RE: Team OMP Presents the Boxxer ARF!
OMP and Copperhead are working towards a degree of integration. That's all happening above my head, but it's in the works, I'm told...
Anyway, I thought I had posted this, but here's my thoughts on the Boxxer ARF Flight:
Boxxer ARF set Up:
Saito 82 (Cooper 30% Nitro fuel)
Pro Zinger 15x4
5 Cell 600mah NiCad
Spektrum AR 7000 receiver
Spektrum 821 servos for surfaces
HS-225 MG for throttle
4.21 pounds on my digital scale.
Boxxer ARF Flight Report:
Taxi- It did.
Take off- It did.
Landing- It did.
Trim- I added three clicks of left aileron and three clicks of down elevator. Invert flight required just a little down elevator to hold level flight. My CG is at 1.25 inches forward of the trailing edge of the top wing, at the center. Recommended starting point is 1 inch.
Control Response- Roll is smokin’. Yaw is very powerful. Pitch is strong inside, and not quite as strong outside. I may program slightly more down than up elevator throw to equal out the feel of the plane.
Hovers- 10 On the maiden, I’m at ground level close enough to reach out and touch the top wing. It’s fast to torque, so watch it!
Torques- 10 Anywhere near vertical, and the Boxxer ARF wants to torque. I was able to hold off the torque with aileron, but once centered, torques get going and wind up pretty good as you burp power.
Upright Elevator- 10 Just hold the elevator back, with a few clicks of power, and the Boxxer ARF starts to drop out of the sky, straight and true.
Invert Elevators- 8 Same as upright, but hold just a hint of right aileron and right rudder. On it’s back, it wants to roll into a spin.
Upright Harriers- 10 A new 3D pilot could learn how to upright harrier on a Boxxer ARF. It was smooth and steady as stone. I was doing harrier figure 8s with about a 20 foot radius on each side. The Boxxer likes ANY angle of attack. It’s not picky at all.
Invert Harriers- 7 I could do them yes. I ended holding a bit of right aileron and right rudder to get a straight line. Holding only the aileron gets you a smooth left turning harrier about 100 feet radius. It’s a little work, but in the span of a single flight, I could do it pretty well. Throttle and tail control are the key to smoothing out the invert.
Snaps and Spins- 10 Simply insane how “wound up” the Boxxer can get. Up elevator spins are a little better, but even down elevator snaps and spins are very impressive.
Blenders- 10 Wow! Dive, roll left, count to two, snap with right rudder and down elevator. As soon as the snap begins, center the ailerons and burp the power. Wow!
Walls- 10 Simply a non event. Pull it, and it pops straight up.
Parachutes- 8 You need to coordinate hitting a hint of power as the Boxxer rotates, otherwise you will drop the left wing. I worked to roll into the throttle a few clicks about half way into the chute, and I was getting a nice flat chute that way.
Waterfalls- 6 This is the only maneuver I felt the plane was missing. Yes, it would do them, but they were pretty loose. Like a real tight outside loop rather then a waterfall. Maybe a more aft CG will help, maybe not. I’ll experiment. It’s worth the effort to figure this out.
Rollers- 9 If anything, the Boxxer needs a little less aileron response to do a decent roller. Even at a snails pace harrier, the roll response (at full throw) is substantial. I had to back off the aileron stick a bit, to get a well timed roller. Once in the groove, it’s a blast to watch the Boxxer roll to the horizon, or in a tight little circle. Remember you will be giving a hint more down than up elevator, to compensate for the “bipe factor”, unless you programmed in a slight differential, as mentioned above.
Knife Edge Flight- 9.5 At flying speed, there is just a hint of roll coupling with the rudder. I had to give just a breath of aileron into my rudder. I’m talking just a hint. I try to keep with whole numbers when I rate, but this is really almost perfect.
H.A.K.E.- 8.5 As the plane slows, and more rudder is added, there is slightly more roll coupling. It is still correctable in flight, and I’ll likely not even mix this out. Also, I picked up just a hint of pitch, but only in a left rudder KE. Right rudder KE had no pitch, and about the same roll. Again, I prefer whole numbers, but it’s better than 8, and not quite a 9.
Flips- 10 I love this maneuver. Harrier around, and bang the throttle with full up elevator, and the Boxxer does a tight little back flip. It really doesn’t even lose much altitude. Even down as low as 6 or 8 feet, I felt safe doing this. I was working on starting in a harrier, doing the flip, then dropping into an elevator. That’s a pretty neat looking combo.
Overall I’ll say this. The Boxxer ARF is plainly and simply well thought out and perfectly executed. It can be a stable, fun to fly, and enjoyable plane, or it can turn it loose and wow spectators all in the same flight.
In follow up, Jeremy mentioned that the Boxxer is very good with flapperons, especially in a waterfall. He was right. A copius amount of flapperon made a respectable waterfall, and made harriers feel like I was cheating.
Hopefully more folks will start to post their thoughts, as the planes get delivered and assembled.