Airfoilz the Ultimate Trainer

[Gimpster]

Some people thought I was crazy others just smiled but the looks I got the first time I went to the field as a new pilot holding a 3D capable aircraft were sure entertaining. The club president took my Extra 260 Hybrid up for its first flight and after verifying everything was trimmed (which it was) he handed me the controls and let me have a try. I flew it around for a few laps, then started in to the aerobatics. He asked me it was really my first flight and I conceded that it was my first flight of a real aircraft but I have loads of sim time in. He talked me through my first landing and then pronounced me solo ready.

That was almost a year ago. I have improved much over this last year and for that I have to thank Airfoilz for making such a great flying plane. I built my on a tight budget, opting for very inexpensive running gear. Tower Pro motor, ESC and servos, but they have proven to be rock solid. The plane is a little overpowered pulling almost 300watts on a fresh battery, it will hover at half throttle and pull for the sky endlessly. It flies where you point it, will do anything you ask of it and can become as docile as you want it to be.

I also can not say enough about the durability of these planes. I had the misfortune of loosing control while trying to hover. The result was that in the effort to recover it, I managed to clip the wingtip on the last offending branch of a maple tree before clean open air. The impact (at full throttle and speed) was met with a loud resounding crack followed by the plane spinning off in to the woods where it disappeared in to the brush with another loud crack. I thought it was a goner and my heart sunk.

I made the trek in to the woods and found the plane about 20ft from the branch wedged in a bush and resting among some fallen branches. I pulled it free and as I walked back to the field I gave it a very quick look over and saw no real damage. I was impressed and to prove it was a rock solid plane to the other people at the field I put it down on the runway, took off and finished off the battery doing hard and fast aerobatics.

It was only after landing that I discovered that the plane was damaged, there was a small hole in the wingtip there it struck the branch and the wing was cracked from leading edge to the spar at the wing root. This plane flew with a fractured wing at I did not know the difference. A little CA and some packing tape for extra strength and she is still flying, still performing like the day I first flew here and will fly the wings off most other planes costing car more.

These planes rock!

Gimpter

[bighead93]

Nice write up!