Thanks queadlunnrau, It sounds like the Katana is more of a handful to manage than the light as air Venus but can handle wind much better.
A friend of mine introduced me to slope soaring 3D Planes when the winds taper off, but even at less than 8km/h (5mph) the Venus is a bit hard to control at times and has zero penetration of course.

As you mentioned, there are so many things which the Venus excels at; especially those mid-air catches and parachutes
Since acquiring the Venus 2x & a Sebart Shark, fishy looking planes have really grown on me; kind of like Aston Martin and Maserati..... you either like em' or think "hey it's a whaleshark on wheels."

Me thinks a Katana will be just the right balance for the larger flying sites and the battery hatch is a very cool improvement.

-8th

Originally Posted by queadlunnrau

Crazy how things always work out. Just traded my beloved Venus yesterday to a buddy who fell in love with it instantly when I let him fly it. I didn't want to part with it, but his offer for a $170 plane straight across I just couldn't pass up. Plus I've always wanted the red venus which was out of stock when I ordered it months ago.

Long story short, I log into Nitroplanes to buy a red venus and POW this Katana was just screaming my name. Hopefully it will be just as good as his lil cousin.

queadlunnrau,
I've got the Tech One (Hobbyking) Piaget that I've been flying but having some on-going issues with. Mainly with the built-in aileron differential, getting the CG sorted out & now needing some fresh lipos. It's pretty flimsy being EPP & it's kind of a pain to build too with all the CF braces & stiffeners to install, but I like the way it just floats around with hardly any throttle...

So, while I'm waiting for some new Nano-tech batteries to arrive I thought I'd check Nitroplanes (again) to look at their new Tech One line up (again) when all of the sudden, BAM! Sure as anything this Katana EPO ARF ended up in my cart & is now being delivered to my house by Mr. Brown!

Anyway, I'm all in. Just hoping for a quick build & then having a good 3D trainer to practice with...

RCAV8T0R,

Not sure how the Piaget is setup, but the Katana has a seperate servo for each aileron and on my DX7 I have it setup for flaperons so each servo is on a seperate channel so I can sub trim each aileron servo.

As for the CF braces, they are cake on this bird, only 8 to worry about and 4 of them just line up to a groove and you glue them in. The fuse and wings have a large CF brace installed inside already, this is nice because on the Venus the fiberglass braces were on the side and always unglued on tough landings.

I got the kit with motor, no servos nor ESC. She was a quick build, easily under and hour with installing servo's. Though I took my time using Chinese EPO foam glue and waiting for it to cure on each glued part before moving on.

I am getting a little coupling on a KE, but it's prolly my CG is off since I don't fly with the landing gear and with lighter 1000mAh 3s Nano-techs, other than that she does everything I input and does it well.

i was reading this thread and i read where 8thelephant recently bought a Sebart Shark. Could you or anyone tell me where i can buy this plane. Thanks for your help.

Loving the Katana more and more each time I fly her ... She attracts a crowd for sure.

Tech-One Katana Uncut Footage (5 min 1 sec)

Thinking of getting one of these :-) what receiver are you guys using in yours? does the AR400 fit or do you need one with end connectors like the AR6115e?

Thanks!

Friend of mine has the Katana. I believe you will need a receiver with end connectors so it will fit in the "pocket" and close the magnetic hatch. Plane flys great..sure you would be happy with it.

Originally Posted by khooke

Thinking of getting one of these :-) what receiver are you guys using in yours? does the AR400 fit or do you need one with end connectors like the AR6115e?

Thanks!

There are a couple of places to mount an rx, mfg suggests under the main wings with the esc, you'll need something with plugs on the end like an ar6115e. Or u can mount it inside the hatch were u put a lipo, than anything goes if u don't put a large lipo in.

Actually looking at it closer, you could mount an ar400/600 etc where the mfg suggests, just upside down sideways.

And don't think twice about getting this plane, its a great flyer. Makes me look like a better pilot than I really am

Originally Posted by queadlunnrau

There are a couple of places to mount an rx, mfg suggests under the main wings with the esc...

I believe the pocket on the right side of the fuselage (with the magnetic cover) is for the ESC. My friend has both the ESC and receiver mounted in the pocket and has not had any problems.

Originally Posted by queadlunnrau

...Or u can mount it inside the hatch were u put a lipo, than anything goes if u don't put a large lipo in....

I believe the battery mounts in the cut-out under the wing. Although I think I see what you are saying. The specs are not too accurate and only call for a 1000mah lipo, so it would need to be mounted likely well in front of the existing battery cut-out under the wing.

The specs also say the AUW (including battery) is only 570g (20 oz) which is basically the weight of the plane WITHOUT the battery. If you use 450 or 480 size motor and a 1500-1800 lipo then things should balance out nicely with the battery in the cut-out under the wing and the ESC in the "pocket"...I suppose you can put the receiver where ever you are comfortable with it.

When properly setup, this plane flies really well! Hard to beat the Katana's ability to perform...especially at the price they are being sold for!

Originally Posted by KE Spin

I believe the pocket on the right side of the fuselage (with the magnetic cover) is for the ESC. My friend has both the ESC and receiver mounted in the pocket and has not had any problems.

Negative, on page 6 of the katana manual, the mfg show both the esc and rx to be mounted under the wings. The pocket is for the lipo. But i was just pointing out where the manual says to mount them. Its cool ur friend was able to mount the esc and rx in magnetic hatch, would make sense is you wanted a more aft cg to mount the batt under the wings.

But I'm happy with the stock cg so mines setup per the manual.

Katana Manual

Yes, see what you are saying but the specs seem to be a little goofed up. What I have listed properly balances and hides the electronics as desired. Not the first time a manual would be incorrect.

I personally have a Multiplex Parkmaster and can see where Techone apparently "borrowed heavily" from it's design. When you assemble the Katana in the same manner as the Parkmaster then it all makes sense.

Originally Posted by KE Spin

Yes, see what you are saying but the specs seem to be a little goofed up. What I have listed properly balances and hides the electronics as desired. Not the first time a manual would be incorrect.

I personally have a Multiplex Parkmaster and can see where Techone apparently "borrowed heavily" from it's design. When you assemble the Katana in the same manner as the Parkmaster then it all makes sense.

I'm leaning towards the way ur friend has it installed and am thinking the manual has it wrong like you state. The manual is saying mount it in the cabin even tho the cad drawing shows them mounted in the hole in the fuse.

But either installation should look nice, mine looks pretty clean, tho if I ever get some heavier 1300mah lipos I would deff remount the electronics per what I believe now is wrong in the manual.

Dontcha love it when the instructions are misleading. Oh well, as they say, "it's all good."

With the 1000mah battery, you may need to have it in the pocket as it is farther forward and the battery is so light.

I would go with the bigger lipos (1500-1800mah). You can get them very reasonable at valuehobby.com. They should fit snug and balance the cg in the cut-out under the wing and be held very nicely by the velcro strap.

Great flying little plane.

Howdy TechOne Katana Fans,

Maidened my Katana Rx-R version from Nitroplanes yesterday & I've posted a few photos of those first flights. What a fun ship to fly! She flies more like a full-bodied ship & she can handle wind. Much different than the flat plank profile foamies I've been flying as of late...

Took off easily but was nose-heavy based on the spec'd CG that I used. Fixed that on the next flights by moving the 3S 1300mAh packs back a bit in the battery bay. Snaps well, flat spins are easy (as they should be), but I had some coupling issues with KE passes with the wind & wing rock during hover attempts. These are my humble observations as I'm still a novice when it comes to 3D. I landed her hard once so the lightweight wire LG splayed out & let the prop hit the deck. Suffered only minor scrapes but seems like this could be a weak point if you slam her down doing harrier landings or don't grease her in on standard touchdowns. However, she's a fun one for touch-n-go's but just need to be a little gentle with her...

I'm using an Airtronics 2.4ghz system & an (NLA) RX-60 6ch park flyer Rx stacked on top of the T-Motor 30A ESC in the fuse cutout under the wing. Both fit nicely likey they're meant to be there. The 1300mAh batteries I'm using fit snugly & basically centered in the battery bay. Getting about 7 full minutes of mixed throttle flying using some Value Hobby G-Force 30C Lipos. Nice touch having a dedicated battery compartment. I like that a lot...

Had a few challenges setting up the throws so there would be equal deflection in both up & down and left & right directions. Just a matter of changing the servo arm angles & doing some centering adjustments on the Tx...

This bird is fairly new & (sort of) unique in the RC aircraft market so she definitely attracts attention at the field. She's great fun & now I can't wait to get back to the field to get more practice with her. IMHO she's a great 3D trainer. Light & nimble but solid & stable at the same time. TechOne definitely has a winner with this ship...