F-18 from YardBird RC

I have finally finished the build on my YardBird F-18 this week!

It looks like I might have to wait another week for the maiden flight. If you’ve spent any time here in the WattFlyer user reviews you probably know I’m already a big fan of the F-22. These are profile mid-engine foam planes that can be flown in a pretty small environment. So, let’s get started with the build!
Here is how everything looks coming out of the box. The pieces are cut out sharply with no tears or blemishes.

<O</OIt really pays to dry fit not only the next step that you are gluing but the next one as well. Sometimes it looks like a notched corner will need glued but it really doesn’t. These planes go together very easy and quickly, depending on the glue that you use.
<O</OFurther progress... You can really see her taking shape!

A nice addition to this new kit is a fixed jig that makes it easy to get the 15 degree offset for the vertical stabilizers. And you get a decent sized piece of repair foam!

I really like the motor mount and control horns. These are a definite improvement from the resin and plastic setup on the earlier F22. The balsa ply goes together with no fuss or bother. I actually assembled the motor mount completely and added medium CA to the joints afterwords.

The manual is well written and never leaves any doubt as to which way the pieces fit together.
The canopy goes on with just a thin line of glue on the bottom seem. I love the new clear plastic in comparison to the solid foam on earlier planes. I left the weapons officer solid black and tried to add some color to the pilot.
<O</O
The decals are a very sharp! The plane already comes with three colors of foam and the decals really add to the war bird effect!
<O</O
Here are some pictures of the final product with and without new canopy.

I will try my best to get this plane maidened this weekend and finish this review.
As much as I love my F-22 this plane looks MUCH better when they are sitting side by side. With less wing area I expect it to not float as much but we will see.


Once I fly her I will fill in the performance and flight scores. I'm pretty sure they are going to be a high score, but you never know.

[birdDog]

Looks like a fine pusher. Might have to get me one of them!

[Angler-Hi]

Looks good John! Can't wait for the maiden!!

[max2112]

Sorry for the delay everybody. Work took me out of town for a week.
Oh well, I gotta feed the hobby somehow!

Flight report:
The shortest summary I can give: She flies Awesome!! I couldn't be happier.
This plane likes to go fast. I wasn't able to put it through all of the tricks in the arsenal but she glides decent enough and looks great on the low-n-slow flybs. The airframe is plenty rigid so I think she'll handle moderate winds well enough. She doesn't slow down quite as good as the YB F22, but that is to be expected since it has less wing surface.

Here is the Video Link. I haven't figured out how to embed from RCU yet..

I got the best results with a 1320 mAh battery as far forward as possible in the battery tray. Anything further back and there was significant left-to-right wobbles and a porpoise effect.


<STYLE type=text/css media=screen> div.mvp_embed_400 { width: 400px; background: white; padding: 10px; margin: 0px auto; } div.mvp_embed_400 div.mvp_item_title { font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold; color: black; } div.mvp_embed_400 div.mvp_item_title a { text-decoration: underline; } div.mvp_embed_400 div.mvp_item_details { color: #666; border-bottom: 4px solid #FF6E00; font-size: 100%; } div.mvp_embed_400 div.mvp_item_details a { color: black; text-decoration: none } </STYLE>Thanks very much to AnglerHi for filming the video. His skills are fine, it's my camera that stinks!

[Angler-Hi]

Sorry John, but with that color scheme she's got, it's hard to keep a bead on her.

I say we need to invest in better cameras. I'm talkin about a GOOD $$ video camera. Don't worry, I'll get one soon friend...as soon as I can stop buying RC crap.

[abdul]

hello
i want to ask about the markets in jordan /capital city AMMAN , that sail the part of r/c airoplanes like( elecitronical parts and other things)
please help me

[max2112]

Originally Posted by abdul

hello
i want to ask about the markets in jordan /capital city AMMAN , that sail the part of r/c airoplanes like( elecitronical parts and other things)
please help me

Hi Abdul,
Welcome to WattFlyer!

I am not sure about the international aspect of RC markets. I am guessing that the internet would be your best option. Just contact the vendors by e-mail to see if they ship to your country.

[tiger86]

I've flown my Yardbird F-18 several times now and absolutely love it. I also own the F-22 from Yardbird and agree that it flys better at lower speeds due to the larger wing surface.

My F-18 sports a Grayson Hobby Super Sonic V2 brushless outrunner, E-flite 40 amp ESC. I've flown with ThunderPower 1320mAH 11.1V 15C rated batteries and it flew decently. Then I tried some Zippy 1600mAh 11.1V 20C - 30C batteries and the plane absolutely screams through the air. Guess the high kV motor just loves more amps.

Nice review and I highly recommend the Yardbird park jets. I have purchased the grey F-15 recently but haven't had a chance to assemble yet. I'm expecting great things.