Bottom line is that there are just not that many out and about just yet. So it may be a while before there is much feedback on them posted around the Internet.

It would be good if a new product, especially a high-profile one, is shown with some videos of actual flying...!

I promise, video or no video it does exist.
I saw one and held it in my hands at the TNT in Dallas last week.
Stefano

Originally Posted by stefanoc2

I promise, video or no video it does exist.
I saw one and held it in my hands at the TNT in Dallas last week.
Stefano

Yup, sure enough there was one flying ...
tk

Originally Posted by target

My statement, carefully worded, is still accurate, and needs no editing....

There WAS one flying at Visalia (there could have been more), and I THOUGHT it was Ben flying one (I could have been mistaken).

Truth be told, I was too busy making my times (in Unlimited) to pay attention.... ;-)

R,
Target

A perfectly accurate observation. I was flying Barry's Maxa after the competition rounds ended on Sat. I did bring LJ's Maxa to Visalia, but didn't want to risk breaking it (after all, it did belong to Larry, and I also planned on bringing it to the F3J Team Selection). For the competition rounds, I flew my 68 oz. Disser Aspire, which had a "For Sale" sign on it in the pits (and is still available).

So Ben, did you fly the MAXA at the TS or was it to windy?
Stefano

Originally Posted by stefanoc2

So Ben, did you fly the MAXA at the TS or was it to windy?
Stefano

The weather forecast was for wind, so I left the 61 ounce, 4m Maxa at home (I didn't even have ballast for it). I flew my 3 Aspires: 2 ST's (72 oz) and a C-68 (79 oz). ST's on day 1 in the rain (only a little wind). Day 2 was the ST and the standard C-68, depending on the wind. Day 3 was with a lightly ballasted ST for the first flight. The rest of the day was the C-68 ballasted to 86 oz. Normally I would have ballasted heavier, but I still needed to be able to thermal at low altitudes (below 100 ft) in the cycling air, which I unfortunately had to do a few times (I prefer to just stay high and not have to demonstrate my low altitude skills) .

I could have ballasted the ST's to the same weight (they are full strength), but my C-68 was slightly more expendable. No point risking my brand new ST's when I needed the C-68's weight anyway

I also brought my 68 oz Disser Aspire since my model box fits 4 Aspires--just in case the forecast called for some morning dead air, although the ST's are equally perfect for that (in fact, my best dead air performances have been with the heavier C-68. But I've flown it in a lot more contests). I flew the Disser in the Visalia contest and was more proficient on it than the Maxa (which I only have a dozen flights on).

I'm still unclear about the differences between the maxi and icon2 at least on paper.

Same price, maxa a bit lighter, and different foil? What else?

Icon 2 is available but masa is still ramping up

Originally Posted by Ben Clerx

The weather forecast was for wind, so I left the 61 ounce, 4m Maxa at home (I didn't even have ballast for it). I flew my 3 Aspires: 2 ST's (72 oz) and a C-68 (79 oz). ST's on day 1 in the rain (only a little wind). Day 2 was the ST and the standard C-68, depending on the wind. Day 3 was with a lightly ballasted ST for the first flight. The rest of the day was the C-68 ballasted to 86 oz. Normally I would have ballasted heavier, but I still needed to be able to thermal at low altitudes (below 100 ft) in the cycling air, which I unfortunately had to do a few times (I prefer to just stay high and not have to demonstrate my low altitude skills) .

I could have ballasted the ST's to the same weight (they are full strength), but my C-68 was slightly more expendable. No point risking my brand new ST's when I needed the C-68's weight anyway

I also brought my 68 oz Disser Aspire since my model box fits 4 Aspires--just in case the forecast called for some morning dead air, although the ST's are equally perfect for that (in fact, my best dead air performances have been with the heavier C-68. But I've flown it in a lot more contests). I flew the Disser in the Visalia contest and was more proficient on it than the Maxa (which I only have a dozen flights on).

Ahem - the maxa is only 3.9 meters

Is it possible to have some info on profiles (thickness, curvature with intrados flatted). This is important to judge a plane.

It seems that the thickness of the profiles is 8.8 or 9% and 2% curvature if the photos published on the web are ok.

Any confirmation?

Originally Posted by Avaldes

Actually, given today's materials costs and the labor involved in building these models, $2k plus isn't that much.

I'm sure you'll be very very surprised to know what is the difference of wage in average in Ukraine and any other country. USA for example...

Hi Guys,

We have been snowed under in Boulder, but today I was able to test my Maxa with the new stiffer production center section. The results were great. I launched with full tension , Ober winch with Lucas motor in our F3J configuration (braided plus 1.28 mono on the airleg). Launch height has improved 50-75 feet over the previous configuration. There is still bend from the tips as this is a light 4m ship, but nothing compared to the previous version. The launches were very, very stable with no hint of falling off. I have even moved the tow hook amost all the way back. She goes vertical and pulls extremly hard all the way up.

The good news is the new section only added 1 oz to the all up weight. Mine is now at 63.2 oz.

As others have said the float and handling characteristics of this model are amazing. This is a very pilot friendly model. At this weight the plane's wing loading is 7.1 oz/sqft, which is the lightest wing loading model available and you can really see the difference with any sort of energy on the field at all.

IMO this is a great one and we will be seeing a lot of them in competition!

Thanks very much Barry!

Thanks for the report Mike!

Originally Posted by mikeverzuh

Hi Guys,

We have been snowed under in Boulder, but today I was able to test my Maxa with the new stiffer production center section. The results were great. I launched with full tension , Ober winch with Lucas motor in our F3J configuration (braided plus 1.28 mono on the airleg). Launch height has improved 50-75 feet over the previous configuration. There is still bend from the tips as this is a light 4m ship, but nothing compared to the previous version. The launches were very, very stable with no hint of falling off. I have even moved the tow hook amost all the way back. She goes vertical and pulls extremly hard all the way up.

The good news is the new section only added 1 oz to the all up weight. Mine is now at 63.2 oz.

As others have said the float and handling characteristics of this model are amazing. This is a very pilot friendly model. At this weight the plane's wing loading is 7.1 oz/sqft, which is the lightest wing loading model available and you can really see the difference with any sort of energy on the field at all.

IMO this is a great one and we will be seeing a lot of them in competition!

Thanks very much Barry!

lowest loading for a Vlad/ Kennedy offering right ?

I have the specs for three models in front of me that start at 6.46 and at the larger end stop at 7.06...3.5 meters to 4.0....all lower than the reports on the maxa...but what does that mean anyways ?

However back on track, I am interested in the spar change - was notified pre-Visalia that this was in the newer models - any word on the changes made there? Looks like a better spar for sure if the launches are translating higher.

Have you put it under a real two man tow in a little wind?

Barry should comment on the spar changes. My observations are that the Carbon 45 material looks thicker and overall the skin is stronger in combination with Spar to surface changes.

Regarding the launch tests, I would say what I ran was very much equivalent to a 2-man tow in 3-4mph breeze. We have done quite a bit of comparison of the F3J with winch method to a 2-man tow to support this. The increased center stiffness was very clear in observing the launches compared to the previous layup.

My tow-hook is now 1/8"-3/16" away from the far back slot position, which allows for greatly increased pull on launch, something I was reticent to do on the previous layup.