Flyzone Albatros TX-R airplane - Don't buy it unless you have a computer radio

I just purchased the TX-R version of the Albatros at the WRAM show in NY. I was interested to try this AnyLink thing and the plane looked kinda cute. Should be good for in front of the house on quiet afternoons. It was too windy to fly it yesterday but I did get a chance to set it up.

WHY DID THEY STICK THE RUDDER ON THE LEFT STICK?

On a 3 channel R/E/T plane the rudder should be on the right stick. In fact if you look at the manual for the RTF Albatros it shows the rudder on the right stick.

This is usually accomplished by putting the rudder into the aileron channel in the receiver. But on the TX-R planes they have it on the left stick. The receiver is sealed inside the plane so you can't get to it to move the servo to the aileron channel without cutting the plane open.

If you have a computer radio, you can use a mix to map the aileron to rudder at 100% and fix their mistake. But if you are tyring to fly this with a standard radio the rudder is on the wrong stick.

I sent a note to Hobbico to see what they suggest to fix this mistake in manufacturing. They told me how to fix it on my computer radio but had no solution for a standard radio.

I WON'T BE BUYING ANYMORE TX-R 3 CHANNEL PLANES IF THEY ARE ALL MESSED UP LIKE THIS.

quote:

ORIGINAL: guver

Are all the minis that way then? What about flying the minis with a regular tactic TX?

All the bigger ones are 4 channel , what about that F-86 jet?

quote:

ORIGINAL: bigedmustafa

It's difficult to imagine, but they actually hooked the rudder up to the rudder channel on the receiver! I actually prefer keeping the rudder on the left stick, otherwise flying 3-channel aircraft makes me sloppy when I fly four channel aircraft. Not all of my friends figure out there are no ailerons as quickly as I do, however, and having both sticks mixed together is a nice option.

quote:

ORIGINAL: bigedmustafa

It's difficult to imagine, but they actually hooked the rudder up to the rudder channel on the receiver! I actually prefer keeping the rudder on the left stick, otherwise flying 3-channel aircraft makes me sloppy when I fly four channel aircraft. Not all of my friends figure out there are no ailerons as quickly as I do, however, and having both sticks mixed together is a nice option.

quote:

ORIGINAL: aeajr

quote:

ORIGINAL: guver

Are all the minis that way then? What about flying the minis with a regular tactic TX?

All the bigger ones are 4 channel , what about that F-86 jet?

I would expect that this would only effect the 3 channel planes.  The 4 channel planes should be fine.

And yes you can use a regular Tactic TX to fly the TX-R planes.

quote:

ORIGINAL: fmw

My suggestions is to apply the rudder to both sticks.  That way you can turn on the right stick and, if you want to do a hammerhead, you can hit the rudder with the left stick as you are used to doing with an aileron plane.

Good point about the cables.  I didn't need one so I did not realize they were not available.

The RTFs are only $10 extra so if you want to get the RTF now you can get the Anylink with your next one by the end of March, or pay $25 for it at a later date.


Anylink cables
http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/WTI0095P?FVSEARCH=anylink+cables

Shows Mid March for most

Here is the chart so you can see if your radio needs a special cable.
http://www.tx-ready.com/anylink-chart.html