Has anybody purchased the Hobby King F104 ? what does it come with ? How does it fly ? and how is landing it ? there on sale for 69.00 dollars and with shiping comes to 107 dollars what do you guys think about this ? I love the looks of the 104 and I fly a Mig 15 , F9 Panther and an A10 now , We fly off of a dirt road so I'm concerned about landing speeds what do you guys think ?

This jet is a copy or rebranding of another F-104 foamy http://www.snhobbies.com/product_inf...ada9d780f51ce2

I have flown that one, which flew fairly well. I wouldn't fly it off of a dirt road, the short wings don't give any roll stability on takeoff and it'll bounce itself off the side (I had no joy off of a grass field). Landings aren't as bad as they might seem - the intakes and fuselage make up a large-ish lifting surface. I was able to hand launch it, although I would recommend making a bungee launch setup for this jet.

The problem I had with this model was an off balance rotor, which "stalled" in flight. This normally wouldn't be an issue, except that when the rotor stopped, the momentum flipped the jet over and I lost orientation and crashed.

Fun flier, but a challenge in the sense that it's tough to track in the sky.

I ordered one and it should be here by this coming friday.I plan to replace the edf with an rc lander 4300 kv and 60 amp esc 4s 2200 batt.I will set up ailoron throws to max deflection then add 70% expo ,the elevator will also be maxed out and about 50% expo.This should work perfect with stubby wings and long fuse with a T tail.You will want full deflection at slower speeds but not touchy hence the expo.all the jets I fly need a touch of power when landing until touch down ,I do not see any reason the 104 will be any differant.I suspect that it will handle like the HE 162 with extremely fast roll arrow like tracking .The landing gear should handle smoot grass no problems most of my jets of simalar size do well,so I do not see any major issues with landing.I have been wanting one of these for a long time better get a couple cuz these are going to be closed out again

It needs bigger intakes...looks pretty cool though.

Looks like thay land with about 10% power on , I land the Panther the same way . I will be leaving the landing gear on , the feild that we fly at is smooth but it is dirt . I was thinking a lot of expo also on this . I'll be flying it with the stock motor esc combo that it comes with and 2200 mah 4s 25c lipo's , same batterys I fly the Mig with .

I don't think I needed a lot of expo. The ailerons are very effective: although they don't extend very far, neither do the wings they have to roll.

its good to see this one come back around

Still waiting for it to show up UGH !!

i seen mention of expo.
I used to own and fly some f-104 different makers of course.
Use the expo!!!! this ship is roll sensitive, very roll sensitive!!!
Heck if your not an experienced flyer of unstable platforms i would look for another bird. as this is an unstable platform. "high wing loading"
So 10-15% powered landings should get you to terraferma in good condition.
They dont like flying slow.

Originally Posted by D_FAST

i seen mention of expo.
I used to own and fly some f-104 different makers of course.
Use the expo!!!! this ship is roll sensitive, very roll sensitive!!!
Heck if your not an experienced flyer of unstable platforms i would look for another bird. as this is an unstable platform. "high wing loading"
So 10-15% powered landings should get you to terraferma in good condition.
They dont like flying slow.

In my experience with this model, abnormal amounts of expo are not required. It is somewhat roll sensitive, you can reduce your throws. I flew it on a stock RTF radio with no expo without any problems.

Mine arrived yesterday. Very impressed with the fit and finish.
Am scratching my head wondering where to fit the RX since I have a Spectrum TX with the twin RX modules. Instructions are not clear and seem to indicate the RX is in with the battery --an idea which I am not comfortable with.
Any advice??

If you reffering to the twin rx that is the remote rx ,You do not have to use the remote rx on a plane this size .Just unplug it and use the primary rx ,the remote rx facilitates line of sight link to the tx when used together on a large plane with say a carbon fiber wing tube or engine and muffler that could possibly block the singnal .

Thanks Killer.
I have a Hitec 2.4 gz which has the one RX---but I still don't know where to put it.
I really baulk at having it sitting on top of the Li Poly, if thats where it is meant to go.

You should be able to fit the rx into the fuselage near the battery by slipping it through the battery holder 'cage.'

well mine arrived today ,it looks nothing like the picture as far as paint goes not that I liked the blue and white that much I was willing to live with it.But what they sent me is painted white up to just past the intakes then it painted some floresent orange with a very cheesy sticker of a cartoon cat stretched from nose to tail.the esc is made by riccs wich is the same company that makes the T-38 talon ,I will be painting this one fo sho.