Just maidened my Radian and was expecting to get the standard 15 min.flight time I've come to expect from most Park flyers, but was hoping for a good 25 minutes because it was a sailplane.

Anyways, the air was a crisp 40 degrees with 5mph winds. My Radian launched perfectly - gave it full throttle and to my amazement it went nearly vertical and specked out in approx. 25 seconds. The 480 outrunner motor coupled with negligable weight of an all foam planform (EPP) is what makes it sooooo peppy. Once at altitude, the Radian just wanted to hang there forever even with throttle off and no thermals present!! before I knew it, 20 minutes had passed!

For kicks, I did a few loops - both inside and outside with ease (and at half throttle). Flew upside down for a while, etc... Long story short I timed my flight at a smidge over 1 hour and that was with the first run of the stock 1300 mah Lipo and messing around some - Amazing!!!

I fully expect to get 75 minutes next flight (assuming my neck holds out!)
Fantastically great flying bird all around and has a surprisingly large speed envelope that I discovered on my second flight, but that's for another discussion!

Sweet! I have been wondering how long these can realistically be flown for. The official blurb just says you can expect to get more than 30 minutes. Nice to know that it's considerably more, even without significant thermals. I'm making my list, and checking it twice, yep, the Radian is on it.

Saw one of these at the NEAT fair...flew just like you said, went vertical and floated like a feather. Head and shoulders above my Easy Glider.

I'm adding a strobe system to it later today - running off a 7.4 lipo. This way I can keep it up high and give my neck & eyes a rest for a few seconds and (hopefully) be able to spot it again quickly.

A good sailplane accessory is a comfortable folding chair. One that is somewhat reclined with a foot rest is even better. Add a cooler in the summer and you will be prepared for a day of great flying.

Ryan

I like the strobe idea. I'd love to see the details when you work 'em out.
Thom

Just go to your nearest REI, Cabellas, GI Joes, or other outdoor gear store and pick up a personal emergency strobe - most run off 4 AAA batteries. Just take it apart and use a 730mAh 2 cell lipo in place of the stock batteries.

The 'meat' of the strobe is about the same physical size as the lipo you'll hook up to it, but a bit thicker and lighter. BE CAREFUL not to touch the bulb ends or the board circuitry while it is flashing - even when the battery is NOT EVEN CONNECTED when you normally feel safe to touch! I didn't realize just what a strobe capacitor can be capable of, in this case, hundreds of volts. It felt like I grabbed onto a 220 AC live lead - and physically knocked me backward - WOW!!

The visability is amazing though and almost no added weight. I was flying at dusk last night and couldn't get my bird down in time. It must have caught a winter thermal or updraft and was up so high I couldn't tell it's attitude (coming or going). The only thing that saved my bacon was the flashing strobe, so I just fiddled around with the sticks till I could consistantly see the flashing and I knew it was at least right side up and coming towards me. I then put it into a controlled dive to break out of the lift and eventually got it back to Tera Firma! - I guarantee it would have been miles away & lost forever otherwise....

on a side note, this strobe made my Radian look like a full scale plane, must have freaked out a lot of folks when I was up there doing my 'gymnastics' trying to get the thing back down!

lol about the gymnastics!

pix please thanks

Maybe some heat shrink around the circuit board would be a good idea. You can get some pretty good sized stuff for the RC Car battery packs at shops that cater to the car market. I'm sure there are other sources too.

Ryan

Yes, I added 2 layers of shrink - haven't gotten bit since!

I have lost sight of my electra a few times and wonder if this would help.

Does the strobe help when flying during a normal sunny day with a blue sky background or does the sun mask it out?

What was the weight of the addition and where did you put the strobe, under the belly I would suppose.

with 4AA bateries I would hope to drive the strobe direct of the motor 2S lipoly

The strobe is not terribly visable when it's bright outside. I installed it primarily when flying under cloudy and dusk conditions. The strobe bulb is 1" x 1/8" in dimension & is mounted mid-section of the built in skid so it is naturally protected...

I was thinking of getting a radian for aerial photography, but have no idea how much extra weight this can carry comfortably..any ideas on this or just a crazy idea?? John

1.5lbs no problem