Fliton AJ Extra 330S or Seb Art Katana S30E ?  
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All Forums >> Electric Aircraft Universe >> 3D Electric Flying! >> Fliton AJ Extra 330S or Seb Art Katana S30E ?
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Fliton AJ Extra 330S or Seb Art Katana S30E ? - 4/30/2008 5:34:55 AM   
stiltman


 

Posts: 9
Joined: 12/29/2005
From: Billings, MT, USA
Status: offline 		I have a Fliton AJ extra 330S that flew pretty nicely at first, but it's getting pretty beat up. So I'm thinking about putting its "guts" into a Seb Art Katana 30. My motor is the Rimfire 35-48-1000 brushless. I figure My HS 85 servos and that motor and all the rest would work fine in that Katana. I'm mainly wondering if anyone can tell me what they think of the Seb Art katana. How does it fly? Is it a good 3D machine? Any bad habits? Does it track well. Does it have much wing rock in a Harrier? Has anyone flown both this Katana and the AJ Extra 330? Thanks for your help.
       Post #: 1

RE: Fliton AJ Extra 330S or Seb Art Katana S30E ? - 4/30/2008 6:53:11 AM   
maiden-crash



Posts: 2465
Joined: 1/13/2006
From: Melbourne, AUSTRALIA
Status: offline 		Its a higher quality plane alltogether, and doesn't break if you look at it wrong.

_____________________________

All planes have an expiry date when in my hands. So I aim to fly as hard as I can till that day comes.

(in reply to stiltman)
       Post #: 2

RE: Fliton AJ Extra 330S or Seb Art Katana S30E ? - 4/30/2008 8:14:34 PM   
stiltman


 

Posts: 9
Joined: 12/29/2005
From: Billings, MT, USA
Status: offline 		Thanks for the reply Maidencrash, but which plane were you refering to?

(in reply to maiden-crash)
       Post #: 3

RE: Fliton AJ Extra 330S or Seb Art Katana S30E ? - 4/30/2008 9:12:48 PM   
papajeff



Posts: 416
Joined: 8/25/2004
From: Rochester, NY, USA
Status: offline 		Stiltman,

Go with the Seb Art because I know first hand that the AJ Extra is made so light that it will
indeed "break if you look at it the wrong way" as Maiden-crash has stated. This hurts me
to say this, as I did a build thread on the AJ,but it is the straight fact

(in reply to stiltman)
       Post #: 4

RE: Fliton AJ Extra 330S or Seb Art Katana S30E ? - 4/30/2008 9:21:38 PM   
Jake Ruddy



Posts: 2908
Joined: 5/22/2005
From: Newark, DE, USA
Status: offline 		The answer to this one is an easy one.... The SebArt is 2x the plane of the AJ and way better built. The overall quality is better and they actually have customer support.. Fliton's customer support is a complete joke.

AJ himself has actually parted ways now with Fliton...


Here is my review of the Katana http://www.rcuniverse.com/magazine/article_display.cfm?article_id=935 to be honest I would turn down doing one on the AJ after helping buddy build his... it flies nice for a bit and thats about the only good thing I can say about it.

(in reply to papajeff)
       Post #: 5

RE: Fliton AJ Extra 330S or Seb Art Katana S30E ? - 5/1/2008 12:02:25 AM   
maiden-crash



Posts: 2465
Joined: 1/13/2006
From: Melbourne, AUSTRALIA
Status: offline 		Sorry Stiltman looks like my brains gone on vacation. I was referring to the Sebart Katana.

_____________________________

All planes have an expiry date when in my hands. So I aim to fly as hard as I can till that day comes.

(in reply to Jake Ruddy)
       Post #: 6

RE: Fliton AJ Extra 330S or Seb Art Katana S30E ? - 5/2/2008 2:05:40 AM   
stiltman


 

Posts: 9
Joined: 12/29/2005
From: Billings, MT, USA
Status: offline 		Thanks for the input. You all seem to agree that the Seb art Katana is better in terms of craftsmanship and durability, but how about its flight performance? The AJ Extra did do harriers with super little wing rock and it knife edged well and once you got it into a hover it tended to be relatively easy to maintain, but it did lack elevator authority so it could be hard to put into a hover. has anyone tried these things with the Seb Art Katana? Is it good at them?

(in reply to maiden-crash)
       Post #: 7

RE: Fliton AJ Extra 330S or Seb Art Katana S30E ? - 5/15/2008 8:21:22 AM   
scultura44



Posts: 53
Joined: 9/13/2005
From: Wagga, AUSTRALIA
Status: offline 		Hey there,

My mates and i all have Aj extra 330's'! And we love them! Absolutely fantastic plane! The AJ seems to be more 3d oriented as it doesnt seem to float as well as the katana. The katana seems to slice the air in everything it does, very gracefull and very floaty plane, where as the AJ seems to be very punchy and pushes through the air. Doesnt have the same floatyness but loves to 3d! The katana has pretty bad wing rock in harriers unless you got the cg way back and by that stage is a funny plane to fly. Inverted harriers are fine, just upright.

As for being weak..yes they are light but mate they are strong..Mine has taken a pounding. It only broke when i knife edged it into the ground snapping the fuse. Easily repaired it and its flying perfectly again! I've heard plenty of bad stories about them breaking apart mid flight etc, but alot of that seems to happen if you make them too heavy! I do solid walls, waterfalls, knife edge spins (fast and slow) and loads of harreirs and yes its had the odd hard landing. I broke a carbon landing gear before i broke the fuse...if thats any indication of strength.

My mate has both the Katana and the AJ extra and would rate them completely different. Supposedly thought the katana does better rolling circles. Apparently though again, the Aj is supposed to be the closest thing to a scale aerobat.. 40 %ers etc. Cant vouch for that but if you watch the boys on the flying cirkus vids, a couple of the bigger plane flying boys have the AJ...Havent seen any Sebarts in the mix of the 3D world yet!

BUT the sebart sukhoi on the other hand is supposed to be different again..Will let you know in a week when i buy one!

By the way PapaJeff...Great build thread on the AJ....read it over twice before i built mine!

< Message edited by scultura44 -- 5/15/2008 8:59:54 AM >

_____________________________

if the tail isnt touching the ground... then you aint low enough!!

(in reply to stiltman)
       Post #: 8

RE: Fliton AJ Extra 330S or Seb Art Katana S30E ? - 5/17/2008 11:06:30 PM   
papajeff



Posts: 416
Joined: 8/25/2004
From: Rochester, NY, USA
Status: offline 		Scultura44,

Thank you for your kind words and I am pleased that this build was helpful to you. I did enjoy building the AJ
and I have had fun flying it. I encountered a few issues; the original split rudder joiner (a wood dowel) caused
a few flight problems.....corrected with the new elevator "spiffy," a carbon fiber joiner. And a thin, weak wing
tube which fractured in flight (no wild 3D manuevers....just a basic flight to trim out the re-adjusted flying
surfaces after the maiden flight) which resulted in a severe breakup of the fuselage. With these issues
corrected, the AJ is a respectable model and a good flyer. What I don't get......is the fact that Andrew
Jesky has left Fliton and has recently introduced the "AJ Slick" in concert with 3DX Hobbies and I have
heard that many hobbyists have encountered numerous issues with Fliton customer service......like there
is not much of it. This bothers me.

(in reply to scultura44)
       Post #: 9

RE: Fliton AJ Extra 330S or Seb Art Katana S30E ? - 5/18/2008 12:36:43 AM   
scultura44



Posts: 53
Joined: 9/13/2005
From: Wagga, AUSTRALIA
Status: offline 		Yeah completely agree with you their, I bought the version 2 so i had no problems with the new elevator stiffies.. As for the wing tube, i had no problems with it either, i did note however that it is extremely thin walled and very light! I've done many 3D tricks with this plane and even knife edged it into the ground snapping the fuse in half. The carbon wing tube didnt even look like snapping. I even repaired it and still fly it now, very basic repair but still Beggars cant be choosers!

As for Andrew leaving fliton...Hmm i know where you are coming from, i heard a rumour somewhere he wasnt happy with the aftersales service and support that fliton offered so he went elsewhere. Cant say if its true or not...I HAVE honestly no idea. But it still makes you question!

Had any experrience with the sebart sukhoi 30e? looks like my next project may come sooner than i originally hoped!

_____________________________

if the tail isnt touching the ground... then you aint low enough!!

(in reply to papajeff)
       Post #: 10

RE: Fliton AJ Extra 330S or Seb Art Katana S30E ? - 5/20/2008 1:27:53 AM   
scultura44



Posts: 53
Joined: 9/13/2005
From: Wagga, AUSTRALIA
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: Jake Ruddy

The answer to this one is an easy one.... The SebArt is 2x the plane of the AJ and way better built. The overall quality is better and they actually have customer support.. Fliton's customer support is a complete joke.

AJ himself has actually parted ways now with Fliton...


Here is my review of the Katana http://www.rcuniverse.com/magazine/article_display.cfm?article_id=935 to be honest I would turn down doing one on the AJ after helping buddy build his... it flies nice for a bit and thats about the only good thing I can say about it.


How do you get into doing review of planes? was this one you bought or were supplied with for the purpose of the review?
Do you need to be a powermember or retailer or something?

_____________________________

if the tail isnt touching the ground... then you aint low enough!!

(in reply to Jake Ruddy)
       Post #: 11

RE: Fliton AJ Extra 330S or Seb Art Katana S30E ? - 5/20/2008 2:01:14 PM   
bdavison


 

Posts: 3318
Joined: 8/23/2004
From: Warner Robins, GA, USA
Status: offline 		Ive also got a SebArt Katana 30S
Its a all out 3D airplane.
True floater, and its capable of anything you want to throw at it. Durable, and light. Lots of wing area. Doesnt need a huge powerplant, and can be flown on anything 480+ with good results.
The wing mounting bolts are done right, and if you replace the nylon screws with thumb screws, wings go on really fast. The covering scheme is super easy to see, and orientation is good.
Flight performance is way above most of the other offerings. There are ZERO structural issues.


Think about it this way. Have you ever seen anyone say anything bad about the SebArt katana. Read the posts online, and you will find that everyone that has one thinks its great.

If you want the top of the line 3D electric....the SebArt is like the Ferrari of electric 3D planes.


As far as harriers....upright it tends to wing walk a little, inverted is rock solid.
Blenders, spins etc - dead on.
Hovering, and torque rolls - no problem assuming your CG is right.
KE - locks into a very stable high alpha KE.
Walls - the best of the bunch. Full up elevator, and it doesnt snap or roll out of it....just comes to a complete stop nose up
Rolling circles - Nice crisp roll rate, easy to keep the timing on rudder and elevator

The real trick with the Katana is to get the CG placed right. Start at the recommended CG, and work your way back till you find the sweet spot.
Even with the CG a little too far to the rear, the plane is still flyable, it just tends to be really floaty. Nose heavy will help it punch through wind a little better.

It flys fine in windy weather, but get it out on a calm day with the CG in the sweet zone, and it will come alive.

Its a tough plane too. Ive landed mine inverted on accident. No damage, didnt even scratch the canopy. Bouncy landings, no problem.

Just a great airplane, and I've been flying mine almost every day for the last few weeks.

< Message edited by bdavison -- 5/20/2008 2:11:12 PM >

_____________________________

teamflyingcircus.com

(in reply to scultura44)
       Post #: 12

RE: Fliton AJ Extra 330S or Seb Art Katana S30E ? - 5/20/2008 4:38:11 PM   
Jake Ruddy



Posts: 2908
Joined: 5/22/2005
From: Newark, DE, USA
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: scultura44


quote:

ORIGINAL: Jake Ruddy

The answer to this one is an easy one.... The SebArt is 2x the plane of the AJ and way better built. The overall quality is better and they actually have customer support.. Fliton's customer support is a complete joke.

AJ himself has actually parted ways now with Fliton...


Here is my review of the Katana http://www.rcuniverse.com/magazine/article_display.cfm?article_id=935 to be honest I would turn down doing one on the AJ after helping buddy build his... it flies nice for a bit and thats about the only good thing I can say about it.


How do you get into doing review of planes? was this one you bought or were supplied with for the purpose of the review?
Do you need to be a powermember or retailer or something?



You have to apply to become a reviewer. There was actually a request looking for reviewers at the top of every forum for a coupel weeks but I dont see it anymore.

(in reply to scultura44)
       Post #: 13

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