I managed to get the Twist out to the field today. Wind speed averaged about 14mph with gusts to 20. The temperature started out at 87 and climbed to 99. I got there at 8:30AM and lasted ‘till 11:45.

I had the high rates set at maximum travel (which is greater than the manuals high rate recommendation), all with 70% exponential. I had the elevator and aileron low rate at 40% travel with 30% expo, and the rudder low rate at 75% travel and 55% expo. These settings usually give me the same feel for half stick or better. I set the CG at 6&1/4in which is slightly back of the middle of the recommended range.

I tuned the engine (Saito 100) to run at 9000rpm (rich) as it’s still pretty new. Take off was quick and it can climb out vertically basically forever. It’s no rocket though. I checked the trim and no adjustment was necessary. I put it on its back and it’ll climb at 30 degrees with no elevator so I felt the CG was good to go.

The low rates I used made for a pretty docile flyer. Rolls are slow and take a little rudder and elevator to keep level. The low rate elevator will produce a pretty tight loop.

I did some knife edges on each flight and had mixed results, I expect because of the wind. Each time it pitch coupled to the canopy and my guess is that it’ll take about a 6% mix to counteract it. There was some roll coupling but it wasn’t consistent so I’ll try again on a better wind day and with some flat turns. It will pull itself up to a climb or hover from a KE but I doubt that it’ll ever do a KE loop.

It hovers quite easily and torque rolls nicely too. The elevator on maximum travel was actually a bit much; I programmed a mid rate for it at 80% and found that was better for hovering. My personal preference is for a stronger rudder but it is at least effective for the most part. It’s easy to rotate the plane and get it to where the elevator can be used so it’s not that much of a bother. Maximum aileron travel is perfect for hovering; they’re very positive and induce virtually no coupling. By the third flight, I was starting to tail slide it some. Climb out is acceptable, about the same as my UCD 40 with a Saito 82. I’m hoping for more when the engine is fully broken in and tuned accordingly.

The plane walls easily with either the mid or high elevator rate, but it does like the high rate better. It’ll even over rotate a bit if you want on the high rate. There was no elevator induced snap tendency even on high rate. It also does a nice flat spin. The fat, narrow wing really holds it in the air. Finding the sweet spot took me some time but it is there. On the other hand, waterfalls absolutely suck, at least they did for me. It was rolling all over the place and they were very loose. I think I’ll need to set up a progressive mix to the flaperons to help it.

Landings are about as gentle as can be. It took just a tiny bit of down elevator to keep it on the glide path. Some people may prefer a more forward CG because of this. That’s about all I had time to try. The heat and humidity here turns me into jello after a while.

In general, it flies a bit heavier than what it weighs I expect because of its small dimensions. For those who like IMAC style flying, this plane should be great. I think it’ll be a fun plane but to be honest, I don’t expect it to be my favorite. Time will tell though, they all seem to grow on me.