I have the Kinetic for now 3 month. As I'm a pseudo beginner, I already had 3 or 4 crashes related to unperfect repairs after a bigger one (lost one wing during flight). Rudder, elevator and one wing servos are still good. One flap servo died in the first crash. So for me it is not too bad. No need to change them from the beginning. I have no Heat issue (but I don't fly full throttle on). I have 2S and 3S, and from my point of view, the plane flies very well with both (even if differently, with different speed).

Regards,

JMF

Hi all, I Have spare Motor & Esc from my 3d Hawk.
Motor : C20 2050kv brushless
ESc : 10A

Can I fitting the part in kinetic?

I'm Using HXT500 & 2S 500Mah for the battery.
Thanx

Hi all,

this plane is really fast, is there a way to slow it for landing ?

Thx

Originally Posted by laurentjeuxlille

Hi all,

this plane is really fast, is there a way to slow it for landing ?

Thx

You may try spoilerons mixed with up elevator?

Originally Posted by laurentjeuxlille

Hi all,

this plane is really fast, is there a way to slow it for landing ?

Thx

Caution! Trying to slow the Kinetic 800 is where people are loosing them. Just as you raise the nose to flair, it will drop and tuck to one side. At under about 30' you won't be able to recover.

Mike

@greedy - I rarely use the rudder. As far as heat, 2S should get you high enough in the air for some nice gliding and barnstorming, just reduced power for loops/rolls as you rocket back into the blue for the next adventure. I like both aspects, but even with a 3S - you should be able to tell with a little experience if pushing to hard (=too hot)

Hi everyone,

I just bought the Kinetic 800. I was briefly reading some threads on the plane and heard about the 'death spiral'. I'm a little worried about flying it.

How do you avoid the death spiral?
How are the flying characteristics on the plane?
Does it stall easily?
Any mods to do before the maiden flight?

I would appreciate any advice.

RPTheLefty,
Reading ALL the previous posts is the best way to obtain information about the plane.
On landing, fight the urge to flair. Just level the plane and let it settle onto the ground.
The wing attachments have loosened up quite a bit and now I'm going to have to glue the wings into position to keep them from shifting around. Hopefully doing so will improve the jerky flying characteristics.
You are fairly close to me. Come on down to Baylands Park in Sunnyvale to fly.
Mike

I read somewhere (I forget where) that the Multiplex Merlin, which the Kinetic 800 is a copy of, suffers from the unexpected death spiral thing because the fin is too big.

The explanation was that there's a lot of directional stability due to the fin but little or no roll stability, and that's what causes it. I can't claim to fully understand the aerodynamics involved but I guess a sycamore seed falling to the ground does the same thing. Instead of the big fin keeping it upright, as you might expect, it pushes that end out as it falls, making it spiral.

I considered getting a Kinetic 800, maybe the kit version, and cutting a bit off the base of the fin. Since they decided to clear them out, I've sort of gone off the idea because there won't be any more spares available soon.

I wouldn't waste my time with the Kinetic 800. They are lots of other planes out there that are better.
Mike

At the risk of offending anyone who's bought one, I expect you're right, Mike.

I watched the flight test video where Anthony Hand and two other guys flew them. Three took off, only one landed, in the normal sense of the word. They do look nice though.

I don't really understand the reasoning behind using poor quality servos when perfectly acceptable ones only cost a few dollars each. That's one of the main things that put me off buying the ready made one. I'd happily have paid the extra for half decent servos and they don't seem to be easy to replace.

Thanks for your guys' input.

I think I'm going to cancel my order and get something more suited for a beginner. I'm thinking about getting a glider. Maybe a Bixler or a Hawk Sky?

I just thought that the Kinetic 800 is a good size for large parks.

I think that's probably the best thing to do, RPTheLefty. Even experienced RC pilots have had death spirals with the Merlin. Definitely not a beginners plane.

The Bixler looks like a good choice. Maybe just beef up the spar, as mentioned in a lot of the reviews. It shouldn't be too hard to do:

http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/s...dproduct=16545

I have an EasyStar, which is similar, plus I've fitted ailerons to mine, so it's even more similar. The trick in launching it is to use about 2/3 throttle and throw it level, or in a very slight dive, not up at an angle. Don't worry about it heading for the ground. It's picking up enough airspeed to fly properly by doing that. Just pull up gently before it hits.

If you give it too much throttle on the launch, the thrust angle pushes the nose down too much, making it harder to pull up. If you throw any plane up above horizontal, it loses air speed as it leaves your hand and risks stalling. Not good. People who fly 3D planes with huge thrust to weight ratios can get away with it but it's generally a bad idea.

I would recommend the HobbyZone Champ. It comes with everything you need, can fly it almost anywhere, is tough as bullets, room to grow but flies very slow, handles some wind, actually looks like a plane, fairly cheap and even comes with a carrying case. yup that's my choice to learn on.

Hi guys !

We put a GoPro Hero on a Kinetic 800 miniglider.
We have made some modification :
- Motor Dymond 2838 250watt
- ESC 35A
- Propeller 9x6
- Lipo 3S 1300mAh
It's a bit too heavy and you need to fly always full throttle, but it works !

You can see the vids here :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...&v=p7GEf1gRDDY

We've made a review and some fly tests of Merlin by Multiplex versus Kinetic 800 Mini-glider here :
http://www.matterhorns.org/pages/com...0-mini-glider/