Originally Posted by aneikei

I picked the V70 because of all the online perform reviews are its speed, balance and agility. I guess I got sucked into the hype. So whats the verdict. The X8 or the Bixler 2?

You could also think of a Skywalker either 168cm or 190cm version. One will carry more slower and the other less but faster. Mine is been built with 2 hour endurance in mind with the 190cm wingspan.

Originally Posted by aneikei

I picked the V70 because of all the online perform reviews are its speed, balance and agility. I guess I got sucked into the hype. So whats the verdict. The X8 or the Bixler 2?

What do you want to carry? How heavy? I have both and the X8 can carry a lot of stuff and not even notice. It'll carry GPS gear, motorized pan/tilt camera gear, fly with FPV gear and 20,000+ mah worth of batteries. The Bix 2 will also carry stuff but everything is proportional. It'll take a Go Pro, FPV gear if kept light and simple. Anything more, and the X8 will out distance and out time it. One is rather pricey and the other is rather cheap (Bix 2).
The X8 has been used as a pack mule. It is very well re-enforced with CF rods. It is a dense foam, extremely rigid and has an enormous interior cargo space.
The Bix 2 is a much better glider and has much better "hang time" with little power use. It is quite manouverable and agile because it's a conventional wing/tail design. However, it is a soft foam, won't carry nearly as much gear and if you load it up to as much as it will carry, it will have a higher sink rate and use more power. It doesn't look nearly as "cool" as a giant flying wing.

Hobbyking also do something like the X8 called "Darkwing"

Had one of the control horns come off the v-tail on my second flight with the Zephyr. Check em properly before you maiden or you may end up in a tree.

Originally Posted by phoxache

Had one of the control horns come off the v-tail on my second flight with the Zephyr. Check em properly before you maiden or you may end up in a tree.

Seriously ... that would suck. On foamy's I generally hit all of my horns with welder adhesive before their first flight. I learned this from the school of hard knocks. Welder is pretty interesting stuff -- I like it because it's lighter than many other adhesives, and works well on many foams.

Check the hinges as well. One of my tailplane ones was molded too thin and was about to give way along 90% of its length. Looked OK unless you inspected it carefully. Caught it just in time. Adding hinge tape to all the molded hinges before committing aviation is good insurance.

Originally Posted by scott page

Seriously ... that would suck. On foamy's I generally hit all of my horns with welder adhesive before their first flight. I learned this from the school of hard knocks. Welder is pretty interesting stuff -- I like it because it's lighter than many other adhesives, and works well on many foams.

Originally Posted by scott page

Seriously ... that would suck. On foamy's I generally hit all of my horns with welder adhesive before their first flight. I learned this from the school of hard knocks. Welder is pretty interesting stuff -- I like it because it's lighter than many other adhesives, and works well on many foams.

Originally Posted by jj604

Check the hinges as well. One of my tailplane ones was molded too thin and was about to give way along 90% of its length. Looked OK unless you inspected it carefully. Caught it just in time. Adding hinge tape to all the molded hinges before committing aviation is good insurance.

Thanks guys. I'm going to do both of these things before it flies again. It went into a horrible death spiral. I was lucky the tree caught it. Both myself and a nearby dog walker needed a change of pants.

Originally Posted by phoxache

Both myself and a nearby dog walker needed a change of pants.

When its all patched up, crank it out to full throttle before sending it skyward before rolling over into a full throttle diving pass and rein it in as the flutter evolves Its fun and quite predictable. Last weekend I had a friends GPS logger riding shotgun on my Zephyr's left wing. Top speed was 83mph. Flutter, reliably comes into play anywhere above 80mph. This is when I back off a little throttle and start to climb out for another pass. Strangely enough my Dynamic-S achieved only a few km/h less with power off vertical dives without any flutter issues, and my Vampire which I thought was quicker than the Zephyr came in with the same speeds as the Zephyr. The noise that the Zephyr and Vampire create makes them seam faster than they actually are, and the Dynamic-S passes with just a cool whistle i'm loving all three ATM

My zephyr has been shelved for a few months but I finally got back to messing around with it. A 2200mah 45c 6s wouldn't completely fit so.....I made it fit. This air frame has a 2100kv turnigy motor and a change sun 10 blade. I laminated wings and added cf rods to the ailerons. Hopefully i dont get so much flutter anymore. Looking for punchy acceleration rather than top speed. Currently static tested at 1450 watts.

Originally Posted by dcame002

A 2200mah 45c 6s wouldn't completely fit so.....I made it fit. Currently static tested at 1450 watts.

I like the way you think 1450 watts, that'll get it moving.
Kevin

Did anyone else notice that on the packaging for the zephyr, the recommended battery was actually a sticker saying 3500 - 4000 mah?

I peeled it off and it originally said this:



That'd fit in better. My 4000mah are a slag to get in there.

Originally Posted by phoxache

Did anyone else notice that on the packaging for the zephyr, the recommended battery was actually a sticker saying 3500 - 4000 mah?

I peeled it off and it originally said this:



That'd fit in better. My 4000mah are a slag to get in there.

2800 at 25C would be sailing very close to complete "power outages".
See my previous posts re 2200 25C nanotechs. 2 flights resulted in complete loss of power, loss of control, death spirals and extensive repairs.
Low mAH, low C definitely NOT recommended!!

Originally Posted by GavDorro

2800 at 25C would be sailing very close to complete "power outages".
See my previous posts re 2200 25C nanotechs. 2 flights resulted in complete loss of power, loss of control, death spirals and extensive repairs.
Low mAH, low C definitely NOT recommended!!

Agree completely -- and also realize that some companies really stretch their C claims.

I'm using Haiyin 40C 2200 maH and could not be happier. I was a nanotech and gens ace fan until I started using Haiyin -- have not looked back.

Originally Posted by scott page

Agree completely -- and also realize that some companies really stretch their C claims.

I'm using Haiyin 40C 2200 maH and could not be happier. I was a nanotech and gens ace fan until I started using Haiyin -- have not looked back.

Amen to that. I usually try to use at least 40c for any of my packs except for my gens ace ones.

Originally Posted by GavDorro

2800 at 25C would be sailing very close to complete "power outages".

I often run a 2800mah 30c Zippy without any issue so far. I think battery choice varies so much for different pilots flying styles. If you fly the Zephyr flat out constantly like an EDF jet then you need a higher battery spec, but if you just power up to gain altitude as in glider flight you can get away with a much lower battery spec.

Mick