My Bandit died this weekend. I have found the translucent green and white to be a bad combo. I would loose orientation a few times every flight. The last time I came out of a KE spin a little low and I thought I came out inverted. Turns out I was wrong it a put her down into the trees.



Wings have only some minor damage (SFGS broke on one wing). Tail Section section is okay. Forward of the cowl is okay and the prop did not break....

That whole left side may still be up in a tree. If I there are enough pieces on the right side remaining maybe I can fix her up.

Sorry to hear Jose.maybe just order another fuse.if the rest is ok and you only need a fuse,it will be worth ordering another fuse for it

Its hard to say what I am going to do at this time. If I can take the tail apart with out breaking anything and if I can take the motor box off with out breaking it I will order a new fuse. If it needs any other parts I may look into a new airframe. I am thinking of removing the the translucent covering from the bottem and replacing it with a solid color. But thats only if I can reuse the rest of the plane.

Josef,

I'm with you. I damaged the fuse, battery mount, and cowl and it was only a couple of bucks more to get a new airframe.

On mine I put stripes on the bottom of the wing because of the translucent film (I flew in bright sunlight and the color bled right through so I couldn't tell which way was up).

It does okay in low light conditions. On cloudy days or really sunny days it runs into problems.

I'd like to see PA adopt a black'n'white rectangle pattern on the wing underside. It may not be as pretty, but its got a certain functional beauty which is appropriate for a 3D machine. Save the pretty for something which isn't meant to do rolling harriers a couple of metres off the deck.

I think the translucent film is a lot lighter than the solid film and maybe that is why they choose to use it.

I think your correct. Do all of the colors have the same issue with the sun? I had thought about getting a different airframe but this one flew so good and the thrust motor only works when its mounted behind the firewall

Some people have issues with the clear colors and how top looks like the bottom- I have found no issues with orientation.

IMHO I would hate it if PA adopted the used-to-death scheme of rectangle patterns on the bottom of wings. I say if you can't see it, fly it lower and closer and your problem is solved! (and your flying will look much cooler the closer you bring it in)

The BIG Question I have is:

When is the next Mafia Video release
They set the standard for RC vids and I am itching for a new one

Originally Posted by bsbauman

Some people have issues with the clear colors and how top looks like the bottom- I have found no issues with orientation.

IMHO I would hate it if PA adopted the used-to-death scheme of rectangle patterns on the bottom of wings. I say if you can't see it, fly it lower and closer and your problem is solved! (and your flying will look much cooler the closer you bring it in)

There's a very valid reason why that scheme is widely used - because large high-contrast areas of alternating light and dark are picked up by the eye long after subtleties of colour and pattern have been obliterated by atmospheric haze.

Whatever the distance between the pilot and their plane, increased differentiation between the top and bottom of the wing can only help. Personally, I definitely find the Bandit's comparative lack of differentiation to cause problems closer in and earlier at dusk than planes with that "done-to-death" pattern. Some of them continue flying after the Bandit is grounded - because I can no longer reliably tell which way it came out of a tumble in the failing light. For me, that's a pity because I enjoy flying the Bandit, and many of my sessions inevitably take place during twilight, after work.

Unless I am flying at indoor foamie distances the contrast has a lot of issues for me. I think just going from translucent to solid would fix it.

Originally Posted by bsbauman

The BIG Question I have is:

When is the next Mafia Video release
They set the standard for RC vids and I am itching for a new one

I've been wondering the same....their vids are always amazing

Originally Posted by Josef086

Unless I am flying at indoor foamie distances the contrast has a lot of issues for me. I think just going from translucent to solid would fix it.

I must be missing something. The Bandit is solid white on top, and one of four translucent colors on the bottom. To me, at distance, it looks like a uniform color on the bottom and white on top (with a bit of color trim). I'm flying the blue one, so maybe it just looks darker than other colors.

There are many planes that are the same translucent color on both sides (such as the Addiction), making it difficult to judge orientation. The Bandit isn't one of them.

H2SO4~ I was in the same position, flying at night with poor eyes... you can always throw some LEDs inside like my Ad-X