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I have never flown the wings maker. I did watch the videos on their web site. I find that demo videos from manufactures usually show the best flying that the plane is capable of. (I have learned this through spending a lot of money on planes that turned out to suck. )
None of the videos show 3D flying. It is all sport flying and it seems a bit twitchy at Sport Flying. So, I wouldn't count on that plane being able to fly 3D with any type of control or stability. My Multiplex planes have a ton of control, stability and are very well designed for 3D. If you have no interest in 3D and are just interested in puttering around with sport flying then it may be fine. Hopefully someone responds that has actually flown both planes. |
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Thread OP
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Thanks 3d dabbler. I felt the same and wrote to them about their video and didn't get any reply. So that made my decision to buy the Multiplex parkmaster 3d that a few of the guys in our club have and they can put them through the paces. I really hated to spend that much money on a foam airplane since I've only flown GWS or flat foamies I've built, but I bit the bullet and bought one. It just arrived today and I am impressed as to the packaging and the parts content.
got it from Omnimodels who are presently offering 10 bucks off $100 or more, plus free shipping. I orderend online on Sunday and got it here in Maine on Friday. I put this question out to a couple of other flying web sites and no one had replied. Thanks. Larry |
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NP, I hope you enjoy it. I got a big chuckle out of my Acromaster when it arrived. I saw all of the foam of the container protecting the foam airplane. It made me laugh and think about their profit margin.
My Castle Creations ICE 100 ESCs arrived today. So, now I can work on getting my 70" Slick in the air! Woo Hoo! Mike |
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One of my flying buddies just got a Handyman and loves it (except for the name). He has a lot of planes and says it is his favorite, but actually his newest plane is always his favorite. He claims it flies like a pattern plane, which is good for him as he is more into precision aerobatics than 3D. (He is a Gulfstream G4 jet pilot by profession). I have seen him fly it for about three weekends now. It is a very precise plane as he says. It has a large compliment of lipos that will work with it, and last weekend he was flying it with a very small 2 cell just to see how it flew in a very light configuration. He loved the way it had slow flight characteristics configured that way. It was a decent plane in terms of the fit, and build quality, especially for the money. I am about to buy one. Usually my buddy moves on in a week or two after he gets a new plane, but he just keeps flying this one quite a lot. I was thinking myself about an Acromaster as my next plane, but am giving the Handyman quite a bit of consideration. I am not that interested in 3D, but do like general aerobatics. That it can do well as I saw as he flew it. The video on their website did not do the plane justice, as the video looks like a stick banger just bandging the plane around instead of really trying something with precision. So far I am impressed by what I have been seeing. One other person on the field has a Handyman now, so two of them are flying them and both seem happy.
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I purchased the Handyman and am very impressed. It is amazing how they can produce this plane for the price. It was probably the easiest build I have ever had. The wings slide nicely into place and are removable. The horizontal and vertical stabilizers are epoxied, and then slide nicely into place and are self aligning so there is no need to use a square or any other tool to get them at 90 degrees. The aileron servos are both mounted and all hardware in place. The tail servos are mounted, but a small amount of work is needed to install the links which are adjustable with a supplied clevis. There is a large amount of room under the hatch which is held in place with powerful magnets. Everything fits well, no problems of any kind. In flight it behaves well, but it is a good idea to set some flaps for takeoff since the tail sits high on a steerable tail wheel and you will have a long takeoff roll because of the pitch angle with the tail wheel without about 20 degrees of flaps. The finish and fit is great all the way around. Great plane at a great price, and so far no problems. I did put a little fiberglass around the tail wheel anticipating it will be the first to go on my dirt and weed field. I have several Multiplex products, and the Handiman exceeds Multiplex in terms of foam design and fit and clever little design innovations. If you like Multiplex airplanes you will love the Handiman. I do not know yet how it will stand up to a crash however, but i can get a whole new plane for less than $60 to use as replacement parts, so there cannot be bad news when I finally wad this one up.
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How well does it 3D? I think the original poster was interested in a good but cheap 3D acrobat.
I am concerned about your comment that it needs flaps. I have never had a good 3D plane that required any amount of flaps or a long takeoff roll. How many watts / lb does it have? Usually good 3D planes can take off in just a couple of feet and hover at around half throttle. How much throttle does it require to hover? Does it have at least 45 degrees of throw on the elevator and rudder? Can it elevator drop into a smooth and easy harrier landing? What about wing rock in a harrier or elevator drop? How much (if any) does it have? How is the knife edge performance? and lastly.... how much (if any) coupling is there? Thanks for trying the plane out and giving us a performance report! Mike |
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I am still just dialing in this plane, so I cannot answer your questions about 3D. I can explain the need for flaps. This plane has a steerable back wheel, which puts the tail of the plane up very high. So high that there is not enough angle of attack on the ground to take off quickly. If you roll, at the right speed it will gradually lift off. But, with the tail wheel where it is, you cannot "rotate" the pitch access, and if you pull back on the elevator while on the ground nothing happens. But, if you add flaperons of about 20% it popps off the ground in about three feet, then retract the flaperons, and you are all set. On the ground, the fuselage is about horizontal to the ground whereas most foam planes have a wire dragging on the ground to protect the tail, and most have about five or ten percent up rotation while on the ground which is all you need to pop off.
This plane can hover, it can go vertical, it can torque roll, it does knife edge very well, it has an enormous roll rate, and very straight axial rolls. I usually fly without expo, but with this one I put in about 20% expo until I get used to it. So far I am very happy, but I am more into precise pattern work than 3D and in that role it is superb for the price. I will post more later when I get past the maiden and basic dial in stage. |
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Thanks for the update. I am a "low" expo guy as well. I run 20% Expo typically. I learned to fly with no expo. Most people seem to really crank it up. I get too far behind the plane with expo that high and risk crashing.
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I have a few more flights in on the Handyman. It is the easiest plane to fly inverted that I have ever flown. Just a touch of up elevator keeps it straight and level. I was able to do several laps around the field inverted, which for me is more than I usually do. It was very stable inverted, and very stable in wind. I have flown now in up to 10 mph gusty. It has plenty of power and I can go unlimited vertical. I am not a 3D pilot so except for basics like hover and torque roll, I cannot say much. I have the throws set at stock-out-of-the-box, and the plane will not stall with full elevator and power off. Instead, I did what I think they call the 3D "elevator" where the plane just floats right down to the ground with little forward movement. The was very little wing rock while doing this. I am sure the plane will stall when I change the links for more elevator throw. What is remarkable to me is how stable this plane is, and how well behaved. I really like it, and I am sorry I cannot tell the 3D'rs more about this but I do not do much 3D flying. I have had no problems with any traditional aerobatics such as hammerheads, big diameter rolls, Cuban eights, Immelman turn and axial and snap rolls. A knife edge (which I am not good at) pulled slightly to the canopy, but I have not yet worked on dialing it in to correct this. I have not done anything to determine if there is coupling yet. It has a lot of aileron authority even with the linkages set at minimum, and I need about 20% expo which I normally do not need in foamy planes. The roll rate is very fast and fairly axial, even at the basic setting. It seems sturdy, but I have not had any mishaps yet. It lands well with a little power and high alpha right down to the ground. There were no sudden surprises on final approach after maybe 20 or 30 landings now. Landing gear so far has no signs of difficulty despite the fact that my field as a very poor quality landing strip with cracks and weeds. The access hatch is held on by magnets, which work well. There is a huge area for lipos. I have flown with both 1350s and 2100s, the latter takes about five clicks of elevator to trim. It flies well with either, and flies better in the wind with heavier. I still goes unlimited vertical with the 2100s. The build is really about one half hour, and I can buy a whole new plane for $55 so I have no worries about getting aggressive. I have a fleet of four helis, two gliders, one hotliner, three wings, a FunJet and several electric aerobatics, and in this latter category I like the Handyman the best over my Airfoilz Yak, Extra Stiffy, Precision Aerobatics Electric Shock and my flat foamy. I have been having long flight times with throttle management. So far my only complaints are that it is a little ugly but not unbearable, and the servos were not glued in properly so I removed and re-installed them. The yellow color and decals are not ideal, but on the other hand everything fits inside a real fuselage instead of having everything taped or velcroed to the outside. The wings are not glued on, so they can be removed for transport, and replaced if broken. I do not know of any other plane for $124 that has motor and servos installed and can be in the air in 1/2 hour. Sorry I am not that good at 3D to tell if this is a 3D winner, but I have a hard time finding anything wrong with the Handyman.
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I looked one of these over yesterday in my LHS. The pieces felt really light and strong.
One of the canopy magnets had come loose from the foam already, confirming a comment here that that EPO may be tough to glue to. But the canopy was held on just fine with just one magnet, a plus to me! The control surfaces looked nice and large to me, like I'd expect on a modern 3D plane. I'm surprised there's not a 3D video of it yet. If I did not have a big backlog of other planes on hand to build/fly, more $$, and not a wife with a broken leg(!), I would probably have bought it! Jim |
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I've got about 7 flights on this airplane. Bottom line: I love it. I'm not much into 3D yet but really like performance for aerobatics--flys inverted very well and the slow airspeed performance is pretty amazing and fun. I will just float to the ground. I'm adding airplanes to my fleet after a couple years of helicopters. Besides this, I have a P51 micro and an T 28. I like the handyman the best. I agree its ugly. I painted it bright red and used the blue stickers--much better. I fly at a field without much landing space so I have hand launched it w/o the gear--works fine. Pretty fun machine for the money.
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I just ordered one of these yesterday and im looking forward to it.
I used to have a plane similar with an axi in it and it flew great but was double the price. see genie below. comparison: visually it appears genie has larger elevator, wing is closer to motor, tail moment is larger, no fuselage compartment access, looks nicer but its way more expensive (genie is $130 just for plane). from what ive seen on youtube it flys identical to my genie and from that id expect it to be like others have said, real good at sport flying, real good at pattern flying, and unlimited vertical climb. again, ill have to post once I get mine but that genie was so similar to this plane im sure it will be great, especially for $120. I plan on removing the tail wheel as I dont think its really necessary for a plane this light and small. btw, im no 3D expert but id say im pretty eperienced pilot since im flown numerous gas planes, electrics, gliders, and helis, and the genie was fairly stable with elevator drops (a little wing wag) and torque rolled ok (probably would have been better if cg was further back). |
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Last edited by Eric Zanutto; Jul 11, 2010 at 09:54 PM.
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