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Old 05-14-2004 | 02:56 PM
  #201  
barryb-RCU
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Joined: Jan 2002
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From: Austin, TX
Default RE: Its Here!! Double Vision

Yes. Most of us are out flying. Mine's a blast to fly, I just wish it wasn't such a pig. 15.8 lb (15 lb 13 oz) with no wheel pants, no belly pan, no
canopy, CF spinner, 0.9 oz mini servos, 6 oz removed in motor mounting hardware, firewall, and wing mounting hardware.

Before you guys jump all over me about the weight, I'll tell you why I wish it were lighter :

o It takes a lot more wind to do "flying backwards" harrier rolls, stationary knife edges, etc.

o When it stops flying, it takes a long time to recover. This is mostly a problem doing high alpha rolls low down then getting a head or tail
wind velocity change. Unlike some of my ships, I maintain 20' of altitude for these maneuvers if the wind is at all gusty.

o Everyone who watches me fly it tells me "man that thing sure looks like it flies great, but why won't it go slow?"

A lot of people will probably say that this plane flies lighter than anything they've ever owned. It probably does. It flies almost as light
as a 28 lb 33% Edge 540T. It flies as light as a 10 lb 72" cap. These planes are a long way ahead of most.
However, it's far enough behind a 7.2 lb UCD 60, 5.3 lb flip, or a 23 lb 35% extra 260 that both I and the peanut gallery can discern it immediately.

This plane is, in some respects, the best flying plane I've ever flown.
o Upright harriers and elevators are incredible
o Torque rolls lock in and require very little correction even when descending
o Spins are extremely precise.
o it flies like in the video"
o walls, parachutes, waterfalls, etc are easy, never drop a wing, and need almost no rudder correction to maintain heading
o Very well built. High quality construction. High quality hardware. Beautiful aircraft.

On the negative side
o it flies heavy to me
o it has too much roll and pitch coupling to elevator and the coupling doesn't mix out nicely -- it changes too much based on airspeed and AOA.
o rolling circles are a lot of work due to the above
o I can't get it to flat spin well yet
o The manual was on a CD-rom, was called something like "test document.doc", and I had to print it myself
o The aileron servos need to be horizontal mount instead of vertical. With the supplied horns you can't get much
aileron throw with vertical mounting. Fuel tank installation isn't shown and isn't straightforward. You have
to cut stuff off the engine to get it to fit and the cabane mount support in the firewall is in the way. The engine
(DA-50) doesn't fit in the cowl.