tjfr

I just finished flying my new sonic 185 for the first time and all i can say is ABSOLUTELY FANTASTIC! This plane has enough power to go straight up but is a very smooth and responsive flyer.I had no idea of how good these modern high performance sailplanes are.For the money you cannot beat this airplane.Although mine arrived D.O.A and missing the flight simulator i patiently worked with Nitro planes and eventually we got the defective parts replaced and they gave me an E-SKY flight simulator which i also highly recommend to anyone interested in r/c flight.I was very nervous to fly this plane for the first time since it is foam and i've never flown a plane with ailerons but with the practice time on the simulator and a little prayer everything went very well.Love this plane and 100% recommend it to anyone even experienced pilots This plane screams in dives and glides and climbs with the best of them.terry

robertpage

My Feedback: (10)

this airplane is awsome!!!!!!! no shortage of power at all and flies great!! for $140 you can not beet it just like tjfr said it will climb straight up and not stop untill you want it to!! but i also didn't receive the flight simulator either but i don't care

robertpage

My Feedback: (10)

just installed my DX7 on this plane and it stoped all the servo glitching! also picked up a 25c 2200mah lipo compared to stock 15c 1800mah should be alot more power not that it needs anymore. should also fly alot better with the new radio system!!!

robertpage

My Feedback: (10)

DX7 was a big difference! changed out the aileron setup and made flaperon to slow it down almost to stop so i can catch it

stick man

Ijust maidened my Sonic 185 and it flies pretty good, especially for the price. However, the esc brake is not activated and the prop keeps spinning while gliding with the power off. there are no instructions included that show how to program the stock esc, does anyone know how?

2000redrocket

i just got one> i put a flitepower 2200 3cell 25c and it pulls well but it was real nose heavy. and wide open it seems to have torque steer. anyone else notice this?
for the one that asked for esc programming i can help if you still need help cause mine came with esc instructions.

Ruffinit

I've had my Sonic for sometime now (1-1/2 years) and also think its a fantastic plane for the price. I use a 3 cell 1300 pack which has plenty of power to climb. Flight time is about 15 minutes depending on how many climbs I do. With the 1300 battery, I still had to add 1-1/4 oz in the tail to balance her out. I tried a 3 cell 2200 but that required too much weight in the tail to balance her out and I like keeping her as light as possible.

seerjfly

I realize this is an old thread, but hopefully folks are still checking it out once in a while. I got a Sonic last year and trying to solve the extreme fwd CG I moved the elevator and rudder servos to the vertical fin and 2 carbon fiber straps along the fuselage sides. Worked great and balances perfectly without adding lead to the tail. I finally flew it last Sun. knowing that the 11.1v 1800mah 3c 25s battery would'nt last long. That motor really draws it down. Wattage is within limits and it recovers in short order, but I'm only getting about 45sec. of power at 1/2 throttle. I keep seeing videos of this ship vertically climbing, but can't figure out how. I have 2 2200 lipos coming in on Sat and hope this fixes at least some of the battery duration problem. If I could get it to thermaling altitude I don't care if it cuts off. Any ideas of what might be going on ?

Left-Hand-Dan

You have a bad or very unbalanced battery. If you are useing the included charger you need to upgrade to a good Balancing charger.
It isn't the motor that's drawing the battery down in 45 seconds. You should get 10-15min out of the 1800 atleast.

Ill be ordering the ARF version (because I don't need the radio) next week. I can't wait to get back into gliders!

seerjfly

Thanks L-H-D, I've been using the charger included with the Hawksky I started with 3 years ago. New balance charger ordered. Thanks for the info.

Left-Hand-Dan

No problem. You might have already fried that lipo but ballance it then charge it at 1/2A a couple times and see if it improves.

seerjfly

Thanks, will do. The 1800's did swell last year, I know why now. Been reading up on proper charging after buying a 'real' balance charger and the 2200's. Using my combo watt meter/ balancer, I found out that the charger that Dynam provided with the Hawksky never balanced to begin with. Lucky I did'nt have one go nuke on me. You'll love the 185, get the CG sorted though. It's excessively nose heavy with no battery in it. Bob

Left-Hand-Dan

Should be room to move it back or put the servos in the tail.

You our always want a thermal glider as tail heavy as possible without being too touchy so it signals lift well.

seerjfly

Wow. The new batteries did the trick, got about an hour flight in before work. That sucker will CLIMB ! It thermals very well, too. Now to adjust throws and expos, a bit too sensitive for me. Bob

Left-Hand-Dan

So I recieved mine a couple weeks ago and have gotten a lot of time on it.

Out of the box it looked nice but had mold flashes on all trailing edge surfaces. Those all needed sanded off.
Next, the hinges are "live" hinges made from the foam. They are very stiff until cracked past what they want to throw to then they are at risk of breaking so its better to cut them all off and hinge on both sides with tape.
Mine was also very nose heavy. It needed 2oz of lead bolted to the tail skid when just useing a 3s 1300mah pack up front!
not a lot of room at all for the rx AND a bettery and all wires are hard to keep clear of the servos inside so I had to cut a pocket for the rx.
There is not enough airflow inside. I havnt figured out a "clean" athstectic way to get more in.
The tail is mounted with one bolt. It does ok but the molding doesn't hold it strait and the tail was crooked anyway so I had to sand the matting surfaces to get it strait and I just CA'ed the stab on.
The wing fits ok but its hard to get te aileron leads into the little hole and keep clear of the wing joint.
The wing joint is a joke! Not secure at all but it couldn't get it to come all te way out but its still such a chore to get the wings on Ill just leave them on so I tapped the joints togather and to th fuselage because there is also a lot of side word play in relation to the fuse too.
the spar is also a joke! WAY to flimbsy! I replaced it with a real CF tube which still lets the wings flex a bit too much considering I'm using a 1300mah 3s instead of the 2200 it needs.
The servos are adiquate and work well. The power system is perfect and stays fairly cool but I think te prop is a bit too large for a 3S lipo. But I don't think it would have enough thrust for a good climb on a 2s lipo.
The canopy is nice. It came off because of the crappy magnets and landed in a parking lot without a scratch. Not I just tape the canopy on because the magnets keep coming loose Dispite new glue and tape. PITA

flying.
It flies well for a glider in that its very stable. Penetrates wind well and rides the wind and thermals very well. But t doesn't signal lift well. You have to really watch the whole plane to tell if your in lift.
The rudder is very effective. Way more effective than the tiny ailerons. Forget aerobatics even with full throws. Rolls take all day and stop inverted because of wing flex. Aileron rolls are impossible. You have to use rudder.
Loops inside and out are nice and that's about it.
Inverted flight isn't bad but takes too much down elevator IMHO
Forget about slips. Not going to happen. The ailerons aren't nearly as effective as the rudder and can't keep the wings level when opposite rudder is applied.
The plane handles wind very well but be careful not to over stress the wings. They tend to buffet and flex pretty hard even in 1ph winds especially with pitch changes.

As as a glider it does a good job. Tho it doesn't signal lift well it does ride it very well.
But that's about it. Nice power and rides lift well. Everything else a out this plane sucks. That's just My humble opinion. I've been flying all kinds of models and foamies and gliders for 20years. Built everything I could get my hands on. I'm disappointed with this one but it does its job as a thermal glider so well I'll have to keep it but its nothing more than that. Its not a good plane to keep in the car to fly at a park or something. It isn't maneuverable enough, nor fun enough and run times under power is way less than 10min from a 1300mah because of the big prop and outrunner.

seerjfly

seerjfly

Dan, I agree that the Sonic not a very high quality kit, but for the price I put up with rearranging servos, gluing the un-glued fuselage seams and hollowing out the cockpit section for a bit more room. It's still tight, but I can get the canopy on OK now. It requires a little trim work and I would not call it a real RTF or ARF though I like tinkering. The photos above show my servo placement in the tail, along with carbon straps down each side of the tail cone, covered with econocote. I took a soldering iron and wallered out the hole for the aileron wires, same as I did on my Hawksky trainer. The CG at 30 to 33% chord as specified is still a little bit nose heavy with a 2200 batt. as far back as it will go after cutting out the old servo mounts and I am slowly working my way back. At 35% I need about 1/2 of the nose up trim as I did on first flights. I'm happy with the thermaling flight I got last Thursday. 1 hr. 25 min. The signs of lift were as you say, a bit hard to tell as I think the wing loading is a bit higher than I've ever flown. I can send a few more pictures of my mods if you like. When I get the CG nailed and level flight with no trim, I'll pass that info along. BTW, I put magnets in the wing roots and they stay put unless I cartwheel a landing. Bob

Left-Hand-Dan

The only problems I had are in my post. Everything else was great.
My cg is right where I want it. I might put the elevator servo in the tail because even after some wd40 in the tube it still doesn't center well.

seerjfly

Control rod friction was a factor in moving the servos aft, too. Rudder was OK, elevator barely moved and I could hear the servo straining. Keep tinkering with it, it'll work out.

Left-Hand-Dan

With the tape hing the elevator gets enough throw, I'd take a bit more down if I could get it but the servo isn't working too hard. I'm too lazy to move them back right now. Maybe of t survives until winter time.

Left-Hand-Dan

If it does ill likely cut bigger ailerons too or possibly flaps and mix them as ailerons so I can crow. This plane really doesn't blew off speed even with spoilerons it won't slow down and there isn't enough aileron to do a slip.