Forgive me if this has been covered before, after selling my Boomerang XL, I have invested in a Comp ARF Flash, I felt it would suite my flying style more so than the XL, having seen the model fly with a Simjet 36lb turbine, I think the Wren SS I am fitting will be ample enough to put a smile on my face It seemed like my luck had just run out earlier on this year after a pretty big jet crash only a week after buying my Trex 600N [:@] I'd been looking for a good quality, reliable airframe for a few months before buying the XL, I just felt the Wren that I planned to fit would have been at the bottom end of the performance range (18.5lbs in a model weighing close to 30lbs) I didnt think the performance would have me beaming from ear to ear after a few months of flying, so I landed quite lucky when a friend mentioned the Flash was for sale as he is upgrading to an Ultra.

Im collecting the airframe tomorrow and would appreciate any tips or hints anyone may have, whether it be involving the Build / Install, Control Throws / Mixes or Flying tips. My model will be fitted with a Wren SuperSport, Powerbox Evolution, JR on the tail and Hitec elsewhere, Behotec C36 Retract Units with Dreamworks Elan Struts (I think), Futaba FASST Radio with 2 x 5000mah Nimh packs for Reciever Power and 2S 2200mah Lipo for the ECU. Any C/G tips would also be greatly appreciated.

Regards

Jame

Keep it as light as possible with the Supersport. I flew mine with an old P-80 that probably put out similar thrust and although it flew ok it didn't really do the airframe justice.

Don't bother with the wing fuel tank and don't add any extras (powerboxes etc) that aren't necessary. The Flash does tend to need nose weight (so put the heavy things at the front) but if you can get it to balance with smaller RX packs then I'd do that. I'd be looking at something like 3000mAh Lipos (or maybe even smaller) rather than 5000mAh Nimh.

Have fun with it. It's a great flying airframe and I may buy another one in the future.

Your old one is for sale

Jamie, as darren said you could used smaller lipos, i am running 2x 2250mAh on RX and 5000mAh on the ecu with no lead in the nose and i have that heavy merlin 160 in mine

I built mine with a Wren SS, it is very basic, no powerbox or electronic valves, just neat simple and clean. I use 2 X A123 2300mah receiver packs (an average flight only uses 80ma from each battery) and one 2500Nimh for the ECU (no lead required in the nose) I use the Futaba 6014 and a simple 2 in1 Behotec Retract Brake valve, Model Avaition Products Retracts and Behotec Struts and Brakes(my system will hold air for a month easy).

Throws are what the book says, don't really use high rates, virtually no trim on elevator when flaps are dropped for landing (I might be down 1/2 - 3/4 mm).

Jet came in around 20lbs,never flown it off of grass so not sure how the take off would be. It is comfortable to fly it a full throttle, zipps around at a nice pace. with a decent head wind you can almost hover it.

Best Jet I ever owned


Angus

Carl, you told me you couldn't understand why I sold it as it was so good Time for something new?

I'm toying with the idea of a BARF MkII but not sure I can justify the expense and can't see it being as good as the Flash anyway.


One other tip for the Flash.....when pushing in the canopy retaining rod make sure that it does actually engage with the canopy. It is quite easy for the rod to lift the canopy a couple of mm and sit underneath the rim. If this happens then the canopy can come off in flight.

Thanks for your feedback, I did think the Wren would almost give the airframe thrust at 1:1 if I built it light, I agree Darren, I can see it being in our fleet for a long time, both Me n Dad have gone halves on it rather than him having to sell his Elan to fund it so therel be a fair amount of scraps over who's on the sticks for the maiden Im guessing Thanks Angus, the quality compared to other ARF Manufacturers looks far superior, after watching Carls fly so well and everyone I spoke to saying just how crisp and agile they are, It was a no brainer really.

Carl - Your sales technique is somewhat amazing draw him in to wanting another Flash then offer him the his model back

Thanks Darren, funny you should mention that, I saw a picture last night of a new Ultra with the canopy starting to lift, gotta feel sorry for whoever owned it, it is a nightmare when you can fit £3500 of Fibreglass and Ply in a sandwich bag [&:] Hows the Spark going Darren?? Havent seen it for a while, think it was the 2nd or 3rd flight when I saw you fly it last.

Jame

Jame,

The Spark is undergoing light maintenance I had to mix the brakes with down elevator as I ran out of channels and, last time out, I was running out of runway so tried to apply the brakes the instant the model touched down. Unfortunately I misjudged it and apply quite a lot of down elevator when the model was still about 2 inches off the ground[:@]

I have just got round to fixing it and it's a really quick repair. Fortunately Comp-ARF made this easier for me by not gluing in the nose former As a result I could push it out with my thumb!! Now it's just a case of glueing the former back in and re-fitting the noseleg and batteries. It will fly again soon

Oh yes indeed, got myself a nice shiny new ultra flash coming

You dont want a bandit, a classic flash in blue angles colours is what you want,

Sorry to hear that Darren, at least if its a quick repair It did look to fly really well on the Wren 44, I considered one for JetCat P60 power about 6 months ago. Cant wait to get the Flash now Itl be next year before I fly it as I havent bought everything for it yet, but Il still be at Elvington next week. Im planning on using similar servo's to Jons original setup on the Elevator halves and Hitecs on the other services, must admit I wasnt keen on the original White and Red scheme - the colour swap has made it for me I like the Intairco Wheels for the Spark, they look similar to the Ultra Lightning wheels, very slim and quite Low Profile, but Im assuming they are much smaller than the wells in the Flash??

Jame

Jamie, the Airpower wheels and brakes are very good, had them on my euro and will be putting them on my ultra, braking is very smooth and progressive, flash has 3.25" on the mains

Put as much stuff as far forward as you can to avoid needless added weight of ballast. (I moved the UAT over top of the nose gear, as an example. ) First one has a P-80SE and it is pretty zippy (as opposed to ballistic) even at half throttle. You SS should be fine, as long as you watch the weight.

Jame , as others have said, try to get everything as far forward as you can. A BVM or Hanson type UAT will fit very nearly behind the nose gear wheel opening between the steering cables without modifcation. I also used a Wren SS pipe to keep the rear light and was able to get it to balance with 2 2200lipos in the pockets and a 3700 Ecu batt in the nose. I have a 19lb turbine in mine and couldnt be happier.
You may have other reasons for using JR servos in the back but if its because of the fit, I have 7985's in my stab and they fit great.

Hi Jame,
I don't know if a picture says a thousand words or not but here is the installation of my Wren Supersport in the CARF Flash with Single wall wren 620mm pipe and trick engine mount.
I have had two flights so far power is good and large loops and avalanches from level flight are possible it also point rolls and cubans no problems as well with the Supersport.
I got the airframe from a guy in Twickenham (Skywarrior on RCU, i think). He modded the fuz tank to remove the flat bottom and put in a small sump. With the engine mounted this way and all three li-pos right up front i did not need any nose weight to obtain the recommended c of g.
I don't use a wing tank and have the timer set for about 6 minutes.
I bought the Dreamworksrc flash gear which is Bomb proof! The trunnions are wider than the standard set-up and a bit of Dremelling is required.....any questions just ask?
I have to say my mate (flying scotsman on RCu) has a p120SE in his and that really does set the heather on fire, the superport is fine however.
Brgds
Dave K

Dave, did you find you had to extend the opening for the nose gear? I've just started to look at mine and it appears I'll have to remove some material from the nose wheel well as the dreamworks strut/wheel combo is a bit long. Sound normal to u?

Mike

Hi Mike,
I bought the model 2nd hand, so the nose gear bay was already cut out. I think i did extend the opening
slightly. Here is a photo (the previous owner cutout the nose gear door and i did not want problems with
air resistance preventing the nose gear extending fully so i kept the original nose door figuring it worked for
the previous owner so why change it?)
The photo shows the new aperture at approx 2.125" diameter and 9.25" long. I refinished the model at the start of the year
but was unwell for a few months and so i only have logged two flights since my health returned.
One problem my friend and i have both had with the Intairco wheels is either tyres coming of the rims on his flash or on my flash with the latest
improved split hub intairco's i have had flat spots on the tyre develop quite quickly. I use the Behotec dual landing gear/ brake valve and have
employed a collet as a restrictor to slow down brake application but it still seems to be a problem (maybe firther restriction required)
when flying off anything other than grass.
brgds
Dave