Yep you're the friend. Hope you're comfortable with me calling you that

Well, I'm about half way done with the build and taking it slowly as usual. I've got the motorbox strengthened and fixed (some glue joints on the CF reinforcements were loose), landing gear fixed and aileron pushrods and servos in place. I also did the elevator hinges, all the control horns and clevises. By the way, my plane must be from a second or third production run since the balsa reinforcements inside the motor box have been trimmed for the motor to fit in perfectly.

Then I started checking the aileron control throws as per the manual. I found out that I was getting the 45 degrees just fine with the other wing but only about 35 degrees down with the other before something was blocking the movement.

The aileron horn seemed to be the culprit at first since it was coming very close to touching the wing at maximum deflection. I thought that I had glued it wrong but after closer inspection found out that it was the innermost aileron hinge that was off a bit, apparently causing the down movement to be blocked. I moved the surface back and forth trying to see what exactly was blocking the movement and suddenly heard a little snap and the aileron started moving better... Turns out the hinge had not been glued too well in the factory and the glue joint gave up just like that. It doesn't come out since there must be a hole in the part that is glued just like in the horns.

Now I have to perform a little surgery on the wing to get the hinge glued back and in the correct position this time. Not a big deal but a bit of extra work and I feel bad having to cut the otherwise perfect wing at this point. Fortunately I saved the pieces of blue transparent covering that I cut from the servo openings.

I should probably tell the same story to the Head RC customer service - maybe they will send me some more of the blue covering material for fixing the wing properly if the leftovers are not adequate.

Originally Posted by Mr Kamikaze

Yep you're the friend. Hope you're comfortable with me calling you that

Hahaha Im sure I will get used to it.

Has PA started shipping there IPA bandit kits yet or are the thrust 40 motors still on back order?

Originally Posted by kodiak ak

Has PA started shipping there IPA bandit kits yet or are the thrust 40 motors still on back order?

My Thrust 40 has been on back order from PA-USA since 01/30/2012. Just checked my account and it still shows back ordered but estimated to have been back in stock the week of Feb. 5th. Hopefully someone from PA will chime in with an update on the Thrust 40 ETA. I e-mailed PA-USA but nothing heard from them yet.

Anyway, I went ahead and maiden my Bandit yesterday in gusting winds, flying with a Motrolfly DM2815-950 instead of the T40, and used the Vox 13x6.5 prop. The Motrolfly is almost an ounce lighter than the T40, so I had the 3S 2200 LiPo shoved all the way up in the motor box area, padded in place with some semi-hard foam spacers.

Even with the gusting winds this plane flies great. Ran 4 packs through it before the winds got really bad and I called it quits for the day. The C of G was right at 103mm, and from what I could tell that is pretty much neutral. Rolling harriers were especially easy to do, and KE spins also. Can't wait for calmer flying conditions to wring this airframe out proper

Byron

I have also been waiting for the Thrust 40 to be re-stocked! I've been calling every two weeks or so for status updates and Steve (PA USA) has always been very forward with what info he has! Returned phone calls have been about 50/50, but I suspect they have been getting a lot of calls about this.

I called today and was told that the back orders would start shipping TOMORROW!!!! Which is good news for my Bandit!... Its been looking a little sad sitting on the shelf without any guts.

Although they said they were dealing with at least three sheets worth of back orders... so it may be a few days depending on my orders position.

Cant wait!!!

Justin

Originally Posted by jredingt

I have also been waiting for the Thrust 40 to be re-stocked! I've been calling every two weeks or so for status updates and Steve (PA USA) has always been very forward with what info he has! Returned phone calls have been about 50/50, but I suspect they have been getting a lot of calls about this.

I called today and was told that the back orders would start shipping TOMORROW!!!! Which is good news for my Bandit!... Its been looking a little sad sitting on the shelf without any guts.

Although they said they were dealing with at least three sheets worth of back orders... so it may be a few days depending on my orders position.

Cant wait!!!

Justin

Hey, that's great to hear! A friend of mine called in an order today with PA-USA and confirmed that they just received a shipment of restock items.

It will be worth the wait. I'm running a Thrust 30 and a Thrust 50 in my other PA planes, and find the quality of Thrust motors to be excellent.

Byron

That's good news.

I placed a $700 order 3 weeks ago and my hole order has been on hold waiting for the Thrust 40 motor. With any luck I will get my stuff by the end of the week.

Originally Posted by kodiak ak

That's good news.

I placed a $700 order 3 weeks ago and my hole order has been on hold waiting for the Thrust 40 motor. With any luck I will get my stuff by the end of the week.

Dont worry its worth it.

Just replaced all my Voltec 70's with Hitec HS-65MG's although I used the standard servo arms and not the CF arms provided with the bandit. The bolt/nut combo to fix the control rod to the servo arm only just bit (looks like it stripped when out through the previous CF arm) so I doused it in red loctite and hope it holds!

The Hitec's already feel so much better, a bit smoother and a lot quieter. However time will tell whether they hold up. They should be fine.... I hope haha!

Originally Posted by cloaked

Dont worry its worth it.

Just replaced all my Voltec 70's with Hitec HS-65MG's although I used the standard servo arms and not the CF arms provided with the bandit. The bolt/nut combo to fix the control rod to the servo arm only just bit (looks like it stripped when out through the previous CF arm) so I doused it in red loctite and hope it holds!

The Hitec's already feel so much better, a bit smoother and a lot quieter. However time will tell whether they hold up. They should be fine.... I hope haha!

HS-65MGs' holding up? I think you'll like them. I have a set of them in a PA Extra 260. To date I've logged 220 flights on it, and the HS-65MG servos are still going strong. So I decided to put a set of them in my Bandit as well.

Byron

Originally Posted by wa4geg

HS-65MGs' holding up? I think you'll like them. I have a set of them in a PA Extra 260. To date I've logged 220 flights on it, and the HS-65MG servos are still going strong. So I decided to put a set of them in my Bandit as well.

Byron

I come from the world of Hextronic HXT-900 servo's,

Aim low and avoid disappointment.

Hey that saying works in 3D too!

Originally Posted by cloaked

The bolt/nut combo to fix the control rod to the servo arm only just bit (looks like it stripped when out through the previous CF arm) so I doused it in red loctite and hope it holds!

Which surface is this for??????? You can get away with rudder failing in flight. Even one aileron can be flown. But failed elevator is death. Man make sure it's solid before you fly.

Originally Posted by Mr Kamikaze

Which surface is this for??????? You can get away with rudder failing in flight. Even one aileron can be flown. But failed elevator is death. Man make sure it's solid before you fly.

Seems strong enough, I was pushing pretty hard against the control surface and no flex so.... I may swap it with the rudder just incase.

Hi!

First post on this forum and looking some good advice.

Considering a Bandit as my second plane after learning on my Funcub this winter. Trying to keep the cost down a bit, I was planning to get some HobbyKing esc and motor for the Bandit, but i am not sure what would be the best choice. I have several 3s 2200 Mah for the Funcub and from what i read here thats all I need

Originally Posted by RunarSL

Hi!

First post on this forum and looking some good advice.

Considering a Bandit as my second plane after learning on my Funcub this winter. Trying to keep the cost down a bit, I was planning to get some HobbyKing esc and motor for the Bandit, but i am not sure what would be the best choice. I have several 3s 2200 Mah for the Funcub and from what i read here thats all I need

Hi - would strongly suggest you don't get the Bandit, don't get me wrong its a cracking plane but is way too soon in your flying progression, you only want to look at planes like this after you been flying for a year or so - or had a lot of hours flying, and not just sim.

I would suggest that if you want to get into 3d and have a desire to move on - look at epo foam planes...they bounce and they can easily be repaired and you will crash

I would recommend the ST models MX2 very stable and a great 3d plane...for a bigger plane - or try any epp plane...

Balsa doesn't bounce and picking up lots of broken matchsticks and trying to put it back together again isn't an easy task

When you have mastered epp or epo foam and are less likely to crash then move into balsa