SR-71 BlackBird Review, on Banana Hobby - June 2010
OK all,<o></o>
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I’m going to attempt a review of the SR-71 Blackbird from Banana Hobby.<o></o>
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I impulse ordered this without researching much (yes that was stupid). While waiting for the plane to come in I decided to hunt the net a little and ran into a lot of bad mouthing Banana Hobby, and from what I read I feel sorry for many of the posters. At this point I am a little scared that I just wasted $300.00 +<o></o>
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This will be an unbiased attempt of what will be my experience with the plane and the company.<o></o>
My new SR-71 Just got dropped off byUPS man,
Shipping was great! IMO
I placed my order on Friday 28th of May 2010 at 10:06 (PM)
and I received a UPS ground shipment from CA. to Milwaukee, WI. On June 10th 2010
so let’s say 11 days... now let’s consider we had 2 weekends subtract 4 days and one of the weekends was Memorial Day weekend to let subtract another day, so 5 days total.
So 6 days to order and get my package, can't beat that.
I'll post more updatesand a youtube video of the box opening later
(Note added: Part1 and Part2 of the Video's are ready for viewing see post 9 for details)
so far so good
Bob
Part 1 the unboxing youtube video is ready for viewing
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uCmNxGQRXu0[/youtube]
Part 2 the testing of the Electronics is ready for Viewing
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9682ZO5tIyc[/youtube]
Part 3 Installing thenew ReplacementESC's
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XQiQlOqjf58[/youtube]
Part 4 Installing the retracts, Gluing the parts together, Short test run on the lawn.
POWER TEST! Wow Added at the end of this video.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rkSy1xM-_XQ[/youtube]
Part 5 Taking the SR-71 to the field for it's first flight. added July 8th 2010
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-nl496MtY9I[/youtube]
Well the unboxing went well there was a few places there the Styrofoam was already broken but, the plane looked in good shape, the front nose was free floating in the box but looks ok also.<o></o>
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I videotaped the opening and will provide a link later.<o></o>
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I decided before gluing anything together that I would try the electronics.<o></o>
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The plane did come with the radio 2.4Gigs 6 Channel and the receiver was located in the 8AA cell battery compartment of the radio.<o></o>
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Looking at the manual, which is totally useless didn’t help. So being a seasoned builder it was not hard to fig out which servo wires go where on the receiver. All but one had a number sticker on them, the last one being the retracts which I plugged into channel 5 and it worked fine. I also played with channel 6, which on the transmitter is hooked up to a variable pot and was able to raise and lower the retracts slowly with the variable pot.<o></o>
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All servo’s worked good, I added a mix on the transmitter for the elv/ail’s and added a reverse on the ail’s<o></o>
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We have are first problem!<o></o>
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I gave it some throttle and only one of the EDF’s Spun! After double checking the wires that had access to I could not find anything wrong.<o></o>
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I decided to open the access panel on the bottom of that EDF, I removed the two screws and the hold down plastic tabs. The Foam access door must be glued down because I was not able to remove it. Anymore force would cause foam damage.<o></o>
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One thing I did notice was that the idle current going through the ESC’s made both ESC’s the same temperature. So the dead motor ESC is passing current. This leads me to believe that the ESC’s Throttle control wire is not hooked up or backwards.
Here’s the problem, you can’t get at the wires! They are under the foam and the foam is glued down!
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So here will be test number 1 for Banana Hobby Customer support. I will Call and or Email Banana Hobby ask them what they would like me to do next.
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bob
Tuskegee
U.S.Army(ret.)
Hopefully, you do nothave a bum ESC or motor. The follwoing might fix your issue. It worked for me.
Your ESCs might not be in sync. I have had one that was very reluctant to start, until I did the following.
1. turn on TX first and set throttle to full.
2. Turn on the model.
3. The ESCs will beep, indicating that they have made a note of the max throttle setting.
4. Reduce throttle to idle.
5. The ESCs will beep again, making note of low throttle setting. This sets the overall throttle range on the ESCs. They should then count the cells, with three beeps.
Try running up the fans then and see what happens.
Hello all,
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uCmNxGQRXu0[/youtube]
Part 2 the testing of the Electronics is ready for Viewing
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9682ZO5tIyc[/youtube]
Part 3 will be when the ESC comes in.. and so on.
Thanks
Bob
Live chat with Banana Hobby June 22 2010 11:30am
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Please wait for a site operator to respond. Thank you.
You are now chatting with 'LC MONITOR GROUP II'. Thank you for waiting. May I have the last 5 digits of the order# if you have an order with us; If you do not have any order with us yet or need for help on other inquries, then how may I help you?
Robert Scrip: bh18-92612 1
LC MONITOR GROUP II: Thanks, Robert
LC MONITOR GROUP II: Give me just a minute to pull up your order.
LC MONITOR GROUP II: Okay, Robert. I do see that the parts request was submit on the 16th of this month.
LC MONITOR GROUP II: Generally, it takes about 5 business days for replacement parts to be pulled and prepared for shipment.
LC MONITOR GROUP II: Your replacement ESC should ship out today. Please hold while I confirm with our shipping department.
Robert Scrip: ok
LC MONITOR GROUP II: Okay, Robert. Sorry about the delay.
LC MONITOR GROUP II: I've confirmed with the shipping department that your replacement ESC will ship out today.
LC MONITOR GROUP II: Once USPS has picked up the package, you will receive an email notification containing the tracking number for your delivery.
Robert Scrip: ok Thanks have a great day!
LC MONITOR GROUP II: You're very welcome
LC MONITOR GROUP II: You have a nice day as well
Chat session has been terminated by the site operator. Thank you for visiting Banana Hobby and you have a wonderful day. Good Bye.
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Then with in minutes I received an E-Mail from Sara
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will See....
-Bob
tracking numbers are like vapor see below
Still not in the system..
Label/Receipt Number: 9101 0105 2129 7212 xxxx xx
Class: First-Class Mail<sup>®</sup>
Service(s): Delivery Confirmation<sup>™</sup>
Electronic Shipping Info Received
>Status: Electronic Shipping Info Received
The U.S. Postal Service was electronically notified by the shipper on June 23, 2010 to expect your package for mailing. This does not indicate receipt by the USPS or the actual mailing date. Delivery status information will be provided if / when available. Information, if available, is updated periodically throughout the day. Please check again later.
bob
Saralyn C.
Looks like the US post office got the package and it's on it's way!
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Label/Receipt Number: 9101 0105 2129 7212 3598 75
Class: First-Class Mail<sup>®</sup>
Service(s): Delivery Confirmation<sup>™</sup>
Processed through Sort Facility
>Status: Processed through Sort Facility
Your item was processed through and left our CITY OF INDUSTRY, CA 91715 facility on June 23, 2010. The item is currently in transit to the destination. Information, if available, is updated periodically throughout the day. Please check again later.
Detailed Results:
Processed through Sort Facility, June 23, 2010, 9:49 pm, CITY OF INDUSTRY, CA 91715 | |
Electronic Shipping Info Received, June 23, 2010 |
-bob
I will Video Tape of the installation and let you guys know.
Posted the Videos of part 3 and Part 4
bob
Part 3 Installing thenew ReplacementESC's
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XQiQlOqjf58[/youtube]
Part 4 Installing the retracts, Gluing the parts together, Short test run on the lawn.
POWER TEST! Wow Added at the end of this video.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rkSy1xM-_XQ[/youtube]
Part 5 Taking the SR-71 to the field for it's first flight. added July 8th 2010
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-nl496MtY9I[/youtube]