My camera ... for now

My good friend bajora and I headed down to Ontario, CA this weekend to check out what was going down @ the AMA expo. Lots of folks on hand with some pretty cool products representing just about every aspect of model aviation. Check out all the pics over at http://hdflyer.com/2012-ama-expo/

I just got my hands on a copy of the Spektrum media kit for the 2011 season. I'm sure many of you have seen the DX8 with its built in telemetry and you might have possibly seen the latest announcement, the further refinement of the DSM2 technology they are calling DSMX. With all the cool stuff in the product catalog, the 10t transmitter really stood out to me. It features all the bells and whistles one would expect from a cutting edge high end transmitter, in a form factor thats hard to find here in the states.

DSMX is backwards and forwards with all DSM2 technology, so all your hardware will continue to work as you would expect, and as far as I'm aware most DSM2 transmitters will have the option to be upgraded at the factory to DSMX technology for a one time fee. To quickly summarize, DSMX utilizes much better frequency selection techniques and instead of scanning for a few channels upon startup to switch between (DSM2), DSMX selects 23 channels to switch between. Horizon Hobby has all you want to know about it here. I know there is lots to read there but if nothing else check out the video. It very nicely summarizes the capabilites of DSMX in my opinion.

Another cool thing I noticed was the addition of an iPad/iPhone/iPad, app for the Spektrum telemetry feature entitled Spektrum STi. It allows you to view your telemetry stats (in real time), enabling your spotter the ultimate level of insight into your planes current state. Pretty amazing stuff if you ask me!

Spektrum has some pretty cool stuff out right now, and coming in the future for cars, boats, and helis/planes. They certainly have expanded on their product lineup in the last year or two, and it looks like 2011 isn't going to slow them down at all. Heres a link to a digital copy of the product catalog for your viewing pleasure.

OK, I'll admit to it ..... I'm a sucker for anything general aviation related. Unfortunately there just isn't much selection out there in terms of scale general aviation birds. When I was crusing around the web, I ran across the scaleflying.com website and noticed they are currently developing a KingAir and had recently released a Beechcraft Baron G58. For those of you who don't know about it, the Baron G58 is a 5 seater twin engine prop plane. It's manufactured by the Beechcraft Corpration, and is considered by many to be at the top of its class in build quality and performance. I could go on and on about how cool of a plane it is, and how much I would love to own one, but I think you're getting that idea by now anyways.

I contacted RC Aerodyne in regards to the Baron, and in quick order had one headed my direction. The plane came in 3 large boxes, one with the fuselage, one with the canopy kit, and the other with the wings and nacelles. Cracking the boxes open it was clear the finish quality on this plane is very high. Each panel line, decal, and subtle curve of the real life plane is present, so it came as no surprise when I learned that the RC Aerodyne Baron is an officially licensed product from the Beechcraft Corporation. I'll be doing a full review on this plane here on RCG with much more detail on the plane and the other components required to get this bird in the air. More to come soon...

...Continue Reading

I'll be doing a review here on RCG of the new 2.4ghz DX8 transmitter, keep an eye open for it soon. Some of my favorite features of the DX8 so far are:

* Timer start on throttle up
* Vibrating timer (the whole box vibrates just in case you miss your countdown beeps)
* "wheel" style selector
* Telemetry
* Awesome 'feel' in the gimbals

My latest review project is the Model Aero Stinger. It's small in size, but if it's anything like the rest of the ModelAero product lineup, it won't skimp on the fun factor. It's targeted for larger indoor venues, or good old fashioned park flying fun.

Along with it's quick assembly, Scott has some really cool vinyl graphics options, and provided me with a set of customized 'Blue Angels' decals. Keep wtching RCG and ezonemag.com for the full review coming soon.

My good friend Jon (bajora) and I made the trek down to So. Cal this weekend to enjoy a little bit of sunshine and turbine goodness. Joe and Lowell have done an excellent job getting the grounds ready for all the pilots and spectators. Plenty of shade, vendors, and yummy bbq to go around. Ill post more pics when we get home, but for now here's a few from Saturdays festivities.

I just got my latest review project in the mail yesterday afternoon, and was excited to see what it looked like. It just so happened I had some freetime before work this morning so I decided to snap a few shots to share.

Some specs:

* Pre-installed 80mm fan w/ brushless outrunner
* Pre-installed 45A ESC
* Wingspan: 34 1/2 inches
* Length: 34 2/4 inches
* Weight: 30oz
* Required: 4s lipo, rx, tx

I've wanted an R/C bike for awhile now, and I couldnt be happier with this thing. I've beat the heck out of it now in the front of my house and it just comes back for more!

Not a recent build, but just getting around to taking some pics....Continue Reading

My latest review project is the ElectriFly SR22. Out of the box, the fiberglass fuselage looks awesome!! All kinds of little goodies like a scale nose strut, air scoops, and smoked windows make me think this thing is gonna look awesome in the air!

Just got around to downloading some pics of my new 11X radio I've been using for the past couple of weeks now, and I've got to say it's a very nice upgrade from my DX7.

Picking up the programming has been pretty easy, but I've yet to scratch the surface of the transmitters more advanced functionality. A few of my favorite features so far are the SD card support and awesome feel of the transmitter in your hands.

So I finally took the plunge and picked up my first gasser. It's a Hangar 9 20cc Taylorcraft powered by a 3w 24i. It needed a little bit of repairs, and while not being the best looking, the airframe is ship shape. Im waiting on a prop, and installation of my RX before I fire it up for the first time.

Don

Tamjets.com recently released another great addition to their lineup of fans, the TJ70. Currently only the shroud is available, so you'll have to provide your own rotor and motor. I'll be using an E-flite 3600kv 28mm motor with the rotor and collet out of an E-flite DF15 unit.

Tam currently offers 2 varieties of the shroud, one for 28mm motors (E-flite, etc.) and the other for 29mm motors (Neu, etc.). Keep an eye open for my more detailed review here on RCGroups.

My latest project is the F-14 from X-flight. With Air retracts, swinging wings, a full regiment of decals, and a twin Hoffman Magnetics power plant. I think this thing promises to be one cool looking plane when I get it done. I'll start assembly tomorrow, look for a full review here on RCGroups soon.

Don

If you're anything like me, with all the new aircraft coming out late in the summer season this year, I didn't really notice the newest offering from Great Planes until I saw it up close at the hobby shop. The Zlin sports a flashy 'airshow' color scheme, and it's clean lines tell my eye it should handle very precisely once I get it built and in the air. I took some time to unpack the box and some of it's contents this afternoon, and I must say Im excited to get started on this one.

Keep an eye open for the full review coming here on RCGroups.

As the tradition goes, about the time all the children head back to school the weather gets nice in northern California ..... and we've been taking advantage of it!

I got another flight in on the Hawker Hunter, but gear issues prevented any more field excursions with it, so I turned my focus to my F4D Skyray which I have recently put a new ESC and Don's Wicked motor in. As usual Jon was there for me to capture pics, and I think he managed to get a few good ones. Thanks Jon! Adam managed to maiden his Vision, which despite my terrible handlaunch went off with out barely a hitch.

If you've never used Googles Sketchup application, you're missing out! I've yet to use such a powerful FREE 3d application. A whole new breed of scratchbuilders have emerged ..... they call themselves 'phlatboyz'. Crafting foam models from a 'kit' based sub $1000 CNC machine for foam sure sounds like fun to me!

Playing around with some new photo types, took these out at the beach this past weekend.

We've had another week or two run of nothing but strong winds and un-cooperative weather. I finally managed to get out to Lagoon Valley and get some flying in with the fellas out there, it was good to see you all!...Continue Reading