Flyzone Diablo - Booooooo!

[idealhobbies]

Well, I can't just give up, so I tried another flight with this POS. After the last miserable failure putting this aircraft into the wild blue, I have checked, rechecked, and yet again checked the balance, trim, servo response, and tossed it without throttle until my arm was tired to check it's trim. The first flight resulted in it taking a nose dive and cartwheeling 15 feet away from me. The wing broke, engine pod fell off, and the nose lost a chunk.

Todays flight.... Checked everything again before flight. Everything was as it should have been. Checked wind.... calm with the occasional light breeze... After the last attempt, I did all the searching that I could find on the Diablo and any problems that others were encountering. Quite a few people said that it was underpowered with the stock engine pod so I put the duel fan pod on it after the last crash, to see if it made a difference. Did about 5 tosses into the high grass to check everything again.... good to go. Ok... throttle up... check wind.... throw.... it pitches right... SLAM! into the ground it goes. Wing breaks, nose section breaks in half, battery (Lipo) flies out, engine pod falls off. Bad thing.... Lipo battery went farther that the plane flew!
A. not sure about battery being safe now...
B. Fuselage shot.
c. Wing questionable.


PO'd, I emailed the company. Told them everything. They want me to box it up and send it to them for warranty inspection. The darn thing is broke! What's to inspect? I'm done with it now. Flyzone can take their Diablo and put it where the sun does not shine. The only thing that I can figure is that the engine thrust is out of alignment and causing the plane to pitch to the right. It would not be something that would show on a glide test, which was done countless times..... $200+ out the window.....

[Alpea42]

Very well could be thrust missalignment .Some hand launches are more successful if done at 1/2 throttle and then more gas applied as the plane picks up speed

[phillipmorris]

I didn't like the video's on this one as it does look like its abit underpowered, 1/2 throttle is an excellent suggestion but thats if you have enough thrust, thrust angle might be the culprit, sorry to hear of the failure...

Not sure of your past piloting experience, my favored flyers todate are the Super Cub trainer, Stryker B, and now liking the Parkzone Warbird, yet to get off the ground with the ducted fans myself, anxious to hear if you later find a better model..keep us posted, all here to learn...very best..

[pcpadgett]

I have about 10 flights with the Diablo and have had some better luck than others. The plane is tail heavy from the factory. I have mine balanced at 58mm from the leading edge. Had to add about 1/2 oz of lead. The stock radio glitches. I have replaced the receiver and transmitter with JR Sport radios and left the servos stock. Made all the difference. I would not rate the plane for beginners. I like the plane, once balanced and radio replaced. I am still flying with the single pod and full throttle hand launch.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pjzKghtJw-o

[carld2002]

I have one too and it is crap so far.

I also noticed that it was a bit tail heavy but only a bit so a few pennies fixed that.

I took it back to the store today. Good guy, he is going to take it out himself this weekend to see if it was the plane's fault or mine. it is nice of him to do so.

Mine doesn't fly at all. Just nosedives into the ground no matter how I toss it, it just won't fly. not to mention, it will break every crash no matter what.

[Airhead]

Hey guys,
half throttle is a good idea.. my Delta launches much better at half throttle. And, in my feeble little brain it makes me believe that I have about an extra second of reaction time too.
Full power launches with it make me sceered..::o

[Laggard]

It may be a good idea to avoid all Flyzone aircraft.

[FlyWheel]

Maybe this is the reason they named it http://mescal.pixelized.ch/smilies/devil_catt.gif"Diablo"?http://mescal.pixelized.ch/smilies/mexico.gif

[pcpadgett]

Maybe lucky. I have had better results flying the Diablo, 12 and 0.(12 flight and 0 damage) The CG must be checked before the first flight. They all seem to be tail heavy. (MFG says the problem was to much paint in the tail area) I hand launch with full throttle and let the plane get some airspeed before climbing. Mine flies nice, flat and slow. Had problems on the first flight with the ESC and radios glitching. (Cuts the throttle off for a moment) Replaced the transmitter and receiver with a JR Sport I had in the gargage, problem solved. The stock radios have been sent back to the MFG and they are going to fix them. The ESC and servos are still stock. I have replaced the single pod with the dual and the plane still balances at 58mm from the leading edge. If the winds are down I will fly the the dual pod tommorrow. I would not recommend this plane for a beginner. (aka Super Cub). It does fly flat and slow, but because it is an EDF throttle response is not like a prop. If you make a mistake on landing approach and try to give it full throttle there will be a lag, then stall and crash.

[jasmine2501]

Maybe this is the reason they named it http://mescal.pixelized.ch/smilies/devil_catt.gif"Diablo"?http://mescal.pixelized.ch/smilies/mexico.gif
Maybe they should have named it Los Perros... I took one look at it at the LHS one day and totally didn't like it... and I didn't even fly it. I gave it a "not worth a try" rating...

[pcpadgett]

Well, I tried flying the Diablo with the Dual Pod. Plane is more tail heavy than ever. The plane porpoised like crazy. After giving full down trim I was able to nurse it back to the field. I re-checked the balance. 58mm on the nose. The added weight of the Dual Pod does not produce enought added thrust. I am going back the Single Pod and Ebay the Dual. May try going brushless on the Single. It has been a long time since I crashed one on landing, but it was close today.

[Airhead]

It may be a good idea to avoid all Flyzone aircraft.
Hey Laggard,
I agree, I've had some Not So Good experiences with Flyzone planes in the past. I now have a a tendency to just stay away when I see their logo..

[carld2002]

Hey Laggard,
I agree, I've had some Not So Good experiences with Flyzone planes in the past. I now have a a tendency to just stay away when I see their logo..
I dunno, my skyfly is quite nice although, I have nothing to compare it to.

[carld2002]

Update on my situation:

I called the guy back today

He wasen't able to fly it becasue it hasen't been nice out lately but he called the manufacturer. They want him to send it back to them so they can check it out. He offered me the choice of either replacing it with another diablo, or a different plane. I think you can guess what I chose...

So I really wanted to return it for money and I will give that a shot when I go in in a few days but I would understadn if he didn't let me. The reason I need money is to clear my $200 debt from my other rc purchases last week.

But if I can't get money back for it, I will be buying a new plane or electronics (especially if I need to replace my spectrum reciever)

I am just posting to say that there seems to be a pattern here with the manufacturer asking for them to be sent back.

[idealhobbies]

Well, after the last misery with this plane, and a lot of talking to Newjak here on the board, I'm trying 1 last time. The last crash destroyed everything in the front all the way to the battery. I've put a new fuselage on and am waiting for a brushless motor from Hobbycity. After many discussions with Newjak, it has been determined that the main problem may have been the planes inability to put out enough speed to get it to fly. This is sad really when you think about it. I had to add 2.1 oz to the nose to get it to balance out. My last attempt, it flew about 75 feet, but would not climb. It got about 10 feet in the air before it stalled and buried itself into the ground about 9 inches. Newjak seems to think that the weight that I had to add may have exceeded the capabilities of the Duel pod that I had on it. So, I'm switching back to the single pod and putting a KB20-40-14L 4200kv Brushless Motor in it. She should have more than enough juice to fly, or it'll be a very fast lawn dart. We'll see what happens. I was going to return it to Hobbico, and had the RA, but by the time I pay to have it shipped again, I'll be out even more money and they really did not have anything else that I wanted to replace it. I have a hard time admitting when I'm licked.

I want to say a big THANK YOU! to Newjak and Autorail1 for all their help. We now meet almost every Thursday in Dover, DE and fly. A couple of real gentlemen.

[gzsfrk]

Well, after the last misery with this plane, and a lot of talking to Newjak here on the board, I'm trying 1 last time. The last crash destroyed everything in the front all the way to the battery. I've put a new fuselage on and am waiting for a brushless motor from Hobbycity. After many discussions with Newjak, it has been determined that the main problem may have been the planes inability to put out enough speed to get it to fly. This is sad really when you think about it. I had to add 2.1 oz to the nose to get it to balance out. My last attempt, it flew about 75 feet, but would not climb. It got about 10 feet in the air before it stalled and buried itself into the ground about 9 inches. Newjak seems to think that the weight that I had to add may have exceeded the capabilities of the Duel pod that I had on it. So, I'm switching back to the single pod and putting a KB20-40-14L 4200kv Brushless Motor in it. She should have more than enough juice to fly, or it'll be a very fast lawn dart. We'll see what happens. I was going to return it to Hobbico, and had the RA, but by the time I pay to have it shipped again, I'll be out even more money and they really did not have anything else that I wanted to replace it. I have a hard time admitting when I'm licked.

I want to say a big THANK YOU! to Newjak and Autorail1 for all their help. We now meet almost every Thursday in Dover, DE and fly. A couple of real gentlemen.

You had to add 2.1 oz to the front of the plane just to balance it out? That seems like an awful lot of dead weight to add just to balance the thing out. Either that's a total crap plane design, or it was intended to have a CoG located closer to the tail.

[idealhobbies]

I used the COG from the directions. Checked, double checked, triple checked. 58mm from the edge of the wing. There is a flaw in the manufacturing. They put way too much paint on the tail section and it screwed the balance up. They have admitted to it.

[idealhobbies]

Personally, I think that they need to send everyone a new fuselage.

[jasmine2501]

Personally, I think that they need to send everyone a new fuselage.
I think they should send everyone their money back. It's a dog... should be recalled. I could see this by looking at it, but they market the thing to beginners who can't be expected to tell that just by looking. Of course, this problem is not limited to the Diablo... well over half of the planes marketed to beginners are completely unsuitable for beginners, and many of those are barely airworthy in the first place.

[gzsfrk]

I think they should send everyone their money back. It's a dog... should be recalled. I could see this by looking at it, but they market the thing to beginners who can't be expected to tell that just by looking. Of course, this problem is not limited to the Diablo... well over half of the planes marketed to beginners are completely unsuitable for beginners, and many of those are barely airworthy in the first place.

Don't hold back Jasmine--tell us how you really feel. ;)

[jasmine2501]

Don't hold back Jasmine--tell us how you really feel. ;)

The filter won't let me :eek:

I am fairly irritated with manufacturers of "toy" RC planes, because they are almost universally crap, and they serve no other purpose but to get the company ONE sale and scare someone away from the hobby. My experience with a low-cost toy actually pissed me off so much that I became even more determined to get a proper plane, and I ended up with a Slow Stick, but many people are more easily discouraged. Thousands of crappy two-channel planes are sold at Wal-mart every year... so why aren't there thousands of people out flying planes in parks?

The Diablo is a different story though... it is a hobby-quality setup, but instead of making a plane that was worth buying, they made one that looks cool and they put the cheapest possible parts in it, making it so that it doesn't fly for crap. With a little more powerful motors, and proper quality control concerning balance and alignment, it could be a good plane.

I think there needs to be a standard like the UL endorsement - "Jazzy Approved" - or not... so that people know what to buy.

[Balr14]

The LHS has a Diablo hanging from the ceiling with their other used, abused and otherwise unwanted planes; all for sale at nice discounts. I get a lot of my planes this way. It's kind of fun because I never know what I'll be getting next. I think if I wait a couple months I can get the Diablo for quite a good price. It might be fun to tinker with and mod. It's not the kind of plane I'd enjoy flying, but the odds are good I'd destroy it in 30 seconds anyway.

[Laggard]

There used to be a line of stereo gear that was commonly sold at K-Mart and similar department stores. The stuff looked good on the surface. Lots of chrome and fancy looking buttons. On closer inspection though the gear was cheaply built crap and sounded awful. I recall the name being close to that of a quality audio gear manufacturer. Something like Sarny or Panaphonic.

Flyzone planes remind me of those stereos.

[jasmine2501]

There used to be a line of stereo gear that was commonly sold at K-Mart and similar department stores. The stuff looked good on the surface. Lots of chrome and fancy looking buttons. On closer inspection though the gear was cheaply built crap and sounded awful. I recall the name being close to that of a quality audio gear manufacturer. Something like Sarny or Panaphonic.

Flyzone planes remind me of those stereos.

Yep, exactly. I think the Diablo might be better if it had better motors. I have heard of folks upgrading it, but I don't know if it's worth it, considering there are better EDF jets you can get ARF, and can build them correctly in the first place.

[idealhobbies]

Yep, exactly. I think the Diablo might be better if it had better motors. I have heard of folks upgrading it, but I don't know if it's worth it, considering there are better EDF jets you can get ARF, and can build them correctly in the first place.

Well, since I have this POS already... I'm going to make it fly, or destroy it in the process!

Again... Thanks to Newjak for his help with this "project"

[fullertonart]

this is a test

[fullertonart]

this is a test

[fullertonart]

I own this plane and am determined to make this work, and it has.One advantage is the lypo battery and charger that is included,. I have used this on my super cub and other planes.Something else I discovered when the engine came flying off is how well this flys as a glider with the trainer wings. After the enging flew off I continued to fly this on a cliff thermal for about 25 minutes.With the camber under the wings this plane can fly nearly stationary on thermals. It is a cool looking plane too as it flys thru the air. pleas post responce to fullertonart@yahoo.com

[Rob68]

From my experience, I would stay away from Flyzone. I had a Skyfly & wouldn't buy another Flyzone product.

[jasmine2501]

I think the standard procedure is to post the response to the forum - not to send you a personal email. And I don't believe slope gliding for 25 minutes with this POS... I'm gonna need to see video of that.

[HEMICUDA]

Laggard, Rob68 and everyone else,

I agree, Just say NO to FLYZONE. My FZ J-3 Cub is a heavy underpowered piece of crap! When I saw the video of the Diablo I thought COOL! then I see it on the TowerHObbies site in the scratch and dent section and it's like 50% of the planes listed are Diablos and all
Flyzone planes (J-3 Cub, Cessna 182 and ParkFlyer) make up 75% of the list.

I'm tired of buying a plane and having to upgrade this or switch to that just to get it to fly. Why can't they just come with good electronics, a good brushless motor and a decient TX/Rx and LIPO's and charger from the start???

SAY NO TO FLYZONE!:mad::mad::mad:

[Rob68]

Laggard, Rob68 and everyone else,

I agree, Just say NO to FLYZONE. My FZ J-3 Cub is a heavy underpowered piece of crap! When I saw the video of the Diablo I thought COOL! then I see it on the TowerHObbies site in the scratch and dent section and it's like 50% of the planes listed are Diablos and all
Flyzone planes (J-3 Cub, Cessna 182 and ParkFlyer) make up 75% of the list.

I'm tired of buying a plane and having to upgrade this or switch to that just to get it to fly. Why can't they just come with good electronics, a good brushless motor and a decient TX/Rx and LIPO's and charger from the start???

SAY NO TO FLYZONE!:mad::mad::mad:

They do Hemi!-It's called the Parkzone Corsair-if it ever comes out or the T-28, if you can't wait.:D

[jasmine2501]

I'm tired of buying a plane and having to upgrade this or switch to that just to get it to fly. Why can't they just come with good electronics, a good brushless motor and a decient TX/Rx and LIPO's and charger from the start???

E-Flite is starting to do that. Some of their most recent offerings are very formidable aircraft. The reason some other companies don't do that is obvious - just compare the prices of things like the E-Flite 25-size Cub. You get what you pay for.

When I get my software on the market and start making some money, I plan to start selling some kits that a friend designed. They will be set up for serious business. No crap parts - and they will be actually flight-tested and adjusted. Every model - no exceptions - will be flyable out of the box and will fly well, not just fly. We are considering doing a short flight video of each plane, just to prove the flight test actually happened (I do not believe that E-Flite tests things like they say they do). You will pay for this though. I think a good example is my Yak-55 - I started with $15 worth of foam, but I've put $150 worth of parts on it, and it flies really well. But think about it - throw in some profit for me and money to cover my time, and you'd be paying upwards of $200 for a profile foamy, without radio.

[HEMICUDA]

They do Hemi!-It's called the Parkzone Corsair-if it ever comes out or the T-28, if you can't wait.:D


Rob68,

Does those parkzones come with a good TX/RX or the 27mhz junk?:blah:

[jasmine2501]

Rob68,

Does those parkzones come with a good TX/RX or the 27mhz junk?:blah:

All of the Parkzone stuff comes with 72Mhz junk - except the new indoor ones which are 2.4GHz radios, but not standard ones. Looks like the Corsair will come with an actual DX5e, which is a new one from Spektrum... so that's probably why we are waiting for it.

http://www.parkzone.com/Products/Default.aspx?ProdID=PKZ4600

Looks like one of the best offerings I've ever seen from Parkzone. Hopefully they go this direction and stay that way.

[HEMICUDA]

Jasmine,

Thanks for the info, but as a beginner I haven't stepped up to the 2.4 's

yet, (next tax season:D), but I don't think all 72mhz is junk, just more

care is involved. Us newbies haven't built up our stock, supplies and

experience as you vets have,yet. It's the 27mhz stuff I really avoid.

Who wants to get shot down by a 8 year old playing with his $25 toy rc

car????? But as you say, They are starting to come with better

equipment :tc:

[jasmine2501]

72Mhz can be good - if it didn't come from Parkzone. I'm not knocking the whole channel spectrum - just the Parkzone radios. It's better than the citizen's band (27MHz) for sure, but make sure you do your range checks. They seem to be ok in some situations, but mostly what I've seen with Parkzone 72MHz radios is that they flip out at about 300 ft. and sometimes they are bad when you're standing right there. A decent 72MHz system should give you a good half mile of range - 2500ft - or more.

[Firestem4]

has anyone tried twisting the 'super durable' aerocell foam that its supposodly made of? The website even shows two pics of the before and after. Just twist it and it goes right back!

Everything ihave read and heard about the Diablo warrants a giant AVOID sign. Tower Hobbies has hundreds of returns because all of the planes are eitehr damaged or, you guessed it. dont work!

[jasmine2501]

It seemed really brittle to me, and I didn't want to test that too much and have to buy it.

I did have the opportunity to fly a very flexible plane today though - the guy was too nervous to fly his plane, so I got to take it for the maiden. He had the CG a bit too far back, and it was ridiculously over-powered. The combination of those two things almost resulted in a crash - it just wanted to go straight up all the time. It is a good thing he didn't try it himself.

The tail of this plane was very flexible and it was causing problems with the flight - when I hit the rudder, it went the wrong way! I figure what probably caused that was that the tail flexed so much from the rudder input that the rudder itself straightened out and the whole tail moved the other way. Very strange - but some carbon fiber will help it.

It was one of these:
http://www.mscomposit.com/airplanes/electric_65/semiscale/citabria-blue-semi-scale-plane-epp.html

The point I'm making is that flexible foam is really not a good thing. Planes need to be stiff or they won't fly right, and flying wrong results in crashes. So all these makers that are claiming nice flexible foam are kind of missing the point - they better be durable because they are going to crash a lot. I would rather fly a glass plane that flies with precision, than fly a flapping, flexing, crazy bird.

[DownNgoinG]

Very poor design indeed.... my wings tore off mid flight due to bad gluing job out of the factory also cheap electronics and TOO MUCH FLEX.

i am calling them tommorrow to have them warrantee that POS