Xfly Models B1B Bomber 70mm

[xviper]

My untrained eye sees the main gear being an engineering challenge. I’d love a B-58, too.

But the long main struts with only a tiny fuselage area to store the trucks in. To me, this looks like a tough problem to solve.

-GG

The video I embedded in post #20 shows a close up of the main gear as it deploys. In order to make a wider stance (as in "track" in cars), the main gears slides a little outboard when deploying. I think that's the neatest "new" thing on this plane so far. They also needed the plane to sit on longer legs to get the engine nacelles a bit further off the ground due to them being slung under the wing like that. Even still, I see crap and debris getting sucked up quite easily, so yes, the grass guys will have a complaint about that alone.

[GliderGuy]

Edits added to Post #39. That post was for the B-58 and not the B1-B. Confusion cleared, now.

-GG

[xviper]

Edits added to Post #39. That post was for the B-58 and not the B1-B. Confusion cleared, now.

-GG

I kinda thought that's what you were referring to but I read it again and decided maybe not.

[cg7060]

The main gear retract mechanisms are really impressive. I love that kind of detail.

[xviper]

$700.00 US. And pay in full at pre-order check out. They are out of their ever-loving minds. Do they think they're selling an HSD product? I may NOT have to have one.

[Evan D]

In one spot , under the preorder button, it says it won't be charged but in the model description it says it will. Usual BH idiocy.

[Aros]

Preordered! I figured the price was going to be around there so I was prepared mentally for it, and this one is the jet I have been waiting for to hit the market almost as long and as much as the Concorde. Gotta have the BONE!! Gonna be a long wait to July...

Makes me nervous dealing with BH, really wish it was us.

[xviper]

In one spot , under the preorder button, it says it won't be charged but in the model description it says it will. Usual BH idiocy.

You don't want Ralph to hear you.

Preordered! I figured the price was going to be around there so I was prepared mentally for it, and this one is the jet I have been waiting for to hit the market almost as long and as much as the Concorde. Gotta have the BONE!! Gonna be a long wait to July...

Makes me nervous dealing with BH, really wish it was us.

Good for you, Aros. I like a man who knows what he wants and goes for it. When you checked out, were you charged right away?
If I didn't have such a lack of space, I may have done the same thing myself - maybe! However, at this price point, I'm willing to be more patient - how patient, I'm not sure.
In truth, you should not worry about Banana. As much as I detest their marketing guy and his poor PR skills, the actual company sales practices are on solid ground. I've bought 3 models from them in the past few years and so far, all have been good.
I also wish it was Motion/Freewing and we have no idea what they've got in the "cooker" right now.................... A Vulcan? Their own B1? A new, jazzed up F-14? F-111? Tornado? Harrier?

[Evan D]

There were discussions about how BH charges back with the T7A. Ralph kept saying BH doesn’t charge but most had holds on their CC or PayPal, some as long as a week.

[xviper]

There were discussions about how BH charges back with the T7A. Ralph kept saying BH doesn’t charge but most had holds on their CC or PayPal, some as long as a week.

That's a new low. Having a hold still puts your CC as a "pending" charge and reduces your available credit limit. They may not get your money, but your money is still tied up.
I believe they are fearful of cancellations if nobody pays. It's a pricey foam airplane. A person is far less apt to cancel if their money is already gone.

[Evan D]

Sorry, too many red flags with BH. If I was buying any Xfly it’d be through Bitgo.

[SanExup]

My initial excitement has turned into being more excited to see what other people think and how it flies, it looks great. But I think I will hold off. The price is more but similar to other planes that I've wanted for a while. The pricing trend has me considering value more and more these days. And I don't like to pre-order. Yet I did pre-order a Eurofighter. Go figure. My wife does say that I'm full of contradictions when I want to be. I'd argue they're selective priorities. The B1 looks cool but i.have other priorities. Especially when it's being offered in a reverse lay-away situation.

[xviper]

So far, "how it flies" is based on a couple of pre-production test models sent to the two guys in Arizona. Keeping mind that those guys are expert RC pilots and like RC Informer, can make a perforated manhole cover "fly". We also don't know and likely will never be told honestly what kinds of tweaks these two test models needed to make them do what is shown in those videos. We won't know know how it flies until privateers get their hands on production models - maybe some bootleg models that mysteriously appear at FNRC, etc, hopefully before July. With the announced price, weight and size of this thing, my interest has gone from extreme to tepid. It didn't go below tepid only because of the thrust reverse thing. A big, heavy airplane like this needs reverse for our shorter runways. That tall, spindly nose gear doesn't look like it could take much of a hit running into the weeds at the end. My friend with the Xfly Bizjet sheared his nose gear doing just that. My thrust reverse on the FW PJ prevented it from happening.
We're made to think that Banana has the exclusive on this plane. I call BS on that one. Any distributor/seller that carries XFly won't stand for that for long. Aside from any "understanding" of first dibs for a month or two, this thing will show up in all the places that sell Xfly. If not, Xfly will get dumped by those sellers and XF will see their profitability disappear. I don't think XF is that stupid. Banana alone, will not be able to sell all the B1s that Xfly plan to and need to produce to make it all worth while. Don't forget how much that mold cost, not to mention the years of R&D.

[Gilatrout]

[Gilatrout]

1. So far../snip/

literally the same exact people that worked their ass off to make the B2 work are the same ones making the B1 as best as it can be.

god I’m tired of people who insist on yucking other people’s yum

[xviper]

literally the same exact people that worked their ass off to make the B2 work are the same ones making the B1 as best as it can be.

god I’m tired of people who insist on yucking other people’s yum

So, you're saying that the people who brought us the B2 (Freewing) are the same as the ones who are bringing us the B1 (Xfly)? So those same people who worked for Freewing left and went to work for Xfly? Or are you saying that those people are working for both Freewing and Xfly? Which is it?
Or are you saying the Justin Lamb and Jeremy Solt were the ones that tested the B2 and are now the ones that have been testing the B1? How is any of that "making the B2 and B1 work"? If you are implying this, then are you saying that they DID, in fact, tweak and mod those planes to make them fly the way we saw the pre-production models fly in the videos? THAT, was very integral to the part in my post about "tweaks" vs an unimproved product vs what we will see being sent to customers. Please tell us everything you based your reply on. I'm sure everyone on BOTH forums will be sitting on the edge of our seats to hear the details of the "work" they put in to make these things fly as we saw in the videos. Does that also mean they did NOT fly like that BEFORE the videos were taken?
How did my post "yuck other peoples' yum"? My post was proposing another possibility and ask for realistic thinking when potential customers consider this product. However, you are saying that those pre-production test models, WITH all that hard work, will fly exactly the same as the ones about to come out of the factory doors. Is this correct? Please tell us all about it. Give us ALL the inside scoop about these "people" and the product and what they did when they "worked their asses off".
Just as it seems my post offended you, your post offends me. I won't forget "Gilatrout".

[Aros]

Good for you, Aros. I like a man who knows what he wants and goes for it. When you checked out, were you charged right away?
If I didn't have such a lack of space, I may have done the same thing myself - maybe! However, at this price point, I'm willing to be more patient - how patient, I'm not sure.
In truth, you should not worry about Banana. As much as I detest their marketing guy and his poor PR skills, the actual company sales practices are on solid ground. I've bought 3 models from them in the past few years and so far, all have been good.

Well here's the thing, I tried using multiple cards (debit, credit) and the system said the cards weren't valid or something like that (they are all valid) so I finally ended up using my PayPal credit for the purchase. So as far as PayPal is concerned, I owe that money now, although I don't have to pay for six months to avoid interest, which I fully plan on doing before August.

Very glad to hear you have had no issues with BH in recent years! As long as my B-1 arrives around the expected ETA this Summer (in perfect condition out of the box), I'll be happy.

However, I'm no dummy. I would never be in a rush to be one of the first to maiden. Nooooooo, that's for those much braver than myself. I will gladly sit back, take my time with the build and soak up every stinkin' intel from our fellow flyers (and no not the ones that can can make a perforated manhole cover "fly" in your words, lol) to gather all the tips and tricks, messages of warning and caution before I finally kick the tires and light the fires.

I have yet to maiden my B-2! So patience, while not normally my strong suit in life, has its place for me in this hobby.

Well, that and I am tired of publishing crash videos on my YT channel.

[xviper]

Very glad to hear you have had no issues with BH in recent years! As long as my B-1 arrives around the expected ETA this Summer (in perfect condition out of the box), I'll be happy.

to gather all the tips and tricks, messages of warning and caution before I finally kick the tires and light the fires.

I have yet to maiden my B-2! So patience, while not normally my strong suit in life, has its place for me in this hobby.

I'm afraid that sometimes, models arrive in less than primo shape but that's not the fault of Banana. One of those shipments from years back came with the box beat up pretty badly. It looked like somebody drop kicked it across the mail plant floor and played soccer with it. I almost refused delivery and had the postman take it back, but I'm impatient and took it anyway. Fortunately, the contents were "mostly" OK. ETA is another hard thing to nail down. The world is going to Hell in a handbasket. If it's not Covid, it's tensions with China or striking unions. China may be about to go into another "wave".

As for intel, at this moment, all we can do is see what we can see through the crack of the door. That's why I was somewhat glad of Gilatrout's reply to me. As annoyed or offended as he was with my post, he let the door open just a little and left a crack (a piece of the cat slipped out of the bag - OOPS!). He's obviously privy to stuff with the "guys" who tested this plane. I'm hoping he'll reply again, even if in anger, to let a little light through that crack in the door, to reveal what's been going on with this plane so far. I think that's as close to "kicking the tires" as we'll get until they start to show up at flying fields. There was a rumors (spy?) on the other forum about it not flying well to begin with. The secrecy and the slow release of information about this plane has led to a lot of speculation, frustration and suspicion in the minds of a few who are about to fork over 700 bucks.

Make an effort to read everything that "Glider Guy" posted about the B2. It has saved my B2 more than once.

[Gilatrout]

I know nothing more than a guy that got off his ass and went to AZ to see for myself and ask questions instead of spouting speculative b.s.

[xviper]

I know nothing more than a guy that got off his ass and went to AZ to see for myself and ask questions instead of spouting speculative b.s.

So, give us the answers. What did they have to “work their asses off” trying to do? Or are you just BSing about asking questions and knowing better than everyone? You must think everyone can afford to just pick up and travel to Arizona or are you just speculating that we can all do it? THAT’S BS and hypocritical.