Aerobatic Performance Team
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Absolutely the Best in Giant Scale Team Performance ! |
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ARF Reviews
Extreme Composite Edge 540T 50CC Dietrich Performance75CC Extra260
product Reviews Smart-Fly Competition 12 Turbo
Instruction Manuals
The Ladies Justina and Dietrich 42% Extra 260
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ARF Build Review-Xtreme Composite 2.6m Edge 540
Distributed by BVM Props Review by "Rockin' Rick" Part 6
Now would be a good time to drill and balance your prop and spinner. I chose the Dave Brown 5" "Ultimate" spinner and the VESS 27B prop for this project. Install the horizontal stabs and recheck for a good fit here. The wing tube supplied with the kit leaves a little bit to be desired as it is quite a bit heaver than your average 1 1/2" aluminum wing tubes . (weighs in at 1.2 lb., I'm not too happy about adding that extra weight) BVM Props claimed that the wing tubes supplied from the factory were folding up on the test aircraft and they decided to supply one that was a bit more thicker and stronger. It kinda' reminds me of an aluminum water pipe. They also charged all of us who preordered the aircraft an extra $45 for their design deficiency. Real nice of them. Don't get me wrong; I appreciate their effort to correct a potential problem, but I think that the cost of this last minute correction shouldn't have been passed on to the consumer. I would have been more than willing to pay $45 extra for a CF tube upgrade, but not for a thicker, heavier aluminum wing tube. I'm going to change this wing tube out for CF wing tube that weighs about 10oz. later on down the road. I installed the left wing in order to establish a good mounting location for Power Box switch.
C.G. For those of you who are interested, I've found that the C.G. location for centering on the wing tube is at 6" aft of the front of the leading edge of the wing at the outside tip. Move inward toward the fuse and measure back from where the tip ends its curve and the wing becomes straight. This will put the C.G. right in the middle of the wing tube. Setting the C.G. at 5 1/2" back for the initial flights wouldn't hurt a bit but the plane will be a slight bit nose heavy at this measurement.
Well, that's about as far as I'm going to take this one for now. The rest should be normal procedure fitting and connecting all the rest of the electrical components and setting up the airplane for flight. Don't forget to properly balance the aircraft. The CG at just a tad nose heavy for the initial flights won't hurt. Then, move it on back to suit your flying styles once you become more familiar with the flight characteristics. In my opinion, this kit left a lot to be desired if you're looking for "ease of construction" and "well designed" supplied hardware. It really stumbled here. Of course, if you've got plenty of time on your hands, more money to spend on upgrading hardware, and a load of patience, this may be the kit for you. The Aeroworks 100CC YAK 54 QB is coming next, so stay tuned.
Rockin' Rick's overall build rating: 6.35 out of a possible 10
Pros: Extremely strong build. Pre installed structural components nicely done. All up weight lighter than expected even with complete smoke system installed 28.5lbs Coloring an finish well appointed. Unnoticeable minor imperfections. This one looks great!
Cons: Hardware package left a lot to be desired. Most components were ill fitting Servo's installed inside of the wing cavity through the root end. Much consternation here. Supplied clevises reminded me of something from a .60 size plane. Very small, Lots of slop. Supplied servo extension arms drilled out too large to fit clevises snugly. Slop, slop, slop. Supplied control horns drilled out too large to fit clevises snugly. Slop, slop, slop. Wing Tube is a heavy monster. 1.2lbs. Could have supplied CF Tube for charged upgrade. Manual inconcise and looks like a rushed job. Could have provided more detail. LOL about mounting the fuse to a folding ladder to install the engine and cowling! Horizontal Stabs not slotted for servo extension arms. Plan on doing this yourself. Not much throw available on ailerons and rudder: Ailerons 2 1/8", rudder 2 3/8". Wheels and axles not included for main gear, Tailwheel and gear not included. Fuse not slotted for rudder cable exits nor any direction given in manual as to locations.
Update: Got the Kregg Wright's virtual cockpit and the "Bob" pro series pilot from LitePilots.com installed now and it really sets off the aircraft! What a beauty it is in flight! The graphics are by Kirby's Kustom Vinyl Graphics. More pix in the Picture Galleries section. I'm starting to get this one dialed in and looks like it's going to be a great flyer even with all the hassle it was to build. I'll let you know more as we get a few more flights on it. I've posted the 2nd flight video in our "Team Video" section. Check it out.
Update 7-5-07- After dialing in and flying this plane for a couple of months, I've found that although it was a real pain to build, it has turned out to be one of the best flying planes I have ever owned. It is crisp in its maneuvers and handles like a dream in IMAC. There is much that can be done with this aircraft and it is really a blast to fly. I've got to give it two thumbs up and a rate its "Flyability" at a 9.8. I'm really happy with this plane now!
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