Tower Hobbies' Vista 2M

[Steve Boone]

I was in desperate need for something to fly this week while I'm repairing and finishing up projects. I wanted cheap & ARF. I decided to give the Tower Vista a go. It fit the bill and could make a good trainer for my son-in-law and grand kids when I'm done with it. I must say it looked decent out of the box and took only the afternoon to build. (most of the time was waiting on epoxy to dry) I built it stock just to get it done. It came out heavier than listed. With some re-aranging of gear and different push rods I think it could definately come down quite a bit. I didn't want to fuss with it at this point. It came in at 982g, around 7.4 oz/sq ft. I can live with that for now. Only a little loose kote to deal with, normal for an ARF. Wing, tail and such were all true. The fuse had little post sticking up for aligning the stab. Made that job a no brainer. I did however check it before applying epoxy and it was right on. Gear used was: Berg microstamp 4L, (2) futaba S3003 servos, hydromax 1200 nimh battery and a homemade type switch. There's plenty of room to move one servo forward 1 bay. I almost did but I really wanted to see how it was out of the box built stock. Flight test should be tomorrow if the weatherman got it right for a change.

[aeajr]

Looking forward to your flight report. With the Spirit RTF and ARF gone, this pretty much replaces it.

[Steve Boone]

I managed to get in 3 hand tosses and 3 high start launches. Tow hook in the front because in the center it kept popping off. It tended to porpoise in forward flight at the CG the manual recomended. Tip stalled with anything over 1/4 rudder input. So off to the shop it went. I checked the wing. It was off a bit so I straightened it with some heat. Adjusted it to 3/8" washout. One side was 1/4" & the other was 1/2" before I started. Yeah, yeah, I should have checked it first. Honestly, I've never had a plane that tip stalled so easily or violently. 30' turns were the best it would do without stalling a wing. Scary. Added a bit more lead to the nose. Then, of course, the wind picked up too much to try again. :mad: I swear the wind is just crazy this year! I'll be back at it as soon as possible to see if it's tamed any. More later.

[Steve Boone]

Cg is now a bit forward of the recomended spot. The plane flies great now. I may fine tune the CG again later. Tip stall is gone and it now floats and flies pretty close to my spirit. If I move the gear around and lose some of the nose weight it should make it even better. On the + side. Everything fit really well and that self aligning tail was quite a nice touch. I could do without the stickers being put on it. Bolt on wings would have been nice but I get the reasoning behind the rubber bands as it's supposed to be for beginners. Personally I'll probably add bolts as it would be an easy change. I added them to my S.Lady and am real happy with the results. All in all, a really good deal at $50.

[Steve Boone]

I thought i would update the flight report. I was out last weekend and just couldn't get my S. Lady to dance for me. I finally was set to go home when I decided to give the Vista a try before leaving. After a couple of sorry up & down flights I offered it to Joe. He declined and said I should give it another try. Thankfully I did. It specked out on the next flight and I got my second 15 minute flight task done. I'm not a fan of white planes and this one is no exception as it disappears fast for me. I lost it quite a few times. I plan to try reducing the washout to see if preformance improves. It's also getting some holo-tape put on the LE of the wing.

[dwells]

Congrats on your next step Steve! Now it's those landings :mad: . I actually have a witnessed 1 of 5 for stat 1. I think the ARF's in the Spirit and the Vista are a great value. Although the Spirit has been dissed, they are still around. I have been flying/learning my ARF Spirit 2m since Jan. I have tumbled this plane all over the field more than once in my learning cycle. It still looks and flies great...only 2 broken bones (separated joints that is) so far. These planes are a great value for the beginner. For a Ben Franklin you can put one of these Vista's in the air and have a ball at speck height. If you lose it, just buy 3 more :D . Thanks for the update on the Vista and good luck on your remaining 1.5's.