Mystery F22

[pattern14]

A couple of years ago, the old saying "you get what you pay for", was something I firmly believed in. Then I picked up some very inexpenive airframes from various sources, and modded them with great success This unknown brand F22 "Raptor" is the latest. For less than $40.00, It is my best flying EDF to date.

[Voyager2lcats]

Michael, that is a nice looking kit! Not being an EDF practitioner, I can only say it looks very slick. The merits of EDF are not lost on me- no propeller thingy to catch the meaty parts of one's fingers. EDFs do have their drawbacks, witness the damage one caused to someone's face when the fan blade ruptured and looked for a way to escape its compartment. I saw it in an issue of RCM&E. However, we all know that safety should be a concern on anything that has high rpm and doesn't easily stop or slow down when it contacts skin, muscle, tendon, and (god forbid) bone. Ulp! So how does this thing handle the Van Diemen Land gales?

Bob

[Joe 1320]

That looks like a starmax, probably the newer version.

Starmax F-22 sound demo

[pattern14]

Originally Posted by Voyager2lcats

Michael, that is a nice looking kit! Not being an EDF practitioner, I can only say it looks very slick. The merits of EDF are not lost on me- no propeller thingy to catch the meaty parts of one's fingers. EDFs do have their drawbacks, witness the damage one caused to someone's face when the fan blade ruptured and looked for a way to escape its compartment. I saw it in an issue of RCM&E. However, we all know that safety should be a concern on anything that has high rpm and doesn't easily stop or slow down when it contacts skin, muscle, tendon, and (god forbid) bone. Ulp! So how does this thing handle the Van Diemen Land gales?

Bob

Hi Bob, glad you found this thread too. While it sounds like it would keep the plastic surgeons in business, I have had no altercations with the fan yet. They are usually deep inside the fuse, and fairly well insulated. As for the wind bucking ability, I have only flown it once (yesterday), and the maiden was done in abnormally calm conditions. Very rare for Spring indeed The weather turned foul while the battery was charging, and has not calmed down yet. I'll need to be a little more used to it before I tackle the stronger breezes, which is a total pain. I'll fill you in on the details in the following post cheers

[pattern14]

Originally Posted by Joe 1320

That looks like a starmax, probably the newer version.

Starmax F-22 sound demo

Hi Joe; I suspected the same, but this one may be a clone of sorts It does look very similar to the one in your video, but it is a 70mm EDF, not 64mm, and came with no EDf unit or instructions. I picked it up from a closing down sale of the LHS some time back (along with a Radian for $50.00!!!!!!!!!) for about $35.00 from memory. My HET6904 unit dropped in with almost no modding at all, apart from moving the foam lip back a few mm's. I have a Starmax He 162, and the control horns look very similar etc, but the clevises are diffferent. The foam is also a totally different type of grain, and far more robust. The Starmax plane is made from the most miserable foam imaginable, and breaks if you look at it too hard. This one is far more robust. The parts fit is very good, and the whole aircraft appears very scale. I used the 6904 with a HET typhoon 3w motor and 40 amp Himodel ESC, 2200 4s1p lipo, Hextronic 9g servo's and a 2.4 RX setup. It took me hours and hours to apply a good quality clear packing tape, which was then VERY carefully heat shrunk to provide a seamless gloss finish. I have found that diagonally cross bracing with Clear packing tape adds immense strength to these fragile foamies, with very little weight gain. The use of Bi- directional glass reinforced strapping tape to join the components together, once covered, is also a proven plane saver I mounted the esc in the port air intake to keep it cool, and fashioned a coreflute battery hatch with velcro fastener to finish off the modifications. I did not bother with a CF wing spar, as the plane ended up very stiff anyway. The maiden was done in strangely calm weather, and flew above all expectations. Loops, rolls, low high speed passes, and an excellent glide completed a very impressive first flight. I'm looking forward to spending a lot more time putting this one through its' paces...cheers..

[Joe 1320]

Sounds like you have Starmax version 1, that was a 70mm.

[pattern14]

Originally Posted by Joe 1320

Sounds like you have Starmax version 1, that was a 70mm.

Thanks Joe, I'll have to do some searches on it ...cheers

[pattern14]

The purchase of a nanotech 4s lipo has transformed this one into a rocket With the original lipo, it flew OK as far as an EDF goes, but the performance now is exhilarating It flies very well inverted, and screams in a power dive before levelling out and climbing vertically. Alas, My youngest son was so impressed with it, he wanted to fly it every day, and then planted it nose first into the paddock. The cockpit area was fairly crushed, but in one piece, and the packing tape completely saved the rest of the plane. I peeled off the tape, poured boiling water over the crunched front end, and pulled it back into shape. Gorilla glue on the breaks, bi-directional tape to cover and reinforce, and she is nearly back in action. A custom paint job will have her as good as new. Let you know how she flies post repairs...

[hpasha]

Definitely Starmax and one good looking plane!

[pattern14]

Originally Posted by hpasha

Definitely Starmax and one good looking plane!

Your right about that; it is good looking The repairs have been finished, and she took to the air no problems at all, flying as well as ever Just about to start experimenting with a custom paint job to go with it...more later