RE: estes micro plane {with lipo}
This plane is a bit odd. It doesn't seem to have a name, and the only place I've seen it available is at Wal-mart, rarely. and Tower Hobbies for 14$ more. It's not even listed on Estes website. I guess they don't update it often. The closest I come to finding on the internet otherwise is using 'estes' with 'micro'. and on the reciept it's just called 'micro r/c'
Anyways, here's my rundown...in comparison to that of the Air Hogs "Acro-Jet" (T tail, high wing, canards, dual pusher motors)
First off there's the price. $20 for the Estes and $30 for the Acro-Jet.
I was impressed with the packaging and thorough instructions of the Estes model, and the fact that there's a way to get parts. It also came with extra props. Something the Acro-Jet didn't come with nor is there a means to get parts. I cracked a prop on it, and cannot find a replacement without buying a whole new kit or going to aeroacemods.com for their 2 motor w/ prop combo. So I'm rather pissed off with that. However, the props on the Estes don't seem quite as beefy as the ones on the Acro-Jet, so I'll probably be replacing them quickly anyway.
Second thing I noticed is the AJ is lighter than the Estes, despite having thicker foam.
That brings me to it's durability. The AJ is extremely durable. The worst I've had happen to it is the front canard snapped on one side and the nose got split open. Understandable considering the amount of times it took beforehand. Nothing a little foam ca doesn't fix. The main wings and the tail have absolutely no damage to them at all (except very slight wrinkles on the edge) despite how hard I've smacked it into things. Other than that, I have a busted prop of course...but after several days of flying it and wrecking it.
The Estes model however is extremely fragile!! I tried flying it and hit my car. Normally this would be just a simple bounce with the AJ, but on the Estes there's this plastic underneath the nose that is supposed to be there to 'shield' the foam I guess. It might as well have been eggshell, because it's shattered on the front. Not a simple crack, but shattered. Very brittle. along with the paint on the nose flaking off. The paint is terrible. I tried applying decals and accidentally stuck one on the tail, pulled it off and the paint came with it instantly. Not too much unlike the AJ, as the paint seems a bit rubbery and sticks to decals/tape as well, but doesn't flake off, it stretches.
I fly it again and i land a little quick in the ground. Snapped the wingtip. Kept flying it and it glanced off the side of the house and hit the ground a couple feet below. Now the tail stab is snapped in half. Wow this foam SUCKS!!!!!
I do not really know how well it flies because each time I flew it, I crashed quickly and was pissed off to find a huge crack...plus it was a little windy.
So I fixed it with foam CA and foam ca kicker, seems to work pretty well. I just can imagine that this will have all kinds of spidering lines of CA all over the place, making it look like an old granny and sure to create a lot of drag.
The flight control on the Estes is strange. No continuous turning signal. It gives 3 bursts and stops..requiring some jiggling to reset the sequence repeatedly. yet it gives turning without having the throttle on. Acro jet needs throttle to steer, but allows for continuous steering. Whatever. Acro jet has a bit more of a 'loft' to it, causing it to rollercoaster with stalling, yet easy to launch. Estes seems to need a lot of power on launch and faster flying, yet it probably peirces the wind better and flies straighter without the stalling bit. The throttle steps on the estes are only 2, fast and slow. I think there was 3 or 4 maybe on the Acro.
Bottom line is if the Estes was just as durable as the AJ and had less of the 'resetting' business on controls, it would win hands down.
The AJ has no replacement parts whatsoever unless you feel like buying the whole thing again. Not a big deal for some, but not something I care for.
So far, I have had more fun with the AJ than the Estes. Fun with the AJ has ceased since I don't want to buy it over again. Fun with the Estes remains to be seen (but probably will be)...I just have to be careful and deal with repairing it constantly. It's a pretty equal tradeoff I suppose.