HobbyKing Online R/C Hobby Store : Mini F-86 EDF Fighter Jet w/LiPo Battery, EPO Plug-n-Fly

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19/07/2010
Destructor (45%)
Ok this plane is not an easy flyer, It is so twitchy and unstable you can fly it with your trim settings. It is fun if you like to fly on the edge all the time and it takes hard fast landings real good. I pop the droptanks off on every landing but hey! if thats all that goes GOOD CALL! I have done MAJOR mods on mine that makes it a way better flyer now I will post all I have done soon.

Ramir (69%)
Hi Destructor. My is easy flyer - without modification ! I changed CG a bit (according manual) and is flying well !

plasticbaldy (35%)
Your CG too far back has probably made it twitchy. Bigger battery &/or nose weight should fix it.

chiliidawg (75%)
I'm looking for info on any mods made to this sweet machine

Strike3 (80%)
I think the best mod you can do is cut through the front half of the horizontal stabs and re-glue them up about 3-4mm so the angle of incidence is flatter otherwise the plane wants to fly nose up. I can fly my jet with the stock battery 850, 1000, 1300 and 1600 mAh 3s, just made some extra room under the canopy. I fly it with the wing tanks and put a strip of F/G tape on the base, I also changed the elevator servo to a HXT900 and wires to a thicker gauge and put carbon tubes over the straight section of the aileron rods to stop the flexing... My fan was unbalanced badly also. It's no speed machine but it flies well, give it a good throw to get it going and it doesn't mind a little wind!

19/07/2010
Spencersaysmeh (25%)
what kv is the motor

MegaTesla (74%)
Nobody knows.

17/07/2010
Eric1180 (-53%)
COLE Cole Cole Cole Cole Cole.........(Did i get your attention?) Do you have a Email? I can help you pick out a plane and all of the stuff you will need. I know this store like the back my hand. Also you sound new to the hobby and i can help you out. A lot of time the older more experience guys will recommend stuff that is to $$$ for what you can afford and it's usually unnecessary stuff or unnecessary quality that beginners simply don't need.

cole (14%)
cole-moore*hotmail****

14/07/2010
Artak (29%)
i would prefer the axn floater jet over this, its not much faster, but it is infact best value for money plane on hobby citys website

startazz (-17%)
I thought this is meant for reviews,not what you think is or is not a good plane mate.

Robachan (79%)
Startazz, actually this is the "discussion" section (click on Reviews tab for reviews) and comments such as Artak's should be fine, even if somewhat misguided. Artak, I agree with you about the axn floater jet (one of my favorites, btw), but these are very different planes. The Clouds Fly "floats" when you cut the throttle, almost like a glider, but can't do rolls very well. This F-86 is a completely different beast, not much gliding, but quicker rolls and so on.

Artak (29%)
ye startazz reviews is the next tab from the right after discussions, silly. i still think floater jet is theb est quality plane, i can tell this cheapo foamie will be in peices after one mistake by a novice pilot, the clouds fly has carried about 300 grams worth of FPV gear without a problem, still climbs like an animal, and as for rolls, just trim the wing tips a little and shell be fine.

14/07/2010
cole (14%)
ok then whats a cheap 3cell charger

startazz (-17%)
not being funny mate but try looking it's not hard to do *-)

13/07/2010
cole (14%)
what charger does it come with ....do you have to plug it into your ca battery

Destructor (45%)
This does not come with a charger and the 2mm bullits are pretty lame. You can pick up a balance charger but I changed all my plugs to deans ultra plugs right away.

This customer was awarded a credit for their answer.

cole (14%)
ugggh i thought i had a really good deal here guess not

vwa3guy (24%)
This is still a great deal. I didn't buy this from banana hobby last year because they were charging outrageous prices and their customer service sucks. I have no quams about buying from Hobby King and have been buying from them for years. even with EMS express shipping to US I get things faster than if I order from california and this F-86 still comes in at under $100!!!!

cole (14%)
ya but this 59$ charger 55$ transmiiter reciever 24$ an then shipping 45$ it really adds up

exocet (59%)
You should change the 2mm gold connectors, after 6mins of flighttime they got very hot. Take 3 or 4mm gold connectors or something else.

Eric1180 (-53%)
Umm cole if this is your first plane get a different one. Also 99% that buy this plane already have there own gear. Also HK sells a charger for $5 you just have to look..... Not that hard to find. And if you are complaining about price yet you have a $55 TX!!! The cheapest 2 years ago was like $150!!! You obviously are new to RC and i would suggest you get a better plane for beginner. If you get this plane it's going to add up a LOT MORE because you will crash it in 5 seconds.

12/07/2010
david in japan (-16%)
i went to buy this thing and now ive been hit with a 639 gram box !

12/07/2010
david in japan (-16%)
what size 4 cell would fit? also, waht size 3 cell battery fits without any mods?

jets462 (35%)
1000 mA fit fine in my plane for 4 cell you will need to cut foam but 4s 1000mA will be good

Ramir (69%)
I cuted a bit space for battery and I am flying now with Turnigy 3 cell 800mA battery. Is OK, my flying time is cca 6-9 min (but no full gas all the time, ofcourse !). Ramir

11/07/2010
cole (14%)
axtully i want to use the hobbyking 6ch controller and reciever for 24$ will that work much cheaper and more channels

JelleB (84%)
why do you ask? I see no reason to assume it will not work. the 6 channel one can do all kinds of mixes, so your preferred setup wil be there too.

This customer was awarded a credit for their answer.

cole (14%)
well just wanted to make sure it would work im actually going to attach bombs on this thing and what not i just hope in can moderetly slowish fly

Eric1180 (-53%)
Cole ... Really are you joking? You sound like you have 0% experience yet you want to attach bombs. The plane will be really hard to learn on considering you can only fly it for 5 minutes. Get a Axi jet. I have never owned one but i have heard good things. It can fly longer, land harder, float better, and you don't have the bad characteristic of EDF slow throttle response. Your Eyes are doing the thinking.

10/07/2010
cole (14%)
i really think this is a good deal but shipping makes it cost alot....im going to use soektrum dx5e and reciever will this work?

wendell (18%)
yes it will work

9/07/2010
Tusker (52%)
Anyone having trouble with the CG?
Mine is so tail heavy that even with a 1500mah lipo installed, I need the equivalent of 2 AA batteries in the front to achieve correct CG...

Franklin (20%)
Yep, mine was way off also. I fly with a 1100Mah lipo and had to add 25gr of lead in the nose.
It flies fantastic. approx. 4 minutes of big fun.
Mine is the Robbe-nanojet version.

PIEL (70%)
HI guys Does anyone have a CG point listed?

Tusker (52%)
Hi Piel.
Page 9, Fig 29 of the manual:
CG = 107mm from leading edge of the wing.

Tusker (52%)
Uploaded Fig 29 to "files" section....

PIEL (70%)
MANY THANKS TUSKER - I FIND THAT WHEN YOU HAVE A CG POINT TO WORK FROM, IT BECOMES MUCH EASIER TO KEEP THE WEIGHT OF A MODEL TO THE MINIMUM. - THIS ONE WIL BECOME A SLOPIE - I WIL DO A REVIEW WHEN READY.

Ramir (69%)
Hi Tusker. With standard included battery realy need a bit weight. I glued flat pice of lead (cca 10g) in to nose. In flight is F-86 very stable, landing speed is OK - no crash :-). Ramir

Tusker (52%)
Thanks for the replies guys.
After a huge crash, front split up so I had to epoxy quite a bit, moved ESC and rx forward, trimmed canopy to move battery forward too. Now I only need about 35g of lead at the tip of the nose to get good balance with standard batt.
What a difference, it was like trying to launch a rock before, she flies and glides way better now :).
Although mine seems exceptionally tail heavy, I'm starting to really like this plane, and will probably buy a new airframe and rebuild...

25/06/2010
Tigerhawk (28%)
Does anybody know if the Turnigy BESC programming card works with this Mini-Jet EDF BEC?

More exaclty this programming card
http://www.hobbycity.com/hobbyking/store/uh_viewitem.asp?idproduct=2169

Txs

19/06/2010
Tigerhawk (28%)
Hi, What connectors uses the battery included? Txs

ninjafish (37%)
it uses bullet plugs, im not sure what size though

Eric1180 (-53%)
Either that or it's just heat shrink to cover bare wires. Those look way to small to be bullet connectors. i have no idea why they would use some thing that small but it does kinda look like there are bullet connectors. Any ways expect to cut them off and add your own.

This customer was awarded a credit for their answer.

ninjafish (37%)
if u look closely in the third picture u can see the gold bullet coming from the esc, but yes expect to chop em and use somthing else

Robachan (79%)
The lipos have 2mm bullet plugs, female-positive, male-negative. They are 83g and 950mah not 850. Luckily, as spares, I got Turnigy 1000, 3S, 20C at 85g, which fit just right with minimal cutting, and actually allow the hatch to close better since they are slightly thinner. If you want a little more punch, you might want to get 3S 1000s with a little higher C rating. DO NOT get 800s as they will most likely be underpowered for a jet like this.

Starry (29%)
How do we charge these 2mm bullet plugs? I use Deans extensively on all my equipment.

Robachan (79%)
Starry, Deans, yeah, me too. Charging is a piece of cake, though, if you have one of those cheapo balance chargers that charge using only the balance plug. Most RTF sets come with one. My favorite here is the Turnigy balancer & Charger 2S-3S.

Ramir (69%)
Hi Tigerhawk, the battery have 2mm Gold Connectors which you can buy for less than 2USD (10 pairs (20pc)) by HK. Ramir

18/06/2010
kevinb120 (70%)
This is the Jpower series of mini EDF's. There is a large thread on rcgroups, search for '50mm jpower'. Good stuff!

cole (14%)
thx for the advice!

18/06/2010
DaveGahan (-12%)
Hi! Does anyone here ever bought a model at hobbyking made of the same EPO material that has been used for this baby? I really like this model and the price seems to be fair. I allmost buy my models in my German LHS. They sell the stuff for absolutely fair prices so I never ordered a model from hobbyking or elsewhere. Buying here an item with such a weight and price would result in special taxes and so on... Perhaps it's time for an exception? Can I expect the same quality as I get used to become from the parkzone models? Thanks !

Tee Squared (-10%)
HobbyKings EPO foam is nice stuff. I wish GWS had made their models from it back in the day. Normal CA sticks to it, and it's very durable stuff. Models last a long time made from EPO. As far as quality is concerned, no, you cannot expect a $60 HobbyKing EDF to be anywhere near as nice as a Parkzone model. Parkzone makes exceptional RTF models that are truly turn-key and perfectly functional out of the box. HobbyKings ARF's are lots of fun to buy an tinker with because of the price. On a similar HobbyKing model I bought (the AT-6) I ended up replacing all the stock electronics, making own my own linkages and servo mounts, my own landing gear mounts, and my own motor mount before it flew to my liking. Out of the box, it flew, though it wasn't particularly interesting or enjoyable to fly. I'm still glad I made the purchase, however, since I'd say it flew as well as a Parkzone model after my mods for about half the price, including all the upgrade components (all purchased from HobbyKing.) Have fun all the same! I'm tempted to pick one of these up for a tiny EDF project.

Blind Vision (55%)
the EPO is the equivalent of the MPX's EPP. the 5 different model in EPO i have seen, are all good for the material speaking.

Blind Vision (55%)
oh you might know Park-zone, it the same quality foam/density

Robachan (79%)
Tee Squared, very few planes that HK sells are actually made by HK. They sell many different manufacturers' stuff. Don't know which AT-6 you have, but the one that is currently sold here is made by Lanyu. So you can't generalize and say that HK's EPO foam is nice, or their electronics are bad. Some things here may be equal, better or worse than Parkzone. It all depends.

kev123 (53%)
sign, for a Parkzone plane it may have better quality and value per dollars, but one plane here at my LHS is equal to ten of those mini plane. Most of people like new thing, no one is expect to fly just one Habu forever.

kev123 (53%)
at the end it all come down to dollar sign, for a Parkzone plane it may have better quality and value per dollars, but one plane here at my LHS is equal to ten of those mini plane. Most of people like new thing, no one is expect to fly just one Habu forever.

Starry (29%)
A dollar spent is a dollar's worth. I'd say if it is within your budget, go ahead to buy one and try it for yourself - well I did! I will update when I maiden this plane. Cheers.

cole (14%)
it is a good deal but shipping its 100$ then im using spektrum dx5e and reciever 84$ =184 tax

JelleB (84%)
*cole: you are quite right to call the price of a spectrum receiver a tax. But even apart from that, did it occur to you to place several orders, one with the plane in it, and a smaller package with your extras in it. Smaller packages usually do not incur taxes (at least in my country).

Jetcat (28%)
Testflown mine yesterday.A great little flier.Its a lot like my real jets (L-39 Jetcat P160sx):And its nice with the recomended throws and CG.Had to add 35g in the nose to get the right CG.But the landings are easy and slow.So the first poster should check the CG if he must land it fast *-)

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