Originally Posted by Skip_

. I was curious as to how much flight time I would get using a 3c 1300 lipo?

Using a 1800mah 3s pack, I got 4 climb outs at 3/4 throttle and used a little over 50% of the battery so I can plan on maybe 7 climb outs. These are 45deg+ climbs.

Finally, after many weeks after completing the build my Fox took to the air for the first time today.

Considering that I had made many mods (documented earlier) I was over the moon how she flew. I had the CofG at about 45-47mm and it definitely needs to be further back. Tomorrow will try again at 50mm.

Back to today, despite the CofG issue everything else was more or less spot on; needing only minor trim changes. My overall impression is the the model flies very smoothly although it did tend to drop the nose on turns today which is probably due to the forward CofG.

Being my first flight with the model I set my timer for 8 minutes. The flight was about 50/50 motor on/off. I've just charged the lipo and put in 830mah so once I get the set-up dialled in I can look forward to some longer flights.

The landing: Well, have I read many times about how the Fox floats on and on
upon landing. But, I wasn't prepared for just how long it took. I did a final circuit with motor off, lined up for final approach at about 5m high, and waited and waited and waited........this thing just doesn't want to return to the earth! It must have been 200m before the model finally touched down, coming to an abrupt halt upon hitting the one and only small bush at the end of the strip. Very slight damage ( a small dent in the foam) to the left wing but nothing more.

Lipo's all charged and ready for round 2 tomorrow, weather permitting.

After dedicating lots of time and effort making so many mods to the model; and making educated guesses re control throws, etc, it's always something of a shot in the dark with the maiden.

After my experience today I'm relieved to know that I must have more or less hit things bang on. Mostly, thanks to everyone in this thread for all the hints and tips.

Cheers guys,

Steve.

A very contented Fox flyer.

If you have a programable transmiter; program in flaparons, then make the alerons go up instead of down, it will get your plane down in a hurry,
next I have my CG at 50mm and its not enough, I've now got it balanced right at the carbon rod , I"ll see if that helps.

Ready to go again tomorrow with the CofG at about 51mm.

btdt, I will definitely give the flaperon/spoileron idea a try after I've got the Fox properly dialled in to my liking.

Steve.

balance near the carbon rod seems for me just about right

So what is the overall impression of this glider?
I am in the market for one and like the looks of it.

I plan to by it as an ARF (with electronics). Is it flyable with the stock electronics (motor, esc, servos)?

Maybe a better question is:
FOX or Sonic 185 ?

Originally Posted by Bombay

So what is the overall impression of this glider?
I am in the market for one and like the looks of it.

I plan to by it as an ARF (with electronics). Is it flyable with the stock electronics (motor, esc, servos)?

Maybe a better question is:
FOX or Sonic 185 ?

"ARF" has no electronics or motor. You need "PNP".
Your last question would be directed at someone who has both. Can't help you there. Personally, I like my planes big, so that puts the Fox ahead. Fox flies great, even the previous gen.
If you want fancy schmancy, go with something that has flaps and/or airbrakes.

Originally Posted by xviper

"ARF" has no electronics or motor. You need "PNP".
Your last question would be directed at someone who has both. Can't help you there. Personally, I like my planes big, so that puts the Fox ahead. Fox flies great, even the previous gen.
If you want fancy schmancy, go with something that has flaps and/or airbrakes.

Thanks. I am not looking for fancy schmancy. I guess it depends on who is classifying it as an ARF, PNP, RTF, Kit, etc. This ARF has the electronics...right, sounds like a PNP to me (but who am I to argue) :-)

http://www.nitroplanes.com/93a2501-2500-glider-arf.html

So, no "need" for modification with stock electronics?

Thumbs up?

Originally Posted by Bombay

Thanks. I am not looking for fancy schmancy. I guess it depends on who is classifying it as an ARF, PNP, RTF, Kit, etc. This ARF has the electronics...right, sounds like a PNP to me (but who am I to argue) :-)

http://www.nitroplanes.com/93a2501-2500-glider-arf.html

So, no "need" for modification with stock electronics?

Thumbs up?

Others may have differing opinions on this but I've found my Fox (previous gen) to be a terrific model. If you're going to buy one, confirm that it is the latest generation, with the tail mounted servos. They seem to give a more precise control of the tail surfaces.
You're right, NP seems to define "ARF" differently than what I've seen elsewhere. There's is the same as "PNP" from many other sellers.

Here's mine being flown more like an airplane than a sailplane:

HobbyKing Fox EPO Glider 2.32M (4 min 13 sec)

Originally Posted by Bombay

So what is the overall impression of this glider?
I am in the market for one and like the looks of it.

I plan to by it as an ARF (with electronics). Is it flyable with the stock electronics (motor, esc, servos)?

Maybe a better question is:
FOX or Sonic 185 ?

In my opinion I would most certainly re locate the elevator servo to the rear, j learned the hard way. I put the fox into a 30% or so dive and could not pull out of it, resulting in a total loss

you asked for an opinion"
heres mine;
rudder and eleverator servos both need to be in the rear;
elevator pushrod way to weak where it's located at.
once rudder and elevator moved to rear; plane needs to be balanced approx 55 to 60mm from leading edge, then this glider is a great plane.
I bought the plane with no electronocs or motor; put my own servos and motor in so I can't comment on the electronics or motor.
If your looking for a ready to fly airplane; this plane is not for you.

Thanks for the advice and comments. It is hard to tell, but I believe this version as the rudder servo on the tail, but the ele is in the fuse. I'll heed the warnings about the ele servo.

I forgot to say thanks for the great video...and that I am pumped.

BTW - is that vid with the stock motor etc?

Originally Posted by Bombay

Thanks for the advice and comments. It is hard to tell, but I believe this version as the rudder servo on the tail, but the ele is in the fuse. I'll heed the warnings about the ele servo.

I forgot to say thanks for the great video...and that I am pumped.

BTW - is that vid with the stock motor etc?

I got a Fox from NitroPlanes last month, and both servos were mounted in the cabin, not in the tail.
All moving surfaces were stiff as a board, and the 22 inch long ailerons have a control horn mounted close to the inboard end. When fully deflected at the control horn end, the other end barely moved.
I cut all control services free and added Dubro hinges. The rudder mechanism is a joke, so I removed it and moved the servo into the tail.
The re-hinged elevator moves so easily now that the servo seems to have no problems, so I left it where it was.
I've got the battery as far back as it can go without removing foam, and it flies quite nicely!

I like it now, but out of the box, it had issues.
The screws for the stab were a few mm too short...I had to find my own. The design seems to imply that the elevator's control horn should mounted on the top, instead of on the bottom where the pushrod exits the fuselage.
The instructions were absolutely useless.
None of these were a show stopper though.

Originally Posted by Bombay

I forgot to say thanks for the great video...and that I am pumped.

BTW - is that vid with the stock motor etc?

Yes, everything in my Fox is stock. Even the tail servos are in the fuse actuating the tail surfaces via the long rods. Some folks complain about the low rudder travel with the long rod set up but I only use rudder mainly for landing in crosswinds and occasionally during turns to lift the tail up a bit. I'm mostly a "bank and yank" kinda guy.
Make sure you launch with lots of throttle (more than 1/2). This is a heavy plane (relatively speaking) and needs some speed initially or it could stall and bank into the ground.

I have a few questions as I faithfully make my way thru the thread starting from page 1.

How do you remove the spinner? It wobbles a little. Typically they mount with a small bolt thru the center, but not this one.

I see the issue with the rudder/servo/control linkage setup. What were they thinking? Nonetheless I will see if I can free up the rudder stiffness a bit and squeeze a little more authority out of it. Is anyone besides xviper using the stock rudder setup?

What else? Oh yeah, how is the wing held on? I realize it comes with a large carbon rod that feeds into the aluminum tube, but is that sufficient to keep the wings from pulling apart in flight? I think the review article mentions some screws that feed from the fuselage, into the wing, and snug up against the carbon rod, but I don't see any screws or holes in my kit (nitroplanes).