xviper-1

Maidened mine this morning, all stock. Took off from frozen ground (bumpy grass) on wheels and landed on belly. Flew OK but on 3s, it's a slug compared to my old Dynam Seawind on 4s, which my friend now has and flew this morning also. This Flyzone could just barely do a loop from level flight on full throttle. Definitely going 4s on this one. On my second flight, nose gear would not stay locked in the deployed position. It was only holding by the spring, which dropped the nose when weighted. Managed to take off anyway. I have to inspect it to see what the mechanism is that locks it in place when down.
Full flaps slows it down a lot more than the Dynam when coming in for a landing. Gotta keep a bit of power on or it'll slow down too much and stall too soon. The wingtip lights cannot be seen in daylight once the plane is more than a few dozen feet away. They may be OK for after sunset flying but for daytime flying, they are pointless. Will try the 3-blade prop next before going 4s.
On a personal note, the Dynam Seawind is a better buy and is a nicer flying plane. The Dynam, being slightly smaller, is more nimble in the air. The landing gear on the Flyzone is neat but totally not necessary unless you are doing pavement operations. Same goes for the flaps - a nice feature but again, not absolutely necessary.
One thing I did notice however, is that the Flyzone is a lot quieter when flying, almost silent compared to the Dynam.

smitty4980

Thanks BarracudaHockey and xviper-1. The flying field I go to has an 850' X 90' grass runway in a 37 acre hay field. I live next to a river so I get the best of both worlds which explains my desire for the seawind. I kind of had my eye on the Beaver float plane too, but I'm leaning toward the Seawind. The nose gear seems to be the biggest concern so I'll be watching to see what your investigation turns up. Also I'd like to hear how you do with the 3 blade prop and if you go to 4s. The videos on you tube of it operating as a true amphibian are beyond cool.

xviper-1

I found out what the problem was with the nose gear not holding the plane up. One screw on the servo fell out and that end of the servo was moving up and down in the mount. This allowed the gear to "float" with the weight of the plane. Having CA glued the screw back in (hole stripped) and hot glued the servo solid in the tray, the nose gear is no longer an issue. I've already balanced the 10X8X3 MAS prop and installed on plane. I'll give it another go in a couple of days and report back. If it's still too tame for me, I'll throw in a 4s battery. The motor and ESC should be able to handle it just like the Dynam version can.
Had I never owned the Dynam Seawind, I wouldn't know any different and this Flyzone would have felt just fine. It's easy to fly, very stable and has great presence in the air. It's only being able to compare this plane with something else that I know what I prefer in terms of flight characteristics and performance. You'll love this plane just as I will as soon as I give it a little more "poop".

xviper-1

If you are flying it just for relaxation and just for the fun of it, it's more than adequate. For me, I like a bit of power on reserve for a bit more speed and carefree loops.
I captured 2 flights yesterday. Both were with a 11x8x3 MAS prop and using the gear down for take off and landing. I fly off a very bumpy frozen grass surface and the gear seem to be able to handle it. After the first flight, the nose gear servo came loose (one screw fell out) and caused the gear to collapse with the plane's weight. After gluing the screw in and hot gluing the servo solidly in place, all is well.
Take offs were with 1/2 flaps. Landings with full flaps.
This first video is flying with 2200mah, 3s battery:
(Try full screen for a bigger view.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XRosmL7X358&feature=youtu.be Note the flight characteristics in terms of speed and vertical manouvers. You can see the plane almost falls out at the top of the loops. The 3-blade prop on 3s is slightly better performance but still marginal.

This second video is flying with 2200mah, 4s battery, no other changes:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EciV3cOEQ0Y&feature=youtu.be Note the more spirited speed and effortless loops and near vertical climbs. The ESC got a bit on the hot side with 4s but quite frankly, I didn't check it after the 3s flight. I'll give the ESC area more ventilation and if necessary, I'll put in a bigger ESC just to play it safe. The Dynam plane didn't need any upgrades to fly on 4s.

This is a perfect all season, all terrain RC plane. It can take off and land on its belly from any surface (except maybe pavement) and when the conditions permit, the landing gear is handy.

smitty4980

Nice videos, xviper-1. I think you sold me on this plane! I noticed your 3s and 4s batteries were both 2200 mah. Do they both weigh the same? If not was the difference enough for a cg adjustment? From various posts I think it might be a good idea to secure the nose servo right out of the box and not rely on the factory install. I'm pretty sure I read it comes with a two blade prop. I take it you didn't mess with it and went straight to 3 blades. Amazingly I got a Tower Hobbies catalog with the Seawind on the cover yesterday. Could it be fate?

xviper-1

The 3s weighs 190g and the 4s weighs 240g. Both are pushed back as far as the partition would allow, so both are in the same position. Oddly enough, the 4s only required a few clicks of UP ELE to compensate and it flew beautifully that way. Inverted flight was also quite manageable with some DOWN ELE, with enough left on the travel to climb inverted. I don't fly this plane inverted much as it sort of looks goofy. I have many other planes that can fly inverted easily with little ELE compensation.
I flew it out of the box with the stock 2-blade and it was "adequate". A person could fly it like that all day long in a very leisurely fashion but I like my planes a bit more zippy. The 3-blade on 3s was only marginally (although noticeable) peppier and again, a person could fly it with that all day long if he wanted to. With the 3-blade and on 4s, this plane really comes alive for me, but it's nice to know I can still fly it sedately on 3s if I run out of 4s batteries on any given day. I just worry about the ESC getting too hot. If ventilation won't help, I've got a 50A ready to go in.
Oh, I got mine from Tower as well. I lucked out when they had a reduced shipping rate to Canada last month, along with a very healthy discount code that applied to the plane. On the Tower home page, click on the coupon codes at the top to see what they offer currently. You can also save a few more bucks if you buy into their "club member" thing.

smitty4980

Canada, that explains the snow in your videos. It sure does look good in the air. I guess you'll have to wait to try water operations assuming your lakes are frozen for the next few months. I'm in Fort White, Florida. The flying club is about 20 miles away. It has an 850' X 90' runway cut in a 37 acre hayfield. I live by a river but it is fairly narrow and lined by trees but there are lots of lakes around here so I'll get plenty of opportunities to fly off water. I'll probably be good with the 3s for a bit while I get used to it but it is good to know that there are options to increase power. Enjoy your plane and thanks for sharing your experience with it.

Charley

My Feedback: (2)

xviper, Nice vids when the model was close enough to see it. Need longer lenses on these cameras. Wish you would try the 2 blade prop on 4 cells. Might work better than the 3 blade, depending on the pitch. Did you check the current draw? BTW, it's nice to see that it flies OK with the CG further back on the 4 cell battery.

My Seawind is on the way. I got a deal on a scratch & dent "box damage only" model coupled with the $30 off coupon.. I probably won't put it together until the weather warms up, though.

CR

xviper-1

That's the problem with trying to video solo with a Mobius stuck on my hat. It's even a regular lens (wide angle is worse). I tried another camera with zoom but had trouble keeping the plane in frame. I really need a second person but all my flying buds are like me (seniors) who don't have steady hands or good eyes.
Didn't check draw and I didn't check with 2-blader on 4s. I'm sure it would fly just as well, even better as the 2-blade might be more efficient. I just like the looks of the 3-blade.

Charley

My Feedback: (2)

I tried a keyfob camera velcro'd on the bill of my cap, couldn't keep it boresighted. I think I need to put a little wedge on the bill to get the camera parallel to my vertical line of sight. Something else to play with.

I have a lot of props, electric and nitro. Kind of fun trying different sizes on a model until I settle on the one I like best. That stock prop is only 6" pitch.

CR

xviper-1

The Mobius has been the most luck I've had with a camera stuck on my cap. I wish it had just a little bit of zoom. My Sony Webbie on my cap works OK, but it's really hard to dial in the proper zoom and keep the plane in frame. Too little zoom and it becomes just another speck.
I've just traded the stock ESC with a 50A one. Will see how that works next time out. Supposed to snow tomorrow.

tailskid

My Feedback: (34)

Here's my video off water...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vBrC-oUpOVg

Jerry

smitty4980

That is so sweet! I can't wait. I'm ordering one tomorrow morning.

xviper-1

New observation ....................... Having gone 3-blade prop and 4s battery, when the plane flies at its higher speeds, the ailerons are not strong enough to counter the increased airspeed. The control rod is very thin and the control horn on the aileron is quite short. At speed, this causes the rod to bend when pushing on the horn. Once the plane slows down a bit, aileron authority returns. I'm going to try and expose the aileron servos and see if the servo horn can be externalized and made longer. I'll then add external control horns on each aileron. This should give bigger mechanical advantage to move the control surface easily at speed.

smitty4980

That is quite interesting. My Seawind is supposed to be delivered tomorrow! Woo hoo! I got two 3s 2200 amh batteries for it, which arrived yesterday. I just checked the status of my Spectrum AR610 receiver and it was shipped today so it looks like I should be in business soon. Any thoughts on the stock prop that comes with it?

xviper-1

I flew my maiden and second flight with the stock prop on 3s. The plane flew just fine, although a little sluggish for my tastes. I think the stock prop would also do fine on 4s. I just like the looks of a 3-blade for this type of plane. Flying on 3s power, those control rods will be of no concern.

smitty4980

I'm going to fly mine at the flying field a few times before I try the water. I want to get a feel for turning radius, stall speed etc. before planting it in the river. I think I'll hot glue the nose servo in place before the maiden flight since it seems to be an issue for a few people. I'm sure I'll be good with 3s for awhile, anyways. The plane looks like it should go fast so I see why the 4s is more desirable.

tailskid

My Feedback: (34)

Keep us posted smitty....with full flaps you will need some down elevator and boy does it slow down! Enjoy....

smitty4980

I certainly will. I love these forums where we can exchange experiences. I've only been into the RCs less than a year. There's a lot of the electronic stuff that I have no idea about but people are so happy to help that it's great. If I get everything tomorrow I should fly it Saturday, otherwise Monday will be the most likely big day.

xviper-1

Is your field paved? is there grass at the sides of the runway that you can belly land? Take off with wheels down on pavement and belly land on the grass if you can. It's a lot easier to belly on grass until you get used to how the plane lands. Might save on a set of retract servos. Also remember when using full flaps to land, keep the power up a bit till almost touch down or the plane could get too slow and stall.

smitty4980

We have a grass runway, 850' X 90' in a 37 acre hay field. Sounds like good advice. How about taxi and take off from grass? Once I get it in the air there is plenty of wide open space to get the feel of it. While I'm waiting for UPS tomorrow I'm going to make a wall stand to hold my planes and get them off the floor. This will be my 3rd. I have an LA Racer 40 from The World's Planes that I won in a raffle but I haven't flown it yet. Too easy to destroy it with my limited experience. My Ares Gamma Pro 370 has taken a beating but flies well and is easy to repair, which I am getting quite good at! There is a Seawind on my Real Flight simulator an I have been flying it like crazy since I decided to buy one. It will be interesting to see how close to real the sim is.

xviper-1

I fly off a very lumpy, bumpy prairie field that was once a school soccer field. It's been taken over by gophers and coyotes, full of holes and trenches. It was mowed repeatedly and the rough bits filled and leveled. At the moment, it's frozen and all the lumps and bumps are unforgiving. The Seawind does just fine taxi-ing and taking off wheels down but landing with wheels down must be a fairly calculated and gentle operation or they can get over-stressed. When you get the hang of how it flies and how it lands, you'll have better luck with wheels down landings. The gear is actually quite robust but if you do hit too hard, you could break something, including driving the engine pod down and having the prop do a slice job of the top of the plane. If you hit that hard, better to damage one thing (dorsal side of plane) than to break several things (gear). Oh, till you start water operations, disconnect the water rudder linkage at the servo and tape over the hole so the rudder is out of the way for belly landings.

Charley

My Feedback: (2)

If I was doing it, I'd put in more rigid pushrods. And slow down.

CR

smitty4980

My Seawind arrived yesterday as scheduled. I checked the contents and it all looks perfect. The first thing I noticed was the flimsy control rod to the elevator but I'm sure the designers made it strong enough for the way they meant it to fly. The receiver didn't come yet and from the looks of things I won't start putting it together until Monday. I have a part in the community theater and this is the last weekend. Some of my wife's relatives are coming up and staying with us tonight to go to the Saturday night show. Sunday matinee and cast party will wipe out the rest of the weekend. COME ON MONDAY!

xviper-1

I thought about more rigid pushrods, but as they are internalized inside the wing, it would require some surgery to get at them. I won't know till I open up the servo bay and see what's in there. Also, making the connection of the Z-bend end into the horn on the AIL may be impossible without making a very large opening. Next, I must determine just how strong the servo itself is. No point in strengthening the rod if the servo can't handle the increased resistance of higher speed. If they can handle the resistance, then the better option would be to expose the rod and glue a narrow carbon rod in between the servo and control horn.
Slowing down is not an option for me. It's like souping up a car for that "little old lady from Pasadena". What's the point? I like my model planes to be able to do a big loop from level flight without stalling out at the top. I don't fly "scale" most of the time and I don't like a plane that must be flown near full throttle all the time. I'll leave that to old, retired vets from the senior's home. I'll be there soon enough but until then, I like my planes with lots of punch.
I have found that even on 4s, the ELE actuation system is more than adequate at speed. They did a nice job when they ran the control rods for the ELE and RUDD inside a plastic sheath. These make the rods very stiff and the amount of bare rod exposed at both ends is not enough to make them bend.