Here is my un-boxing and evaluation of the.... FMS 55.9" STUKA Ju 87G-2!




I ordered mine from RC Castle 3/31/2011 and received it 4/05/2011 EMS to SW Mo. Once again I want to thank Raymond for his excellent service! Mine was delivered in excellent condition, no damage what-so-ever.

Much like the B-25 Tondelayo and the Corsair F4U there is very little to complain about:
--The upper magnet assembly (magnet/steel plate) wasn't installed on the cowl.
--There should be a cover of some kind (clear) to cover the round "Directional Antenna" cavity just behind the canopy.
--The Gunner is a bit on the "Pygmy" side compared to the pilot, who by the way, has no resemblance to FMS's original "Goofy"! The Gunner is actually one of the members of the B-25 flight crew.

NOTE:.....There is an issue concerning the wing hinging! Apparently on some of the early editions the hinges were glued on over the paint, and were coming loose with very little effort. This may have been a suspected cause of the Nitroplanes demo crash? My good friend Bernhard/Beltpilot experienced the same misfortune with his plane as well.
The first thing I checked was the hinges. I found all of mine to be quite secure, but to be sure I managed to work one loose just to see what was going on. It appears the manufacture took the care to tape those areas off before painting on mine, so apparently FMS has already taken steps to correct this issue! I would caution that it would be a good idea to check these before maiden!



Some mods I am considering:
--Make the wings a 1-piece design.
--Fiberglass spars replace with CF in both the wings and elevator.
--3" Tires & Wheels will fit the pants with minimal work.
--Install a cover for that "Directional Antenna" cavity.
--Figure a way to clean up the linkage on the tail wheel/rudder steering assembly. It looks little "busy" back there.
--Tint the canopy (that skin rash thingie contributed to heat build up in the cockpit due to sunlight)
--The usual servo swap for the elevator....HiTec HS-82MG.
--Make an opening for the supercharger intake for scale effect.


The plane comes with the usual FMS assembly manual with a complete Parts list, and they now include a ESC Manual as well



Recommended CG is 65-70mm from LE.






Description:
- Material: Durable EPO
- Wing Span: 1,420mm ( 55.9in )
- Length: 1,180mm ( 46.5in )
- Flying Weight: Around 1,750g
- Servo: 9g Servo x 8
- Landing Gear : Fixed Scale Landing Gear
- Flap System : Flap System
- Motor: 3648 600Kv Outrunner Brushless Motor
- ESC: 50A Brushless ESC With 4A SBEC
- Propeller: New 13"x9x3-Blade Propeller
- Battery: Li-Po 14.8V 2600 - 3700mAh 20C

You list the motor as two diffrent KV? Can you check for me please. Also do you have prop size and pitch? Ok sorry last one. Does the wing look strong enough for vertical dives?

Originally Posted by Josephp13

You list the motor as two diffrent KV? Can you check for me please. Also do you have prop size and pitch? Ok sorry last one. Does the wing look strong enough for vertical dives?

Thanks for bringing that to my attention. I copied the description menu off one of the vendors website and they are listing it as the 3648-520kv, but mine came with the 3648-600kv motor. The prop is 13", I have no idea of the pitch at this time, but I would guess from looking at it, somewhere around 8-9?

The Stuka has only been available for only a little over a week now, and most are still in the build stages. You can get a lot of info off the "New FMS Stuka 1400mm EPO warbird" thread.

Sundancer:

A very nice job with your "un-boxing eval/review". I would take exception to one point only, that being the statement:

Apparently on some of the early editions the hinges were glued on over the paint, and were coming loose with very little effort. This is the suspected cause of the Nitroplanes demo crash!

There is virtually no question of what happened during Tony's flight. There's no evidence of mechanical failure of any kind. The long and the short of it was that during a high-speed pass a steeply angled, high-g right turn was initiated. When the pilot pulled back on the elevator, maximum wing loading was exceeded which resulted in an accelerated stall. The result was that the inboard wing first buffeted and then lost all lift. Had the plane been 50 feet higher, there may have been enough time to react, regain control, and save the AC. However, at an altitude of 25 feet, he never had a chance. Been there, done that, lesson learned.

Sundancer:
For a Blog post, this was really good!!

Thanks you for you time, work, and effort in putting up so much good info and detail.

Fox7