splais

My Feedback: (25)

I am considering the new Airwild 35% 540T ARF. This plane has a composite fuselage. Would some of you with the experience please comment on the pros and cons of a composite fuselage. thanks.

Darrinc

My Feedback: (5)

I will sell you mine, it has passed the engineers at Scaled Composites scrutiny. I love them myself, but I moved back home only to be laid off, so I gotta do what I gotta do. The plane is huge BTW and is very graceful in the air. It' more like 37%. Beware though, the tail is very powerful and touchy. It definately needs expo!!

The main structure is FG over balsa, so it will not be that hard to fix. The design is very well laid out and is light for its size.

mAvRiCk-inactive

Well, I've seen the Composite ARF Yak 3.3m Yak and Composite ARF 2.6m Extra and I could push my finger on the fuse and it makes an indent, but is not permanent. It just shapes back. I don't like how on the Composite ARF planes that you can see the seams, but they are pretty sweet planes. I flew the Extra, but it was heavy...still flew pretty decent...

Dan

JohnVH

My Feedback: (38)

Thats funny, my 3.3m yak is not that soft.....

The only downfall to a composite plane, is having to repair it, but for me the many advantages out weigh that. Just dont crash!

famousdave

My Feedback: (61)

I think for the buck and for the overall "look and feel" the composite planes are truly outstanding. They also are relatively maintance free (as far as the covering goes .. there is none!)..

The best thing about them is that they are consistently LIGHT. You can buy two of them and they will both weigh the same. This makes for ease of setup and trimming for contests.

I would not recommend them for basic or even intermediate flyers though. They are not as strong, definitely harder (and less forgiving) to repair, and they hangar rash relatively easy. Wing bags for all surfaces are a MUST, much more so than a built-up or sheeted fuse plane. You wont be heating a crease out of a composite fuselage.

As John VH said though, if you don't crash, or even hard land.. they are the way to go. Setup is a snap and they fly... OH.. they fly sooooo nice and lightweight.

I still prefer built up planes, they are a bit heavier, and take longer to set up, but they cost less and I really get tired of covering schemes easily! I usually change mine at least once a year. Undressing also gives me a chance to inspect the airframe and repair / update any issues...

DP

Velox Pilot

Hello,

My opinion is this from experience. Looks nice painted. Weights are close to built kits, flying is no different than any other Top manufacturer, repair is a process, replacement parts are very expensive, and they wont take the abuse of a kit plane over a period of time. Just depends on where you want to spend your money.

Later

Ted

mAvRiCk-inactive

I wouldn't say it was funny, but it probably is alright? The YAK is my favorite by far. It makes a 40% Extra/Edge look small [>:]

DKY

My Feedback: (1)

For me I am totally won over with Composite airplanes. I have been flying then for 3 years now. They withstand day to day abuse way more than my balsa airplanes that I have owned or seen (Aeroworks, Carden, Lanair, Dave Patrick ) to name a few. I can pick up my plane anywhere on the fuse and not have to worry about crushing stringers. Talk about denting nothing dents easier than competition balsa and wings. Covering is always lifting or looks tarnished unless extra care is taken all the time. With a wood plane cleaning becomes an act of being cotton glove gentle so as not to cause any more superfical damage to the airplane No Thanks!!!

My C-arf airplanes I have and still own have required almost no maintenance up to and over 200 flights. They look almost the same as when they were new. The only wear is around the wing were it meets the fuse. the airplane always goes to gether the same as flys the same day to day. I see no reason why 1000's of flights would not be possible with out having to recover or fix glue joints or attend to oil soaked wood. If I get a fuel leak I can grab a rag do a simple cleanup and continue with out causing damage or adding weight to the airframe.

The balsa airplanes seem to take a bit more landing abuse but if you are still practicing that area of flight I would wonder why this person is flying a 33% airplane or bigger. There is no reason to pound this type of airplane in unless there has been a failure and an emergency landing is required.

The only reason I would fly a balsa airplane at this point is if they did not have an airplane I was wanting to own such as and Edge or Ultimate.

Airplanes are built to fly and not to crash just like the real ones. Replacement parts are expensive but so are balsa ones by the time you add up all of the hours to rebuild, glue, cover and align the pieces. I have not met one person yet were there time is free it is all a matter of where you decide to spend your available resources.
For some of us that have families and overly full time jobs and other personal commitments I relish the fact that I can order a replacement if I need it install the radio and fly. It would cost me more to do the balsa version that the composite version. The other advantage is when some of us are faced with short flying seasons it is nice to have short down time by doing a swap out replacement rather than a rebuild. I have had to do a minor repair to my fuse when a huge wind gust picked up another airplane and blew it into my creating a 2" hole in the fuse. So carbon fiber and filler with some paint and I was back in the air in 2 days no different than the balsa version.


Derrek

DKjens

My Feedback: (50)

Derrek, you nailed all the points right on their head, in particular this one:

"The balsa airplanes seem to take a bit more landing abuse but if you are still practicing that area of flight I would wonder why this person is flying a 33% airplane or bigger."

I have forever tryed to convey this point to anybody complaining that Composite-ARF planes don't survive crashes very well. I tell them learn to land, not have a controlled crash.

I, as you, have become a convinced Composite-ARF fan, only bad thing is you become spoiled so fast, and it becomes hard to fly anything else.

DKjens

Flyfalcons

I am in disagreement with the idea that weak landing gear is not something a qualified pilot should have to worry about. Those who fly in competitions routinely fly in conditions that aren't ideal, and sometimes bad things happen. A sudden gust of wind or an unseen bump on the runway can easily damage a composite plane, regardless of pilot skill. I have witnessed a Carden Edge go in hard after a radio failure and was sure it was destroyed, but just a month later I saw the same plane in a competition, looking brand new. I have no doubt that the same crash would have turned my Comp-ARF to composite splinters. I love my Comp-ARF for the way it flies and looks but when its expiration date comes, I will probably look for a wood plane to replace it. I don't intentionally crash planes or land hard but I do know that sometimes unfortunate things happen.

Darrinc

My Feedback: (5)

I agree with Derrek in all respects.

I can't speak on the Extra, but I understand what FlyFalcon says about flying when the conditions are not ideal, my 2.6 yak got lifted at the end of the runway in a thermal and I was deadstick (flying to long, having too much fun) and it dropped from about 3 ft with out even a scratch. Those legs and the way they are tied into the fuse is a great engineering feat!

jongurley

My Feedback: (29)

I guess it is like Velox Pilot said it is were you want to spend your money,,, like 90% of things in this hobby it is a personal preference. most products in the top shelf bracket are no better than there competitors, but if you give a man who flys comp arf a Hangar 9 to fly in the next IMAC competition he is not going to fly as good, it is mostly all a mind thing, just like the Ford or Chevy debates even though Chevy's are noticeably better...

splais

My Feedback: (25)

Well I'll throw in another piece of the pie. I'm looking for a 33/35% Edge. Comp-ARF doesn't have one. Airwild does, but I've read several negative comments about their quality. Now Airwild's 35% Edge is not even out yet so probably no one has seen it. But it sure is priced a heck of a lot lower than CA; but then you get into the old "you get what...etc, etc" arguement.

JohnVH

My Feedback: (38)

I disagree, the comp arfs DO fly better than a H9 plane, this is fact. Oh, and everyone knows fords are better

sensei

As far as I'm concerned there is no down side. The weight is always consistent, the replacement parts are readily available, they are fixture built and always fly the same. NO wrinklecoat to deal with on those hot sunny days, They have a 3.3 Yak, If your time is worth anything, they are a great bargain, and whats so hard about fixing them anyway, it doesn't take any longer than repairing balsa. Just my 2 cents.

Bob Sawyer

mglavin

My Feedback: (31)

Splais

Planes Plus will be releasing a composite 2.6m Edge in the near future... It will be a new release, so I don't have any specifics yet...

rmh

Composites are nice - pretty but there are some real turkeys out there!
Beware
A bit heavy for my tastes but if you are OK with price and weight - and accept they are disposables - you will like em.
They will get better - that's a given -simply because they appeal to to "fly now" approach which is very popular.
If there is a proven market - someone will fill it.

DaveMiller

Hello,

In my opinion. I cannot see how you can claim a composite plane can be fixed as fast as a wood, foam kit. If you have minimal damage then I agree, but I have repaired both and to make a composite plane like new takes more care and prep than any wood kit. I like both but Im back with kits so I can do things my way. Spend your money on what you want. You will love most anything out there, they all pretty much fly very well.

Thanks

Dave Miller

sensei

I guess it all depends on our personnel skill levels in both arenas.

Bob

jclittle

My Feedback: (99)

I purchased the Air Wild Edge 35% in March of 2004. I beleive they are on their 3rd run now. Not sure why you are saying they have not been released yet.

Darrinc

My Feedback: (5)

I have a 35% AirWild Edge also. Big Plane!!!

splais

My Feedback: (25)

jclittle, darrinc,

Well please comment on them!!! What kind of teaser posts are those.[] I didn't think they were released yet based on Airwild's web site. They have a pre-release sale ($200 off) going on right now. Expected arrival - end of November. Are we talking about the same 35% composite Airwild Edge? Maybe I misunderstood their web site and it is a pre-shipment sale.

rmh

If this is the same model sold as a 100 cc setup- do yourself a favor - speak directly with those who have owned and flown em a lot.

splais

My Feedback: (25)

I'm trying, (ref my post). But I actually think that I have made my decision and I'm going to go the built up route on a fully sheeted 35% Aerotech Edge I may decide to glass and paint. Is that not the best of both worlds - no covering, easy to fix and great finish.

Darrinc

My Feedback: (5)

I originally had a DA100 in mine and it did OK, but not great. I switched it out with a QS 3W106 and now we are talking!!! My buddy took second in a Imac contest with it so it sequences fine with low rates, and with the huge tail it is a 3D monster! I would put full length pipes on it if I was running a DA, that should be fine.