Instant Jetification - 2008/08

MY GRANDFATHER used to say, “There
are two things they aren’t making any more
of: land and time.” It’s funny how, with all
these modern conveniences and “timesavers,”
most of us seem to have much less
time on our hands than we used to.
Long evenings spent slicing hundreds of
1/32-inch ribs from contest balsa are not part of
the picture for the Average Joe nowadays,
including me. It’s not that I wouldn’t like to—
I greatly enjoy the process of traditional
modeling—it’s that I can’t. Given the choice
between a placid evening at the workbench
making bigger pieces of wood into smaller
ones or attending a school board meeting, it’s
no choice; we all have priorities.
I’m not alone in this. My wife drew a
clever analogy between ARFs and TV
dinners. After all the things she has to do in a
day, to get home and have time to prepare a
meal from scratch is a rare privilege.
The early ARFs, of the 1970s and ’80s,
were akin to old-school TV dinners you used
to get—you know, with a couple slices of
grayish turkey, goopy gravy, and semisolid
mashed potatoes, all on a tin tray. It looked
much better in the box-top picture than it did
sitting in front of you. You might have had to
modify the model and you might have gotten
indigestion from the TV dinner, but both were
better than nothing.
Thanks to computers, lasers, cheap labor,
and evolution, we have come a long way
since then. I don’t mean ARFs; that’s
yesterday’s news. I’m referring to a new class
of model called “receiver ready,” which is
also known as RR, or plug-and-play (PIP or
PNP).
Servos, motor, fan, and ESC are installed
in the model; just plug in your favorite
receiver and off you go. As in, take your new
August 2008 41
Getting jet satisfaction isn’t
as hard as it used to be
JETIFICATION
INSTANT
package from the post office to the field, plug
in the receiver, charge it, and go fly.
There is yet another level of
prefabrication beyond PNP, which is RTF.
Most of those airplanes are available with
an analog four- to six-channel transmitter
and receiver included and installed. That
adds an errand on your way to the field, to
pick up eight AA batteries for the
transmitter. No biggie!
These sorts of radios I’ve used have been
decent, with certain caveats. One was dead
when it arrived (the distributor replaced it
promptly, with no questions), and the
receivers are universally single conversion.
That works fine within the context of park
flying, but if you are at a club you are better
off with a dual-conversion or spread
spectrum receiver, to avoid getting shot
down.
I’ve tested a few of these cheap radios to
the limits of my vision, and they do
indeed work. A
simple range
check declared any problems early.
Most who are considering getting an
electric ducted fan (EDF) own a more
advanced transmitter, so almost all these
models are offered ready to fly, minus a
receiver. Hence “receiver ready.”
So what’s in the box? A prepainted foam
airframe with decals applied and an EDF unit
(or units on a twin) with motor and BECequipped
ESC installed. The ESCs are
usually fitted with Deans-style connectors,
but I received one airplane that came with the
old Tamiya style. Ten minutes of soldering
changed that to Deans, to be compatible with
the rest of my vast fleet’s batteries and
chargers.
All servos are installed with wire
extensions in place and tucked away. These
are invariably inexpensive miniservos or
microservos with no brand name, but they
have worked fine for me.
The only
trouble
Photos by the author
EDF scale jets are coming to the market
fast and furious. These models were
randomly chosen to show the diversity of
what’s available and to give a hint of what’s
to come in this class.
By Curtis Mattikow
42 MODEL AVIATION
with cheap servos is that if you are really into
precision flying, you will start to notice their
limitations, particularly in centering, after a
bit of flying. You could swap them with
micro digitals or something else, but that’s
not really in keeping with the instantgratification
nature of these little beasties.
Most of the time the servos are glued in
place. It pays to give each one a little tug to
make sure someone over in Guangzhou or
Shenzhen was not asleep at the switch while
assembling yours.
A Li-Poly battery is also typically
included. These are often low-end batteries,
usually 15C, but they do the job as long as
you are friendly to them.
A charger is always included. Some are
overnight types—largely useless, unless you
like only one flight a day—but most are
small, quick units that work through the
balance connector of the battery.
Surprisingly enough, when tested against
my pricey “professional” chargers, the
included versions did the same job. Each
cell of the three peaked and balanced to
exactly 4.2 volts (12.6 volts total), with no
buttons to press or dials to set. You can use
an adapter to plug these chargers into a 110-
volt outlet at home.
These models typically include fixed
landing gear with a steerable front wheel
through a separate servo. It’s fun to taxi out
and take off with these airplanes just as you
would with a bigger model. And some clubs
are not that receptive to people blocking
aerial traffic while you hand-launch an
airplane or walk out into the middle of the
runway to recover it after bellying it in, so
having fixed gear is a great option, and you
can always take it off.
I have noticed an appreciable, but not
dramatic, increase in performance with the
gear removed, and the models look better in
the air without; it’s not as if these airplanes
stagger around with the landing gear hanging
out. (They have some scoot!)
Forget those awful bungees; all these
models have plenty of thrust-to-weight, to
make hand launching a breeze. If you do
decide to kick the gear, definitely consider
clear tape or other skid protection on the
bellies and wingtips; foam does not hold up
that well against rough grass or dirt, much
less pavement.
Above: The typical
fan unit is normally
already installed, but
this one is similar.
The impeller is bolted
to the motor’s output
shaft.
Above: The Don’sRC
Wicked EDF motor
gives these models a
healthy boost. A
3,200-3,800 Kv value
is required to get a
64mm fan’s blades
thrusting effectively.
Left: Airflow is
crucial to a ductedfan’s
performance; it
needs to breathe.
Inlets are usually
enlarged or repeated
to improve thrust
output.
Right: Linking
the ailerons
and elevators
is sometimes
an option, but
it’s all done for
the consumer
in this RTF
and works well
with a simple
four-channel
transmitter.
Right: Many EDF
models are sold in
finished form as an
ARF, with paint and
graphics already
applied. Landing
gear is a nice option
on most. Some are
offered in more
than one scheme.
Right: Getting into jets is easy. These come
as PNPs or RTFs, are lightweight with
trainer-class wing loadings, have decent
jetlike performance, and cost far less than
turbine-powered models.
Below: Popular twin-engine jets are sometimes available with a
single center-mounted power system that efficiently routes the
exhaust out scale dual exhaust.
August 2008 43
SPECIFICATIONS
E-Do
Model F-15
TYPE: Sport-scale RTF
PILOT SKILL LEVEL: Intermediate
WINGSPAN: 29.125 inches
LENGTH: 43.3 inches
WEIGHT: 24.7 ounces
POWER: 18L brushless inrunner motor;
25-amp ESC; 11.1-volt, 2200 mAh Li-Poly
RADIO: Four-channel FM transmitter,
five servos, six-channel receiver
CONSTRUCTION: Prepainted foam, plastic
PRICE (STREET): $189.95
FLIGHT DURATION: Five to 10 minutes
MANUFACTURER/DISTRIBUTOR:
E-Do Model Company
86-755-27571079, 86-755-26195440
www.e-domodel.com
Current E-Do offerings also include
an F-4 and F-35.
SPECIFICATIONS
StarMax F-18
TYPE: Sport-scale RTF
PILOT SKILL LEVEL: Intermediate
WINGSPAN: 28 inches
LENGTH: 37 inches
WEIGHT: 19.75 ounces
POWER: Brushless inrunner motor, 25-amp ESC, 1300 mAh Li-Poly
RADIO: Four-channel transmitter, six-channel receiver, four servos
CONSTRUCTION: Prefinished foam, plastic
PRICE (STREET): $239.90
FLIGHT DURATION: Five to 10 minutes
MANUFACTURER/DISTRIBUTOR:
StarMax is distributed in the US
primarily by Hobby Lobby.
(866) 933-5972
www.hobby-lobby.com
www.stx-tech.com/
Current StarMax offerings include
an F-35, He-162, F-18 in two sizes,
F-4, F-5, F-14, F9F, JAS 39, Mirage 2000, and MiG-21.
None of the designs I’ve tested were
designed for retracts, which translates into a
fair amount of engineering to get them in.
And I have yet to see a retract system for
this size of aircraft, particularly with a nose
gear, that actually holds up well in day-today
use. In addition, the extra weight, even
if it’s only 3 or 4 extra ounces, makes a
substantial difference in performance. My
advice is to resist the temptation and not
overcomplicate things.
RR models generally do wonderful in
their stock configurations. I’m not against
those who want to explore the outer bleeding
edges of the envelope, but that trail is often
littered with burnt ESCs, puffed batteries,
sad scraps of foam wreckage, and hardplastic
puddles.
You can find many Internet threads about
people ordering these airplanes, and the first
thing they do is start modifying them. You
see all sorts of posts about how their
modifications are going to make the models
bigger/better/stronger/faster, like the Bionic
Man. But then the threads go silent when the
users realize that they have messed up or
crashed what were perfectly good airplanes.
Have faith in the designers. You might be
surprised to learn that it’s rarely some
anonymous industrial designer who is making
these things; it’s normally a dedicated
modeler in China who is carefully planning,
prototyping, and testing, often in conjunction
with a US distributor, to make a model and
power system with a reasonable compromise
in price, looks, and performance.
You can improve on performance, using
better batteries, motors, or fans, but at least
give the airplane a shot with the stock
configuration and see how you like it.
The best place to start when upgrading
performance is batteries—try 25C or 30C.
You will immediately notice a difference in
performance because the better batteries don’t
have the same voltage sag under load.
I tried some MaxAmps 25C packs, and I
could immediately feel and hear a difference
between those and the stock 18C packs. If
you have an incurable need for speed, I have
been having great luck with the Don’sRC
Wicked EDF motors. These outrunner types
are set up specifically for jets, and they
provide a dramatic power boost. You will
have to upgrade your stock ESCs and
batteries to handle the extra watts, though.
Avoid the fiberglassing thing. Some pilots
are obsessed with trying to make a foam
model last forever by fiberglassing it. Doing
so usually adds much more weight than you
expect, and you end up in a downward spiral
of the airplane needing to be stronger because
it is heavier and heavier still because it needs
to be stronger to handle the extra weight.
If you added enough fiberglass to make
the aircraft completely ding resistant, it would
weigh as much as a carved mahogany desk
model from the Philippines. In the event of a
true crash, fiberglassing is only going to make
a nice, convenient bag in which to transport
your shattered bits of foam back to the car.
Foam is what these jets are—light and
easy but subject to hangar rash and dings.
You can add clear tape to the belly and LEs
(aluminum tape on the wings’ LEs looks
good and helps a lot), and be careful getting
the models in and out of the car.
Foam does not magically deteriorate. If
you take care of the airplane, it will stay
looking good. I had probably 75 flights on my
Fox Hawk before I gave it to a friend, and it
still looked nearly new.
Something you can do is add a working
rudder. The few extra grams of a microservo
won’t mean much, but the extra control will
add a whole new range of aerobatics to one
of these model’s basic aileron/elevator
repertoire.
Finally, extra Li-Poly batteries are a
great help. If you have three, you can
practically fly all day.
Let’s look at a few of the RR jets out there.
This is by no means an all-inclusive survey; I
know of many models that are new on the
market or that will be in the next six months. I
wish I had room for all 30. But the six
featured here should give you a good idea of
the range of what’s there and the major
players in the field at the moment.
• E-Do Model F-15: This gem might be the
most scale of them all, with an accurate
outline and tons of little decals to liven it up
and give it depth. It’s available in two nice
paint schemes.
The construction quality is excellent. The
battery box is clever and includes a simple
Velcro strap to accommodate a variety of
batteries with no problem.
The F-15 is exceptionally easy to fly and
incredibly stable. Rolls are beautiful and
axial, and it will loop from a shallow dive
44 MODEL AVIATION
SPECIFICATIONS
Freewing L-39
TYPE: Sport-scale RTF
PILOT SKILL LEVEL: Intermediate
WINGSPAN: 31.5 inches
LENGTH: 37.8 inches
WEIGHT: 23 ounces
POWER: 4300 Kv inrunner
brushless motor; 30-amp ESC;
11.1-volt, 1800 mAh Li-Poly
RADIO: Four-channel radio,
six-channel receiver, four servos
CONSTRUCTION: Factory-finished
molded foam, plastic
PRICE (STREET): $189.99
FLIGHT DURATION: Five to 10 minutes
MANUFACTURER/DISTRIBUTOR:
Freewing
86-755-29671969
www.sz-freewing.com
Current Freewing offerings also include a T-38 and F-4.
SPECIFICATIONS
Fly-It-Yourself
Su-47 Bekrut
TYPE: Sport-scale RTF
PILOT SKILL LEVEL: Intermediate
WINGSPAN: 29.53 inches
LENGTH: 40.3 inches
WEIGHT: 24.7 ounces
POWER (TWIN): Brushless inrunner
motor; 18-amp ESC; one 2200 mAh,
11.1-volt Li-Poly
RADIO: Four-channel transmitter,
six-channel receiver, three servos
CONSTRUCTION: Molded and
factory-finished foam, plastic
PRICE (STREET): $249.90
FLIGHT DURATION: Five to 10 minutes
MANUFACTURER/DISTRIBUTOR:
Fly-It-Yourself
86-755-82026098
www.fly-it-yourself.com
Current Fly-It-Yourself offerings also include an F-22.
are linked, with one servo driving each side.
• Kyosho A-6 Intruder: It’s slightly smaller
than the rest and the only one that does not
include landing gear. No biggie; hand
launching is easy.
The A-6 is made from a very highdensity
foam. It’s well painted, well
detailed, and competes with the F-15 for the
most scale jet of the bunch. There is even a
nice foam scale refueling probe, but it did
not survive the car ride to the field for the
first flight and is probably better off at
home and put on only for display anyway.
Everything about this model is high
quality; it even has good instructions. It
uses an 1100 mAh, 11.1-volt pack, which,
strangely enough, is not included in the
package. Everything else you need is. The
system draws roughly 19 amps, so a quality
20C pack is required.
The Intruder is fast, agile, and looks
scale in the air. It’s unique and fun to fly.
• Sapac F-22: This twin is bigger and
heavier than most of the other RR models.
It’s well made from dense foam, with a
good scale appearance and a nice paint job.
Flight performance is excellent; it’s quite
fast with good vertical and will handle more
wind than most of the lighter models.
The fan units have outrunner motors,
and the F-22 uses a 3000 mAh, 11.1 volt
pack—larger than any of the other models
use. The installed outrunners are capable of
handling as many as five cells, but the ESCs
are not. I swapped the ESCs and tried a
four-cell pack, and this jet was even more
fun.
This model is groovy and more jetlike
than most of the others. It requires a fair
amount of room to fly because it retains a
with the landing gear on or easily from level
flight without the gear.
Takeoffs from pavement happen in
approximately 100 feet; but if you bend the
main gear forward slightly, you can get it to
rotate off sooner. The designer placed the
gear where this model would require a
longish takeoff roll, preventing beginners
from hauling it off the ground too early and
causing a stall; that’s smart engineering.
The F-15 has a single motor with
bifurcated exhaust, so it stays simple and
light. The airframe is perfectly capable of
taking whatever power upgrades you can
think up, so feel free to boost it past 100 mph.
I installed a Don’sRC Wicked EDF motor,
30-amp ESC, and four-cell 2200 Li-Poly
battery, and this jet had nearly unlimited
vertical performance.
• StarMax F-18: As does the E-Do F-15, this
jet has one motor and bifurcated exhaust. The
exterior detail is nicely done, neatly painted,
and professionally decorated with watertransfer
decals applied at the factory. It comes
in Diamondbacks and Blue Angels paint
schemes.
Performance is terrific; this model gets
around fine and is easy to fly. It uses an 11.1-
volt, 1300 mAh Li-Poly and suffers
somewhat in duration with that pack; maybe
five minutes of flight is possible. You can fit
something larger in with a little work, but the
F-18 is a tad nose-heavy to start.
It was one of the first on the market, and it
turned many heads.
• Freewing L-39: This model looks great, is
easy to see in the air, flies well, and is
extraordinarily stable. It’s equipped with
good, strong landing gear, so it’s forgiving to
land. The exterior is well built and painted.
A nice touch is that, unlike the others, this
EDF jet has a working rudder linked to the
nose gear and will perform a decent knife
edge. It comes with an 1800 mAh 15C pack,
but I found a huge improvement in switching
to a 25C pack.
I’d recommend this model for a first jet,
yet it’s interesting for the more advanced
pilot. With a Don’sRC outrunner motor
instead of the stock unit and a 4S pack, I
experienced unlimited verticals.
• Fly-It-Yourself Su-47 Bekrut: Maybe the
most interesting of the bunch; it is for me, at
least. This model is a twin, asymmetrical, and
has a forward-swept wing. Some might think
it’s ugly, but it’s black, cool, and flies great.
In the air this jet sounds awesome and
presents a wild profile that draws attention.
Performance is sparkling, and it is extremely
maneuverable. It has a spectacular roll
rate—like nothing you have ever seen.
In spite of the backward wing, the Su-
47 is extremely stable; you can maneuver
backward in a decent headwind, and
landings are easy.
Most of the structure is a tough,
rubbery EPO foam that is cyanoacrylatesafe
and highly resistant to dings and
handling rash. The ailerons and elevators
lot of energy. This isn’t to say that it
doesn’t fly well slowly or land poorly; it’s
just that the higher weight means you fly it
differently. More open maneuvers retain
that energy and speed. It’s super-nice to fly.
It’s a great time to be a modeler! When I
was a kid, I fantasized about having a fullfunction
jet model that was already built
and affordable that I could fly in the back
yard. Now that the fantasy has become
reality, far be it from me to sneer at lowly
foamies; I have opened my eyes and
embraced them because they have come a
long, long way, baby.
All these models perform well enough to
keep an intermediate pilot interested, they
look fantastic, and they let me get my jet fix
at any local park while I take a break from a
more complicated model that is clogging up
my workbench and taking up what extra
free time I have.
And you don’t need much in the way of
support gear. I keep one model in the back
of my car, along with five-minute epoxy, a
screwdriver, batteries, and a charger. I can
sneak in a few flights on the way home from
work, and my wife can’t smell fuel on my
clothes and ask why I’m late. MA
Curtis Mattikow
[email protected]
Sources:
Don’s RC
www.donsrc.com
MaxAmps
(888) 654-4450
www.maxamps.com

MY GRANDFATHER used to say, “There
are two things they aren’t making any more
of: land and time.” It’s funny how, with all
these modern conveniences and “timesavers,”
most of us seem to have much less
time on our hands than we used to.
Long evenings spent slicing hundreds of
1/32-inch ribs from contest balsa are not part of
the picture for the Average Joe nowadays,
including me. It’s not that I wouldn’t like to—
I greatly enjoy the process of traditional
modeling—it’s that I can’t. Given the choice
between a placid evening at the workbench
making bigger pieces of wood into smaller
ones or attending a school board meeting, it’s
no choice; we all have priorities.
I’m not alone in this. My wife drew a
clever analogy between ARFs and TV
dinners. After all the things she has to do in a
day, to get home and have time to prepare a
meal from scratch is a rare privilege.
The early ARFs, of the 1970s and ’80s,
were akin to old-school TV dinners you used
to get—you know, with a couple slices of
grayish turkey, goopy gravy, and semisolid
mashed potatoes, all on a tin tray. It looked
much better in the box-top picture than it did
sitting in front of you. You might have had to
modify the model and you might have gotten
indigestion from the TV dinner, but both were
better than nothing.
Thanks to computers, lasers, cheap labor,
and evolution, we have come a long way
since then. I don’t mean ARFs; that’s
yesterday’s news. I’m referring to a new class
of model called “receiver ready,” which is
also known as RR, or plug-and-play (PIP or
PNP).
Servos, motor, fan, and ESC are installed
in the model; just plug in your favorite
receiver and off you go. As in, take your new
August 2008 41
Getting jet satisfaction isn’t
as hard as it used to be
JETIFICATION
INSTANT
package from the post office to the field, plug
in the receiver, charge it, and go fly.
There is yet another level of
prefabrication beyond PNP, which is RTF.
Most of those airplanes are available with
an analog four- to six-channel transmitter
and receiver included and installed. That
adds an errand on your way to the field, to
pick up eight AA batteries for the
transmitter. No biggie!
These sorts of radios I’ve used have been
decent, with certain caveats. One was dead
when it arrived (the distributor replaced it
promptly, with no questions), and the
receivers are universally single conversion.
That works fine within the context of park
flying, but if you are at a club you are better
off with a dual-conversion or spread
spectrum receiver, to avoid getting shot
down.
I’ve tested a few of these cheap radios to
the limits of my vision, and they do
indeed work. A
simple range
check declared any problems early.
Most who are considering getting an
electric ducted fan (EDF) own a more
advanced transmitter, so almost all these
models are offered ready to fly, minus a
receiver. Hence “receiver ready.”
So what’s in the box? A prepainted foam
airframe with decals applied and an EDF unit
(or units on a twin) with motor and BECequipped
ESC installed. The ESCs are
usually fitted with Deans-style connectors,
but I received one airplane that came with the
old Tamiya style. Ten minutes of soldering
changed that to Deans, to be compatible with
the rest of my vast fleet’s batteries and
chargers.
All servos are installed with wire
extensions in place and tucked away. These
are invariably inexpensive miniservos or
microservos with no brand name, but they
have worked fine for me.
The only
trouble
Photos by the author
EDF scale jets are coming to the market
fast and furious. These models were
randomly chosen to show the diversity of
what’s available and to give a hint of what’s
to come in this class.
By Curtis Mattikow
42 MODEL AVIATION
with cheap servos is that if you are really into
precision flying, you will start to notice their
limitations, particularly in centering, after a
bit of flying. You could swap them with
micro digitals or something else, but that’s
not really in keeping with the instantgratification
nature of these little beasties.
Most of the time the servos are glued in
place. It pays to give each one a little tug to
make sure someone over in Guangzhou or
Shenzhen was not asleep at the switch while
assembling yours.
A Li-Poly battery is also typically
included. These are often low-end batteries,
usually 15C, but they do the job as long as
you are friendly to them.
A charger is always included. Some are
overnight types—largely useless, unless you
like only one flight a day—but most are
small, quick units that work through the
balance connector of the battery.
Surprisingly enough, when tested against
my pricey “professional” chargers, the
included versions did the same job. Each
cell of the three peaked and balanced to
exactly 4.2 volts (12.6 volts total), with no
buttons to press or dials to set. You can use
an adapter to plug these chargers into a 110-
volt outlet at home.
These models typically include fixed
landing gear with a steerable front wheel
through a separate servo. It’s fun to taxi out
and take off with these airplanes just as you
would with a bigger model. And some clubs
are not that receptive to people blocking
aerial traffic while you hand-launch an
airplane or walk out into the middle of the
runway to recover it after bellying it in, so
having fixed gear is a great option, and you
can always take it off.
I have noticed an appreciable, but not
dramatic, increase in performance with the
gear removed, and the models look better in
the air without; it’s not as if these airplanes
stagger around with the landing gear hanging
out. (They have some scoot!)
Forget those awful bungees; all these
models have plenty of thrust-to-weight, to
make hand launching a breeze. If you do
decide to kick the gear, definitely consider
clear tape or other skid protection on the
bellies and wingtips; foam does not hold up
that well against rough grass or dirt, much
less pavement.
Above: The typical
fan unit is normally
already installed, but
this one is similar.
The impeller is bolted
to the motor’s output
shaft.
Above: The Don’sRC
Wicked EDF motor
gives these models a
healthy boost. A
3,200-3,800 Kv value
is required to get a
64mm fan’s blades
thrusting effectively.
Left: Airflow is
crucial to a ductedfan’s
performance; it
needs to breathe.
Inlets are usually
enlarged or repeated
to improve thrust
output.
Right: Linking
the ailerons
and elevators
is sometimes
an option, but
it’s all done for
the consumer
in this RTF
and works well
with a simple
four-channel
transmitter.
Right: Many EDF
models are sold in
finished form as an
ARF, with paint and
graphics already
applied. Landing
gear is a nice option
on most. Some are
offered in more
than one scheme.
Right: Getting into jets is easy. These come
as PNPs or RTFs, are lightweight with
trainer-class wing loadings, have decent
jetlike performance, and cost far less than
turbine-powered models.
Below: Popular twin-engine jets are sometimes available with a
single center-mounted power system that efficiently routes the
exhaust out scale dual exhaust.
August 2008 43
SPECIFICATIONS
E-Do
Model F-15
TYPE: Sport-scale RTF
PILOT SKILL LEVEL: Intermediate
WINGSPAN: 29.125 inches
LENGTH: 43.3 inches
WEIGHT: 24.7 ounces
POWER: 18L brushless inrunner motor;
25-amp ESC; 11.1-volt, 2200 mAh Li-Poly
RADIO: Four-channel FM transmitter,
five servos, six-channel receiver
CONSTRUCTION: Prepainted foam, plastic
PRICE (STREET): $189.95
FLIGHT DURATION: Five to 10 minutes
MANUFACTURER/DISTRIBUTOR:
E-Do Model Company
86-755-27571079, 86-755-26195440
www.e-domodel.com
Current E-Do offerings also include
an F-4 and F-35.
SPECIFICATIONS
StarMax F-18
TYPE: Sport-scale RTF
PILOT SKILL LEVEL: Intermediate
WINGSPAN: 28 inches
LENGTH: 37 inches
WEIGHT: 19.75 ounces
POWER: Brushless inrunner motor, 25-amp ESC, 1300 mAh Li-Poly
RADIO: Four-channel transmitter, six-channel receiver, four servos
CONSTRUCTION: Prefinished foam, plastic
PRICE (STREET): $239.90
FLIGHT DURATION: Five to 10 minutes
MANUFACTURER/DISTRIBUTOR:
StarMax is distributed in the US
primarily by Hobby Lobby.
(866) 933-5972
www.hobby-lobby.com
www.stx-tech.com/
Current StarMax offerings include
an F-35, He-162, F-18 in two sizes,
F-4, F-5, F-14, F9F, JAS 39, Mirage 2000, and MiG-21.
None of the designs I’ve tested were
designed for retracts, which translates into a
fair amount of engineering to get them in.
And I have yet to see a retract system for
this size of aircraft, particularly with a nose
gear, that actually holds up well in day-today
use. In addition, the extra weight, even
if it’s only 3 or 4 extra ounces, makes a
substantial difference in performance. My
advice is to resist the temptation and not
overcomplicate things.
RR models generally do wonderful in
their stock configurations. I’m not against
those who want to explore the outer bleeding
edges of the envelope, but that trail is often
littered with burnt ESCs, puffed batteries,
sad scraps of foam wreckage, and hardplastic
puddles.
You can find many Internet threads about
people ordering these airplanes, and the first
thing they do is start modifying them. You
see all sorts of posts about how their
modifications are going to make the models
bigger/better/stronger/faster, like the Bionic
Man. But then the threads go silent when the
users realize that they have messed up or
crashed what were perfectly good airplanes.
Have faith in the designers. You might be
surprised to learn that it’s rarely some
anonymous industrial designer who is making
these things; it’s normally a dedicated
modeler in China who is carefully planning,
prototyping, and testing, often in conjunction
with a US distributor, to make a model and
power system with a reasonable compromise
in price, looks, and performance.
You can improve on performance, using
better batteries, motors, or fans, but at least
give the airplane a shot with the stock
configuration and see how you like it.
The best place to start when upgrading
performance is batteries—try 25C or 30C.
You will immediately notice a difference in
performance because the better batteries don’t
have the same voltage sag under load.
I tried some MaxAmps 25C packs, and I
could immediately feel and hear a difference
between those and the stock 18C packs. If
you have an incurable need for speed, I have
been having great luck with the Don’sRC
Wicked EDF motors. These outrunner types
are set up specifically for jets, and they
provide a dramatic power boost. You will
have to upgrade your stock ESCs and
batteries to handle the extra watts, though.
Avoid the fiberglassing thing. Some pilots
are obsessed with trying to make a foam
model last forever by fiberglassing it. Doing
so usually adds much more weight than you
expect, and you end up in a downward spiral
of the airplane needing to be stronger because
it is heavier and heavier still because it needs
to be stronger to handle the extra weight.
If you added enough fiberglass to make
the aircraft completely ding resistant, it would
weigh as much as a carved mahogany desk
model from the Philippines. In the event of a
true crash, fiberglassing is only going to make
a nice, convenient bag in which to transport
your shattered bits of foam back to the car.
Foam is what these jets are—light and
easy but subject to hangar rash and dings.
You can add clear tape to the belly and LEs
(aluminum tape on the wings’ LEs looks
good and helps a lot), and be careful getting
the models in and out of the car.
Foam does not magically deteriorate. If
you take care of the airplane, it will stay
looking good. I had probably 75 flights on my
Fox Hawk before I gave it to a friend, and it
still looked nearly new.
Something you can do is add a working
rudder. The few extra grams of a microservo
won’t mean much, but the extra control will
add a whole new range of aerobatics to one
of these model’s basic aileron/elevator
repertoire.
Finally, extra Li-Poly batteries are a
great help. If you have three, you can
practically fly all day.
Let’s look at a few of the RR jets out there.
This is by no means an all-inclusive survey; I
know of many models that are new on the
market or that will be in the next six months. I
wish I had room for all 30. But the six
featured here should give you a good idea of
the range of what’s there and the major
players in the field at the moment.
• E-Do Model F-15: This gem might be the
most scale of them all, with an accurate
outline and tons of little decals to liven it up
and give it depth. It’s available in two nice
paint schemes.
The construction quality is excellent. The
battery box is clever and includes a simple
Velcro strap to accommodate a variety of
batteries with no problem.
The F-15 is exceptionally easy to fly and
incredibly stable. Rolls are beautiful and
axial, and it will loop from a shallow dive
44 MODEL AVIATION
SPECIFICATIONS
Freewing L-39
TYPE: Sport-scale RTF
PILOT SKILL LEVEL: Intermediate
WINGSPAN: 31.5 inches
LENGTH: 37.8 inches
WEIGHT: 23 ounces
POWER: 4300 Kv inrunner
brushless motor; 30-amp ESC;
11.1-volt, 1800 mAh Li-Poly
RADIO: Four-channel radio,
six-channel receiver, four servos
CONSTRUCTION: Factory-finished
molded foam, plastic
PRICE (STREET): $189.99
FLIGHT DURATION: Five to 10 minutes
MANUFACTURER/DISTRIBUTOR:
Freewing
86-755-29671969
www.sz-freewing.com
Current Freewing offerings also include a T-38 and F-4.
SPECIFICATIONS
Fly-It-Yourself
Su-47 Bekrut
TYPE: Sport-scale RTF
PILOT SKILL LEVEL: Intermediate
WINGSPAN: 29.53 inches
LENGTH: 40.3 inches
WEIGHT: 24.7 ounces
POWER (TWIN): Brushless inrunner
motor; 18-amp ESC; one 2200 mAh,
11.1-volt Li-Poly
RADIO: Four-channel transmitter,
six-channel receiver, three servos
CONSTRUCTION: Molded and
factory-finished foam, plastic
PRICE (STREET): $249.90
FLIGHT DURATION: Five to 10 minutes
MANUFACTURER/DISTRIBUTOR:
Fly-It-Yourself
86-755-82026098
www.fly-it-yourself.com
Current Fly-It-Yourself offerings also include an F-22.
are linked, with one servo driving each side.
• Kyosho A-6 Intruder: It’s slightly smaller
than the rest and the only one that does not
include landing gear. No biggie; hand
launching is easy.
The A-6 is made from a very highdensity
foam. It’s well painted, well
detailed, and competes with the F-15 for the
most scale jet of the bunch. There is even a
nice foam scale refueling probe, but it did
not survive the car ride to the field for the
first flight and is probably better off at
home and put on only for display anyway.
Everything about this model is high
quality; it even has good instructions. It
uses an 1100 mAh, 11.1-volt pack, which,
strangely enough, is not included in the
package. Everything else you need is. The
system draws roughly 19 amps, so a quality
20C pack is required.
The Intruder is fast, agile, and looks
scale in the air. It’s unique and fun to fly.
• Sapac F-22: This twin is bigger and
heavier than most of the other RR models.
It’s well made from dense foam, with a
good scale appearance and a nice paint job.
Flight performance is excellent; it’s quite
fast with good vertical and will handle more
wind than most of the lighter models.
The fan units have outrunner motors,
and the F-22 uses a 3000 mAh, 11.1 volt
pack—larger than any of the other models
use. The installed outrunners are capable of
handling as many as five cells, but the ESCs
are not. I swapped the ESCs and tried a
four-cell pack, and this jet was even more
fun.
This model is groovy and more jetlike
than most of the others. It requires a fair
amount of room to fly because it retains a
with the landing gear on or easily from level
flight without the gear.
Takeoffs from pavement happen in
approximately 100 feet; but if you bend the
main gear forward slightly, you can get it to
rotate off sooner. The designer placed the
gear where this model would require a
longish takeoff roll, preventing beginners
from hauling it off the ground too early and
causing a stall; that’s smart engineering.
The F-15 has a single motor with
bifurcated exhaust, so it stays simple and
light. The airframe is perfectly capable of
taking whatever power upgrades you can
think up, so feel free to boost it past 100 mph.
I installed a Don’sRC Wicked EDF motor,
30-amp ESC, and four-cell 2200 Li-Poly
battery, and this jet had nearly unlimited
vertical performance.
• StarMax F-18: As does the E-Do F-15, this
jet has one motor and bifurcated exhaust. The
exterior detail is nicely done, neatly painted,
and professionally decorated with watertransfer
decals applied at the factory. It comes
in Diamondbacks and Blue Angels paint
schemes.
Performance is terrific; this model gets
around fine and is easy to fly. It uses an 11.1-
volt, 1300 mAh Li-Poly and suffers
somewhat in duration with that pack; maybe
five minutes of flight is possible. You can fit
something larger in with a little work, but the
F-18 is a tad nose-heavy to start.
It was one of the first on the market, and it
turned many heads.
• Freewing L-39: This model looks great, is
easy to see in the air, flies well, and is
extraordinarily stable. It’s equipped with
good, strong landing gear, so it’s forgiving to
land. The exterior is well built and painted.
A nice touch is that, unlike the others, this
EDF jet has a working rudder linked to the
nose gear and will perform a decent knife
edge. It comes with an 1800 mAh 15C pack,
but I found a huge improvement in switching
to a 25C pack.
I’d recommend this model for a first jet,
yet it’s interesting for the more advanced
pilot. With a Don’sRC outrunner motor
instead of the stock unit and a 4S pack, I
experienced unlimited verticals.
• Fly-It-Yourself Su-47 Bekrut: Maybe the
most interesting of the bunch; it is for me, at
least. This model is a twin, asymmetrical, and
has a forward-swept wing. Some might think
it’s ugly, but it’s black, cool, and flies great.
In the air this jet sounds awesome and
presents a wild profile that draws attention.
Performance is sparkling, and it is extremely
maneuverable. It has a spectacular roll
rate—like nothing you have ever seen.
In spite of the backward wing, the Su-
47 is extremely stable; you can maneuver
backward in a decent headwind, and
landings are easy.
Most of the structure is a tough,
rubbery EPO foam that is cyanoacrylatesafe
and highly resistant to dings and
handling rash. The ailerons and elevators
lot of energy. This isn’t to say that it
doesn’t fly well slowly or land poorly; it’s
just that the higher weight means you fly it
differently. More open maneuvers retain
that energy and speed. It’s super-nice to fly.
It’s a great time to be a modeler! When I
was a kid, I fantasized about having a fullfunction
jet model that was already built
and affordable that I could fly in the back
yard. Now that the fantasy has become
reality, far be it from me to sneer at lowly
foamies; I have opened my eyes and
embraced them because they have come a
long, long way, baby.
All these models perform well enough to
keep an intermediate pilot interested, they
look fantastic, and they let me get my jet fix
at any local park while I take a break from a
more complicated model that is clogging up
my workbench and taking up what extra
free time I have.
And you don’t need much in the way of
support gear. I keep one model in the back
of my car, along with five-minute epoxy, a
screwdriver, batteries, and a charger. I can
sneak in a few flights on the way home from
work, and my wife can’t smell fuel on my
clothes and ask why I’m late. MA
Curtis Mattikow
[email protected]
Sources:
Don’s RC
www.donsrc.com
MaxAmps
(888) 654-4450
www.maxamps.com