bob40

Has anyone had any experience with the diablo.. Thinking about getting one for my first jet..

cacciato25

Had mine out for the first time tonight. It took a few adjustments to the CG and Throws, but by the second launch it proved to be a very stable and surprisingly slow platform. Looking forward to swapping the wings and power system when available. For 200 bones, hard to go wrong for a jet trainer. Good luck!

bob40

thanks for the info.thats what i thouhgt to as far as the price..

paul daniel

I had my Diablo out today and it was tail heavy. When I could get the nose down, it was a slow plane. I have the stock set up and the battery all the way to the front. Any suggestions on how to get it ballanced? Adding weight would not be good since it seems like it's going to be a slug in the air. I do have the shorter wings and twin pod. Anybody flown with that?

Paul

bob40

have you had it out again?i just got mine and was hoping to hear more about them..

cacciato25

Hey guys,
I can attest to the fact that the plane is definitely tail heavy. I had the battery all the way forward as well and the weight was still to the rear. I had to rely on the trim quite a bit to level it out the first time. We have too much snow right now to fly it, belly land it, and get a pound of snow sucked through the fans. I did put on the dual pod, cut the dihedral out of the wings, and added a wee bit of weight to the nose by the way of lead split shot. I'm hoping to get it out here soon as we have an ice rink cleared off that it should be able to land on. I still have hopes of the some good flights out of it and will report back to all as soon as I get another flight out of it.

pcpadgett

Had to add some lead weight in order to get the plane to balance at the recomended point. I have 4 flights with the Diablo in 5mph wind. Very stable and slightly faster then my Super Cub. The radio glitched a couple of times while in the air. It lands very fast. It recovers pretty quickly from stalls. I have ordered the dual pod, but will wait to get some more flight time.
The plane could use some type of landing gear. It eats grass and dirt in the intake of the pd

cacciato25

Big time! That's what's hindering me flying it here in the frozen wasteland. More snow coming so I must continue to wait.

pcpadgett

Have you found a big speed difference with the dual pod? I had to add alot more than a few lead shot pellets to get it to balance. Every other RTF, I just threw it in the air and a little trim. The Diablo seems to be very tail heavy from the factory. Mine seems to fly nice and flat at half throttle. I think they could have used a little stronger magnets for the wings, but my first landing ate dirt and popped the nose off and the wings stayed.

paul daniel

I spoke to a rep at Great Planes about the CG issue and they said some of the early Diablos got too much paint making then tail heavy. I put 1/2 oz in the nose and it ballanced but have not had a chance to fly it again. When I put the twin pod on with the short wings, I had to add another 1/4 oz to the nose. I have not flown it that way yet but it seems to kick out a whole lot more thrust. I also noticed the same about the intake. The first time I flew it, I got snow in the fan unit. Make sure you chop the throttle before it sets down.
Paul

pcpadgett

I had to add exactly the same amount of weight (1/2 oz). My dual pod should be here in a few days. I like the plane. It drew a crowd at the local field and a alot of questions.

diablo2new

Ijust bought this plane wanted j3 cub 4channel but was out so I got this diablo.HMM they say people been liking this plane so what the heck ,let try it. well assembley kind of shady and alingment of the wings pour.And magnets pour, well hope can fly and experince the performace basic setup for now let see if i have same fly problems..

pcpadgett

Don't forget to balance the plane. It lands very fast for a trainer????(Power Off) It is difficult to determine orientation if you have clould coverage. The gray blends in perfectly. I am planing to install the dual pod today. It could use a power boost. It flys nice, flat and slow, if balanced correctly.

lowwinds

Well i flew this junk once and put it away in the basement. It is the worst plane in my hangar . I dont care if i ever fly it again .Built like junk almost looked like a school class project very poor quality in my opinion and i have 8 planes in all. This one is at the bottom of that list.

pcpadgett

I agree. The tips of the elevator and rudder are very thin and easily breakable. Not worth the $200(maybe $150), but is an eyecatcher flying. Just don't let them see the build quality up close. I have 8 flights on mine. Radio still glitches. On the last landing the EDF started by itself as I was picking up the plane. No I did not bump the Throttle stick, the transmitter was 10 feet away.

diablo2new

My plane also glitches when at low and mid throttle seems there is defective reciever or transmitter.. wounder if i could return this to hobby shop or back to flyzone not worth 200 bucks that i work hard for.. did not even fly this yet .does anyone have video of flying theres?

diablo2new

Just called flyzone they told me to ship it back to be serviced . they said I'm the first call on this poor plane issue told him look online ..
Iwant diffrent plane I told him ,he said I could . Well see if that happens ? send proof of purchase to them along with plane better pack this good with insurance they could get ungly you know what I mean....wonder what plane to get .mabe the j3 cub hmm? It will take week at least to get looked at.. will keep informed.....wish me luck..

pcpadgett

I called this AM and was told to send the transmitter and reciever back. I found the negative plug to the EDF very loose. I will try that first before sending off the equipment.

cacciato25

Finally go the plane out with the dual pod and smaller wings. Flew smooth and level but had a very hard time gaining altitude. Nosing down to increase speed didn't work. Dropping power though did. Granted slowly, but it finally gained altitude with about 80% power. Am I nuts here or is that somewhat backwards? Looking at two different issues now. First: Could the CG be moved back to give more rise? Second: Are the thrust deflectors affecting the plane more than necessary?

Aside from these, I haven't had the problems everyone else seems to be having. I'm not so sure I would suggest anyone up the ante by purchasing the dual pod as it hasn't seemed to make any differance other than weighing the plane down. I did replace the stock reciever with an extra Spektrum I have so I'm not sure about the glitches. The plane is anything but but fast which right now I'm a fan of. Once I feel comfortable enough I'll jump to something with speed such as the Twister perhaps.

pcpadgett

I talked to customer service. They want me to send the transmitter and receiver back because of the radio glitching. I went ahead installed an old JR Sport S400 receiver and transmitter in and left the stock servos in. Solved the radio glitching. It seems to fly faster than ever. Responds great to elevator and rudder control now. In does take time to gain airspeed, but I believe that is typical of an EDF I am still flying with the single pod. I am glad I fly on a grass field, the pod is taking a beating. I am still adjusting to the quick landing speed and I am an X Navy Jet Pilot (S3 Vikings)???? This plane is a keeper with the JR Sport radio.

Here is a link to see a my first flight of the Diablo with everthing stock.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pjzKghtJw-o

cloud-base

I just took my Diablo out today for the first time. Had the same cg issues - too far back. Plane does seem to float on full throttle instead of fly. This also makes me wonder about the deflector. However, I'll have to fly more to decide. We noticed radio issues when testing. Moved the receiver back and it was better. The engine cut out momentarily several times when flying though. Now, cg I can mess with, but transmitter/receiver issues I don't like. I'll put in my call to Hobbico tomorrow too.

It is a nice looking plane. The upgrades are what sold me (I have them, but as a beginner I am reluctant to try them out yet). That dirt scoop on the bottom of the plane is something else!!

cloud-base

Yep. Radio system is on its way to Hobbico. I am sure more will be posted here when results are known.

pcpadgett

This is my third RTF and the first time I have had a radio problem. I flew again today using my on radio (JR Sport) and the plane is fine.(The ESC even is more responsive) I have a feeling the stock radio is problematic and Hobbico is going to see many more returns. It look like a no fly situation for the next 3 days. We had a cold front move through and the winds are 18 to 20 mph.

diablo2new

Yep return mine yesterday darn forgot my bill of sale,So they said couldn't do nothing for me so I have to go back today with bill of sale. I think I'm going to go with the typhoon 2d 3d plane by parkzone newer model of typhoon. has better looking reciever but cheaper looking radio..it sells for229 here and other shop 210.00 http://www.parkzone.com/Products/Def...ProdID=PKZ4300 check it out has 2 flying stages . well will see wish me luck on my next plane . will keep in formed.

dkme

I'm in the same boat as cloud-base. I've experienced a lot of servo chatter from no more than 30 feet, and both attempted flights ended because my EDF cut out after about 4 seconds. It's a toss up if I can even get the EDF armed just in ground testing. I'll be sending back my radio gear and ESC to Hobbico to have it checked out.