 Product Video
Product Review:
3D Hobby Shop 51" Andrew Jesky Slick
Perspective By:
John "THe TANK" Banks
Manufacturer Contact:
3D Hobby Shop 1-830-990-6978 M-F 9-6pm
Manufacturer Website:
www.3dhobbyshop.com
FlyingGiants Ratings:
| Packaging: |  | | Kit Quality: | | | Ease of Build: | | | Huckability: | | | Overall: | | |
Popularity of electric R/C flight continues to grow in leaps and bounds not only through out the U.S., but also the world. One of the major front runners in the electric flight and electric airframes is 3D Hobby Shop. They continue to be innovators in the electric market and have continued to do so with their most recent addition to the family, the 51" "AJ Slick." 3D Hobby Shop partnered up with Andrew "The Animal" Jesky to develop to create one of the first models of the new full scale "Slick 540." Combining these two heavy hitters in the modeling industry is sure to be a huge success. When I saw that the 3DH AJ Slick was on the boards and getting ready for production, I knew I had to have one!
|
    As always, 3D Hobby Shop goes to great lengths to protect the merchandise they are shipping. The double box protection and plenty of padding inside ensured that the airplane and accessories made it through to me with zero damage. Upon unwrapping all of the individual parts from their clear packages, all of the covering was pristine over the top of an amazing light, laser-cut airframe covered in the signature "AJ" scheme. I knew from the first glance at the model that this was going to be another amazing edition to the 3DH line of electric aircraft. Big wings, large control surfaces and a thick airfoiled horizontal stabilizer and rudder showed me that this kit was designed with all-out performance in mind. Within the box was a full hardware kit complete with ball-links, phenolic horns, wheels, and a really trick tail wheel setup. I also ordered my kit with the recommended power setup. To finish off the accessories in the box, I had ordered mine along with all the necessary components. After speaking with Ben, I decided to go with the Torque Outrunner and Airboss ESC combination, along with Hitec HS 85MG servos, Zoar 15x6E prop, and Flightpower 4S 2500mah Lipo. Ben promised me that I would be extremely happy with this setup, so I went with it as he has always steered me in the right direction when it comes to the perfect setup for one of his airframes.
Wingspan: 51" (535 Sq. inches) Weight: 55-60 oz. Includes: Carbon Wing Tube Carbon Landing Gear Ball-Link Hardware Wing Bags Included! Aluminum Axels HD wheels Needed: Brushless Outrunner (100 - 200 grams) 4 x Hitec HS-85MG servos (or equilivant) Dubro #672 Long Servo Arms 14 - 15"Diameter 6 - 7 "pitch prop 55 - 80 Amp Speed Controller 6 ch Programmable Radio 2" spinner 3S - 3S 2500 mah lipo battery
Construction is as simple as it gets with the AJ Slick. For this review, we did something a little different. I had received the AJ Slick the Wednesday prior to the Ohio Huckfest. After making a few phone calls, I decided to pack the airframe, accessories and a tool box full of the "usual" assembly items in the car, and take it to the Huckfest for a build and fly at the Ohio Huckfest!!! Jeff Heitman, son of Corky Heitman, and co-host of the Thistledown Flyers location that hosted the Huckfest was extremely accommodating and gave me full reign of his unbelievable shop in which to assemble the AJ Slick.
After getting settled in Jeff's shop, I got down to business. Wing assembly includes gluing the ailerons to the wings with the provided CA hinges in the already cut-slots. You then remove the covering over the servo bay, and a small slot in the aileron in which you glue the phenolic aileron control horn. Bolt in your servo and attached the supplied hardware, attach the extensions, and your done!
  Moving onto the fuselage, I took a brand new #11 blade and removed the covering on the fuse covering the wing tube slot, the wing bolt and anti-rotation pin holes, as well as the elevator servo bays, pull-pull exits, and the slot for the horizontal stabilizer. Once this was done, I squared up the horizontal stab, and glued it in place thin CA. I then glued the rudder in place with the provided CA hinges. Next up was installing the phenolic horn in the bottom of the elevator, and gluing them in place with CA hinges. It was during this process that I removed the covering from the elevator-joiner and ensured that I had a proper fit BEFORE gluing and hinging the two pieces in place. Once everything looked to be in alignment, a few drops of thin CA and the stabs were complete. I installed the elevator servo and the corresponding linkage. The rudder servo and pull-pull cables, as well as the tail wheel setup and steering rod.
The landing gear bolted up with two bolts and a small dab of loctite. 3DH supplied a very nice set of carbon fiber gear with this kit that weigh almost nothing. They seem to be stiff and sturdy and will be able to handle plenty of harrier landings in the future. To that I added the axles, wheels, and wheel pants. 3D Hobbyshop once again included their axles which are simply smaller versions of giant scale axels, with a flange, and bolt-through attachment. No more axles vibrating loose at the most in-opportune times!!! The Wheel pants are slotted for the gear attachment to prevent them from moving, and are hold on by the simple pinch fitting of the flange on the axels combined with the landing gear and bolt combination on the other side. I then bolted up the motor with the supplied hardware and routed the wires and speed control through the bulkhead and into the fuse. The AJ Slick had the motor mount holes pre-drilled as well as the blind nuts pre-installed. Motor and speed control installation took all of about 3 minutes combined with the carbon fiber motor mount supplied by Ben at 3DH.
The cowl was attached with four wood screws, I preferred to substitute #2 allen-head style button heads per my preference while lining up the cowl with the Spinner that I got from 3D Hobbyshop. I attached the wings with the supplied nylon wing bolts, routed the wires, and mounted the Rx and battery Velcro, a quick program in the radio and Bingo! We are flight ready!
    Over all construction of this airframe is top notch. Even though I took the time to document the build as we went along. It only took me just a hair over 3 hours to go from a NIB kit full of parts, to a ready to fly airframe. Also along those lines, my AJ Slick was built completely without an instruction manual as I decided to leave that in my shop back home when I was going over the contents of the kit. This airplane is unbelievably easy to build and has a very large amount of pre-fabrication done for you. I think this has to be 3D Hobby Shops most complete airframe to date.
   
After giving the AJ Slick a quick test to make sure everything was going in the right direction. I eased in the power and the airplane quickly lifted off the grass of the famed Thistledown Flyers' field. A couple clicks of trim were all that were needed to ensure straight and level flight. After talking to Andrew Jesky and Ben at 3D HobbyShop, they had given me a good starting point for 3D and precision and their recommendation was right on the money. After a minute or two of just cruising around, getting a feel for the Slick, it was time to kick in the high rates, and see what it was capable off. Harriers and inverted harriers were absolutely rock solid. The overall size and light wing loading of the Slick provide a very stable platform for 3D aerobatics. Due to the large surface size, the Slick has impressive control authority. There wasn't a maneuver in the book that the Slick isn't capable of. Waterfalls and knife-edge spins are tight and fast. Flat spins float down like a falling leaf and rolling harriers are smooth and axial. Hovering was simple and took very little effort to keep in place with the recommended CG location. I also ran the Slick through some sequence work and it tracked great with its generous tail moment and mid wing location. Snaps were predictable and stopped on a dime. Rudder authority was excellent and overall control of the airframe was extremely predictable.        
Whether you're a sport flier or into all out, thrown down 3D, I feel that you will be extremely pleased with the capability of the 3D Hobby Shop AJ Slick! | 3D Hobby Shop 1-830-990-6978 M-F 9-6pm www.3dhobbyshop.com | |
09-25-2008, 06:13 PM
Re: 3DHobby Shop's 51" Andrew Jesky 51" Slick 
I gotcher Flying Giant right here.
Similar Threads 
you guys at 3dhobbyshop rock!!!!
Linear Mode
