Ok guys.
If you missed me in Toledo this year at the Giants booth, most likely I was standing under the Hangar 9 35% 260 that was hanging from the rafters at the Horizon booth.
I believe I spent over 2 hours over the course of the 3 days staring at that plane.
So when it became available I HAD TO HAVE IT!
And BADA BING.. I GOT IT TODAY!!!!
I came home from work and on my back porch were 3 boxes.
One HUGE box, one semi huge box and one small box. All were addressed to me, and all said Horizon Hobby... I knew this was going to be a good day.
Now.. I have long been a fan of Hangar 9 models and have owned quite a few of them. I am used to getting very nice, high quality kits that come in great packaging from them, so Hangar 9 was going to have to really push the boundaries to impress me more than they have in the past.
Well.... just by opening the boxes I could tell they did. This plane came packaged in a system that assures the plane will arrive in one piece. An outer box, with an inner box, properly placed ply wood, and a neat system where a wood dowel is in place of the wing tube and is pinned into the sides of the box assuring that your fuse stays put during the "gentle handling" that UPS always provides it packages .
Ok... packaging aside.. lets get the the plane.
Guys let me tell ya... NO DISAPPOINTMENT HERE!!
The plane seems VERY LIGHT. and the construction and covering looks almost flawless. (A quick brush over with an iron in a few tiny areas and the covering will be perfect)
It really seems like pretty much all the tedious work of building an ARF has been done for you. Funny thing is, when I first had all the parts out of the boxes I kept looking for the rest of the hardware, and then I realized .... there wasn't any more.. what I was looking for (control horns, hinges and such) WERE ALREADY ON THE PLANE!!!
After getting all the parts "de-bagged" I was able to open up the fuse and remove the Cowl. This plane is constructed very nicely, and very well thought out. Fuel tank (which comes plumbed and attached) sits over the wing tube, the motor box is PINNED! MAN... This may be one of the first REAL ARF's I have ever seen!!
Another thing I noticed on my first round of inspections, any of you that have owned the H9 33% Extra 300 will remember the thick air foil of the wings. Well, not so on the new 260! The airfoils are MUCH thinner and the wings weigh hardly anything!
(And viewing Waynes Video... it seems like the wings work GREAT!)
So two hours into owning this plane, I am very happy, the construction looks very nice, the plane feels light, the kit is very complete, and the whole thing made it to my door step in one piece.
I also received my order for 8711 servos today (notice the money shot
)
In the next few days I should be getting my batteries, regulators and switches from Fromeco, Cans and headers from Desert Aircraft,and one more package from Horizon containing my match boxes, servo extensions and servo horns.
By looking at the kit, with a few days of nice relaxed building this bird should be airborne.
Tonight I am going to iron out the few tiny wrinkles, read the manual a few times and wait for the rest of my gear.
Enjoy the pictures, and if anyone has any specific questions they want answered, please feel free to ask, I'll do my best to take a picture or answer them!