vanman

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I am planning to purchase a .40 size Edge, these two are the two that I like best so far.

I know the reputation of the Aeroworks planes and have no information or knowledge of Pacific Aeromodel. The Aeromodel plane has a few features that make it slightly more appealing than Aeroworks, but it costs $30 bucks more.......

Anyone ever dealt with Pacific Aeromodel? What is their quality like?....

Thanks in advance for the input

vanman

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Just arrived on the Fedex truck today!!!

So far I am very very impressed with the quality and completness of the ARF! The packaging was great, each and every peice was in a plastic bag and then inside a sealed cardboard box.

Here are a few pics......will tell more tomorrow as the construction begins!

Added during edit.....Sorry for the crappy picture quality [:'(], clicked the wrong resolution on these when downloading from the camera....[>:]

SunShyne

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nice!

more pics! id love to see how big the control surfaces are and the final weight when you are done. Good looking scheme on it


matt

vanman

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Here are the new pics from today! VERY NICE! It is going together well. They finished alot of the details that many other ARF's that I have put together simply left for the assembler to do..... Things such as:

The covering is trimmed back and tacked down around all of the servo openings, the covering is also trimmed back on the rudder and stabilizer, antennae tube is already installed, the canopy is cut and trimmed to fit right out of the box.

The holes for all of the surface control arms are pre-drilled, the fuel tank even comes with all 3 fuel lines already installed (not a big deal but nice).

The hardware package is nice as well, comes complete with pull-pull setup for the rudder, metal clevises, pre-cut, bent and assembled push rods (with oring keepers already installed on the clevises).

vanman

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Diablo....here are your control surface pics.

As you can see, I am a little further along today, I have the cowl cut out and installed and the horizontal and vertical stabilizers installed. The rudder and elevators are only "sitting" in place to get the control surface pics.

I figure I will get all of the controls and surfaces completed tomorrow and then final setup, balancing and programming the radio on Wednesday.

If all works out as planned the maiden will be Thursday ....if not Thursday I can't do it until Sunday.......[&o]

Here are the pics

vanman

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and a couple more pics

weatherly

What engine are you using?

vanman

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I am putting the plane together with a 46FX with a slimline Pitts style muffler. I have the Aeroworks 40 size Edge coming as well and I wanted a side by side comparison of how the planes fly as recommended by the manufacturer. If there is not enough umpff to pull out of a hover with authority, it will get a .61FX transplant after I finish both of them.

LSP972

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Great stuff, vanman. Keep it coming.

SunShyne

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thanks for the pics Van, good job. The control surfaces look pretty big for some minor 3D action!

If I were to get one id throw a Saito 72 or 91 on it

keep it up and let us know how its going!!


matt

vanman

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No new pics tonight guys....sorry[] I spent the evening finishing the installation, sealing all of the surfaces. Installed the pull-pull rudder system. I adjusted all of the surfaces except the elevators since I only bought 5 servos not 6 and I already had one installed for the throttle and didn't feel like taking it back out....oh well, I will pick up the last one tomorrow and set the elevators.

I got tired of working on all of the details so I installed the radio gear and programmed the whole thing, set it up for triple rates (low, high and 3D) with lots of exponential.

All that is left is the details.........install the pilot (Sponge Bob), complete the canopy, trim the cowl for the muffler and the air exit, set the control throws and then balance it.

Hopefully the maiden will happen on Thursday after work........

Claytonj

Great info! I can't wait to get your review on how it flies. It may be a nice fit for my Saito 80! [8D]

SunShyne

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Van have you weighed it yet?

vanman

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Diablo- Weights will be taken prior to the maiden....so either today or tomorrow, but only after it is completely setup and ready to fly. This will allow me to give the complete listing of how the plane was outfitted, where everything was placed, how much it weighed, where did it balance initially and how it balanced laterally, etc.

Claytonj - you will also be happy to know that I have about 6-9 pilots that will be flying these planes. Some well versed in 3D and major aerobatics, others like myself moving on from basic aerobatics into a platform that is intended to allow me to grow. I am going to be attempting to get a non-biased opinion from a cross section of pilots as to what they think of the plane. They will also be asked to rate the plane 1-5 on a number of different aspects of the planes build, materials, visual, handling, aerobatics, etc. But most importantly they will all be asked the same questions and asked to rate each item using the same rating system!

Bring on the questions that you would like to see answered in a product review! I am interested in answering the questions that are out there and I know they are out there because I have read too many of the complaints that all reviews are biased and claim that the product was great......so lets hear it everyone....what do you want to know?

BTW - when the AW Edge gets here it will be done in the same fashion.....building, pics, outfitting, flights, ratings! It just needs to hurry up and get here!

Claytonj

I'm in the same boat as you. Looking for a plane that will allow me to grow. I'm eager to hear your results and I'm glad that you have a round group of pilots testing these. Great Work!

SunShyne

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besides the typical ones like:

Weight
Wing Span
Length
3D capability
Standard flight characteristics
servos used
engine used

Lots of pics and maybe even a video

look forward to the report of the maiden [8D]


matt

LSP972

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Your approach to the evaluation is just right, IMO.

Some of the questions I would like answered:



1. How is the hardware? What was used, what was trashed? Specifically, how were the pushrods?

2. Tail wheel assembly quality? Good, just usable, or junk?

3. Control horn/clevis quality? Attachment points; hardwood, or balsa?

4. True weight/wing loading



Trying to decide between these two would be a real dilemma without this sort of comparison. My hat is off to you...


.

vanman

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Well guys here it is, the complete plane. I have a couple of finishing details to put on it....touch up the cowl paint, put the edging around the canopy....stuff like that but other than that it is complete. It does need balanced, it got late on me tonight before it got done.

Radio gear is installed and programmed. Engine was broken in and tuned on an engine stand so it is ready for the maiden.

Iwill try to get it weighed tomorrow, but I don't have a scale that goes over 5 lbs so I may have to take it to work and weigh it. It is over 5lbs, but they advertised 6lbs.

Here are the some more pics, the maiden maybe tomorrow if the weather clears up......If not I am going to Mo. this weekend and will maiden it down there on Sunday with one of the test pilots.

I should be able to post a video of it flying from MO this weekend as well as get the entire compliment of photos.....if you have any specific views please post them so I can get them all at one time.

Thats all for now......

SunShyne

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very nice job, looks very sharp!!


matt

fly4fun

Is the wing removable? it looks like it is permanently fixed to the fuse.

vanman

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Actually they are plug in wings

I am not going to get to do the maiden until Sunday, I will be back in town on Tuesday and will have info on the maiden then..... The complete write up will follow that and of course hopefully will be the start of the same thing for the AW Edge.

bobplay33

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Hi,
How are the plug-in wings secured? Are they using tubes; if so, only sheet metal screw to fasten the thin tube, or what? How well do the wings fit; are they secure, or do they move? Your whole report is being done very properly and will be much appreciated by all of us. Thanks. bob

vanman

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I just got back from Missouri literally minutes ago....could not have asked for a better weekend for flying! The weather there was 75-80 degrees with 5-10mph winds, being from Wisconsin, I came home to 40 and raining.....sure thought about turning around

Bob to answer your immediate questions, the plug-in wings are very very snug fitting, I had to work the holes a bit....so far this is my only real complaint about the airplane as the the wing tube is a nice substantial wing tube, however, there is no cardboard tube inside the wings....just holes in the wing ribs....Minor, but when you read my complete review you will understand why I say it is my only complaint.

For everyone that has asked questions so far you should see the write up hopefully by the end of tomorrow and the rest of the evaluations after I get it out to the field with the rest of the pilots, which I hope will be this weekend if the weather begins to cooperate. So far I have had 2 pilots fly the plane, one whose skill level is just past beginning aerobatics and the other a pilot with about 20 years flying that loves to play hard!

To say that the plane was flown pretty hard this weekend would be an understatement, it was flown hard and snapped even harder.......Complete details will be in my complete write-up but here are a few tid-bit details The plane is a LOOKER and gets LOTS of response when put on the flight line. It is a rock solid flier and flies very very well. I have some video of the plane and what it was put through this weekend, I will apologize for quality of the video but it was a brand new video camera that I bought literally on the way to the field so I was less than experienced with the zoom feature and forgot to turn on the image stabilization feature.

I will upload some video as soon as I read the instructions on how to get it off the camera and onto the computer. Hopefully later tonight.

bobplay33

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Hi,
Thanks for the reply; but, please describe how the wings are held together.
Do you think that gluing the existing tube, severed, into the wing ribs and then inserting an inner telescopic removeable tube would be feasible and worthwhile? Again, thanks. Bob

jrf

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The wings are held on by 1/4-20 nylon bolts screwed into the wing roots from inside the fuselage. Putting the tubes into the wing is a tiny bit more of a hassle without the guide tubes, but you learn the technique after the second time you do it. It is not a strength issue and the airplane is lighter without them.

Jim