Hellcat716

My Feedback: (2)

I installed my esc under the battery tray. Have had no issues flying here in the Las vegas heat. I am using the castle creations 100 ice light esc.

Greg Covey

Thanks for the feedback. It is good to know that it can handle the Vegas heat.

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The stock cockpit plastic must be cut to shape if you intend to use it. Once cut, it fits quite well inside the canopy. The ParkZone (PKZ4414) pilot can used, if desired, but needs to be cut lower to allow sufficient headroom. You can even dress it up to match the Habu 32 colors with a little paint.

I found another inexpensive option from Hobby King. The F-86 pilot and cockpit can be re-sized to fit in the Habu 32 canopy with a few cuts from a Dremel tool. Unfortunately, the large 6s 5AH battery in the Habu does not allow for anything to fit below the canopy. My solution was to make two cockpits since the spare parts are inexpensive. My "flying" cockpit is simply lined with black felt. It looks nice and is very light.

Greg Covey

My finished Habu 32 is decked out with its display canopy. With the black flying canopy installed, last photo, it weighs 85oz without battery. With the 30oz E-flite 6s 5AH pack installed, the Habu is ready to fly at 115oz (or 7.2lbs). All the control throws are initially set to the manual recommendations, including the elevator offset for both flap settings.

E-flite reports the power system providing 1400 watts at 62 amps. This will provide 194 watts/lb on a very efficient design. It should be a fun test flight this weekend!

icicles

Good luck, all the best for the maiden

Chris

FSki

Re cooling, I've not seen a Habu 32 in the flesh, but I have a TopGun Viper and in that the inlet ducts that feed the fan have a small gap around the impeller open to the fuselage and that can draw air in to provide cooling, maybe the Habu has something similar.

Greg Covey

Thanks, guys.

The maiden flights of my Habu 32 went very well even though the grass was bumpy and we had a crosswind. The field is a full scale grass airport which made for some bumpy take-offs. That being said, the Habu 32 didn't look any different on take-off than a larger turbine BVM Mig 15 flown earlier. Pilot, Scott Miller, took the Habu 32 through the paces by checking the flaps, stall, and aerobatic capability. The Habu 32 is a clean and efficient design which performed very well. We had no issues with the stock gear mains on the grass field and the electric retracts worked flawlessly.

My Habu 32 CG was around the 115mm mark and Scott commented that it was a bit pitch sensitive but not bad. We added a 2.5 second delay in the servo speed for both the flaps and elevator offset. On the second flight, we reduced the elevator down trim when flaps were enabled as the Habu 32 wanted to slightly descend on the first flight.

It's time to mount the wheel pants and test it on pavement!

[link=http://www.gregcovey.com/reviews/Habu32onGrass.wmv]Habu 32 Maiden Flights on Grass Video[/link] (26meg)

I'll post some photos soon...

Greg Covey

Here are some photos from the first flights on grass.

photos by "Papa Jeff" Ring

vasek

My Feedback: (4)

Very nice! Could you pls post a link to the HK cockpit/ pilot?

thanks,
v.

Greg Covey

Thanks...here are the links. The pilot is made for the cockpit but sold separately. It can be modified further to fit as a flying cockpit in the Habu 32 but you loose the depth in the cockpit.

[link=http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/uh_viewItem.asp?idProduct=15225]UltraDetail Scale F86 Pilot[/link]

[link=http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/uh_viewItem.asp?idProduct=15233]UltraDetail Scale F-86C Cockpit[/link]

Greg Covey

As a comparison to the original ParkZone Habu, here is a video showing its versatility to fly off the same bumpy grass. Both designs are very impressive!

[link=http://www.gregcovey.com/reviews/PZHabuOnGrass.wmv]ParkZone Habu on Grass Video[/link] (8meg)

photos by "Papa Jeff" Ring

vasek

My Feedback: (4)

Hi Greg, can I ask you a comparison question between the foam Habu & Habu 32?

I'm interested in the flight characteristics.

I have the foam Habu and am working on a "full" size EDF jet (BVM). My question is should I invest in the H 32 before flying the BVM? Or is the foam H flying experience similar to the H32?

Thanks,
V.

Greg Covey

Both the PZ Habu and EF Habu 32 are stable flying sport jets. They fly great in stock form but can also be upgraded in many areas. However, the PZ Habu is more like a quick parkflyer and has much lighter wing loading than the Habu 32. The Habu 32 is much faster and probably a good middle ground on the way to a BVM jet. Along with a higher wing loading, it gives you retract and flap experience.

I don't tell anyone what they should or should not invest in. I simply try to make a good report on a product through text, photos, and video. The idea is that people can see everything for themselves and make their own decisions. Some folks don't like the "manual" approach but it offers the closest thing to an unbiased look at a product beyond what the manufacturer reveals.

BVM Jets come in various sizes and wingloadings. You didn't mention what model your jet was, but as an example, an Electra is much easier to land than a scale T-33. Hopefully, this will help you decide what path to choose.

Good luck!

quist

My Feedback: (198)

Have you tried Knife edge flight yet? I put the first two flights on mine this morning before work. It flew great but it would not hold KE. I have the JR 368 servo and max throw. I am going to move the cg back on the next flight.

The little habu will KE fine.

Greg Covey

Hi,

We're scheduled to fly it off pavement on Saturday so we'll check the knife edge capability. I may also try moving the CG from 115mm to 110mm to see what effect is has on the tail sensitivity.

I added the wheel pants this week so I'll post some photos of that soon. Has anyone used the stock wheel pants? I was wondering if there are any issues with air getting under them during flight.

Greg Covey

I installed the optional main landing gear doors using the procedure described in the manual. The supplied gear door blocks are sanded on one side to curve the doors around the main wire struts and on the other side to help center the gear while it is retracting.

I painted the gear door blocks grey to cover the wood color and help them blend into the model scheme.

Greg Covey

I didn't get to fly the Habu 32 last weekend so we'll try again this Friday off pavement.

boomerman

i am buying a second hand habu 32 edf. can anyone hazard a gues to the take off roll distance from grass??

Greg Covey

Check out my video in post #31...no guesswork needed.

We had more success today flying the Habu 32 off pavement. Pilot, Scott Miller, also brought his just finished model so we maidened that as well. The flights were 6 minutes long which left a good safety margin of 15%-20% in the pack. We were able to knife edge the Habu 32 ok and it seemed to handle take-offs on pavement nicely. When landing, without breaks, the long paved runway at the full-scale Pine Hill Airport was a nice benefit!

I'll post a video this weekend...

photos by "Papa Jeff" Ring

Greg Covey

A few more photos...

Note that Scott modified his cockpit to include the HK F-86 pilot and a few portions of the F-86 cockpit. While it is not as detailed as my ground cockpit, it sure looks great when flying!

Greg Covey

The Habu 32 performed very well on pavement. Without brakes, it rolls quite a bit until you have some practice slowing it up with the flaps on and gear down. When you have enough speed for a knife edge, it seems to hold well but uses up the field quite fast.

The E-flite electric retracts worked very well and I was impressed with how the gear handled both grass and paved surfaces. If you have enough experience with flaps, retracts, and flying fast planes, the E-flite Habu is an exciting and versatile sport jet model!

[link=http://www.gregcovey.com/reviews/Habu32onPavement.wmv]Habu 32 on Pavement Video[/link] (20meg)

Ted62

My Feedback: (2)

Grass take-offs at our field take about 200 feet - here's a video of an example. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5IzumUvA0a4

I have about 80 flights on the aircraft at this time - I did install Tam's gear struts since the wire gear began to bend with each landing - they make a world of difference on both landing and takeoffs.

Greg Covey

Ted,

Thanks for the report!

Now that my review is written and behind me, those Tamjet struts are on my radar as well. Horizon doesn't like other vendors mentioned in the reviews so we needed to test it as it is sold.

I haven't had any issues with my wire mains but I only have 6 flights on mine. I wonder how many people mistakenly used the wire struts that came with the electric retracts?

InboundLZ

My Feedback: (10)

Greg, thanks for your review work on the Habu. It takes a ton of time and work just to get a few paragraphs....been there done that. Thanks!

Nowthen, I have a Habu and I have to say that it is one fine model, I can see a lot of the Bandit ARF in this model....the only thing I have issue with is my Habu looks like yours and eveyone elses for that matter!

I have been deciding for a week on weather or not to completely strip mine and redo the color scheme. I am leaning hard towards the Diamondback scheme of F-18 fame. Has anyone done a makover of this little jet? I sure would love to hear about the process and see pictures if any are out there...

Greg Covey

Hi Dave,

Yes, you always see a "Sea of ARFs" when there is a good design. I remember how many ParkZone Habus I used to see at events last year. Since the Habu 32 is much more expensive, it should be a smaller sea.

I have only seen PZ Habu makeovers so far but I'll keep an eye out. It was easier to use a can of spray paint on a foamie. The Habu 32 may need a good air brush to get the finish right.

Good luck!