All
the parts came individually wrapped and were well protected
in the box. I found no damage and was impressed with the details
and level of pre-assembly.
The
wing comes ready to go with the aileron servo, flap servo, hinges,
and linkage pre-installed.
Scale
navigation lights are included in the wing and vertical stabilizer.
The
control surfaces are hinged and ready to go. Some of the other
parts include pre-assembled gear mains, nylon wing bolts, control
rods, struts, an 8-1/4" prop, and plastic spinner.
The
FlyZone Cessna 182 Skylane includes a 3-cell 1800mAh LiPo pack,
smart balancing charger, and A/C and D/C adapters to charge just
about anywhere! Note that the FlyZone charge/balance connector
is ElectriFly/E-flite compatible. The 15-page manual is loaded
with excellent photos, assembly steps, and instructions geared
for creating a successful experience.
A
closer look at the fuselage reveals the pre-installed motor and
steerable nose wheel. Air cooling and strut mounts are both ready
to go! The antenna wire is already run through a tube to the back
of the plane. Tubes are also pre-installed for the rudder and
elevator control rods and the tail navigation wire. Note that
the receiver and servos are pre-installed also.
I
tested the ElectriFly 3-Cell 11.1v LiPo Balancing Charger that
came with the Cessna RTF package and found no issues. It is a
simple plug-and-play solution that cannot be fooled. The charger
is fed by either 12v DC power from the supplied AC wall adapter
or the automobile cigarette/utility adapter. The LiPo pack charge
connector is keyed so it can only be plugged in one way. The lights
went both solid red and green when the battery was charging and
only the red light remained on when it was finished.
Assembly:
The
assembly starts by mounting the main landing gear. This is done
by installing two screws and replacing the landing gear cover
after removing the pre-applied protective adhesive strip backing.
Note
the bottom hatch cover on the left is used to access the receiver
and battery pack.
The
vertical and horizontal stabilizers are mounted together after
first connecting the control rods and sliding them into the pre-installed
tubes. When the rods are inserted about half way, the tail navigation
wire is then inserted into the larger tube that runs down the
center of the fuselage. Just before the fin and stab are all the
way into position, the pushrods are fed into the pre-mounted connectors
on the servo arms.
A
plastic retaining clip holds the tail assembly in place and the
control rods are held with set screws already installed in the
servo arm quick links.
After
feeding the wires past the servos and out the bottom of the fuselage,
the wing easily mounts using two retainer posts that turn 90 degrees
to lock in position. The posts are then covered with hatches that
simply snap into position.
After
first installing eight AA-size batteries (not included) in the
Tactic transmitter, you can center the aileron, elevator, and
rudder trims. The throttle trim and throttle stick are both lowered
all the way so the motor will not turn on.
You
can then temporarily take the Tactic receiver part way out of
the fuselage and hook up the controls. All the servo leads and
navigation light leads are properly labeled. At this time, you
can check all the control surfaces for proper swing and centering.
Since
everything checked out, including the 3-position flap settings,
it was time for the final assembly.
The
plastic spinner back plate slides onto the motor shaft and sits
over the pre-installed nut. The prop is then secured with a washer,
nut, and some thread locker. The spinner cone is attached with
two 2.5x8mm Phillips screws.
The
wing strut tubes fit into the pre-mounted plastic fairings and
are then secured with 2.5x8mm screws in each end. Note that the
CG of 1-7/8" should be marked by the assembler on each wing
half. This will be tested after installing the battery pack.
The
battery pack installs in the Cessna 182 nose and is held by a
strip of hook and loop material. My Cessna balanced perfectly!
The
last step of the Cessna assembly was to install the antennas by
simply pushing them down into position. If preferred, you can
also glue them with white glue or foam-safe CA.
My
Cessna 182 was Ready-To-Fly at 37oz including the battery pack.
I did not measure the power level because the supplied connectors
did not match anything I had for my wattmeter. My full throttle
testing, while holding the plane, felt that it has plenty of power.
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