2.6 meter class foamy gliders

[KJD]

Guys & Gals, How does this "latest and greatest" foamy glider the Radian XL (RXL) compare with the last 2.6 meter foamy, a 9 plus year old design, the Multiplex Cularis. The Cularis is the same size and made from the same type of material. And after having to change out most of the Horizon supplied equipment they are both in the same price class. True the Cularis is an advanced 6 servo glider and the RXL is a simple RES ship. RES compitisions were aimed at trying to get the cost of soaring down (this didn't work). But as both the Cularis (A 6 servo ship) and RXL (RES) are at close to the same price point these look to be comparable to compare their flying abilities. Comparing the RXL to the much higher priced Mystique seems a bit disingenuous.

What I'm asking for is how well does the RXL as a glider cover ground looking for lift? Most RES ships can't move out without pointing the nose way down and loosing altitude. The camber changing ships like the Cularis have the ability to change the shape of the wing and cover a lot of ground with a lot less loss of altitude.

I haven't had the chance to fly an RXL, but I have flow man on man against one with my 7 year old Cularis. I will say I don't understand the hype for the RXL. The 2 meter Radian was a great entry level glider that could perform in the hands of most novice fliers. I'm looking forward to flying (borrowing one) an RXL to feel how they actually fly. But looking and fly against one I think Horizon missed something. The RXL is looking to be a lead sled with none of the benefit of being a lead sled. That is it has the limited controls of a RES ship but doesn't fly like one (a gas bag. it is heavy).

I know this has a lot to do with style but I've never liked RES ships as they are usually light gas bags that can't cover ground trying to get out of sink. The advent of the electric motor might address this, but most electric comps don't allow the restarting of the motor.

The Cularis has just gone out of production (it had a good product life of 9 plus years) you can still find some new old stock. It looks to be replaced with the Heron. Even at 2.4 meters it should still out soar the RXL. Could someone please show me what are the strong points of the RXL.

[xviper]

It's funny that you say you've never liked RES gliders. For me, I've had many full house gliders and I will never again own one. I fly sailplanes for relaxation and just for the awe of watching it soar. I don't want to mess with ailerons and flaps and fiddling with "crow", reflex and all the rest. Of all the Radian Pros at my flying field, most have either dumped them or shelved them and gone with the regular Radian, purely for the simplicity and ease of flight. None of us compete so all that fiddly stuff is pointless for us. We just like to sit in our lawn chairs and have a nice relaxing time. Today, we had 5 sailplanes in the air. Our little group just bought 4 Radian XLs. Feelings are mixed but 2 of us admit that the XL needs more power. (There are 2 other threads here about the XL and I've outline what I've just done to mine to give it more "poop".)
Once at altitude (which can take a long time) and once it's trimmed out correctly, it can hang as well if not better than the smaller Radian. I also have the Mystique RES, regular Radian, UMX Radian and Bird of Time. I've gone through several full house sailers (at least 1/2 dozen) but it's been so long that I've had one, I can't remember exactly what they were called. I gave my last one away over 2 years ago. Admittedly, they were all of the "cheaper" varieties, some foam, some glass. I've never had any of the ultra-expensive ones like what Esprit Model sells. If I had, I may have a different opinion.
A flying buddy just bought one of the last remaining Cularis. He's more of a slope soarer and today, he was up with his plane with our XL, Radian, Mystique and Radian Pro. All he did was fly it like an airplane and soared with us from time to time. And no, he couldn't hang with the RES planes. He and the Pro were about in the same gliding ability. In fact, the Pro may have hung better as it had a stabilizer and it was much less twitchy and could do a steady soar within constant input.
Will the XL replace the Radian? Horizon hopes so, but I doubt it. The XL is just too fiddly to assemble and disassemble for flying and transport. It needs more power and flying it at the max capacity of the motor/ESC to get up there, can be taxing on the system. The Radian can be put together in a minute. Even the latest gen with the screw on wings can be up and ready to fly in short time. It's got more than adequate power, although power hungry guys like me, will "soup" them up. Mine had so much pull, it yanked the whole motor cowl off the plane when I suddenly powered up. I don't do that anymore.

Oh sorry, strong points of the XL? It's bigger so has more presence in the air. It glides just as well as the old Radian. It lands beautifully with those spoilers (even better than the Radian). I'm not going to try to convince anyone to get the XL. It's not the "end all, be all" in its current form. In fact, I just recommended to a friend of mine who was dead set on getting the XL, to get the Radian instead. He's a beginner and the original is likely to be more satisfying for him.

[KJD]

Ok, bigger both are 2.6M ships? Presence? The Cularis is very solid can even appear to be heavy in reflex. Do you mean lighter wing loading? Agree that the Radian Pro lacked "something". I also will say that most 2M leave me cold. (The small 4 servo winged Calypso works well when highly modified) The original Radian does make a nice entry level ship. And in "good " air can be very competitive in the hands of a skilled pilot.

What separates the good from the great gliders is how they travel looking for lift. Or more to the point how they fly in less than ideal conditions. I too have many glass slippers some in the $2K to $3K range and no matter how light the wing loading (hang to you, I think?) it doesn't help if the ship is in sink. Being able to move and find that lift is what makes or breaks a soarer. Most RES just can't move.

I think I just bought my last Cularis NIB yesterday (old new stock), this makes #3 for me. True it can't compete with my FVK ships but for a foam glider nothing has shown anything that comes close to the Cularis in foamy gliders. I have a Heron but as of yet it is unassembled. Like I said I have flow against a Radian XL and easily smoked it. True it wasn't a fair test of the Radian XL, as it is a new ship and the pilot was still getting use to her. I've been flying the Cularis for about 5 years, off and on, so I'm very comfortable reading her movements, making her the perfect XL killer.

I more than understand the desire for simplicity. I still sweat when I have to program a 6 servo glider. But the flexibility on the field more than makes up for the programing effort on the bench.

Note I do replace the Parkflier Plastic's canopy on the XL Killer for the original to move the CofG aft to help signal thermal activity.

So I gather the XL really is for the chaise longue crowd sipping a Mai Tai. To quote Seinfeld "not that there is anything wrong with that!"

I do hope to fly a RXL (maybe an upgraded one) to see how she really performs.

[KJD]

You bring up a good point. I agree that most foam models are too weak when it comes to mounting the motor. This really shows up when one lands using crow and you just misses the flair. Or with RES ships and they ground loop after the wing tip touches. The Radian is notorious for this.

I try to support all my glider motors at both ends. I've incorporated the Hyperion rear support bearing and plate (PN HP-GS30-BRPLT) in all my OEM front mounted foamy electric gliders. The idea of a cantilevered design (front or rear mount) is inimical to the concept of durability.

[xviper]

Ok, bigger both are 2.6M ships? Presence? The Cularis is very solid can even appear to be heavy in reflex. Do you mean lighter wing loading?

So I gather the XL really is for the chaise longue crowd sipping a Mai Tai. To quote Seinfeld "not that there is anything wrong with that!"

I do hope to fly a RXL (maybe an upgraded one) to see how she really performs.

Sorry for the misunderstanding. When I said "bigger", I was comparing to the regular Radian and the XL being "bigger" is one of the good points. I know the Cularis and the XL are the same wingspan and both look nice in the air.
Most of us sailplane guys at our field are the lawn chair types. We toss them, sit back and relax and chase each other in formation. We climb and descend and land together. It's just a nice group activity. We don't really compete to see who can stay up the best or the longest and we don't always fly the same sailplane but it is very neat to watch when there are 7 or more sailplanes of the same size in the air at once. Most of us have stabilizers, Return to Home and telemetry on our gliders so we know when we're all at the same altitude. Flying so many at once, it can be easy to forget which plane is yours. RTH is a great feature to "find" your plane again.
If HH decides to bring out a V.2, I hope they address some of the deficiencies that have come to surface on the first one - more power, easier assembly, make it lighter if possible. I think they could have simply made a larger version of the old Radian - forget the 3 piece wing. The "KISS" principle never fails.

[KJD]

I see that aircraft-world has these rear bearing plates on sale (close out) for $ 1.50 USD. I got a dozen!

http://www.aircraft-world.com/en/p1013289-hp-gs30-brplt

[Flygirl]

Sorry for the misunderstanding. When I said "bigger", I was comparing to the regular Radian and the XL being "bigger" is one of the good points. I know the Cularis and the XL are the same wingspan and both look nice in the air.
Most of us sailplane guys at our field are the lawn chair types. We toss them, sit back and relax and chase each other in formation. We climb and descend and land together. It's just a nice group activity. We don't really compete to see who can stay up the best or the longest and we don't always fly the same sailplane but it is very neat to watch when there are 7 or more sailplanes of the same size in the air at once. Most of us have stabilizers, Return to Home and telemetry on our gliders so we know when we're all at the same altitude. Flying so many at once, it can be easy to forget which plane is yours. RTH is a great feature to "find" your plane again.
If HH decides to bring out a V.2, I hope they address some of the deficiencies that have come to surface on the first one - more power, easier assembly, make it lighter if possible. I think they could have simply made a larger version of the old Radian - forget the 3 piece wing. The "KISS" principle never fails.

Funny you bring that up Vipe.... Today I had the RXL up in a pretty good thermal so it was up there pretty high. Meanwhile my friend Chris was flying his UMX Radian with FPV using a monitor. He decided to switch to using goggles so he handed the transmitter to our friend Tom who looked skyward, saw MY Radian XL which because it was high was small looking and lawn darted the UMX when he moved the sticks a bunch cuz he thought the UMX wasn't responding. LOL! It was pretty funny! BTW, the XL thermals very well. It was not the best day for lift as it was a mostly cloudy day but we got a few peeks of sun which heated up a nearby parking lot. Went right to the top floor with that one. :)

[xviper]

Funny you bring that up Vipe.... Today I had the RXL up in a pretty good thermal so it was up there pretty high. Meanwhile my friend Chris was flying his UMX Radian with FPV using a monitor. He decided to switch to using goggles so he handed the transmitter to our friend Tom who looked skyward, saw MY Radian XL which because it was high was small looking and lawn darted the UMX when he moved the sticks a bunch cuz he thought the UMX wasn't responding. LOL! It was pretty funny! BTW, the XL thermals very well. It was not the best day for lift as it was a mostly cloudy day but we got a few peeks of sun which heated up a nearby parking lot. Went right to the top floor with that one. :)

Now, THAT'S funny - confusing an XL and a UMX Radian.
I had a couple of wonderful flights today with my upgraded motor/ESC. No thermals, but quite a bit of wind but man, does this thing hang.

[KJD]

Funny you bring that up Vipe.... Today I had the RXL up in a pretty good thermal so it was up there pretty high. Meanwhile my friend Chris was flying his UMX Radian with FPV using a monitor. He decided to switch to using goggles so he handed the transmitter to our friend Tom who looked skyward, saw MY Radian XL which because it was high was small looking and lawn darted the UMX when he moved the sticks a bunch cuz he thought the UMX wasn't responding. LOL! It was pretty funny! BTW, the XL thermals very well. It was not the best day for lift as it was a mostly cloudy day but we got a few peeks of sun which heated up a nearby parking lot. Went right to the top floor with that one. :)

Maybe not so funny. Sounds like a depth perception problem. Is the guy blind in one eye or suffering from amblyopia? My brother is blind in one eye (always has been) and he definitely sees the world from another perspective.

[Flygirl]

Maybe not so funny. Sounds like a depth perception problem. Is the guy blind in one eye or suffering from amblyopia? My brother is blind in one eye (always has been) and he definitely sees the world from another perspective.

Nah.... It only took 5 seconds. LOL! He just looked up quick, saw my XL, gave it left stick to turn left and wondered why it wasn't turning. The UMX was only 20 feet up and spun into the ground. No damage though. :)

[Flygirl]

Now, THAT'S funny - confusing an XL and a UMX Radian.
I had a couple of wonderful flights today with my upgraded motor/ESC. No thermals, but quite a bit of wind but man, does this thing hang.

I'm loving it Vipe!!!

[KJD]

One of the things that differentiates the Multiplex product is that they offer a real kit version of most of their larger gliders. Not just a servo less offering we see from other distributors. This means that it is often easy to make modification to the model. BNF/PNP type models are often too far along in the assembly process from the factory to afford easy enhancements of factory (project manager’s) deficiencies. All the E-Flite/Park Zone and Flyzone foam gliders suffer from far too flexible a tail boom. With the Multiplex Solius and Heron there is an integral glass or aluminum tube that dramatically stiffens the tail boom. As it is not glued in on the kit version it allows you to easily change it out for a carbon one should you want to loose some mass. The kit version also allows you to choose the proper servo for each application. Like metal gears for the flaps and elevator or the use of HV servos should you want to run 2 cell lipos for the radio. (The RR version does come with high quality servos suitable for their application.)


Reading on the other forums it is rapidly becoming clear that the Radian XL is a dud! Much like the Radian Pro has proven to be. If one really wants a “Large” foam soarer the Heron is looking like the best if not the only one out there, "want a be" gas bags excluded. In the RR configuration all she really needs is a larger prop. The motor and ESC supplied can handle the added load. Both the Kit and RR versions have large wings 2.4m with a wide chord at the root and modern aerodynamics out at the wing tips.

The Radian XL is looking to be the big oaf of a brother to the great 2m Radian. It can’t climb and as a result of its weight is not as durable, or as forgiving to mis-handling on landing like the Radian (2m) is. If this was to be an entry into the RES class of competition flying it looks to have missed the mark. If it was aimed at the entry level pilot it is looking like a poor step sister the the Radian (2 meter). Here is hoping that E-flight will regroup and address the issues in the airframe and equipment. I also hope the Radian (2 meter) stays with us for along time as it really is a nice entry level ship. She is so much better than the "Gentle Lady/Electra (s)" we had in the past.

http://hitecrcd.com/products/airplanes/multiplex/gliders/multiplex-heron/product

http://hitecrcd.com/products/airplanes/multiplex/gliders/cularis-rr/product

[Flygirl]

Well, I will beg to differ that it is a dud or a big oaf. I like it and am enjoying it immensely so honestly I don't care what other forums say. As for the Solius, yes it is nice and stiff. I have one of those as well. The XL and regular Radian should be stiffer but that is easily remedied. As for climb, it's fast enough for me. I don't need a rocket ship to the top floor. I agree it is not an entry level glider given its weight and size. The 2 meter version is better in that respect. Whether it misses out on competition, I don't care there either as I have no intention of competing. I bought it to be a nice lazy lawn chair glider and it fits into that pigeon hole quite well. :)

[KJD]

Lauren, I'm happy you are happy with the product.

I fear the market place won't be and that Horizon missed an opportunity to make a good follow up to the Radian 2 meter. They made an error with the Radian Pro. (Not near enough throw in the trailing edges.) We are not talking rocket ships, like F5B or hot liners, but most pilots would want a climb angle of 45° to 60° with a good rate of climb. But at $220 for the Radian XL 2.6 meter glider you can get a Heron Kit and equip her for close to that. With the wide chord of the Heron you will have a nice thermaling ship that can also move around the field in search of lift on those bad days. The only real issue with the Cularis and Herons is having somebody in that club that knows how to set up a "6 servo" glider. This is assuming you have a radio that can control camber and crow.

Like I said the effort spent on the bench learning how to set up ones higher end radio pays huge dividends on the field. If you aren't really into soaring, or there isn't any lift, these camber changing ships can make graceful aerobatic ship with the right power.

As you have the Solius how do the two compair covering ground looking for lift. The Solius is only a bit more advanced that the Radian XL as she only has ailerons/spoilerons not a full camber changing wing. To land in a tight spot you can only raise the ailerons (both) to spoil lift. You do need a radio that can do this and mix in a lot of down 8% to 12%

[xviper]

I, also, would NOT call it a dud. When you consider that all of them have sold out and many people are waiting on back orders and some are even buying a second one, just like many of us bought second and third Radians. No, Eflite did NOT miss the mark. They got to the target audience just as they had hoped and I'll bet they'll continue to sell like hotcakes in spite of some of the XL's posted short-comings. Nay-sayers will revel at the thought of this plane's supposed failures and whatever perceived "misses" but these are mostly people who don't own one and will likely never own one and will constantly look for posted deficiencies so they can giggle in the back room being pleased at how right they were. And the whole time, these things will continue to arrive at flying fields everywhere. We know the Cularis ended. You don't end something that everyone continues to want. Let's see how long the Heron or the Solius goes before they also get discontinued. Shall we see the XL reach that fate? Maybe, but it'll be a long wait.
Remember, the XL is but a mere $50.00 more than the original Radian - not bad at all for what you get. It's a big, beautiful sailplane that just needs a little understanding and maybe just a little tweaking. For under $300.00 bucks, tweaking is not a lot of extra to do. You can keep your Cularis, your Heron and what other big foamie you can name - too expensive, too complicated, too fiddly to fly for most. I'll never own another full house foamie sailplane again. Even the guy at my field with his new Cularis is thinking of the XL. I think Horizon will likely sell all of the next batch as well and in time, the XL will settle into steady sales just like the Radian did.
Just today, my closest flying buddy repeated just how much he loves his stock XL and commented on how nicely it lands, better than any sailplane or plane that he's owned. His brother-in-law has his fixed and is anxious to go out and make it soar once again. Our other friend has already ordered a new, better motor for his and he hasn't even flown it yet. I'm becoming somewhat attached to mine and in time, I may even buy a second one. I may not recommend it to certain types of flyers, but for me and many, many others, it's a keeper and WILL be replaced if anything happens to this one.
If you compare it to stuff you normally use to compete with, sure, look elsewhere. For some, turning something into a competition is the end all, be all. For others, turning it into a competition is the least palatable endeavor there can be. If you look at the sales of the current batch and that of the next batch, I think Horizon are ecstatic at just what a "dud" the XL is. I think they wished the other foam sailplanes they have or have had were the same kind of "dud" as this.

[KJD]

Much of what you say, point out, can be said about any product. I freely admit I haven't flow one, and would like to. But having flown one man on man I can tell you I'd take the camber changing glider, say my 7 year old Cularis. 9 years is a good product life in todays market, yes the Cularis was that good of a foamy. The Heron is a step in the direction of more efficiency. So Multiplex saw that there was still a huge market for the large foamy glider and has stayed with it. They tried the for simpler Solius and saw that it was a failure compared with the camber changing Cularis. So they went back to the proven lay out of the Cularis with the Heron. I think Horizon also saw the success of the Cularis and wanted in on the large foamy glider market. They recalled their failure with the Radian Pro and decided to stay with what worked for them, a very simple lay out.

As to cost, the Heron kit is actually less expensive to set up than the Radian XL with the need to upgrade the power system (motor, ESC and prop). And you get a much more versatile ship. True one is a kit and the other PNP with RX. As I don't fly spektrum other than my UMX models this is not a benefit.

No, I'm not looking for a replacement for my Kevlar® gas bags of carbon glass slippers. I'm looking for the "Best" large foamy. And by the reports on most sites it is not the Radian XL. Sure there is a lot of hype, much of it generated by Horizon. But after the original sales boost I'm all but confident Horizon will discontinue the Radian XL in its current form (Horizon has rather short product life, it is part of their business plan).

Back to the question; how does the Radian XL roam looking for lift? How well does she land (hit the spot)? How durable is she when she ground loops (drags a wing tip)? How well does she climb? To all these question the consensus is she is failing as she comes out of the box.

I'd love to fly one myself, but I'm not likely to take the gamble (buy the hype) and spend my money and be one of the first to try out this ship. I just don't see the appeal to a heavy RES sport ship. To be fair I didn't think I'd like the Cularis when she first came out. While she is no high performance ship (foam ships just have too thick a wing) she is a great entry level (durable and cheap) point into the full camber changing soarer. The Heron should carry on that tradition (9 plus long years) even at the loss of 200mm.

Guys Gals, this is not an attack on you for your choice of weapon. That is why I stayed out of the love fest that is the Maiden. As I'm sure many think, the fact that I'm asking for a critical critique is an attack. I really want to know what are the benefits of the RXL and as was hinted there really are none. It is aimed at the chaise longue crowd sipping a Mai Tai. To quote Seinfeld "not that there is anything wrong with that!"
And I'm too old to spend my money, that way on Mai Tai's.

[xviper]

Back to he question; how does the Radian XL roam looking for lift? How well does she land (hit the spot)? How durable is she when she ground loops (drags a wing tip)? How well does she climb? To all these question the consensus is she is failing as she comes out of the box.

I'd love to fly one myself, but I'm not likely to take the gamble (hype) and spend my money and be one of the first to try out this ship. I just don't see the appeal to a heavy RES sport ship. To be fair I didn't think I'd like the Cularis when she first came out. While she is no high performance ship (foam ships just have too thick a wing) she is a great entry level (durable and cheap) point into the full camber changing soarer. The Heron should carry on that tradition (7 long years) even at the loss of 200mm.

Guys gals this is not an attack on you for your choice of weapon. That is why I stayed out of the love fest that is the Maiden. As I'm sure many think, the fact that I'm asking for a critical critique is an attack. I really want to know what are the benefits of the RXL and as was hinted there really are none. It is aimed at the chaise longue crowd sipping a Mai Tai. To quote Seinfeld "not that there is anything wrong with that!"
And I'm too old to spend my money, that way on Mai Tai's.

Roam for lift? We don't do that. We just fly it around in a group and if we find lift, we find lift. If we don't, we just fall till we get close to ground and power back up to do it all over again. How well does it land? None of us are what you would call "experts" but ALL of us can land this thing and be able to throw a rock at it and hit it (if that's what you want to do). Again, we don't mind walking out a bit to go get it. We don't compete in spot landings. My buddy did a "ground loop" this morning and he went and got it, put another battery in it and up it went again. No apparent damage. As for "consensus", I don't take a few negative experiences as consensus. I used to be heavy into the Honda S2000 and on the forums, all you'd hear are the people who had negative this and that. It didn't mean a thing. The press panned it. That didn't mean a thing. We never heard from the 10's of thousands who had no problems or misgivings about their cars. They stay silent and never post. Negatives always float to the surface because the disgruntled are the first to air their laundry. Doesn't mean a thing. I can point out several short comings of the original Radian but that didn't affect the sales.
You said yourself you didn't like your Cularis at first. Well, you don't like the XL. That's you. Gamble? Isn't everything in this hobby a "gamble"? I call them "experiences". Just like all Vegas venues have different "odds", each one has their followers and each one have those who avoid. You take what odds you are comfortable with. And when you speak of "love fest", doesn't any product have those types of people? Your view of your Cularis kinda resembles that same "love fest". It's your right.
I don't consider it an "attack". I call a spade a spade. I'll tell you when something is bad and when something has merit. However, just because I don't like something doesn't mean I'll call it a "dud". I'm old myself, but when it comes to this hobby, it's a bit of an addiction and a bit of a passion. I'll spend my money to play and try something out that looks interesting. For every one who doesn't like something, there are many times over of those who think it's the best thing since sliced bread. And may I be humble enough to admit that.
I think this is all I'll say about this in this thread. Continuing on would be pointless when minds are that much made up.

[Flygirl]

Lauren, I'm happy you are happy with the product.

As you have the Solius how do the two compair covering ground looking for lift. The Solius is only a bit more advanced that the Radian XL as she only has ailerons/spoilerons not a full camber changing wing. To land in a tight spot you can only raise the ailerons (both) to spoil lift. You do need a radio that can do this and mix in a lot of down 8% to 12%

It's hard to say KJD... The Solius can really cover ground, more than the XL but the XL is much faster than the standard 2 meter Radian and penetrates wind better. I've only had a week with the XL so I am limited with data but I like it so far. Honestly I don't think the climb is all that bad. It looks like about 45% to me. I need to make a good vid for you to see. :) By the way, I looked at the Heron and would love one but I don't think I could set up all those modes on the radio I have (7 channel). I'm not even really sure what all of the modes do. LOL! As for roaming, the guys in the club all agree that the XL has a very good glide ratio but most of us are lawn chair soarers who dabble in gliders. You obviously know quite a bit more than we do. What I found fun was being able to fly out of the lift when it was getting hard to see, fly out of the lift looking for other lift (none) and then flying back over the parking lot and ride the up elevator over and over. Lots of fun. :)

As for spot landing, it's pretty good. Here is my maiden flight (A quickie up and down in heavy wind). Landed it right in front of me. ;)

[Flygirl]

My Solius...

[KJD]

Xviper2, I said: "To be fair I didn't think I'd like the Cularis when she first came out." I thought she would be far too flexible, being foam. And I thought that the wing would have to be too thick for structural reasons. While the wing is too thick to make the Cularis a performance ship she has a great balance of features that make her a good sport ship and an entry level ship into camber changing.

As to the customers being able to make an honest assessment, I find that they are often emotionally involved in the product. It was their money and their thought processes that might have been manipulated by the sales hype. I'm thinking that I'm not a gambler rather an engineer trying to control as many of the variables as possible, I think they call it risk management!

In the case of the Cularis I'll have to admit that based on the engineering assessment of the material (foam) and the thickness of the wing I thought it would be a dud. But I was (and hope "I" am with the Radian XL) open minded to the actual performance of the bird. It is no F3B ship but it is a fine entry level ship that does respond to the camber changing of the trailing edge.

But based on the one Man on Man experience I had and the reports I read The Radian XL is not looking good for what I think one would want in a large foamy, even a RES. Most of the positive comparison are against the smaller Radian 2meter ship. I would hope the larger 2.6m ship would out fly the smaller 2 meter ship. But as you noted the Radian 2meter has bested some high dollar unlimited's in the hands of a good pilot and the right weather conditions.

Lauren, Good job!
It also looks like I may need to revive what I said about the tail boom. It had an integral tube. Some of the reports might be traced to the bonding of the tube to the foam tail boom. I really need to get my hands on one.