Phoenix 2000. First Flight.

...a little slope soaring

I've chosen to set up the Phoenix 2000 as a pure soaring glider without motor, running a 2200 3S battery located right at the firewall and some small-change ballast installed in the nose cone.

I have configured the Phoenix with crow brakes, as I discovered that having some sort of brake/lift dump is essential, whether that be fence-type brakes or, in this case, flaps and ailerons configured to generate drag and reflex the airfoil respectively

There are, unfortunately, no good slope soaring sites nearby, however I decided to try the hill at the far end of the paddocks where I fly; not particularly high or steep but enough to generate a little lift.

The wind was a strong north-wester, a little gusty too, and I launched the Phoenix with as lusty a hurl as I could summons. The Phoenix flies well enough, catching what little and sporadic lift was available here.

I tried the Phoenix with and without flaperons active but, given the very turbulent conditions, I couldn't asses the effect they have.  Similarly, I didn't get the opportunity to really test the crow brakes, however they were effective in slowing the glider down and didn't cause it to climb when deployed which is good.

However, as a first try, the Phoenix is encouraging, so I'll be trying to get it flying in some better lift... 

Phoenix 2000 EPO Composite Glider. Unofficial Unboxing.

...back to the future

The Phoenix 2000 was the very first RC plane I purchased, and so this is very much a back-to-the-future episode for me.

The Phoenix 2000 is, as it was back then, a very well build and affordable RC plane. It has a sturdy plastic moulded fuselage, which it shares with its sibling the Phoenix 1600, which comes complete with plywood battery tray and rear servo deck.

The fuselage comes with the rear control rods pre-installed and, on PNF versions, the servos installed and connected.

The wings are good-quality EPO with moulded-in reinforcements, and a carbon joiner rod is supplied as well. There's also a sleek moulded plastic canopy which clips onto the fuselage.

The wings have substantial ailerons, with servos installed on the PNF package, although control rods have to be fitted yourself. There's provision for flaps including moulded recess for servo and linkages included - you just need to cut the flap free where they're moulded to the wing.

The kit comes with a folding prop and spinner with collet adapter, and there's a fixed nosecone in case you just want this as a pure glider.

So the Phoenix 2000 comes highly recommended as a high-quality entry-level glider, sturdily constructed yet elegant and capable in the air...

Flying the Firstar EDF

...on a sunny Saturday afternoon

Beautiful weekend weather begged for some flying, so I headed down to the paddock with the Firstar EDF conversion. The first flight of this has been on a cold & overcast morning, so this afternoon would be an opportunity to try out the big FPv plane in some sunny weather.

With the straight-shooting EDF unit, the flight characteristics are much more aligned with its close cousin, the phoenix 2000 glider, making it a real pleasure to fly. And today enjoying having a bit of fun cruising it around the open space of the paddocks.

Whilst EDF's are known energy hogs, the Forstar flies so much better and truer that I still think the overall performance and duration can't be worse than with that huge prop tower and negative thrust line. This still has to be tested when I get some proper FPV flying done, but even just punting the Firstar around is so much more fun now...

Firstar V2. 70mm EDF Conversion.

...flies and sounds better

The flight performance of the Firstar has been very disappointing, mainly I think because of the effect of the negative thrust angle which effectively just increases the wing loading.

So, like I'd long considered with the Floater Jet but never actually did, I've replaced the pusher prop with a low-mounted 70mm EDF installed directly on the body mount used for the stock motor tower with large cable tie straps screwed in place.

The EDF is rated at about 1.2kg thrust, far more than required, so I'm only running it at 60% speed on a 3000 4S lipo, which is more than adequate. In conjunction I've also replaced the stock 30A ESC with a 50A unit.

The thrust line of the EDF is virtually through the centre of lift on the wing, and this shows on launch with the V2 flying straight and then beginning to climb as the speed climbs, in stark contrast to its behavior with the tall pusher prop where it always nosed in and was reluctant to climb.

The much sleeker form, with the tower and foam shroud, means that it's also faster through the air, if required, and glides very well. And, if you needed more benefits, it also sounds brilliant...

Trainstar Tough Trainer. Flying Around.

...a little fun Trainstar-style


For a while now the Trainstar has been grounded due to increasingly-bad prop vibration.

Initially I thought the front fuselage was flexing from fatigue and installed stiffeners, which made no difference. Then I got a prop balancer & did the prop which likewise had a nominal effect.

It turned out that it was just the bell mount grub screws which, although I'd tightened them, were a little loose as the hex drive had stripped. Fixing this was tricky and painful as I couldn't get the originals out, and I couldn't tap new holes for fresh grub screws as there wasn't enough depth.

Eventually it has been fixed, well enough anyway, and now the Trainstar is back in the air again, still full of character...

747-4 Trainstar Shaft Adapter

...so I got a new motor instead

I ended up terminally bending the shaft adapter on my Trainstar some while a go as the result of colliding with a light pole. While, in the past, I have managed to straighten the adapter by hook or by crook, this time my efforts were in vain.

Now, it must be said, the Volantex (nee Lanyu) prop adapters are rubbish, a conclusion based on my experience of both the Trainstar and Phoenix planes, and I've heard this sentiment echoed by others as well; the adapter material is very soft and prone to both stripping and bending.

I've previously looked at the Volantex store but, despite having the items on display, it seemed impossible to actually buy anything. And I couldn't find anything on the web either. However reading through a thread about Volantex spares yesterday,  the website had apparently become functional.

My optimism at this news was unfortunately was short-lived as, while the prop adapter is there (and on sale!) an error came up when I tried to finalise Paypal payment and, despite repeating the checkout exercise, I still had no success. So I again abandoned Volantex for spares (why is it so hard?) and headed to Hobbyking.

The Volantex motor for the Trainstar is a 4023/850KV and fortunately Hobbyking have an exact equivalent, the D4023-850 Out Runner Motor. This, however, comes fitted with a steel prop shaft instead of the aluminium of the Volantex, and is also only about half the price.

So, while I really didn't want to buy another motor when all I needed was a prop adapter, it all got too hard...

Phoenix 1600. Unofficial Unboxing.

...what's in the box

After ordering a Phoenix 1600 on the weekend I received it yesterday double-packaged and in a nice picture box.



Everything is very well packaged and protected inside the box, so there was no travel damage at all. Being a Lanyu/Volantex creation, so a nice high-quality piece of kit all round with a beautifully moulded fuselage with built-in battery tray with strap.

The EPO wings and tail are high-quality mouldings with excellent surface finish, and all servos are pre-installed except for the flaps. Provision is made for installing flap servos in the wings, and liknages are supplied

The few areas where complaint was levelled at older models, like the clevises supplied with the Phoenix 2000's, have been fixed on this later iteration.

I'm looking forward to assembling it and will uploading some tech on that as well...