Question about the Hobbico Flyzone speed Pilot EP
 

Hi, I am new to the rc airplane world and have purchased this plane and wanted to see if there was anyone else who has this plane and what they think about it. Mine is due to show up next week so I would like to learn about any problems it may have.
Thanks

DD

Question about the Hobbico Flyzone speed Pilot EP
 

It on order? A little late to be asking about it :D

Question about the Hobbico Flyzone speed Pilot EP
 

I've seen a couple of those inexpensive Hobbico R/C toys, and I haven't been impressed. When I saw the Speed Pilot, it was laying in pieces by the club's shelter at the flying field...

My impression was not good. For the size of the plane, it was far too heavy to fly slowly enough for a beginner, if it could even fly at all. It was VERY heavy. I have a .40-size trainer that I converted to electric, and I think it weighed almost as much as that. The .40-size trainer has a 60" wing, and is still pretty fast for a beginner.

Frankly, I would send it back and get myself a HobbyZone Firebird XL, Firebird Commander, or an Aerobird. Sure, it's a little more expensive, but these are lightweight, proven designs that you're reasonably assured to be successful with. I think you might just as well smoke the $100 you spent on the Speed Pilot... :(

Question about the Hobbico Flyzone speed Pilot EP
 

or check out GWS's wide variety of planes.

I myself had a Hobbico Cub-Wannabe (who's name excapes me at the moment) and it flew worse then a brick.

Question about the Hobbico Flyzone speed Pilot EP
 

Thanks for the info guys. I got it in yesterday and got it put together. I am hoping to try it sunday, but I dont have high hopes of a good flight with the reviews thus far. I will keep you posted on how it goes. Im hoping with all the flight time I had in the simulator and my short life into the rc heli's, that I have a decent chance of actually flying this thing =)

DD

Question about the Hobbico Flyzone speed Pilot EP
 

Well, it turned out to be a calm evening so I decided to go out and try my luck. the plane is supposed to have enough power for a land takeoff so I tried it. it wouldnt get off the ground. at first I thought it could be the ground was a little soft from the rain last night, but I dont think that is what the problem was. after looking at the elevator control, I noticed that one side was lifting higher then the other side. the side that the rod links up was able to lift just fine, but the other side was not moving up or down as good.

I went against my better judgement and tried to hand launch it, figuring if it was already in the air that I might be able to keep enough lift under it. It didnt. it stayed in the air long enough to go about 30 feet out from me and tumbled on the ground. breaking the entire left rudder off and knocked the engine loose.

Either I just got a bad elevator, or that is a lousy design.

Question about the Hobbico Flyzone speed Pilot EP
 

Hey, that's sorta what happened to my AeroCruiser!

Question about the Hobbico Flyzone speed Pilot EP
 

RUN AWAY! Sigh, ok you already crashed it. Please let me give you some info to help you further your hobby before getting discouraged enough to quit it.
1st - NEVER buy anything like the AeroCruiser again.
2nd- DO NOT buy parts for it or attempt to fix it. It is hopeless. My brother (who flies a sport 40 now) couldn't fly this thing either. We call it frankenstein now because it has more repairs on it than anything ever seen.
3rd- Buy a warbird. This puppy will take straight nose in hits, pick it up..and launch it again. I suggest buying another battery and you will enjoy the hobby quickly.

I got into the hobby when I was 21 (32 now) buy purchasing an eagle II kit, enya .40 ss engine and a futaba pcm 4 channel fm. After meticulously building my eagle II, I didn't have the heart or the resources to try it out. The local airfield was full of 'older guys' that didn't want anyone else in their little click. Not to mention they wanted a annual fee of $30 bux PLUS the ama insurance. GEESH.

Years go buy, and last year I received a tubby cubby for my birthday. I didn't like it's looks (especially because the wheels looked like they would snap in a heartbeat). SO I bought the AEROCRUISE because it SEEMED to be a good plane. What did I know. Styrofoam does not impact well. I also have a Firebird that I destroyed because it got 'shot down' from about 500 feet up and went straight into a rock. That thing took 234234 times the punishment as the Aerocruise.

My first flight with the aerocruiser, after practicing on my brothers warbird for at least 5 hours...went something like this. Attempt to take off on a paved runway at a local park. Spins in circles.
Ok, hand lauch. Bweeeeeeeeeee BOOM. Nosed over. Scrunched wing, and the FLIMSY as all heck tail tore. Next time out (whenever I found the time and the weather of less than 5mph wings finally arrived), Bweeeee BOOM. Battery pops out, fuse nose smashed in. I taped the fuse up, glued it. Did some crazy stuff to figure out the proper angle of the engine etc to make sure I had everything right. I head out the next time, and ACTUALLY got this thing flying a bit. It needs more initial space than a .40 trainer. Well not really, but when you first toss this thing, it wants to roll and death spiral REAL bad. After you fight that and get some wind behind it with some altitude...it actually is somewhat fun to fly. Alas, I hit the only tree in the field I was flying over as I was attempting to make my first turn :(
At this point, this plane was looking VERY ugly. Sticks underneath keeping the wing strength up. Shims under the fuse to keep the dihedral balanced as it came in the box. This thing is HARD to repair as usually the breaks happen near the tail and fin..where it is almost impossible to repair. I had to use a thin expoxy OVER masking tape, creating a lightweight cast so to speak.

Believe it or not, the thing finally flew again. I did it in front of many people on a saturday, and flew until me engine cut out. I even landed it (sideways) on our runway (cement). After that, I went to fly again..and something was wrong.. I think my last hard landing must have finally killed it.

Short story:
8 flights: total 25 mins
6 bad crashes
1 good flight
1 eh flight
Total time invested in repairs: at LEAST 8 hours
Total money reinvested: 120 bux
And they forgot to send me my wing struts as per the order form.. so now it sits.

All in all, it was what almost killed my RC enthusiasm.

I immediately ask my brother to fly his trainer40. Flew it once, then had him fly my eagle 2 on takeoffs and landings. By the end of the month (and 4 flights) I solo'd. :)

Now I am having serious engine troubles, not to mention money...

Anyway, Just wanted to put my two cents into this little mess. Sorry to discourage you on your Aerocruise. I had hi hopes for it, but should have realized something was up when I grabbed the wing and my finger imprint stayed in the wing because the foam is so brittle.

Buy the warbird, just dont hit rocks or tree trunks...and you should do FINE. It's a fun plane, and if you get another one you can play war. :)

S

Question about the Hobbico Flyzone speed Pilot EP
 

What's a "warbird?" Most warbirds I'm familiar with would yield similar results to the Speed Pilot, Aerocruiser, and many of the other snotty, underpowered, overweight electric toys that many hobby shops sell.

Then there is this generation of V-tail, pusher-prop planes. These are actually pretty good planes for a beginner! The designers made the wings large enough to actually support the weight of the plane, and made the plane lighter to boot. Controls are simple left/right, and throttle.

Question about the Hobbico Flyzone speed Pilot EP
 

That's the animal! AND it has a infared pod underneath it that you use for the other servo as a 'weapon'. Yes, when you push to the left or right with the left stick, it fires out a beam. If the other warbird gets 'hit' it lets out a loud noise and the engine quits for 5 secs!

Yes, it is a V tail. Great thing. Very durable also. Dented our parks pavilion (wood), picked it up..threw it..flew like it came out of the box.

We even attempt touch and goes with it, although very difficult hehe.

S

Question about the Hobbico Flyzone speed Pilot EP
 

OPPS - It's actually called a FIGHTERBIRD. Here is the specs..

Fighterbird RTF Complete Park Flyer Electric Airplane, by Hobbyzone

Retail Price: $149.99
Model Outlet Price: $119.99

And the link..

http://www.modeloutlet.com/plre.html

Check out what else they have there. These items are also usually at any decent hobby store.


UPDATE on my hobbico ARC (almost ready to crash) Aerocruiser.
Yesterday I decided to pull the parts out of the basement and prep this thing for flight. (I was dumb enough to buy all the parts thinking it was just me, not the plane)
And behold, the wing was missing the struts that attach to the fuse. DOH. I needed them. So I emailed them as this was pictured in the add for the wing assembly, now it is different and obviously changed.

They (Tower Hobbies) were VERY nice to send the following reply:
Thank you for writing Tower Hobbies.
The manufacturer must have made a change in the packaging of the
product. You may return any new and unused merchandise for a refund or
exchange if you wish. You may also include a copy of the ground postage
receipt for reimbursement. We apologize for the confusion.
We appreciate your time and your business with us.

SO, I will apply this to something usefull like a wattage parkflyer for my father or pieces parts for something else.

Just thought I would let you all know that. At least it wasn't a total loss two times over. Tower has my vote as a hobby supplier giant that could easily have told me to kiss off.

S