File: D:/MariaDB Data/hyperflight/productreviews.MYD
> � R�����PULSAR-3200Looks Superb My new Pulsar arrived safe & well a short while ago. After a brief look inside, it looks superb, I'm still at work so I can't start assembling it yet!
Thanks very much for pulling out the stops to get it to me before the bank holiday.
best regards
Malcolm
Malcolm � � R�����
BLASTER-2EBlaster 2e & Supra\ I just thought I would let you know how much I am impressed with the Blaster Electric, this week is the first opportunity I have had enough time to do it justice.
I am more than impressed with its performance, it exceeds all of my expectations, I have just come back from a session with just two powered launches with both flights having to spiral out of exessive lift with flight times of 45 and 38 minutes, the plane was as high as I could see effectively.
Last week I had the Blaster (non electric) out and recorded a flight time of 36 minutes again having to spiral out of lift. Lovely machines both.
I was also flying the Supra E on Sunday and got to a height of 290 Metres logged by the Alti Pro from Martin Bell from a launch height of 200 metres.
I am so impressed with the developments in the sport in the last couple of years, my flying buddies at my flying club thought I was mad about 5/6 years ago when I decided to ditch all of my I/C in favour of electric power, guess what most of them are flying now!
Again many thanks for introducing me to Vladimir's models
All the best
JohnJohnH � R����j
BLASTER-2EOutstanding Quality� First email:
I've been watching carefully my new "toy", and the word that comes to my mind is outstanding. I've been modelling for 35 years and I never found such high quality in a model. I also have a Stuart Blanchard's Calypso Sport and F3B New Age, they fly very well indeed, but they haven't the same manufacture quality.
I heard about Vladimir's building quality, but the only one model I saw some years ago was a Graphite. It looked very nice, but the Blaster overpassed it.
I'll be building it up next week (if work allows me to do so). I'll give you my comments soon.
Second email:
The Blaster got airborne today. It's a delightful to fly. It's very agile, tight thermal turns are possible without loosing any height.
I found the CG too forward without posibility to move any item backwards, I'm using 2S 800 mA Lipo (45g). This give me about 1 hour flight. I'm thinking about replacing the battery, 30g, perhaps, but I'm not sure. From your point of view, can you suggest any Lipo combination to achieve the right Blaster CG?
Pass my congratulations to Vladimir for this great design. Kind regards,
Jordi
(I suggest using light weight powertrains and 400-500mah 2S lipos, even if using lightweight tail servos - Neil.)Jordi { � R�����SUPRA-E-COMP-LITEBrilliant Supra-e? What brilliant aircraft! Wind 5/6 MPH temperature at 3C MAX wind gradually picking up to about 10 but good sunshine.
Set it up as per the settings on a web site: steel rule on the bottom surface for phase one , steel rule on the top surface for phase two and 2mm extra droop for phase three.
Gordon uses aileron and flaps for control while I only use ailerons, does not appear to make the slightest difference as we have both flown each others model.
I have never flown an aircraft that requires so little elevator input to do smooth thermal turns.
Cheers
AndyAndyL � � R����6 BLASTER-2Finest DLGsZ These really are the finest DLG gliders I have ever built by the way!
Regards,
AliAli M � � R�����MINI-GRAPHITE-E(most fun and the most well behaved modelw Just thought I'd let you know that I'm flying my Mini Graphite regularly and can honestly say that it's probably the most fun and the most well behaved model of this size and type that I've flown.
I've fine tuned my set-up now and its a peach. I fly it almost as much from flat fields with the motor for blasting around as I do of the slopes.
I've thrown it of the biggest and scariest sea cliffs that North Wales has to offer and it just sucks it up. I've thrown it of the Great Orme in extreme conditions with ballast and it seems to hang in the air at the top of huge 500ft half pipes before plummeting down to race back along the edge like a missile. Great fun :-)
I can also relax with the MG as its so stable when trimmed to fly slowly.
My TX timer for the Mini Graphite now has 17 hours on it, more than any other model I've flown this year!
Regards
David
DavidB � �
R�����SUPER-AVA-ESuper Auper AVAq I have now been flying my Super AVAe quite a lot recently and have even impressed the guys at the local Glider club. This plane is amazing, simple to fly, thermals exceptionally well even exibiting some of the characteristics of my old A2 free flight models and has a good speed range. It also climbs like a rocket on a Hacker B40 12L driving a 16 x 8 aeronaut prop and using a 2400 mah Kokam Lipo. I reckon it is at around 800ft after 30 secs..! The model is also beatifully built and was very easy to fit the radio. I am using the new 2.4 Ghz Futaba and so far seems rock solid.
As you know I also bought a SUPRAe ! and this model is even more fantastic but has proved to be more of a challenge to program the radio, however I have had some exceptional flights and again it seems easy to fly. It is however less robust than the AVA and needs careful handling both during the fit out and when assembling. Even so the thing is awesome.
Thanks for your help and advice during the build and as I am being asked to do a display at my village fete you may be getting a few orders from Northumberland!
Kind Regards
SteveSteveM � � R����KSUPRA-E-COMPMore Fantastic SUPRAeq I have now been flying my Super AVAe quite a lot recently and have even impressed the guys at the local Glider club. This plane is amazing, simple to fly, thermals exceptionally well even exibiting some of the characteristics of my old A2 free flight models and has a good speed range. It also climbs like a rocket on a Hacker B40 12L driving a 16 x 8 aeronaut prop and using a 2400 mah Kokam Lipo. I reckon it is at around 800ft after 30 secs..! The model is also beatifully built and was very easy to fit the radio. I am using the new 2.4 Ghz Futaba and so far seems rock solid.
As you know I also bought a SUPRAe ! and this model is even more fantastic but has proved to be more of a challenge to program the radio, however I have had some exceptional flights and again it seems easy to fly. It is however less robust than the AVA and needs careful handling both during the fit out and when assembling. Even so the thing is awesome.
Thanks for your help and advice during the build and as I am being asked to do a display at my village fete you may be getting a few orders from Northumberland!
Kind Regards
SteveSteveM Y � R�����AVAThe Best4 AVA, The best machine I've owned or flown!
Pete
PeteY � �
R����VSUPER-AVA-Eutterly stunning a work of art� Hi Neil, I trust the cheque has arrived, the Super AVA did this morning, I must say, it is utterly stunning a work of art, too good to fly!!
best regards Chris � � R����)
BLASTER-2EReport Back� I thought I'd report back on my two Blasters.
The e version is my most used and favourite model. It is fantastic to
fly, flies for 30 mins upwards on a 700 mah lipo and copes with quite
strong winds. The only thing it won't do is knife edge! I will have to
consider getting a spare in due course.
The dlg version is terrific - I can now get 5 mins upwards flights in
decent sunshine on the smallish playing fields at the bottom of my
garden. I have discovered that the secret to a high launch for me is to
be very relaxed and to extend my left arm with the transmitter as a
counter-weight. I have no idea how high I am getting - I would guess
about 100 feet at best. What should I be aiming at? I flew it at
Ivinghoe Beacon last Sunday in 15 knots of wind and it was superb. I
will need to get a lost model alarm as I messed up one landing behind
the hill and lost it behind a hawthorn tree.
Yours, AndrewAndrewT � � R����� BLASTER-2Report Back� I thought I'd report back on my two Blasters.
The e version is my most used and favourite model. It is fantastic to
fly, flies for 30 mins upwards on a 700 mah lipo and copes with quite
strong winds. The only thing it won't do is knife edge! I will have to
consider getting a spare in due course.
The dlg version is terrific - I can now get 5 mins upwards flights in
decent sunshine on the smallish playing fields at the bottom of my
garden. I have discovered that the secret to a high launch for me is to
be very relaxed and to extend my left arm with the transmitter as a
counter-weight. I have no idea how high I am getting - I would guess
about 100 feet at best. What should I be aiming at? I flew it at
Ivinghoe Beacon last Sunday in 15 knots of wind and it was superb. I
will need to get a lost model alarm as I messed up one landing behind
the hill and lost it behind a hawthorn tree.
Yours, Andrew
AndrewT a � R���ÇGRAPHITE-2E%Graphite 2e - A "Rather-warm-liner"!! I ordered my Graphite 2e from Hyperflight in June 2008, and after a short wait for a fresh batch of kits from Vladimir, a rather large and rather well packed box was delivered to my doorstep. After spilling foam peanuts all over the place (my other half was really not impressed!), I had teh basic components laid out on the living room floor.
The quality of the wing panels and fuselage were impeccable. The finish was nice and even, and I could not find a blemish anywhere! I chose a red underside, with yellow everything else, and red splashes on the wingtips. With hindsight, this colour combo realy stands out in the air, especially on dull days. On the brighter days, I keep wondering if some contrasting stripes on the underside would help gauge those thermal turns in the distance a bit better, but then, it's probably more down to lack ofpiloting skills!
The build was pretty quick really. I did complicate things slightly by installing servo frames for the Futaba S3150 servos in the wing, but other than that, there is very little work to be done. Just install servos, linkages and wiring to the wing, then start on the fuselage.
As I was planning on a fairly warm electric setup, I decided to install a Spektrum AR9000 receiver in the rear of the fuselage, thus giving maximum space for batteries under the wing, and in the forward fuselage. A simple wrap of foam was enough to wedge the RX in place, and provide some shock protection too. Up front, in the removable nose cone, I installed a Hacker B50-11l with a 6.7:1 gearbox. This motor, if anything, is a little on the large (heavy) side, and I wouldn't hesitate to swap it for a B40 on the same gearbox if I ever need to. The motor fitted perfectly, with no need for any dremelling! Behind the motor, I fitted a Castle Creations Phoenix 80 ESC. The BEC on this had no chance of coping with 6 digital servos when powered from a 6s lipo pack, so I fitted a Castle Creations CC-BEC to the main battery connector too. This BEC is rated up to 5A (powered from a 6s pack), so should cope fine with the servo load onboard the Graphite 2e.
With all that installed, the rest of the space is available for batteries! As luck would have it, my existing 3s 2150mAh Zippy and Rhino Lipo packs fitted in perfectly, just needing a small block of foam at back of the fuselage to stop them sliding back too much. With the nose assembled to the fuselage, the packs can just about slide in through the canopy opening, which means easy pack changes at the flying site!
To begin with, I fitted a 16x10" cam folding prop at the front end. Bench testing this setup gave a current draw of around 50 amps (21 volts ish) for just over 1kW input power. Plenty considering the whole model weighs in at around 2.45kg! I have recently tried an 18x10" prop, and this sees the current go up to over 60 amps, for an input power of over 1300Watts!
The first flight was a bit of a non-event, mainoy because I left the battery wiring harness (to connect the two 3s packs in series!) at home! After a quick trip to fetch it, The model was range tested, and all setup ready to go.
The handlaunch was easy, just a firm push forwards, and the graphite was away. I needed a fair bit of down trim to get a level glide (ip ut that down to me getting the neutral All moving tail incidence not quite right), but once it settled into a level glide, I opened the throttle gently. The model literally shot forward, and started to rotate upwards. I had to hold a fiar bit of down elevator in to keep the climb at around 60� (meaning the CG is a bit far forward), but it climbed rather quickly (2600fpm later recorded on my Micrologger!). Levelling off and shutting the motor down, the Graphite settled into a nice flat glide at around 600 feet. A quick few circuits to check the control response out (spot on as given in the manual!), and I had to push the nose down for a fast, low pass!
The sound it made as it came past me about 12 feet off the deck, is perhaps my most favourite sound in aeromodelling. A sort of whistling, whoosh type noise. The sound air molecules make when being tortured! In over 200 flights since last summer, I never fail to grin from ear to ear when I hear that noise!
I spent quite a lot of time exploring the flight envelope of the Graphite, and it is VERY easy to fly. The stall is very tame, with it only wanting to drop a wing if the CG is quite far back, and you really provoke it. With a bit of camber dialled in, it really slows to a crawl. A bit of reflex on the wing, and it is nice and brisk too, especially if you point the nose down!
The landings are a piece of cake too. With the assistance of just the flaps hanging out at about 75� (or crow brakes if your TX can handle them), teh descent rate increases dramatically, yet the airspeed doesn't! A party piece of mine is to launch the model, climbout almost vertically to about 500feet, pull inverted, put out full crow brakes, then pull through to an almost vertical descent, before levelling out at about 10 feet, tuck the crow brakes away, and alnd at my feet :) It never fails to impress!
IN summary, this is a fantastic bit of kit. It is so versatile, from hot climbs, and high energy aerobatics, to circling away at a snails pace looking for thermals, it does it all. It may not be the fastest ship in the world, and it may not be the best thermal hunting machine, but it does fit the "Jack of all Trades" label perfectly! If I ever lose this one, I will not hesitate to buy another one straight away! In fact, I'm tempted to buy a spare now.....
Cheers!
Andy
Andy Sayle � � R���İGRAPHITE-2EKeep an Eye on the flaps :)? Just one further point worth mentioning from my review, and that is to keep an eye on the Flap lower surfaces.
After over 200 flights, and the occasional landing where I don't quite get the flaps tucked away in time, one of the flaps has started to delaminate slightly.
The tell-tale sign is a bubbling of the nice smooth finish on the underside of the flap. This shows where the internal structure has started to peel away from the glass skin.
It is an easy fix, just inject some thin CA between the delaminated glass skin and core structure, and clamp it together gently (support the clamps so the load is nice and even over the whole flap surface. I used some balsa sheets), and leave overnight to thoroughly cure.
The easiest way to avoid this, is to put the flaps away before touchdown! Lesson learnt :)
Andy
Andy Sayle 3 � R���;GRAPHITE-2EGraphite 2e�
I ordered a V-Tail Graphite late last year (2008) and duly received the kit of parts (though lacking the V-tails). My only criticism was that I had to wait until February to receive these essential components. Anyway, it was well worth the wait. The finish was immaculate and of stunning precision. All parts fit together seamlessly.
I installed a Kontronic Fun 500-27 ith a 5.2:1 gearbox teamed with 55Amp Jazz 55-6-18 controller.
The receiver was a MultiplexRX-9-Synth compact, to go with my Profi mc4000 transmitter.
All servos were Multiplex digital, with SLIM-STAR FL for ailerons, MICRO digi for flaps and POLO digi 4's for the V-Tails.
The LiPo used was a Kokam 2100 C30.
The only installation problems related to the stylish, strong but not very spacious fuselage. Plenty of space up-front but not much under the wing mounts.
With the rather heavy motor, the LiPo had to be mounted well back and partly under the wing. So the front section of the fuselage just hosted the motor and speed controller. All the pickup sensitive components were mounted aft of the LiPo and in a rather constrained area. (I must admit the things would have been easier with a lighter weight motor).
There is a very strong "D" section carbon-fibre tube connection the front nose-cone with the rest of the fuselage and this is designed to give good impact resistance to heavy landings - a good idea. One can insert ballast into this tube, if required. I used it to hold the receiver battery-pack ie no bec. The V-Tail servos had to be mounted one-behind-the-other, at the rear-end of the under-wing access. This was the only way that I could fit them in. Alas, Dr. Drella's beautiful tails were far too slim for tail-mounted servos.
Having said all that everything went-in in the end.
The flying surfaces were set-up as recommended as was the C.of G. Using an 18x11" CAM prop. the motor delivered 550 W static drawing roughly 48A. and well within the Jazz controller rating.
On test flights the model climbed rapidly enough for contest-work at about 70deg. and was beautifully stable. Likewise, an absolute joy in thermal flight where my usual problem is visibility at altitude - I get concerned above 1200ft.
I ended-up with the C.of G a few mm forwards of the suggested figure probably due to my geriatric touch on the controls.
The model has a tremendous speed range and is sensitive to controls at thermalling speeds but without any real tendency to side-slip or tip-stall.
Some pilots are wary of V-Tails for handing at landing speeds. I have found that the full range of up-aileron is needed for steering with full crow landings. Having said that, no problems.
In short, a joy to fly and great in our usual UK blustery conditions.
By the way, I have ordered another.
Peter Hindle <