speedking12210

i am an intermediate pilot wanting a neat jet on a budget. The f5 e cought my eye. What do you guys have to say about it. THanks fo the help

Sam

ndfanatix

I have heard a lot of negatives and not many positives other than looks. I heard the motors were junk, the fans fell apart, it was way underpowered and many other things. It does look good though! I would read many of the posts on this plane before I purchased one. Good luck.

ndf

tomme

My Feedback: (1)

just have a look at this and make up your own mind.

im having to replace all the servos, esc, and cheap landing gear. ive tried

to call hobby lobby about this but they put you on hold forever and i just dont

have the time. i can repeat their " your call is important to us speech by heart."

go with gws and build your own plane.




http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=899405

speedking12210

thanks for that. Any suggestions that would be comparable. I will look into gws. Thanks again.

Sam

GotSky

I'm not sure what others are saying but I can tell you first hand that the 70mm Swiss Markings F5 flys GREAT!!!.. Lots of power the speed is some where around 80mph. This is a great deal for the money.. I mean you get everything for $260 what more do you want. The gear works great the plane builds in a couple hours and it is very crisp and positive on the flight controls.. When I heard all this negative stuff it makes me wonder who is writing it. If you have even a little bit of airplane knowledge you would see the areas that need more attention before you fly it. I recommend this kit not only for the value but for the fun factor as well.. I hate hearing well my friend said or I know a guy that has so many jets that he knows everything.. Bottom line if you want something that you can take out to your local field and have fun with this is the plane for you. If you want something that is the fastest best thing out there then why are you even looking at a RTF plane for $260?
Consider these items:
1. Re Adjust the gear linkage for solid movement
2. Check all the nuts and screws to make sure they are tight
3. Take your time putting the wings on.
4. Make sure its balanced
5. Use about 65% expo
6. Don't rev the heck out of the motor while on the ground (work Bench) The ESC needs air flow from flight to stay cool
6. Fly the heck out of it and have fun!!!!

rcmiket

Great point half the people who bash stuff don't even own one. I have the H/L F-18 and think its a great deal at 170 bucks. No its not the fastest nor the most scale but it suites my needs just fine. To be perfectly honest RCU stinks as far as EDF forums go. Check this out.

http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=813552

I'm sure there's bashing there too but at least there is some useful info beside" Its Junk and you need to replace everything" Do your homework and you make can make a educated choice. If your looking for a $2000.00 jet for under 300 bucks keep looking. If your looking for a good starting point check out the stuff at Hobby lobby. There customer service is great. good Luck. Mike

rob737

My Feedback: (3)

a buddy of mine who is flying TONS of edf jets does not think very highly of starmax planes. i have taken his advice, but the decision is yours, of course. good luck! r.

rcmiket

Have YOU seen it fly? Like I said there's a ton of bashing going on by people who have never even seen the jet. I'm not calling you out but don't bash something till you have had your own hands one it. Mike

rob737

My Feedback: (3)

no offense taken. this fellow is flying over 90 planes right now, with tons of edf jets in the mix, so i value his opinion! but, i have not seen one fly, just passing along an opinion that i happen to respect. your f-18 looks great! glad you are enjoying it.........rob

GotSky

90 Planes?[sm=spinnyeyes.gif].. Um ya OK.. Re-read my post and then think about what you just said

tIANci

NDF ... I think whoever been telling you things got it totally wrong, I got a few kits for my pals and we are all happy. The plane IS NOT under powered, not a speedster or able to climb vertically but she is a nice plane to fly and own.

For me having owned many GWS planes, the only GWS EDF that flies nice is the F15, other than that IMHO GWS planes feel 'soft'.

The F5E flies very nice and is really worth looking into. Handling wise she flies very nice, landings are okay so an intermediate pilot will be able to handle her. As for mods this is very necessary:

i. insert CF rod onto nose gear retract nylon pushrod/arm, needs to be stiffened up
ii. use 2 elevator servos, the elevator configuration for the horn is lousy, change to a conventional system (you will understand this when you see it in person), to mod the elevator servos look at the attached pic

You will not the Hobby Lobby video taken at SEFF was kinda shameful as the F5E's nose gear did not retract, just do the simple mod and she will be happy.

As for the build, please please ensure the wings are properly glued and aligned, there is not proper notch to hold it accurately in place so just be careful, its not hard to work on. The battery supplied can handle the amp draw as mine never got hot, warm yes but not hot, place a ribbon into the battery compartment, in case your battery is not properly placed, you can easily remove it (don't ask me why I know this)

For the price she works great, also will happily ROG and fly at a decent speed unlike some other EDFs such as the SAPAC Hawk on the stock motor. I love fast planes and I can say that this plane is fun to fly. For a full build go to this link, its my pal's plane, I flew mine totally stock. He was more hardworking than me!

[link=http://www.rcheadz.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=26&t=44&st=0&sk=t&sd=a]F5E Build[/link]

GotSky

Just as an FYI the "New" Hobby Lobby F5 comes with 2 elevator servos already installed and ready to go. Plus my gear works flawlessly. Maybe they also improved that over the 1st release..

tIANci

I like the looks of the cammo version ...

vicman

My Feedback: (10)

[X(]why not cut the throw down???

rob737

My Feedback: (3)

guess i stuck my nose where it didn't belong....sorry guys. was just offering the opinion of a buddy who has pretty much "one or more of everything." it's for real, he has over 60k invested in this hobby...so no attacks on credibility, please! enjoy your jets!......rob

tIANci

Rob ... you did not stick your nose in and you are not unwelcomed. Its just that with forums, too many people have made remarks without trying out the plane. Many a forumer is tired of it especially when they have flown the plane and comments come from someone who have not. That's all, its not personal. I was informed by many that the Global Raven 40 is not flyable, so so so many negative comments. I finally flew her after a while, I really liked it and it did not do all the nasty things as what was told to me.

True that your pal has invested like $60K but might it not be true that because he is into the sweet stuff, a 'toy' like this F5E seems lowly to him.

We just flew the F5E this afternoon ... she still looks great in the air.

Gordito Volador

My Feedback: (1)

Speedking,

PM me and you can come see my whole collection of foam jets. My business is at Port Manatee not too far north of you. I just flew my HL F-18 for the 50th time today, and I also maidened my Camo F-5 today. Keep in mind that these are $200.00 foam airplanes not $10,000.00 BVM Ultra Bandits.

rcmiket

'PM me and you can come see my whole collection of foam jets. My business is at Port Manatee not too far north of you. I just flew my HL F-18 for the 50th time today, and I also maidened my Camo F-5 today. Keep in mind that these are $200.00 foam airplanes not $10,000.00 BVM Ultra Bandits. "

That about sums it up.My feelings exactly
Mike____________________________

tIANci

One question ... anyone of you strengthened the wing? She bends a bit in hard turns.

tomme

My Feedback: (1)

i loved the looks of this plane and its size, its what made me buy it. yes, the servos clatter, the esc gets very hot, and the landing gear is very weak.

i replaced everything but the motor, the fan exploded on a bench test, and now, with the upgrades, it flies great and looks bloody awesome, on the ground and in the air.

final cost, 495.00

just be careful on a starmax plane. you could get burnt like i did.

i also cancelled my pre-order of the f4 hobby lobby phantom, i cant see paying twice what the plane is worth just to replace everything and make it fly, but, its an awesome looking plane also,

ill wait to see how the fly fly f4 looks, at least ill be putting my own radio equip. from the start. and im not bashing h/l, but their 10 min. wait to talk to their customers need to be reworked.

tIANci

tomme ... that's weird, my esc and my pal's esc was not hot, even the stock batt of 15C is only warm after a 4-5 min flight. I am surprised the fan unit blew up.

I have the F4 ... its ok, about the same speed as the F5E but its pretty small. These planes in stock cofiguration are only good to cruise around and try to look good, still they are fun. If they only come with an easy access to the fans so we can up grade it easily then it would be really a keeper.

tomme

My Feedback: (1)

yea, i guess i just got a dud, however the fan problen has happened quite a bit if you read the rc groups forums about this plane. a friend bought one and it was trouble right

away for him also. he stripped it clean and replaced all radio equip. and now its great, he said landing gear is next, his just keeps folding on him, no matter how many screws

he tightens or goes over the plane to make sure its where its supposed to be prior to maiden. we do own this plane, we do fly edf jets, we know the ins and outs (mostly)

of these edf planes, but was surprised about this one.

as for the f4, after the h/lobby f5e plane im done with rtf from h/lobby. been doing business with them for years and will continue to do so, just not planes (or on the phone which is near impossible unless you have plenty time). the f4 is killer looking

but just too small for me, and im sure will be riddled with probs. also. gws and fly fly are coming out with f4 phantoms of a descent size so im gonna wait and see whats in the skunk works

from them all of this is just, IMHO

this is from the wattflyer forum and was informative for me.

http://www.wattflyer.com/forums/showthread.php?t=37253

tIANci

Tomme ... the ESC you got is prob a dud. As for the fan blowing, oh man, it will be a real pain to replace for sure. The landing gear folds because the nylon arm is weak, once it bends then its always does it, bets to just add a CF rod, a simple fix. I got the EDO F4, it is small for sure and not as fast as the F5E but I class them as very good 'RC Toys'. They fly fine, only issue is the last of power to go unlimited verticals! Hehehehehee ... A twin 70mm F4 will be great ...

Beamshipcaptain

I bought an F5-E Swiss fighter back in late July. I made the terrible mistake of using the supplied glue on the wings. The left wing separated on the maiden flight. I boxed up the pieces, sent it back to Hobby Lobby and told them what happend. In 3 weeks, I had another Swiss F5. Got it flying now and it flies great. Only issue really is the weak retract servos. Just adjust retracts to lock in up and down using gear-trim in the radio. Dont totally hyper extend in down, or the bad design of these retracts makes the gear collapse. Dont use too much throw on the ailerons. That being said, its the best flying, sweetest flying jet yet from Starmax, with plenty of power for short take offs from grass-fields, and vertical climb;even rudder, so you can do all the aerobatics, including knife-edge flight. Tape or glue all servo-leads, and secure leads to receiver so they cant vibrate-out. The large size makes it easy to see, and more power in the air, its really nice, and retracts add the final-touch of coolness and realism. Cant wait for the F4 Phantom and the F-16 coming in a few days from Hobby lobby. Those two models do not have retracts like the F5-E though.

UH60 Crewdog

I pluged in my reciever and ALL control throughs came out darn close, close enough to fly with out any adjustment. Maybe extreme luck was involve. I love the way this plane flys, Only problem is I fly from a rough improved surface and on landing I can touch down like a feather but the darn nose gear folds up on the roll out. Its not accuating the servo to close just popping past the two little retaining pins in either side of the gear and relocks with a simple accuation of the landing gear.

Anyone else having this problem and had an idea to fix it yet? Im thinking of putting a X-70 Hacker pro with a HET 2W25, HET 6904 fan unit anyone got any idea's or additions? I think it should do around 80-90MPH and I have never taken foam that fast only glass and balsa besides carbon tubing the wings any suggestion?