Looks interesting. No flight demo posted yet. Would like to see Pete fly it for us.

Anyone have one? Thoughts?

Ted

Awfully quiet here.

I went ahead and ordered an ARF version and it was delivered yesterday. All I have done so far is to make a quick inspection for obvious damage (there is none, it is packaged well) and a close general inspection of all of the bits. I must say that it is an impressive design. Most of the assembly is done including the stickers and the quality of all work is great as I have not detected any issues. All of the hardware (wheels, prop, control horns, rods, clevises, wing joiners, etc) is top quality. Likewise, all of the electronics appear to be better than average. Extra screws and an extra control horn were included as was a screwdriver. There is even a generous sized tube of glue for the two small foam parts and the wing servo covers shown in the instructions that need to be glued.

There is a nicely illustrated assembly manual that properly covers the few necessary steps required, and an ESC programming manual, both written in good English. A full color 2012 FMS product catalog is also in the box.

I must say that this is the highest quality foamy model I have ever seen, and I'm looking forward to getting it in the air. Although there isn't a flight review on the BH site there is one of this model by Nitroplanes on YouTube. NP hasn't offered this one for sale as yet, so it appears that BH got an exclusive.

New Airfield Ask 23 Sample Flight Review (10 min 2 sec)

Ted

Hi G550Ted! I've forwarded a nudge to Pete to get the ball rolling with a flight review as soon as possible! Please stay tuned! Thanks! -Seba

Originally Posted by Sebastian_BHcsr

Hi G550Ted! I've forwarded a nudge to Pete to get the ball rolling with a flight review as soon as possible! Please stay tuned! Thanks! -Seba

I'll be looking for it, thanx.

Ted

I might just want one to replace my Radian Pro that can't even take a 5mph breeze. Hoping the ASK will be at least somewhat capable of thermalling.

I finished the build of my ASK-23 yesterday and just wanted to share a couple of observations.

First, and contrary to the statement in the NP video, there is no way to get this model flight ready in the 15 or 20 minutes Antonio said it took him. I am a slow builder, had to correct a couple of minor problems with the kit and made a couple of minor mods that I felt necessary so my build time was around 4 hours as a result.

Some minor problems which I encountered were:

- Holes in the plastic joiner of the horizontal stabilizer to the fin are too small for the screw size supplied so they had to be drilled out. The plans have a correction regarding the screw size supplied which is now 3.5mm x 20mm.

- The horizontal stabilizer wasn't parallel to the wing so I had to shim under one side to achieve proper rig.

- There is not enough room in the battery area for the battery and the ESC. The ESC can't be relocated without making ESC to motor extensions, so I trimmed about 1/4" (6mm) from the left side of the battery bay and under that for about 1/4" so the ESC would fit standing on it's side and not interfere with the canopy.

- I shaved about 3/16" (4mm) from the bottom of the canopy floor to allow needed room for the canopy to close properly.

- Like all other models I have had with molded foam hinges these are stiff and need to be worked to free them up. I also used a small rounded tool to compress but not cut into the hinge to help make them easier to move.

My modifications:

- Nylon skids under the wing tips to protect the foam.

- 2" black stripes under the wing and horizontal stab for orientation.

- Clear tape over the leading edge of the wing and stab to protect them from damage from long grass where I sometimes have to land.

- I cut the wire of the wing Y-connector and re-pinned the servo leads of each wing with new connectors so each aileron can be connected to different channels for spoileron and other functions.

Some observations:

- There is a 1/2" (12.7mm), thick wall, CF tube running from just behind the cockpit all the way to the fin, and the fuselage wing anchor plate sits below this tube. Makes for a really strong fuselage and wing support. Very nice!

- The wing dovetails into the fuselage fore and aft. The rear of the fuselage piece above the wing tabs into the fuselage and wedges behind the canopy adding additional strength to the wing/fuselage mating and assisting the clip to the top wing joiner that holds this piece in place.

- The spinner just snaps onto the base plate, no screw.

- The prop is well balanced and runs very smooth.

- All of the pre-installed hardware was done correctly, properly positioned/aligned, screws tight, etc.

- Completed weight (without battery) is 1,180 grams / 41.5 oz. With an 1800mAh battery of ~155g that's a flying weight of about 1,335g, almost exactly as advertised.

I made some power checks using a fully charged but well used 2200mAh 25c battery. After a couple of short motor runs to insure that everything was proper and secure a full power check showed 34.3A / 389W peak static run with the near 'fresh' battery. About 20 seconds of this got the ESC very warm but not excessively hot and the battery was just slightly warm. Forgot to check the actual temp with my IR thermometer, sorry. I also didn't check the static thrust but was impressed with what it was making. After several additional runs simulating climbs back to altitude and the battery at about 50%, the full throttle static power settled at 24A and the ESC cooled considerably. At 24A there was just less than 1:1 thrust to weight. 1/2 throttle gave what I think will be plenty of thrust for cruising/sport flying at only 6A, and at 3/4 throttle was about 17A which should be more than enough for basic aerobatics.

I'm really looking forward to flying it and will post my impressions when I get the chance.

Ted

Nice ted, got photos of the skids? What material brand and glue did you use? Also what tape did you use? With the summer heat is it staying on?

That Almost Ready to Fly should be:
PITA to get ready to fly

Originally Posted by G550Ted

First, and contrary to the statement in the NP video, there is no way to get this model flight ready in the 15 or 20 minutes Antonio said it took him. I am a slow builder, had to correct a couple of minor problems with the kit and made a couple of minor mods that I felt necessary so my build time was around 4 hours as a result.

Thanks for your report. I totally agree on the way they underestimate the time to assemble the RTF models. That's about how long it takes me, as well

Well-written and concise Instruction Manuals with numerous and clear pictures would shorten assembly time, for sure.

If I assemble the same model for the second time, the work would go together mush faster, maybe less than half the time. Third time will be even shorter.

Originally Posted by Remy130

Nice ted, got photos of the skids? What material brand and glue did you use? Also what tape did you use? With the summer heat is it staying on?

That Almost Ready to Fly should be:
PITA to get ready to fly

No fotos right now. The pics on the BH site show it well but I'll get a couple of shots posted in a day or so of what mine looks like.

The model comes with some glue but I didn't bother to open the tube as so little is needed. I used Welder but anything that works on EPO would be fine as the glued parts are not structural.

For the stripes I used black packing tape and for the leading edge protection on the wing some 3M clear package tape. I've used them for years in the Georgia heat and they stay put just fine.

Ted

Sooo...is this the FMS model from babanahobby? The video at the top post is an "airfield" brand?

I just ordered the FMS from banana; on sale from $155 to $129 so i pulled the trigger.

Hi G550Ted! Agreed that even the best of manuals can only help so much, it certainly is marvelous to see that you're embracing the true hobby aspect of this hobby! Should you run into any complications, please let me know!

@cityevader: 'Airfield' is an FMS branded name.

Originally Posted by Sebastian_BHcsr

Hi G550Ted! Agreed that even the best of manuals can only help so much, it certainly is marvelous to see that you're embracing the true hobby aspect of this hobby! Should you run into any complications, please let me know!

@cityevader: 'Airfield' is an FMS branded name.

Somehow there is a misunderstanding. I tried to state that the assembly manual for this model is quite good. Decent English, logical steps, good pictures and complete information to complete the build. I can only wish that other Chinese manufactures did as well as FMS did this one.

Ted

Here are a couple of cellphone pics I snapped a while ago to show what I did in my build which I mentioned in an earlier post.

Ted

Got in two flights, actually. It was breezy, probably around 10mph, and GUSTY! I had a friend toss it up on both flights and flew out a conservative 6 1/2 to 7 minutes of powered flight (12 to 14 minutes total) on a 2200mAh 3 cell on each flight. Here are some observations:

- Wing joining and mounting at the field took about 10 minutes without being in a hurry. Same time to disassemble for the trip home.

- The joiner and retainer screws seem to be good quality, but I don't know how long the phillips heads will hold up to wear. I think I will look for some Allen bolts (aka socket head cap screws) as replacements.

- The stall speed of this model is quite a bit higher than I expected. It is a big and somewhat heavy model but with that long, high aspect ratio wing I expected it to be much "floatier" than it is. It also has a propensity to immediately enter a spin at the stall. This is not the "tip stall" BS mentioned in the video which was actually a self-induced spin entry due to his using so much unnecessary and inappropriate rudder in turns. Mine would usually spin into a turn but would go either way if stalled when wings level so both the longitudinal trim and wing symmetry are good. I think the 15% rudder mix with aileron I have programmed is to blame for the consistent stall tuck under when turning. I'm going to reduce that and also program differential aileron throws to minimize the noticeable adverse yaw it has at slower speeds.

- There is a noticeable difference in pitch authority between power off and power on flight which I believe this is due to the small stabilizer/elevator and the difference of having some prop wash or not. It works fine either power off or on, but be prepared for a change if cycling the throttle when slow as I did during the landings in the gusty winds. This is not a model that you can slow way down and plop it in the grass. I'm going to have to wait for a calm day to get a better feel but I think it is going to be a bit hot at touchdown.

- I was flying primarily over a tree line with a wind from the trees into the field so experienced a lot of sink most of the time requiring me to fly partial power (~1/2 throttle) during that time. The few times I found some lift it rose nicely but I didn't get a good feel for how well this thing will soar.

- Stock motor and prop provided plenty of power for good speed and sustained climbs at about a 45 degree angle. Battery and ESC were just warm after landing. I couldn't tell about the motor (you can't feel it with the prop on) as I again forgot to bring my IR thermometer.

- Vertical maneuvers are easy and as tight as you want. Roll rate is expectedly slow for rolls as I have it set up now. I think that I will increase the aileron throws and program differential to improve lateral control response.

- Transporting with the wings on is not possible for me. It won't even fit into the bed of my full size P/U truck. Wings off it all goes back into the box which fits nicely in my truck's back seat with lots of room to spare. It also makes for compact storage on top of a cabinet in my garage. I taped the edges of the box top to the styro liner to protect the styro and trimmed just a bit of the inside of the styro to accommodate the aileron linkages. There is lots of room for small ziplock sandwich bag to keep the wing joiner plastic pieces and screws, the joiner tubes and more stuff if you like.

Just got mine! but can't fly for several more days
Good to know it'll handle wind, as my Radian Pro cannot fly in 10mph, and it's always windy so I can never fly!! Early '90's I was flying Wanderers, Gentle Ladies, Olympic II's, Two Tee, etc on super high starts and never had an issue with wind and flying at the same fields today...guess climate change is possible.
Edited: Not sure what made assembly so long...the only thing I had to do was mount the control horns. Putting the wings together shouldn't be considered "building".
Re-edited: Oops, just reread your post, you got the ARF and I got the RTF. RTF was only $129 so how could I pass it up?!