Well, finally got to put a few flights on the G-Booster powered ES Evolution (hybrid) this weekend. I've got to say, the Booster is a VERY nice engine to say the least. I'm fairly sure I have the only 160 in the States for now, but I'm sure that will change.

As far the flying qualities of the Evolution, it continues to be a WINNER! I'm not sure I noticed any major differences in the overall flying, but then again, it is a Euro and they all have flown great. This Euro is quite different than both of my previous ones. This one is much lighter (and flew as such), it also has single exhaust (previous ones had bifurcated pipes), and no doors or speed brake unlike the previous ones.

It was very windy, so that definitely was moving the plane around. Nevertheless, I was immediately comfortable with the plane once airborne and there were zero surprises and I needed just a couple clicks of up trim. It is balanced right at 540mm from the front edge of the intake (original manual setting), but I think I will be moving the batts. slightly forward later. Landing was uneventful and very Euroesque. BTW, I have a set Dreamworks' Pro-Link gear and "straight" Pro-Link trailing struts in Euro. These are only the first flights and test with them, but they seem to be working great and look to be very promising and a great alternative for the conventional struts, especially for grass.

Once I get more flights on the new ES, I may be able to elaborate more on the differences as I perceive them, but from the initial three flights, it is hard for me quantify. The mere fact that the aircraft is so different from what I have flown previously, may inhibit me from judging accurately anyways.

I have never heard of a bad flying Euro apart from the occasional "tucking" issue you hear about sometimes. Only one of my Euro's had that tendency and it was only in a left turn and was not that bad, but noticable. This Euro did not exhibit that behavior at all.


*NOTE* Be careful with the armament and drop tanks [:-]. On the third flight, I decided I would try to fly with the center drop tank, wing tanks and outboard missles attached. It looked SO GOOD for about 10 secs. Right after take-off and into the downwind, the left wing tank departed taking out the left missle and pylon with it [X(]. I throttled back, checked out the flying characteristics, dropped the gear, made a couple passes and landed without issue. In all fairness to CA, these are pre-production tanks, pylons, and armament; I'm not sure they were even intended to be "flown", so no fault on their part. I'm sure the production parts will be up to the task if that is what they are meant for. From now on, I will only fly with the center drop tank and outboard missles unless I do some work or get a production set.

I'm sure everyone will enjoy their Evolution ES' and I can't wait to hear other's report once they start hitting the skies.

George

Congrats on your maiden. Too bad about the tanks and armament. I think it made the plane looks so much better. What exactly do you think C-ARF needs to fix?

Great to hear almost everything went well. I was just notified my swiss Evo was delivered and under construction. I am going to try the new wren XL200 I will report back on the results.


Ronald R Long

Congratulations for the maiden George! So you are the one who took the evo home. Glad you enjoy it. Wish you many many happy flights. Sent you an email.

Rgs
Alex

Edgar, as I mentioned in the post, I'm not sure if THIS set was intended to fly since they were pre-production or if any of the tanks and armament are meant for flight. I'm sure CA will let us know either way.

The drop tank and pylon are one unit by the drop tank just being glued to the pylon. This set-up is very flimsy at the joint b/c there is no reinforcement in this area and because the tank is so large and hangs down quite a bit, it allowed the tank to move from side-to-side very easily. Also, they are attached to the underside of the wing by engaging nylon screw heads and sliding back. The center tank is actually "bolted on", so no problems there, but I think there may need to be a more positive attachment for the underwing tanks or the pylon mating surface needs to be "beefed" up so it does not pull from the attachment points along with the tank-to-pylon mating area being strengthened to alleviate some of the wobble.

I think the outboard missles and pylons are fine since they are smaller and do not hang in the breeze so far and aren't affected as much by the same forces. I still have to come up with an attachment method for the four fuselage missles. At this point, velcro is used and is for static display only.

George

Ron , when do you expect to see it? Keep us posted and let us know how it goes. P.S. I'll be out in your neck of the woods next week.


Alex, thanks and I got your mail.

George

George,
Looks good how are the Prolinks working.
What are you impressions of the G-Booster at this point.

Hi George,

congrats to your maiden!

Looks so cool with arnament! Hmm... and when you fix this problem...

Have a question about the airfoil...is it so different to the "older Airfoil" root and tip ?

bye

René

Bob, the PL's are working great. I need some more flights/landings, but think they will be keepers for this airframe. I think the only thing I will do is test a "heavier" spring which I think will make the set perfect.

The Booster? I'm VERY impressed up 'til now. The engine starts flawlessly, runs perfect and puts out good power. I don't have any thrust numbers yet, but we are trying to get to it. I love the feel of the throttle in regards to position and power output, it feels so smooth and linear (TO ME). The start is so quiet and seemless that it is almost nerve-racking because I'm not used to it. From what I have experienced with this engine, when more people become aware of it, I think it could become very popular. Obviously I need much more time on the engine to prove its reliability, but I think that is just a matter of time.

George

René, I need to actually look at the two different wings side-by-side before I can comment on the differences. It has been awhile since I had my last Euro, so I cannot simply look at it and tell. Hopefully I will have a chance to compare them in the next day or two and report back.

R/
George

George,

Andy Kane is building it he said about 30 days. But if you are going to be here in the area stop by the sun valley flyers field on Cave creek and lets do some flying I have my Fantasy Euro and a few other jets lets burn some Kero


Ron

My new ES is supposed to be delivered tomorow...I got mine in the fantasy scheme..I'll post some pic's tomorrow after unpacking!!!! Haven't bought retracts yet..I'm interested in the Pro Links...

Sounds good Ron, I may just do that after CA jets. PM your phone number so I can contact you when I can come up.

George

George,

Sent you my cell looking forward to meeting you. Weather is nice right now going out flying tomorrow afternoon. Euro


Ron