bigbuster

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Hello guys, I am very interested Ina couple of larger edf jets the Taft jets viper, taft jets cobra and the HSD super viper.
do any of you have experience with these? If so could you answer a few questions for me please. Can they be flown off grass? With the stock power how is the verticle? I have had a couple smaller edf jets and would like to move up in size.


Thanks

airboss/oc

all of the above edf's are low quality but look nice, if you want a great 1st edf get the Freewing Stinger 90 from www.motionrc.com its not the most stunning to look at but it flies perfect and has quality electronics.

bigbuster

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What about the landing gear? Will it handle grass?

bigbuster

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After I watched the videos they answered my question. When comparing all the models strictly by looking at the youtube videos
they are all pretty evenly matched all have digi servos,same lg, epo foam, no name fan, motor and esc. All chinese made.
the super viper looks pretty slow but the others seem rather fast. I like the Stinger, but it is as you said "very ugly".

What is it that makes the stinger better? It's smaller, and the tail looks unfinished, but it seems tob fast and a great flyer. It is a bit less expensive. The size of the others played a very big part and speed is important in any jet I think.

i have some some work to do. Air boss thanks a lot and I really appreciate your comments.



jeff

airboss/oc

sounds like you have all the right info. with a bit of paint the stinger gains looks. FYI I had ordered some spare goodies for the stinger and total cost was $14 . one set of control horns with balls attached and one set of pushrods with clevis and ball link . what a deal

Quorneng

bigbuster
Just be careful trying to compare flying speed from videos. A lot depends on the camera, the size of the plane and how the shot is composed. Low cloud can make a plane look like it is travelling much faster than when set against a cloud base of say 5000'.

The other aspect is a video cannot tell you what it is like to fly as you don't really know what the weather conditions are like at the time or the skill level of the pilot.

bigbuster

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Quorneng, you are very right but that is all I have at the moment. I like the size of these, but wonder about the longevity o the foam airframe. Love that they can all fly off grass I have access to both but grass everyday and asphalt on Sundays. Upgrading for speed means all electronics must go except the retracts. Still pondering.

Quorneng

Bigbuster
If (economical) speed is really what you are after do away with the U/C altogether and belly land. All weight needs lift and all lift creates drag. For any given airframe and power the less it weighs the less the drag and the faster it goes.
I fly from rough grass so all my EDFs have to hand launch/belly land.

airboss/oc

Belly landing makes for fast planes but take-off is an issue. build a tug aircraft and strap the jet to the belly

Extreme_RC

Nothing wrong with the TAFT Viperjet, its a well built model for a foamie, and the stock servos and retracts will work fine on grass with some simple mods to strengthen the mounting areas and brace certain spots.
Don't buy it with fan/motor/esc, waste of money, buy it as airframe with servos and retracts then pick out a decent fan that will give it the performance it deserves. Take a look at my VIPER PAGE for some info on both 6s and 8s custom setups. The 8s is the pick of the bunch as far as speed goes, listen to the sound wave as it goes past the camera, clouds and low sky dun matter, its the sound wave that tells you the speed.

There is a thread HERE in the Extreme forum with the mods listed, flew mine again yesterday testing another fan setup, fast but smooth landing on bumpy grass and the new retract bracing worked perfectly.

Here is video of our 8 cell setup running Jetfan90 & HET Combo:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h8wMvoqVqBI

bigbuster

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That video is awesome.let me tell you guys about my situation. I am 52 yo and work for the U.S Army and
Airforce exchange service or the Px. I move quite a bit and in March of this year I moved to hawaii from
a little island called Kwajalein of the Marshall Islands. When I went to the Marshall's I put all my stuff in
storage near Ft.Campbell. So when I got here the plan was to send it all here and chug right along, but
the houses are mostly rather small and anything with any size costs a fortune. I was prepared to pay
but I have a wife who kept whispering in my ear that we only want to work 3 more years.
So I left my house of 3400sqft and have about 1500 here and everything is still in storage. I just
wanted something easy to build and reliable. With this electric stuff I don,t have to buy a lot of the same things I have in storage.
i nor mammy fly aerobatics and over the past few years I have purchased several models and all the equipment... Useless
without support equipment..

Edf jets have interested me for a while and I have owned a few smaller ones, but these old eyes appreciate the size of the larger models.

To shorten this story I have been researching these for a while and actually ordered the HSD super viper
it is large and I like speed because I think it belongs to jets. I have the 8s batteries for it and am eagerly awaiting it,s arrival. I really thank you all for your input and look forward to any that you have on the sviper. I will post here when I get it and once it has flown.



thanks
jeff

Extreme_RC

You may be disappointed with that model, most of these large foamies are slow, the stock viper is anemic, takes a decent quality fan setup to get them to perform. I tell my customers buy airframes, don't pay for junk fans and motors, get a decent combo once you have the model itself.

airboss/oc

Jeff, you will truly enjoy the EDF planes and power systems.. Keep away from the real cheap foam planes as they do tend to end up in a dumpster eventually . the FW Stinger 90 is the best flying and has the best retracts and servos
on any foam jet today. First thing you will notice is they are fun and you always want to go faster , the SV wont without huge mods, the stinger does and will with minor mods. don't buy any EDF,s with "cheater holes or vents" in the airframe as these tend to limit speed. good clean intakes on clean airframes with 6S or higher cell count makes decent speed. I have been flying recreational rc for over 40yrs and this is what I managed to learn about edf,s over the past 2 years. now my newest project is the JTM xXx jet with a Schubeler 120 DS94HST then after its built I,m goig to build another with a BVM EVF3 both will be 12S6600-12S7000 lipo. Bigger flies better !!!! don't forget that basic rule as long as you have an appropriate field and seek help from the locals.

Extreme_RC

Not exactly, ducted fans are just air pumps, and if they cannot get air in the cannot pump it out the back. There are many models out there that have intakes too small for the flow needed for the fan, and cheater holes are the only way to get them to perform. Many will argue that once in the air the undersize "clean" inlet/s will be ok, but not in my experience. Covering cheaters has resulted in large performance dropoff in most models with undersize intakes.

CastorTroy2150

My Feedback: (10)

Ever consider a Habu 180 UMX? Cheap, parts are cheap, and will give you the basic mechanics behind an EDF. It will let you practice and get used to having to keep speed up etc, also, very docile when on low rates. Just an idea. GOOD LUCK!