Comparision
02-17-2011, 12:16 AM
#1
Comparision
I have been asked to do a comparison between the De-Ja-Vu, Visa, and Valiant as I have now owned and flown all three. I was out of pattern for 10 years and have only been back for less than a year so I do not feel experienced enough to really evaluate them plus I only have six flights on the De-Ja-Vu, about 100 on the Visa, and roughly 150 on the Valiant. All three aircraft were designed with the P-11 & F-11 FAI schedules in mind. My comments should be taken with the above in mind and they will be brief and very general in nature.
Had I not made a decision to go to electric I would probably still be flying the Valiant as I feel it is a great aircraft to fly and easy to trim and get comfortable with. It was the least exspensive of the three by over a $1,000! The aircraft was designed by Bryan Hebert and manufactured by CompArf to be the best snapping aircraft that he could come up with and for me it is and it does everything else well too. It was the first aircraft of any kind that required absolutely no rudder to elevator mix. It was a little weak in yaw stability and the addition of the "strake" went a long way toward correcting that while at the same time increasing rudder authority. The finish is a Paint in the mold and while it's not the shiniest of them all it is the most durable and chip resistant. It also came with the best protective covers but not the prettiest!
The Visa became my first venture into the world of electrics. I can't tell you how much I learned about electrics with the help of Chip, Todd, Earl and Arch. It has been a great experience and I can not imagine ever going back to IC Power. The Visa is a very unique looking aircraft with the stiffest fuse I have ever seen other than a wood built up. It is very smooth and the fastest of the three aircraft. For me I had a hard time getting comfortable with it as I was probably flying it too close in and realitively small maneuvers which gave me the feeling I was rushing everything. It is a very'slick aircraft' and needed more space to work in than I gave it. I purchaed this aircraft from CA at a reduced price because the guy it was built for backed out of the deal and it had a very dark paint scheme that was hard to see in the air but beautiful on the ground. That probably also contributed to my not being as comfortable with it as I was with the Valiant and the De Ja Vu. One issue I had was in setting up the aircraft. There was no specific thrust line that I could use in setting up all my incidences. The Valiant and the De Ja Vu both use the canopy base as being parallel with the thrust line and greatly aids in setting up the aircraft. Chips method of just "Eye Balling" a desired flight attitude and going from there did not work very well for me. I finally blocked up the aircraft using a digitail angle meter on the fuse molded in nose ring and made everything work from there. As far as "Mixes" I had throttle to rudder for full power verticals, typical low throttle to down elevator for vertical down lines, and a small amount of rudder to to elevator mix. Both the Visa and De Ja Vu had beautiful wing and stab covers with the Visa having a full fuse cover and I believe the De Ja Vu will have wing and tail covers only. This was a suggestion I made to Chip as seldom do most people use a fuse cover but everyone needs to have the tail feathers & wings covered.
The De Ja Vu has been one of the quickest aircraft I have ever gotten comfortable with. It has a huge fuse that is very "draggie" and for me is much easier to slow down and maintain a more constant speed throught the maneuvers. I am still experimenting with the C/G and have not had the benefit of a no wind day to play with Mixes. I only have six flights on it but with time I feel it will make an excellent FAI aircraft. The only thing I might do different with the De Ja Vu is add the split rudder for next year!
It would be hard to go wrong with any one of the three aircraft in FAI. It all comes down to personal preference with anyone of the three.
Hope this helps those considering any one of the three.
Regards
Dick
PS Will try and add pictures of each tomorrow!
Had I not made a decision to go to electric I would probably still be flying the Valiant as I feel it is a great aircraft to fly and easy to trim and get comfortable with. It was the least exspensive of the three by over a $1,000! The aircraft was designed by Bryan Hebert and manufactured by CompArf to be the best snapping aircraft that he could come up with and for me it is and it does everything else well too. It was the first aircraft of any kind that required absolutely no rudder to elevator mix. It was a little weak in yaw stability and the addition of the "strake" went a long way toward correcting that while at the same time increasing rudder authority. The finish is a Paint in the mold and while it's not the shiniest of them all it is the most durable and chip resistant. It also came with the best protective covers but not the prettiest!
The Visa became my first venture into the world of electrics. I can't tell you how much I learned about electrics with the help of Chip, Todd, Earl and Arch. It has been a great experience and I can not imagine ever going back to IC Power. The Visa is a very unique looking aircraft with the stiffest fuse I have ever seen other than a wood built up. It is very smooth and the fastest of the three aircraft. For me I had a hard time getting comfortable with it as I was probably flying it too close in and realitively small maneuvers which gave me the feeling I was rushing everything. It is a very'slick aircraft' and needed more space to work in than I gave it. I purchaed this aircraft from CA at a reduced price because the guy it was built for backed out of the deal and it had a very dark paint scheme that was hard to see in the air but beautiful on the ground. That probably also contributed to my not being as comfortable with it as I was with the Valiant and the De Ja Vu. One issue I had was in setting up the aircraft. There was no specific thrust line that I could use in setting up all my incidences. The Valiant and the De Ja Vu both use the canopy base as being parallel with the thrust line and greatly aids in setting up the aircraft. Chips method of just "Eye Balling" a desired flight attitude and going from there did not work very well for me. I finally blocked up the aircraft using a digitail angle meter on the fuse molded in nose ring and made everything work from there. As far as "Mixes" I had throttle to rudder for full power verticals, typical low throttle to down elevator for vertical down lines, and a small amount of rudder to to elevator mix. Both the Visa and De Ja Vu had beautiful wing and stab covers with the Visa having a full fuse cover and I believe the De Ja Vu will have wing and tail covers only. This was a suggestion I made to Chip as seldom do most people use a fuse cover but everyone needs to have the tail feathers & wings covered.
The De Ja Vu has been one of the quickest aircraft I have ever gotten comfortable with. It has a huge fuse that is very "draggie" and for me is much easier to slow down and maintain a more constant speed throught the maneuvers. I am still experimenting with the C/G and have not had the benefit of a no wind day to play with Mixes. I only have six flights on it but with time I feel it will make an excellent FAI aircraft. The only thing I might do different with the De Ja Vu is add the split rudder for next year!
It would be hard to go wrong with any one of the three aircraft in FAI. It all comes down to personal preference with anyone of the three.
Hope this helps those considering any one of the three.
Regards
Dick
PS Will try and add pictures of each tomorrow!
02-17-2011, 11:13 AM
#3
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RE: Comparision
great info, thanks Dick.
It would be great if some more personal but honest comparisons could be posted here. No judgements, but just opinions. In the end, each flyer makes his own choices and decisions.
Volkert
It would be great if some more personal but honest comparisons could be posted here. No judgements, but just opinions. In the end, each flyer makes his own choices and decisions.
Volkert
02-18-2011, 06:27 PM
#6
RE: Comparision
Hi Joe
When I lost the Visa it put a hold on breaking in the Blue and F3a batteries. Since I got the De Ja Vu finished I have been concentrating on getting it trimmed out and not taken the time to continue the process. I will post some results as soon as I can get them broken-in.
Dick
When I lost the Visa it put a hold on breaking in the Blue and F3a batteries. Since I got the De Ja Vu finished I have been concentrating on getting it trimmed out and not taken the time to continue the process. I will post some results as soon as I can get them broken-in.
Dick
