Hobbico FlyZone Cessna 182 Skylane EP RTF
 

The Hobbico FlyZone [link=http://www.flyzoneplanes.com/airplanes/hcaa42-cessna182/index.html]Cessna 182 Skylane[/link] is an electric powered, radio controlled, ready to fly Cessna 182 Skylane scale model. Designed for beginning to intermediate flyers in mind, it is made from tough AeroCell foam and comes with everything you need to get started!

Features:[ul][*] AeroCell foam construction with pre-applied decals[*] Wings have functional flaps and ailerons[*] 5-channel Tactic 72MHz Radio with 3-position switch for flaps (Included - Requires 8-AA batteries)[*] Brushless motor power system (Included)[*] 3-cell 1800mAh LiPo battery pack (Included)[*] ElectriFly balancing charger (Included)[*] Blinking navigation lights[*] Pre-assembled Tricycle Landing Gear with front strut steerable nose gear[*] Canopy with plastic windows and detailed instrument panel in cockpit
[/ul]Specifications:[ul][*] Wingspan: 47.5" (1207mm)[*] Wing Area: 339 sq in (21.87) sq dm[*] Weight: 37oz (1049g)[*] Wing Loading: 15.72 oz/sq ft (48 g/sq dm)[*] Length: 39" (991mm)[/ul]

RE: Hobbico FlyZone Cessna 182 Skylane EP RTF
 

All the parts came individually wrapped and were well protected in the box. I found no damage and was impressed with the details and level of pre-assembly.

RE: Hobbico FlyZone Cessna 182 Skylane EP RTF
 

The wing comes ready to go with the aileron servo, flap servo, hinges, and linkage pre-installed.

RE: Hobbico FlyZone Cessna 182 Skylane EP RTF
 

Scale navigation lights are included in the wing and vertical stabilizer.

RE: Hobbico FlyZone Cessna 182 Skylane EP RTF
 

The control surfaces are hinged and ready to go. Some of the other parts include pre-assembled gear mains, nylon wing bolts, control rods, struts, an 8-1/4" prop, and plastic spinner.

RE: Hobbico FlyZone Cessna 182 Skylane EP RTF
 

The FlyZone Cessna 182 Skylane includes a 3-cell 1800mAh LiPo pack, smart balancing charger, and A/C and D/C adapters to charge just about anywhere! Note that the Flyzone charge/balance connector is ElectriFly/E-flite compatible.

The 15-page manual is loaded with excellent photos, assembly steps, and instructions geared for creating a successful experience.

RE: Hobbico FlyZone Cessna 182 Skylane EP RTF
 

A closer look at the fuselage reveals the pre-installed motor and steerable nose wheel. Air cooling and strut mounts are both ready to go!

The antenna wire is already run through a tube to the back of the plane. Tubes are also pre-installed for the rudder and elevator control rods and the tail navigation wire. Note that the receiver and servos are pre-installed also.

RE: Hobbico FlyZone Cessna 182 Skylane EP RTF
 

The assembly starts by mounting the main landing gear. This is done by installing two screws and replacing the landing gear cover after removing the pre-applied protective adhesive strip backing.

Note the bottom hatch cover on the left is used to access the receiver and battery pack.

RE: Hobbico FlyZone Cessna 182 Skylane EP RTF
 

The vertical and horizontal stabilizers are mounted together after first connecting the control rods and sliding them into the pre-installed tubes. When the rods are inserted about half way, the tail navigation wire is then inserted into the larger tube that runs down the center of the fuselage. Just before the fin and stab are all the way into position, the pushrods are fed into the pre-mounted connectors on the servo arms.

A plastic retaining clip holds the tail assembly in place and the control rods are held with set screws.

RE: Hobbico FlyZone Cessna 182 Skylane EP RTF
 

After feeding the wires past the servos and out the bottom of the fuselage, the wing easily mounts using two retainer posts that turn 90 degrees to lock in position. The posts are then covered with hatches that simply snap into position.

RE: Hobbico FlyZone Cessna 182 Skylane EP RTF
 

After first installing eight AA-size batteries (not included) in the Tactic transmitter, you can center the aileron, elevator, and rudder trims. The throttle trim and throttle stick are both lowered all the way so the motor will not turn on.

You can then temporarily take the Tactic receiver part way out of the fuselage and hook up the controls. All the servo leads and navigation light leads are properly labeled. At this time, you can check all the control surfaces for proper swing and centering.

RE: Hobbico FlyZone Cessna 182 Skylane EP RTF
 

Since everything checked out, including the 3-position flap settings, it was time for the final assembly.

The plastic spinner backplate slides onto the motor shaft and sits over the pre-installed nut. The prop is then secured with a washer, nut, and some thread locker. The spinner cone is attached with two 2.5x8mm Phillips screws.

RE: Hobbico FlyZone Cessna 182 Skylane EP RTF
 

Where did you buy this from?

RE: Hobbico FlyZone Cessna 182 Skylane EP RTF
 

You can click on the link in the first post for purchasing information at Tower Hobbies.

The wing strut tubes fit into the pre-mounted plastic fairings and are then secured with 2.5x8mm screws in each end. Note that the CG of 1-7/8" should be marked by the assembler on each wing half. This will be tested after installing the battery pack.

The battery pack installs in the Cessna 182 nose and is held by a strip of hook and loop material. My Cessna balanced perfectly!

RE: Hobbico FlyZone Cessna 182 Skylane EP RTF
 

The last step of the Cessna assembly was to install the antennas by simply pushing them down into position. If preferred, you can also glue them with white glue or foam-safe CA.

My Cessna 182 was Ready-To-Fly at 37oz including the battery pack. I did not measure the power level because the supplied connectors did not match anything I had for my wattmeter. My full throttle testing, while holding the plane, felt that it has plenty of power.

RE: Hobbico FlyZone Cessna 182 Skylane EP RTF
 

Proper weather to test fly the Cessna 182 never arrived during the holiday break so we'll see what January 2009 has to offer.

I tested the ElectriFly 3-Cell 11.1v LiPo Balancing Charger that came with the Cessna RTF package and found no issues. It is a simple plug-and-play solution that cannot be fooled. The charger is fed by either 12v DC power from the supplied AC wall adapter or the automobile cigarette/utility adapter. The LiPo pack charge connector is keyed so it can only be plugged in one way.

The lights went both solid red and green when the battery was charging and only the red light remained on when it was finished.

RE: Hobbico FlyZone Cessna 182 Skylane EP RTF
 

I am really interested in this model. I am a rank beginner and have been flying the Hobbizone Supercub which is tremendous fun and handles well, but lacks ailerons. The Flyzone Cessna interests me as a second plane primarily because it has flaps (and ailerons, of course) which will allow me to control my airspeed (kind of like having a regulator on an engine). I fly alone and have yet to fly at my local field as I haven't yet hooked up with an instructor (which I am planning on doing for my Alpha 60 Nitro). I figure once I get used to the Cub and soon the Cessna (if the reviews work out well), then I'll be more inclined, and ready, for Nitro instruction. I know this is bass ackwards to a degree, but it tends to be how I learn things. I crashed my Supercub badly once and have since been flying her with successful landings. FS One has been a great help (although I hate how you lose orientation when you are up high as there is no periphery in the program).

I would love to hear some feedback about the Cessna and how she will really be for a novice flyer. A friend told me to pick up the T-28 Trojan as a second plane but the speed frightens me for now. I read an article (here?) on adding flaps to the T-28, but I think the Trojan is just too much plane for me at this stage.

Thanks for the review here - I am looking forward to more.

J

RE: Hobbico FlyZone Cessna 182 Skylane EP RTF
 

Greetings,

I recently got the Great Planes RealFlight G3.5 Flght Train Sys Md2 w/Cess which included Hobbico FlyZone Cessna 182 4-Channel RTF 34.8".

First off I am glad I had an experienced pilot help me get this airplane going. It ended up being our goal to get this plane flying before it was destroyed completely. We did not have a paved runway for starts so we had to hand launch. The first flight like many have described tends to break something. Mind you I had a 20+ year experience pilot/builder help me set up this plane up and fly it for the first flight(s).

Few things about this plane I didn’t like:

• Flimsy front landing gear
• Motor is secured with a rubber band
• Battery very hard to insert/remove
• Receiver Velcro tape does not stick and just flops around inside. Had to come up with another solution to that problem to prevent loose wires getting into the controllers.
• Mechanical controls can vibrate loose or slip.
• Controls (ailerons, rudder, elevator) need to be bent back and forth until they are loose enough for the servos to control them reliably.

Flight 1 – as soon as it was tossed it snapped and nosed into the ground. And as described the nose gear broke off. We fixed the nose gear with some straps similar to the stock straps and made some adjustments.

Flight 2 – this flight we actually made it off the ground and it was flying relatively nicely with the winds <5mph. Then to the landing. This as well did fine but it broke the nose gear again. We decided to just remove all the landing gear because it started to break the plastic firewall.

Flight 3 – 7ish : all flights where nice and the plane surprisingly flies well. It does tend to climb a lot and you may or may not have to make mechanical adjustments from time to time because you run out of trim. Landing with out the gear on the short grass is actually better than with the gear and the plane slows down enough that its just a gentle hit.

On about the 8ish flight the plane was flying along then the motor just cut power to about half and would not go any higher so we brought it in for a landing no problem. I was not flying for long about 1-3 min and usually I fly for 10ish min at a time around 75-100% power. So I thought maybe the battery had a bad charge. I recharged the pack and tried again. Once again the plane after a short flight lost power and had to land.

I am not sure what is causing this problem. The battery and motor are warm but not any hotter than they where before this started happening.

I know this is a cheap plane, but I figured it would have lasted longer than this and I am glade we got it working right before it was completely distorted like some have reported.

Any help on this would be great.

Thanks,
Richard

RE: Hobbico FlyZone Cessna 182 Skylane EP RTF
 

You are talking about the $159 Cessna by Flyzone, I think? This thread is referring to the newest release by Flyzone - the Cessna Skylane with brushless motor, flaps and a 46" wingspan. Although, it would be nice to know if Flyzone has addressed the problems inherent in the 34.8" Cessna you own and applied the fixes to this plane. Thanks for the update on yours, as I had been considering it - I've just heard too many bad things now. Great price, too much hassle.

Let's hope the new, larger Cessna is better.

RE: Hobbico FlyZone Cessna 182 Skylane EP RTF
 

Rips right, the FZ Cessna you speak of is the same piece of crap as my FZ J-3 Cub. around $160
and too heavy and underpowered with its brushed power. This thread is FZ's new offering with
brushless power and lipo with a bigger better more detailed plane. While I'm glad to to see
FZ start selling a more desirable plane, I think it's atleast $50 too much, @ $249 I could spend
another $50 and get the Eflite Apprentice with its 5ch 2.4 ghz TX/RX all for $299. I might consider
the new FZ cessna if it was $200 or less....they should give me one for $40 because I wasted $160
on my FZ Cub!:D

Hemicuda

RE: Hobbico FlyZone Cessna 182 Skylane EP RTF
 

Is this the exact plane available from a certain overseas vendor for only $99.00 (less radio and battery)? I've had a Flyzone Cessna before, and it wasn't the best plane...but to get this for $250, I too think is a bit much. Looks real nice though...but even better at $99.

RE: Hobbico FlyZone Cessna 182 Skylane EP RTF
 

This first video is an introduction of the Cessna 182 features. Note that I had the scale antennas on backwards for this video and easily reversed them for the flying photos and test flying video. They just press into pre-slotted holes in the wing.

[link=http://www.gregcovey.com/reviews/Cessna182.wmv]Cessna 182 Intro Video[/link] (7meg)

flying photos by "Papa Jeff" Ring

RE: Hobbico FlyZone Cessna 182 Skylane EP RTF
 

We tested the Cessna on a cold but calm winter day at a small park. The winds were 5-8mph and the temperature was 20 degrees. The Cessna performed very well as we flew in a relatively tight area with take-off and landings in a side street. The snow was a foot deep in the park but the steerable nose wheel allowed me to keep it centered in the road so there was no need to hand toss it.

The power level was sufficient for loops from level flight. The flight time was about 10 minutes and I still had some power left. I tried the flaps but the plane wanted to bank to the right so I switched them off because it flew slow enough without them. I did not get another chance to test them. As shown in the video, the Cessna 182 flies quite stable and can maneuver in a small area. However, I would only recommend this type of scale model to an intermediate level pilot. The radio system performed without a glitch and the Cessna looked great on the ground and in the air!

[link=http://www.gregcovey.com/reviews/Cessna182b.wmv]Cessna 182 Test Flying Video[/link] (15meg)

flying photos by "Papa Jeff" Ring

RE: Hobbico FlyZone Cessna 182 Skylane EP RTF
 

thanks, this is a great review, but now you owe me $250 because you are making me get this..haha

RE: Hobbico FlyZone Cessna 182 Skylane EP RTF
 

Hello all,

I bought the NEW Flyzone Cessna because I am into scale and the plane has many features that appeal to me such as scale outline, flaps and lights. I put it together with my Spectrum reciever this weekend. It has not been flown yet. Here's my take. The plane has very good scale outline and it captures the real Cessna 182. Engineering is well done with all parts fit well. It has many features that are not seen in foamies this size such as instrument panel, flaps, functional nose gear and lights. Now the bad... In my example there were lots of dents that now need to be filled with white balsa filler. The cowl is GLUED in and I know it will be a bear should I need to tighten or replace the motor. I plan to keep the servos and I hope they are reliable. If the plane flies well and the servos hold on their own, I think Flyzone has a winner. I have never been a fan of Flyzone cause their planes just don't fly well but this one maybe different. The box says it is for beginner but I don't think so. I really hope this one is in the same rank as the PZ Trojan. Anyone has any info regarding stall charateristics? On the RCU video, the plane flies slow that I really like. DP