Advise on first edf jet.

[Skyboom]

So I've been flying my Carbon Cub trainer plane for about 15 take offs and landings. Been lucky havn't to crash yet. Some floppy landings though. Learning to flare with elevator. Getting better with turning with rudder. I ordered the Durafly D.H 100 Vampire edf jet. I really want to get into edf jets. Does anyone have any experience with this model? Was considering Zeta Dolphin edf trainer but they've discontinued this jet. Any advise is much appreciated.

[rifleman_btx]

Check into this one, not alot of money and it can fly slow or fast, also less expensive 4s packs.

[Skyboom]

Wow it looks fast. I'll research this aircraft. Thanks rifleman.

[Alpha]

Welcome home to Hobby Squawk, Skyboom! The Durafly Vampire is a very capable aircraft and has aged well. I think you'll enjoy it!

You made a good choice avoiding the Zeta. Especially since you're just beginning to learn how to fly EDFs, make sure any model you purchase also has spare parts available. It will come in handy if you ever need them, and by comparison, it can be very disheartening to need a part for a plane you're trying to learn with but none are available.

Good luck!

[rifleman_btx]

No problem, being designed as a lifting body the F22 is a plane that can float as well as have the zip in the sky

[Skyboom]

Great then. I'm going to our flying field tommorow, Fraser Valley RC flyers and inquire about the F22. Maybe Santa will be nice to me this Christmas..

[xviper]

I have the Durafly Vampire (Canadian scheme). I've flown it for 2 seasons now. It's a fairly quick little plane when you lay on the throttle. I find it somewhat twitchy on the elevator, so reduce the rates and dial in some expo or you'll have a roller coaster. Although not as touchy, the roll can be a bit sensitive, too. Again use some expo and lower the rates a bit. Like it's bigger 90mm cousin, the Freewing Venom, glue the tail booms with the plane upside down and allow to cure in that position. Even so, you may still need a couple of degrees of UP elevator for it to fly level.
The steering mechanism is kinda goofy with those stupid wires and offset servo. You may find after a couple of rough landings, the nose gear bends back a bit and makes the wires slack. Then steering becomes a bit sloppy. No matter so long as you can steer it adequately on take off. Get it off the ground as quickly as you are comfortable with as it has no rudder and that tiny little nose tire is a bit numb. Landing is not a big deal but you may have to get used to going out and picking it up where it stops since it'll turn better one way than the other and driving it back to you might be tedious. I find landing the smaller Vampire to be much easier than the bigger Venom (tendency to bounce if the approach isn't set up just right). The Vampire is much more forgiving.
I use a HobbyKing Graphene 3000mah, 4s, 65C battery. This balances well, gives plenty of punch and decent flight time (4 minutes if you don't go pedal to the metal the whole flight).
It might not be the best first EDF but it's so reasonably priced that it will be an exciting venture.

[icepirate3]

I've been hearing good things about the Eflight Viper. There's a pilot at my local field that is using one as his first EDF with pretty good success. He went from a high wing trainer, to a couple medium sized war birds, to the Viper which I think was smart and maybe something to think about if you can afford it. I think war birds really help you learn how to manage your landing approach from downwind to final and help prepare you for better throttle management that's needed on most EDF's. If you are struggling with landing the Carbon Cub now, trust me when I say landing an EDF is a much different animal. Get confident with landing the Cub in different conditions and from different approach angles/altitudes to the point where you are confident you can bring it in with little to no nerves.

Going from a trainer to an EDF usually is a pretty expensive and frustrating en devour. If you do have experienced EDF pilots at your local club, don't be afraid to ask lot's of questions. And please, don't be ashamed to ask for help. Have someone look over or help setup the Vampire before flying it. Maybe even buddy box or have someone maiden it for you just to be safe. I nearly dumped my first EDF due to fighting trim issues on the maiden.....yeah, the first time I every flew an EDF was a maiden of an FW A-6 Intruder. Was not a smart plan although it ended well. (The A-6 would mage a great 2nd EDF IMO).

I hope this helps and prepare to break out the checkbook if you enjoy the Vampire! Once you get that first WOT pass close to the ground with that cool exit you will be hooked and will "need" a couple more in the hanger.

[xviper]

On the subject of the Viper (I've owned the big Taft 90mm ViperJet), it should be a little easier to fly with all the AS3X and SAFE but even those won't defy the laws of physics. Since you've only have a dozen or so flights on a fairly tame trainer and you say you still have sloppy landings, the Viper may not be a good idea purely due to its cost. Where the trainer lands by nearly stalling it, an EDF lands a bit like a controlled crash. It could end quickly and with a big dent in your bank account with nothing but a basket full of foam to show for it. The Vampire, on the other hand, is a twitchy little bugger but you won't feel nearly as bad if it takes a dirt nap. I've owned 2 of these Vampires. The first one was one of the original versions. Even built perfectly and set up (seemingly) perfectly on the bench, chances are, it will NOT be trimmed right on the first flight - in fact, it could be far enough out of trim that someone new to it may have a hard time clicking the trim tabs without losing total control. Remember, it's a cheap plane and I don't think a lot went into quality control and I'm sure there will be slight warpage in some critical part that the average hobbyist can't immediately see. But once trimmed, it should fly OK.

[Skyboom]

Great advice. Thanks pilots. Going to revisit xviper's post when my plane arrives next week. I purchased the DX9 transmitter a couple months ago. I'm thinking I should have gotten a much less complicated radio. None of my friends are into the hobby so I have to decide things alone. I'm getting ready to fly today. It's our Remembrance Day today and there will be a big turn out. I can get some help there for my radio. I need to prove myself to the flying club of being a competent pilot. I don't want to look like an idiot flying my first edf. Oh btw the transmitter that came with the Carbon Cub is Spektrum Dxe. And I like that radio alot.

[xviper]

Great advice. Thanks pilots. Going to revisit xviper's post when my plane arrives next week. I purchased the DX9 transmitter a couple months ago. I'm thinking I should have gotten a much less complicated radio. None of my friends are into the hobby so I have to decide things alone. I'm getting ready to fly today. It's our Remembrance Day today and there will be a big turn out. I can get some help there for my radio. I need to prove myself to the flying club of being a competent pilot. I don't want to look like an idiot flying my first edf. Oh btw the transmitter that came with the Carbon Cub is Spektrum Dxe. And I like that radio alot.

The DX9 will take you a long way into this hobby. It's a little too much for me as I don't really need anything more than 8 channels. For most of my planes a 6-ch would have been OK but an extra 2 channel allows me to do some extra things. Also, the RXs start getting expensive although as get into this hobby, you'll discover products like the Admiral and Lemon Rx's that do an excellent job for much less money than the Spektrum stuff. The DXe is one of those "economy" TXs that come with RTF planes from Eflite. It's much better than the ones they used to include but it's still quite limited in what you can do.
If your flying club is like any other AMA or MAAC (in Canada), you'll have to "earn your wings" first before you can fly completely unsupervised. They'll make you show that you can take off, do a simple circuit or two, perhaps with a roll or two and land while looking like you're in control.

[Skyboom]

Oh my God what a day. I'll post some pics later. Met some pilots today, one guy lost his racing drone today. lol. Anyway the Cub flew good today, did my first upward barrel roll today. I met a pilot that flew a "Goblin" today. What an amazing aircraft that was. It had a push prop moter and sounded insane. He advised me that kind of model to practice in. It's really cheap to build. Also I love the headsets today. I could see streaming video of the camera from his Goblin aircraft. When he launched that Goblin like a frisbie it just went straight up full power.

[Alpha]

Sounds like you had a fun day at your new flying field! It sounds like your club is active, with lots of different kinds of RC.

[Grossman56]

Oh my God what a day. I'll post some pics later. Met some pilots today, one guy lost his racing drone today. lol. Anyway the Cub flew good today, did my first upward barrel roll today. I met a pilot that flew a "Goblin" today. What an amazing aircraft that was. It had a push prop moter and sounded insane. He advised me that kind of model to practice in. It's really cheap to build. Also I love the headsets today. I could see streaming video of the camera from his Goblin aircraft. When he launched that Goblin like a frisbie it just went straight up full power.

What a small world! My daughter and her family live in Chilliwack!

Grossman56

[Skyboom]

Oh wow. I'm there almost every Sunday now. Have them stop by and ask for Nick. It's a beautifull airfield. I'll post more pics.. What a small world.

[Skyboom]

Sounds like you had a fun day at your new flying field! It sounds like your club is active, with lots of different kinds of RC.

Yes are youngest member is 9 years old and landed his first plane today. Only nice Sundays we fly. There's 7 or 8 of us flying all year round. A beautiful airfield we have in Chilliwack B.C. It's been known to move around. Leases and stuff.

[Tate]

Check into this one, not alot of money and it can fly slow or fast, also less expensive 4s packs.

Rifleman's right on with this plane. At $109 with free shipping you can crash a few times without feeling too awful. I know I'm a bit late chiming in here but yeah, that 64mm Raptor is a dream.

[Hoomi]

What do you all think of the 64mm Freewing Stinger for a first EDF? I was eying that one for when I feel ready to take the plunge.

[Skyboom]

Like my Mig 15. Then I want to move up to the 70mm with air brakes. But they've discontinued them. And that one has the rudder.

[Valkpilot]

On the subject of the Viper (I've owned the big Taft 90mm ViperJet), it should be a little easier to fly with all the AS3X and SAFE but even those won't defy the laws of physics. Since you've only have a dozen or so flights on a fairly tame trainer and you say you still have sloppy landings, the Viper may not be a good idea purely due to its cost. Where the trainer lands by nearly stalling it, an EDF lands a bit like a controlled crash. It could end quickly and with a big dent in your bank account with nothing but a basket full of foam to show for it. The Vampire, on the other hand, is a twitchy little bugger but you won't feel nearly as bad if it takes a dirt nap. I've owned 2 of these Vampires. The first one was one of the original versions. Even built perfectly and set up (seemingly) perfectly on the bench, chances are, it will NOT be trimmed right on the first flight - in fact, it could be far enough out of trim that someone new to it may have a hard time clicking the trim tabs without losing total control. Remember, it's a cheap plane and I don't think a lot went into quality control and I'm sure there will be slight warpage in some critical part that the average hobbyist can't immediately see. But once trimmed, it should fly OK.

Did you replace the ESCs? The model has been notorious for them blowing an I lost two, one making quite a nice fire.