Discussion F-16 Fighting Falcon ARF

[Flyboone]

F-16 Fighting Falcon ARF

30-3/4" wingspan, 48-1/2" long, 35-1/2 oz. flying weight. All molded foam construction with lots of detail and a very smooth finish, painted with matte paint. Total assembly time is about one hour due to the low parts count and beautiful fit. The 70mm fan includes an OUTRUNNER motor that provides lots of thrust for quick takeoffs with a strong climbout. The ducting is very clean giving the F-16 impressive speed, but in a model large enough for easy flight orientation. Battery changes are quick: just remove the canopy (it is held in place with magnets) and swap it out. Access to the 70mm fan unit and 45A ESC is also very simple: just remove 2 screws and the entire middle section of the main duct can be removed. This is great for those who want to hop this one up or simply need easy access for maintenance and blade balancing. The main landing gear are installed without using any tools and only one allen screw installs the nose wheel steering. Model can be flown either off a runway with the included landing gear or it is easily hand launched. Flight times are about 5 minutes using the included 4 cell 2100 mAh LiPo battery. Landings are quite slow due to the large lifting body shape of the F-16. Bring it in with the nose high and it will slow to a walk. Includes 5 pre-installed servos. Requires a 4 channel radio.

For more information and to watch the video click HERE

Use this thread to discuss any and all things related to F-16 Fighting Falcon

[napOfTheEarth]

Originally Posted by Flyboone

F-16 Fighting Falcon ARF

30-3/4" wingspan, 48-1/2" long, 35-1/2 oz. flying weight. All molded foam construction with lots of detail and a very smooth finish, painted with matte paint. Total assembly time is about one hour due to the low parts count and beautiful fit. The 70mm fan includes an OUTRUNNER motor that provides lots of thrust for quick takeoffs with a strong climbout. The ducting is very clean giving the F-16 impressive speed, but in a model large enough for easy flight orientation. Battery changes are quick: just remove the canopy (it is held in place with magnets) and swap it out. Access to the 70mm fan unit and 45A ESC is also very simple: just remove 2 screws and the entire middle section of the main duct can be removed. This is great for those who want to hop this one up or simply need easy access for maintenance and blade balancing. The main landing gear are installed without using any tools and only one allen screw installs the nose wheel steering. Model can be flown either off a runway with the included landing gear or it is easily hand launched. Flight times are about 5 minutes using the included 4 cell 2100 mAh LiPo battery. Landings are quite slow due to the large lifting body shape of the F-16. Bring it in with the nose high and it will slow to a walk. Includes 5 pre-installed servos. Requires a 4 channel radio.

For more information and to watch the video click HERE

Use this thread to discuss any and all things related to F-16 Fighting Falcon

Hello

Has anyone flown this bird before?

Care to comment on all-stock thrust-to-weight ratio?

Can we see pics of ease of access to electronics - maintenance?

Any spare parts?

Looks like a winner!
Thanks!!

[Michael Paxton]

Saw this jet today at Hobby Lobby!
This thing is a must have!!!! It's gorgeous!!
(And with a LS-1400 in it?.....Zooom Zooom!!!)

[mjbennett9]

I was VERY excited to both order and receive (quickly) the plane. It's very beautiful and large.

However, my first impressions of a few things led me to think it's too good to be true.

1. Manual is simple, but not in color and not updated. It shows uninstalled servos (if you can see that small to make them out). It leaves out several questions and building steps. For example, is the included glue cheap and takes 10 hours to dry and you should tape it in place? Doesn't say. Says you can use 5 min epoxy which I did, but you have to move quick and little time to clean up before it hardens. So I was left with a bit of epoxy sticking out of cracks because if I wiped it, it would show the spread. Included glue might have been easier, but also I've used included glues before and they did anything but glue.

2. I had to dig deep in cockpit to find servo wires (thought ESC ch3. wire was missing for a while. Also, the servo leads are not labeled and the other ends are buried so you don't know what is what.

3. Landing gear extremely hard to snap on--thought I was going to snap plan in half from force needed.

4. Canopy was at least 6mm too long. Even after shaving it down, it does not fit right. Magnets weren't aligned right.

5. Nose (about 4" worth) is just a cheap piece of hallow plastic that will surely dent from a pebble kicking up from the ground. They should have used something more solid. Tacky!

6. The right elevator was not assembled correctly. While I did dry fit everything before gluing, I did not check for full range of motion on all moving parts-I just saw that it moved.

7. directions do not give a hint of where to run, and where NOT to run the receiver wire.

8. Linkages/clevis' are cheap, cheap, cheap, and do not include a rubber o-ring to go around the linkage to keep if from popping off. The clevis' were questionably secure. O-rings really are needed. Also, there's approx. 1/16" of an inch play in all control surfaces because of poor linkages.

9. I do not like the idea that the fake bombs are glued OVER the servos. What if one goes bad?

I called support on these items and right away could tell I was just a customer that was interferring with their day of "work". Very to the point, not looking to help, almost rude.

Had I not put together the plane, I got the impression that they would have sent a new one (who paid shipping would be iffy). They "suggested" had I checked everything first, there wouldn't be this problem. I did check for any damage, but I can't know 100% if they did shabby quality control on their end. I did my best to check everything.
As for the canopy, he was suggesting to trim it down, which I already tried. The other problem is they installed the metal (for magnets) incorrectly as well. As for the elevator, he suggested I trim it. yup, cut my new plane! Now I already know/knew that trick, but why should I do that? But it's not just that, the hinge was installed at an angle and not right anyway.

So I'm thinking they'll send me new parts out overnight so I can fly this weekend. Nope! They do NOT have any replacement parts until approx. 6 weeks out (end of October). Yes, that's right. No replacement parts.

Ok, I'm already bummed out at this point and had a few more questions that were not obvious in the manual (if you can call it that). I did have one that had to be answered. Where do I run the antenna wire? Good question, since "manual" only shows a pic of where to put the unit, but not how/where to run the antenna. Support in a flip way, says, "I don't know, where ever you think it should go". Can you believe that!!! so I guess I should go off and start punching holes in my new expensive plane and guessing where it should go.

I would NOT say Hobby Lobby is customer friendly. It's a REAL shame because the products are really attractive and best I've seen for what they are. I typically like a true ARF that takes 20 or 40 hours. But having this beauty of a plane in an hour is nice. They say an hour, but taking your time is more like 2 to 3 hours--after dry fitting, double checking everything, etc. Oh, and in my case, shaving canopy, adjusting trims, trying to find antenna location, etc. I still have not found an antenna location yet.

UPDATE: The next day I received an email from Jay at Hobby Lobby. EXCELLENT guy. He was very nice and was even willing to take assembled plane back by "making it fit" back into the box. I thought that was very accommodating of him. After all that, I ended up using my 5 years of plane building skills to make what I had, work so I could fly this weekend. Jay will order the parts for me still and ship when they come in.

Also, I forgot to mention that the battery compartment needs more attention too. The video on their site shows two straps, but manual and plane only have one. I ended up adding more velcro on my own. Their one flimsy strap is not good enough for this type of plane and a heave 4S battery.

Lastly, the manual does not say what throws all the control surfaces should be. So, I tend to go for close to max with EXP set to about -50%. We'll see...

Well, I'm hoping to have a good flight(s) this weekend. :-)

[Sid3ways]

Sorry to hear about all the issues you are having with the plane MJ. It is too bad that HL seems to want to be the first on the block of major US distributors with larger foamy jets that they are overlooking normal quality issues and poor designs to get them out.

The F5s retract problem, fan issues, single elevator servo (that was changed). Not very good to see issues with this bird already.

[AtTheMet]

Just received and built the Hobby-Lobby F16 last night. My story is a little different than mjbennet9's. I'd like to address his complaints.

1. Manual is simple, but not in color and not updated. It shows uninstalled servos (if you can see that small to make them out). It leaves out several questions and building steps.

THE MANUAL SHOWS THE PARTS KIT, THATS WHY THE SERVOS DISPLAY AS UNINSTALLED. THERE WERE NO BUILD STEPS LEFT OUT THAT I COULD FIND.

For example, is the included glue cheap and takes 10 hours to dry and you should tape it in place? Doesn't say. Says you can use 5 min epoxy which I did, but you have to move quick and little time to clean up before it hardens. So I was left with a bit of epoxy sticking out of cracks because if I wiped it, it would show the spread. Included glue might have been easier, but also I've used included glues before and they did anything but glue.

I USED THE GLUE INCLUDED IN THE KIT, WORKED JUST GREAT. 5-MINUTE EPOXY WOULD WORK AS WELL, YOU WILL HAVE SOME OVERRUN NO MATTER WHAT YOU USE.

2. I had to dig deep in cockpit to find servo wires (thought ESC ch3. wire was missing for a while. Also, the servo leads are not labeled and the other ends are buried so you don't know what is what.

ALL SERVO END LEADS WERE RIGHT THERE IN THE FUSELAGE AREA. THE RUDDER/FRONT GEAR WIRE IS OBVIOUS, AND THE 2 ELEVATOR AND AILERON SERVOS ARE JOINED WITH A Y-ADAPTER. ONE OF THE ELEV/AIL PAIR COULD HAVE BEEN MARKED.

3. Landing gear extremely hard to snap on--thought I was going to snap plan in half from force needed.

MINE WORKED JUST FINE. UNSNAPPED THE LATCH, INSERTED THE GEAR, AND SNAPPED BACK, GOOD AND TIGHT. GREAT FIT.

4. Canopy was at least 6mm too long. Even after shaving it down, it does not fit right. Magnets weren't aligned right.

MY CANOPY WAS TOO LONG AS WELL. TOOK ABOUT 3 MINUTES WITH AN X-ACTO AND IT NOW FITS GREAT.

5. Nose (about 4" worth) is just a cheap piece of hallow plastic that will surely dent from a pebble kicking up from the ground. They should have used something more solid. Tacky!

I AGREE. THIS COULD HAVE BEEN ENGINEERED BETTER.

6. The right elevator was not assembled correctly. While I did dry fit everything before gluing, I did not check for full range of motion on all moving parts-I just saw that it moved.

NO PROBLEM HERE, MINE WAS FINE.

7. directions do not give a hint of where to run, and where NOT to run the receiver wire.

I USE SPEKTRUM DX6i, DON'T HAVE THAT PROBLEM.

8. Linkages/clevis' are cheap, cheap, cheap, and do not include a rubber o-ring to go around the linkage to keep if from popping off. The clevis' were questionably secure. O-rings really are needed. Also, there's approx. 1/16" of an inch play in all control surfaces because of poor linkages.

INCLUDED CLEVIS ARE SIMILAR TO THE OLD ONES WE USED TO USE ON GASSERS, THEY SNAP TOGETHER ON THE END. COMPARED TO THE STUFF I NORMALLY USE, I HAVE TO AGREE HERE, I WILL CHANGE MINE OUT EVENTUALLY.

9. I do not like the idea that the fake bombs are glued OVER the servos. What if one goes bad?

EASY FIX. INSTALL WITH CA, THEN IF SERVO GOES BAD, POP/PRY/CUT OFF THE WING TANKS, REPLACE SERVO, THEN REINSTALL. I PERSONALLY LIKE THE WAY THE WING TANKS COVER UP THE SERVO ARM AND LINKAGE. NOT SURE IF I'LL USE THEM THOUGH, DUE TO SPEED ISSUES.

I called support on these items and right away could tell I was just a customer that was interferring with their day of "work". Very to the point, not looking to help, almost rude.

I HAVE NEVER EVER HAD THAT PROBLEM WITH ANYONE AT HOBBY-LOBBY. SOUNDS LIKE YOU WERE JUST IN A BAD MOOD.

Had I not put together the plane, I got the impression that they would have sent a new one (who paid shipping would be iffy). They "suggested" had I checked everything first, there wouldn't be this problem. I did check for any damage, but I can't know 100% if they did shabby quality control on their end. I did my best to check everything.
As for the canopy, he was suggesting to trim it down, which I already tried. The other problem is they installed the metal (for magnets) incorrectly as well. As for the elevator, he suggested I trim it. yup, cut my new plane! Now I already know/knew that trick, but why should I do that? But it's not just that, the hinge was installed at an angle and not right anyway.

So I'm thinking they'll send me new parts out overnight so I can fly this weekend. Nope! They do NOT have any replacement parts until approx. 6 weeks out (end of October). Yes, that's right. No replacement parts.

IF YOU NOTICE, THE WEB SITE LISTS THE PARTS AVAILABLITY SCHEDULE.

Ok, I'm already bummed out at this point and had a few more questions that were not obvious in the manual (if you can call it that). I did have one that had to be answered. Where do I run the antenna wire? Good question, since "manual" only shows a pic of where to put the unit, but not how/where to run the antenna. Support in a flip way, says, "I don't know, where ever you think it should go". Can you believe that!!! so I guess I should go off and start punching holes in my new expensive plane and guessing where it should go.

I would NOT say Hobby Lobby is customer friendly. It's a REAL shame because the products are really attractive and best I've seen for what they are. I typically like a true ARF that takes 20 or 40 hours. But having this beauty of a plane in an hour is nice. They say an hour, but taking your time is more like 2 to 3 hours--after dry fitting, double checking everything, etc. Oh, and in my case, shaving canopy, adjusting trims, trying to find antenna location, etc. I still have not found an antenna location yet.

UPDATE: The next day I received an email from Jay at Hobby Lobby. EXCELLENT guy. He was very nice and was even willing to take assembled plane back by "making it fit" back into the box. I thought that was very accommodating of him. After all that, I ended up using my 5 years of plane building skills to make what I had, work so I could fly this weekend. Jay will order the parts for me still and ship when they come in.

Also, I forgot to mention that the battery compartment needs more attention too. The video on their site shows two straps, but manual and plane only have one. I ended up adding more velcro on my own. Their one flimsy strap is not good enough for this type of plane and a heave 4S battery.

INSTALLED VELCRO STRAP IS NOT FLIMSY AT ALL, MORE THAN ENOUGH TO HOLD 4C. IF YOU FEEL LIKE YOU NEED MORE, THEN JUST INSTALL A SECOND ONE.

Lastly, the manual does not say what throws all the control surfaces should be. So, I tend to go for close to max with EXP set to about -50%. We'll see...

THIS IS NOT A 3D PLANE. IT IS A DUCTED FAN JET. WITH THE SPEED YOU WON'T NEED MUCH ON THE THROWS.

Well, I'm hoping to have a good flight(s) this weekend. :-)

GOOD LUCK.

[mjbennett9]

AtTheMet, do you work for Hobby Lobby? Anyway, don't want to get in a bashing session with a fellow rc'er. My point was that we are not all great builders and the manual could be better written like the phase 3 EDF manual, for example.
http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=725426
And I called Ed at Hobby Lobby with a great attitude. He was rude. Jay, was AWESOME and treated me like a customer. As for throws, no kidding it's not 3D, but
I've built many an ARF, and ALL, even GWS, includes "recommended" throws. Oh, please message the group when your 4cell battery finally drops out at 500' doing a roll

[AtTheMet]

Nope, sorry, I don't work for Hobby Lobby. Just relating my experience with the F-16. Honestly, you don't even need a manual with this kit. Glue on the nose, fitted wings, elevators, and rudder, install landing gear, hook up rudder and elevator linkage, install receiver, put in battery, and viola, ready to fly. It really can't get any easier.

FYI - No worries about 4c dropping out at 500' roll, can't see that far. I do however fly a Seagull X-Ray 3D all over the sky with a 3C 2600 mah held in with one rubber band and a 1 inch strip of velcro, hasn't come out yet. With these small 16 to 40 ounce kits it doesn't take much if it's done well.

[PlaneNuttz]

These things can happen. I Recieved the f-4 a couple of days ago and just opened it up today to start construction. To be honest and not overly critical i am very disappointed in the jets construction. I originally purchased this for a fly-in that i had limited time to complete and prepare for. looks like its been a waste of my time and money im sorry to say. For starters all the servos are loose and barely glued on. the tail servos move freely and seem to be only tacked glued. I would imagine for a newbie in jets this may of been overlooked and caused severe flutter or loss of plane. the wings dont mate properly due to the servos interfering and the rear tab on wing also dosent allow the wing to mate properly. The hinging was poorly done and barely glued as well. I had one wings aileron thats was so out of wack it was sad to see. I started to repair this by reglueing and aligning the aileron with the wing. (not an easy task by the way)This was the first thing i started on and noticed as soon as i started construction also. This caused me to go over the intire jet in which i still havent completed because of the already mentioned problems. I still dont know if the electronics works. To get this bird flying will require alot of rework and thats not what was advertised. And one more thing i noticed was the motor lead wires and esc wires where they connect are basically not protected and somewhat exposed which could cause a short inflight. Now i sit here and ponder if its worth doing all the repairs or returning it. This is not what i expected. Maybe I got one of the bad batches. But i didnt buy this for speed or expect it to be perfect. But i did expect to get what was advertised. It will require alot of rework and atleast 8 hrs of work just to get a solid airframe.( I did not purchase the jet for that) And i havent even started it up yet. For 260.00 its a good deal. Now i sit here and ponder do i fix it or send it back and show up jetless at my favorite flyin. By all means im not slamming hobby lobby. I have had many planes from them and they do a bang up job all the time. I highly regard them as a top distributor in the hobby. I know these things can happen. I guess im wondering if anyone else has had similar problems or im just one of the lucky winners.
Its a beautiful jet but it will need alot of rework. Only thing i didnt like when it came to the fuse design was that the wings just glue to the side of fuse with no real support. So i dont recommend trying to get this bird to fast. the wings will just fold. you would have to reinforce the wings with a carbon rod and proballly do some glass work to. and rehinging will be a must at higher speeds.

This was me this morning on my expereince with my jet. I decided to do the mods, Let hobby lobby know my problems,and intend to fly the pants off on it at the flyin this weekend!! But i wont purchase another arf jet again. i will stay with kit forms ofr what im presently into, time consuming plan built airframes.

But again for less then 260 shipped to your door you cant beat it. the only thing better would of been the plane not assembled at all and some touch up paint included. then the construction would be left to the buyer. then it would be how you want it. rework is much more time consuming but these jets are a great bargain and will perform great considering. Plus the f-4 outperforms the f-16 right out of the box!!

And like someone replied to me this morning and made much sense,

TAKE YOUR TIME AND GET-R-DONE!!!!!!!!!

Hobby Lobby has provided you edf fans with a bigger,better performing edf for little money!

And for us guys who still refuse to go 2.4 if you want to route your antenna use a 2/56 nylon pushrod and route it along the same path as the battery and carefully exit it out the rear. And a little trick to keep the attenna from interferance wrap the motor to esc and esc to battery wires in a few layers of aluminum foil. this will provide instulation from your rx antenna and keep it from glitching on you.

[mjbennett9]

Great antenna trick. I ended up poking a hold below the receiver and just send it down entire length of the fuse. I think the ESC is generating a LOT of interference though--even with antenna a couple of inches away from ESC/battery, etc. I just had a bad F16 flying weekend. Jumping ahead, I save the bird with no damage. However, I had/have several issues that concern me. First. I noticed that the deans ultras are not OEM and are the fake ones. Sure way to tell is the color and fit. The color is more dark maroon than OEM blood red. And the fakes push/pull in/out with no effort. This is a concern for a number of reasons. While I did not solder off the male connector to check, I found a few fakes to actually have internal shorts (most likely a conductive insulation--yes, I did say conductive). While I was getting 3MGohms of resistance, it should be infinite. I had power/glitch issues. A shorting deans would do this...as would antenna interference. A good ESC does not generate interference and I'm afraid the cheap ESC is what gave me an issue. I did notice some iron ferrite wraps on power end, so I think they know they have an issue. I have more powerful setups and no noise what so ever. I did not take apart the fuse, so I don't know if there's a BEC in there, but someone at field said he has a hobby lobby edf jet and had to put on a BEC to take care of his power loss/glitch issues. I am getting glitches as well with antenna all the way extended and only 150' out. I took same receiver and put in another plane and it worked perfect--ran out of range checking room and still no glitch on a Berg receiver. I have 3 and no issues with Berg.

So, I'm suspecting a possible bad/cheap battery, bad Deans (fake), bad/cheap ESC or all the above. I'm thinking that when they send me the new f16, I'll use my own ESC/BEC and foil the wires to shield the antenna (although I doubt I'll have to with brand name ESC/BEC).
I skipped the fun part, but I almost lost plane twice during maiden. I I had a hard time aligning the steering linkage to the rudder because they are chincy (wish they were on their own servos). I gave up and opted to have perfect steering and I'll live with rudder out a little. I gave full power and had a difficult time taking off. Advertisement talks about vertical power--I had none. Then when I got out about 150', the bird must have glitched and tried to do 3D stuff :-) I thought maybe it was off CG, but it's right on and it took off fine, until it had that magic range check limit of 150' -- most likely antenna / ESC issues. I immediately landed-barely, and tried again. Same results. Packed up the plane and flew my missle F27C strker modified brushless instead.
Will be working with Hobby Lobby tomorrow to get an exchange, but this time I'll use brand name electronics. I'll give the servos a shot--I paid for them, might as well try to use them.

[mjbennett9]

Found an interesting read on more aluminum foil to better nasa/space age shielding, to try a different receiver that filters out glithing. It's something in the F16 as same receiver taht was in f16 has no issues, and I've never had glitching on a range check before until F16.
http://www.wattflyer.com/forums/arch...hp/t-2894.html

I ended up buying below to wrap my wires...we'll see what happens when I get it.


METGLAS® MAGNETIC SHIELDING FILM


Paper Thin and Highly Effective

Space-age technology has produced this unique ultra-high permeability (1,000,000+) magnetic shielding alloy. Unlike conventional Mumetal® shielding alloys which are nickel/iron based and depend on bulk for effectiveness, MetGlas is a cobalt based alloy which is only 0.00065" thick (that's 16 microns, a red blood cell is 8 microns across)! Thinner means less material is needed. Less material means less weight and lower cost. Easy to handle, too. Cut it with a scissors, shape it with your fingers, tape it in place. Flexible and tough, with moderate corrosion resistance, it can be used indoors or out. Near-zero magnetostriction means it can be flexed over and over without losing its shielding properties.

Wrap wiring, pipes, switches, or electro-magnets. Make shields for your shavers, electric toothbrushes, hair dryers, alarm clocks or lighting ballasts. Even lay it flat (in our experiments, we saw nearly 90% field reduction when a 4" x 4" MetGlas shield was placed flat against an energized lamp cord). Note: This material tends to saturate easily and is not recommended for shielding strong magnetic fields. This is the material often used in Electronic Article Surveillance systems. Formula 2714AZ, supplied annealed.

One more goody... http://www.runryder.com/helicopter/t...ghlight=ADRYAN

[AtTheMet]

MJ,

glad you got some of your problems resolved. I also flew my maiden HL F-16 this weekend, and it was definitely interesting.

SATURDAY
Ground test at flight field revealed the power glitch you guys mentioned above. Ran the motor up 1/2 throttle and worked elev/ail and motor glitched slightly but it was totally random. Decided to give it a go anyway. Takeoff was sluggish, not as much power as expected, but plane flew really well. On second pass the plane lurched up and to the right, I initiated full up elev to barely keep the plane level. On the obvious that something was amiss, I brought her down in one piece to find the right elevator servo popped out of its cutout and had locked the right elevator in full down. OK, I should have checked that, my bad. All servos and hinges now C/A'd.

My flight was good, but vibration in the motor, and the elevator response could best be described as VERY SLUGGISH. The wire links they use are fine for AILERON, only a couple of inches, not so for elevator. Way too much play. I will immediately replace this to beef it up.

LATE SATURDAY AFTERNOON.
Still concerned about motor glitch and vibration. Removed bottom hatch to get access to fan and ESC. After balancing the fan blade, tightening the motor screws that were all loose, and reinstalling the shaft adapter which was not seated properly, this fan unit now works like I expected it to. Test run up almost sent the model flying out of my grip, at least 25 to 35 percent more power, and SMOOTH.

My factory ESC is a total POS. It had an inline BEC that would overheat within 10 seconds of connecting the battery. Sorry, not dealing with crap electronics. I had a 45-amp electrifly laying around, so I yanked the factory POS, and after scrounging up a servo and battery extension with the help of my local shop GURU, we're back in business.

SUNDAY MORNING.
Unbelievable difference. Smooth roll-off, up, and POWER. Smoooooth power. Sounds like a unijet fan on windup. Nice vertical, loops, even harriered the darn thing (at 150 feet). Also, no problem at all with the battery velcro strap coming loose, and I threw the thing around pretty good. Only remaining issue is the elevator linkage I mentioned above, it definitely needs stiffening up, and I'll do that before the next flight.

This is to me a really nice looking F-16, and everyone at the field was totally WOW'd by the looks. I didn't realize though it was made in China, and they copy/steal EVERYTHING, aka the cheap factory ESC in my plane. Once I had to tweak the motor (which I shouldn't have had to do, though sometimes expected with a new plane), it flew really well, though landings were very touchy due to the mushy elevator response.

For the money, not bad. Just wish the motor, ESC, etc were of better quality. There will be issues with this I expect.

[mjbennett9]

Hi "Met" (real name?).

I have EXACTLY same jet response as you did below (thought it was CG at first, but knew better).

SATURDAY
Ground test at flight field revealed the power glitch you guys mentioned above. Ran the motor up 1/2 throttle and worked elev/ail and motor glitched slightly but it was totally random. Decided to give it a go anyway. Takeoff was sluggish, not as much power as expected, but plane flew really well. On second pass the plane lurched up and to the right, I initiated full up elev to barely keep the plane level. On the obvious that something was amiss, I brought her down in one piece to find the right elevator servo popped out of its cutout and had locked the right elevator in full down. OK, I should have checked that, my bad. All servos and hinges now C/A'd.

It too thought motor sounded odd, but being my first EDF, I had nothing to baseline it against. It took a LOT of runway to takeoff (no power).


Can you tell me how to perform the balancing, shaft, and motor fix steps? EDF is all new to me.

Sounds like that and new ESC made a world of difference.

Also, what BEC did you use?

Oh, if you don't mind:
1. Did the included glue hold up ok?
2. How much working time did it give you?
3. How long till it dried where you didn't have to hold pieces together anymore?
4. Did you route your antenna thru inner channel where electronics went, or thru bottom under plane?
5. What kind of glue did you use to reseal the plastic tubing that you had to remove in order to access the factory ESC?
6. Did you have to add any server extensions or add wiring to replacement ESC to make the length of the fuselage?

I too got stares at the plane. I saw another hobby lobby EDF jet at field and it looked very "foamy" fake (white with stickers). They did a great job with this. I bet for another $50 ($299) in better electronics, this could have been a top notch ARF.



Thanks,
Michael

[AtTheMet]

Michael,

To balance the EDF, remove the strap and 2 screws, pull off lower unit and pull out the while plastic covering. Assuming we have the same setup (you never know with Chinese manufacture), my fan unit had a large slotted screw on front. Unscrew that and remove the plastic cone to reveal the adapter shaft. Unscrewed the approx 7/16th size nut and washer, and pull the fan blade straight out. Next I noticed my prop/shaft adapter was the compression type (no set screws to hold in place), so it just pulls straight out. (*note* be extra careful when putting this back on to make sure it seats properly). My buddy had a nice magnetic prop balancer, and we found that one blade on the fan was too long and actually rubbing the fan housing. After mucho sanding we got it pretty well balanced. From the tail end, my motor was mounted with 4 screws, which I carefully tightened, they were all kind of loose. Reassemble everything in reverse order and you should be good to go. This is my first EDF as well, and I found out from my buddies that fly EDF's that fan balancing is CRITICAL for the motor to be efficient and smooth. These things are turning 40/50 thousand rpm.

The ESC I installed was an Electrifly SS-45 with built-in BEC (programmable).

1. Did the included glue hold up ok?
So far, so good. I also thick CA'd the joints after the regular stuff dried overnite.

2. How much working time did it give you?
just guessing, 5-7 minutes.

3. How long till it dried where you didn't have to hold pieces together anymore?
my stuff got real tacky after a few minutes, although I found out you could still
rip it out after about 15 minutes :-). The book does tell you that if you use the
supplied glue, to let it cure overnight. If I had it to do over, I'd use 5-min epoxy.

4. Did you route your antenna thru inner channel where electronics went, or thru bottom under plane?
I use Spektrum DX6i and 6100e receiver, so I don't have external antenna.

5. What kind of glue did you use to reseal the plastic tubing that you had to remove in order to access the factory ESC?
I just reseated it in the bottom of the fuselage, there was a slot cut in the foam along most of where this fits in, and I secured with strips of clear packing tape. I did it this way thinking I might have to go back in if my ESC didn't work. No problems after 4 flights with it this way. I may eventually go back and glue it down better. Just make sure you get the end to slide up under the fan housing, this is what locks it down on that end.

6. Did you have to add any server extensions or add wiring to replacement ESC to make the length of the fuselage?
Yes, I had to use a 12" servo extention, and a 16" battery extension to reach back up into the front compartment.

I too got stares at the plane. I saw another hobby lobby EDF jet at field and it looked very "foamy" fake (white with stickers). They did a great job with this. I bet for another $50 ($299) in better electronics, this could have been a top notch ARF.


I spoke with Todd at Hobby-Lobby this morning just to give him a heads-up on this ESC issue and fan balancing. I think this is a new distributor for them and the first batch of stuff, so, unfortunately, some glitches are expected. But when you buy a kit that is advertised as ARF, with especially the motor and ESC already installed, then they should work and work well. My problem is I have the patience of Job <my kids did that to me :-) > plus I already had the ESC to drop in the plane. Many people would get PO'd at this situation, and rightfully so. But like I said, she flies really well now, and looks great in the air. I get 5-6 minutes from the supplied battery. I bought a Thunder Power 2600 mah 4S which gives me 7-8 minutes flight time.

Pete

[AtTheMet]

OK, figured out how to post some pics here