Tesax RC Drastik 120
Texas RC 120 DRASTIK
A number of years ago I had a Hangar Nine Ultra Stik. I loved it but lost it during a low altitude maneuver when the engine suddenly quit. I was looking for something like it when I ran across the Pulse 125. Which being a great buy and is approx. the same price as the Drastik. While it has many flaws, all of which can be improved upon, like the Drastik it is a great plane but if you don't modify the weak areas you will be constantly rebuilding it. You cannot make them crash proof but they have to be able to withstand the rigors of an occasional hard landing. The Pulse although being a low wing flies about as good as a Stik. When I discovered the Texas RC Drastik was a clone of the original Ultra Stik I had to have one. I still like the way a Stik flies so I had to add one to my hangar. Out comes my credit card and soon a huge box arrives at my door. Now a word of caution here. This is not to just to point out flaws and weaknesses but just a note to inform others of what I found in assembling and flying mine and my experiences. I wrote a similar letter on the Pulse which can be read on RC Universe.
Upon opening the Drastik it looks great. Shelf paper covering is flawless, no shipping damage because of extra care and cost in packaging. So I began to assemble and to see what I had paid for. A friend had purchased a 60 size Drastik and while he was getting the bugs out of it a few weak areas began to emerge. Such as the plywood was very soft, did I say soft, OK, and it separates very easily. Not only that the blind nuts will bore right thru the ply. Also when you tighten up the bolts the blind nuts will be pulled right thru the wood. So I decided to back it up with 1/8th hard ply behind the firewall, in the landing gear area, and under the wing bolt down plate.
Next I did not want to rely on just glue to hold the horizontal stab on so I decided to use a Dubro tail wheel assembly and used a very long front screw in it and let in go up into the vert. stab. And then another one further forward up into the vert. Stab.
Be sure to add extra glue to all joints you can get to. The hot glue they use is OK but it is used marginally. The two piece wing is great if you have a small vehicle but if you have a larger vehicle that can handle the size glue that sucker together, it makes it more rigid and easier to keep up with all the pieces. All kits and Arf's usually have marginal hardware and this is no exception. Most people who have been building and flying for a while have their own mindset of what kind of hardware and linkages to use. However if you want to use what comes with the plane it will suffice.
Next upon installing the engine, an O.S. 160, I discovered it would be extremely nose heavy so all the servo's had to be moved to the rear including making a mount in front of the vert. stab for the rudder servo. Also I had to move the battery as far back as I could so I had to make a pocket for the battery in the fuse area right behind the wing bolts.
I did not like the small soft metric wing screws so I substituted 3/16th's Allen head screws for wing bolts. I used std. servo's for the ailerons but used metal gear Futaba's for the elev. I do not like the open nose look typical of Stik's so I built a nose for mine and it really improves the looks plus streamlines the airflow around the plane and adds only a few ozs.
Another weak area I almost missed and if I had not caught it the plane would have broken in half. The wing bay area of the fuse right behind the wing former F-2, and right behind the landing gear plate, is very weak. Mine was broken and I had not had any hard landings. So don't know when it happened. Not much material holding the plane together here…Better check this area out really good.
Hits:
Two piece wing.
Flies great.
Assembly is easy.
Aileron servo's installed inside the wing.
Light, for a plane with no Balsa. Mine weights 12 lb.- 8 oz's. Ready to fly with nose and 8 oz's of ballast.
O.S. 160-18/6 prop will hover like a big bird.
Removable top hatch cover.
Extra care and packaging in shipping.
Pinned hinges.
Precut hinges slots.
Misses:
Shelf paper covering.
Weak landing gear.
Cheap plastic wheels.
Soft plywood.
Token hardware.
These are just my experiences with the plane and yours and your requirements may be different. Overall I really like the plane and it will be among my favorite all time planes. Bobby Day 06-21-2012