Following
on the footsteps of the widely popular Reactor,
is the Reactor Bipe from Electrifly. The Reactor Bipe has all
of the same features and lines of the original Reactor, but
with almost twice the wing area. It also boasts a new color
scheme that makes as much of a statement as the plane itself.
I thoroughly enjoyed the Reactor and I look forward to getting
this one on the table as well.
Wing
Span: 35 in
Overall
Length: 43 in
Wing
Area: 600 sq in
Flying
Weight: 34-38 oz
As
used:
Motor
Size: RimFire? 35-36-1200 out-runner brushless
motor
Radio:
JR 9303
Servos:
Futaba S3114 micro- 4 required
Prop
Size: 11x7 APC electric propeller,
Speed
Control : Electrifly SS-35a Brushless ESC
Battery: Electrifly Power Series 3S 2100
The
box arrived safe and sound (Thanks UPS!) and in customary fashion
I ripped it open like a 10 year old on Christmas day. Upon initial
observation, words like "nice!" and" wow!"
escaped my mouth several times. Each part of the Reactor Bipe
is meticulously complete and without flaw. There are no twists
in the control surfaces and glue joints are exactly where they
should be. Electrifly has even taken a couple of steps forward
with the cowl assembly. On the Reactor,
the builder had to glue in the wood frame and magnets for the
cowl retainer. Now this is complete out of the box to save the
builder time.
Even
a CG checker and wing alignment tool is included. The CG checker
must be assembled however, everything is tabbed for easy placement.
It went together very smoothly and held fast with thin CA.
The control surfaces are hinged with the customary CA hinges. The slots were well centered and as I mentioned earlier there is zero warp in the control surfaces. This made for a very uneventful installation.
Futaba S3114 micro servos simply drop in the provided cut-outs with little effort. Two screws hold them firmly in place and the servo extensions route out through the wing root and into the fuse.
There seems to be a love/hate relationship with
some manufacturers and the supplied hardware.
Make no mistake, the hardware supplied with this
project is great. Personally, I love it. They worked flawlessly on the Reactor build and the scenario here was no different. A Carbon Fiber rod spans the distance between the control horn and servo horn. Each side gets a plastic z-bend connector that the CF rod seats into and a small screw then pinches the Z connector holding the CF rod firm. A drop of thin CA helps to add a little security once the ailerons are trimmed up and in final position.
Two
ply slats trimmed in CF are provided for the bottom wing. These
slide through the fuse and then into the wing. I used 30 minute
epoxy to secure the lower wings. To help in alignment, the wings
recess into the fuse about an 1/8th of an inch. With the slats
and the recess, it is a glue and forget installation.
Mounting
the center cabane strut may seem intimidating at first, however,
after completion, it now seems simple. Two CF rods are inserted
into the top deck of the fuse with the smaller one CA'd. This
keeps the Cabane aligned perpendicular to the fuse. The longer
CF rod serves two purposes. It keeps the cabane from shifting
and once finished, it protrudes into the top wing. This provides
a very strong support structure from the top wing to the lower
fuse and really locks it in.
The
outside cabanes are tabbed for easy installation. It is a simple
approach to an age old problem of getting two wings properly
aligned. Then on top of that, the supplied wing jig holds them
in place while CA is wicked into the joints. The wing jig also
aids in keeping the ailerons aligned while installing the connecting
rod between them.
Since
the Wing Jigs are a one time use here's a helpful tip.
Hold onto them. The wood can be used to make excellent
battery trays and control horns for other projects!
I
am all for anything that saves me time and with the covering
on the horizontal stab center section removed, it is one less
thing for the builder to do. The two elevator halves are connected
with a common metal "U" rod that passes through the
rear fuse.
Instead
of having the tail drag around on the bare wood and covering,
the kit contains a washer. The washer is to be set into the
wood after making a small slit. It is simple yet effective.
I would rather not have a proper tail wheel as this method works
and saves weight.
There
are no surprises in installing the Rudder, and control horns.
Everything went according to the manual and in perfect sync.
Same can be said for the wing connecting rod. Again, a love/hate
relationship may be had with the connecting hardware, but it
works and works well.
There
is nothing quite like proper gear and wheel pants. The wheel
pants even include a recess for the landing gear to seat into.
Once assembled, they secure to the fuse with two bolts. The
entire landing gear area seems to be reinforced as well for
those less than perfect landings.
The
recommended motor for the Reactor Bipe is the Rimfire 35-36-1200
as seen above. A ply X mount is provided that mates to the motor
box perfectly. The Rimfire out runner is a 45a continuous and
55 amp burst motor. That yields around ~650 Watts continuous
and ~800 Watts burst. The Reactor Bipe came in just a hair under
38 oz, so that puts thrust to weight ratio right around 282
watts per pound. Fun just begins around 150 watts per pound
on an aerobatic model, so anything over 200 Watts per/lb provides
permagrin. The provided 35a Speed controller
of course cant continously run at 45 amps, so Ill be testing
a 45a controller and changing the prop from a 10X7 to an 11X7
to push above the 400 watts currently available with the current
setup.
Mounting
of the Speed Controller yields lots of options. I choose to
mount mine similar as described in the manual underneath the
battery tray. This position allows good airflow, however placing
it on the motor mount is a good option as well.
The
included spinner was free of warping and spun true. Also the
distance between the cowl and spinner back plate is perfect.
Everything is spot on in all of the stock locations.
Upon
taxiing out on my club field I could tell that the Reactor
Bipe was going to perform well. Sometimes I get that feeling
and any nerves and apprehension suddenly wash away. With the
throttle pushed three quarters of the way to full, the Reactor
Bipe began to roll out and leave terra firma behind. Tracking
was dead on and no adjustments were needed. The long tail
moment is truly noticeable as it punched a hole through the
sky with little effort. The wind was blowing around 8-10 mph
and it seemed to have no effect on how well the plane tracked.
On
full rates and 70% expo the roll rate is quick and precise.
Start to stop, the quad ailerons listen to the input given
and respond accordingly and accurately. Two wings are definitely
twice as nice!
While
there is almost no lateral coupling in Knife edge, there is
a slight amount of roll coupling. I ended up mixing 10% and
8% respectively and that corrected the problem. Knife edge
was now rudder only with the left stick correcting for adjustments
in the wind. Knife edge to Knife edge snaps are clean as well
and easy to execute.
Harriers
showed a little bit of wing rock until the plane got into
a well defined high alpha. Once the nose altitude reached
it's destined height, it would settle in nice and easy. So
much so that you can drive it around with rudder and throttle
only.
While
the Reactor Bipe will handle 3D maneuvers it also performs
IMAC sequences just as equally impressive. With the long tail
moment and light feel that the Reactor Bipe has, it will fly
through maneuvers with grace. It allows plenty of time to
react and counter act any changes, so you feel your flying
the plane and not the other way around.
Handling
this plane at slow speeds is wonderful. There is no tendency
to drop a wing at stall speed and time after time it wanted
to drive the nose down instead. Landing speeds are nearly
at a walking pace and should the approach be short just a
few clicks of throttle will provide enough power to extend
the landing zone.
The
Reactor Bipe is not for beginners. It is for those that are
looking for the next high performance 3D/IMAC aerobatic aircraft.
Even with it's good characteristics and gentle handling it may
be too much for someone to handle without extensive four channel
experience.
Electrifly
has done a wonderful job in providing a well built model that
performs as advertised. Cad technology is amazing in itself,
however CAD doesn't make an airplane. It takes a company like
Electrifly to make sure all the pieces of the puzzle come
together correctly and accurately. I was/am a big fan of the
first Reactor, but I think I have found a new favorite.
This is a great plane (no pun intended), flies effortlessly and a great ego booster for an intermediate level pilot. My only two complaints are: 1) the covering is way too thick and getting out even minor wrinkles are nearly impossible, and 2) the tail skid is ridiculous! What were they thinking on a plane of this level and price?? I chucked it and installed a Du-Bro rudder steerable tail wheel. NOW, it's a pleasure to take off and land (and taxi back to the pits)!
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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