Blueyonder

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I am interested in this plane but haven't been able to find much information on it. Any comments out there regarding building, flying characteristics, glow /electric set up would be greatly appreciated!!

thanks,
Joe

jjoos99

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I had one this past season. Nice looking plane. I had a .70 surpass in mine and it flew it well. My only gripe with the plane is it would tip stall fairly easily. In fact that is what caused my first bad crash with it. I had a dead stick (first day out with the plane) and was turning the plane to line up with the runway and it tip stalled right into the ground. Ripped the whole front end off the plane. I was able to rebuild it (not very pretty any more) but it never flew very straight after that. Dont know if I would get it again. I hate flying a plane that I have to worry about flying too slow with it fearing a tip stall.
Jeff

Blueyonder

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Jeff thanks for the input.... much appreciated. Agreed... you can certainly do without tip stalling.. It is a nice looking plane however.. Hopefully others have some experience to share.... good or bad??

Joe

jjoos99

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I wasnt able to find alot on the plane either. Cant hardly beat the price on it though. Really flys pretty good just be careful
in slow flight. If you are wanting to 3d with slow flight I wouldnt trust this plane.
Jeff

Blueyonder

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Yes the pricing on the Phoenix ARF's is hard to resist. Add to that most of them come pre-hinged etc. I'm mostly interested in sport flying and not 3D so I may need to give this Phoenix Edge a try. :-)

Joe

warhwk

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I'm putting one together now. Not much wing area for a plane of this weight. My best guess on wing-loading was 29.9 oz\sq ft. I'm putting on a Saito 82. Stay tuned...

Blueyonder

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Thanks for sharing and good luck with the build. Mine is a work in progress also; will be going with an OS 55 AX.

warhwk

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As promised. I finally maidened the Phoenix Edge. The conditions were poor. 20mph with 30mph gusts and a late afternoon sun that was blinding during take off. My surface deflections were TLAR. (That looks about right), with some judicious use of expo just in case.

My Saito .82 fired up on first attempt and was set a touch rich; there is no direct air flow over the Saito in it's 8:00 o'clock position. A quick taxi test showed some binding of the wheels in the wheel pants. I had to flip to HIGH rates to taxi. I angled the plane diagonally to help keep the sun out of my eyes. The Edge accelerated smartly and self-rotated in about 50'. There were no surprises, just a couple of clicks aileron and elevator trim were needed. With the wind, I could not get a good feel for elevator sensitivity or CG. In fact, the judicious expo I put in the elevator was in fact judicious.

I wanted to adjust elevator throw and expo for a second flight so I brought it in after about 4 mins. Landing into a 20mph wind, I was not able to tell much about it's low speed and landing characteristics. I did keep just a touch of throttle on and kept the decent angle relatively steep owing to the wind. I greased it in to a 3-point with absolutely no bounce. The landing roll out was short due to the binding of the wheels.

After adjustment, the late afternoon sun was just too overwhelming for another flight so I packed it up.

Blueyonder

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Congrats on a successful maiden in less than ideal conditions. Nice looking Edge... Eager to hear about low speed handling under calmer conditions.

warhwk

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I got a chance to fly it again in calm conditions. With the CG at 80mm, it was still sluggish even with increased throw and reduced expo. I had a hard time slowing it down to land. I then moved the battery back approximately 5", behind the wing tube. I did not measure where the CG actually landed but it turned the plane around instantly.

Knife-edge now pulls slightly to the wheels, I performed a picture perfect Lomchavec with the tail clearly tumbling in front of the engine. I was please to find it hovered effortlessly with the Saito 82 at about 80% throttle. I could not get it to snap out on loops at medium throws. Ailerons are not 3D sized so I used 100% available deflection with 50% expo on High Rates. It rolls crisp but not blinding.

Most importantly, it now slowed down on final making landing much easier. It's no beginner plane for sure, but as long as the nose was pointed down on final, it never seemed in danger of tip stalling. This plane will not tolerate being dragged in at it's wing-loading and may require a slightly flatter approach, but nothing too demanding.

I'll try and get the current CG, it calls for between 80-88mm. I can tell you that 80mm is way too nose heavy. Also, I CG'd it upright, not inverted as called for in the instructions.

Blueyonder

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Thanks for the updates.. Interesting how the changing of the guts placement improved the flying characteristics. I'm curious though....any particular reason for CG'ing it upright instead of inverted..?

warhwk

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I'm curious though....any particular reason for CG'ing it upright instead of inverted..?

Pendulum effect. In my 8 O'clock installation, the majority of the engine weight is below the wing. If it were a low wing, inverted balancing would be suitable.

Blueyonder

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Excellent info.. thanks for sharing. Also , great photo of your Edge with the setting sun as a backdrop.
I think this Edge 46 size is one of the nicer looking Phoenix scale aerobatic models IMHO.

warhwk

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I got one quick flight in after work yesterday. I was curious about high alpha flight (AKA Harrier's) on this Edge. I spent most of the flight exploring the stall break with various amounts of elevator and throttle. It was pretty Tippy and gave my thumbs quite a work out. I don't think I'll be doing Harrier's 5' off the runway with this Edge. Hover's were rock solid however. In the waning daylight, I did not try inverted Harriers. Mainly because I forgot. LOL
I didn't buy this plane for 3D but I am having fun exploring it's limits.

Blueyonder

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harriers...? awesome. I'll be happy to have a maiden that results in bringing home the plane in one piece.

3357

Well i maidened mine today and to my surprise it is a very stable airplane. I used a os 46 ax in it and it is way to slow with that motor. I would suggest at least a .60 or larger if you want any speed. He is right about the balancing the plane right side up. I couldnt get it to balance inverted. To touchy. Also it is to nose heavy at the recommened balance point. It lands hot but rolls out very straight and controlable. I only got to fly it once because on my second landing i took a bad bounce and cracked the wood where the tailwheel mounts.
Totally my fault. Its a good airplane in my opinion. I was surprised at how slow it was though. That same os .46:would pull my sky raider along very fast. Wing loading i guess.

Blueyonder

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3357, congrats on the maiden. Sounds like the Edge was bit more stable than what you were expecting... which is always a good thing. I decided I will have to work my way up to the Edge since I'm a bit rusty on the sticks. I am hoping my OS 55 AX will be enough engine for it when the time comes however.

Joe

warhwk

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I think an OS 55 and a 12/6 prop would be an excellent combination on this Edge.

Blueyonder

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Thanks. Good to know..

3357

I think your 55ax would be better than my 46 ax that's for sure. Personally i like my planes to be pretty fast so personally i would go with at least a .60. But im sure your .55 will do a good job also. I don't think you will have any trouble flying the edge Joe as i said it is very stable as long as you don't go to slow.. I have heard it likes to tip stall. Now landing it will be a little more exciting as mine at least wants to come in hot. Just make sure you flair it at the right time because as i found out it will take a nasty bounce if you don't. Just like most models will. But the plane tracks very straight and is very controllable when rolling and that's helpful after a hot landing. Especially where i fly , i have to land on a road with a curb on each side so i need all the control i can get.
I like the plane so far [only had 2 flights]. What aerobatics i did with it i was pleased with. With the duel rates up it does very fast barrel rolls and snap rolls. I cant say the barrel rolls looked like it was on a wire but my plane was nose heavy at the time. A condition i have already eliminated. Its a nice looking plane also. Good luck my friend and happy flying.....Dave

warhwk

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Once the CG is moved back a bit from the recommended location, this Edge will flair nicely and also land slower than you might expect from such a small wing. I reduced my elevator throw to a point where it will just start to deviate during a high-speed loop with full up elevator. I have 3D rates available, but I rarely use them, this is not a good plane for that type of flying. The ailerons are small and I have a hard time keeping it from torque-rolling in a hover. She Knife-edges pretty well with just a touch of roll-coupling. Pitch is pretty neutral and varies depending on current CG. The inverted flat-spins are gorgeous. Take a look https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vz8mDiW93gM

Blueyonder

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thanks Dave & warhwk for the input! Much appreciated.

Warhwk, thanks for sharing the YT vid also. That is some sweet flying!.... The Edge color scheme looks great in the air. (Definitely like the contrasting yellow/orange on the bottom of the wings also...)

3357

Yea warhwk looks like you were having a good time that day. Do you know how far back your cg is ? They recommend 80 to 85mm. I reset mine to 88mm but haven't flown it yet. When i flew it the first time the cg was at 82 and i had to use up trim to keep the nose up and it came in pretty hot. Maybe better this time. Im going flying Saturday and Sunday so i will find out. Also curious what motor you are using in your Edge. Tks for the input............Dave

3357

Update.... After moving my cg to 87mm i am very happy with my edge. It flles great. Now the barrel rolls look like the plane is on a wire. Nice knife edge, crisp snap rolls and as well it seems like the overall speed increased. Still comes in pretty hot though . I like the plane alott......Dave

Blueyonder

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Sounds great Dave, thanks for the report. Are you still using the 46 AX in your Edge?