Mini-Review Electric Seawind by Great Planes/Electrifly

[burkefj]

I suppose you could also use a bit of derma or hinge tape on the outside to hold them on in inconspicuous places, I do that on my P-38. My seawind is on the way today

Frank

Originally Posted by Thomas B

Good idea...cleaner installation.

Do your aileron pushrods clear the wing mount?

[tic]

It's pretty much finished.... No interference with the aileron pushrod tubes or linkages... I used the little futaba servos towerhobbies reccomended, maybe that's the difference.... Took me about 9 hours in all to get it done.. I still don't have a battery for it so it has to be balanced and the stickers put on and that's all... A buddy is loaning me a 3 cell 1340 pack for tomorrow so I can maiden it off of grass... I am waiting for a 1500mah 3 S pack. It is pretty simple for an ARF but no way can any human assemble this plane in one hour.

[djdavies]

As I am resisting the cost of LiPo, make my own Nimh packs, and have a Seawind on the way, is there any observation out there that the fuse has any room to jam in 10-12 sub "C" cells?

[SON OF PALEFACE]

Originally Posted by Thomas B

There is a built in spar....and, there is the center wing fairing already glued in place to deal with as well. Not a great candidate for cutting in half, I am afraid.

Also, the one piece fuse and tail assembly of the model is nearly as long as the wingspan of the model. That could be carefully cut in half at rhe step in the hull, I suppose.

The factory parts shot is attached. Without the foam float tips, the wing is about 36 inches long. The fuse is still nearly 33 inches long, so cutting the wing alone does not gain you much.......

OK TB , thanks for your help.........

[LandCruiser]

Well,
I went back to the LHS and picked up the last Seawind they had in stock.
This is the first foam plane I have purchased and can say that I am a little disappointed in the finish.Am I wrong to expect a better quality finish for my 99.99 + tax, or are all foamies this way?
109.00 for my e-flite extra 260 is a steal compared to this thing. The rear of the wing where it joins the fuse has BB's (?) of foam flaking off from the edges. Dents in foam from cardboard supports during shipping.
I slid the fuse back and forth on the supplied stand to see where I needed to trim the stand for a level fit.....when I removed fuse I noticed 2 gouges running down the bottom of the fuse from the supplied stand! Are all foamies this fragile? I was considering purchasing a e-flite p-47 or p-38, but after this I am wondering if I should stay away from foamies?

[tic]

It's hit or miss.. This isn't the best foam around... You can expect some blemishes and gouges. It still looks great from 5 feet away... It's not something to have on display for closeup admiring, but it should be really fun to fly..

[LandCruiser]

Originally Posted by tic

It's hit or miss.. This isn't the best foam around... You can expect some blemishes and gouges. It still looks great from 5 feet away... It's not something to have on display for closeup admiring, but it should be really fun to fly..

I guess I was expecting more for my $100.00
I picked it up for a float fly coming up on the 25th.
Never been to a float fly event before...so it should be fun. They are supposed to have a "spot landing" contest.Not sure how that works at a float fly event, but will enter that with my "franken slow stick on floats".
The Seawind will be for boring holes in the sky I hope.

[Thomas B]

Originally Posted by djdavies

As I am resisting the cost of LiPo, make my own Nimh packs, and have a Seawind on the way, is there any observation out there that the fuse has any room to jam in 10-12 sub "C" cells?

Sub C cells are not appropriate to this model.

Well, with the Lipos, the model is 21.9 oz. With 10 Sub C 3300s, the model weight goes to something like 40 plus oz...A really bad idea.

This is a sub Speed 400 model...even a 10 cell 1100 NiMH pack weighs in at at about 10 oz....making the all up weight of the model around 27-28 oz.

It would probably fly, but wouild not be any fun with the nearly 20% increase in gross weight.

[tic]

What it lacks in attention to detail and foam molding quality, it more than makes up for in flying ability.. I maidened mine today and it flies every bit as good as the video... Can't wait to get it to the lake!

[djdavies]

Originally Posted by Thomas B

Sub C cells are not appropriate to this model.

Well, with the Lipos, the model is 21.9 oz. With 10 Sub C 3300s, the model weight goes to something like 40 plus oz...A really bad idea.

This is a sub Speed 400 model...even a 10 cell 1100 NiMH pack weighs in at at about 10 oz....making the all up weight of the model around 27-28 oz.

It would probably fly, but wouild not be any fun with the nearly 20% increase in gross weight.

Not what I wanted to hear, but thanks for the info. I got it today, and while there is plenty of room to JAM all sorts of cells into it, the weight would get way out of hand.

[Thomas B]

Originally Posted by tic

It's hit or miss.. This isn't the best foam around... You can expect some blemishes and gouges. It still looks great from 5 feet away... It's not something to have on display for closeup admiring, but it should be really fun to fly..

I am cutting back on foam, but foam seaplanes do make a lot of sense. I now have three of them...

[peterv]

Yes, they float, don't warp, and the covering does not come loose from moisture! Foam and water go well together!

[no stick]

I'm waiting for mine to come in from Tower Hobbies. The Great Planes Electrify site lists recommended accessories including 11.1 volt 2100mAh lipo and high torque Futabe S3114 servos. Has anyone tried the 2100 mAh lipo? I have a few and also some TP 1320 mAh 11.1 volt.

Ed

[Thomas B]

I have not tried anything bigger than a 3S 1700. Mine is faintly nose heavy with that pack, so why make it even more heavy and/or nose heavy with the 2100?

I'd rather give up a few minutes of duration than add the extra weight.

[no stick]

What is the brand and weight of the 3S 1700?

Ed