phillips

Both times mine did it I had to replace BOTH the receiver AND the crystal

Laddie-inactive

Is the AB made of styro? I can't believe the deal, if it's flightworthy. 3 channels? Wow.

In the ad, the prop looks like it folds - does it?

Laddie-inactive

Is the AB made of Styro? Seems like one heck of a deal for $89 (assuming it's flightworthy). 3 channels - Wow.

Also, in the ad it looks like the prop folds. Does it?

Gklugie

My Feedback: (1)

Yeah It flies fine. ..... Only discomfort is mode 1 transmitter ( rudder right side, elevator left side, throttle is a slide bar on back of TX). You can get them from Raidentech.com for 79 bucks plus 7 or 8 bucks shipping.

Body is a type of flex-plastic... plenty tough

wing is a type of foam

Prop folds

It comes with a spare prop too

Add'l wings are 7 bucks

Buy another battery pack or two, they are 10 bucks.

Make sure to square up surfaces while constructing, and "ease bend" control rods where they exit fuselage for clean, parallel movement.

phillips

The plane flies great and is plenty tough.I flew mine in twenty mph winds and i`ve only been flying for one month.

nachmad

I throw it! It will go with the force of the throw but it seems very nose heavy and won't gain altitude! I have put the slider on the remote all the way to the bottom to try that but to no avail. Any suggestions?

fredthedestroyer

start it with more power? stick the throttle on full and throw it firmly but not too fast to ensure you throw it straight and almost horizontal. try throwing facing down a hill so it can fall a little further ( mine always fell a bit before rising)

throw it with confidence, if you dont throw it firmly and confidently, it wont be able to accelerate to flying speed before it hits the ground

nachmad

THanks. Have tried throwing it from the top of a hill but it still goes nose down. I think that the receiver has slipped forward on the body so I am going to try and stick that back on and try again!

phillips

I had my elevator trim set too far up once and mine just flew around in a stall about five feet off the ground.It couldn`t gain speed enough to climb but it would not go down.

phillips

When you put that receiver back in place make sure you wrap it with electrical tape.If it ever snaps apart it will kill it.

fredthedestroyer

just got the new crystals so will try it when i get home, cheers guys! its been sitting on a shelf for months cos i didnt know what was wrong with it

)(New Flyer)(

I recently bought the Accipter Badius from ebay, and after recieving it I assembled the components and put the battery on charge. On the instruction it says to charge the battery for three hours or until warm. A little after an hour on charge I could mell a strange scent coming from the battery. I picked up the battery and burned myself (stupid I know). Then i noticed the plastic was melted and the batter pack was corroded and leaking- not wet though.

So now I dont know if it did this because it was allready charged right out of the box and needed no charge and just couldnt handle this extra juice, I just dont know. So if ANY of you can tell me what went wrong I would really aprecciate it.

Now I know I need a new battery but i dont know if I need a new charger. What caused this problem and what do I need to make it right??????????[&o]

Gizzmo0411

Yeah, I noticed that the battery got very hot rather quickly.
I think the 3 hour thing is a bit much, so I charged it in half hour intervals.
I don't think it needs much more than an hour to charge personally.

If anyone else has this plane and has some flight tips...or tips on how to make it perform better I'd love to hear it, I just got a new one myself.

)(New Flyer)(

I just took my Badius out- I wrapped the battery in electrical tape. The first flight went into the woods cause I forgot to put up the antenna. The other flights crashed and I got about 2 good landings. One wing was damaged and I wrapped it up in packing tape and surprisinly it still flew. Dont do loops unless your high in the air- belive me, I tried one at 20ft and burried the nose 2in. into the ground. Id say while turing to give it some altitude and keep it far from the ground until you get some expirience- and do not fly in the wind until you get some expeirience.

BUY LOTS OF REPLACEMENT MAIN WINGS - THEY GO EASY WHEN YOU CRASH AND BURN- THE PLANE HAS A TENDENCY TO LAND ON THE WINGS!!!!

phillips

If you put packing tape along the front and back edges of the wings they become a LOT stronger.

)(New Flyer)(

so not all over the wings just the edges?

rszanti

I just got my AB and sat down to absorb the instructions. Since I've built a few balsa/ply planes from scratch and put together a couple of foamies this should be easy. BUT first thing I ran into was a very stiff rudder and elevator hinge. Those things are molded in and there is no mention in the instructions about cutting and taping[&o]. And no criticism from any of the forum messages I've read. So I assume everyone just runs it like it is ?

Couldn't be too good for the servos and might limit the control throw. Anyone else think the hinges are too stiff ? Has anyone had to modify them to make them work properly ?

bmc1023

I purchased this plane kit with a 2.4GHz camera from Raidentech in California. Ordered it on a Monday, got it Friday.
They emailed me right away after I ordered it to let me know the 1.2GHz camera was out of stock. So I upgraded.
Camera works great! Although have not yet installed it on the plane. Still getting used to the plane's flight characteristics.

Flight Log: 3/15/2004 9:15 P.M. CST
Plane: Accipiter Badius 380 Electric (Modified from original 3 channel radio system-Mode I)
Radio System: 6 channel Futaba Skysport 6YF-FM (Mode II)
Weather Conditions: Light wind from NE
Location: Jack Benny Middle School baseball field (Four baseball diamonds)

Arrived at field around 5:30 P.M. Made final flight control system checks. Noted wind direction. Took a deep breath, applied full throttle and tossed into wind. Yes! We have lift-off! It is a bit gusty. Attempt to make circle around field. The wind is definitely affecting flight pattern. Hard to make complete circle. Not used to flying with wind conditions present. Trying to bring plane to a lower altitude and closer to its original take off area, plane seems to be struggling, flying more like a kite. Plane getting farther away as wind carrys it. Making one last attempt to drop altitude plane disappears over distant building's roof. Panic!
Oh no, not up on a roof. Running swiftly to distant building around the other side far enough away to see rooftop...No plane! Searching frantically for missing bird. Couldn't have gone far. After some time searching the grounds, a bystander asks if I am looking for a plane. Guess the transmitter in my hand must have tipped him off. He said "I saw it dip in that direction". Ok. Thank you! Thinking, how far could this thing have gone? When I saw it drop if figured it would be just on the other side of the building. After crossing a thankfully empty parking lot I made my way to the adjacent street. (Sunset AV) There it was, just next to the sidewalk! Surprisingly still in one piece, but the right wing was injured.
Nothing else damaged. Re-set plane and checked receiver and flight controls. All working. Flight lasted approximately 1-2 minutes before touch down.

Arrived home with bird in hand. Not too bad considering first solo flight beyond a simulator.
Checked over plane thoroughly. Removed main wing. All internal parts are intact and in place. Re-checked servo, prop, & motor operation. All good...except....ah ha....flight failure has been determined...motor stops after a brief moment. The battery pack was discharged. I had charged it until warm, but not the 3 hr max time limit. The spare battery was accidentally charged overnight...way too long for NiMH battery pack. Never got to use it however. The speed controller in this plane is designed to shut down the motor when insufficient power supply is present so as to reserve remaining power for flight controls. The battery pack had insufficient power and the motor had shut down! I was flying a glider moments after take-off. Which explains why it was difficult to return the plane to its starting point.

Lesson learned: Always make sure flight packs are fully charged. Perhaps dry run them before flight to estimate running time. I ran both battery packs down until ESC shut off motor. Recharged both packs for 2-3 hrs. They get quite warm!!

Next flight scheduled for 3/16/2004 weather permitting of course!!

Happy flying!!

BMack

bmc1023

I just excercised them before mounting them on the fuse. They work fine.

GravityTester

My Feedback: (25)

I have one. I found it a lot harder to fly then my aerobird. you can get them pretty cheap so I think they are a good plane for the price. still kind of a fun different plane.

gidaeon

Okay, heres my first post. I bought an AB and I think it will suit my level of interest sufficiently. I din't want to jump out and join a club and lay down big bucks. Reading the instructions was certainly humorous.

My first attempted flight found the plane flying at upward least... I was a amazed at the angle of climb the plane did (I didn't realize the controls would be so sensitive). I found the flight a little unstable and hard to control but I look forward to more practice

Are there any battery replacement options besides the ones from the ebay sellers, and the common stores people have ordered these from like radiontech and egrandbuy?

Also any other chargers that would be compatible with these 7cell 8.4v batteries? My wing cracked some, and I noticed in flight that the wing had to much flexibility in my eyes. I am going to try to tape in up. If any one has any tips on this their welcome.

I'm 100% newbie, but am happy to take this type route with playing around with an rc plane.

bnentrup

Battery Alternatives: GIDAEON: -

I have about 8 lithium-polymers. If i time the AB right, i can get 15 minutes or more of flight time (using little throttle and lots of sailing) -With the lithium-polymers i will expect 20-30 minutes flight time and it makes the entire plane MUCH LIGHTER! - I will let you know what i find out. I paid 3 per cell (making 2 cell packs at 7.2 v - the weight loss will make up for voltage drop) -

-

SNoWJackal

Bnentrup,

I just bought the ACCIPITER BADIUS and noticed your post. I was wondering if you could pm me or post a link on the lithium-polymers I don't know much about any of this yet but I hope to learn and be come skilled. Many people have posted advice that I think will help me keep my latest purchase in the air and not shelved like most of my other toys.

Gizzmo0411

I think we should start an online accipiter badius club...the plane is everywhere on the net, but there are few places to go for help with it. I've got another post up here, and will post with pics of some of the mods I've made.

badius

I have not flown my Badius yet due to weather but I have a friend with 30 years experience who is going to teach me to fly he is big in electric planes My Badius ways 18.4 ounces with batteries and wings on It was easy to put together. Good Luck