HobbyKing Ventus 2.3m EPO Glider (KIT) (UK Warehouse)

PHILIP  1 points - 6/10/2013

How do I charge a lipo battery from the ac mains please?

michael  5 points - 6/7/2013

Communication, I have asked questions and complained about poor service i.e.lack of instructions,technical advice, and material shortages in kits. I get a standard e.mail for my trouble 'referred to management and no further reply.You would sell more if you were more efficient as it is i will never buy again. Anyone else have the same problem

michael  5 points - 5/18/2013

correction of building notes* C of G is 2and half inches rearwards of the leading edge, with the battery as far aft as i could get it. John hope this answers your ? re-sqaure carbon tube it fits in the slot at the rear of the fuselage (before joining it up

michael  5 points - 5/14/2013

summary of building notes and Hobby King - The basic body and wings were great the fitting out was fine but the niggles of no instructions and no way of fixing horns was frustrating,hence my effort to write same. I contacted Hobby king re monor shortages on another kit and had no response.Am I writing on here to be ignored.I see on the RTF site that overheating was a problem and the modeller concerned was cutting holes in the fus and was considering fitting a smaller prop/ Will my £*85 receiver melt and is hobbyking aware of this and if so what are they doing. They have a duty of care and could be liable in law 'not fit for purpose'.I await answers. What a shame when it is a good looking well produced body shell,spoilt for need of testing and a few coppers to make it an excellent kit.

michael  5 points - 5/13/2013

as promised building notes The Hobbyking 'Ventus' 2.3 metre powered sailplane. Purchased as a kit April 2013 approximately £*50 sterling. Building Instructions :- First of all check the components and ensure with a dry run all the component parts are there. 1 . fit all the servo,s 4 in the wing need special care as is would be easy to cut through into the upper wing. Next fit the elevator servo 9mg for the rudder and the 15g servo for the retract wheel on the ply board as cut out. Cut and fit the snake link and epoxy in the fuselage (in the half with the rudder on) add an extension lead 30cm to the elevator lead and run it down the slot provided in the fuselage. Fit to the same slot as you have run the extension cable the square carbon fibre rear re-invorcment rod. A slot will have to be cut for the extension plug and socket .Mount the motor on the engine former supplied. Lay the fin and fuselage side flat on a towel and dry fit the following 1. moter mount 2. servo tray 3. battery tray 4. the supplied aluminium wing retaining tube , after fitting the grub screws. Ensure that these are facing forwards towards the canopy as access to tighten will be via the canopy .To have a terry key long enough cut a terry key and soldered a push rod to it and covered in heat shrink. 5. test fit the other fuselage half. If you are happy with it remove. Pluck up courage,have a coffee and make sure you have everything ready to start construction. Mix some slow drying epoxy and epoxy the above into the larger fuselage side only. Dry fit the other side that is no glue whatsoever hold together with masking tape and rubber bands and leave to dry overnight. Separate the sides Tidy up your bench and prepare to join the sides. You will need slow drying epoxy and I used the yellow pva glue. It is useful to have your wife around .lay on a towel again the side you have epoxied the formers in. double check you have,leads snakes wing joiner and carbon rod in place. Epoxy the ply parts liberal on the edges (ask the wife to hold it still) Now I find a brush is the best and use it to liberally paint pva glue onto the seams of the fuselage side. Join the two halves ensuring cables etc are in place. Swear if it is your forte! Sponge off any surplus pva with a damp tissue ,then hold together with rubber bands and masking tape ,squeezing and sponging as you go and all going well and after checking all the seams you can leave it again overnight to dry. Canopy Epoxy the ply hook supplied into the base of the canopy, add a pilot if you wish, when dry apply white pva glue that dries transparent to the side of the canopy and add the acetate canopy supplied,hold with rubber bands. Leave to dry. Continue with the fuselage :-fit horns to the rudder and tail into the space slotted. In the rudder (mine were supplied without nuts or1.5mm bolts) I managed to find some, .do not be tempted to just epoxy. While in the mood and if you have found some bolts it is worth fitting the ailoron and flap horns 2 for each ailerons,the ones I was supplied with were meant to be epoxied which I tried ,but they came out while attaching the push rods, so I bought 2 pairs with bolts. If it is your first model or kit this is a very important stage. If like me you find that the hinges for all surfaces are very stiff I very carefully us a piece of sandpaper folded and run up and down the hinges until they moved more easily. Take care not to overdo this or you will find yourself fitting mylar hinges. Next fit the tail with UHUpor impact glue,check for square,coat both surfaces and after 10 minutes carefully mate fuselage and tail together. Make sure any impact glue is safe (not petrol based) and do not use cyan. The wings. I again used yellow pva glue for the carbon strips, just enough on one edge so that pushed into their respective slots the glue will be forced up the sides. . Push fit the servo extensions the white cable uppermost. I covered both the slots when complete with car trim tape. Test fit the wings and fit the decal strips. I found that if I put them as per Hobbyking Illustration there was two darke patches where the servo showed through from the underneath .To cover this I put the wider part of the main decal in the centre. Complete your radio installation and adjust servos ,I use the T8FG futaba and reluctantly the 8 channel receiver. Having watched the Hobbyking video on U tube my 6 channel receiver was short of channels,i just hope I do not lose it or it would be an expensive thermal.All that is left is to fit servo covers,the ones that came with the kit were too small for my servos so I ended up fashioning some out of litho plate and there was only 4 no cover for the elevator servo. I have not flown it yet but the c of g comes out at 2 and a half inches behind the leading edge so should be ok for starters. That is with the receiver in the nose and the battery as far forward as I could get it.Everything fitted in well.Pics from my e.mail Mikef mikefa3*gmail**** Things I liked and things I did not. Likes the design, the surface finish of the model,the accuracy of parts and fit. Things I did not like,, poor horns and fixings, I happened to have nuts and bolts so managed but if I had had to go to a model shop and buy same or wait for Hobbyking I would have been annoyed. Again I have built a lot of traditional models and knew where things went hope \i get a few more brownie points

michael  5 points - 5/3/2013

Well here we go it arrived today well packed and no damage.Initial inspection indicates all is well a nice finish to the foam in fact the only disappointment would be the graphics a very dull orange.However not the end of the world like all these white gliders they need som distinct bars especially underneath to improve visibility.The control surfaces are a bit stiff and would welcome advice maybe to but 3 furry hinges on each control surface or leave well alone and hope they ease off with use.I seem to find a place for everything the square tube is the secondary wing joiner. I will attempt to write some building instructions and photograph sequences.Good value despite the shortcomings.

michael  5 points - 5/2/2013

posted 24 hour Parcel force. Not arrived today.Waiting is a pain,I know why small children stamp their feet.Never mid flown all day today great day.I will attempt to review the kit with pics in order of build may even get a job writing instructions!! at 78 years do not think so.

michael  5 points - 5/1/2013

Just a comment on the Ventus 2.3 kit. I ordered the kit for the following reasons. The review confirms the model needs 55grams lead in the tail.I think from the decription the fuselage in the kit comes in two halves,thus killing two birds with one stone I can build the 50grams in before joining.It may also be possible to move the battery rearwards at this stage. Similarly running 9 servo,s it is recommended that a 30- 40 amp speed controller. Similarly if mine comes as expected without instructions the square tbe can be fitted in the fuselage far easier than retro fit. I am unsure what provision is made for extension leads hope there is a string and hole bored through the wing.. Looking forward to tomorrow when it should arrive. I was short of pushroda and clevises for the last model from Hobbyking and have yet to get a response to my comments.

michael  5 points - 4/29/2013

I have a motor KV1050 2209/28 will this fit. I am put off by the comments.Have you produced building instructions yet? Are snakes already installed ? is a motor mount included.Are horns included.I am an experienced balsa man but very little foam. Are spares readily available ? Mikef

Bill  1 points - 4/9/2013

This model came without any instructions, and very little hardware. There were no control horns and the mounting position for the horns are indented into the foam and to complicate things they seem to be a non standard fitting. Response from Hobby King was petty poor they wanted:- 1) DO NOT throw any of the packaging or product materials away. Keep the entire package 100% as you received it. 2) Weigh your parcel and its content. You can use a kitchen scale for this. It must be accurate to 5g. 3) Provide Photos described as follow: - One photo which shows the parcel box - One photo which shows the postage slip showing all shipping information, include order ID. - One photo which shows all the packaging materials - One photo to show all items received and all the bar code. - One photo which shows the shipping weight of the parcel, by putting all items inside package box and put on the kitchen weight (DEPENDS* slightly different no need) VERY, VERY disappointing!

muffler  1 points - 9/7/2012

Please can you let me know the all up weight of this model as it would be pulled up by a tug.

maerobat  12 points - 8/15/2012

Received the kit today. Looks to be good value although the rudder arrived broken off - not a problem. The big problem is that there are no instructions whatsoever. There is an assortment of hardware including carbon strips which looks OK but what do you do with it all and how is everything supposed to fixed in and with what? OK, I am an experienced modeller and it should not be too difficult to figure out, but what if you are not? Much the same as the three axis stabilisation system which I have also just received. Instructions? Nothing. Hobbyking, I buy quite a lot from you but this really is not good enough.