New Dynam Gloster Meteor f8

[lmramos44]

Successful maiden today 3 flight ...

she flys nice rotates fast and is a floater on landing
no flaps need .

will need elevator mod 9grm servo and thier set up
not enough for a full speed dive will add independent
elevator servos and upgrade to 19gram metal gear .

OK, I have a long review of my two first flights. Tell me what battery you used, flight duration.....etc. Rtracts working ok?

[Evoman]

Mirage 2000 3 -D printed cock fits perfect with little mod just finished weathering painting and add green led light..

Great work with the cockpit detail! That green cockpit light is a great idea and a nice touch rarely seen in this level of scale modeling. I might just do the same in my next airplane. :Cool:

[meadowhay]

Here's mine almost ready to go.
12 blade FMS fans installed that I've had waiting for a suitable project for ages, a 6s setup using an Admiral 5000mAh pack, the existing 80A ESC's, twin elevator servos instead of a single one and an improved cockpit.
Finished in 74 squadron colours to represent one that my late dad actually worked on in 1954/5 ar Horsham St Faith, Norfolk.
A spot of light weathering and she'll be off!

[lmramos44]

Here's mine almost ready to go.
12 blade FMS fans installed that I've had waiting for a suitable project for ages, a 6s setup using an Admiral 5000mAh pack, the existing 80A ESC's, twin elevator servos instead of a single one and an improved cockpit.
Finished in 74 squadron colours to represent one that my late dad actually worked on in 1954/5 ar Horsham St Faith, Norfolk.
A spot of light weathering and she'll be off!

Very nice. Great job.

[lmramos44]

Cheater vents installed.

[Hardway]

F-5 vents??

[lmramos44]

Actually bought them off eBay

[lmramos44]

After I installed the cheater vents I did another run up with the meter hooked up. Slight change in peak numbers. Went from 102a to 99a. But during throttle up the fans have a different sound, and seemed to wind up much easier. At 50% throttle only pulling 68a as opposed to 76a before cheaters. Very happy so far.

[lmramos44]

Well tried to re-maiden today, but the retracts refused to cooperate. Came home and immediately installed a set of Freewing mains. Work perfect. Try again tomorrow .

[rifleman_btx]

Excellent idea, dynam retracts are always such a letdown.

[yf22raptor]

6 flights yesterday flew formation with a me 262 lots fun
retracts holding up , alot people love this plane so unique,

[Mark 2]

Looks great, I might have to steal your color scheme when I finally put mine together.

[lmramos44]

Dynam Gloster Meteor Review

Well where should i start, lets start with its appearance. I may have a hard time being objective with this because i just love this jet. It has classic lines, it takes you back to the beginning of the amazing transition from the heavy engined war birds that ruled the skys to the new sleek futuristic aircraft that had only been seen in comic books and secret photos stolen from the Luftwaffe. (ever notice the similarity between the ME 262 and the Gloster? I am sure it is just a coincidence.) Dynam did a good job on the mold, not perfect but very nice. The main wing section and fuselage come pre-assembled. The gap between the fuse and the wing root is just at the acceptable level. For Dynam that is, not comparable to a couple other manufacturers i will name later in this review. I believe this jet was originally molded for a 6 cell power system. It becomes obvious when you attempt to balance it with the a 4s 4500 battery, i needed to add 6.5 ounces in the nose to achieve the correct cg of 100-105cm from the root of the wing. (the listed 120cm is incorrect and would lead to a quick demise if used). But when a 6s 4500 battery is placed in the tray the jet balances out perfectly. Hmmm interesting. A really nice set of water slide decals are included as well as an extra set of blades for the edf units. It came well packed and my hopes were high that Dynam had turned the corner and decided to really compete with the likes of Freewing and FMS.
So much for hoping.
Again where should i start, let’s start with the fit and finish. There are no custom flight modules or fancy multi plugs to make it easier on the customer. The same old servo wire cluster was jammed through a too small opening at the back of the cockpit. The tail section took everything i had to push together and still left an unsightly gap that i covered with a black band hoping nobody would notice. That gap was matched by the gap between the main wing section and the fuselage. I found similar issues fitting the wing ends to the main wings, uneven gaps. Still, i can look past this, i am blinded by the coolness of the overall design. I centered all the plastic geared servos and proceeded to complete the assembly of the jet. It was not long before i had bound the jet to my receiver and began testing the control surfaces. Dynam uses a single servo on the elevator, the elevator is split and one side is connected to the other side with a wire that even after being glued in does not really do the job. Dynam should have splurged and used two plastic geared servos on the elevator. The rudder suffers from the same under engineered issue but i chose not to modify. The ailerons operated good as did the cool plastic flaps. Then it was time to flip the dreaded retract switch. Dynam and Faulty retracts are synonymous at the flight field. This is so perplexing considering the advances in servoless retracts. Anyway i flipped the switch and watched as 2 of the 3 silly looking retracts dropped. I have no idea where Dynam got the wheels for this jet, maybe something from back stock. I reset the retracts several times, no change. I removed the main retracts from the wing and managed to get them to drop. I left them deployed so i could remove the silly wheels and replaced them with a scale set made by Robart. Now it was time to test the power system. So i strapped a brand new battery in the battery holder, bound the jet to my receiver and hooked up my power meter up to get the numbers. Using the 4s 4500 45c battery i slowly pushed the throttle up and watched the numbers on the meter zoom up. When i was done i had a 101 amp \ 1400 watt peak readings. Not close to the numbers i had received from the tech guy at Dynam. This jet runs two 80 amp Detrum esc's. So as far as amperage coverage, i had plenty of head room. So feeling lucky i decided to plug in a 6s 4500 45c and see what i get for readings. Well interestingly enough i got just about the same amp draw, 102 amp \ 2080 watts. Again well within the amp parameters. So ignoring the fact the retracts failed, i decided to leave them deployed and maiden the jet anyway.
At the Field
It was a perfect day with the wind blowing gently right down the runway at about 5-7 mph. Not knowing the flight characteristics of the jet i like the wind just in case i need a little help on takeoff or landing. I’m using the 4 cell on the maiden just to play it safe. A little bird told me he was actually flying his on a 6 cell with no problem, but i promised the retailer i would maiden on the 4 and go from there. The jet really has a nice presence on the runway and a small crowd had gathered to watch the maiden, or just as likely to watch a possible crash that they could rub in for the next couple days. I rolled her out on the runway, aimed her into the breeze and pushed the throttle. She rolled true and straight and with no input from me lifted off gracefully into the sky. I noticed immediately that the jet was still a little tail heavy, but not fatally, I took her to a good altitude and trimmed the jet to make it flyable. This jet handles like a trainer, just a big *****cat at half throttle. If it wasn’t for the cg issue i would need no trim at all. The Gloster looks beautiful in the air, and even though i could not pull the wheels up, it still looks very cool. I had the timer on my radio set for 3 minutes, and good thing because i was lost in joy, suddenly at about 2 minutes with throttle at 50% on a close pass i heard the fans shutdown. I couldn’t believe it, luckily i was on the downwind leg. I shut the throttle off and gently turned her into the wind and lined her up. I hit the throttle again and it had reset, but not knowing the cause of the shutdown i immediately backed the throttle to zero and glided into a perfect landing in the middle of our 600'x50' runway. The esc's had reset so i taxied her back to me when i noticed the the cockpit was raised up in the back? I rolled her into the pilots box a my buddy tried to push the canopy back down with no luck. The battery had puffed so bad the it pushed the canopy up, it was too hot to touch, so i ?destroyed a brand new battery. I picked the jet up, placed it in the cradle and just stared at it for a minute or so. I don’t know what i expected, maybe the jet was going to explain to me what the heck happened. I know the draw of the motors on this jet, i flew it basically at half throttle the whole 2 plus minutes. Why would it eat up a battery like that? Well a responsible pilot would be happy to get his new jet on the ground, pack it up and head home to the shop to analyze the issues. Yah, sure. "Bring me the fricken 6 cell". I gave the plane about 10 minutes to cool. Strapped in the 6 cell. Oh yah this makes sense now, i removed the 6 ounces of lead needed to balance the jet with the 4 cell. Checked the cg with the 6 cell, right on the money! This is what i should have done in the first place, i put the canopy on and set her down on the runway. This is going to be perfect. I lined her up into the wind, pushed up on the throttle and again she tookoff without any input on the elevator. This time the balance was correct. Again she flew like a trainer, just wonderful. I made sure to use good throttle management, enjoying the scale look af a classic jet...............oh oh here we go again, the esc's shut down AGAIN! Again i was lucky enough to baby her in, this time the battery was hot but not destroyed. Something is not working. Lots of possible issues. Are the motors heating up during the flight raising the resistance to the esc's causing them to shut down? Do i need to cut cheater hole in the nacelles relieving the tasking of the motors? We know the amp draw is the same on a 4 cell as it is on a 6 cell. On top of all this crap, WHY WONT THE RETRACTS WORK ALL THE TIME!!?? Ah yes, let’s not forget who is the manufacturer of this beauty is. Please understand, I want Dynam to succeed, I want Dynam to offer beautiful molded aircraft and push on Freewing and FMS. It’s better for the whole industry. I so wanted the Gloster Meteor to be the jet that we could look back and say "That was the plane that changed it all for Dynam". Unfortunately Dynam seems to have missed it again. It pains me to write that last sentence, but i have to be true to myself and those who trust my opinion. I have gotten to know some Dynam people during the last month or so, these are honest good individuals. I think they lack that person, that point man, that "Alpha" to explain the mindset of the American RC Hobbyist to Dynam management. We will spend our money on a product who's manufacturer shows consideration and respect for the customer. Don’t try and mimic a price point that belongs to a much better product simply because you think the market is ignorant. Overall if you love the Gloster like i do, buy it, gut it and make it your own. Yes it will be a little pricey, but its the only Gloster on the market. What makes a good RC Jet: Beautiful Molding, solid electronics, thoughtful fit and finish and of course RETRACTS THAT WORK!!
Through all the issues I have received great customer service from Bitgo Hobby, and if you plan on purchasing a Dynam product, my highest recommendation would be to visit their website. They carry the full line of Dynam products.
329$ plus shipping from BitgoHobby.com

Mike Ramos
Lmramos@comcast.net

[Jhnybgd]

Hey guys,I have been working on my newly aquired Meteor for a while trying to get ready for when and if the rain stops long enough to maiden her.

specs
XRP 10b/FW 2300kv(bae hawk) motors
stock Detrum 80a esc(bec deactivated)
castle pro 20 bec
admiral 10ch reciever
eagle A3S3 gyro


Added twin Fw servos to elevator with ball links
removed some foam from battery compartment for more options.
lots of filling and sanding but she is slick and beutiful with Callies help.

[Jhnybgd]

Couple more pics

[lmramos44]

Couple more pics

Looks Great! I used the retracts from the Freewing Venom. Fans from the FMS A-10. Has been ok since then

[Mark 2]

Looks Great! I used the retracts from the Freewing Venom. Fans from the FMS A-10. Has been ok since then

Glad it’s OK now, but at this price level you shouldn’t have to replace stuff like this.

[lmramos44]

Glad it’s OK now, but at this price level you shouldn’t have to replace stuff like this.

I can’t agree with you more! Believe me I have let Dynam know.

[Jhnybgd]

Looks Great! I used the retracts from the Freewing Venom. Fans from the FMS A-10. Has been ok since then

So how did the Venom retracts fit?
did you use the struts from the Venom?

[lmramos44]

Note the cheater vents