Flyzone Sky Fly
 

I bought this RTR 3ch. plane which I got for $99 at Hobbytown USA. For that price it's RTF w/ 3 ch., not a bad deal, coming from my $140 Slo-V.

I crashed it within 20 seconds from a rog takeoff; it went up real fast and high about ~50ft , and then suddenly decided it didnt wanna live and nose dove uncontrollably at what seemed like 30+ mph. Thankfully I only broke the wing, tail control surfaces, and tail boom just in front of the tail fins. A little glue and replacement wings are all I needed. The nose crumpled a little, but the pusher-prop design saved the motor and prop, and that's what I bought it, after having countless Slo-V bent prop shafts.

I finally flew it "crash free" yesterday and today after repairs, and I was amazed as well as a little disappointed with it;

Motor: 380 size, nice and powerful, swinging a pusher prop behind the cockpit (Firebird style)

Power: 6-cell 900 mAh

Controls: 3 ch.; Speed, Elevator, Rudder. Surfaces controlled using nylon(?) string pull/rubberband pull system (Firebird style)

Size: About average park flyer, about ~3 ft span.

Pros:

- Rolling take offs are a little long, but easy and fun like a real scale plane (make sure you watch for that building ...).
- Flys pretty fast, compared to my Slo-V
- Can easily fly REAALLY high, my guess is I went up 300+ ft easy before its tiny size in the sky made it hard for me to judge its pitch attitude for further acsent. Which Leads me too...
- Having confidence in the rtf radio system when compared to my not so hot Slo-V radio system. No glitches so far, after having flown so far up, not something I can say for my slo-v at half the altitude.
- Glides like a dream! It can literally take a couple minutes to just bring it back down from way up there, because it picks up speed when you nose it down to decend, hence creating lift.


Cons:

- Wierd "servo" micro motor/worm gear built-in system to operate rudder and elevator; does the job, but could be better which leads to..

- Poor control in flight due to relatively little control throws coupled with small control surfaces. Could be improved way better with more throw / or Larger control surfaces. Makes for large turns and hard to do loops (my experience so far), so you basically have to fly in a large area due to its high speed and slow turns. Also makes death spirals hard to get out of and forces turns to stay kinda shallow due to safety reasons (for me at least ).

- Sluggish controls make *controllable* power-off glides in slightly higher winds hard.

All in all I am pleased with its performance, but again, I think it could use some control improvement.

RE: Flyzone Sky Fly
 

WOW!!!

I just put 3 batteries through the Sky Fly now, and MAN!!!! [X(] I used the stock 6-cell, and my other lighter 7-cells for more power from my Slo-V (which met the earth in an idiotic attempt to do back flip 20 ft off ground breakin the motor mount clean off. [:@] )
I have NEVER flown anything so high! I have to say I've easily gone up close to a quarter of a mile or so with each battery at the very least! It can climb with ease. I even did a few loops (albiet hard to do and large circumference) ! I can now say that this bird is a keeper even with its sluggish controls, if just for souring around lazily at impossible altitudes (even at relative break neck speeds compared to my 'V :D )

I have to commend the radio system that comes with this RTF; it is definitely a good one. I am impressed with its glitch free performance at such long distances above ground. [8D] Now hopefully my Tx batteries wont run out at such high altitudes.. :D That would be a $99 hair puller with only a million roofs to splat onto.....

My neck is till hurting from looking up at the sky. Dang it! I just realized my cellphone's got a camera; I shudda snapped a few pics to post here! Heck I know I coulda' with one hand on the stick, since I managed to call my sister at home using my cell phone and asked her to peek out the window and find the plane in the air! Maybe next time I fly high I'll snap some.

Flight times were almost 8-12 minutes including the 2 minutes I spent bringing it back down with the battery thoroughly dead (bad thing is I cant do short power bursts like my 'V, if voltage falls below certain point) with the 6-cell 900 mah stock, and slightly less with the 600 mah 7 cells.

I gotta find a cheap way to increase the surface area of the control surfaces a bit more so I can have more authority over it in the air at slow speeds. I realize now why they are so small, as its a fast plane, it makes up for the small controls with air speed... but more is better!

I cant wait for the batts' to charge up again so I can fly up and hopefully upload a picture or two and see if you can even spot it! ;)

RE: Flyzone Sky Fly
 

I also purchased this plane and while I haven't had a chance to fly it yet (cold, windy and snow on the ground), I did put it through it's paces as far as controls are concerned. The first thing I noticed that after a few up and down motions of the elevator was that the control wire unreeled from the adjustment knob and immediately went into a full 'down' elevator mode with total loss of elevator control. Knowing what this would have done had I been flying it made me shudder. I got out a jeweler's phillips screwdriver and tightened the screws (slightly-1/2 turn) on the adjustment knobs for both the elevator and rudder. I then ran it through it's paces again for about 15-20 mintues with no adjustment knob slippage, with both the rudder and elevator returning to neutral. Thank heavens I found this problem before flying it. This might be what happened in your case. After this experience I know it's one more thing to check on my pre-flight list. Maybe Hobbico will cover your parts under warranty as this could be a common problem for a plane fresh out of the box.

I hope to be out flying in the next couple of weeks. Let me know how it's working out for you when you got a chance.

RE: Flyzone Sky Fly
 

I am just coming back from another successful series of flights (3 batteries worth)! And yes, I did retighten the two screws that hold the control lines when I repaired it. Now that I think about it, they may have come loose from vibtration or something after take off, hence the loss of elevator control, since I had not touched them when I first put it together. :eek: Oh well, now I know. ;)

Man, this thing is fun to do rolling take off, and landings are pretty easy after a few times of practice; coming in fast, it simply decends till it touches down (might I add those tripod landing gears are one tough set.. They've survived a few good *thud*'s hehehe) I dont wanna try flaring it too much since Im still getting used to its faster approach speeds, and therefore stalling by getting to steep.

Oh, and before you fly, one more thing to reinforce is those weak foam "hinges" on the tail controls that hold the life of your plane by a hairs width. I used some tape on both sides of the control surface "hinge" to keep them from tearing completely off (one of those broke today from a bad landing)

I tried to improve the sluggish response by using some tape (again) on the trailing edges to give a bit more control surface. But because I'm using regular old clear tape, it's more likely just flexing in the air flow than acting as an extention to the rudder / elevator. It still flew ok though.

Hope you get to fly yours soon.

RE: Flyzone Sky Fly
 

Have you thought of use foam to make your control surfaces bigger¿ You could use you old wing or tail feathers as your extensions¿

RE: Flyzone Sky Fly
 

I was running my engine up when my adjustment knobs first loosened up. Most likely the vibration like you said. Those foam hinges looked kind of weak to me too! Good idea about reinforcing them. [sm=thumbup.gif] I'm using clear packing tape which is strong and lightweight. Good to hear about your experiences. Please keep me posted. I read a couple other forums regarding the SkyFly and it sounds like there isn't much experience out there with this plane. Hopefully they'll find your comments in this forum.

RE: Flyzone Sky Fly
 

Hey good idea about the old tail foam! I dunno why but I completely forgot that I had those lying around. I'll try to graft them onto the tail controls and see how it turns out. The plane does seem real touchy as far as trimming the tail goes. Since my tail is busted from the first crash, I kinda glued it on sorta off, os I actually need good amount of down trim, and left trim on the rudder to get it to not porpoise, and not keep turning right. It seems loosening the rudder wire a just tad bit makes a noticable difference in the air, as I've had to do that a few times to get it flying straight.

Its dark now, and my battery didnt wanna charge any faster :D so I gotta wait till tomorrow morning to see how the foam extension idea works out.

I did notice that there were no posts regarding this plane on here, probably because it's relatively new, and not as popular as the Firebird series.

Happy flying!

RE: Flyzone Sky Fly
 

Well, yesterday I added pieces from the broken tail pieces to extend the control fins a little more. I taped them on and they seem to hold up pretty good strength wise. Unfortunately I wasnt able to do a proper flight test, as it was a little more breezier than before and it started to drizzly, so I couldnt get a feel for the new controls, and I had to go to work too, so I kinda rushed in my landing and ended up busting the stupid broken tail even more.

I've got it epoxy-glued up now, so hopefully I'm gonna try to fly tomorrow morning before work, if the weather holds up. Been raining for 2 days now. Getting annoying, especially now that I wanna be able to fly way up way high again (realistically after viewing some AP shots from some planes on other forums, I think I probably got upto ~300+ ft) with this thing. (Damn Slo-v ran it's nose real good into the ground 2 days ago, so all I've got is the Sky Fly for now.)

Oh, and did you get to fly your SKy Fly yet, WGUMCD?

Later.

RE: Flyzone Sky Fly
 

Not yet. Still some snow on the ground and it's been windy for the last week. A calm day in Minnesota this time of year is 15 mile per hour winds. Hopefully I'll be able to fly it this coming weekend.

How's the extended control surfaces working out for you?

RE: Flyzone Sky Fly
 

Go to hobbyzone.com, then go to the HowTo section and look up the Aerobird Extreme Pro-Tail modification. You should be able to make a similar modification to the SkyFly's elevator. It will double your control surface. I made this modification to my Aerobird Challenger and the plane's fun factor has increased tremendously. Good luck.

RE: Flyzone Sky Fly
 

Ah! Thanks for the tip; I'll check out the website on that tail upgrade!

BTW, I flew it just for the hell of it in some pretty windy conditions the other day, and being used to my touchy Slo-v, this Sky Fly sure holds up in good breezes. I was able to take off, fly around, and land pretty ok in some fast winds. Not much though as flying in calm weather. Although, I'm sure 15 mph is not a good wind speed to be flying in either!

Oh, and I tried the "tail feather graft" thing from my broken foam pieces I mentioned earlier. Didn't seem to do anything noticable, even with almost 75% more control surface area, but at least there are no negative effects visible. I'll keep trying.

I sure wish the winds would die down soon temporarily. Its been like this for a few weeks now. :eek:


Happy Flying.

RE: Flyzone Sky Fly
 

Having never done the plane thing, this past Thursday I went to my LHS to see if they had any of the planes I picked from doing research on-line. They had the Firebird Freedom. After talking with the guy at the shop for awhile he said 'That one behind you is a great deal' So I looked at it but never heard of it. He said it was brand new and had a lot in the box for the money. After opening the box and checking out the radio and some of the parts I bought myself a SkyFly. Thinking the name and logo were a little silly I figured the yellow and red graphics would help to see it in the air. So I went to the field where I had watched a Friend fly. When I got there someone else was just unloading their new plane, it was the Freedom. So I walked over to see what channel they were on and to delay crashing my new plane. We chatted I told them to go ahead. After watching them do the short 'flight' crash over and over about a half dozen or times I figured it was my turn. So I went full power radio in left hand. plane in right and launched it. The plane when up then I turned around and leveled out and made about 6 or 7 laps around the field then thinking I did not want to deadstick it in for a landing, I turned into the wind and came in for what could only be call a perfect textbook landing. The others asked me how many fights I had on the plane and I looked at the plane then back at them and said 'I guess one'. About now I'm real happy with choice of plane. After a cooling off break for the electrics I put my other battery in and up up and away once again. I was flying across the field with the nose down about 10 degree then pulled back to bring the nose up and about the time the nose was level the wing snapped in half and the whole thing fell to the ground nose first. I was shocked! Bent the nose up and broke the tail. The box said loops at will. Well not if the wing can't hold more than that! From a first timer I would say the SkyFly flies great but the wing should be stronger. Any thoughts, ideas, or suggestions? Anybody try to loop theirs?

This flying stuff is fun.

RE: Flyzone Sky Fly
 

Before you fly again, reinforce your wing. Go to your LHS and buy a small diameter carbon rod. It should be about 3ft. long. Using a fine tooth hacksaw or Dremel saw, cut the rod at about 1/3 of its length. Tape both pieces to the underside of the wing, the larger about 1" from the front edge, the smaller about 1" from the back edge. Make sure that both pieces are centered and parallel to the wing's edge. Use clear packing tape to attach them to the wing. Its not improtant that the whole rod be taped, only the center and each end. The long piece, at the front, does most of the reinforcement. The smaller piece, at the trailing edge, provides some reinforcement also, but its primary function is to maintain the wing at the correct angle of attack. If you only add the front rod, the plane will need adjustment to keep from trying to rise.

RE: Flyzone Sky Fly
 

Thanks for the ideas Leo! Yesterday I stopped by the LHS and they suggested the same thing only flat stock not round. They suggested gluing or taping but like you I figure taping will add strenght as well as spreading the load over a larger area. I was hoping the answer was going to be that the wing should not break in mid air. Maybe it should have been made thicker and so stronger. I like this carbon idea and think it will help in the long run. From what I could tell the plane flies very well (I can fly it). And it looks like you can pull the motor back and float around if you want to. Not sure about the loops at will that was on the box, not sure the wing will hold up to that kind of jocularity. Disappointed the wing is a weak point but still like the plane.

Now in a few days when the wind dies down I'll be ready. I even like the sound these airplanes make, everything vibrating and buzzing, sounds great. But then again I ride a Harley so go fig.

Thanks Agian.

RE: Flyzone Sky Fly
 

Hey Slo-V Flyer. Finally got out to fly the Sky Fly. Made it through two batteries with no problems, landings okay, etc. Third battery the wind started to pick up and started dragging the plane down wind from the field. I barely made it back to the field and had to land it in taller grass (3 inches high). It did a cartwheel and busted up my horizontal stabilizer and lost the stabilizer flap. [:@] Surprisingly it was the only damage I had. I made up some plastic hinges (out of old plastic dart feathers no less) glued them on to the flap and stabilizer. Works better than the original equipment (which you advised earlier to 'beef up'). Anyway, nothing a little glue and a few MacGuivered parts couldn't fix. Got two snow storms after that day and have to wait again for the snow to melt. [sm=sunsmiley.gif]

Has anyone tried taking off the landing gear and making this plane a belly-lander? [sm=confused.gif] You' may have to put some tape or additional plastic on the bottom for protection but it may work. It would sure make grass landings easier, especially when you have to land in the taller stuff. I think I would have been fine in my 'rough' landing had I not had the landing gear on. The front nose wheel caught up in the grass and there you go, a four point landing.

RE: Flyzone Sky Fly
 

Hey guys, I've got about five or six batteries on the SkyFly now and here how it's been. After breaking the control surfaces off the tail section I went to the hobby shop and bought some GreatPlanes Medium Nylon Pinned Hinges, part number GPMQ3970. I trimmed the hinges with scissors to cut the little tab/ear off. Then using a hobby knife I cut slots in the foam, trying to stay as centered as I could in the foam, and the control surface. Tested fitted everything and then CAed the hinges in place. After letting the glue set I tested the controls and the surfaces move more than they did before. I think the foam hinge binds more on the 'servos'. I've used this setup the last three fights and find that it works great and saves from buying parts.

Anyone have problems with the electronics? When I hook up the battery and turn on the radio the control surfaces work great but the motor does not run. If I turn the radio off and on about a dozen times the motor comes on and works fine once it's on. When I asked customer support about this they said these planes are real fragile, not much of an answer.

I don't think this plane will loop form a level fight but it will sloooowly loop if you start with a dive. I've done a couple touch and goes! I like flying low then 'gassing' it and climbing up.

I talked with customer support today about the wing that snapped in mid air for no reason and was told that if I box everything up and send it to them for them to look at they might send me a new plane. I was told it would take about three weeks. No very good support in my opinion. I like this plane and will continue to fly it but my next one will from a different company. Still having fun!

RE: Flyzone Sky Fly
 

Liberty~

The radio problems you describe sound like the arming sequence is wrong. I just bought a sky fly and they have a yellow sheet saying how to arm the motor and not to use the dvd directions.

1- pull throttle stick all the way down to stop on the TX.
2- Turn on the TX.
3- plug in the plane battery

That outta do it.

I had a problem on my first sky fly. The motor would not go on at all! Took it back to LHS and exchanged it for a new one.

Flew my sky for the first time on Sunday. Launched it by hand and flew two circles... then had abrupt landing. Second launch, i circled and drilled it into ground breaking the wing. I CA'd and taped it up last nite and hope to fly this weekend.

I also can attest to the knobs for the controls coming loose. Mine unravelled before i even flew it. I will take the advice to tighten them up.

If any of you can provide any further info on how to fly this plane, I would be appreciative. My brief flight the other day was not enough. see if this plan of attack sounds right for my next time out.
- launch it at full throttle, climb to 100ft.
- back off the throttle to 1/2 or 3/4.
- trim out the flight to level and straight.
- practice flying circles with min rudder input. (using beginner mode)

Thanks.
B

RE: Flyzone Sky Fly
 

DJ88 -

I forgot about the yellow sheet included in the box but those steps did not work. I think there's a problem somewhere. I don't know if it's the radio or the 4in1 in the plane. I think I will take it to the hobby shop and see what I can find out. I'm hoping they have one on the same channel that I can test with.

Your fight plan sounds like what I do with the difference of the min rudder input. The one thing that surprised me about the plane (and maybe that's why it worked so nice) is that you have to move the sticks more than I was expecting to. Also when I get the plane to change direction I give some opposite control to level it back out. I think it will flatten out just letting the stick return to center but it takes longer.

Any pilots want to jump in here?

Also the carbon fiber that Leo suggested seems to work great!

Over & Out

RE: Flyzone Sky Fly
 

Sounds like you have a ESC problem like mine did. Luckily they swapped it out no problem.

I was thinking that same thing about the stick control of the rudder... the rudder's movement is very slight...not much throw to it. Does anyone know the relation of rudder/elevator throws to reaction of the model?

Another thing i noticed about this plane when it is in "beginner" mode. When you turn the stick left or right, it takes about 2 seconds for the elevator to come up. That kinda said to me that if the plane probably takes longer than normal to turn, otherwise the elevator would kick in almost immediately.

RE: Flyzone Sky Fly
 

Update:

I was able to fly yesterday. Weather was nice and a good southwest breeze.. I hand launched the sky and pull some elevation turned and crashed.... broke the stupid wing AGAIN! I had some packing tape with me so it did a repair job, and tried again.... added some upward elevator trim and took off....That flight was great!!! i finally was able to gain enough altitiude to fly the plane and get a feel for it.... not sure how high i was, but above all the trees ++ great thing was that i got to trim it out, back off from full throttle and just circle the field a bunch of times. The whole time i flew the beginner mode was on. took everyone's advice as to how a rudder-turning plane flys.. and got the hang of compensating with some opposite rudder coming off a turn...
It was a blast.... got a little freaked out when i didnt hear the motor anymore and realized that I was gonna have to land. luckily i was pretty high and did a few circles around and came in pretty fast and put her down with the nose up... except i drove off a the side of a small ditch and floped the plane upside down (no damage :) ) How do you all plan for a landing? I mean timing the battery drain and when you have no motor...timer?

Also on a hand launch.... if you throw the plane harder will it take off level and true without dipping down like mine does?? I am wonder whether i need more muscle in my launch.

RE: Flyzone Sky Fly
 

Anybody else out there with Sky Fly experience??

I am having a hard time...[&o]

My plane seems to have a real hard left turn in it. Everything is trimmed servo wise and the rudder seems to be straight. What else could it be?

Also, i tried a rolling take off and the plane cannot tract straight enough to reach any decent speed... it too is a hard left. I tried bending the wheels but no luck. Are these two events related?? What do any of you suggest?

My thoughts are to replace the stabilizer and rudder.. they are made of that foam stuff too...seem not to hold totally straight. Would i be better off trimming up some balsa to replace them? That way they would be true?

I am getting awfully frusterated.

UGGGHH... I got airborne and got altitude up to top of tree level and then this tree reached out and grabbed my plane!! The dang thing ate it just like it was Charlie Brown's kite!!

RE: Flyzone Sky Fly
 

Hey DJ88 -

Sorry to hear your having g problems I've been flying mine for about 3 - 4 batteries a week. If anything it's become routine. I've even been giving thoughts to plane number two! Your problem with the plane turning left I'm not a lot of help and I hope someone chimes in on that one. I would just ask if you have done any repair work on the wing that might add weight or drag on the left side. I did notice on my last fight the plane favored one side over the other and I was able to trim the radio, but after looking at the plane I notice that about 2 inches of the tape on the leading edge of the wing was sticking up so my thought is that the air scoop was causing the plane to draft that way.

Now the part about "The dang thing ate it just like it was Charlie Brown's kite!!" that's too funny. Are you flying in a large open area? The place I fly is at least the size of four or five football fields. I do a hand launch mostly then just work on getting up and away from ground. The last time I was flying I was much higher than I normally fly and I think it's a better way to go. Normally I fly at about 1.5 trees. But the last time I was 2.5 trees, tall pines.

I have had problems with the radio gear. The motor does not always run after hooking the battery up. I thought after your reminding me about the yellow paper the problem was solved but it did it the last time out. turning the radio off and on a few times seems to fix it.

Keep Trying and Stay Wiff It.

RE: Flyzone Sky Fly
 

Can't say how much fun I've had with my Skyfly! Lots of lazy days thermaling at 300+ feet....the other guys were laughing at first, but now 3 more have bought one!

My controls are glitching and wondering if anyone else has had the same problem. Plane is about 3 months old and on it's 2nd week after hooking up the battery in the plane, the controls become alive on their own and 'twitch' thus causing the control surfaces to move. Tried resetting, new transmitter batteries, everything. But, I kept flying it as it's too much fun! The company said send it back and they would look at it with a total turn time of 4-6 weeks (no way...I'd go through withdraw!!). Any ideas?

Used a wood spar initially on the leading edge, then went to carbon. Reinforced the landing gear yellow nub with epoxy as they tend to fall off eventually leaving you wheel-less. Order more rubberbands as they will fall apart after a few months and having a tail fin one break in mid air is not very pretty!

The other fliers decided to used their warbird foamies to chase after me one day. Tally: Skyfly-2 Warbirds-0 Funny watching grown men cry!!

Happy flying!

RE: Flyzone Sky Fly
 

Hi There!

I know I've been out of the topic for a few weeks now. But, rejoice, for I'm back now! Ok back to reality....

First off, yes I can do loops!! BUT, I do notice the wings stressing (i.e. bending up) , so I try not to pull any hard G's with this thing. It does require me to nose down for speed, since the controls throws as we all know, suck.

Second, luckily, I've not had the ESC arming problems you guys are describing. I've flown this plane now on 6 and 7 cells batteries maybe a dozen times now, and crashed it nose down about 3 times (second time was when I flew it into the sun, 3rd time was when I didnt pull up from a dive in time....) The only problem I see is from the start, the "servo" motor for the rudder (I forget) glitches, actually, chatters when sitting at nuetral, nothing harmful to flight, but annoying to hear, and will probably burn out that servo motor faster than it should IMO.


Third; The problem with the plane wanting to turn in one direction by itself is a common problem I have whenever I glue my broken tail back on. Just adjust the control surface knobs and dont worry if they don't "look" straight. Trust me, mine are far from straight, or even level, but I can make it fly straight with a light twist on the rudder knob. Becareful though, adjusting that way is more sensetive than it appears. Twist the knobs maybe 1/4 to 1/2 a turn and test it first. Personally, I don't think the radio's trim adjustments do diddly squat, seeing as how little the tail surfaces seem to move from one extreme to the other extreme with radio trim tweaks, even in mid air the trims does nothing much noticeable. As for rolling ground take offs, just compensate with Rudder input if its not going straight, as I usually have to do that even with the nose wheel as "straight" as I can bend it.

On to other aspects. I recommend flying this plane in at least slight winds (not crazy gusty winds, but, nice steady breeze). It makes for gaining altitude much faster and easier for me, as well as making ground take offs possible within my street block, hehehe (small tires = mad ground/wheel friction = too slow to take off). Also, compared to my Slo-V, I don't have to break into a sweat if it gets a little too windy, I would guesstimate ~10-20mph winds tops are still enjoyable, with a little flying experience.

And, I read up on the the tail feather mod for the Aerobird, and did that to my Sky Fly too. Maybe I didnt add enough moveable tail surface, because it only made a slight difference to the control response.

Another thing is, I fly this plane in Expert mode, as I see no need to confuse myself with the auto-elevator addition when I turn. Plus its good practice to add elevator as you see fit.


As I mentioned, I usually fly this plane with confidence at ~150-300 ft. in the air. It's design makes it great for gliding around in high altitude currents and breezes. I can actually turn the motor off if not only run at 30-50% throttle and keep this bird in the air almost 6-8 minutes before common sense tells me to start bringing it down slowly for a battery swap. The descent is another 2 minute process alone, especially if its breezy, even with motor off if I nose down too much, it picks up speed just like that and noses up again!

I've not had the radio glitch out on me yet even at high altitude, but because of my last crash my plane's antenna wire got cut by the last 7-9 inches, in a way where I am unable to extend it back out (glued the tail section one too many times, and ended up hard gluing the wire to the fuselage, and during crash *snap* goes the tail and wire with it.) so I'll have to be cautious next time I go up high.

I've recently purchased a 1000 mah 7-cell battery for it, and it seemed to behave normally for the 1 minute I flew, with a little more power in climbing, of course. But wind gusts cut the test flight short. It's uses the same cell size as original, green wrap, except I think this is labelled for some Hobby zone Firebird type plane.

BTW, I believe the Firebird Freedom is a good plane, but your friend probably just needed to make a few adjustments or add some up elevator during take offs.

Long post. I'll be on later.

Happy Flying!

RE: Flyzone Sky Fly
 

I flew my Sky Fly for the first time today and was really impressed by how it flew. Bear in mind that this was my first time flying ever (no simulator, no instructor). The first flight was definitely !QUOT!White Knuckle Airline!QUOT! as the first turns I made were way too steep and everything was going on too fast in my head. But after the 2nd battery pack ( I bought 3 extra ones) I was really getting the hang of it, where thinking about the controls vs the orientation of the plane started to become automatic.. well fairly automatic.

I was flying with expert mode enabled in about 8 mph winds, a little higher wind speed than I would have liked but I really wanted to get out today as the plane's been sitting in my basement for over a month. The plane flew well and was able to come back upwind at full throttle without too much difficulty.

What I was really impressed with was its ability to glide once the motor shut itself down at the end of the battery charge. Kind of freaked me out at first but by just not over controlling the plane, it glided down easily. Also as long as the amount of control input is kept to a minimum, the plane does a great job of leveling itself out pretty easily.

Anyhow, just wanted to share my first flight experience which was definitely a positive one.

I think I'm hooked!!! :D

RE: Flyzone Sky Fly
 

Hey, welcome to the addiction!

Yeah I hate it when my plane sits around the house. It seems to get windy right when Im thinking of flying!

Yeah as you'll see, this plane does not like to make steep, or even what would seem to be normal *tight* turns. I guess it's the trade off for being designed to glide really well, and fly in winds. One thing to keep in mind: If you run the battery low to the cut-off point, you ONLY get one more chance to do the 'throttle down and up re-arm' thingy to help power the plane back down for a controlled landing, and its not much of a duration either, maybe a 10 second burst at best. At least with my experience that's how it behaves, unlike my Slo-V where I can keep reseting the throttle and getting some more powered flight at low throttle for landing :D , if need be.

BTW, those extra batteries, are those stock 6-cell batteries, or did you pick up some other ones that fit the size i.e. I bought a 7-cell (8.4 volt) Firebird *something* battery that was the same physical cell size (2/3A size or something?) and connector, and it's 1000 mah instead of the stock 900 mah, which is also nice besides the extra power. I've also run my Slo'V 7-cell batteries in my Sky Fly on a regular basis (they are lighter but only 600 mah).

Let me know when you go a couple or more hundred feet in the air with this thing looking like a small four-point ufo, and then *try* to glide it back on 0%-25% throttle with a steady breeze, and tell me it doesnt take you at least a couple minutes to do that alone!

Good luck and have fun!

RE: Flyzone Sky Fly
 

Thanks for the info on getting a little more juice for the landings. The extra batteries I have are the stock 900mah ones. When you put in a 7 cell pack, do you have to re-balance the plane?

RE: Flyzone Sky Fly
 

No I dont balance my plane when using either my lighter Slo-V 7-cells, or the heavier green 7-cell, although the larger green one's additional cell may add a tad bit towards nose weight, I noticed no problems lifting off the ground or climbing, since its got more power to compensate.

Darn wind didnt give up today, and in my stubborness I flew (for about 30 seconds), I crashed it nose first, not due to the craptastically fast wind, but due to some unknown stupid problem that caused it to not wanna pull up after it dipped its nose. Grrrrrr!!!!! Squished the nose, but I "unbent" it back into shape... mostly..... Ripped the tail feathers off their hinges. Gotta buy new ones and mod them again, epoxy the tail back on for the nth^10th time... again. :D:eek:

RE: Flyzone Sky Fly
 

Hey guys, I bought my Sky Fly two days ago from my LHS. It's my second plane. My first was a Hot Bodies Skywave. I am pretty confident flying the Skywave but it's getting a little beat up looking. Plus it glitches and I don't like the ON/OFF throttle. So it was time for something new!
The Sky Fly seems pretty well mannered in the air-- I ran a pack through it yesterday. I had a hard time landing it at first until I figured out you have to give it little bursts of power for the controls to respond. I definitely want to try to extend the control surfaces!

I have a bunch of 7 cell packs and I wasn't sure if it was safe to run them-- Now that I read this thread, I can't wait to try it. I have two 600mah nicad 7-cells and one 1100nimh 7-cell.

This is a cool plane, I think the price is right!

RE: Flyzone Sky Fly
 

Hey Gunnut!

Thats good you flew it without any major problems. Just make sure you tighten the tiny screws that hold the thumb adjusters for the control cords in the tail, and also as for the batteries, if they are not too heavy than the stock, you shouldnt have trouble with the center of gravity. I use 2 of the the Slo-V plane's blue, only 600mah, but 7-cells and are lighter, but you'll need to get an adapter to be able to plug them into the Sky-Fly's connector, and then I recently got a green 7-cell 1000Mah Firebird *something* battery, same cell size as the stock, but slightly heavier (good for windy conditions I reckon with more power and heavier nose). For some reason, I dont see much of a noticeable difference between the blue and green batteries' runtime.


Let use know how your batteries do. Oh, and yeah, the landing speeds are faster when compared to other slower planes :) and the controls couldn't be any more sluggish with power off..... No biggy, it looks more realistic [8D] and the landing gear is up to the job of hard landings.

Have fun!

RE: Flyzone Sky Fly
 

Great to hear you guys are enjoying your planes! Mine is pretty battered...especialy the canopy... i have repaired that dang thing 10 times... i need the LHS to get them in stock!

About landing...do you all land with beginner mode or in expert? I fly in beginner and have landed with it on...was wondering if i would get better with expert on since the up elevator would not come on in a turn when gliding down.

RE: Flyzone Sky Fly
 

I personally prefer to fly and land in Expert mode. Much more control over plane's behavior. But then I've had practice flying over the past year and half with my Slo-V. :)

RE: Flyzone Sky Fly
 

I also prefer expert mode. I've had LOTS of practice with my Hot Bodies Skywave. My dad will probably need to use beginner mode. I have really only crashed once or twice, But he always gets my planes stuck in trees! He tends to overcontrol or go into spins. [:@] I wished he wouldn't do it with my planes! He bought the Sky Fly for me though, since he totaled my Skywave(folded the wing trying to loop it, the thing went screaming into the ground at FULL POWER! I was yelling KILL THE MOTOR!!!:()
Oh well, since he bought my new plane, I can't hold a grudge ;). [8D]

RE: Flyzone Sky Fly
 

Arrrr!!!!

I drove my Sky Fly from 80ft. above into the ground in my neighbors backyard going WOT today, same thing, tried, TRIED to do a loop. It folded the wings (first time this has happened, probably due to dmg from previous crash). It sitting in my car right now with half a wing, and busted tail for the nth time.. ..... It was funny though, the other half of the wing was still in the air long after. It just spun edge over edge as it came down. That slowed it down which made it move in a direction eventually ending up in another neighbor's yard. Grrr!!!!!

RE: Flyzone Sky Fly
 

Is the sky able to do acrobatics?? :eek: I have had the wing fold over just flying... that wing is basically toast... unless i can add a balsa sheet like AAEJ suggests for repair

I had a good flight yesterday....I was way up there... i had to drop some altitude.
Flying is trimmed straight, but when i turn and dip, the speed recovering from the drop bumps up the altitude.
Experimented a bit with Expert on... mostly while landing.. practices.. it was cool.

I grimaced when my son leaned over right on my wing! He creased the top, but not the bottom

RE: Flyzone Sky Fly
 

Hey guys, I have a sky fly also 1 week old.
Real quick about the batts then back to my plane.
the foam battery compartment was made for a 7 cell pack. If you feel in there at the nose you will feel the indention for the 7th bat. So yes 7cell packs are ok.
Now on my madien flight which lasted all of 10 seconds , crashed into some trees and broke right wing slap in half.
swallowed pride and limped broken plane back to car. Proceded to fix with gorilla glue, 4mil coroplast, popsicle sticks, and fg packing tape.
I cut a one inch wide by 29" long strip of the coroplast and gorillaed it to the top of wing at LE. Then cut a 1"x 8" strip(2) and glued these on the TE on either side of the plastic motor cooling thingie. Then covered with packing tape. On the bottom of wing on the broken side I glued two popsicle sticks over the break and taped over with packing tape. Man I have a sturdy wing now!
Fly tested it yesterday and flew great and held up to a couple of cartwheels.
Still I have new wings ordered. But I'm planning to reinforce them with a piece of CF strip and tape up the LE and TE.
I like my little plane alot. My first one and first time flying ever. Seems easy enough to fix in a mishap.
I have hand launched all of my flights, hard to ROG with it. But I'm dying to do some touch and goes.

RE: Flyzone Sky Fly
 

You can rog it, I do all the time, unless its too windy, or the ground is too rough. It usually needs some good distance to get up to speed about 30ft or so in good conditions, with those small wheels not helping much to reduce ground/wheel friction. Once it leaves the ground it'll climb up strong.

Good luck!

RE: Flyzone Sky Fly
 

What about a motor upgrade? I've read that a stryker 480 is a drop in mod and that with a 7cell 8.4v 1100mah batt pack from batteryspace.com is awesome. And U use the stock prop. get stryker 480 for $10 from HobbyZone.com

RE: Flyzone Sky Fly
 

Same thing happened to me. Had the plane for about a week...bought new wings. 20 minutes later I tried my first "exhilarating loop(s) at will" as it says on the box. Wing folded...came straight to the ground and broke everything. Been at hobbico for a week...waiting to hear back. Had numerous other problems...IMO it's not worth the $100...I am getting a park zone plane!

RE: Flyzone Sky Fly
 

I guess loops aren't a good idea. I'm glad I haven't tried one yet. I might reinforce the wing a little bit too. I have all kinds of balsa scraps I could use. Or should I buy some carbon fiber?