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Further thoughts
I feel that these planes are absolutely fantastic for what they are. They are not beginner 3D planes unless the pilot keeps them away from the ground until skills have improved. They are designed for sport pilots or more experienced 3D pilots that appreciate a higher level of precision and their ability to fly well in stronger wind. Larger EPP planes need more strengthening than smaller ones and heavier planes crash harder. They are not as durable as smaller EPP planes but there is no question that they are far, far more durable in a crash than balsa planes of the same size. The balsa planes fly more crisply, but these Skywing planes have decent precision and are easier to fly,which allows you to fly crazy low in a way that only the very best balsa pilots can do without mishaps. If you strengthen the landing gear mount as discussed in this thread and crash on the landing gear then this plane will take incredible abuse; far more than my balsa planes with CF gear have been able to take.
If you fly lighter foamies and swap back and forth to balsa planes, you will generally find that you need to make an adjustment to the different flying characteristics since the lighter foamies float around whereas the balsas generally don't (despite what PA claim ). These Skywing kits IMHO are the closest EPP thing I have experienced to the balsa planes that I have (lots of EF, 3DHS and PA). I can grab a Skywing kit and fly it hard, then grab a balsa kit and fly it with very little adjustment at all. The main difference is the Skywing kits are more nicely mannered and therefore more relaxing to fly. That's why, for me, these Skywing kits are simply amazing. My balsa flying skills have improved immensely since I have been flying these Skywing planes. For me, they are the ultimate practice planes that go far beyond the "chore" of practice as they provide so much enjoyment that many times I choose to fly these Skywing planes instead of my balsa planes. Hopefully these comments help put your mind at ease. If you crash hard on the nose then it _might_ break (but it's easy to fix). If you crash on the landing gear or a wingtip then you will usually be able to pick it up and launch it again. |
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I was really impressed with the wings, fuse, and tail sections, that's why when I looked at the nose I was a bit disappointed. Like you said though, they are what they are. I don't expect it to be better than my balsas. If they were, I'd buy these instead. It'll be a good practice tool and something to beat up in the winter months until I can get my good planes out again. It is a great plane for the money though. I'm VERY impressed with the quality of the wings, and the fuse seems solid also. I'm excited to get it in the air! |
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Cool. It's good to know that you like the rest of the kit. I didn't want to think that you were disappointed with the plane after some of us recommended it to you, nor did I wanna leave your comment about the motor mount unaddresses as it's all too easy for people later on to see a comment like that and get the wrong impression overall. It sounds like you're the right type of customer to get the best satisfaction out of these planes. These planes are great for people that already have balsas and also for people that are preparing themselves for balsas. Would I recommend them as a first plane for a newbie? No way!
I am about halfway through repairing my MXS' nose. I got the wood pieces back into place and coated thin CA on pretty thick. I have just started gluing up the tears in the foam; one side at a time so that I can correctly tension the foam to minimise any gaps. Once all the foam is glued back together I will think about how I can add some extra strength to compensate for the breaks in the wood. I will either add some popsicle stick braces or I will use some polyurethane glue to strengthen the breaks. When this plane crashed the wire landing gear was basically squashed flat. It was a super hard hit yet the landing gear mount took it without complaint thanks to the awesome extra strength provided by the polyurethane glue that I coated onto all of the wood in that area. I wouldn't build one of these planes without coating that area with polyurethane glue. I have done it to four kits now and they have all survived hard landing gear hits. A few extra minutes during the build certainly pays off in this area. |
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Ya, I wasn't trying to imply that it isn't a good plane. First of all, I haven't flown it yet, so that'd be dumb of me to say it isn't a good plane. The construction is much better than I'd anticipated though. All-in-all, I'm impressed with the plane so far and cannot wait to get it in the air. Servos and esc are on the way. Are you running 3S 2200 packs with a 13x6.5 prop?
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Nothing wrong with the nose though, unless it's already been damaged. Personally I'd advise against pre-emptive strenghtening because it can transfer crash loads elsewhere, and the nose seems like a relatively easy place to access and fix. |
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WOW! What a read...No need to pick up a book for the next couple of weeks
Should make these planes out of steel so no issues with things getting damaged then |
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Good to hear Rich. My nose is back on too, but I still have a few things to fix up. The bottom rudder hinge seems a bit loose; perhaps one half of it broke in the crash or maybe one of the foam slots it's secured to has opened up a bit. I'll check it out tomorrow. The rudder MG14 servo now seems to have a slight case of the jitters, but only when I bounce the plane lightly on its tail wheel. I'll decide tomorrow whether to swap it over just now or whether I will continue to use it until it shows jitter in the air.
I would've finished off the repairs this weekend if I hadn't been working on a new battery charging "wall" as well as making a new video of the MXS. The video is just about ready for uploading to Vimeo. The battery charging "wall" was nac's idea to make better use of the space taken up by my large collection of battery chargers and power supplies. The batteries go into the slots in the cement bricks and I have a couple of cement sheets to cover the holes once all of the batteries are inside. |
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I wish I had a shed; a huge one at that.
Here's an MXS video from last weekend. I crashed the plane 3 times in a single flight, breaking 2 props in the process . At the time, I blamed it on the motor bearings that had been damaged on previous crashes and seemed to affect the power. Later that day I changed the bearings over and the following day I flew the MXS again. It flew much better; until I broke the nose off! We didn't get any video that day. Honestly, I was planning to put together a "durability" video and then durability became a topic here, so it looks like this video was made for this thread . http://vimeo.com/30619489 |
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Last edited by groovejet; Oct 16, 2011 at 07:22 AM.
Reason: typos
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Do you prefer a separate charger for each battery over parallel charging a bunch of them with one or two beefy chargers? |
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The bricks are a cool idea, but all those chargers... you have a definite HK addiction, they must love you |
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