Don't get me wrong. I shop at Walmart and Horizon Hobby

You can get quality products at both stores.

But the craftmanship, Electrocnics, and Flying characteristics is where they differ the most.

I agree. And after *plenty* of great fun with Horizon products, I'm excited to dip my toes in the really nice stuff and try my first "Neiman Marcus" airframe next week once I get this Super Vyper built. ;-)

Originally Posted by Aerocowboy

I agree. And after *plenty* of Horizon products, I'm excited to try my first "Neiman Marcus" airframe next week once I get it built. ;-)

Ok, so Neiman Marcus might be exaggerating.

3DHS products are awesome. I have built well over a dozen of them and have flown many of their models.

I think that alot of the price might be in that Spekrtum technology in the Splendor. I am not really familiar with AS3X..

Either way, I would love to fly The Splendor.

Guess it's a 6S plane because it goes beyond Pattern "not just the ability to perform elegant F3A sequence aerobatics, but extreme 3D stunts as well"; 3D is not part of Pattern.

http://www.horizonhobby.com/products...ology-EFL10250

It's on my list!

JRB,

I tend to go more by the 'engine/motor-size' designation of the plane. The size of the power-package typically contributes more to the overall cost of a plane than the airframe, as it usually drives hardware & servo requirements, as well. In other words, 50-size planes generally cost more to put in the air than 40-size planes of similar quality, even when the wingspans are similar.

Joel

It's nice, But for the "money" And given a choice, I'd go with the carbon Z yak. This one to me looks a little to plain.

Doesn't work real well on a scratch built Joel.

Looking at the UK price of £289, I think it is good value. There are not many quality F3A aircraft of that size you can put together for that sort of cash. Most kits cost £150 and £140 more is somewhat pushing it for ESC/motor/servos etc.

I only see 2 negatives. One is that the 3D is more of an extra than it's main purpose and I hope nobody buys it first and foremost for that when looking at it in a LHS. The second is the AS3X being illegal for competitions. Even then, I guess it is OK if you can prove the gains are turned off. NB: This is of no issue to me as I can't do a single aerobatic move that I think looks good!

Originally Posted by jrb

Doesn't work real well on a scratch built Joel.

???

We were comparing the cost of putting an ARF together vs the cost of this 50-size BNF. Scratch-builds have absolutely nothing to do with the discussion.

Joel

Originally Posted by turboparker

We were comparing the cost of putting an ARF together vs the cost of this 50-size BNF. Scratch-builds have absolutely nothing to do with the discussion.

Not what I was doing when I posted the Pattern plane that I did -- was going for same size model; and of the style I thought the Slendor appeared to be to me.

Since it's meant to do things w/o air over the wings -- it needs more POWER.

Wonder if it would do Pattern (only -- no 3D sh-t) on 5S?

VALUE: Last year I built the Acromaster ARF (foam), with decent components $550 dollars total , plus all the time and gathering up all the correct components and parts the painting and assembly.......In the end I had an aircraft I do not like, has weak landing gear and a weak motor mount. BTW figure in an AR635 and it would be over 600!!!!

FIT/FINISH: If the Splendor is similar to the Visionaire (I have one), the fit, finish and assembly will be AWESOME !!!!

THE AR635 Rx: dont knock it until you have tried it, remember standard Spectrum Rx is about $60-70 bucks, so this only adds $50, and a whole lot of wind capability.

Ask me if I like the Visionaire?????

Originally Posted by jrb

......Wonder if it would do Pattern on 5S?

Specs say 5.5 pounds, 19.7 oz/sq ft WL, and 5-7 min flights on a 6s 3200 with the 525Kv motor & the included APC 14x7E. The demo video doesn't show any extended verticals. However, the plane appears to hover just fine on 6s, so you may be able to prop it for F3A on 5s. Looks like the pack mounts considerably forward of MAC. It would be a matter of choosing a 5s pack that weighs enough to get the CG right for precision flying.



Joel

I fly a lot of planes w/60BL (vs 46) on 6S-A123 (near 5S) w/14x12 and get very sprightly performance @ 30amps; i.e. Toledo Special.

Jim's RC Electric Toledo near 100MPH (2 min 6 sec)

My calcs indicate the 50BL/Kv525 should be very nice with 14x7 on 5S.

!

Originally Posted by jrb

I fly a lot of planes w/60BL (vs 46) on 6S-A123 (near 5S) w/14x12 and get very sprightly performance @ 30amps; i.e. Toledo Special.

So do you think this plane could go near 100 mph?
Just speculating

For reference, I fly a SebArt Angel at 6lbs on 5S. The motor is an Axi 4120/18 with a Kv of about 515 if I remember correctly. For prop, I use an APC 15x10E. With that set up, the plane tops out at around 70-75 mph or so. I am currentlt flying the Intermediate sequence with it and I can make the stall turns as tall as I like them. Not sure that it has unlimited vertical as I normally stall turn before I can't see the plane any longer .

The plane was flown at a contest were the sustained winds were at 20 mph with gusts to 28 mph (the club had a weather station). That was the only time where I felt I really could use more speed. Going into the wind, each pass seemed to take forever.

The set-up is good for about 1100-1200 watts depending on the battery being used. On a 5.5 lb this should be more than adequate. The one thing people seem to forget is that it takes more power to generate speed than it does generate thrust. Taken to the extreme, an RC helicopter is able to hover on about 40 w/lb... More than anything is a matter of picking the right prop for the application and power available.

Teo