Not to beat a dead horse........but I had a Split 280. The premise was basically that this thing can take a licking and still keep ticking. Well, one good smack on the nose and that's all she wrote.

I should have suspected something when the instructions called for taping the motor onto the fuse with double sided tape. Basically, the foam is so thin that it tears easily upon significant impact. It was very erratic at first, but by the time I could tweak it just right it was demolished beyond repair. It was in the trash after about 3 flights.

For me.... a total rip-off. But that's just my experience.

I was very disappointed with my Split 280. First of all, I couldn't get the darn thing to even fly with the stock speed 280 in it. I was using an 8-cell pack rather than a 7-cell, but that can't have been the only reason. Also (and perhaps related), the wingo prop that came with wouldn't stay on.

I put a 400 in with a 6x3 prop, and at least it would fly. But it is *definately* not durable - more durable than other non-EPP foamies (at least it tears, doesn't shatter), but it definately doesn't "hit the lamp post and keep on flying".

I also had tons of trouble properly trimming it so it would fly with any kind of stability/predictability. The method for attaching the ailerons (strapping tape) simply wasn't adequate - the tape would come loose after a while from the oily coroplast, and you would get less, then no, control. Also, the fact that the EPP tends to absorb impacts meant that it deformed after one or two crashes (while trying to trim it), bending the fuselage to the point that I couldn't get the wings/tail feathers properly aligned any more.

I put a little time *first* assembling the Split, then *lots* of time trying to modify it so it could fly. Was never successful, and have pretty much given up. I bought the darn thing because I had learned all I could learn from my rudder/elevator Tipsy, and wanted to get some of the feeling of a aileron plane when flying in the park behind my house (when I didn't feel like going out to the field and flying a bigger glow-powered trainer).

Had TONS more fun with my Tipsy for park flying, even though it is a rudder/elevator ship, and can't do really any acrobatics. Unfortunately, the Tipsy shattered when it crashed, and has grown too heavy to fly well now that it is approximately 70% epoxy and carbon fiber (although it is REALLY strong now...).

Another picture of my overweight Tipsy...

One of the things you can barely see is that I took a slice out of the leading edge, put several lengths of kevlar thread along the inside with epoxy (to keep chunks being ripped out of the wing), then put the LE back on.

Also, the yellow strip on the bottom is also kevlar w/epoxy. If I'd had any CF rod, I would have used that instead, but didn't at the time.

hi, sorry to hear that

what is the AUW of your split. i also have a split and had lots of fun with it. it's all stock, weight only 8.7oz with a 2 cells 1020 kokam. can do loop with slight dive, roll is okay. Very responsive, not very good in wind > 10mph though

the elv is very touchy. the CG is right on what the manual said

I usually fly at a baseball field, and that's big enough to do slow and low passes right in front of me.

It is definitely not a boink and go airplane, but most of the fixes were less than 10 minutes with tapes and epoxy

I broke the nose many times when i was trimming it. now i DON'T glue it back to the fuse anymore, i just used 0.5 inch wide strapping tape to tape it back, it holds really well, i just need to replace the tape every few days. you might want to use some rubbing alcohol to clean the corroplast. i have no problem with the supplied tape.

have fun

My Split is fast, powerfull, precise, predictable and damn near efficient. This is why...

1) Sand the nose down. WAY down. The split is about as aerodynamic as a mack truck in stock form. Also spend lots of time rounding out the aft sections. This is important when dealing with an underpowered air frame.

2) The wing comes out of the box warped. Flatten it out and glue 1/8" carbon strips from tip to tip right down the CG top and bottom. This will make your wing absolutely rigid and keep your ailerons from doing unexpected things during flight.

3) Take time to flaten out the ailerons as well as the horizontal and verticle stabs by hand. Cover the currogated leading edges with some Zagi tape (or boxing tape) so they don't act as little air brakes.

4) Throw the speed 280 in the garbage. Sacrifice a bit of flight time and wake the plane up a ton! Use a speed 300 or Wattage S370. I used the 370 simply because it was a dollar cheaper :\

5) 5 minute epoxy the motor to the fuse. Do not tape it per the instructions. The can will become a structural member of the fuse.

That's all I did. Spend a little extra time up front and this plane will perform. My Split climbs out steaply after a gentle toss and gains altitude FAST. It will do huge, powerfull loops from level flight. Rolls are precise, tight and quick. Inverted flight is stable and requires just a touch down elevator. The flight envelope is enormous! Fast and darting at full, but slows to a walk for landings. This plane has a ton of potential. Round everything off. It makes a HUGE difference.
Efficiency!
Oh yeah. The recommended CG is a bit too aft. At 55mm from the leading edge, the plane will have a nasty tip stall. Mine is set at 50mm.

Well, I posted here before I got to your thread, which looks like great advice.

I'm new to electric. Who's got the best prices for the 370 or 300 motors?

Would you go with a gear reduction motor?

No mention of what prop size. I suspect the little zagi-type prop isn't the right one with a bigger motor?

Roger

Kogapen,

What do you mean by sanding the nose way down?? I don't understand. Thanks for you tips. I'm about to build mine this week. Thanks again.

To keep the tape sticking to the cloroplast, you might take a blow torch, and a few quick passes over it, will help tape, and CA and such stick to it better. We do this when building cloroplast combat planes. If you don't do this, CA won't stick period, when you do, its dang near impossible to get it off.

--Paul

Hello,
The little Gunther Zagi prop is great. It works fine with a speed 300 or 370 (i get mine from Sheldons hobbies) though it does seem happiest on a speed 400. I don't think the Split would be as much fun with gear reduction and a lager prop. It isn't designed for big prop high thrust maneuvers. It is closer in design to a speed 400 pylon racer, though obviously a far cry from one. That's why I think it's potential comes out when you reshape it a bit to try and make it as efficient as it can be. Basically, this means reducing frontal area and shaping it so it disturbs the air as little as possible when flying.
I recently changed props. Mostly because I was having the same issue as everyone else ---- the Gunther press-on hub is made for a 400 drive shaft not a 300. No matter what you glue the thing on with, it will fly off at some point. I don't think most folks want to glue their props to the motor anyway.
I am now using a Graupner 4.7 x 2.3 CAM folding prop. It's housed in a little spinner and held on with set screws. Folding is nice for for belly landings. The prop will fold before it breaks our rips the motor out. Performance has been great.
I do not think this prop will work well if you do not sand down the nose. These props are best on low drag airframes. I have sanded mine down even more since I posted the picture above.
Sand the nose down so it has a nice arcing blend from the outside diameter of leading edge of your motor to the leading edge of your wing.
I like the torch on the coroplast idea. Getting CA to stick to things it shouldn't is all about changing the surface substrate.
I roughed up the surface of the coroplast with 320 sand paper and used 5 minute epoxy for durability. CA would be lighter though a lot more brittle.
I wish Free Air would have supplied the Split with a speed 300, a bit more aerodynamic fuse and some carbon strips for the wing.
I want people to enjoy this plane. It's so care free and satisfying to fly!
Two of my coworkers/flying friends have decided to purchase the kit after seeing mine fly. This is after they read all these negative posts about the plane. Try these mods before you give up on it.
I will let you folks know how they hold up in combat after the holidays!

Thanks again for the info. I just happen to have a Speed 400 and a couple Wingo props kicking around. I'll give it a whirl.

I think I may have miscommunicated a bit...
I meant to say that the Gunther prop works great on a speed 400.
I did not mean to say a speed 400 works great in the Split.
I'm sure the plane would be quite fast with the S400 Zagi prop combo.
However, I think part of what makes this plane so fun is the large flight envelope. Keeping it light is what lets it slow down and and float around.
If you put a 400 in it, you will have to use a NiCd pack. The 720 mah NiMh pack recomended by the manufacturer will not supply enough current to power the S400. The BEC on your ESC will kick in.
You will be adding a lot of weight.
Like I said, I think it would be fine and actually scoot around pretty quick, but it's kinda fun to zip around the sky, then gently plop it down at your feet like a feather!
If you do use the S400 NiCd combo, make sure the carbon strips are secure on the wings!
Actually, consider HEcells to power your S400. They are NiMh cells that can deliver high current. You can get 1100 mah out of a cell about the size of a 600 mah NiCd.

Let us know how it goes!

I still want to buy the split 280 but I'm disappointed it's not a boink and keep flying airplane. If this isn't my next airplane, then it's the BB-Goose. Precovered from the factory and comes with a speed 400. I thought the split 280 it what it was reviewed to be, but I guess not. I would like to buy it and sand the nose but keep the stock motor. Is this worth it or should I buy the BB-goose?

I hate slamming a manufacture's product but I own one, and I'm sickened by the fact that I'll now have to spend an additional $25.00 or so on a plane that only cost $50 just to get it to fly right.

Rip off, not as advertised, plain and simple!

What exactly is the $25 going to be spent on so I'm clear on the details. Thanks.

Well, I was assuming the $25 for a larger motor (i.e. a speed 300 or a speed 370, as some suggested in other "split 280" threads, plus a couple larger props, plus maybe a prop adaptor to go from the motor shaft to accept the new props.

Forbid, I go to a brushless -- I think that investment might be over $100?

Any other suggestions for a durable plane with alerons if this is not the one.

Well, there is allways the Zagi!

I already have the B2 which is almost unbreakeable, but I was refering to a normal looking airplane.

For a real boink & go airplane, try Hobby Lobby's Direct 280. I have had mine for 4 months now and haven't killed it yet.

SavoirFaire is everywhere!

Try the prop from WattAge's J-3 Cub. It is 3 x 2, compared to the stock 4 x 4.75. It works great with my Direct 280 and Acro280BB motor. It fits tight on the shaft, spins like a ducted fan and makes lots of power.

But I've seen the wing on the Split 280. You'll fold it in half if you get it up to the speeds it gives my Direct 280 flying wing. But that's the way it goes when you feel the need for speed.

SavoirFaire

i've got a split 280 that i'm going to put together in the next month or so. i've got a c/f rod for the wing and will have to think about whether to glue the motor in or use double sided tape, but anyway i'm going to put strapping tape around the nose. i'm interested in pylon racers, but i'm not expecting too much from the standard motor. if i like it and want to keep flying it, i was thinking of getting a himax 280 brushless motor and using a 1500mah 11.1v lipo i've got. anyone gone brushless with this ? i like the idea of sanding the nose down, but like previous post said, i don't think this is a strong plane, epp or not. i've got a f27 stryker, which is a really nice epp plane, plenty crash worthy. i bought the split to learn aileron flying and wanted something epp, but i wouldn't have bothered if i'd had the f27 first. now the split is going to be fully focused on pylon flying for me, hence the possible brushless upgrade. i really hope it's going to be fun !!

well although my 280 motor isn't broke in yet, i haven't had any success flying this yet. i've broken the fuselage infront and behind the wing, the places where the hollowing out begins and ends so i'm going to epoxy cf rods along the sides. the wing is really strong, especially with the cf rod i put in. i'm going to try breaking in the motor and see if it will fly, but i've already ordered a mini model motors 280 brushless for it and a 3 cell 1200mah lipo (i'm currently running a 2 cell 1200 lipo). as there's not going to be any room inside the fuse for the battery, i'm going to mount it ontop of the wing and put a little fairing in front of it - it will be infront of the canopy. the ailerons are really resonsive, but i haven't checked the control throws yet. i bought the brushless as i really want to fly this plane as i want to get into pylon racing.

dead thread, but in case anyone has one of these, i put my model motors 280 brushless back in over the winter and i've now got 2x 1800 2s bats and it runs fine with them. prop is an apc 5.5x4.5. haven't flown it yet, but i really hope it flys nicely as this was the first plane i built artf and i spent quite a lot of money on it as i bought it as a combo. flight report in a few months time !!

hahaha it's me again. it didn't fly with the model motors 280 brushless. so i took out all the electrics and put it in the loft. i've been messing about with a phoenix wing which is also really small and i put a warp 4 turn in that with a 5.5x4.5 apc prop and although the wing is all over the place so far, the powerplant has proved itself, so i've just got the split out of the loft again and i'm gonna put a warp 4 turn in it over the winter and give it another try next spring. see you all in 6 months time

Hello,

My friend has a split and his running on Mega 16/15/3 and 4.75 x 4.75.. damn, that thing is very fast. His a beginner and I have flown it too! ( I actually helped him to build it) he reinforced wing with CF rods and his using a Tp1320 3 cell. I know it's a overkill but I think it flys great. We made our custom biult ailerons which are a lot stronger and I'd guess that on a dive, it goes around 100 mph thanks to the quite thin airfoil (not much drag.