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This aircraft was purchased from Aircraft International and was built and completed by Advanced RPV Inc. The total weight was 42 pounds dry, which included: 3W150TOC engine, 14-JR 2721 High Torque servos, 2-JR 940 Receiver’s, 2- Duralite 2400 MAH batteries, 2-Duralite 1600 MAH batteries, 4- JR Combo Switch/charge harness. All factory available JR extensions and y-harnesses .TME smoke pump system, Fuchs 28/14 3 blade propeller, ZNZ line 6 inch Carbon fiber spinner, 32 oz smoke tank, 50 oz fuel tank, Supersonic Performance Mufflers, and Rocket City Hardware.
The aircraft balanced 4 ½ inches behind the leading edge of the wing at the tip. The only modifications that were made to the kit were formers installed along the fuselage for stiffness and a maple wing tube stiffener was added. After the initial test flights, it was noted that the engine temperature was higher than anticipated, and a baffling system was developed to reduce engine temperature. On the next test flight the engine temp was within acceptable limits and some vigorous flight-testing was done. The airplane was very stable at slow speeds and accelerated nicely with the addition of power. The plane did test out to be slightly tail heavy. Some weight was added to the nose moving he CG approx. ½ inch. This has made the plane more axial in the rolls and does require a slight forward stick on inverted flight.
Rolls were tested and 2 percent of differential was added the upline. Downline rolls were very crisp and symmetrical. Next, the thrust was tested. With the plane trimmed for straight and level, the power was reduced and no pitch or roll change was noticed. The engine ended up with 2 degrees of right thrust, zero up or down. Up and downline power on and power off were also tested. The plane performs very well in all regimes of flight.
The landing was slow and uneventful. For such a large ship, it really slows nicely. 15 degrees of flaperons were added for landing, but I wouldn’t use the flaperons with any wind. The touchdown and rollout was no more than 40 feet with a 5-knot wind. The plane now has 20 flights and all systems of the plane have been completely tested. The smoke system works well, and the Supersonic Performance Mufflers provide quite good smoke. The 3-blade propeller does lower the ground sound levels by approx. 2db and considerably lowers the perceived flight sounds. The sound comparisons were to a Menz Standard 32/10.
I really enjoy this plane. The shear size is a real show stopper. The scale finish and detail that was provided by advanced RPV makes the plane a joy to fly, and own. - Andy Kane
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