r1derbike

Put my 'phoon2 together, and what a disappointment! Horizontal stab is skewed badly. Will have to redo that. Plane has gained weight, because of white shrink-wrap on the wings now, MG digital servos, and other "improvements". Could be the reason the RTF version (I have PNP) has an 1800 ma. lipo. Save some weight, and cheaper than the 2100 ma. lipo.

I fly my XPS 2.4 Ghz modules in all my planes now, after getting a bad radio on my first 'phoon...I've had 3 of them now, and only bought the RTF once.

One aileron hinge gap is twice as wide as the other. There are no videos of the 2 with knife edge sfgs in action, or at least, I can't find them. I've left mine off, as they add more weight. The 'phoon has poor knife edge performance stock. The lack of sfg video is certainly suspect.

This will be my last 'phoon. My previous regular 'phoons, at least were straight when assembled.

Buyer, beware!

Charles

FlopGun

Sounds like you got a lemon, Why not just return it for good one?

I've bought two Typhoon 2s and the airframes are solid. I've had some other esc/motor problems but Horizon has promptly replaced a motor in one and an esc in another. Technical support is quick and professional telephone service.

And you can't beat this plane for durability. I've had some horrific crashes and the thing just smiles back. Today I had it up at about 150 feet in a high G manuever. But I had forgot to screw the wings together. Both wings detached from the fuse and it just corkscrewed to the deck. One wing was dangling by its servo wire. I was amazed to find almost no damage and was flying again in 4 minutes.

I think they've done a good job of designing a plane that can take some abuse.

I'm going to try and write up some more of my experience with the Ty tomorrow. Mostly positive........

constantCrash

could somebody who owns a PZ Typhoon 2 post pictures of the transmitter that comes with it? I'm finding it hard to find information on it. I am thinking about buying one of these plus 2 extra receivers and speed controllers to convert my HZ spit and PZ Super cub to use the same transmitter.


Another question, does anybody know if the radio's channels are standard? eg channel 3 is throttle? Somewhere i read that it had channel 1 as throttle. It comes down to can i use the Typhoon transmitter with a standard futaba receiver?

Thanks.

sgf323

Check out the manual for the Typhoon 2. According to Page 7 (4 in the PDF) it uses a 2 stick radio.

Ch. 1: Throttle
Ch. 2: Elevator
Ch. 3: Aileron
Ch. 4: Rudder
Ch. 5: Gear
Ch. 6: Mode

cjshaker

I previously reported a bad batch of radios in the Typhoon 2 from Parkzone, and an ESC that burned itself up while I connected the battery to the airplane.

My LHS sent in the TX, RX, and burned ESC to Parkzone. Parkzone sent me a whole brand new airplane, complete. I'm very pleased with Parkzone's
support, and did not expect to get so much back in return. They basically gave me a whole PNP Typhoon2, plus a second battery and charger, for
free.

Gave one of the chargers to a buddy who didn't have a way of balancing his LiPos.

I haven't tried to fly the new airplane yet, but will soon. Broke the nose off my old one again, hotdogging at low altitude, and got 'dumb thumbs'. Cartwheeled into the ground at high speed.

Thank you Parkzone!
Chris Shaker

sgf323

Mine glitched horribly! The LHS I bought it at were dicks and wouldn't help me out. The other LHS, owned by the same person, returned it for me with no problems because of how many problems they have had.

I bought a PNP E-Flite Mini Ultra Stick online to replace it, also made by Horizon. The ESC in it burnt up when I first throttled up to 1/4.

They are sending me a new ESC and told me if it ends up being the motor that caused the first to go bad that I should send them all in again and they'd test them.

Horizon seems to have good service *if* you are lucky enough to get a nice tech on the phone. My first phone call was great, and they upgraded me to a 40amp ESC for $13. My 2 subsequent phone calls regarding the potentially bad motor causing the ESC to go bad (given the fact that it twitched prior to burning the ESC) did not go so well. -- They want me to plug the new ESC in to the potentially bad motor and hope for the best.

I've since bought a 40 amp ESC and a Park 450 motor from the LHS which both work fine.

In the future I will never try to save money by buying a PNP or RTF kit and will not buy a lower product line at a lesser cost. -- I sure wish they'd institute some QA across all of their product lines.

JasonInAugusta

I flew the Typhoon 2 RTF this weekend and loved it. (been flying the OG Typhoon since it was released with stock battery, TX, and servos...still a fun plane...)

My initial setup was with the pushrods in the outermost holes on the control horns and no SFGs. Noticed the hum of the digital servos, but that's to be expected. Left the antenna down while a buddy held the plane, performed a range check, and headed out.

Plane flew well, seemed to be easier to hover than the original Typhoon with the heavy 9 cell Ni-MH pack. Without the SFGs it'd knife-edge just fine but needed a little elevator to keep it tracking straight. With the pushrods in the outer holes of the control horn I had no problem flying 3D on low rates. Flipping to high rates really made the Typhoon come alive. Fun, fun, fun.

Brought her in and installed the SFGs, repeaked the pack, and headed out for testing with the SFGs installed.

Tracked a bit better in normal flight, but seemed to be more sensitive to wind (cross-wind especially) with the SFGs.

With the SFGs installed I noticed that I had to use much less rudder to maintain knife-edge - proof that they're working. Knife-edge loops are cake. The SFGs do work. So well, in fact, that the same rudder inputs that I'd used to KE without them would result in the beginnings of a KE loop. At that point I'd just back off the throttle and transition into a hover like I meant to do it. :p

Roll rate is slightly decreased with the SFGs but nothing that most folks in the target market of this plane would honestly think twice about.

Harriers seemed to be a bit better with the SFGs, both upright and inverted...just pay attention to the wind direction.

I didn't have a video camera on hand, we were shooting stills that day.

beemer

I've got the RTF version on order from my LHS. Is it possible to swap out the RX for my 2.4GHz Spektrum RX?

sgf323

Yes, you can swap out the Rx. Just make sure to get it programmed the way you want with the proper control surface movements.

beemer

Thanks.

Mysterious

So whats the verdict on the Typhoon 2?

Is it a flying turd with wings? Or is it a good buy?

All you guys seem to be reporting servos, ESCs and everything else on it breaking almost right off the bat.

Airhead

Hi Folks,
I don't have a Typhoon 2. But I do have the older typhoon. Yes, I did get it on sale..

bodypilot

My 0.02;

The radio is poo, I upgraded to Spektrum and now all is well.

Fly very nicely, probably the best foam plane out there but not as sweet as many of the balsa ARF kits you can buy. Wood just seems to fly better.

It's hard to damage except for the drive shaft which bends when you dig in a prop.

Overall a good plane for me.

pstrdenver

I've beat mine like a red headed step child but he still flies true. I've only replaced one servo but the ESC burned up on me right away.

I have replaced countless prop shafts only because I like to land on my nose. I am just now considering after 35 flights or so replacing the $8 gearbox. The props are good. They will take alot of abuse.

The only real complaint I have is the wing attachment system. After a few cartwheels they just don't feel secure anymore. I use packing tape to adhere them to the fuse.

The PNP is a good buy if you already have a quality radio, but if not the RTF is fine. I know alot of guys on here have had issues with the TX or the RX but when used together in the Phoon I've had no issues with either. Only when I tried to use one or the other in a different application with a new mate did I ever experience a hiccup.

I would buy a second one!

humboldt guy

I've been flying my PZ T-28 for about 5 months, havin' a blast with it, but wanting to do some 3D flying. I've had great luck with everything on the T-28, even the esc and radio, tho I have upgraded to a Futaba 6EX 2.4 ghz. radio. I'm seriously considering the Typhoon 2, one thing that concerns me is the weight of the plane vs the 400BL motor that it comes with, is that really enough motor? I've seen videos that seem to show plenty of power available. What's your guys take on this issue?

SkunkyMagoo

The T2 is slower than the T-28 even with the "sport" prop provided (or equally fast...depending on conditions). It is fun to fly though.

pstrdenver

remember the key to 3d is not speed it is thrust. It is being able to pull out of a move and go verticle. I don't fly the t-28 but from what I hear it cannot take off out of your hand without being tossed and it cannot take off vertically out of your hand like the Phoon 2.

The geared 400 is plenty for the Typhoon. It has great thrust for a 3D trainer that I believe the Typhoon can be .

I've cut my teeth on the phoon.

humboldt guy

Well just received my Typhoon yesterday, the pnp version. Got her all put together, but the aileron servo arms are at different angles. I'm going to take it to my LHS today, I think they'll probably just remove the servos, adjust the arms, replace them and tape over the servos, but maybe they have a better idea. Anyway, maiden was delayed, hope to get it in today. Weather looks perfect!

sgf323

That's really something you should handle yourself. It's a skill you'll end up needing in this hobby!

pstrdenver

Yeah it's a simple fix that would not keep me from flying the day I got my plane.

humboldt guy

Hey, it was late and dinner time, and working on 3 hours sleep (graveyard shift). Anyway, all is squared away (without help from lhs) and got in 3 flights today, everything cool. Will adjust radio and control horns for greater throw and go again tomorrow. This plane uses a LOT less space than the T-28, landings are incredibly simple and slow in comparison. I noted also it uses much less juice than my trojan, I still had 50-70% full packs after 10 min. flights, though I was just tooling around at half throttle with occasional full power bursts. Pretty cool plane, I'm looking forward to flying tomorrow with full throws.

pstrdenver

yeah!! Already getting more throw? You da man!

It's a good plane huh?

humboldt guy

Yeah it's a nice plane, though I don't think it's as well engineered as the Trojan. I hope PZ continues the trend toward better engineering with the new Corsair. Btw got in 6 flights today with full throws and epa on radio set to 120. This plane likes that, will put in a bit of negative expo next flight, a bit twitchy. Fried my esc on 7th flight, will replace with a spare I have and contact Horizon about a replacement. I hope they've used up all the faulty esc's by now. Looking forward to more flying tomorrow, wish you good skies!

humboldt guy

Wow. I replaced my fried esc with a tried and true spare e-flite 25 I had on hand, and was astounded. With the original esc I thought the plane was ok but underpowered. With the new one I have twice the power as I did, plenty for unlimited vertical or anything else. The replacement esc (from my original T-28) did'nt even get warm, even using my 2200 25c cellpro battery with extended full power bursts. I'm much more impressed with this plane now, got in 8 flights today, went great but I seem to have blown out my rudder servo. Will replace or fix it tomorrow, order a replacement esc from horizon, and continue the fun! Weather has been very cooperative.

pstrdenver

My buddy called last night said he bought a typhoon. He spent his evening in assembly and then dusk on the runway just taxiing around. We'll see sonn if he is ready for this plane.