Hi, I'm sort of new to RC (been doing it for about 2 years now) and was wondering about a sea plane. I really like the polaris, aqua cat, and aqua jet. Which of those do you recommend? I'm open to other suggestions as well.

I've watched youtube to see how they fly - none of my buddies have one.

Thanks!

~B

I have flown the Polaris XL and it is sweet. I did see it flutter the wingtips when it was in a dive, but slowing down a bit resolved he problem with no damage. The builder, my buddy Leo, added an airscoop to keep the ESC cooled.

Thanks Jim.

How does it work in the water? Any leaking?

Was also wondering about ow it handled inverted flying and aerobatics.


Edit: ohhhhh, icon a5 looks cool. still like em all. might get two!

Originally Posted by BlackNightBravo

Thanks Jim.

How does it work in the water? Any leaking?

Was also wondering about ow it handled inverted flying and aerobatics.


Edit: ohhhhh, icon a5 looks cool. still like em all. might get two!

+1 PZ Icon A5. I have two.

I am in a similiar situation, several guys at my club swear by the Polaris. I am thinking of building the aquacat. I LIKE the aquajet but there is very little info from people flying it and the one video I saw of it wasnt very impressive.

I have yet to see a PZ Icon A5 fly but it looks like a good option for RTF!

IMO, I would go for the 100% Polaris. Easy to build and fly for someone not completely new to RC aircraft. The Polaris pops right off the water (or grass, gravel, snow, etc.) and then can be flared and slowed down a lot on landings which makes it less stressful. The Polaris XL is a slower, more graceful, and easier flyer than the 100% version.

My aqua-cat was very nice too and a bit harder to fly, but in return you get more of a aerobatic plane. It takes a bit more speed in your take-offs and landings.

By the way, as long as you do a good job in gluing up the hull, there is no problem with water ingress.

I've had the Icon too but again, IMO, it doesn't compare to the fun you'll have with a polaris! I think the Polaris thread with over 18,000 replies speaks for itself!

The polaris is fully aerobatic,and-being a delta-can fly at silly angles of attack.
It's fun to touch down at a 30-degee angle of attack just by holding up elevator and adding a little power.

Thanks guys. Been a real help. How does the aqua cat compare to the aqua jet speed wise? Never flown EDF before.

is there an advantage to controllability? I know the aqua jet/cat have less maneuverability on the ground than a polaris.

Hmmmm. What if I installed twin EDF's on a XL polaris?

Thank for the advice baddb1.



Damn. Been lookin at the real icon. $300,000!?!?

Wooowww. Was just looking at your'e blog badd. You already put an EDF on a ppolaris! Hey, great minds think alike. Did you extend the tail a little higher for lost space with the EDF?

Think I might try that...

Or put an EDF on each side of the rudder like those commercial jets.

Originally Posted by BlackNightBravo

Wooowww. Was just looking at your'e blog badd. You already put an EDF on a ppolaris! Hey, great minds think alike. Did you extend the tail a little higher for lost space with the EDF?

Think I might try that...

Or put an EDF on each side of the rudder like those commercial jets.

No I didnt have to extend the tail on that one. Actually I added an EDF nacelle from a twister jet on it.

I have already added a 70mm EDF on an XL and more recently I upgraded it to a 90mm for more speed! (no video yet for the 90mm)

Polaris XL with 70mm EDF (3 min 7 sec)

A few years ago I added twin EDF's on my older Polaris too. lol

polarihog (0 min 34 sec)

I also added an EDF to a Coota waterplane which was fun!

The Polaris is a great one to experiment w/ mods as you can see. lol

wow! We are possessed!

Yeah, it looked a little tired with the 70mm on the first vid.

The second with the twins I couldn't make out any flight characteristics. Comments?
If I mounted the twin on the tail would it be too heavy? or rip off of the rest of the plane? lol What mm are the twins?

I'm stuck between a single edf in tail, twin edf's, or an icon. Well, ill just do both

Originally Posted by BlackNightBravo

I'm stuck between a single edf in tail, twin edf's, or an icon. Well, ill just do both

Check out the Icon. I'm ready to order the desk version and all the apparel. This is such a cool plane. To compare the Icon to the Polaris/Northstar is to compare a Porsche to a Jeep Wrangler, IMO.

I already own two. So far. All my other planes hate the Icon twins.

Originally Posted by BlackNightBravo

wow! We are possessed!

Yeah, it looked a little tired with the 70mm on the first vid.

The second with the twins I couldn't make out any flight characteristics. Comments?
If I mounted the twin on the tail would it be too heavy? or rip off of the rest of the plane? lol What mm are the twins?

I'm stuck between a single edf in tail, twin edf's, or an icon. Well, ill just do both

PM sent with the whole Polaris EDF history!

Hi all. Thought I might post the history he sent me so everybody can see it in one place.

***Everything written below was written by baddb1 NOT me. I take no credit.***


" Yeah, I love the EDF's but its hard to find a float plane with one. I didnt make up any plans when adding the EDF's. Yes, the CG did change, but, it was simple to compensate for and I just adjusted the battery a little more forward in the compartment.(lots of room in there!!) Also, the Polaris needs a minimum of a 4S battery w/ 64mm EDF to get her to ROW. So the heavier battery also helped keep the CG in the right spot. Also remember to maintain at least a 1:1 thrust ratio or she won't ROW.....

My twin EDF was also on a 100% Polaris and I used 2 55mm EDF's . The plane took off from the snow just fine and flew fairly well but it was underpowered. This fact was proven when come Springtime I tried it in the lake and she would not ROW. So I scrapped that idea with the twins and went to the single 64mm ,4S capable EDF.

The problem with the twins is its a lot of added weight and there is not a big gain in the thrust ratio! Also, the battery does not last more than a 2 or 3 minute flight. With the 64mm single EDF I get about 4 minutes now on a 2200mah 4S battery.

The Polaris XL was very underpowered with the 70mm so I upped it to the 90mm and now she is pretty good. The problem is I am running a 5S 3500mah battery in it and the 90mm is also a power hog so the battery doesnt last very long.

If I were you I would start flying with the standard 2212-6 motor and 6X4 prop and experience the way the Polaris was supposed to fly. You'll love it!! Once you start adding the EDF's you are adding a fair amount of weight to the plane....
Either way, have fun!! "

Thanks, bad, for all the help.

~B

The Icon is one not in my stable yet, but I would still recommend the Polaris if you are new to water flying.

This is my thinking.

A) The knowledge base is huge now, one of the largest threads out there. Over the years I have built and flown many Northstars, the much larger original design from fellow Canadian Laddie Mikulasko. It has been in continuous production from Balsa USA now for at least 30 years!

B) Along with being wildly popular for a reason it is likely a lot more behaved on and off the water. I would suspect the more conventionally laid out Icon would be similar to my PBY Catalina, Seamaster and Seawind in that it would show much greater effects if one wing were to drag or dig in during water ops.

C) I can confirm the versatility. I've flown mine from water, snow, grass and asphalt and it handles each with equal aplomb.

On that note there are a couple of additional pointers. Being foam construction it suffers from belly damage if flown from anything but water. The Icon would likely show this behavior as I have found it on any foamie so far. On the Catalina I coated the belly with glass and epoxy to both protect the foam and try and solve an annoying leak during water ops. The Polaris has some very thin plastic I was given from a sign company. It is a bit heavier and alters the CofG a tad.

The one other design effect with the Polaris is equally apparent with any flat bottom craft in that it has the tendency to bounce off the water like a skipping stone if the touchdown is not absolutely perfect. This can look embarassing, but is usually nothing more than that.