aeajr

My Feedback: (2)

Parkzone has released a follow-on product to the highly successful Radian called the Radian Pro. This is a full house 2 meter e-glider. It comes receiver ready or bind n fly. Shipping won't start until November but the specs make it look like a winner.

BnF model
http://www.horizonhobby.com/Products...480#quickSpecs
Video
http://www.horizonhobby.com/ProdInfo...PKZ5480_Hi.wmv

Frede2

Not for me.
I've recently ordered two Radian PNPs for safety's sake.
Phil

epoxy123

Thanks for the head up on this, it does look like a winner. Can't wait to pick one up.

OzMo

My Feedback: (3)

aeajr,
I think they should send you one to review. You certainly have demonstrated ability to fly as well as write. I can't think of any one who is more enthusiastic about developing new flyers.

OzMo

aeajr

My Feedback: (2)

I think they should send me one to reveiw too.  I could do a 2 Radian review, right next to my original Radian.  

Frede2

WHAT? You have the original radian? How valuable is that? LOL

I just completed a new Radian PNP with an AR6200 and a 1000 mah Lipo pack for a backup. I've had two nonreturned flyaways lately.
I can't wait for a clam day to evaluate. I'm hoping on the light weight will reign superior.
Phil

aeajr

My Feedback: (2)

I think the original Radian will remain popular. It has to be the best first glider available. They did so much right.

I would not use the Pro as a trainer. All that stuff adds complexity and the flattened wing means less stability.

Radian's, everyone should have two.


Edit:

Also note that once you become comfortable with the original Radian you are not done! Not by a long shot. This is not likea trainer power plane where you have to move on to learn more about flying.

Now you are ready to really learn thermal soaing and the original Radian is an outstanting thermal soaring glider whether you are a new pilot or an experienced thermal soaing pilot like me. Thermal soaing is not about flying the plane as much as it is about working the air.

Just as fishing is not about cranking the reel on the rod, it is about knowing and working the fish, the fishing areas and knowing where and when to fish. You can get fancy equipment but the real fisherman can do it with a drop line.

Thermal soaring is not about the flying, it is about the hunt. Finding that elusive, invisible quary. Knowing where he is likely to live and where he is hiding. Seeing the trail he leaves and feeling when he moves by.

So it is with the Radian and later the Radian Pro. The more advanced plane gives you more to learn and more to try but when you get into it, it is about reading the air, knowing the weather, feeling the wind, sensing the termperature changes, watching the birds and the insects, the fultter ofthe leaves on the treesand working those thermals.

You don't need a $1000 glider to do that. They may do it better but they don't do it 10 times better than a Radian. So don't write that Radian off as below your talent. I have several high end competition gliders. I fly in glider contests all the time. I was in two days of regional glider competiton this past weekend.

But, when I go to the field next weekend, I will bring the Radian too. And at some point of the day I will put away my $1000 gliders and the winches and retrivers. And I just maypull out the Radian and go thermal hunting, and Iwill enjoy it ... a lot!

OzMo

My Feedback: (3)

I have two as well.
I was driving out by Franklin, Tn. and saw several buzzards circling (I think one of 'em was old). Curious I went to investigate. As I came near the area the buzzards were flying over I noticed more buzzards in a tree. Even more curious now I slipped into hearing range and overheard one buzzard saying," I think I'll wait 'til those guys up there fly down and try 'em first". I looked down near their tree and saw two Radians [sm=wink_smile.gif]..... Just kidding LOL

Good lift! OzMo

Frede2

I live in Franklin, TN but fly mostly in Nashville parks.
Let me know the next time you are around and we'll get together if you were seriously here or not.
I'm retired from work, but not from soaring.
Phil

airplaneclem

You say that theRadian Pro wouldn't be a good trainer.... Do you mean trainer or first glider plane?Because I fly alot of speed and aerobatics, but I've never flown a glider before. Would the Pro be a good introduction into gliding? Or should I get the Radian Original?

Frede2

IMHO, if you want to float around and catch thermals, then the original Radian is the way to go. Otherwise ...
Phil

aeajr

My Feedback: (2)

Thermal soaring is VERYdifferent from other forms of flying. The primary skill is not in flying the plane. The primary skill is reading the air. So, you may fly 3D and pattern and be world champion. That won't help you much here.

So the difference between the R/E nature of the original Radian and the full house Radian Pro is not the ability to do aerobatics, it is the options you have to work that air IF and only IFyour radio can handle the surface mixing.

The original Radian is, in my opinion, one of the best thermal trainers around. It really reports lift well and is very easy to get into lift and to work it. Because the plane is simple, the pilots focus is on the air and the lift, not the controls, flight modes and all the switches.

The Radian Pro will provide additional options when working lift.


Case in point. I just returned from a 2 day thermal soaring competition - pure gliders off winches. I fly in Sportsman Class.

The top pilot in Sportsman for the two days was flying a Super AVA, a R/E glider like the Orignial Radian. The Super AVAalso has spoilers.

I took Second on Sunday flying a full house Supra. The top pilot on Saturday was also flying a full house plane.

The guy who won, won with a simpler plane because he can read air better than I can. I can do things he can't do, and he still beat me.

e wright

if i were to write a book on soaring, i would have to say i would use your philosophy on soaring Ed !
do you think the flaps on the pro are for thermaling more than landing.
it seems a bit much for a 2 meter to have all those control services.

im in the process of making a radian a pure sailplane.(motor free)
im thinking of putting the servos up front an adding some carbon fiber on the eliptical part of the wings
for added strength on the hi start.

aeajr

My Feedback: (2)

The benefit of havnig ailerons and flaps is the ability to have a somewhat curved wing, providing dihedral, while still maintaining full trailing edge control. If you had ailerons alone you would lose the control of the inner wing shape. If you went full width ailerons then the wing would have to be flater to accomodate the aileron.

Both are valid configurations, but having them split gives you design flexibilty in the shape of the wing.

As for what the flaps are for, they are for both.

Consider the flight of a termal glider and what you might do if you had the controls. This is taken from the Novice Lounge of the Eastern Soaring League:
http://forums.flyesl.com/forum.asp?FORUM_ID=14

Let's walk through a flight:

Launch - Flip that switch for our launch setting and send the plane up the
launch line. At the top of the launch we will turn this off so that we are
in normal cruise mode. We are now 400-600 feet up and looking for lift.
Let's go hunting!

We spot some lift and we start to circle. We flip on Elevator-flap mix,
E-F, so when we pull elevator slightly, we get a tiny bit of flap to help us
climb smoothly in a thermal.

We lose the lift so we turn off E-F and go hunting again. We hit some fast
falling air, sink. We want to run through some sink, so we flip our
camber/reflex preset on, flaps and ailerons move up a little, and the plane
moves quickly through the sink. When we are in more buoyant air we flip
this off.

We catch some lift and circle up again and turn on E-F to rise in the
thermal. We have been in this thermal for 20 minutes or so. We hit about
1000 feet and have ridden the thermal about 1/2 of a mile down wind. Time
to head home and prepare to land. During our return run we will fly in
cruise or we might turn on that camber/reflex preset again to help us
penetrate through the head wind. Remember we have no motor so we are flying
upwind in a glide.

OK, time to land. We set up for an approach into the wind. We want to have
more energy than we need to make it to the landing mark because a gust might
hit us and rob us of energy causing us to fall short. As we finally get
close and are confident of making the landing zone, we can start to use that
Crow mix to lower flaps, raise ailerons and mix in elevator to keep the
plane level or slightly nose down. As we judge our speed we may go full
crow to "put on the breaks" so that when we touch we are moving slowly and
will not overshot our mark.

Cool?


That was written as part of setting up a sailplane on an Optic 6 radio. The mixes mentioned here may not be the mixes Iwould use today, but you get the point. With full trailing edge control you can reshape the wing, in flight, to change its flight character. That is the key difference between the original Radian and the Pro. Of course with more controls you can make more mistakes, some of which can cause crashes. And, you need a radio that can do this kind of mixing.

Do you need all those fancy mixes? No! But if you have them you can do do mroe things.

On my full house gliders I typically have a launch mix, a cruis mix which is basically no mix, a speed or reflex mix and a thermal mix. Iwill have aileron/rudder on a switch so I can turn it on and off at will. Iwill have an aileron-flap mix so the flaps wil follow the ailerons, usually at around 50% down and 10% up compared to the aileron movement. I will have a landing mix that is on the left stick that controls flaps to elevator. Idon't use crow anymore. And Iusually have 2 or three rate/expo settings. These are all based on a Futaba 9C Super.

Is that a lot? Some of my fellow sailplane pilots may have more and more complex set-ups than I have. And some fly on simpler radios. The skill is not how many switches you have but how you use them to optimize the flight of the glider.

You can set up the Radian Pro on a DX5e and fly it for years. Your control will be more limited but you can still soar that plane for long satisfying flights.

launched_high

uh i think ill stick with the cularis

e wright

thanks Ed, i just wanted a good opinion on it.
thanks for the info on your radio setup ,its nice to know how someone else uses there swiches
on the transmitter. i have have a evo 9 mpx so i have a lot of option. i may look into the radian pro.
thanks again.

cloudwalker

What about the new art tech a.s.k.21, befor you all go out to buy the radion pro take a look at the a.s.k. 21, it looks cool. Bill

Frede2

Yes, it looks cool.
But, will it thermal?
Will the Radian Pro thermal well?
Isn't soaring like an eagle what we want to do?
Phil

austintyler

Ed, how do you think the extra 100 grams or so will affect the Radian Pro?

Skysailor51

I purchased the standard Radian a couple of weeks ago locally.Yesterday, it was the first time I flew theglider for about 3/4 of an hourand the 1300 mah battery needed about 500 mah to be fully charged again. So I guess I might have had 'thermal help.'

I dont know the measurements of the Radian Pro but it would be wonderful if thePro wing could fit in the standard Radian and was going to be marketedseperately.
Parkzone would make a lot of modellers very happy.

Skysailor51

Frede2

You would still have to change Rx.
And one heck of a lot of wirintg.
Phil

lovter

Hi everyone,
I got sick of waiting for a multiplex EasyGliderPro so when Parkzone announced the launch of its Radian Pro, I jumped at it. Modelflight delivered a PNP version and I maidened it this w/e. We appear to be one of the first countries to take shipment - nice for a change.
Generally it is a dream. Docile but with the ability to turn on a dime to chase that bit of lift.
It comes with all servos, control rods fitted, with a 30Ah ESC and 950kV motor. Just fit your own battery, receiver and transmitter.

The only thing I have changed is the prop. It comes with a strange sized folder- a 9.5x7.5 which is barely enough to launch in level flight. Climbing is a struggle. I changed it to a 10x8 and then ran the wattmeter over both configuratioins using a 3S 1800Ah battery.
At full throttle, with the 9.5x7.5 it gave 13.42Ap and 160Wp with 30oz static thrust.
At full throttle, with the 10x8 it gave 21.75Ah and 244.4 Wp with 40 oz static thrust. Motor warm, ESC cold.

It looks the goods and flies well. I'll get the hang of the flaps and "crow mix" this week.
Cheers,
Tezact

LeoS

Anybody out there that has programmed a full house Radian Pro with the Hitec Aurora 9 Radio ?
I am trying but are running into difficulties.
Leo

aeajr

My Feedback: (2)

NCHeliHead

Stupid newbie question, but what do you plug into the 6th channel of the receiver if your setting up crow. You already have throttle, aileron, elevator, rudder and flaps. What do you split ?