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Hobby Lobby eRC Eurofighter 360 Thrust Vector 90mm EDF ARF
!Introduction
| spec2 | | @3198124: |> <b>Wingspan:</b> |< 37.5" |> <b>Wing Area:</b> |< 630 sq. in. |> <b>Weight:</b> |< 79-85 oz. (Lipo choice dependent) |> <b>Length:</b> |< 55" |> <b>Wing Loading:</b> |< ~18 oz/sq. ft. |> <b>Servos:</b> |< 9 gram (11) |> <b>Transmitter:</b> |< JR X9503 |> <b>Receiver:</b> |< Spektrum AR7000 7 channel |> <b>Battery:</b> |< Thunder Power Pro Power 45C 3S 3800mAh (2 in series for 6S) |> <b>Motor:</b> |< B3553 brushless outrunner motor (1750 Kv) |> <b>ESC:</b> |< 85A ESC with 5A switch mode BEC |> <b>Manufacturer:</b> |< <a href=http://www.sz-freewing.com/>Freewing</a> |> <b>Available From:</b> |< <a href=http://www.hobby-lobby.com>Hobby Lobby</a> |> <b>Price:</b> |< $399.00 RTF; $219.00 Airframe only |> <b>Flight Duration:</b> |< 4-5 minutes Hobby Lobby has been selling radio control electric ducted fan airplanes for many years now. One of the first I ever bought and flew was the Alfa Mig 15 EDF, still in stock and available at Hobby Lobby to this day. In the several years that have elapsed since the purchase of my first EDF air frame from them, Hobby Lobby has offered up an amazing and varied selection of EDFs! One of their latest EDF offerings in 2010, the eRC Eurofighter, is notable for several reasons. First and foremost is the fact that it is Hobby Lobby's first ever 90mm sized EDF. With functional canards, 360 degree thrust vectoring, a detailed cockpit and pilot figure, suspension strut retracts and a factory installed lighting set, the eRC 90mm Eurofighter is a large, full featured EDF offering. |spec | @3261271 | @3261272 <center>After flying the Eurofighter, United States Air Force Chief of Staff General John P. Jumper had this to say:</center> <center><b><i>I have flown all the air force jets. None was as good as the Eurofighter.</i> </b></center> Does the Hobby Lobby eRC Eurofighter capture the essence and excitement of the full size twin-engine canard-delta wing multirole aircraft? Read on for one aspiring jet jockey's two cents on the Hobby Lobby 90mm eRC Eurofighter EDF! |spec | @3198125 !Kit Contents |spec | @3138246 |spec | @3381256 | @3138247 <b><u>In The Box:</u></b> <ul> <li><font size=-2>Fuselage with power system, servos, thrust vectoring system and nose gear pre-installed </font></li> <li><font size=-2>Wing halves with elevon servos pre-installed, elevons pre-hinged</font></li> <li><font size=-2>Pair of foam canards</font></li> <li><font size=-2>Detailed cockpit, pilot and canopy</font></li> <li><font size=-2>Pre-installed lighting system </font></li> <li><font size=-2>Carbon wing spars (2)</font></li> <li><font size=-2>Vertical stabilizer, dorsal cover piece</font></li> <li><font size=-2>Main gear retracts</font></li> <li><font size=-2>Drop tanks (2)</font></li> <li><font size=-2>Nose cone</font></li> <li><font size=-2>Battery jumper cable with Deans connectors (for using a 6S lipo battery)</font></li> <li><font size=-2>16 page black and white photo-illustrated assembly manual </font></li> </font></li> </ul> |spec | @3138253 |spec | @3138248 | @3138249 |spec | @3138250 | @3138252 | @3138254 |spec | @3138257 | @3138260 |spec | @3138264 <b><u>Required for Completion:</u></b> <ul> <li><font size=-2>Seven channel radio system </font></li> <li><font size=-2>Two 3S 3700-4000mAh lipoly batteries or one 6S of comparable size </font></li> </ul> <b><u>Included for Review:</u></b> <ul> <li><font size=-2>Thunder Power Pro Power 45C 3800mAh 3S lipoly batteries (2) </b></font></li> </ul> |spec | @3198152 !Assembly Though the 90mm Eurofighter comes in an oversize box, the total number of components contained in the big box is relatively small. This makes for a rather short time on the building table. The included black and white assembly manual graphically illustrates the entire build process and provides a thorough guide to programming the ubiquitous Spektrum DX7 to fully utilize all of the features of the Eurofighter. The assembly manual also provides clear visual directions for ensuring that you have all of the control surfaces moving in their proper directions. Low and high rate throws are also provided and illustrated. Almost six of the total sixteen pages cover radio and control surface set up, which is indicative of the fact that most of the assembly of the Eurofighter has been completed at the factory. Essentially all that remains is to mount the wings, main gear, vertical stabilizer, canards and drop tanks and install a receiver! |spec | @3208933 |spec | <a href=http://www.hobby-lobby.com/eurofighter.htm><b>eRC Eurofighter Assembly Manual</b></a> My Eurofighter kit contained a single sheet addendum to correct a minor inaccuracy in connection with radio programming. The online version of the assembly manual above incorporates this change and is also in full color! !!Wings and Main Landing Gear The two wing halves attach to the fuselage and are reinforced via carbon spars. The wing-to-fuselage joint is large, due to the delta wing of the Eurofighter. A rectangular indexing block helps ensure that the wings are properly positioned. I used 15 minute epoxy and applied it to the both the wing and fuselage mating surfaces using an epoxy brush. It is important to not over apply the epoxy, while at the same time making sure that you use enough to get a strong and secure bond. |spec | @3198135 | @3198142 The assembly manual advises that it is OK to use a <i>SMALL</i> amount of rubbing alcohol (italics mine) and they do mean a small amount only. I normally use alcohol and paper towels to remove oozing epoxy but using too much alcohol on the foam will cause the gray color to wash out a bit. I made that mistake but once on this build. Once the epoxy has cured, the wingtip light and elevon connections can be made and then pushed down into the opening in the fuselage. Pay attention to the colors of the wires when making these connections. The servo wire colors are not exactly the same as the color of the wires on the extensions. I used a piece of electrical tape to provide a little insurance against these elevon servo connections coming unplugged. The carbon spars get epoxied into grooves on the underside of the wings. They also extend a short distance into a similar groove on the fuselage. |spec | @3198137 |spec | @3198138 | @3198141 The main landing gear retracts get mounted to wood blocks that are mounted in the wings. The two different main retracts are not interchangeable. The triangular cutout for the suspension strut in the wing and fuselage wheel well helps with correct installation. The main gear retract servos are pre-installed in the fuselage. All that remains is to thread the retract push rods into the quick link on the servo horn. I used the servo rate reducer on my JR X9503 transmitter to slow the retracts to a more scale speed. |spec | @3198139 The Eurofighter kit includes a pair of drop tanks. They index into holes on each wing half. Epoxy is the adhesive of choice to mount them. I chose to go in a slightly different direction with mine. I wanted to fly my Eurofighter both with the tanks and without, to determine if there was any difference in performance with the added mass hanging beneath the wings. In order to make the tanks removable, I decided to use rare earth magnets. I normally use some fairly small magnets but they seemed a little too small for this application. I went with some fairly beefy magnets for these large drop tanks, mainly due to the expected blast of air that would be trying to tear them off while in flight. |spec | @3198156 These magnets are strongest when they are perfectly aligned. I copied this technique from another user here on RCGroups. I use a Dremel to create holes that position the magnets perfectly flush with the bottom of the tank pylons (I used two sets of magnets per tank). Epoxy is used to set the first set of magnets in their holes on the tanks. When dry, a little dab of white paint is applied to the magnets and they are carefully positioned as they will set on the wings. The foam indexing dowels cast into the tank pylons fit into holes formed into the bottom of the wings, which assist in positioning the tanks in place. The little dots of white paint mark where the mating magnet holes need to be drilled on the wing halves. |spec | @3198158 | @3198159 I used the Dremel to make oversize holes on the wing, centered on the dab of white paint. Another batch of epoxy is mixed and these holes are filled with it. The second set of magnets is next attached to their mates on the drop tanks, with a piece of clear plastic sandwich wrap preventing the epoxy from coming into contact with the drop tank pylons. It is best to hold the tanks in position, ensuring that they are properly positioned and square to the wings, until the epoxy sets. Once dry, the tanks can be removed. The clear plastic wrap can now be carefully peeled away. And VOILA! ... perfectly positioned, removable drop tanks! I was impressed with the strength of these larger magnets! |spec | @3198160 | @3198161 !!Fuselage |spec | @3198149 | @3138262 Fuselage assembly is limited to attaching the two canards, gluing the nose cone in place and mounting the canopy to the cockpit hatch. I used epoxy for the nose cone and RC56 glue for the canopy. Hobby Lobby shipped me a pilot figure several weeks after I received the kit. He fits very nicely in the super detailed cockpit. I used hot glue to make sure he stays with the plane at all times! |spec | @3198150 The canards have a metal shaft protruding from their edge. This shaft gets fed into a tube that routes them into the forward fuselage. Mechanical connection of the canards to the servos is by means of a push rod and ball link. The ball link attaches to a plastic bell crank of sorts, which is then mounted to the canard shaft and secured in place with a set screw. The pair of canard servos are mounted all the way forward in the nose of the Eurofighter. |spec | @3198153 | @3138254 |spec | <i><b>NICELY detailed cockpit and pilot included! </b></i> !!Tail |spec | @3138261 Assembly of the tail is limited to attaching two pieces of foam, the vertical stabilizer and a small dorsal cover piece, and connecting the navigation light wiring atop the vertical stabilizer. Epoxy is again the adhesive of choice when affixing the vertical stabilizer. Again, a little caution is in order when applying the epoxy to avoid having to wipe up too much excess with alcohol. |spec | @3198143 |spec | @3198144 | @3198145 |spec | <i><b>The vertical stabilizer mounts to the fuselage and then slides rearward </b></i> The small piece that bridges the gap between the rear of the canopy and the leading edge of the vertical stabilizer gets mounted to the fuselage with several pieces of double sided tape. This piece serves as a cover of sorts for the wiring that goes from the radio compartment rearward. This includes all of the thrust vectoring servos. I secured all of the servo extension connections with electrical tape before attaching this cover piece. |spec | @3198146 | @3198147 !!Radio Installation and Programming |spec | @3375559 |spec | <b><i>Spektrum AR7000 Receiver Channel Mapping</i></b> | <i>Channel #</i> | <i>Labeled as</i>| <i>Function</i> | <b>1</b> | Throttle | Throttle | <b>2</b> | Aileron | Left aileron, left left vector (via a Y Cable) | <b>3</b> | Elevator | Right aileron, right vector (via a Y Cable) | <b>4</b> | Rudder | Left/right thrust vector, nose wheel steering (via a Y cable) | <b>5</b> | Gear | Retracts | <b>6</b> | Aux 1 | Left canard | <b>7</b> | Aux 2 | Right canard To fully utilize all of the functions of the Eurofighter, it is best to go with at least a seven channel receiver. That is not to say that a receiver with less channels could possibly be used however. Some very creative transmitter programming would undoubtedly be required to make this option work. The Spektrum AR7000 seven channel receiver is my receiver of choice in my larger EDFs. The assembly of the Eurofighter speeds along at such a nice pace that when it came time for the receiver installation, I thought it advantageous to spend a little extra time neatening the abundance of wiring that connects all of the servos to the receiver, as well as the wiring for the pre-installed lighting system. Having a tidy appearance under the canopy doesn't make a plane fly any better but I usually prefer the polished look of a neat radio installation. There is a substantial number of servo wires and also the lighting wiring and control module, all located to the rear of the cockpit opening. The lights can be switched on and off via a small slider switch on the lighting control module but why would you want to switch them off?! In my opinion, they are a really cool feature and are even visible in broad daylight. |spec | @3381257 |spec | <i><b>Included lighting controller ... wires labeled by builder </b></i> |spec | @3198133 | @3198134 |spec | <i><b>Wiring under the hood before ... and after spending a little time neatening it all up </b></i> Several programming mixes are in order to properly utilize all of the features of the Eurofighter. Most of the programming required is in connection with the canards. As mentioned above, Hobby Lobby does a very nice job of detailing the necessary programming when utilizing a Spektrum DX7 transmitter. Up until six months ago, I was a die hard DX7 user. My DX7 was recently replaced with JRs new X9503 transmitter. The two transmitters are genetically related and the programming is thus very similar. I have included several screen shots below to assist in setting up a 9303/9503 transmitter. |spec | @3375547 |spec | <i><b>Wing type menu; set to Delta wing </b></i> |spec | @3375546 |spec | <i><b>Servo reversing screen </b></i> |spec | @3375574 |spec | <i><b>Mix 1; left aileron/vector to left canard </b></i> |spec | @3375543 |spec | <i><b>Mix 2; right aileron/vector to right canard </b></i> |spec | @3375544 |spec | <i><b>Mix 3; elevator to left canard</b></i> |spec | @3375545 |spec | <i><b>Mix 4; elevator to right canard </b></i> No mixes are required for the rudder because the left/right motion of the thrust vectoring is provided by a servo, which is connected to a Y cable and plugged into the rudder channel along with the nose wheel steering servo. The 80% setting in Mix 3 above was done to match the travels of the canards. There is quite a bit of programming and control surface setup that must be done even after the mixes have been programmed. Sub trims will all have to be set, as will travel adjustments and mechanical neutrals. The assembly manual provides recommended settings for exponential on both high and low rates, as well as recommended throws for both the elevons and canards. I initially used the recommended throws but later bumped up the high rate throws for a little more movement. |spec | <b><i>Recommended Exponentials and Rates</b> | | Low Rate | High Rate | Low Rate Exponential | High Rate Exponential | <b>Ailerons </b> | 50% | 100% | 30% | 40% | <b>Elevators</b> | 50% | 100% | 30% | 40% | <b>Rudder</b> | 60% | 100% | 20% | 25% |spec | <b><i>Recommended Control Throws</i></b> | |Low Rates | High Rates | <b>Elevons</b> | 3/4" | 1 1/2" | <b>Canards</b> | 5/8" | 1 1/8" !!Power System |spec | @3208959 | @3208960 |spec | <i><b>90mm fan and brushless outrunner specifications from Freewing Website </b></i> Two of the three components that make up the power system of the 90mm Eurofighter come pre-installed. The fan/motor and speed controller are already in place when you remove the fuselage out of the box. There is an access hatch on the bottom of the fuselage, which can be used to access the fan/motor assembly. I removed my hatch in order to take some photos of the fan and motor for this review. The hatch fits snugly and after removing the two retaining screws, it must be lifted straight up in order to remove it. The pair of Thunder Power Pro Power 45C 3S 3800mAh batteries fit nicely under the canopy but must be oriented on their sides to fit properly. A pre-installed hook and loop strap locks them in place. Hobby Lobby includes a short Deans connector jumper plug if you instead decide to use a single 6S battery. |spec | @3138256 | @3138258 | @3138259 The twin intake ducts on the eRC Eurofighter capture the essence of the gaping square intakes of the full size Eurofighter. Peering into my intakes, I observed what appears to be strapping tape installed atop at least part of the ducting. I could not determine if it serves as an adhesive or merely as a liner of sorts. I did have some reservation about it being positioned in front of a 90mm fan, as it is sure to be subjected to a large amount of force trying to tear it free. However, after several dozen flights on my Eurofighter, I have yet to notice any of it turning up missing. |spec | @3138255 Another matter worth mentioning is that no programming instructions are provided for the included speed controller. Mine functions almost perfectly out of the box. The one aspect of the ESC that I found myself wondering about was how the low voltage cutoff is configured? During my flight testing and media shoots, we several times inadvertently flew the batteries to the point that they were pretty much on "E". I am accustomed to some audible indication that I am at LVC, usually a pulsing of the power system? In the case of my Eurofighter, several times we were having so much fun that we flew past our countdown timers expiration. The ESC would sip juice out of the batteries until they were pretty much empty, at which point the EDF power system would spool down and we would be forced to make a dead stick landing. Not a problem if you pay attention to your timer but I think all of us tend to push our flight durations now and then?! I will comment at this juncture that the Eurofighter is a pussy cat to land with little or even no power !!Completion |spec | @3368527 Normally, completing a model involves dressing it up with the decals included in the box, or customizing the airframe with weathering and the like on your own. In the case of the eRC Eurofighter, the decals are already applied right out of the box. And there are loads of them for sure! This particular aircraft is done up as a Luftwaffe Eurofighter, as is shown in a couple photos of real Luftwaffe Eurofighters included in the introductory section of this review. Just about every corner of this Eurofighter model has some little warning decal or lettering applied to it. Completion always involves checking and rechecking critical items. The proper CG is provided in the assembly manual. Mine was just a wee bit nose heavy when using the Thunder Power ProPower 45C 3800mAh 3S packs in series. |spec | @3375651 |spec | <i><b>Center of Gravity: 11-1/8" back from the lip of the intake on bottom of the fuselage </b></i> The batteries lie in an angled tray and are secured in place by a stout hook and loop strap. Running my completed and ready to fly Eurofighter across my hangar scales revealed an all-up-weight of 5 pounds 4 ounces, or 84 ounces. Specified weight is 79 to 85 ounces, placing mine just within this range. That this is a fairly large plane becomes evident when you are carrying it around the house or readying it for a trip to the field. The foam can dent when the airframe is jostled against a hard surface, so care is on order. I found it necessary to be especially careful to mind the canards when moving the plane about, lest one bump them and potentially strip the gears on the servos that drive them. |spec | @3198132 | @3198128 |spec | @3198129 !Flying !!Taking Off and Landing |spec | @3251976 Getting the big Eurofighter up into the air involves little more than pointing it's nose into the wind and pushing the throttle to the stops. Acceleration is good and the stock motor does an excellent job of motivating this jet down the runway. The real challenge in taking the Eurofighter off involves finessing the elevator stick to get it to break ground gradually, in a scale fashion, instead of it exploding skyward in a sudden blast of vertical momentum. My initial take offs were mostly of the latter sort. I would let the Eurofighter accelerate for a few seconds and then start feeding in up elevator until the plane would rotate. The part I personally didn't t care for was the way it would suddenly "release" and rotate into a hard 45 to 75 degree angle of climb out. My preferred style of take off is one that as closely as possible emulates the way the real aircraft usually takes off. Though I am sure the real aircraft can perform an aggressive style of vertical takeoff, I have a feeling such maneuvers may be saved for special occasions. |spec | @3251977 | @3251982 Transforming my takeoffs into ones where the Eurofighter performed a more gradual rotation was achieved mainly by adjusting the way I used the elevator stick on my transmitter. I found that by applying a small amount of elevator when the Euro is ready to rotate, and then immediately releasing it, the Eurofighter would usually gently rotate and lift off into a nice shallow departure angle. It was often necessary to repeat this quick "on-off" elevator input several times during the rollout to get the Eurofighter to break ground. Adjusting the neutral position of the two canards may also be necessary. Once the Eurofighter leaves the ground, the sight of the tricycle gear slowly rotating up into the belly of the jet as it climbs away from you is oh so cool! |spec | @3251972 | @3368539 Bringing the eRC Eurofighter back down to the ground is almost an easier assignment, if nice controlled approaches that look almost real are your preferred landing style. The suspension struts help soak up any of those less than perfect landings. They have a fair amount of travel when depressed. The high alpha capabilities of this big delta winged aircraft make it possible to bring it in a nose high configuration and settle it on the mains at an surprisingly slow airspeed. The airframe retains energy well in my opinion and getting it into this nose high attitude will first involve scrubbing most of your airspeed. Once this is accomplished, the throttle must be modulated to keep the nose pointed skyward. I like to start scrubbing airspeed as I come cross field on my landing approach. This also a great time to drop the gear and visually verify that you have three green, down and locked. The turns to base and final require an especially attentive elevator and throttle balancing act. The delta wing can cause the nose to drop in the turns if your speed gets too slow, or if your turn gets too steep. Once on final, use the throttle to control the rate of descent. Once across the runway threshold, the power can slowly be pulled back. The Eurofighter will reward you by settling gently on its mains first, with the nose settling a half second or so later. I love shooting approaches with this plane, as it looks absolutely sinister in its forward profile as it descends toward you. I like to hold enough RPMS that I have power to dump after I am safely on the ground. The look and sound of the Eurofighter as it rolls out after a landing, with the throttle suddenly dropping to a quiet idle, is pretty exciting! |spec | @3368557 |spec | @3251981 | @3251975 I did all of my Eurofighter flying off of hard pavement. I personally prefer to avoid grass when flying my larger EDFs, as most of the grassy flying fields I have at my disposal are rather rough. While the metal landing gear will absorb a lot of the irregularities that may exist on the runway, I did find that rougher pavement or large expansion cracks would at times bend the main gear just enough that they would "catch" on the foam wheel wells while retracting and this fail to tuck completely up into the fuselage. A little tweak with a small set of needle nose pliers was always sufficient to set them straight again. To help keep them properly functioning, I like to use a little light oil applied to the point of suspension before each flying session. This helps keep the metal to metal joint from binding up. I did have one main gear servo die while in flight. (More on that below in the conclusion) I also experienced problems getting the nose gear door to function properly. Mine came out of the box somewhat in a state of disassembly. I did my best to reassemble it but it only lasted a flight or two. The nose gear was hanging up on it while retracting, and my best solution was to just remove it. !!Aerobatics/Special Flight Performance With a thrust ratio that is specified to be nearly 1:1, thrust vectoring and the functional canards, the Eurofighter is capable of extreme maneuvers and aerobatics. With the throttle pegged and the rates switched to high, the Eurofighter responds quickly to stick inputs. Rolls are clean and quick. Inverted flight requires a modest amount of down elevator, especially in tighter turns. Again, my Eurofighter was a little on the nose heavy side though. The Euro does not have a movable rudder on the rear of the vertical stabilizer, the twin thrust vectoring nozzles instead providing control in this axis. One of the coolest maneuvers that the Eurofighter can perform is a flat, descending spin. This maneuver is instigated by bleeding almost all of ones airspeed and then applying both elevator and rudder, along with a blast of throttle, to get the Euro spinning. A little opposite aileron is necessary to keep the airframe horizontal while spinning. Though I understand the HOW of this maneuver, I am a wee bit embarrassed to report that my thumbs could not properly sequence the sticks to make it happen. If you would like to see the Eurofighter getting thoroughly wrung out by veteran pilot Jason Cole, with a few of these amazing flat spins included, please take a peek at the <a href=https://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showatt.php?attachmentid=3079778&d=1266948367><b>H obby Lobby eRC Eurofighter factory video</b></a>. |spec | @3198123 Another specialty of the Eurofighter, thanks in part to its large, sweeping triangular delta wing, is it's high alpha forward flight capability. Bringing the Eurofighter down the runway center line in such a nose high configuration, the fan RPMs modulating to hold it in this position, could be one of the trademark maneuvers of this aircraft. The transition back to regular forward flight is as quick as a healthy push forward on the throttle stick. The thrust ratio of the Eurofighters 90mm power system is just a bit south of one to one, meaning the vertical is limited. A high speed pass on the deck with a sweeping pull up into a hard vertical looks and sounds great however. The 90mm power system included with this Eurofighter is impressive, both in performance and acoustics. Bring it by directly in front of you at full throttle and you will hear the sound of copious amounts of air being sucked into the twin rectangular intakes and blasted out the exhaust! |spec | @3261274 | @3261275 One drop tank was inadvertently jettisoned by my pilot while making one high speed, wide-open-throttle pass (read this as my magnetic attachment method evidently was not strong enough). As the tank released, it flew up and knocked the tip off the wingtip missile as well. Drat! I fabricated a replacement missile tip from spare foam I had lying around. !!Is This For a Beginner? Though this eRC Eurofighter lands very easily in my opinion, an EDF of this size, cost and complexity is probably not suitable for a rank beginner. If you have some EDF experience, with a clear understanding of the slightly different way that an EDF power system functions as compared to propeller based power systems, and you are comfortable flying some of the smaller scale 70mm EDF jets available, you may be ready to tackle this larger 90mm bird. It really does not bite at all and will not offer up any sudden surprises but it is composed of foam and thus will need to be handled properly, especially when landing. The suspension struts are very good at soaking up the energy of lass than perfect landings but hit too hard and you may overwhelm the springs and damage the foam airframe. !!Flight Video/Photo Gallery http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_...p;fullscreen=1 http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_...p;fullscreen=1 |spec | @3198126 |spec | @3198127 | @3198125 |spec | @3251978 | @3251974 | @3251979 |spec | @3198122 | @3251980 |spec | @3368525 | @3368556
|spec | <i><b>Here is another video of the Eurofighter, filmed a little south of me at SCCMAS by another pilot </b></i> !Conclusion At the end of the day, I feel that this first 90mm EDF offering from Hobby Lobby is one super exciting product! The included options list is impressive, and the stock power system really performs! The sound of this large EDF coming in hot on the deck just cannot be beat. The 90mm fan pulls in, and then blasts out, a serious amount of air and sounds absolutely intense doing so. The included lighting system and retracts really dress this one up nicely. Add in thrust vectoring and you have a model that is as versatile, extreme and as capable as the full size Eurofighter is! With an occasional drop of light oil on the suspension struts, my landing gear have functioned very dependably. There are a few minor blemishes on this one, such as the red and green wingtip navigation lights being reversed from the standard adhered to in general aviation. They can either be swapped with minimal effort, or just left as is. I chose the latter. My nose gear door arrived in a semi-disassembled state, possibly occurring in transit to me. I put it back together as best possible but removed it when the nose gear snagged on it during the retracting of the gear. During the course of this review, I had two of my three retract servos fail. I also had one canard servo die. To Hobby Lobby's credit, they responded to what they considered an unacceptable number of retract servo failures by sending out a set of three improved quality metal gear servos to those who purchased a Eurofighter from them. They also included a detailed set of instructions, as well as an online video which shows the exact procedure to follow to easily replace them. This is an example of a good customer service department doing their reasonable best to ensure that folks are satisfied with their Eurofighters. Through it all, I have yet to tire of flying this impressive 90mm electric ducted fan but find myself eager to get it to the field again as soon as possible. It is big, bold and the sound of the fan is just great! |spec | @3368524
|spec | <i><b>Retract servo replacement video from Jason Cole at Hobby Lobby </b></i> Pluses * * Freewing 90mm EDF power system impresses with its power, performance and perfectly fantastic acoustics * Aluminum struts with suspension, retractable gear (mechanical) * Larger 90mm sized air frame * Pre-installed lighting system * Nicely detailed cockpit and pilot figure Minuses * * Several servos (3 total: one main gear retract, nose retract and one canard) failed during flight testing and had to be replaced * Nose gear door mechanism failed early in flight testing |spec | @3251980 <i>Editor's Note: Per Hobby Lobby, their latest shipment of Eurofighters have the 3 metal gear upgrade servos pre-installed and the red/green nav lights have been moved to their correct positions. </i> ImagesView all Images in thread
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Last edited by Angela H; Aug 17, 2010 at 04:19 PM.
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Nice review. Just looking at it makes me want to get mine flying again.
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My apologies to those waiting ... I ran into some minor difficulties, as listed in the review, which casued me to run a little late on this one. In spite of these minor issues, this is one exciting plane in my opinion!
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Thats great Jon. Keep up the great work. :-)
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Last edited by SkylineFlyer; Aug 17, 2010 at 08:23 AM.
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Hobby Lobby sends me the plane at no charge ... I spend an incredible amount of my time assembling the review ... and I get to keep the plane for my efforts. Thanks for asking! |
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Thanks Jon.
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Last edited by SkylineFlyer; Aug 17, 2010 at 08:29 AM.
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Latest blog entry: H&M Performance Electric 60 size ...
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