E-Flite Radian XL Maiden

[xviper]

I've seen the battery slide back and forward with just the strap especially on planes with a plastic tray under the battery. I'm not sure how the radian battery bay is but it might be worth testing to see if it could possibly slide without the Velcro.

I think it can slide but most of my batteries have the opposing velcro on them anyway. The stock strap has a velcro strip in the middle on the tray.

[xviper]

Just came back from doing the maidens with 2 of these XLs. I used clear hockey tape on the top seam to hold the winglets on and did the glue stick trick on the horizontal stab (both as per Mystique RES). Even with some abrupt maneuvers, they didn't budge. Doing it this way eliminates a bunch of screws and the likelihood of losing some. Makes assembly and tear down much easier and faster. Flew with 2200mah, 3s forward and 3300mah, 3s all the way back. No difference except for more power ups but this thing floats so well, there is less need for powered ascents.
This plane is heavy for a foamie and needs good throttle to launch. We started flying in 10mph winds but by the 3rd flight, winds got over 20mph. In those conditions, it needs more power to fly against the wind. I'm converting to 4 cell when I get the time.
The XL (IMO) floats better than the original Radian and is a better sailplane, not quite as good as my Mystique RES, but close. It flies inverted quite well and does loops with ease. The spoilers work extremely well, very effective and with no drama. Lands beautifully with varying use of spoilers. She's a keeper.
Another flying buddy was at the field. He wasn't going to fly sailplanes but after seeing ours, I think he's in. He's a bit on the young side, but we'll make an exception.

Watch in "full screen".

[Flygirl]

Another flying buddy was at the field. He wasn't going to fly sailplanes but after seeing ours, I think he's in. He's a bit on the young side, but we'll make an exception.

Haha!!!!! No bum knees or anything?

By the way, my flying buddy has decided he also wants to go to 4s.... He thought it was way way under powered compared to the regular one. He was disappointed...

[xviper]

Haha!!!!! No bum knees or anything?

By the way, my flying buddy has decided he also wants to go to 4s.... He thought it was way way under powered compared to the regular one. He was disappointed...

He's a young, strapping commercial airline pilot, so no. The ravages of age hasn't gotten him yet.
So far, the 2 of us who have flown the XL aren't quite disappointed but we both admit that it needs just a little more. My BoT is on 4 cells and is the fastest, then comes the Mystique on 3s but it swings a fairly large prop with a very torquey motor. My regular Radian is also very fast on 3s, modified with bigger, higher kv motor and a 3-blade folding prop. Flying in our winds sometimes can be a bit of a butt clencher when trying to fly it back to the landing strip.

[Flygirl]

BTW, did you launch out of the lawn chair?? ;)

[xviper]

BTW, did you launch out of the lawn chair?? ;)

No, I haven't achieved that level of "cool" just yet. Working on it. :(
Besides, I usually throw my buddy's glider first before I do mine. He's got bum knees, bum back, bum shoulders and on his second hip. If he sneezes, he's done for the day.

[Flygirl]

No, I haven't achieved that level of "cool" just yet. Working on it. :(
Besides, I usually throw my buddy's glider first before I do mine. He's got bum knees, bum back, bum shoulders and on his second hip. If he sneezes, he's done for the day.

ROFLMAO!!!!!!!!!

[CZ Flyer]

Sweeet! Did you get the recommended 3200 lipo? Eflite? Kinexis? or other brand?

[xviper]

I dug into my parts bin and found these:

http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__32819__Turnigy_GliderDrive_SK3_Competition_Series_3858_4_6_1120kv.html

http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__28369__HobbyKing_YEP_60A_2_6S_SBEC_Brushless_Speed_Controller.html?strSearch=yep%2060

http://www.espritmodel.com/aeronaut-3blade-spinners-for-folding-propellers.aspx

I've ordered a set of 12X5 folding blades for it. For now, I'll fly it with the stock prop. I'll be running a 2200mah, 4s Admiral. Will give it a go in a couple of days.

Of the 4 XLs we bought, 2 have been flown several times, the 3rd maidened today - owner loves it. The 4th will maiden tomorrow.

[xviper]

Sweeet! Did you get the recommended 3200 lipo? Eflite? Kinexis? or other brand?

I've flown mine with both 2200mah, 3s Admirals and 3300mah, 3s Great Hobbies brand. Both performed well. The brand really doesn't matter as long as it has sufficient "C" rating and for this plane anything 30C or more will be fine. The higher the "C", generally the more it weighs. A high "C" rated 3200mah (eg, heavy duty Turnigy blue) may be hard to balance the plane. My 3300 is as far back as it will go without carving out foam and it's still a little nose heavy. Fortunately, this plane can handled it.
I've upgraded to a 4 cell system (see my previous post for battery).

[dkalwishky]

Sweeet! Did you get the recommended 3200 lipo? Eflite? Kinexis? or other brand?

I'm using some 3S 3300mAh batteries that I already had.

[xviper]

I dug into my parts bin and found these:

http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__32819__Turnigy_GliderDrive_SK3_Competition_Series_3858_4_6_1120kv.html

http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__28369__HobbyKing_YEP_60A_2_6S_SBEC_Brushless_Speed_Controller.html?strSearch=yep%2060

http://www.espritmodel.com/aeronaut-3blade-spinners-for-folding-propellers.aspx

I've ordered a set of 12X5 folding blades for it. For now, I'll fly it with the stock prop. I'll be running a 2200mah, 4s Admiral. Will give it a go in a couple of days.

Of the 4 XLs we bought, 2 have been flown several times, the 3rd maidened today - owner loves it. The 4th will maiden tomorrow.

I can now report that my XL with the stated motor/ESC upgrade performs extremely well. It moves along like the original Radian did, maybe better. It will climb at steep angles into the wind without any hesitation. It just goes. I think when I get my 3-blade, it'll go even better. I'll try to get a video soon to show the extra thrust this plane has.
We had 3 XLs at the field today but unfortunately, 2 of them got into a mid-air and 1 got it's tail sliced off. The nose broke when the plane hit the ground. I wasn't able to get any videos of the group flight, which was supposed to be right after the collision flight. Nevertheless, here's a photo from yesterday of 2 of our XLs flying in formation.

[Flygirl]

Sweeet! Did you get the recommended 3200 lipo? Eflite? Kinexis? or other brand?

Hi CZ! Got the recommended EFlite battery but it flies well with a 3s 2200 all the way forward too and I have a ton of those!

[Flygirl]

I can now report that my XL with the stated motor/ESC upgrade performs extremely well. It moves along like the original Radian did, maybe better. It will climb at steep angles into the wind without any hesitation. It just goes. I think when I get my 3-blade, it'll go even better. I'll try to get a video soon to show the extra thrust this plane has.
We had 3 XLs at the field today but unfortunately, 2 of them got into a mid-air and 1 got it's tail sliced off. The nose broke when the plane hit the ground. I wasn't able to get any videos of the group flight, which was supposed to be right after the collision flight. Nevertheless, here's a photo from yesterday of 2 of our XLs flying in formation.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]n44345[/ATTACH]

Ouch!!! A mid air! Fixable??

You're putting a 3 blade on it? Folding?

[xviper]

Ouch!!! A mid air! Fixable??

You're putting a 3 blade on it? Folding?

Yes, it's fixable and I think he's already got it repaired but we don't fly at his field very often so will only hear of it through my buddy (his bro-in-law). It was those two who had the mishap. My buddy feels really awful about it, too. Nevertheless, the guy has a new fuse on order as he really likes the plane and he eventually wants a pristine model. He's also ordered all the power upgrade stuff that I've got on mine.
It was the strangest occurrence. I heard this "OH, CRAP!", looked up and saw this tail-less XL spiraling slowly to the ground (was even over the runway). It went WHOOOP! Then I looked up again and here comes the complete tail section gently fluttering to the ground. It seemed to take forever to touch down. My buddy's XL had a slight dent on one of the wings where it cut through the other plane's tail.
Yes, I already have a 3-bladed yoke, prop holder and spinner from another busted plane. I just needed the blades. I get them from Esprit Model. I'm going with Aeronaut folding 12X5. The stock prop on the upgraded power system comes down with motor and ESC just "warmish" so I think it'll handle the 3-blade.

[Tom]

Everyone - If you received your Radian XL in June or Early July - please read the following bulletins from the manufacturer:

[Tom]

Bulletin 2

[Flygirl]

Bummer!!!! Thanks for the heads up.

[KJD]

Will Motion RC be adding these Addendum's (Service Bulletins) to the sales front page “Quick Links”, so that perspective buyers can ascertain these and future performance and quality issues for themselves? Or is this the sole responsibility of the importer? Do the SB's call out a serial number range, or production range of effected dates? Or is this solely done with stickers On the Box UPC bar code?

So in the future we will need to cut out a file away the UPC bar code to validate any warranty issue should any future product fail. The problem appears to be so severe that Horizon will not honor any warranty claims for their issue that the customer doesn't fix.

[Tom]

We will not need to add this to the Radian XL page. It looks like the manufacturer is not expecting more until very late August. I'm guessing this is due to the manufacturing problem. The new ones will be correct. We have a couple left in stock which need to be addressed.