bikerbc

Is there anybody out there that can tell me anything about Park Zone's Icon.. I was looking at one and I thought it was a pretty nice looking little plane..I would like to know how it flys and things like how water tight it is . If it has enough power etc...I have never had an electric before so this would be my first..I would say I am an intermediate flyer..How long does it fly on a charge and how long does it take to charge up? Can you charge it from your car battery ? I know nothing at all about electrics .. I have been avioding them because what there is to learn seems overwhelming...Thanks for any help you can give me....

MrMulligan

My Feedback: (314)

I just finished the assembly of mine and was going to ask the same questions you just did. It was an easy assembly. The hardest part was making a connecter for the EC-3 connecter they use on the ESC. I'm not a fan of these connecters and usually swap them out for Sermos or Anderson Powerpoles. Not enough room in this case. I finally settled on making an adapter with a couple of short lengths of wire, Sermos connecters on one end and female bullet connecters on the other with a bit of shrink tubing. Works great. I left off the landing gear as I fly from a grass field and the supplied wheels are pretty small. I'm using a Spektrum AR600RX bound to a DX8. I hope to fly it soon.

bikerbc

Thanks for the reply...A buddy of mine just bought one and I helped him program it to his also brand new DX8...We set it up acording to the instructions..We followed the throws as close as we could..Our Maiden was off a fairly rough grass field and the tiny wheels worked better than expected. It was a bit twitchy at first on high rates so we cut it back to low rates and it settled down and became nice to fly..We recharged the battery from the van battery and took it up a second time .It took I think it was about 20 mins to recharge...The second flight was much easier and more fun..It has eneough power ... We are going to fly it from off the water on Wedensday weather permitting...Thats what will really tell the story I want to hear...I have a North Star I am going to maiden on Wedensday weather permitting..I only hope it flys half as good as this little plane...I am thinking I will probably buy one for my first electric...Let us know how your madien goes...

MrMulligan

My Feedback: (314)

Thanks for the flight information. I think I'm going to put the wheels on as our grass field is in pretty good shape. Love the shape of this aircraft. In many ways, it's an updated version of the old Republic Seabee with th rear end of a shark.

jackbell

nice seaplane...however, it does have one problem that another member and I have found.
At high speed or in a good wind there is a very noticeable tail waggle. Doesn't seem to effect flight too much but is a little concerning.
I have added a couple of carbon fiber strips along the rer of the fuse and tail to stiffen it up. I also added a carbon ron from into the stab.
Hope this is going to help.
It's a great plane otherwise and flies well. I have only flown mine from a runway.
It is a floater but land quite fast.

Charlie P.

See the "Mini Float Fly" thread running concurrently. I couldn't decide if it was just bothered by the wind or actually developed a Dutch roll in flight (I'm not much on small electrics). My first flight impression was: "Eww" This one was for sale by the end of the day on the owner's first time out with it and neither of us with him made an offer.

But it does look great on the water.

TimBle

I enjoy mine.

Thomas B

My Feedback: (4)

The Icon tail wiggle is caused by turbulence from the large fuse pod impinging on the vertical tail, plus some prop effects.

A number of folks have solved the tail wag issue on the Parkzone Icon by using an inexpensive peizio rate gyro on the rudder.

My 6 foot Icon does some of the same same thing, but oddly enough, my little tiny one (the small one from Hobby King, not the Guanli one) barely does it at all.

I plan on eventually trying a rate gyro on my large Icon.

bikerbc

Thomas B Where did you get your 6 ft I Con ? Was it a Kit or an Arf or a Scratch build?

Thomas B

My Feedback: (4)

It is large EPO foam ARF.

HobbyKing sells it now (when not out of stock), but I got mine from the factory (NFD or DZ) in China without motor, esc or servos) when it first came out, before HobbyKing started selling it. HK has been out of stock on it for quite a while, now.

http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbycity/s...dProduct=11587

The large one is pretty nice and comes with retracts making it a true amphibian. Only siginificant issue is that the retract nose gear is undersize and breaks a lot.

Here is a picture of mine.

TimBle

Hey thats nice!! HK you say, any other ARF marketer's with the 6' er?

Back to the PZ Icon. Theleak in mine went from a trickle to a flood. the central fuselage seam is the culprit. Its poorly glued so it opens up with regular flying and water landings.
Its taken on so much water now the rudder servo burnt out, fortunately on the water so I did not get airborne.

If you but this plane, seal each and every seam with silicon or gap filling CA. I would hate for anyone to loose theirs to a crash induced by rudder servo failure.

orbsah

Anyone know how the PZ Icon A5 compares to the Electrifly Seawind? Roughly similar pricing/features. Thansk.

TimBle

the icon is a much better plane. i have both

yard-dart

My Feedback: (35)

I got a chance to fly my flying buddy's Icon. I was impressed. Sure, it does wag (dutch roll) a bit, but it doesn't affect the handling at all. In fact, many "scale" r/c Corsairs, and even the full scale Corsair, had the same "wagging" characteristic.

Enough about the unimportant wag. The plane flies great. Plenty of power, takes off nicely even when the water is a bit choppy. The 3-blade prop does howl a bit, though it's no big deal. I was impressed enough with the plane that I bought the PNP version. Still waiting on it to arrive.

I'd like to thank TimBle for the head's up on the inner seam. This is electricity we're dealing with, and the last time I checked water and electricity doesn't go well together.

Overall, I think the plane is well worth the money.

TimBle

Despite my best efforts to find the leaks in this plane It still takes on water. I now have two blown rudder servo's and one blown elevator servo as a result of this poor quality by parkzone.
If you're flying this thing off water, rather don't. Mine blew the elevator servo fortunately in a neutral postion but the langing was in long grass so no damage. I''ve lost faith in this plane. I simply don't know when something else will go wrong. Going to stick it flying it off a runawy in future. Its still nicer than the Seawind EP but that can at least fly off water (for two years now) without trying to impersonate a sieve!

bikerbc

I realize this thread is old but I have been flying my I Con now for over a year and have never yet put it on wheels and haven't so far suffered a leak...I guess I am one of the lucky ones . My buddys leaks badly but then he has had to glue his back together a few times .. I really like how the plane handles.. The rudder is very effective .. It stall turns better than any thing I have ever flown...For a cheap little foamy it is a lot of fun..

Wayne22

My Feedback: (2)

i've got a lot of time on my buddy's Icon. We flew it off snow in the winter, and now fly from water. It has never had wheels on it. It flies nice. Tail does wag in high speed dives, but that is easy enough to avoid. Stalls are pretty tame (the way we have this one set up). Water take offs can use up a lot of distance, but a little wind on the nose, makes a huge difference. There is plenty of power for the steep climb out required at the site we fly.

It has taken on a few drops of water, through the hatch joint, I believe. I sprayed the servos with corrosion x, and wrapped the reciever in a plastic bag. Note that this is a normal precaution for any water borne plane. They all take on water one way or another. Parkzone has recently upgraded the ESC and servos with a water resistant coating....something that should probably have been done at the outset, as the rudder servo is in a very vulnerable position if there is any water inside.....that is why Corrosion X was used...

TheRealEagleye

I see most of these ICON messages are old, but here goes. I just got the A5, and can't get it off the water (or just barely). It simply doesn't have the necessary power. And, it takes on water very easily :-(. Not happy with the quality of this plane at all. Anyone know if the 480 brushless can be upgraded to something more powerful?? thanks.