If you can fly, summing it up in two words - buy it!

Here's a flight test review I wrote up on my own experience of Seagull's PC-9 flight envelope shortly after assembling and test flying it. Intended to post it for on RCU for general consumption but never did. You might find it useful.

Seagull's PC-9

Don't own & haven't flown the VMAR, so can't offer a version comparison. Do own, do fly the Seagull. Here is a precis of it starting with the important bit - from the 'driver's' seat.

Start-up - With the supplied fuel tank and conventional 2 stroke .46 class engine installed as suggested, the tank height will be too high and the engine will flood. Best flipped over and started upright. Have an electric starter handy to eliminate excessive swearing!

Ground Handling - Nothing remarkable here.

Take-off - Also unremarkable. Perhaps worthy of mention she's best flown off pattern style without excessive control deflection or 3D antics, at least until after she's accelerated to speed.

Straight and level flight - Neutral stability perhaps sums her up. Clean and with sufficient weight and wing loading for good penetration, once trimmed she'll hold heading without undue upset. Flying at ¾ to full throttle, ailerons are the most notably responsive control surface with little throw being required to effect a rapid roll rate. Elevator is effective, though rudder less so. Definitely follow the manufacturer's recommendation and set these around ½ rates for your initial test flights, except perhaps for your rudder (for ground handling and low speed authority) if it’s a windy day.

General Manoeuvre - At 2.8kg wet (just under 6¼lb), wing loading shows, but it still turns nicely. Rolls are crisp, axial, clean and rapid with the recommended aileron deflection. Rudder works, but is otherwise unimpressive. Expo was made with this model in mind. Dial it in to optimise the versatile flight envelope of this model.

Aerobatics - Installed power plant used for this report was a very low time O.S. MAX 46SF ABC turning a 10x7 APC burning 20% Coolpower and 10% nitro. Provided it is not restricted by either the standard silencer baffle cone or a generic silicon exhaust deflector, a .46 of this class will certainly fly it around quickly enough, but it would benefit from a stronger engine for aerobatic sequences involving sustained vertical manoeuvre. An OS 50SX, Enya CX50 or Magnum 52 Bluehead is highly recommended.

Low speed flight - Exceptionally stable for type. Mushes in power off and approach configuration stalls. No wing dropping tendency. Ailerons and elevator become remarkably unresponsive at this end of the flight envelope when compared with their authority in high speed flight.

Approach and Landing - Even with the 'Dunlops' perpetually dangling, a very clean airframe. If you approach fast, have lots of runway to float over or you've committed yourself to a missed approach if you're wise. This bird takes time to decelerate to approach speed, and will eat up airspace in shallow descent or slowing up in ground effect. So slow her up early. Once you're on, as usual, deceleration is rapid and rudder/nosewheel steering control effective.

That's pretty much it for the flying part. Test bed weighed 2.6kg dry with O.S. MAX .46SF ABC fitted with supplied 873 silencer.

Summary. Would I buy one again? An unequivocal yes. Seagull's PC-9 is the sort of model everyone will want in their hanger inventory. A hoot to fly, yet docile enough that anyone capable of taking off and landing a trainer can manage with a little forethought. And to boot, aesthetically it simply looks magnificent in the air and tops it off by being an absolute value for money bargain.

There's also a very long but good thread discussing this model here. Definitely worth the read.

http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_44.../tm.htm#445268