system exactly as I planned to use it in this plane. I "knew" that the receiver worked as I had used it in another plane just recently but only used servos 2-5. I tested all six servos and centered them and positioned the control horns, as I wanted them before I mounted the servos. But I didn't test each servo in the receiver socket it was going to use in the plane. If I had I would have spotted the problem with socket seven and I would have installed both flap servos in the same direction so that a Y-connector harness could have been used. Then they would both reflex and pull down on the flaps identically from the start. Or I could have gotten a receiver with seven working sockets. My old receiver was only designed for the first six servo sockets to be used. Although number 7 was marked B for battery and 7 it was not intended for the 7th socket to be used with a servo.
!Flying
@905543: Adriana in an average climb.
@905544: It quickly gets to altitude.
@905545: Climbing overhead after a close pass. With more batteries you can go for a steeper climb.
Test flights took place over a period of several weeks, several weeks of bad (for California) weather. All flights took place in late November and December and the weather was not good for thermal flying. Most days were overcast, cold and breezy. The pictures and enclosed videos were taken on the best day I got during that period. The pilot for these pictures was my friend Jeff Hunter and that allowed me to take the pictures. I had four flights myself with the plane in the review process. Two without functioning flaps because of the problem with my receiver discussed above and two with flaps working and ailerons on a Y-harness.
Since I had waited several months for the motor/speed controller for this test I was anxious to test fly the plane when I got it all installed. When I encountered the problem with the seventh plug chattering on the receiver I decided to try flying without the flaps being activated and just relying on the servos holding the flaps in place. This worked fine on the first test flight where I kept everything relatively slow and smooth. The Adriana performed flawlessly. It had come out balanced on the recommended C/G without the addition of any weight just as I assembled it. It glided nice and level off my first toss and with motor on transitioned smoothly to a sixty-degree climb. Once at altitude I turned the motor off and a few clicks of up elevator were necessary to maximize the glide rate. The plane turned nicely with just ailerons and a bit of up elevator and once in a turn, the turn could be easily held with just aileron or just rudder control. I dived and did a power-off loop and the turned power back on (and had to adjust the trim tab back down a couple clicks) and did a large loop with power. Everything was working so well I even did an axial roll that looked fairly nice for a 2-meter plus glider. After 12 minutes of flying I landed and removed the wing. Neither the motor nor the battery were hot, just slightly warm. I let them cool down completely while I warmed up inside my car and then I charged the pack up for a second flight.
During the first flight the largest dive I attempted was only about 100 feet. I did do a full throttle pass in level flight just in front of myself about four minutes into flight and I did not notice any problem with wing vibration, flexing or excess movement. By the time of the second flight the breeze had picked up and was reading 10 miles per hour on my wind gauge. I launched into the wind and was climbing between 60 and 70 degrees after getting up to speed. I had no trouble doing a series of loops and back-to-back axial rolls. I caught a week thermal with the motor off and went up in it for a couple of circles but I didn't track back with it as I didn't want to go that far down wind as my view would get blocked by trees fairly soon where I was standing. I tried flying the plane too slowly and it will stall and drop but recovery was easy in straight flight. It will tip stall if flown into a stall while entering a turn and this can be used to get a tight sharp downward turn if desired. Or you can easily fly out of it by reversing direction and control is easily regained. I did a series of banks and turns and the plane responded well to the coupled rudder and aileron and a little stick movement lead to a quick response by the plane. I uncoupled the rudder from the ailerons with the flick of a switch and entered a dive of about 200 feet under full power and then flew across the field at full speed in front of myself and entered into a seventy-degree climb. What I noticed was that my unplugged flaps were fluttering a bit during this high-speed pass and so that was my last speed run of the day. There may have been some slight movement of the wing from flex but not certain. The remainder of the flight was uneventful. After a smooth landing I took it apart and went home to get warm.
@905546: Just converting from level flight to a climb.
@905547: Coming in on a speed run.
@905548: The start of an axial roll during the top of an extended loop.
Flight three was on "picture day" and the sunniest day I got for my test flights and even then it was mostly cloudy. Jeff Hunter was the pilot and I ran the video camera. I video taped about half the flight and got seven minutes of video that I edited to get the short video that is attached. The video below probably tells you more about the Adriana then the rest of the article. Jeff and I both found it to be a good flying plane.
<img src="http://static.rcgroups.com/articles/liftzone/2003/dec/adriana/camera.jpg"><a href="/articles/liftzone/2003/dec/adriana/adriana.wmv">Watch a video of the Adriana in flight!</a>
Flights four and five were with the flaps plugged in and fully functional. The weather was overcast and dreary and there had been rain earlier in the day. The breeze was a steady six with gusts up to 12 miles per hour. To be honest I only went out to fly so I could complete this review. I was only going to fly the battery pack once so I could talk about the flaps. However, I had so much fun on the first flight that day I had to stay for a second flight. I set the flaps up for neutral position where they just match the airfoil. Recessed, where they raise up about 3 degrees. They will come down about 70 degrees on my set-up. Recessing the flaps normally helps the plane penetrate and fly more quickly so it is useful in getting out of sink. The Adriana did appear to glide more quickly in level flight when I recessed the flaps. Just those few degrees do make a difference in speed and penetration into the wind. The use of down flaps makes the plane balloon up as is normal and to avoid that down elevator has to be used when you apply the flaps to remain in level flight. I plan to program a mix of down elevator with full flaps in my Jr 8103 transmitter. I will work on the right balance in programming in nicer weather. The flaps were very good at slowing the plane down. My first landing using the flaps was right to my feet. (That was a surprise as I am out of practice with procession glider landings.) The second flight of the day or test flight five was eventful.
I recharged the battery pack and noticed the sky was getting darker. I decided this would be the last flight for the day. After charging up the battery I put the wing back on and gave the plane a toss and climbed to about 300 feet. After a minute of flying with the motor off I had only lost about fifty feet so I must have been in a large thermal but I didn't recognize it at the time. I next did a dive of about two hundred and fifty feet under power and immediately transitioned into a full power climb and noted some wing flexing at the end of the dive. It wasn't severe and it didn't alarm me but I did notice it. I got three nice axial rolls in the climb and transitioned into a nice large loop. Just then the threatening skies opened up with out warning. Not a few drops to let you know it was time to go but the front hit with a down draft that knocked the Adriana and me about a bit as the clouds let loose. I landed, grabbed the plane and got under the cover of the hatch of my wife's minivan. I disassembled the plane and dried off my transmitter with a golf towel and went home. The Adriana had been knocked about a bit when the front hit and during that landing but it obeyed my control commands and landing was fortunately uneventful into the wind.
While I am looking forward to flying it in some nice "thermal" weather I was very pleased with the flights I have had with it so far considering the conditions I have flown in. It looks like it will be a good thermal plane and with the MH 32 airfoil it should be. It handles well and does mild acrobatics and nice axial rolls. It is properly considered a warm liner. With only eight cells the climb is good but not vertical. With ten cells or the right Li-poly pack vertical climb should be possibly with this motor/plane combination. The wings are thin and not really built for long steep dives so I don't consider the plane to be a candidate for a Hotliner no matter how fast it may climb.
@905549: Another axial roll, just for the fun of it.
@905550: Starting to level off after the climb to altitude.
@905551: Inverted flight, loops and rolls are easy with the Adriana.
!Conclusion
<b>Diversity Aircraft Models Zapped 1950 8-cell pack</b>
<br>
This is a great battery pack! At about 10.5 ounces the weight and size of this pack make it a nice fit in the Adriana. I broke this pack in on my Sonic Liner and it will be doing double duty as I plan to continue to use it in both planes. The cost is less then a third of the cost of the Li-poly pack you would need for this plane and it recharges at the field in a little over a half hour. It performs as good as, if not better then my 2400 Nicad 8-cell pack (Slightly less duration but possibly more power initially.) and is smaller and lighter. A ten-cell pack of 1950s can fit into the Adriana and the climb will be even steeper. We would all be flocking to buy these cells if it wasn't for Li-poly's. Even so at the price for a zapped pack of these verses the cost of the Li-poly's I will stick with DAM's 1950s.
<b>Aveox 27/26/1.5 motor with Maxon 4:1 gear drive</b>
<br>
This is a very nice smooth motor system! I was surprised how quiet it is even in a high-speed pass low over the field. The performance was very good with eight cells and per the above the plane will fit a ten-cell pack and the motor is built to handle the extra power with ease. It will probably be vertical or near vertical performance with more juice. The motor was always cool to the touch on landing so it can easily hand more juice. I am sure I will be using this motor for years to come and getting one or two more down the road as well.
<b>Castle Creations Phoenix 60 speed controller</b>
<br>
Although I tested the Adriana with the factory settings, I have since played with its programming capabilities. Although simplicity itself it is amazing how many functions you can control and program with this speed control. BEC shut-off voltage is the one that may be of most interest for those using Li-polys. I found it interesting that I can limit the power for motor run, thus saving more battery power for the "Last glide" of the day by changing that setting. Good clear instructions on programming as well. Start-ups and stops on all test flights and bench tests were smooth and flawless with this speed controller-motor combination. The match-up between some motors and speed controllers can sometimes be a problem but this controller seemed to be made for the Aveox. I admit that I did not use the full capacity of this controller in these tests but I am sure I will try a larger battery pack in the future. I am very pleased with the performance of this unit.
As reviewed this is a very nice electric glider for thermal flying with the ability to do some acrobatics during or at the end of the flight. A version of the Adriana is available without flaps and I am sure it is a good flyer as well. The flaps do add a good deal of versatility to the plane. Obviously the braking capability is useful if caught in a strong thermal or for precision landing in a small field. Also for more speed in the recessed position to fly out of sink or simply over to where you think there is some lift. The negatives for the flaps are they add the weight and expense of two additional servos and require a larger receiver in the plane. If you have no space problems for landing at your field get the version without flaps if you just want to fun fly. If your field is small or you are used to the control from flying full house gliders the flaps are worth the extra weight and cost (servos). I am glad I got the flaps even with the receiver problems I have had with the flaps as discussed above.
The molded wing tips look great in flight and the plane is a good fun performer. The short video above should give you a good idea how this plane performs. I did get it up briefly in a thermal but I had lousy weather to really test this planes thermaling capability. Based on the handling I have had, the glide rate and the penetration into the wind I believe I will have many great thermal flights with this plane. I was hoping for one more round of test flights before wrapping up this review using a 14 x 9.5 prop but it is another windy, rainy weekend. I will post an update on those results later. The finish on the wings and tail surfaces is first class with nice stripes on the bottom of the wing. The fuselage came with one flaw in the gel coating, the gap or air bubble I mentioned in the motor mounting area that was easily corrected and is out of sight. If you want a multitasking sailplane that can fly in the wind, thermal, do some nice aerobatics then this is a great plane to consider. This plane is light enough to be a good thermal sailplane and I found it to be a delightful warmliner. </BODY></HTML>
| @905525
|> <b>Airfoil:</b> |< MH 32
|> <b>Length:</b> |< 40 inches
|> <b>Wingspan:</b> |< 81 3/4 inches
|> <b>Wing area:</b> |< 505 sq. in.
|> <b>Weight:</b> |< 32-35 ounces
|> <b>Wing Loading:</b> |< 10 ounces sq. ft.
|> <b>Motor:</b> |< Aveox 27/26/1.5
|> <b>Planetary Gear Drive:</b> |< Maxon 4:4.1
|> <b>ESC:</b> |< Phoenix 60 from Castle Creations
|> <b>Radio:</b> |< Transmitter Jr 1083
|> <b>Servos:</b> |< Ailerons 2 Hitec 55s, flaps 2 Cirrus 22s V-tail 2 Hitec 81s
|> <b>Battery pack:</b> |< Diversity Model Products 8-cell 1950 zapped
|> <b>Available From:</b> |< <A href="http://www.nesail.com/">Northeast Sailplane</A>
!Introduction
<b>Note:</b> Castle Creations supplied the motor, gear drive and controller for this review.
The Adriana is a thin wing full house electric glider. It is the first plane I have reviewed that has been out for a while and it is somewhat different to be reviewing a plane on which I have seen other people comment. Keeping this review different you are getting three mini reviews on the components that make up the final parts for this quick climbing electric glider. The mini reviews include the new Aveox Brushless 27/26/1.5 motor with the Maxon planetary gear drive, the Castle Creation Phoenix 60 speed controller and the Diversity Model Products 8-cell zapped 1950 Nimh battery pack.
Interestingly, a number of the comments I read about the Adriana in Ezone and then the Liftzone were from people who had never flown the plane but were simply passing on comments they had heard from others. In these comments the only real concern I saw appeared to be related to the strength of the wing. There was concern dealing with wing flexing, but not wing failure. I will look for that in the flight stage but otherwise I am starting the review with a clean sheet on the plane and the electronics.
I know that there is now an Adriana sold without flaps and I will discuss the benefits and negatives of the flaps with the other version of the Adriana in mind. I assembled the wings and installed my servos into them and installed the V-tail. After some months I received the motor and speed controller and then installed the radio components into the fuselage last into the already finished glider. Nevertheless, I will start with the motor and speed controller because I would have started with them if I had had all the components at the start.
!Motor/Gearbox and Speed Controller Assembly
@905526: The Aveox 27/26/1.5 with MP Jet connectors and heat shrink attached.
@905527: The Aveox motor mated with the Maxon gearbox using an aluminum spacer.
@905528: Castle Creations Phoenix Speed Controller for brushless motors drawing up to 60 amps continuous power is well suited to this motor if a little bit bigger then needed with just eight cells.
The Aveox 27/26/1.5 motor comes fully assembled with the three wires tinned (solder already on them). Mine came with a German Maxon planetary gearbox to install. I was slightly concerned about installing the gearbox but it was simplicity itself. The first action is to secure the pinion gear with the Locktite glue that came with it. This is done flush with the end of the drive shaft. After allowing it to dry I secured the brass base plate from the gear drive to the motor using three screws and a large aluminum spacer that came with the gearbox. These fit over and behind the pinion gear. With the plate secured to the motor you simply fit the pinion gear into the three gears in the planetary gear drive and then screw the planetary gear drive onto the plate. That was it, the assembly was done. This is my first time using this motor and gearbox combination but since I have had some troubles in the past with another companies planetary gear drives coming apart with use I simply added a little plastic tape around the outside of the gearbox and the base plate and aluminum spacer to make sure they remain together. This tape is perhaps an unnecessary step but very easy to do and gives me security and peace of mind.
Next I soldered three male MP Jet gold connectors onto the end of the motor wires to connect the motor to the Phoenix 60 speed controller. I also heat shrank the black tubes that come with the connectors and some extra shrink tubes to cover the remainder of the exposed wire. These extra heat shrink tubes came from an assortment bag of shrink tubes from Radio Shack. With the motor done I soldered the matching female size MP Jet gold connectors onto the speed controller and then shrank the heat tubing from the connector set around these connections. Finally, as a last step on the speed controller I soldered a pair of Sermos connectors onto the wires that connect to the battery pack. I test installed a Hobby-Lobby Turbo spinner with 13 x 7 folding propellers attached. I connected the speed controller to the motor and battery and receiver to the speed controller. Firmly holding the motor I armed the speed controller. Next I applied just a little juice to make sure the prop would turn in the proper direction and it did. I disconnected the speed controller from the battery and receiver but not from the motor. The motor/speed controller was ready to install into the plane.
!Kit Contents
The Adriana comes with two wing panels pre-built and covered with ailerons and flaps already cut out and covered. There are two molded wingtips that need to be attached to the wings. The fuselage comes molded and finished with tubes and wires inside it. These tubes and wires need to be installed as linkage for the V-tail. The V-tail comes built and covered, as are the tail control surfaces. There is a nice bag of hardware with control linkages for the V-tail, the flaps and the ailerons. There are wooden dowels to use to help secure the wing tips to the wings and dowels and bolts for securing the wing to the fuselage. To join the wing panels there is a light carbon fiber rod and a metal pin. The instructional manual is a picture book showing how to assemble the kit. The quality of all the parts looks good. This will not be a build so much as merely an assembly of the already built components and installation of the electrics.
@905529: Here are the parts. Showing the top and bottom covering, white on top and pink with white stripes on the bottom, very nicely finished.
The ailerons and flaps are fully shaped and covered. You will need to supply your own tape for hinging these parts onto the wing. Molded servo covers are also included for the wing and only need to be trimmed with scissors. The plane's parts and the hardware all look to be ready to assemble and of good quality. Despite the lack of any written instructions for assembling the glider, the pictures only instructions manual should be sufficient to finish this plane. After all the skill level of pilots for this plane is intended to be intermediate and higher. This is because the planes potential speed envelope and the full house aspect of the controls make the kit inappropriate for a beginner.
!Assembly
@905530: The rear air vent after being drilled out aids in the flow of cooling air for motor and battery.
@905531: The front air vent after drilling and cutting but before final sanding.
@905532: A molded wingtip with the dowels that connect it to the wing. Here the dowels are being trial fitted into holes I drilled.
The fuselage requires very little work in the assembly process as it basically comes finished. The first thing to do on the fuselage is drill some holes in the area of the air vents to allow air to enter and exit the fuselage to cool the motor and batteries. Inserts are molded into the side of the fuselage for this purpose. I simply drilled some holes in the appropriate places and then cut out the remaining material with an Exacto knife and used a file to smooth the edges. I had one small piece of gel coating chip while I was using the Exacto knife so I finished the work with the file. I determined how high I wanted the control wires for the V-tail for the servos and for the V-tail controls at the back and glued the control tubes into the fuselage at those heights being sure to secure the tube in several places in the middle of the fuselage as well as at the ends of the tubes. I don't want those tubes to be able to flex or move at all when I am flying the plane. When the control linkage tubes were fully secure I mounted the wood piece that goes under the back lip of the wing saddle. This will be the main wing mount and I will later drill holes here for securing the wing to the fuselage. With that done I set the fuselage aside and went to work on the wing. If I had the motor from the start I would have mounted the motor at this time but since the motor was coming at a future date it would be one of the last things installed on this plane.
As mentioned above the wing is pre-built. The first assembly process is to cut out the covering over the two servo bays pre-cut into each wing panel and the wire access hole near the wing root. I next ran servo wire to the two servo bays in each wing half. I did this by running a small piece of music wire down from the servo bays to the center wing wire hole and taping the servo wire to the music wire and pulling it to the servo bay. I cut the connecting plug off the end of the servo wire and soldered the wire I had pulled down to the servo bay to the servo. That done I soldered the plug onto the end of the servo wire down at the center section of the wing. Next I plugged my aileron servo into the receiver I was going to use and made sure it was properly working and centered. <EM>(Before you secure the servos into the wing, now is the best time to position the control arms, as you want them to be in neutral position. Although I want double the aileron movement up over down with the ailerons, I set those arms at straight up or neutral and will adjust the amount of throw in each direction with my computerized transmitter. For flaps I set both arms at about 45 degrees up facing backwards. This gives me maximum movement forward with the flap servo arms and that pulls the flaps down the maximum amount. I will still do final tuning of throw movement with the transmitter but this helps get the downward movement I need for the flaps.)</EM> I glued the tape wrapped servo into the servo bay in the position shown on the instructions. I repeated that process on the other wing panel aileron and for both flap servos. My servos were now installed and wired. You might prefer to use a different connector on the wires where they leave the center of the wing and enter the fuselage and have a harness to plug into those wires that remains plugged into the receiver at all time. I kept mine simple. I added a piece of colored tape by the plug on the aileron wires to tell them apart from the wires coming from the flap servos.
@905533: Aileron servo soldered to extension wires before final mounting in wing.
@905534: The molded wing tips add a nice finishing touch to the wings and look great!
With the servos installed I taped the ailerons to the wing using tape on the top of the wing panel and aileron. For the flaps the tape goes on the bottom of the wing and flap. Next, I used a 4 mm drill bit and drilled out holes for the control horns on the ailerons and flaps as shown in the instructions. I screwed the control horn into the mounting base and secured them with five-minute epoxy into the control surface. The next step was to screw the control rod into the plastic connector and measure the proper distance to place a Z-bend in the control rod so that it lined up properly with the servo control arm. Make the Z-bend into the wire at the control arm. Then cut off the excess wire forward of the Z-bend. The Z-bend then slips into the control arm on the aileron or flap servo. Snap the plastic connector onto the ball linkage mounted into the control surface and the servos and control surfaces are connected and ready to go. With servos and linkage installed I taped the servo covers over the servos in the wing.
The final assembly step with the wing is adding the wing tips to the wing panels. Two dowels each are installed by drilling 3mm holes into the molded wingtips and gluing the dowels into the wingtips with epoxy. When the glue is dry, measure and drill matching holes into the wing panel. When satisfied with the fit and alignment of the wingtip and the wing panel use epoxy (five-minute) on the wooden dowels and the matching surfaces of the molded wingtip and wing panel and make sure it is where you want it to be as the epoxy sets up. I gently held it in position while the glue dried to make sure it didn't move. Repeat the process on the other wing panel.
The wings are now ready to attach to the fuselage. Using the carbon fiber wing joining rod and the metal pin, assemble the two wing panels into one wing. Center the wing on the fuselage in the wing saddle. Carefully drill two 4 mm holes, one into each wing panel and into the back wing saddle of the fuselage as shown in the instruction booklet. When that is done weakly secure the nuts to the base of the wood supports in the fuselage and test fit the mounting bolts through the wing and into the securing nut. When satisfied with the alignment permanently secure the mounting nuts but don't get any glue on the mounting bolts. Next remove the wing from the fuselage and mount the two positioning dowels in the leading edge of the wing panels as shown on the instructions and secure the dowels into the wing panels with epoxy. When they are dry drill matching holes in line with the dowels into the fuselage per the instructions to finish securing the wing. Now remove wing and set aside while installing the V-tail and radio system.
Controls for the V-tail are made by drilling a hole and cutting a channel for a wire that will come out the bottom of the control surface in line with the back of the fuselage. When satisfied with the fit and location secure the wire into the hole and the channel with epoxy carefully. When the epoxy is dry, tape the control surface to the stab with hinging tape and repeat on the other half of the V-tail. The V-tail is mounted to the fuselage with a small flat tongue connector that fits into pre-built slots in the fuselage and end of the V-tail. I first glued the joiners into the V-tail and trial fit to the fuselage. I did use a small file in some places on the slots in the fuselage to clean them up. When happy with the fit, I glued the V-tail to the fuselage. This was a simple and easy process.
@905535: This picture shows the joining piece and control wire mounted and glued in the V-tail section.
@905536: Trial fitting the left side of the V-tail into the fuselage after right side is finished.
Having previously mounted the wing to the fuselage as described above I was ready to mount the two servos for the v-tail inside the fuselage at the back of the wing saddle. I simply glued the first mounting rail to the back location as shown in the instructions, fitted the Hitec 81 servos into place and secured the front servo rail with epoxy. When the glue was dry I drilled holes and permanently secured the servos in place. Contrary to the picture in the plans I decided to mount the receiver in front of the servos but that would be done later.
@905537: Gluing the plywood wing mount to the bottom of the back of the wing saddle area. Clothespins hold it while epoxy sets up.
@905538: This shows all parts installed and wing bolts in holes drilled in back of wing saddle.
The plane was finished and just awaited the motor and speed controller. Castle Creations supplied the Aveox 27/26/1.5 brushless motor, Maxon gearbox and Phoenix 60 controller as described at the start of this article. I contacted Aveox by e-mail and asked if they had a mounting diagram for mounting the Maxon gearbox to the front of the fuselage. Andre Soukasian e-mailed me an adobe file that had just such a diagram on it along with stats on the gearbox. I printed that out and confirmed the measurements were accurate and cut out the diagram and taped it to the front of the fuselage to use as a guide for drilling the mounting holes. I drilled the three small holes for the mounting screws through the gel coating and through the wooden bulkhead (pre-installed) behind the coating. I drilled out a 5 mm hole in the center and then expanded that hole with a file. While doing this I discovered that there were hollow spaces in the gel coating on the front of the fuselage. One of these went through an area where I had drilled for a mounting screw and as I expanded the central hole with the file some of the gel coating cracked and broke off. I showed this to my friend Jeff Hunter and he had a ready correction. He mixed up a batch of epoxy with filler material and packed it in where the gel coating had broken away and refilled two of the small screw holes in the process. When it had set up he drilled new mounting holes through the epoxy/filler and the motor was mounted without further problem.
@905539: Prop and spinner attached to motor/gearbox.
@905540: Plane assembled and ready to fly.
With the motor mounted I installed the Turbo Spinner from Hobby Lobby and I have several different pairs of folding propeller blades to use on this plane. I started with a pair of 13 x 7 folding blades.
I assembled the plane and tested out the radio system to make trim adjustments and discovered that my right flap servo in socket seven of my receiver was twitching. I tried plugging a different servo into that socket and it twitched as well. I tried a second identical transmitter and still a twitching problem. I even tried a servo in socket seven in an identical receiver in another plane and found it was twitching in that receiver as well. (Expletive deleted!)
<b>Houston We Have a Problem</b>
<br>
There was definitely a problem with socket seven on my receiver. I really didn't want to buy a new receiver because I know channels 1-6 work fine. Problem was I mounted the servos into the wing planning with my JR transmitter to control throttle with servo 1, ailerons with servos 2 and 5, elevator/rudder with servos 3 and 4 (with computer mixing) and flaps with servos 6 and 7. I couldn't simply use a Y-connector with the flap servos as mounted because with a Y-connector one servo would pull a flap down and the other would push a flap up. If I took a flap servo out I could flip it over and mount it to match the other servo. Then with the servos mounted the same way I could use a Y-connector to control both flap servos. That would be a mechanical correction by physically repositioning a servo. I chose to use a programming solution with my transmitter to correct my flap problem. I used a Y-connector for the two aileron servos (Since they go in opposite directions anyway.) and plugged it into socket 2 and programmed socket 5 as a slave to socket 6 in mix one of my JR 8103 transmitter. Now sockets five and six both work off of the flap control on my transmitter. I was able to work out a solution with my transmitter. I will go back at a future date and make the mechanical correction by cutting out and reinstalling one of the flap servos and the corresponding control horn in the flap so that the flaps will both work off of socket 6 in unison with a Y-connector. That will allow me to again use two sockets for the ailerons and I will program in Crow (Flaps and ailerons working together as brakes.) and have individual control of my ailerons. In my crude drawing below right you see how the flap servos are installed per the plans on the top and how they would look installed so that a Y-harness could be used with the flaps. On the bottom drawing the servos arms are both on the right side of the servo. It would work just as well if both were on the left side of the servo.
@905541: Note the four servo covers. The control arms are set up on the outside on all four servos.
@905542: Top of picture shows how flap servos were installed per plans. Bottom shows how to install to use Y connector with flap servos.
<b>What I Should Have Done</b>
<br>
I should have completely tested my radio system exactly as I planned to use it in this plane. I "knew" that the receiver worked as I had used it in another plane just recently but only used servos 2-5. I tested all six servos and centered them and positioned the control horns, as I wanted them before I mounted the servos. But I didn't test each servo in the receiver socket it was going to use in the plane. If I had I would have spotted the problem with socket seven and I would have installed both flap servos in the same direction so that a Y-connector harness could have been used. Then they would both reflex and pull down on the flaps identically from the start. Or I could have gotten a receiver with seven working sockets. My old receiver was only designed for the first six servo sockets to be used. Although number 7 was marked B for battery and 7 it was not intended for the 7th socket to be used with a servo.
!Flying
@905543: Adriana in an average climb.
@905544: It quickly gets to altitude.
@905545: Climbing overhead after a close pass. With more batteries you can go for a steeper climb.
Test flights took place over a period of several weeks, several weeks of bad (for California) weather. All flights took place in late November and December and the weather was not good for thermal flying. Most days were overcast, cold and breezy. The pictures and enclosed videos were taken on the best day I got during that period. The pilot for these pictures was my friend Jeff Hunter and that allowed me to take the pictures. I had four flights myself with the plane in the review process. Two without functioning flaps because of the problem with my receiver discussed above and two with flaps working and ailerons on a Y-harness.
Since I had waited several months for the motor/speed controller for this test I was anxious to test fly the plane when I got it all installed. When I encountered the problem with the seventh plug chattering on the receiver I decided to try flying without the flaps being activated and just relying on the servos holding the flaps in place. This worked fine on the first test flight where I kept everything relatively slow and smooth. The Adriana performed flawlessly. It had come out balanced on the recommended C/G without the addition of any weight just as I assembled it. It glided nice and level off my first toss and with motor on transitioned smoothly to a sixty-degree climb. Once at altitude I turned the motor off and a few clicks of up elevator were necessary to maximize the glide rate. The plane turned nicely with just ailerons and a bit of up elevator and once in a turn, the turn could be easily held with just aileron or just rudder control. I dived and did a power-off loop and the turned power back on (and had to adjust the trim tab back down a couple clicks) and did a large loop with power. Everything was working so well I even did an axial roll that looked fairly nice for a 2-meter plus glider. After 12 minutes of flying I landed and removed the wing. Neither the motor nor the battery were hot, just slightly warm. I let them cool down completely while I warmed up inside my car and then I charged the pack up for a second flight.
During the first flight the largest dive I attempted was only about 100 feet. I did do a full throttle pass in level flight just in front of myself about four minutes into flight and I did not notice any problem with wing vibration, flexing or excess movement. By the time of the second flight the breeze had picked up and was reading 10 miles per hour on my wind gauge. I launched into the wind and was climbing between 60 and 70 degrees after getting up to speed. I had no trouble doing a series of loops and back-to-back axial rolls. I caught a week thermal with the motor off and went up in it for a couple of circles but I didn't track back with it as I didn't want to go that far down wind as my view would get blocked by trees fairly soon where I was standing. I tried flying the plane too slowly and it will stall and drop but recovery was easy in straight flight. It will tip stall if flown into a stall while entering a turn and this can be used to get a tight sharp downward turn if desired. Or you can easily fly out of it by reversing direction and control is easily regained. I did a series of banks and turns and the plane responded well to the coupled rudder and aileron and a little stick movement lead to a quick response by the plane. I uncoupled the rudder from the ailerons with the flick of a switch and entered a dive of about 200 feet under full power and then flew across the field at full speed in front of myself and entered into a seventy-degree climb. What I noticed was that my unplugged flaps were fluttering a bit during this high-speed pass and so that was my last speed run of the day. There may have been some slight movement of the wing from flex but not certain. The remainder of the flight was uneventful. After a smooth landing I took it apart and went home to get warm.
@905546: Just converting from level flight to a climb.
@905547: Coming in on a speed run.
@905548: The start of an axial roll during the top of an extended loop.
Flight three was on "picture day" and the sunniest day I got for my test flights and even then it was mostly cloudy. Jeff Hunter was the pilot and I ran the video camera. I video taped about half the flight and got seven minutes of video that I edited to get the short video that is attached. The video below probably tells you more about the Adriana then the rest of the article. Jeff and I both found it to be a good flying plane.
<img src="http://static.rcgroups.com/articles/liftzone/2003/dec/adriana/camera.jpg"><a href="/articles/liftzone/2003/dec/adriana/adriana.wmv">Watch a video of the Adriana in flight!</a>
Flights four and five were with the flaps plugged in and fully functional. The weather was overcast and dreary and there had been rain earlier in the day. The breeze was a steady six with gusts up to 12 miles per hour. To be honest I only went out to fly so I could complete this review. I was only going to fly the battery pack once so I could talk about the flaps. However, I had so much fun on the first flight that day I had to stay for a second flight. I set the flaps up for neutral position where they just match the airfoil. Recessed, where they raise up about 3 degrees. They will come down about 70 degrees on my set-up. Recessing the flaps normally helps the plane penetrate and fly more quickly so it is useful in getting out of sink. The Adriana did appear to glide more quickly in level flight when I recessed the flaps. Just those few degrees do make a difference in speed and penetration into the wind. The use of down flaps makes the plane balloon up as is normal and to avoid that down elevator has to be used when you apply the flaps to remain in level flight. I plan to program a mix of down elevator with full flaps in my Jr 8103 transmitter. I will work on the right balance in programming in nicer weather. The flaps were very good at slowing the plane down. My first landing using the flaps was right to my feet. (That was a surprise as I am out of practice with procession glider landings.) The second flight of the day or test flight five was eventful.
I recharged the battery pack and noticed the sky was getting darker. I decided this would be the last flight for the day. After charging up the battery I put the wing back on and gave the plane a toss and climbed to about 300 feet. After a minute of flying with the motor off I had only lost about fifty feet so I must have been in a large thermal but I didn't recognize it at the time. I next did a dive of about two hundred and fifty feet under power and immediately transitioned into a full power climb and noted some wing flexing at the end of the dive. It wasn't severe and it didn't alarm me but I did notice it. I got three nice axial rolls in the climb and transitioned into a nice large loop. Just then the threatening skies opened up with out warning. Not a few drops to let you know it was time to go but the front hit with a down draft that knocked the Adriana and me about a bit as the clouds let loose. I landed, grabbed the plane and got under the cover of the hatch of my wife's minivan. I disassembled the plane and dried off my transmitter with a golf towel and went home. The Adriana had been knocked about a bit when the front hit and during that landing but it obeyed my control commands and landing was fortunately uneventful into the wind.
While I am looking forward to flying it in some nice "thermal" weather I was very pleased with the flights I have had with it so far considering the conditions I have flown in. It looks like it will be a good thermal plane and with the MH 32 airfoil it should be. It handles well and does mild acrobatics and nice axial rolls. It is properly considered a warm liner. With only eight cells the climb is good but not vertical. With ten cells or the right Li-poly pack vertical climb should be possibly with this motor/plane combination. The wings are thin and not really built for long steep dives so I don't consider the plane to be a candidate for a Hotliner no matter how fast it may climb.
@905549: Another axial roll, just for the fun of it.
@905550: Starting to level off after the climb to altitude.
@905551: Inverted flight, loops and rolls are easy with the Adriana.
!Conclusion
<b>Diversity Aircraft Models Zapped 1950 8-cell pack</b>
<br>
This is a great battery pack! At about 10.5 ounces the weight and size of this pack make it a nice fit in the Adriana. I broke this pack in on my Sonic Liner and it will be doing double duty as I plan to continue to use it in both planes. The cost is less then a third of the cost of the Li-poly pack you would need for this plane and it recharges at the field in a little over a half hour. It performs as good as, if not better then my 2400 Nicad 8-cell pack (Slightly less duration but possibly more power initially.) and is smaller and lighter. A ten-cell pack of 1950s can fit into the Adriana and the climb will be even steeper. We would all be flocking to buy these cells if it wasn't for Li-poly's. Even so at the price for a zapped pack of these verses the cost of the Li-poly's I will stick with DAM's 1950s.
<b>Aveox 27/26/1.5 motor with Maxon 4:1 gear drive</b>
<br>
This is a very nice smooth motor system! I was surprised how quiet it is even in a high-speed pass low over the field. The performance was very good with eight cells and per the above the plane will fit a ten-cell pack and the motor is built to handle the extra power with ease. It will probably be vertical or near vertical performance with more juice. The motor was always cool to the touch on landing so it can easily hand more juice. I am sure I will be using this motor for years to come and getting one or two more down the road as well.
<b>Castle Creations Phoenix 60 speed controller</b>
<br>
Although I tested the Adriana with the factory settings, I have since played with its programming capabilities. Although simplicity itself it is amazing how many functions you can control and program with this speed control. BEC shut-off voltage is the one that may be of most interest for those using Li-polys. I found it interesting that I can limit the power for motor run, thus saving more battery power for the "Last glide" of the day by changing that setting. Good clear instructions on programming as well. Start-ups and stops on all test flights and bench tests were smooth and flawless with this speed controller-motor combination. The match-up between some motors and speed controllers can sometimes be a problem but this controller seemed to be made for the Aveox. I admit that I did not use the full capacity of this controller in these tests but I am sure I will try a larger battery pack in the future. I am very pleased with the performance of this unit.
As reviewed this is a very nice electric glider for thermal flying with the ability to do some acrobatics during or at the end of the flight. A version of the Adriana is available without flaps and I am sure it is a good flyer as well. The flaps do add a good deal of versatility to the plane. Obviously the braking capability is useful if caught in a strong thermal or for precision landing in a small field. Also for more speed in the recessed position to fly out of sink or simply over to where you think there is some lift. The negatives for the flaps are they add the weight and expense of two additional servos and require a larger receiver in the plane. If you have no space problems for landing at your field get the version without flaps if you just want to fun fly. If your field is small or you are used to the control from flying full house gliders the flaps are worth the extra weight and cost (servos). I am glad I got the flaps even with the receiver problems I have had with the flaps as discussed above.
The molded wing tips look great in flight and the plane is a good fun performer. The short video above should give you a good idea how this plane performs. I did get it up briefly in a thermal but I had lousy weather to really test this planes thermaling capability. Based on the handling I have had, the glide rate and the penetration into the wind I believe I will have many great thermal flights with this plane. I was hoping for one more round of test flights before wrapping up this review using a 14 x 9.5 prop but it is another windy, rainy weekend. I will post an update on those results later. The finish on the wings and tail surfaces is first class with nice stripes on the bottom of the wing. The fuselage came with one flaw in the gel coating, the gap or air bubble I mentioned in the motor mounting area that was easily corrected and is out of sight. If you want a multitasking sailplane that can fly in the wind, thermal, do some nice aerobatics then this is a great plane to consider. This plane is light enough to be a good thermal sailplane and I found it to be a delightful warmliner. </BODY></HTML>