Aircore anyone?

[retiredflyer]

I decided to try the Flyzone Aircore system and I got myself a Zero and a Mustang. Wondering if anyone has tried these planes and what they thought. I have had a smaller Corsair once and it was WAY too twitchy for my liking. I know I will really have to crank up the expo for these planes. I usual fly most of my planes with 40% expo and 60% D/R anyway so I might be OK just leaving it at that. Thoughts?

Keith

[Loneflier]

RE: Aircore anyone?

I decided to try the Flyzone Aircore system and I got myself a Zero and a Mustang. Wondering if anyone has tried these planes and what they thought. I have had a smaller Corsair once and it was WAY too twitchy for my liking. I know I will really have to crank up the expo for these planes. I usual fly most of my planes with 40% expo and 60% D/R anyway so I might be OK just leaving it at that. Thoughts?

Keith

I have the entire warbird series of the Aircore planes, and really enjoy them. They are nice flying planes, good power, and surprisingly durable. I ended up buying a power core for each plane, simply because when I trimmed out one plane, that same trim might not match the next one. With some retailers offering the airframes for under 20.00, and the power core for under 40, they make a very inexpensive, fun to fly plane. I set my expo around 30% with these, and usually use a 70% low rate, and 100% high rate for the throws. Hope this helps!

[farmflyer]

RE: Aircore anyone?

I'm glad to see this thread come up. I've been looking at these and wondering how they flew. I'm sure they require little to no wind but might be good for those quick flights at sunset when it gets calm.

[retiredflyer]

RE: Aircore anyone?

Thanks for the replies guys. I'm glad to know that someone out that has these or is thinking about then too. Lone, you are right, for $20 at "another" hobby store I can have an entire squadron. I wasn't going to get a different core for each, just program each plane into my radio separately. I see on line that some people do fly them with a bit of wind, we'll see about that. Haven't received mine yet but they look real nice from the photos.
Appreciate the info and will let you know how I like them.
P.S. I forgot to ask Lone, do you hand launch, or takeoff from the ground? How does it work out for you? I have a nice, paved parking lot I fly from so I thought I would start from the ground.

[Loneflier]

RE: Aircore anyone?

Thanks for the replies guys. I'm glad to know that someone out that has these or is thinking about then too. Lone, you are right, for $20 at "another" hobby store I can have an entire squadron. I wasn't going to get a different core for each, just program each plane into my radio separately. I see on line that some people do fly them with a bit of wind, we'll see about that. Haven't received mine yet but they look real nice from the photos.
 Appreciate the info and will let you know how I like them.  
 P.S. I forgot to ask Lone, do you hand launch, or takeoff from the ground? How does it work out for you? I have a nice, paved parking lot I fly from so I thought I would start from the ground.

I always hand launch these planes. I fly off grass, so with the small wheels, they just won't do well on take off or landings. They are easy to handlaunch, just run to about 3/4 throttle, and a gentle toss out with just a bit of up too. I have flown mine in up to 10mph winds, and yes, the wind does knock them around pretty well, but they really do fly nicely, and if you do lose it and pile one in, the wings and parts are all held by magnets and they do just pop apart. You should probably get some extra props just in case though! Enjoy!

[retiredflyer]

RE: Aircore anyone?

Just got the Zero and the Mustang this afternoon. I got to say, for $20, these are nice looking little planes. The paint jobs look great, the hinges are nice. Can't beat it. Won't be able to fly until Monday....can't wait to try them.

[Loneflier]

RE: Aircore anyone?

Just got the Zero and the Mustang this afternoon.  I got to say, for $20, these are nice looking little planes.  The paint jobs look great, the hinges are nice.  Can't beat it.  Won't be able to fly until Monday....can't wait to try them.

Hope you enjoy them as much as I do. The Mustang is my favorite flyer, even has a nice sound to it. The Zero is very aerobatic, and flies well too. Of all of them, the ME109 is the twitchiest, just make sure you really tone down the ailerons on it before flying, or use lots of expo. The Spitfire is probably my next favorite, with the Zero and FW190 flying much the same. The ME109 is fun, and looks great in the air, just watch the throws on it.

[retiredflyer]

RE: Aircore anyone?

Well, had my maiden with the Zero this morning....lasted about .5 seconds. I throttled her up, tossed her up, and the prop immediately flew off and she nosed dived into the ground about 10 feet from me. The canopy flew off, and the wings popped off. Investigation revealed that several sections of the prop retaining snaps had broke off. Well, that was exciting! Luckily I had bought a package of the retainer rings and prop shafts when I bought the plane so I came home and replaced the broken piece. I had to destroy the old piece as it appears you have to glue it onto the motor shaft. I put a drop of CA on it before I slid on the new one and let it dry, and then reassembled. I will try again tomorrow!!!!!!

[retiredflyer]

RE: Aircore anyone?

Disaster #2....Another attempt at a maiden with he Zero. Thought all was good this time as I had CA'd the prop adapter to the motor shaft, snapped the prop back on, and away we go again. Throttled her up, tossed in the air, prop flies off AGAIN, and a crash. WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON HERE? The snap adapter was totally intact this time, However, the prop itself had flown off the other end of the snap adapter shaft with the spinner cone as it appears to be only pushed on with friction. That can't work as with enough thrust it will fly off.....no kidding. So apparently, this was missing CA the first time but didn't come off yet, and this 2nd attempt was enough to loosen it up. So, back home to apply a drop of CA to the prop shaft and I will try AGAIN.
It is now apparent that if you actually break a prop, you need to totally replace the snap insert too as it needs to be CD's to the prop. Probably why they sell a bag of those as spares. Should come with the prop when you buy it.

[Loneflier]

RE: Aircore anyone?

Disaster #2....Another attempt at a maiden with he Zero.  Thought all was good this time as I had CA'd the prop adapter to the motor shaft, snapped the prop back on, and away we go again.  Throttled her up, tossed in the air, prop flies off AGAIN, and a crash.  WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON HERE?  The snap adapter was totally intact this time, However, the prop itself had flown off the other end of the snap adapter shaft with the spinner cone as it appears to be only pushed on with friction.  That can't work as with enough thrust it will fly off.....no kidding.   So apparently, this was missing CA the first time but didn't come off yet, and this 2nd attempt was enough to loosen it up.  So, back home to apply a drop of CA to the prop shaft and I will try AGAIN.  
It is now apparent that if you actually break a prop, you need to totally replace the snap insert too as it needs to be CD's to the prop.  Probably why they sell a bag of those as spares.  Should come with the prop when you buy it.

Wow, I am sorry to hear about your problems with the Zero. I have not had that issue with any of mine at all. I hope your third time will be charmed. They really are nice flying planes.

[retiredflyer]

RE: Aircore anyone?

Lone,
The 3rd time was a charm. I finally got it flying. WOW, now I must say this is the first "small" plane I have flown. I'm used to my 45 inch or longer wingspan planes. This is a handful, even trimmed out you need t o be constantly on top of the controls. I have my expo on my Spektrum turned up (or down) to 50% and my rates at 60% and it is still VERY twitchy. I can get to fly smooth but you are constantly making adjustments. She will suddenly want to go up, left, right, down. You need to be on your toes. It this me or is that your experience also? I'm putting the battery as far forward as I can sitting on top of the receiver, it's touching the wires sticking up in front so it can go any further forward. I don't like that is attached with a small piece of Velcro and it just rocks back and forth because the receiver is not flat. I wonder if it's movement in the air causes any of the twitching? I'm trying to come up with a more secure way of attaching the battery so it doesn't move at all. Maybe a small elastic, not sure.
Also, I'm belly (actually nose) landing and it is already taking it's toll on the nose and spinner. A few times I cut too much speed and she plopped down nose first from about 1 foot up. The prop DOES come off every single time too. Even though is soft grass it still hard enough at speed to do damage. I decided to put a coat of Foam Finish all over the spinner and nose to harden it up a bit.

[Loneflier]

RE: Aircore anyone?

Lone,
 The 3rd time was a charm.  I finally got it flying.  WOW, now I must say this is the first "small" plane I have flown.  I'm used to my 45 inch or longer wingspan planes.  This is a handful, even trimmed out you need t o be constantly on top of the controls.  I have my expo on my Spektrum turned up (or down) to 50% and my rates at 60% and it is still VERY twitchy.  I can get to fly smooth but you are constantly making adjustments. She will suddenly want to go up, left, right, down.  You need to be on your toes.  It this me or is that your experience also?  I'm putting the battery as far forward as I can sitting on top of the receiver, it's touching the wires sticking up in front so it can go any further forward.  I don't like that is attached with a small piece of Velcro and it just rocks back and forth because the receiver is not flat.  I wonder if it's movement in the air causes any of the twitching?  I'm trying to come up with a more secure way of attaching the battery so it doesn't move at all.  Maybe a small elastic, not sure.
 Also, I'm belly (actually nose) landing and it is already taking it's toll on the nose and spinner.  A few times I cut too much speed and she plopped down nose first from about 1 foot up. The prop DOES come off every single time too.  Even though is soft grass it still hard enough at speed to do damage.  I decided to put a coat of Foam Finish all over the spinner and nose to harden it up a bit.

Hi Retiredflyer,
Most all of these small planes are somewhat twitchy, but it was my experience that these Aircore planes were a bit easier to fly than many of my 800mm FMS warbirds. Just my opinion though. They all do respond very quickly to any inputs, and being so lightweight, they tend to change directions very quickly. Your settings sound about what I have mine set up with in terms of expo and control throws. As you noted, the prop and spinner do come off with nearly every landing, it is a challenge to belly land them and keep the prop on the plane. Fortunately, I've never had it do any actual damage to the snap on part, but yes, the foam spinners do get a good bit of wear. Battery placement is just as you described, I keep mine as far forward as possible. The top part of the hatch usually fits close enough that I have not noticed any issues with the battery moving and changing CG though. Just takes practice and getting used to flying planes this small. Be careful not to get out too far. It is easy to lose orientation once they get out a ways which usually results in a crash for me! Good luck!

[Tom]

RE: Aircore anyone?

I've had a lot of time on these little guys. I've tried all kids of combinations of dual rates and expo. The best configuration I came up with is 100% rates all the time and 20% expo on ailerons with no expo on the elevator or rudder channel. I also move the battery back a bit so I don't need much back pressure during inverted flight. With this configuration I don't feel any twitchiness yet I have the rates I need for cuban 8s, stall turns, loops, rolls, etc. It is shocking what these little planes are capable of. It is too bad these have all been discontinued by the manufacturer. These could have been really popular planes.

[retiredflyer]

RE: Aircore anyone?

Well that was news..discontinued! What the heck, I just got started with them. Guess I need to stock up. That is very little expo, wow. I don't even go that low on any of my planes. I think my standard is about 40. Thanks for the info. Haven't gotten back to flying yet, way too windy.

[retiredflyer]

RE: Aircore anyone?

Well, I think I can see why they were discontinued! After 9 flights, I really don't think I like these at all. Here are my reasons:
1: WAY too easy to break. Just a slight nose in and it smashes up the nosecone, cowl, and I have broken 2 of the snap retainers on the motor. This requires a bit of work to now Dremel tool the old one off because it is CA'd to the motor shaft. It appears you actually have to fly these right into the ground. Not into, but flatly and at speed. If you come it too slow, nose drops immediately and you smash things up. Very fine line on how fast to have her glide it. The grass where I'm at (Maine) is now dead and hard so every landing creates some damage to the foam it seems. Not good!
2: WAY too wind sensitive. Unless it absolutely calm (which it is almost never), then these planes are all over the place. Constantly twitching around in the sky with never any smooth lines of flight. Just when you think it's going nice, slightest breeze grabs it and flips it up on one side, or throws it into a dive. Not a relaxing flying experience.
3: Landing gear totally useless, I had read this already so no surprise there. I tried a hand launch and a gear landing to see it I could minimize damage upon landing. First landing was perfect. This is on a hot topped parking lot mind you. Wow, I thought, this is the way to go from now on. 2nd landing, WRONG, bounced and landed on it's nose, dented the nosecone, motor flew out, and retainer on motor shaft broken. Also bent the gear back and snapped off the decorative wheel cover on the outside.
So now I'm really tired of fixing stuff, repairing the cowl, and I think I will retire these two planes to just be decorative.....50 bucks down the drain! Live and learn. Going back to my BIG planes.

[Tom]

RE: Aircore anyone?

Oh yes, forgot to mention that - landing gear is totally useless. You want to remove it and hand launch and belly land.

retiredflyer, try moving your battery back a bit. I found it makes it easier to glide into a landing and gets rid of the twitchy. I think these are too nose heavy out of the box. It was night and day when I moved the battery back 1/4" to a 1/2" (depending on the plane). I'm nearly touching the servo behind the battery when I place my battery in the plane. I found this made all the difference in the world. It makes the plane land easier, glide easier, less twitchy, and more responsive.

[Loneflier]

RE: Aircore anyone?

I really hate to hear that these have been dropped by the manufacturer. My experience with them has been very good. I found them to be a lot of fun when flying in smaller spaces, with good power, and very aerobatic. I was hoping they would expand the lineup with some other warbirds.