Thrust vectoring BlitzRCWorks F-16

[skyman]

The plane it's self? Amazing. The price (104$ PNP)? UNHEARD OF! 4s, EPO, 360 degree thrust vectoring, and a 31 inch wingspan!

Check it out for yourself!

http://www.bananahobby.com/2120.html


I have a feeling this one may just find it's way into my hanger!

[Trammellc2001]

I have looked at these before. It would be nice to hear from someone that has one.

[max2112]

Sorry guys, I wouldn't recommend Banana Hobbies as an online vendor.

They have a VERY poor track record for customer service. Just do a thread title search for Banana Hobby.

[max2112]

Originally Posted by smash-max-prime

Yeh they got some pretty mad lookin jets. look decent quality too. has anyone had experience with them?

Welcome to WattFlyer, S-M-P! It's always great to see new faces.

[skyman]

Originally Posted by smash-max-prime

cheers, hopefully in a week or two i'll have finished my first jet and post a review.
aside from poor customer service is their plane quality ok?

I have not ordered from them, but I fly with a guy who has. He says he has no problem getting planes from them, and they are of decent quality, (for an online Chinese company) but don't be expecting replacement parts on demand.

[lnelson]

Banana Hobbies? I wish I did some research before ordering my Blitzrcworks F16.
This is my first post and unfortunately, dealing with BH has been a miserable experience. My F16 was missing the parts bag containing the 3 horn controls, backing plates and screws. I tried calling many times, can't get through. Tried their "live" help forum, who gets me to a person (NOT LIVE) who simply did not understand what a control horn. I was, a week plus later, sent 3 servo horns.
I was expecting a little more for a $100 kit, like all the parts. I could understand the applied decals installed upsidedown, etc.
As I cannot get the correct matching control horns, I will try and adapt something.
Next time, I will buy from a company who offers a little more support than I have received.
Otherwise, I look forward to reviewing the posts and learning as much as I can. Thank you, Larry

[dogwood59]

Hey Guys! Ive purchased 3 of the mini EDFs from BH and have been happy with them! Decent quality planes. CS is good so far!

[iflyrc1012]

i just got this plane and i am assembling it as we speak. the elevators have pins pushed thru a hole, then the control horn is screwed to the elevator pin... i almost tried to glue it on the realized how it was supposed to be done. the instructions are useless, but if you can fly this thing then you can't be a raw newbie, and you should be able to figure this out...
does anyone know what the hell this is?? and where it gets plugged into?
b.e.c. maybe???

[iflyrc1012]

By the way, Banana Hobbies gets a bad rap from a few malcontents on the forums who call their customer help lines screaming like banshees and cursing like sailors. then they wonder why nobody will help them. i had an f-18 from banana hobbies CATCH FIRE on the maiden flight. i landed it deadstick, snuffed out the fire, took a few pics of it and e-mailed their customer service person, a lady named Saralyn. she looked at the photos, and promptly sent out ANOTHER JET WITH AN UPGRADED E.S.C.!! i had the new jet in hand 10 days after the ill fated maiden flight of my first plane. THEY DIDN'T EVEN WANT THE OLD JET SHIPPED BACK TO THEM!!!!(i gave it to a flyin bud of mine, and he repaired it and flew it 2 weeks later!!) i'm no shill for banana hobbies and wouldn't have purchased this plane from them if i wasn't happy with them. i also own a small f-18 and a small sabre jet from them and they all fly well!!

[lnelson]

I certainly am not a screaming banshee nor a malcontent. Rather, I am the manager of a corporate technical support department. I understand exactly how to deal with customers and resolve complaints and concerns from customers, vendors, etc. Quite frankly, they are lacking, from my perspective, on all accounts. Use them if you will. I will not do so in the future.

[iflyrc1012]

i didn't mean to imply that you were one of the foul mouthed banshees i mentioned,not buying from bh is your choice. you can get any airplane they have on any number of other sites anyway.
if you don't mind a suggestion, go to r/c groups, on their vendors section there is a thread for banana hobbies. try leaving a detailed post relating to your problem there and see if you get your problem addressed to your satisfaction there. i have found them to be very helpful.

[iflyrc1012]

some assembly pics

[iflyrc1012]

Assembly on this E.D.F. jet has so far been straight forward. Anyone with a few models under his/her belt could easily have it ready to fly in a couple of hours of bench time. CAUTION:the pre-applied decals are VERY BRITTLE and they crack and split very easily!!! nothing that a little touch-up acrylic paint won't fix.(don't use spray paints or solvent based paints as they will melt the foam!!) as soon as the wings are dry, i am going to set-up the radio, then attach the rudder, canopy and nose cone leaving them for last, that saves them from being damaged or scratched while i plug everything in and check the amount of throw and direction of the control surfaces. I'm thinking that amount of throw will be CRITICAL for this model because of the Vectored Thrust feature of this F-16. I personally have never flown a model with this feature, so it's a learning experience for me, but i have seen a few at my club field, some of them with extreme control surface throws can be very hairy to fly, or downright unflyable... so i will set-up this plane docile, then increase the throws as necessary to get it to perform as wanted..

[iflyrc1012]

o.k. i'm giving up for tonight. i can't get the thrust vectoring to work properly,i'm sure it's a simple fix but i'm too frustrated to see it, so i'll stop,ponder the situation for tonight, and try a fresh start tomorrow.. oh by the way,rudder and ventral fins attached!! i'm using white gorilla glue on this whole project, and it's great!!

[zep77]

I have been looking at this plane as a first EDF . Keep us informed. I did not realize it has thrust vectoring or landing gear(not really needed for me on my short field) either from the videos on Youtube site. I was looking at the cheaper one from Nitro Planes website......now I know no landing gear.

[iflyrc1012]

this plane is not for an e.d.f. newbie.... try a phase 3 f-16... much more docile and forgiving, it will be your favorite after 5 flights..

[skyman]

Originally Posted by iflyrc1012

o.k. i'm giving up for tonight. i can't get the thrust vectoring to work properly,i'm sure it's a simple fix but i'm too frustrated to see it, so i'll stop,ponder the situation for tonight, and try a fresh start tomorrow.. oh by the way,rudder and ventral fins attached!! i'm using white gorilla glue on this whole project, and it's great!!

Are the servos just not getting power or what? If not, check which way the servo leads are plugged into the receiver. The brown wire should always be farthest from the bulk of the receiver. Only reason I bring this up is because I have spent hours in the past working on planes when this was the only problem.

[max2112]

Originally Posted by iflyrc1012

o.k. i'm giving up for tonight. i can't get the thrust vectoring to work properly,i'm sure it's a simple fix but i'm too frustrated to see it, so i'll stop,ponder the situation for tonight, and try a fresh start tomorrow.. oh by the way,rudder and ventral fins attached!! i'm using white gorilla glue on this whole project, and it's great!!

ifly,
Did you ever get her sorted out? what radio are you using? I have a very similar F-16 and the manual came with programming instructions for a DX-7. If you need or would like, I can scan the pages and post 'em up.

I LOVE the Thunderbirds scheme!

[iflyrc1012]

Guys,
thanks for asking... my problem is that the t.v. was not responding as it should have. i was only getting 1/2 inch throw left and right but getting 1 1/2 inches up and down. i should have it fixed the next time i get a bit of time to work on it. As of right now, the job is making unreasonable demands on me, and i may need to speak to the boss.Unfortunately for me, she is also my wife, and can be a a grueling taskmaster.(thank god she's cute)I'll post a vid when i get it all working properly, i gotta scoot, here she comes....

[Nalizan]

I just built this jet and did my first test flight this past weekend. It was a very exciting flight as it flew as if the CoG was out of whack. The takeoff roll was a bit longer than it seemed it should be and when the jet was in the air I had to hold a lot of back pressure to keep it flying and it was very pitchy. To the point where I came around for a landing immediately as I felt it was going to go in at any second.

I used a CG machine to set the CG at 85mm from the leading edge of the wing as the "manual" instructs. Has anyone else got this jet flying and did you use the 85mm for your CG point?

Things to note:
I do have the TV on this model, but it is set up on flight mode 1 and I never turned it on for that flight. Also I am not running the stock motor, fan, or ESC. The fan unit and motor are definitely heavier than the stock setup. I assumed that would not matter as long as I made the CG balance at the same position in the "manual". This would not alter the position of the CG would it? as it would it make it more or less than 85mm?

[iflyrc1012]

Nal,
i have not flown this jet yet, but the c.g wouldn't change unless you modified the wings, fuse or tail somehow.(making them larger or smaller) adding weight will just raise your wing loading, making the plane have to go faster to create enough lift to fly. fighter jets already have outrageously high wing loading, so making them heavier still is not a great thing.

[humboldt guy]

I received mine a couple day's ago, almost finished except radio install. I hope to fly it tomorrow, and will post results. This is my second plane from banana hobbies, first was a Thundercat, a really cool little wing (so cool I bought a second one, still in box for whenever I completely destroy the first). I'm happy so far, and if there's a problem I'm not too concerned since it is a very inexpensive plane. Really nice looking, (mine is in the Thunderbird scheme). Also I noticed on the shipping carton it says by Starmax, (no big surprise). That's all for now folks!

[iflyrc1012]

unfortunately for me, i have had to back shelf this jet for at least a month, due to other pressing stuff (Warbirds meet in delaware in july) but i'm hoping it flies well. keep us up to date and post videos if you got em!

[max2112]

Originally Posted by iflyrc1012

unfortunately for me, i have had to back shelf this jet for at least a month, due to other pressing stuff (Warbirds meet in delaware in july) but i'm hoping it flies well. keep us up to date and post videos if you got em!

No problemo, ifly!
I think you will like this one when you do get her up. I am still learning mine (it's the HL version). landings are a breeze and is a combination of deadstick gliding with controlled bursts of 10 - 15% throttle.

No videos yet.

[humboldt guy]

I'm having trouble figuring out how to configure my radio for this plane. I'm using a Futaba 6ex tx and futaba 617fs rx (6ch tx and 7ch rx). I would like to be able to switch my thrust vectoring on and off. Any suggestions would be appreciated!