Nitro Models.......Super Falcon 120.....thoughts?

[Neogenesis]

http://www.nitroplanes.com/fa120nigasje.html


Got an email about this today. It's size and extra amenities "flaps, retracts" seem like it might be worth the risk. Has anyone ever ordered anything from these guys? How is the quality of their product?

Was thinking of putting a Webra 1.20 pumped on there.


Thanks,

Neo

[Edge 540]

It depends on what you're looking for. I posted a long thing on nitromodels awhile back. We are using them for a research project and have put MANY hours into the 337 airframe.
Obviously its only opinions, but they come from lots of time working with one. Personally if it is a scale plane, go for it, but if you are looking for high performance or light weight I'd keep looking. Once again, just personal preference.

[Neogenesis]

I guess I'm more worried about it falling apart in the air. Is the craftsmanship worth the money.......since it is a glass fuse with built up wings. I'm not looking for ultra speed....but something that's big....semi-fast....and not near as expensive as a turbine..........lol


Neo

[Edge 540]

The 337 was all wood so I cant comment on the glass. I can tell you that it was built like a tank though, and I was not worried about it falling apart! It was definitely more on the solid/overweight category than flimsy.
For a Cessna push pull it did some nice rolling circles, point rolls and even hovering. I am not allowed to do this anymore though because apparently we lost some axillary batteries during the aerobatics.
The prop jet may be completely different, but the 337 was solidly built. The fiberglass for the cowl was quite sturdy.

[XJet]

The little bobcat is "okay" but not great when it comes to build-quality.

On mine:

Some of the glue joints were obviously done *after* the hot-glue gun ran out -- ie: the doubler under the servo tray fell off when I drilled the servo-mounting holes.

The former holding the nose-leg was put in very crooked -- rotated and tilted forwards at the top.

The tailplane needed some additional glue, the end ribs were "mobile" and it's a bolt/blind nut on thesethat holds the tail booms together at the back.

The wheels had the holes drilled about 5 degrees out of plum so they wobble real bad.

Mine also flies *really strangely. At low speeds it wants to pitch up real bad (especially if you apply power) but once you get the airspeed up it wants to pitch nose-down, to the extent that you've got to use constant back-pressure on the stick just to keep it level. Both the wing and tailplane are lifting sections and it appears as if the pitch-effect of lift generated by the tailplane is greater than that generated by the wing-lift as the airspeed increases.

Still, for the money it's an "okay" plane and certainly seems strong enough (once you supply the missing glue).

[Edge 540]

I'd agree with the glue comments although our models showed this to a lesser extent.

[Gareth246]

Hi guys, i have just purchased my first Super Falcon 120. i don't want to put a turbine on her yet. what engine and prop should i use? i am about 5500ft above sea level, so teh performance of the recomended engine might not be enough. i have seen clips of one flying with a OS 1.08 motor, and it seems to do alright. i have a beautiful old OS 91 which has no problems swinging a 14 X 6 prop. i might be able to swing a 14 X 8 in the thinner air.

[Kenneth Symons]

Have a look here http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_59..._1/key_/tm.htm

[wildnloose]

I have flown my friends with a os 120 ax. Not sure about the prop, it was a zinger 3 blade, but it was underpropped. Although it was not overpowered it still flew well. With 50% flaps, it would take off in about a 30-40ft rollout on thick grass. I did basic maneuvers, you have to practice a little energy retention, especially in the turns. It would fall out of the top of a 100ft loop. He had Spring-airs installed, and they must have been the light ones because they did not last 2 landings. He now has fixed gear. Using 50% flaps, landings were uneventful, even on our thick grass field. Just line up with the runway, power back and watch her slow to a crawl.

The only downside I see is that some turbine trainers (like this one) are too easy to fly, they are too light and agile, and will not help you get used to flying something such as a fighter jet. You would be better getting a pylon racer to get used to the speed and a prop warbird to get used to flying something with a very heavy wingload.

Now, let me say this, I have this plane under serious consideration for my first turbine jet. I only plan to stay with sport jets, my ideal jet is an Ultra Bandit. I just need to make up my mind whether or not to go turbine or edf. If I do get it, I will definitely do all the suggested mods to make this plane turbine ready.

[GooseF22]

I know a bunch of guys that use this as a first trainer turbine. It requires several mods. contact curtis wade at michigan jets. he has most of the stuff you need CAD'd already. Have seen probably 20 of these in turbine form. Get the Trailing link gear. i believe the boomerang Elan landing gear set fits it exactly, not sure. Call Todd at Dreamworks and ask.

It flies ok, not great, but easy to fly. If you have the money, I would go with an Elan as a first turbine though. It has a much wider speed range. I flew 100+ flights on mine before selling and moving faster (rookie/flash) this year. I was afraid a the falcon wouldn't do that back then..

But yes, there are several guys flying them.

As for the little .25 bobbycat, It makes a super screamer with an electric, but it requires a ton of mods to get it right. I have two of them. I got over 100mph with about 1500 watts, but I want more, so Its going to get a 90mm fan this year and a larger pack and maybe retracts...

[GooseF22]

I have been unable to find a pusher prop combo for my Keekat that would get it going. It had a piped .90 on it. we ended up using a zinger 11x8. It needed a 10x10, but the nearest prop to that was a 16x10 that when cut down didn't work. If you had a good 1.20 motor on the falcon, I would start by cutting down a 16x10 to 13x10 and later 12x10 ish.. Watch rpm!! I used a modified DUB JETT ultrathrust muffler with a pusher tip mounted forward.. that was good for 1000 rpm instantly. It just limiting on prop speed mainly for the prop config. I read alot of threads that said the same thing, so to learn to land a swept wing plane, It is priced right, but when you make the actual jump to a turbine, you probably wont fly it anymore. I sold my keekat that year, only using it as a backup.