Distributed
by:
Great Planes Model Distributors
P.O. Box 9021
Champaign, IL 61826-9021 www.greatplanes.com
The
Phazer is a Delta wing EDF that utilizes a HyperFlow EDF and an Ammo
brushless motor to propel it to speeds exceeding a claimed 90+ mph. The
Phazer arrives with a wood/balsa wing and a fiberglass fuselage that is
painted an attractive red and white scheme. A flat pilot figure is
included and attached to the pre-assembled magnetic canopy which
provides quick access to the flight battery.
Simplicity is the name of the game with the Phazer. Being a delta
wing, only two servos are required to provide flight control. A
provided bungee launcher allows for perfect takeoffs and the lack of
ducting allows for easy component placement inside the fiberglass
fuselage. The Phazer is recommended for advanced pilots due to the
speeds it can reach so lets put that to the test by putting one
together and taking it out to the field.
The
Phazer arrives in a nicely adorned box in the usual manner expected
from a manufacturer like Great Planes.
The
components are individually wrapped and securely taped down.
Included
in the box is the fiberglass fuselage, the wings, skid plates, the EDF
and motor, the bungee assembly and a decal set. A balance jig is also
included to help perfectly balance the Phazer before its first flight.
Great
Planes Phazer
Price: $179.97
Key
Features
Fast
and easy to assemble.
Sleek
fiberglass fuselage and tail fin.
Includes
HyperFlow? ducted fan unit with Ammo? brushless motor.
Overview
Don?t
blink when flying the Phazer. It can travel the length of a football
field in just over two seconds! With its simple delta wing design, this
EDF assembles quickly, too ? the fuselage is painted fiberglass and the
wings are built-up balsa and ply, already covered in MonoKote® film. In
no time, you can be airborne?accelerating with ducted fan power and
speed.
Specs
Wingspan:
23
in (585 mm)
Wing
Area:
224
in2 (14.4 dm2)
Length:
30
in (760 mm)
RTF
Weight:
30-31.5
oz (850-895 g)
Suggested
Battery:
14.8V
2200mAh LiPo
There
are only a few components in the ARF and the bulk of the assembly seems
to be oriented around assembling the EDF and placing it inside the
fiberglass fuselage. A bungee launcher is provided but the manual also
claims that the Phazer can be hand launched. Two grip strips are provided which can be attached to the side of the fuselage to
provide better grip if you decide you cannot get a good grab on the
fiberglass fuselage.
The
canopy arrives with a flat pilot to help save on weight but still
provide good looks. Two magnets hold the canopy firmly in place but
allow easy access to the main flight pack. The Phazer does not utilize
any ducting and the inside of the fuselage is completely empty.
A
carbon pipe is already attached to the tail which is aimed to mate with
the rear of the HyperFlow EDF unit. The wings are wood/balsa and are
partially sheeted. To complete the Phazer, all that is required are two
micro servos, a receiver and 35A ESC and a 4S2200mAh flight pack.
The
assembly process start by preparing the EDF. Several areas of the fan
have to be trimmed to accept the Ammo motor. The procedure is described
in detail in the manual and is not hard to perform especially if you
have a rotary tool. Once the fan has been trimmed, the Ammo motor can
be mounted and fixed in place with two screws.
A
pre-assembled fiberglass stator extension is then attached to the fan housing and
covered
with a cone adapter. The cone adapter will mate with the carbon pipe in
the rear of the fuselage. The adapter also has a hole to allow the
motor leads to exit. Lead extensions are provided to reach the ESC
which is supposed to be placed towards the front of the airframe. The
fan and adapter cone attach to the motor with a single bolt.
The
manual states that the assembly and installation of the fan will take a
bit of fine tuning. I found this statement to be particularly true as I
had to play with the centering and balance of the fan outside of the
airframe to get a perfect rotation as well as sanding the provided fan
housing mount in a few places to get a good fit inside the fuselage.
Once the fan is rotating freely and sits nicely in the fuselage without
binding, it can be glued in place. A flange is provided and can be
glued in place with Zap Goo or epoxy mixed with micro bubbles to make a
flush seam. A fin hole cover is provided to help route the engine leads
towards the front of the fuselage and away from the blades of the fan.
After the motor has been glued, it can still be removed but it is a
pain to do so. It is best to try and balance the fan and work out any
vibrations before you glue everything in place. There is enough space
to get a screw driver in the fuselage to remove the fan and adapter
cone to clock the EDF if you need to do so.
The
servos are glued to small balsa pieces and then to the servo bay
covers. The manual is very clear on setting up the orientation of the
arms and the directions they should move with aileron and elevator
inputs.
The
control arm for the elevons are drilled and attached using a handy
template that is available on the last page of the manual. The
connection to the servo is made using two connector rods that are held
together with two wheel collars.
The
skids are then attached to the bottom of the wings. An outline of the
skid has to be drawn on the bottom of the wing and small holes poked in
the covering to make sure there is something for the CA to adhere to.
Once that is done, the skid can be glued in with thin CA. A little
extra care here will make sure you do not ruin the bottom of the wing
with extra CA run off.
The
electronics can then be attached and routed inside the fuselage. The
receiver and ESC are secured using double sided tape. The flight pack
is attached to a battery mounting plate and screwed in the fuselage.
The
bungee hook is then attached to the bottom of the fuselage along with
the nose skid and the assembly of the Phazer is essentially completed.
Great Planes provides a nifty little balancer which can be used to
perfectly balance the Phazer. Make sure you follow the manual to setup
the control throws as there is a bit of reflex that has to be setup in
the elevons. I found that setting up the maximum available throws from
the surfaces will make the Phazer very responsive and almost impossible for me
to control.
For the
maiden flight, we took the Phazer out to Scobee field in Houston which has
become our usual weekend field. On a clear and semi calm day I charged
the 4S2200mAh main flight pack and proceeded out to the flight line to
setup the bungee launcher. I was initially a bit put off by the bungee
launch process as I was not sure what to expect. After repeated
successful bungee launches I am pretty much sold on the process
as it is simple and fool proof.
After
attaching the bungee stake in the ground and hooking in the Phazer, I
walked back quite a bit to get tension in the bungee. There is ample
grip on the sides of the Phazer for me to hold with one hand as I
pulled back on the bungee. Great Planes provides small grip strips that
can
be attached to the side of the fuselage to provide even more grip if
desired. After setting the throttle to full power, a gentle underhand
toss is all that is required to let the bungee do its thing and provide
the additional thrust that is required to achieve a painless take off.
Hand launching the Phazer without the bungee is also possible but a
firm and level underhand toss is required to get the required speed for
a successful launch.
Once in
the air, I had to quickly trim the Phazer for
level flight as I had too much reflex in the wings and the model wanted
to climb and roll. After the Phazer was trimmed, I started performing
some full throttle passes as I tried to familiarize myself with the
flight characteristics of the model. I found that the Phazer is a very
stable airplane that can be flown in a wide range of speeds. At full
throttle, the Phazer is a blast to bring low over the runway. With the
EDF screaming, the Phazer can disappear from sight quickly. Slowing the Phazer down, I did not notice any
nasty stall tendencies but the Phazer is definitely a plane that likes
to be flown with some speed.
I
had
initially setup the Phazer with max throws and discovered that it was
way too much control for me. With max roll rates, the Phazer rolls so fast that I
almost lost orientation and pulled up when I ended up
inverted over the runway. I will stick with the recommended rates with
the low rates being my preference for general sport flying. Since the
Phazer does not have a rudder, loops and rolls are about the limit of
its aerobatic capability. For a model that does not have
thrust vectoring, I was amazed to find that I could perform high alpha
passes over the runway which I attribute to the cheater hole in the
bottom of the airframe.
When it
came to landing the Phazer, cutting the throttle and letting the
Phazer glide in on the grass was not hard to do. I also performed some
high alpha approaches and let the Phazer drop in on the grass as it
started to loose lift. Either way, you have to make sure you clean the
EDF before the next flight as the cheater hole in the bottom does allow
for some FOD to enter the fan.
Check
out the video to
see it in action!
Great Planes Phazer
I
normally try to stay away from fast and small airframes for reviews as
they are very hard to properly photo and film. While the Phazer fits
this category, I was pleasantly surprized by its flight envelope that
made slow and even high alpha passes over the runway a breeze allowing
us to get nice still photos of the airframe in flight. The Phazer does
offer a nice thrill ride at full throttle. Due to its small size and
the loud EDF, it actually seems to be going faster than it probably is
which is always a crowd pleaser at the field. Great Planes recommends
that this airframe only be flown by advanced pilots and I tend to agree
with this statement as it is quite fast and can cover a lot of ground
in a hurry. If you are however comfortable with small and fast low wing
airframes, I would not let that statement deter you from trying out
this nice little EDF to get your next thrill ride at the field.
Distributed
by:
Great Planes Model Distributors
P.O. Box 9021
Champaign, IL 61826-9021 www.greatplanes.com
The comments, observations and conclusions made in this review are solely with respect to the particular item the editor reviewed and may not apply generally to similar products by the manufacturer. We cannot be responsible for any manufacturer defects in workmanship or other deficiencies in products like the one featured in the review.
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