perkinsm

I looked and didn't see any Threads for the new Fancy Foam Xcalibur so I thought I would start one.

Got mine last week. The airframe is complete and was very well engineered and easy to put together. It's an unusal shape but seems to be very strong, lite and ridgid. About a hour or so to complete the airframe. It should be at about 6 Oz as advertised, RTF.

I'll post some pics in the next few days. Like the other Fancy Foam planes I have flown, I'm sure this one will be outstanding too.

Does anyone else have one yet?

Ryguy

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I'm planning to meet Mike Hammel this week to get mine. This is going to be my competition plane this winter. From what Mike has told me, several big names are going to be flying it this year in competitions. I know Brandon Chitty is planning on it, and I think Josh Glavin too. I've flown a couple, and they ROCK. Fly a lot like the Byp Yak, but roll faster, even smoother, slower, but despite the slowness, they cut through wind effortlessly. Plus I've seen Mike hammer one hard nose first, even cartwheel one, just to walk over and toss it right back up. Great plane, can't wait to get mine. Mike is also going to produce Jason Noll's plane this winter since he quit Team Futaba and lost the rights to his Eclipse.

Ryguy

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oops.

perkinsm

Heres a few pics

marmitas

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Let it go man....

dirtdiver07

The new Excalibur does look sweet. Hoping to have mine together soon as I just got it on Friday. However, I am more interested to get Jason Noll's new design from Fancy Foam at the end of this month. That's right, I found out that they will be released at the end of this month. Saw it fly at the JR Festival and it flys awesome. Plus, RCSkydiving.com is offering the Fancy Foam kits for just 45 bucks.

perkinsm

RYGUY - Sounds great. Keep us informed on how you do in competion. Just curious, what motor, prop, servo and receiver are you planning on utilizing?

Ryguy

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I'm planning on using just what comes in his combo kit. Only change though will be the prop. I can't stand GWS props, so I'll use an AXI 9x3.8SF. For the battery, I'm going to use the E-tec 300, instead of the 450 it comes with.

Marmitas, I was just adding that for those who were not informed that Fancy Foam is going to produce Jason's model this year.


I'm not sure how many competitions I'll actually have this winter. Chitty 3D is going to be invitation only, though Mike Hammel will likely be a judge, so whether I attend that or not is up in the air. Also, I haven't heard whether or not the OKC 3D contest is on or not, but if it is I'll be there. Lastly, I heard that the KC Flying Circuits may not have MIFF this year, so thats up in the air too. So right now I'm not sure if I'll wind up in any competitions or not.[]

Ryguy

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Just ordered mine. Mike said he'd be in town on Wednesday and he'd drop it off at my house for me.

perkinsm

Mines completed and ready to go. If the weather is okay, I'll fly it in the moring. I'll post the results

Ryguy

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Mine showed up today on the front doorstep. Looking forward to getting it flying!

Ryguy

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Just finished up my Excalibur and tested it out in a VERY small gym. I was a little nervous about how small of room I had (single basketball court, 20' ceiling) but it was no problem. I have a new favorite plane I believe. Flew great. No KE coupling to speak of. Best thing about it is this is the only foamy I've ever flown that when you roll would actually track straight without the adverse yaw making it want to turn. I still say that it is not one of the easier foamies to hover, my Byp Yak will do it hands off, but indoors with no wind it was as simple as most other foamies. I look forward to this 40MPH wind dying down to get some outdoor flights in on it.

I do seem to be having some difficulty with my receiver. Doesn't always seem to get a signal when I first plug in the battery. Not sure why that is, or what to do about it since it is in my plane now, but once it does start up it's glitch free.

perkinsm

RYGUY - Sounds like you had a good first flight. I'm not sure what to suggest on your Receiver problem. Maybe try moving your antenna to anothe location.

Mine's done but haven't got to try it yet, hopefully tomorrow.

Tomorrow night is our first flying session of the winter in The Golf Dome, which is near Pittsburgh Pa. I'm taking the Xcalbur and my FF Extra 300. I'll try and get some pics of the action and post them.

perkinsm

Tested mine today outside. Flew great, but it's defiantly an indoors plane. KE's were rock steady without a hint of coupling and hovered easily.

Heading up to Pittsburgh to spend most of the night flying indoors. I'll take some pics and vids and post them

Ryguy

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My receiver problem is actually a transmitter problem. My TX's frequency has wandered a bit, I think. I noticed I'm getting about half the antanna down range I used to on my Byp yak, and about 3/4 on my Katana Mini. So I'm down for at least a week, which is going to drive me crazy considering I average about 3 flights a day. Withdrawal here I come!

perkinsm

Well - I wasn't able to get any pics of the Dome flying last weekend due to the battery in my camera being dead.

But, I did get 12 to 14 flights in on the Xcalibur and myself and alot of others were very impressed.

Alot of the Shockie guys really liked it and how it flew. I let several of them fly it and the opinion was that it's very close to how the Shockies fly.

One thing I did notice is that I got hit a few times. Nothing serious happened luckily. Most of the guys there had Berg Receivers for this reason I was told afterwards, so keep this in mind if anyone else is flying where alot of others are.

Ryguy

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What's your setup, Perkinsm? I went with the lightest possible since it will be for competition.
Axi 2204/54
Etec 300 2S
Berg 4
CC PHX 10
Dymond 47 servos (rudder and elevator)
E-flite S75 on ailerons

AUW is 5.75 oz. Flies like a champ when it does work....
My transmitter got shipped out today, hopefully will get it back early next week. For a guy that averages 3 flights a day plus a half hour on the simulator this is going to be torture!!!

perkinsm

RYGUY:

I bought the kit from Mike which is: An AXI 2204-54 outrunner and a Phoenix 10 speed control also. Etec 7.4 V 450 Lipo BP's, MikroDesigns Receiver, and 4 Eflight S75 servo's.

The kit came with Waypoint 038 ultra micro servos, but they broke as I was taking them from the packaging so I used the Eflight 75's which I had laying around. Right now I have a GWS 9 x 4.7, but I'm going to try a APC 9 x 4.7 tomorrow, assuming the weather is okay.

I'm not really satisfied with the amount of throw I'm getting on the Ailerons. I'm not sure what the deflection actually is but it's not enough. I put the longest arms I had on the Servo's and I'm on the second hole from the bottom on the control horn. The geometry looks okay so I'm not sure what the problem is. I'll play with it more as time allows and see what I can do.

Also, the vertical performance is a little less than what I like, but not too bad.

Overall, a great plane, I'm gonna like this as much as my FF Extra 300L !!!!!

Ryguy

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Try a 3S maybe. I was flying indoors and it hovered at around 2/3 throttle, which is adaquete for me. I prefer a light setup to an overpowered one. What's your roll rate? Mine seems to like to torque roll, and will not anti-torque roll at all. Takes full right aileron to keep it from torquing, but the roll rate on it is still around 2-3 per second on the wing, which is fine. Any more and I wouldn't be able to keep up for rolling loops/harriers etc.

perkinsm

RUGUY - My roll rate is ~ 2-3 per second too. Mine dosen't seem to want to Torque bad at all. I'm only giving it a little right aileron to keep it from Torquing.

I prefer a light setup to an overpowered one too.

What Mah 3C would you suggest?

Ryguy

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I'd go with either the 300s or 450s that Mike sells. Personally I'd go with the 300s, they have a higher C rating, and are lighter. But the 450s would offer longer flight times.

perkinsm

Ruguy - check your PM's

Ryguy

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Done, but I think just using the forums will work better. This way anyone else with one can read through and see what works.

perkinsm

RYGUY- I'm just wondering,,, Where do you have your CG at? Mines at the rear of the recommended range.

Ryguy

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I still need more testing, having all my planes down is killing me while my TX is being worked on, but I have learned how to hover my Blade CP inverted in the mean time! I have it set in about the middle of the suggested range, but think moving it aft a hair would help. In the gym it seemed to take some elevator to hold inverted.