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Nestled in a molded styrofoam block and wrapped in a color box, the 8FG is sure to survive anything the shipping companies can dish out. It arrived to my house in perfect shape.

The 8FG comes with the following:

• Wall charger
• 1700 mAh NiMh battery
• R6008HS receiver
• Heavy duty switch harness (for those power guzzling digital servos)
• A plastic screwdriver
• Neckstrap

The R6008HS receiver has two antennas that exit one end while the wires all plug into the other. This allows you to place the receiver into smaller spaces. It also helps keep the radio compartment uncluttered. Binding the receiver to the transmitter is easy and doesn't require you to use any binding plugs! The R6008HS has an "Easy Link" feature that links the ID code of the transmitter to the receiver.

The instruction manual reads easily and covers all the features.

The manual could have better explained some of the programming terms. One example is in the FUNCTION menu, the manual never really explains what the difference is between the combination "COMB" and separate"SEPAR" modes.

It would be great if a quick example would be included when you might use each mode. On items like this, I usually figured out what the setting really did, or simply left it at the factory default. With all that said, the helicopter programming setting did include those extra explanation of terms and real world examples.

Futaba Manuals and Software Upgrades can be found HERE. At the time of this writing there were no firmware / software upgrades, but Futaba has released the 8FG File System Utility (zip) that would be used if or when they release upgrades.

The Futaba 8FG radio construction feels solid when you hold it in your hand. The overall size of this radio is nice; it's easy to hold and it's lightweight. It has an LCD screen to handle all the programming chores, which is backlit, making programming in a dimly lit workshop very nice. I suspect this would also come in handy for those early morning or late night flights too.

The radio has a SensorTouch? touch pad similar to a modern phone or music device, which also makes it familiar to use. It also features height and tension adjustable ball-bearing sticks that feel smooth and precise.

The radio's trims are all digital. One thing you lose with digital trims is the ability to "feel" the trim position. The Futaba 8FG beeps when you pass center on any trim, and you can set the number of steps (or percentage) per click.

The 8FG doubles the 1024 resolution of the PCM systems (transmitting on FM) with Futaba's FASST 2048 resolution. This is an 8 channel radio with 8 servo connections and two additional channels. To go along with all that, I found it also balances very well on the neck strap!

You will find 10 switches and knobs, including 6 three position switches, one single position switch, one momentary switch, two rotary "volume" type knobs and two slider switches on the bottom and sides of the radio. The back of the radio has the trainer cord connection and the charging jack.

The metal handle is something I think should be on all radios. I've had a few transmitters with plastic handles and they all broke, but that won't be an issue for the 8FG. The bottom of the radio houses the 7.2 VDC 1700 mAh battery and SD Card slot. There is also a tiny switch that would be used if you ever update the software.

This far down in the review, you are probably wondering how easy or difficult it is to program. With the limited amount of information that you can fit in a 124 x 68 black and white LCD display, Futaba has done a good job of making the programming simple.

The radio menus are mostly intuitive and they become easier to use after about a 1/2 hour. One nice feature is pressing and holding the S1 button on the touch pad you instantly are sent to the home screen. Maybe the Futaba engineers can design me an S1 button for the next time I have to fly somewhere on the airlines! The S1 button is really handy when you are first learning your way around this radio.

With the SD Memory Card Slot, I was hoping for a computer program that I could also load on my desktop computer to program the radio. A desktop application would give the engineers and programmers the ability to explain all the functions as you program.

Turning the radio on, the first thing that you see is "Check RF Condition..."

Once the RF condition check is completed, the home screen is displayed. From here you can see:

• Transmitter name
• Battery voltage
• Key lock (not shown) - Press S1 for one second to lock the touchpad
• SD Card indicator (not shown)
• The system time and both programmable timers (count up or down)
• Trim positions in both graph and number form
• Model name
• FASST mode
• Model Timer (shows you how much time you have on this model)
• An icon of an airplane, helicopter or glider
• An icon (highlighted below - it looks like a clock) to bring you to the 2nd home screen. This screen just displays the Transmitter name, battery voltage, SD Card indicator, trim information and two LARGE timers.

Navigating around using the SensorTouch touch pad is easy. The pad is very similar to a cell phone or music player, so it's instantly familiar. You can navigate the menus by moving your thumb in a clockwise or counterclockwise motion around the SYS-LNK-MDL-S1 buttons. A return button in the center is used to select things by single or double tapping. I liked using this interface because it doesn't have anything to get stuck or bind.

There is a "basic model setting procedure" where you set a few basic parameters. You get to that by double-tapping the linkage button and highlighting "MODEL SEL." and tapping return. Highlight "NEW" and tap return. It will ask you to hold the return button for one second. From here you can select Airplane, Helicopter or Glider. Depending on what you select, the other choices will change.

For example, if you select airplane, you can choose what kind of wing you have (normal or flying wing) and how many flight controls are on that wing (2 ailerons and 1 flap or 2 ailerons and 2 flaps, etc.). Notice I didn't say how many SERVOS are on the wing, more on that later. See the example below for setting an airplane up with flaps that has two ailerons and two aileron servos.

If you need to change anything that you set up in the "basic model setting procedure" you can always go back to the linkage menu and select "MODEL TYPE". If you change anything in "MODEL TYPE" - ALL your programming settings will be reset to the factory defaults. I know that because I didn't read the bold note in the manual!

Next we will look at the 3 main programming menus:

• System - Sets up functions for the transmitter
• Linkage - Best described as basic settings for any model
• Model - Home of the coolest functions and the common Dual Rate function

The system menu sets up the transmitter functions. Here you can set the trainer mode for using the radio with a buddy box and also control the display contrast and brightness, set the user name and set the mode (mode 1 - throttle+rudder on the right or mode 2 with throttle and rudder on the left).

If you do any sort of instructing or are learning to fly, the TRAINER menu has one of the coolest things that this radio does. More on that later.

The DISPLAY menu will let you set the brightness, contrast and seconds before the backlight goes out.

The USER NAME menu will let you set a user name that displays on the home screen. Handy for when all your buddies buy Futaba 8FG radios and you all set them down on the bench together. It has enough spaces (10) for a phone number and just enough spaces to put RCUniverse. Perfect.

The H/W SET menu lets you set the stick mode and any of the switches. This will let you set the radio up into traditional Model 1 or Mode 2 or or less traditional Mode 3 or Mode 4.

The INFO menu just gives you the software version, language and how much data is used on the SD Card.

At first the LINKAGE menu didn't make much sense to me. What is linkage? I think of it this way, everything in this menu is linking your models controls to the transmitter. The linkage menu is home to the servo monitor chart (SERVO menu) and also the FUNCTION menu, which gives you the power to assign ANY control to ANY switch, stick or knob. For example, I like to reassign the trims in the FUNCTION menu.

Writing a review like this, it's tempting to drill down the menus and comment on all of them. Instead of boring you with a repeat of the manual, I'm going to tell you about my personal experience setting up the Great Planes Eagle 580 using the Futaba 8FG. For the original Eagle 580 review, I flew the airplane on 72 MHz with a 6XA radio. The Eagle 580 has two large ailerons, driven by 2 servos, one in each wing.

The first time I set up the airplane with the 8FG, I selected the 2 ailerons and 1 flap from the MODEL TYPE menu.

• In the FUNCTION menu under LINKAGE I assigned the flaps to the LS switch
• Then under the PROG. MIX in the MODEL menu I mixed FLAPS->AIL.
• Then under FLAP SET, I set the flaps to the amount that I wanted them deployed

I selected the LS (Left Side) switch to position the flaps. The switch beeped when I hit the middle, so I know where 50% flaps is without looking. Tell the radio the functions you want, and not necessarily the physical layout of the airplane and programming is easy.

You could probably just stop programming at the LINKAGE menu and fly your airplane, helicopter or glider just fine. But you can't be satisfied there; you just have to take it to the next level, don't you? With almost two full menu pages there is enough to keep you tinkering and having fun.

The 8FG has all the standard complement of programming functions that you come to expect from a computer radio; Dual Rates, PROG MIX and even Aileron Differential. All these functions are relatively simple to set up and are either self explanatory or fairly well explained in the manual. The more time I spent with the 8FG, the faster I got with the programming.

The 8FG will easily mix Rudders, Ailerons and Elevator. The RUD->AIL, RUD->ELE and AIL->RUD lets you select a switch and set the amount of mixing.

This radio will also allow you to set 5 point throttle curves along with a nice throttle delay function. The throttle delay lags the throttle to simulate a turbine engine! In a few clicks on a menu you could be simulating flying a turbine with any airplane! Another cool function is FUEL MIX, which lets you richen or lean the fuel mixture at various throttle settings, a feature pilots of larger gas engine airplanes will certainly enjoy.

The 8FG uses an SD card to store extra models. In case you use up the 20 models that this radio can hold internally, you can insert up to a 2GB SD card. The SD Card format is a plus for many modelers over the more expensive CF memory cards.

The SD Card is inserted in the bottom of the radio next to the battery. The radio automatically detects a card that isn't formatted for the radio.

Download and Watch in Windows Media Player here!

The 8FG doesn't leave the glider pilots up in the thermals! This radio has a specific glider type under MODEL TYPE (Airplane - Glider - Helicopter). It will let you have up to 4 ailerons and 2 flaps or 2 ailerons and 4 flaps and everything in between. You can also set the wing type to NORMAL or FLYING WING for maximum flexibility. By setting the MODEL TYPE to GLIDER the functions that would be associated with a powered airplane disappear.

The 8FG will handle several configurations of ailerons and flaps, and it makes the maximum use of any servos that you put into the wing. There are options to mix in camber, flaps, elevator, aileron differential, v-tail, ailevator, winglets, and even brake flaps.

One cool glider function is called the Butterfly. The Butterfly deploys ailerons up, flaps down and mixing in elevator to put the airplane in an extremely efficient landing configuration.

Helicopter pilots will find the 8FG will let them customize their bird just as much as the airplane and glider folks. The 8FG has specific functions that lets it interface with a Futaba GYA series gyro in either normal or AVCS mode. The radio also has specific functions for setting 5 point pitch curves and 5 point throttle curves, critical for smooth heli flying. Mixing is no problem either with swash, throttle, governor (for a Futaba GV-1 governor) and gyro mixing functions.

Props (or rotors!) to Futaba for including some "Example of Use" boxes and "Curve Setting Examples" in the instructions. They give you a little more insight on how to use the helicopter settings. These additional boxes really explain the functions well.

I found the the helicopter section of the instruction manual to be the most complete and detailed. Some of the definitions were helpful in learning about the 8FG.

I flew the 8FG in two different airplanes. The first was the Great Planes Eagle 580 that I did a review on HERE. When I first flew the Eagle 580, I used my trusty Futaba 6XA radio. The 8FG was definitely an upgrade. With double the resolution and the ball-bearing sticks, the Eagle 580 seems to move instantly. This radio is going to work excellent for someone that flies precision aerobatics or 3D where fast, precise control movements are important.

I also flew the 8FG in the Hobbico NexStar MiniEP. With the NexStar MiniEP I hooked a buddy box up and did some training with a new student. I also flew it at my club's Fly-In with some spectators on the buddy box. I was really impressed with the features in the TRAINER menu! The mix function works great, and essentially gives you the ability to "nudge" a student in the right direction. This came in especially handy when letting the spectators at the Fun Fly have a turn! I also liked that I could set the trainer switch to the non-momentary switch, something that kept my finger from going numb when the student was doing well.

The only problem that I had at the field was forgetting which switches I set to various functions! I would recommend that you pick a "standard" set of switches among the various models in memory so the same switches control the same functions. It would be nice to have a "reminder" menu that would show you the assignments of the various switches.

Overall the 8FG is light enough I found myself forgetting to use the neckstrap, but if you use one it balances nicely. The transmitter also feels very well balanced in my hands. Gone are the days when you transmitter wanted to constantly tip over because of the 4 foot long antenna!

I think Futaba has a winner on their hands here! This is one radio that will be able to grow with you, even if you are just starting out, or if you have more than a few airplanes. With this radio you can fly airplanes, gliders and helicopters of all sizes. The 8FG fits a nice market niche between the basic computer radio radios like the 6EX and 7C and the more complex (and expensive) 10, 12 and 14 channel radios. The 8FG has a lot of the features of the more expensive radios, like the ball-bearing sticks, high speed data stream and programming that is very similar to the 10C and 12FG radios.

I liked some of the programming features enough that I made a section for "Cool Features" above. These included things like the ability to mix instructor and student signals when training, the easy to use timers, servo monitor chart and snap roll switch.

I really enjoyed flying the Futaba 8FG radio. Between its silky smooth sticks and fast response time, this radio will make you feel connected to your plane, glider or helicopter. It has enough programming and mixing to let you tweak your plane all flying season. When you are at the field, it is easy to switch between models, and the radio feels great in your hands.