Slow flying, self stabilizing, easy to fly, super tough, EPP 68" Storm Chaser, 46" Albatross and 34" Pelican slow flying park flyers.

http://www.crashtesthobby.com/

We have taught a lot of people to fly. Our new flyers have always wanted an easy to build, easy to fly self stabilizing plane that could almost fly it self. We built the plane in 3 sizes so you can choose which size is best for you. They are stable in wind and made out of EPP foam so new flyers can "Fly More-Fix Less" while they learn to fly. EPP foam won't crush like EPO or EPS foam or balsa and if it does get torn it is easy to repair. What has surprised us is we sell more to advanced flyers than beginners. These are the "Toughest Trainers on the Planet".

These designs offer many possibilities for night flying, indoor flying, aerial photography, and flying in small parks where low noise levels are needed. No one is going to complain if they don't know you are flying.

If you are a new flyer or are having trouble learning to fly, we have designed these planes for you. If you are an experienced flyer, there are many things these planes can do to keep you entertained while you share the hobby with your friends and family. The 68" Storm Chaser is big enough to carry FPV gear and is perfect for the flyer wanting a stable platform that can stay overhead without a lot of pilot input.

I had a shop teacher who flew "free flight" model airplanes 40 years ago. These planes would be released with a gas motor running and had no way to control them after they left the pilots hand. They would put enough fuel in them for several minutes of flight and start them up and let them go. They had to chase the planes to recover them, similar to what we do now with model rocketry.

"Free flight models" have to stabilize themselves without pilot intervention because there is no pilot. I remember him showing me his plane and the first thing I said was, "What is wrong with your motor? It looks like it is pointing in the wrong direction." He explained to me how the odd motor angle helped the plane level itself and counter acted the torque of the prop while the power was on. We now offer the pod mount. The motor on a pod points straight forward but still has the same effect for a different reason.

In the spirit of free flight models, we designed the CTH 68" Storm Chaser, 46" Albatross and 34" Pelican slowflyers. The reason these planes are so easy to fly is because they are helping you, not fighting you, when they are in the air. Once balanced and trimmed, these planes can level themselves amazingly well. If a pilot is confused, all he has to do is let go of the stick, even if the plane is upside down or in a stall or dive, and the plane will turn itself right side up, level its wings and put its nose on the horizon as long as you have enough altitude.

Many of our customers are true beginners. Our customers report that the Albatross, Pelican and super sized Storm Chaser really are very easy to fly. Several have said that it is the first plane they have flown where they felt comfortable with the plane in the air. This design can also handle wind better than any other similar sized trainer I have tried. Even in the wind the plane is trying to level itself and help you fly.

We have made many improvements over the old "free flight" designs. Instead of balsa, we now use the same extremely tough EPP foam we use in our combat planes. Instead of free flight, we now use radio control. We designed a big solid EPP fuselage that is easy to to build and won't crush and acts like a shock absorber to protect the rest of the plane. We set the goal when we started this project to keep the plane inexpensive, simple to build and easy to fly. We have made videos showing the entire build to help you along.

We designed these planes to use the same motors and propellers we use on some of our other more advanced planes so as you learn to fly you can try our other planes and not have to buy new motors and different sized propellers.

The 68" Storm Chaser has 7.5 sq ft of wing, the 46" albatross has 3.7 sq ft of wing and the 34" Pelican has 2 sq ft of wing.

If you are looking for a new plane that is fun to fly and going to last, please consider the 68" Storm Chaser, 46" Albatross or 34" Pelican.

Lee

More testing with the 808 #16 and #16D HD video cameras (4 min 23 sec)

808 #16D Keychain camera on RC Albatross (5 min 16 sec)

Storm Chaser without a pilot (3 min 58 sec)

Albatross 48" self-stabilizing slowflyer - (3 min 18 sec)

36" EPP Pelicans 11-26-11 (5 min 54 sec)

48" CTH Trainer (3 min 8 sec)

These videos show that the planes are durable and fun to fly. Can your trainer do this and still keep flying?

Crashtesting the CTH Albatross 11-11 (4 min 17 sec)

Even the 72" Storm Chaser can do things that are amazing!!!!

Storm Chaser inverted flight (4 min 16 sec)

Storm Chaser with 18,000 mA battery (2 min 57 sec)

Some of the flyers in this video have only flown for a couple of weeks. The Albatross with the red wing and black tail at the end of the video is being flown by a pilot for his first time ever to fly RC.

Albatross Spot Landing 4-13 (2 min 30 sec)

This is the 34" Pelican flying in about 10 mph of wind. Lots of loops and turns for fun. This video is shot in a small softball diamond in the middle of town.

Pelican slowflyer loops in the wind 11-11 (3 min 48 sec)

Kevin is demonstrating the plane stalling at the first of this video.

Albatross-Pelican Tumbling and Spins (6 min 19 sec)

More flying showing the 46" Albatross.

48" CTH Trainer (3 min 8 sec)

This is an Albatross with the motor on a pod with a split screen video.

Albatross with pod with 808 #16D (4 min 4 sec)

Video from a Tricopter of the Albatross. Tricopter flown by Cory, Albatross flown by Tom.

Albatross filmed from a Tricopter (4 min 8 sec)

If you need a quiet plane for the local park this is a good plane to consider. I left the music off of this video so you can hear - or not hear the planes. Notice also the wind is blowing and the planes just keep on flying.

Albatross Quiet for local parks 11-26-11 (4 min 25 sec)

One of the modifications of the Albatross is the Q-Plane design I did years ago. If you are new to our designs this one will put a smile on your face. The Albatross is more stable but I have to admit the Q-plane is fun to fly. I was flying on a clear day and got sucked up by a thermal over a parking lot one day with the plane in the video. It nearly went out of sight straight up with the motor off.

This plane has an elevator built on the back of the wing and it is flown only with that elevator and the rudder. It does not have ailerons although they could easily be set up if you are going to make the modification.

This is a modification that could be done to either the Albatross or the Pelican.

The Eagle designs were fun and got a lot of attention but it didn't fly quite as good as the basic Q-Plane. I think the big difference was the weight of all the paint. The weight did add up to get the look I wanted. Like all planes these planes fly better if they are light.

This video is a prototype test where I was making trim adjustments to the elevator.

Q-Eagle Concept RC Plane (3 min 16 sec)

This video is the trainer version that will even thermal on a warm day. I also shot some video of power slope flying thousands of feet above the valley where I live.

Q Trainer at Squaw Peak and Park (4 min 59 sec)

This video is is slope flying with my Eagle version on the same mountain slope.

RC Q- Eagle flying at Squaw Peak Lookout (4 min 12 sec)

FPV

We have had a lot of questions from newer flyers wanting information on getting started in FPV. Rather than answer each question individually we have written an article on our website answering some of the questions with some specific suggestions.

http://www.crashtesthobby.com/fpv-for-beginners.html

Below are some pictures of my Albatross which I set up for FPV.

The Preditor V2 5.8 ghz Fat Shark system is perfect for the Albatross and only cost $280. I upgraded to the longer range antennas for another $40 but am flying the system stock and having a blast.

I did cut into the nose to get a better camera angle but the rest of the gear is just taped to the fuselage. It is a plug and play system.

Lee

Pelican Videos with 1000 mA 2S battery with 2812-1534 motor and 7x6 prop, 2S/3S 25 Amp ESC, MG90 servos

Pelican 10 16 (5 min 24 sec)

Pelican Sport 10 16 (4 min 55 sec)

Pelican, Ryan flying, M (7 min 10 sec)

Saved #10

wow..nice aircraft...
i may purchase the Albatros just to load it down with a ton of LEDs.
this would be a perfect night flyer.

Yeah, I think the albatross would be a great candidate for a night flyer.
You wouldn't even need a ton of LEDs the white EPP foam does a GREAT job of diffusing light. We have had great results with other EPP planes installing the lights facing the foam

My dad loves planes, but he has never flown an RC plane for more than about 30 seconds (ie... he always crashed) but we put one of these together for him to fly yesterday, I trimmed it out for him, and within 5 min, he was able to take it off, fly a battery dead, and land without any help. He loves it.

We have had several new flyers with questions.

Rudder needs to move 1" each direction.
Elevator moves 3/8" up or down.
The 48" plane can carry the weight of 2200 3S batteries or more.
I would stick with 1300s or less on the 36" Pelican even though it can carry more to keep it slow and easy.
The motor angle is there to compensate for the torque of the motor. Trust it.

Lee

OK- Wish I had some video.
This is an awesome plane.
Flies great and is capable of a lot more than the "trainer" name suggests.
Flawless maiden!
Lee we need to get some more synchronized flying video.
This would make a GREAT target plane!