Ripmax F-16
09-27-2002, 08:36 AM
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Ripmax F-16
Hi,
I got one about 6 months ago (remarkably this plane is one that was available in Europe before the States). It's very easy to build (about 36 steps all with photos) but I'm afraid mine crashed on about 3 attempted flights so I can't tell you how it flies as I broke the prop and ripped the Speed 300 out of the back of it (and I can't find a replacement prop). However I later traced the fault to a problem with my battery charger that meant that three different packs that I tried were all virtually "empty". However, in the short burst of flight I got each time before the batteries killed it, it looked like it was going to be a really great flyer.
Thinking about it, I must have a look at fixing it up again.
Cliff
I got one about 6 months ago (remarkably this plane is one that was available in Europe before the States). It's very easy to build (about 36 steps all with photos) but I'm afraid mine crashed on about 3 attempted flights so I can't tell you how it flies as I broke the prop and ripped the Speed 300 out of the back of it (and I can't find a replacement prop). However I later traced the fault to a problem with my battery charger that meant that three different packs that I tried were all virtually "empty". However, in the short burst of flight I got each time before the batteries killed it, it looked like it was going to be a really great flyer.
Thinking about it, I must have a look at fixing it up again.
Cliff
09-27-2002, 11:05 AM
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Ripmax F-16
I have been doing some indoor flying in a gym not far from home would it fly in there? I also fly in my back yard any idea how fast i would be?
09-28-2002, 01:51 AM
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Ripmax F-16
Well, it came today, and I'm a little disappointed. It wasn't quite what I expected, and I don't think it'll last very long, since I have a habit of doing stupid things with my park fliers (That's why I no longer fly the bigger wodden birds, too many low level inverted passes)
I was expecting something more along the lines of the GWS birds, with a thick foam wing with an airfoil, rather than a bent piece of foam. I know it works, but compared to the Zero (Which I have 2 of) I'm thinking that it's not worth the same $60.
I haven't flown it yet because the weather in the NE is pretty horrible, but it did build up fast, and it looks very nice. I still can't get the decals to work, they won't come off the sheet (I may just be a little stupid on this one, and I don't care, so I'm not putting too much effort into it.)
One thing I didn't expect is that mine isn't the tiger stripe colors that you see in all the pictures, it's a standard F-16 grey paint scheme, which I like, since I'm not in love with the non-scale colors of the other one.
I'll fly it tomorrow and post pictures then, since I don't want to jinx myself into destroying it, which I will if I take the picture!
I was expecting something more along the lines of the GWS birds, with a thick foam wing with an airfoil, rather than a bent piece of foam. I know it works, but compared to the Zero (Which I have 2 of) I'm thinking that it's not worth the same $60.
I haven't flown it yet because the weather in the NE is pretty horrible, but it did build up fast, and it looks very nice. I still can't get the decals to work, they won't come off the sheet (I may just be a little stupid on this one, and I don't care, so I'm not putting too much effort into it.)
One thing I didn't expect is that mine isn't the tiger stripe colors that you see in all the pictures, it's a standard F-16 grey paint scheme, which I like, since I'm not in love with the non-scale colors of the other one.
I'll fly it tomorrow and post pictures then, since I don't want to jinx myself into destroying it, which I will if I take the picture!
09-29-2002, 09:08 PM
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After flight
I took it out on Saturday to give it a shot despite the 15kt+ winds. Naturally, it had a little bit of difficulty in those conditions, but it was obvious that it had a lot of promise. Unfortunately, I also broke the infamously hard to find prop.
Earlier today, I was in Walmart, and saw a Cox Sky Cruiser free flight electric P-51, and thinking it looked good, and could be converted to RC, I bought it, and Lo and behold, the 2 props that were included in it are the same size as the Ripmax! so, I promptly threw on on, and gave it a shot!
OK, I now have 6 flights on it, with the new prop, and I'm pleased. It's FAST. At half throttle, it is about the same as the GWS Zero wide open, and at full throttle, it covers my large field in a couple of seconds. It's about 25% faster than my old Hobbico Avistar with the OS .45 in it. Pretty impressive. I think this prop has a little less pitch than the stock one, and turns faster, as the sound is higher pitched, and sounds faster. It easily does large loops from level, and has a very loud high pitched scream at full throttle, which is nice because when the battery starts to dump, it's readily apparent from the change in the noise level.
It never really stalls, it just gets very mushy and rocks its wings as it gets slow and sinks. The landing would be a little tricky I think in a normal flying site with short grass, but I have the advantage of having long grass (alfalfa, actually) and so I fly it in low and cut the throttle, while feeding in up elevator so it slows to a walking pace, and pancakes in on the long grass, for nice damage free landings. You wouldn't want to keep the power in, or you'd break a prop on a normal field, and even with the power out, I think you'd likely break one on short grass, so I don't know.
The launch has messed me up a few times, it doesn't have a great place to grab it, so it's tough to launch it level. The best technique I've come up with (I even tried discus launching it, like they do with HLG) is to throw it hard and level without power, and if it's a good launch, feed in power when it's stabilized, otherwise, let it land, and try again. I generally get the power in when it's about 1.5 feet off the deck (I'm 6 feet tall, and the Alfalfa is probably a foot, so if you get technical, it starts to goaround 2.5 feet off the ground). From there, I skim the grass and pick up speed, then pull up. With a strong battery, the plane will go vertical for about 20-20 feet if it's at full speed. That makes for an impressive climb out, pick up the speed, and climb out at about a 60 degreeangle to altitude. It doesn't even lose speed in the 60 degree climb.
I'm impressed. It's definitely not a parkflyer, unless you have a big park, but if you have a little extra room, this would impress the hell out of the gas guys. I don't think it'll take much punisment, I've broken the nose off, but it was a clean break, and a little odorless CA and packing tape, and it's right back on. It looks ghetto, but only on the ground, when it's flying, it's VERY scale looking, and when it's coming right at you, it's pretty tough to see from the small cross section.
Earlier today, I was in Walmart, and saw a Cox Sky Cruiser free flight electric P-51, and thinking it looked good, and could be converted to RC, I bought it, and Lo and behold, the 2 props that were included in it are the same size as the Ripmax! so, I promptly threw on on, and gave it a shot!
OK, I now have 6 flights on it, with the new prop, and I'm pleased. It's FAST. At half throttle, it is about the same as the GWS Zero wide open, and at full throttle, it covers my large field in a couple of seconds. It's about 25% faster than my old Hobbico Avistar with the OS .45 in it. Pretty impressive. I think this prop has a little less pitch than the stock one, and turns faster, as the sound is higher pitched, and sounds faster. It easily does large loops from level, and has a very loud high pitched scream at full throttle, which is nice because when the battery starts to dump, it's readily apparent from the change in the noise level.
It never really stalls, it just gets very mushy and rocks its wings as it gets slow and sinks. The landing would be a little tricky I think in a normal flying site with short grass, but I have the advantage of having long grass (alfalfa, actually) and so I fly it in low and cut the throttle, while feeding in up elevator so it slows to a walking pace, and pancakes in on the long grass, for nice damage free landings. You wouldn't want to keep the power in, or you'd break a prop on a normal field, and even with the power out, I think you'd likely break one on short grass, so I don't know.
The launch has messed me up a few times, it doesn't have a great place to grab it, so it's tough to launch it level. The best technique I've come up with (I even tried discus launching it, like they do with HLG) is to throw it hard and level without power, and if it's a good launch, feed in power when it's stabilized, otherwise, let it land, and try again. I generally get the power in when it's about 1.5 feet off the deck (I'm 6 feet tall, and the Alfalfa is probably a foot, so if you get technical, it starts to goaround 2.5 feet off the ground). From there, I skim the grass and pick up speed, then pull up. With a strong battery, the plane will go vertical for about 20-20 feet if it's at full speed. That makes for an impressive climb out, pick up the speed, and climb out at about a 60 degreeangle to altitude. It doesn't even lose speed in the 60 degree climb.
I'm impressed. It's definitely not a parkflyer, unless you have a big park, but if you have a little extra room, this would impress the hell out of the gas guys. I don't think it'll take much punisment, I've broken the nose off, but it was a clean break, and a little odorless CA and packing tape, and it's right back on. It looks ghetto, but only on the ground, when it's flying, it's VERY scale looking, and when it's coming right at you, it's pretty tough to see from the small cross section.
09-30-2002, 08:38 AM
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Ripmax F-16
ncrego,
Congratualtions on getting the plane flying so well. That definitely makes me think that I should try and fix my one up.
By the way for the decals, just soak them in a little water with a few drops of detergent added until the backing paper goes soft then you can slide them off the backing and onto the plane and just let them dry on.
I don't know about your kit but in mine the decal sheet included the full set of yellow tiger stripes to be applied to the plain grey plane.
Cliff
Congratualtions on getting the plane flying so well. That definitely makes me think that I should try and fix my one up.
By the way for the decals, just soak them in a little water with a few drops of detergent added until the backing paper goes soft then you can slide them off the backing and onto the plane and just let them dry on.
I don't know about your kit but in mine the decal sheet included the full set of yellow tiger stripes to be applied to the plain grey plane.
Cliff
09-30-2002, 12:11 PM
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I got the decals on it last night, I wasn't planning on using the Tiger stripes originally, since mine didn't come with the black fuse/wing like the one in the picture sis, and I preferred a scale look. But unfortunately, it also didn't come with normal scale decals, and it's hard to keep orientation on in turns, so I put the decals on it, and painted the canopy black. It's not as scale looking, but it does look MEAN. It looks cool hanging up with my Zero and Corona. I'll post a pic later when I get back from work.
09-30-2002, 07:19 PM
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One more!
And the plane on it's own, I think it looks good, except for the nose, which I'm planning on smoothing out and repainting. Moral of the story? Don't EVER try the Discus launch!
After more experimentation, I launch it at 1/2 throttle, and it basically flys out of my hand.
After more experimentation, I launch it at 1/2 throttle, and it basically flys out of my hand.
09-30-2002, 08:13 PM
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Ugh....
Sad that this message has to come so close to the previous ones, but here's the death picture of it that was created on it's first trip out after pictures. I was full throttle level about 40 feet up when the wing and the fuse parted ways. Violently. All I could do was kill the throttle (I figured it was going fast enough already, and didn't need to accelerate in it's near vertical descent) and watch it go in. I don't think this one's getting rebuilt. The foam is so thin, and if I fix it it will add a ton of weight, so RIP Ripmax F-16. I had a really fun weekend. I'm probably going to buy the Flying Styro one now, with a ducted fan. I want another F-16.
11-16-2002, 10:23 PM
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Hey you wouldn't want to sell me the powertrain out of it would you? I want to build a little electric using a 35 inch ace foam wing and this might be about right. email me if you wanna sell your motor and battery, O.K?
01-18-2004, 06:25 PM
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RE: Ripmax F-16
Hey Guys,
Just flew mine for the first time today. The local Jr. High school Football and athletic field was more than enough room. First time out I turned on the motor and threw her. It mushed along as I waited to build up speed...never happened. I cut the engine and landed it in the grass...no problem. Tried it a couple more times...same result.
I took it home and drained the charge and recharged it backup. I'm using a 650mah battery. Plenty of time on it. I took it back with my 10 year old son in tow and gave it another "Rip"! Full throttle on, I threw it again with a little running start and it took off perfectly and smooth as silk! Very easy to fly and in my opinion...not fast enough, as I like speed. Anyone know how to "soup" her up with a Speed 300 size motor that I can substitute?
Landings were easy as I attempted 3 times to land it. It glides like a paper airplane! Did two flights and two landings without incident. Very cool on the low flybys! My son likes it better than my Corona Helicopter.
My next project is the Wattage Turbo-Vector. I'm just waiting to get some $$ for a brushless motor and ESC.
Steve
01-25-2004, 10:43 PM
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RE: Ripmax F-16
Good News,
Well, bad news first, then good. I went last week to fly my F-16 and chopped my index finger up by not paying attention when I launched it (a few minor cuts) and the prop broke. I also damaged the back end and motor coming out. I took it home and reinstalled and reinforced the motor mount. As mentioned before, you can't get these props yet so I bought some Zaggi pusher props that fit on the motor. These were the same length but loaded the motor down too much and caused the battery current to drain too fast and shut the ESC down with the BEC circuit. I upgraded my battery connectors with Deans and used heavy duty wires from the battery...still the same result. I then used another battery from my Wattage Extra 330 and ZOWIE!!! Perfection and about 1/3rd more thrust! Took it to the flying field and swooooshh!!! Very fast and much longer flight combined with very easy takeoffs! I am using a 35 AMP ESC from Great Planes. Lots of fun and lots of positive commentary by observers.
Happy Flying!
Steve
Well, bad news first, then good. I went last week to fly my F-16 and chopped my index finger up by not paying attention when I launched it (a few minor cuts) and the prop broke. I also damaged the back end and motor coming out. I took it home and reinstalled and reinforced the motor mount. As mentioned before, you can't get these props yet so I bought some Zaggi pusher props that fit on the motor. These were the same length but loaded the motor down too much and caused the battery current to drain too fast and shut the ESC down with the BEC circuit. I upgraded my battery connectors with Deans and used heavy duty wires from the battery...still the same result. I then used another battery from my Wattage Extra 330 and ZOWIE!!! Perfection and about 1/3rd more thrust! Took it to the flying field and swooooshh!!! Very fast and much longer flight combined with very easy takeoffs! I am using a 35 AMP ESC from Great Planes. Lots of fun and lots of positive commentary by observers.
Happy Flying!
Steve
05-26-2004, 07:55 AM
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RE: Ripmax F-16
Just pulled mine out of the box. What battery pack are you using? Is the stock motor just a little too weak? What was the total weight at which you arrived?
I have a case of the electric jet factory F16s. One has a Norvel in front another their turbo EDF. They are not originally meant to be flyers only for display...but they have been sold under the guise of flyers. The ripmax actually looks like a flyer but not nearly as scale.
I have a case of the electric jet factory F16s. One has a Norvel in front another their turbo EDF. They are not originally meant to be flyers only for display...but they have been sold under the guise of flyers. The ripmax actually looks like a flyer but not nearly as scale.
