I think this thread will finally complete the entire series of CARF Rebels that are out there. I've seen the Hot, the Classic, and the Pro but nothing specifically for the Rebel MAX. So, I've decided to start one and slightly prompted by
AEROSHELDON . My guess is he will probably have plenty of corrections for me and will probably guide me along the way.
Please note, I am a slow assembler so I'll just apologize now for that. I say assembler and not builder because this aircraft is very complete out of the container. In reality, all you have to do is install your servos, hook up your push rods, install the tanks and the rest of your avionics, bolt in the retracts, and, finally, install the thrust tube and turbine. I think, however, there are enough nuances that, for those of us who are more the pilot than the builder, maybe this will help all of us and "us" does include me.
Let's start off with that fact that this jet is freaking HUGE!! 11' long and a 10' wingspan. I ordered it from CARF and was lucky enough to get the last one on this shipment with the Infinity Scheme. That's the only scheme I was interested in and, while I would have preferred a color swap on the scheme, was very blessed to be able to land it. At the time of this writing, we are going through a shipping crisis. 40' containers that once cost a few thousand dollars to get from Thailand to the US now is costing 20 thousand. So far, Andreas (owner of CARF) has absorbed the cost and hasn't raised shipping but there is no way they could stay in business if he continued to do so. IMHO, he should and will raise the cost of shipping (not the aircraft) soon. This is why I took this Infinity Max that hasn't been claimed yet. I had also spoken to my rep and he told me that if I ordered a color swap, the factory would easily have it done within 1 1/2 months but to get it shipped could easily take another 4-6 months. I don't blame the factory for this, it's just the predicament we're in at the moment. While I whole-heartedly believe it's worth the wait, I don't wanna.
The plane comes in 3 big containers/boxes. The aircraft was very well protected and not a mark was found on inspection. I've seen a few posters show pictures of their Rebel's that had transferred some of the wrapping paper "markings" onto their paint jobs so when I picked up the plane, I was a little nervous about it. At least with mine, this was not the case and the airplane had some nice thin foam around all the parts and then packed with foam, bubble wrap, etc. around that. The wings, HStabs, and VStabs were all packed in their bags and were in perfect shape. Once the assembly is completed, I'll buff out the paint and any tiny blemishes that are there will be gone. This is just a beautiful jet, y'all.
The thrust tube for the turbine is listed as an "accessory" and must be purchased separately as well as the OEM 5 Liter fuel tank. Wait, 5 liters? Really? Y'all, that's 1.3 gallons that you're carrying around per flight (assuming you fill it up of course). At 6.75 lbs./ gallon using Jet A, that's roughly 9 lbs. of added weight just in fuel. I mean, wow! We'll see how much fuel I burn per flight but for me and the fact I've never owned something quite this big, that's just unreal for a model. As far as the thrust tube goes, that came separately as did the fuel tank from the jet, itself. The thrust tube is a master piece. Dual-walled at the back half of the tube and a carbon fiber bell mouth. Again, not a mark on it. The fuel tank is also very light and made out of fiberglass. It comes with the vent hole at the top and the fuel bung in the center of the side. It also has a very cool baffle in the middle of the tank to keep 1.3 gallons of fuel from sloshing around. All this to say, they've thought of everything and the quality of work is amazing throughout. I haven't weighed any components yet and, to be honest, probably won't until the aircraft is complete and ready for CG checks but every single component of this jet from CARF is ridiculously light for its size yet feels structurally strong.
Another component that must be purchased separately are the retracts. I've purchased the Electron ER50evo retracts with the GS-200 controller. I did buy them from CARF so that I know it is the set that they "expect" for the assembly. These are not cheap but are, by far, the best on the market. They also arrived separately but, again, are perfect and Electron has definitely built a good product. I know, I'm preaching to the choir here but dang.
I'll list my components here and will update this post (hoping this becomes a popular thread) at the bottom with all of my settings once we get this thing completed. I'm expecting this plane to come in around 19 kilograms (42 pounds) prior to fuel based on what I've seen from a few others and on YouTube so better news is this airplane should be able to compete/fly without an LMA waiver from the AMA. I bought this plane to compete in F3S Jet Aerobatics and....I like big airplanes. While the Rebel Pro isn't all that much smaller, the light wing loading on the MAX makes for some amazing slow flight characteristics and bigger just simply looks more amazing. It "looks" like it's flying so much slower if for no other reason than the size of it. Sort of like a 747 on approach to land. It looks like it's about to stall but, in reality, is still moving right along at 160-180 kts. I can't wait to finish this thing. I have all the components now so the only thing it's going to take is time which, unfortunately, I don't have a lot of but I vow to keep this thread up to date as I go.
Here are my components:
- CARF Rebel MAX - Infinity Scheme
- Electron ER50evo Retracts from CARF w/ GS-200 controller
- Kingtech K235G4+ Turbine (CARF says this plane will fly on a 210-260. I spoke with a friend that flew this on a 260 and he thought is was too much power, at least for F3S. This bird is not meant to bore holes in the sky but perform aerobatics within a competition-sized flight box)
- PowerBox Mercury SRS Unit with iGyro and GPS sensor
- Futaba S9177SV servos QTY: 8 (2 Aileron, 2 Elevator, 2 Flap, 1 Rudder, 1 NG Steering)
- Futaba 7108RX QTY 2 for redundancy
- Futaba 32MZ Transmitter
- CARF OEM Thrust tube
- CARF OEM 5L Fuel Tank
- DigiTech 250ml UAT
I'll take some more pictures this evening and update this post in the morning. Again, this is more about the assembly process and a place to put all of my experience so others can learn or criticize. I'm sure I'll learn some things from y'all through this process. I just ask that we treat each other with respect.
My wife is 5'2" and this thing is two of my wife! The fuselage does come apart in 3 sections. The rear section is just in front of the vertical stab and actually houses the thrust tube independently. It makes it very easy for this plane to come apart. This section is approx. 3'. The main part of the fuse is 7' long and the top canopy takes up the whole thing which makes the inside very accessible. This is true on all of the Rebel sizes. The nose cone is approx. 12" long.
This is my buddy, John's, Rebel Max. I was going to buy the Pro until I saw his. It's all his fault!
My wife is going to kill me for posting this but maybe she won't find this thread.