 Product Video
Product Review:
Hobby-Lobby UZI XXL
Perspective By:
Brett Bayless
Manufacturer Contact:
Hobby-Lobby International
5614 Franklin Pike
Brentwood, TN 37027
615-377-6948
Manufacturer Website:
www.hobby-lobby.com
FlyingGiants Ratings:
| Packaging: |  | | Kit Quality: |  | | Ease of Build: | | | Huckability: |  | | Overall: | | |
Let me start by showing you this image. This is UZI #1 which was purchased 8 months ago. This UZI has over 400 flights on it, and is still flying strong. Before we even start here, I want to make sure that we get past the sticker shock of a buck fitty for a foam airplane. Hobby Lobby was kind enough to send us two of these units which we took to the 2006 Tucson Aerobatic Shootout. During our stay, I would guess about 30 seperate people had the opprotunity to fly 'em, running through probably about 100 battery packs... Read on.. "Man, that Bipe floats down like a feather," said a guy standing next to me. I was executing an Elevator into a 5 mph headwind with my Uzi XXL and it was floating almost straight down. Right before touchdown I gave a little blip of the throttle and the Uzi did the sweetest little harrier landing you've ever seen. I'm talking of course about the Uzi XXL manufactured by the Potensky Co. in the Czech Republic and sold by Hobby Lobby. No matter where I fly this plane someone always wants to know what plane it is. After turning the sticks over to them, they want to know where to buy one; it's that much fun to fly! The Uzi XXL is an electric powered all EPP (expanded polypropylene) biplane that was designed for a wide range of piloting skills. From the newbie rudder/elevator pilot who wants to move up to an aerobatic aileron ship, to a seasoned 3D pilot who loves to mix the sticks down on the deck, the Uzi will put smiles on both their faces. With a wingspan of 39" and a length of a little over 40" it will fit into the trunk or back seat of most cars, perfect for those of us that want to fly during our lunch break or before/after work. As most of you know, EPP is the most durable foam used in our "foamy" models today. It has the unique ability to spring back to its original shape after being compressed, unlike the Depron foam that the majority of foamy planes are made from. This "spring back" characteristic of EPP is what will keep you flying instead repairing after contact with terra firma. |
   A 200-300 watt electric outrunner motor and 1800-2100 mAh 3 cell lipo battery puts the Uzi XXL at around 25 ozs. With almost 5 square feet of wing area this puts the wing loading at around 5 ozs!!! Yes it will be bounced around in a breeze over 10-12 mph but it's also fun to play around in the wind, like rolling harriers into the wind that are stationary or even moving backwards, or stationary high alpha knife edge. The Uzi can be built in a few evenings, about 10 hours total, even with the mods I did, which I'll explain below. It requires the standard 4 channels, ailerons (one or two servos) elevator, rudder and throttle. All the control surfaces are pre-hinged and the rounded leading edges of the flying surfaces are pre-cut, no sanding is required. The hardware package is fine as is with phenolic control horns, motor mount and landing gear support. Carbon rods are included for strengthening the cabanes and cross bracing. Nice light main wheels, pre bent wire landing gear and a small functional tail wheel are also included. EPP can be glued with a wide variety of glues. The Uzi comes with a UHU type contact cement but I chose to use Goop (Shoegoo) and 5 min epoxy. The instructions leave a lot to be desired with confusing line drawings and very little text but heck, if I can figure them out anyone can. Whether it's cruising and groovin' around the sky or seeing "how low can you go," you can't go wrong with the Uzi XXL from Hobby Lobby. COMPONENTS NEEDED TO COMPLETE: Motor, Speed Controller, 4 or more channel Receiver, Battery, Prop, 3- 4 servos (higher torque servos recommended like Hitec HS 56's or 65's for ailerons and HS 65's or 81's for rudder & elevator) 2-3 12" servo extensions, Glue. COMPONENTS USED: Hacker A-30 16M, Castle Creations PH 45 amp ESC, JR RS6UL 6 channel receiver, HS 65 servos (2 for ailerons) 2 HS 81 (rudder, elevator) Thunder Power 2100 PL 3 cell lipo 15C, APC 11-4.7 slowfly propeller, flat carbon for stiffening wings and fuselage, Dubro EZ connectors (4) PROS: EPP=Durable, suitable for beginning intermediate to advanced pilots, very smooth flyer, no bad habits, will fly at a walking pace. Very good trainer for learning 3D flying and easy to repair if it does break. CONS: Instructions are a little confusing. Price will turn a lot of people off.
PLANE: Uzi XXL MANUFACTURE: Potensky DISTRIBUTOR: Hobby Lobby TYPE: EPP 3D Biplane FLYING WEIGHT: 25 ozs. WINGSPAN: 39" LENGTH: 40.5" RADIO: 4 Channel POWER SYSTEM: Electric Outrunner 200-300 watts BATTERY: 1800-2100 3 cell li-poly DURATION: 8-15 min. (depending on throttle management) FLYING AREA: Park or flying field PRICE: $159
the kit there is a piece of Depron that's about 6"x 2.5" that is not mentioned in the instructions. This is the jig for setting the top wing incidence, use it when gluing the top wing on .     If you're going to be using an outrunner motor, other than the Potensky, you'll have to make a motor mount. I made mine out of 1/8" lite ply 1.75" x 1.75" and "Gooped" it on to the supplied phenolic firewall/motor mount. As far as the servos go, I suggest using higher torque, good centering servos like Hitec HS65's, or their equivalent, on all surfaces, especially if using only one servo for the ailerons. I used HS 81's for the rudder and elevator because I had them lying around. Don't worry about using heavier equipment on this plane. With such a light wingloading this ship can take the extra weight, no problem. I also put two thin washers under the left side of the X mount of the motor to give a little right thrust.     I tried two different motors on the plane, the first was a 200 watt Potensky outrunner. 200 watts will fly the Uzi very well, however I tend to overpower my planes and since I had a Hacker A30-16M lying around, I decided to switch. There was a noticeable difference in performance as you can imagine. The Uzi is now "perfectly over powered"with the Hacker as I'm now at a little over 300 watts. As a side note, the Potensky motor looks to me to be a PJS motor that's relabeled. The phenolic motor mount that is supplied with the kit is pre-drilled for the motor mounts of the PJS/Potensky motors. The most powerful motor in the Potensky line is the 200 watt, but the PJS line of motors goes much bigger. So if you want a drop in motor without having to make a new motor mount, then I would go with the PJS 1200, however it is $25 more expensive than the Hacker. If you do go with a ply mount, make sure you put a few drops of thin CA in the screw holes for strength. No matter what motor you go with, be it a Hacker, PJS, Himax, Hyperion, etc. for 3D, I think you'll be happier with 300 watts as opposed to 200 watts. If you want to sport fly with some power to spare, then a 200 watt motor will be just fine. Another thing to remember is; when gluing the cabanes onto the wings, DO NOT USE GOOP! The cabanes are made out of Depron and Goop eats Depron, use 5 min epoxy instead.  
Because this is my second Uzi XXL I knew what to expect on the maiden, no surprises. A few clicks of trim and it was tracking straight. I'll highlight the pros and con of its flight characteristics. First off, this plane is a floater. Into a slight headwind the Uzi flys at walking speed. With the motor I'm using, advancing the throttle to ¾ and the plane shoots away with authority. Because of the two 40" wings it presents itself very well in the air, it looks bigger than it really is. The Uzi's rudder and elevator are very effective so expo is a big plus. The aileron rolls are a little loopy so I dialed in about 5% differential on the ailerons, this is a benefit of using two aileron servos instead of one. A characteristic of most biplanes is coupling towards the landing gear on knife edge, the Uzi is no exception. I set up a rudder- elevator mix on my radio to get rid of the coupling even though it's easy enough to mix out with your thumbs. There was no roll coupling until I got into very slow high alpha knife edge, again, easy to thumb mix out.      Upright harriers have a slight wing rock depending on AOA but inverted harriers are rock solid. Rolling harriers are so easy with this plane you'll get spoiled. With such a huge fuselage side area and effective rudder and elevator, very little stick input is required. Elevators into a slight headwind are a blast. Full up elevator, throttle off, and the Uzi floats straight down with no wing rock what so ever. Hovering this plane is super easy, it locks right in. Torque rolls require a little aileron input unless the plane is perfectly vertical. There are a few things to note that the Uzi lacks in flight characteristics. One, is the flat spins never really get flat. The upright spins are flatter than inverted which is strange to me because usually it's the other way around. Also, the Uzi doesn't snap. The snaps are more like a barrel roll. I'm sure this is because of a combo of the super light wingloading, and the really tall, flat fuselage, at least that's the story I'm going with.      
This is not my first Uzi XXL as you can see by the photo above. The first one I built was stock, no modifications other than using two aileron servos instead of one. It served me well for hundreds of flights. On this Uzi I made the mods based on my type of flying, which tends to get pretty low, therefore, I crash a lot. No problem, when it does break, I just Goop it back together and it's ready to go the next day. I have noticed however that after a lot of abuse, EPP will start to soften up a bit. That's why I sandwiched the fuselage with two pieces of flat carbon rod, one on each side of the fuselage. This keeps the fuse very stiff with no degradation after many crashes. The other carbon modification I did to the wings was for the same reason, to keep them stiff after many crashes. The center cabane I made was to beef up the support of the top wing solely for the survivability of my patented inverted landings. One mod that I do recommend is the wedge of EPP under the back half of the elevator pushrod. This gives a straighter line of the pushrod without having to bend the rod to meet up with the elevator control horn.   
Over the years I've built and flown many airplanes and I must say that the Uzi XXL is one of my all time favorites. It has afforded me the opportunity to try maneuvers that, in all honesty, I'm afraid to try with my balsa planes. The reason for this is, in a sense, I don't care about this plane. I know in the back of my mind that no matter what happens, (read: crash), that I can repair it and have the airplane flying the next day. This kind of attitude has helped my 3D flying exponentially. This is a wonderful airplane for new pilots that want to graduate from rudder-elevator planes to an aileron plane. The Uzi is so docile that anyone with limited flying experience can jump on the sticks and feel comfortable. The price is one thing that will turn many people off on buying this airplane, and that's a shame. I was one of those people until a friend let me fly his. After that I was hooked and went right home and ordered one. I figured the price was about the same as 3 Depron foamies, and those don't last me very long at all. The Uzi XXL has given me more "smiles per dollar" than any airplane that I have ever owned. Don't get me wrong, the Uzi has its shortcomings, like loopy snaps and flat spins that are not too flat, but when you add all the pluses this plane has to offer those two deficits are minor. Waaay minor. If you want an airplane that builds quickly, is extremely durable, and can float, groove, and huck, then the Uxi XXL from Hobby Lobby is the ticket. In our opinion, this plane is the *ULTIMATE* 3D confidence builder. | Hobby-Lobby International
5614 Franklin Pike
Brentwood, TN 37027
615-377-6948 www.hobby-lobby.com | |
08-10-2007, 07:47 PM
Re: Hobby-Lobby UZI XXL 
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