My Avanti arrived safe and sound. Carefully unpacking the various components to begin assembly, the quality is evident as soon as you remove the box top. Everything is packed to prevent damage during transit and I'm pleased to say everything was as it should be.
The model assembles quickly and can be ready to fly in a very short time. I began my assembly as I always do and that is with testing the servos to make sure they all work before I have the model ready to fly. The servos located in the wing have a block type connector at the root end of the wing that connects to a ribbon cable which in turn connects to a central control board in the fuselage. More or less the same as the Tigercat. To check the operation of each servo you will have to remove the block connector to access the individual servo leads. It's not difficult, it's two screws but it does mean you can check the operation of each servo before you have the model completely assembled. At this point, it is also easier to attach and adjust the pushrods and check the operation of the control surfaces. I carried out the same procedure for the elevators and the rudder.
The wings can now be attached to the fuselage, they slide onto two carbon fiber tubes and are held in places by four 4mm screws, two on each side. Being careful to thread the ribbon cable through the fuselage at the wing root and into the correct place to connect to the main control board which is already installed in the front of the fuselage. The horizontal stabilizer it secured to the rear of the fuselage with four screws and the elevator servo leads are threaded through the fuselage and connected to the control board. I used a length of thin wire to catch hold of the servo leads and pull them through the fuselage. I used the same procedure for the vertical stabilizer as well and this too is secured in place with screws.
The canopy does have to be glued to the cockpit base. This will allow you to fit a pilot and any cockpit detail you may want to add at this point. The fit of the canopy to the cockpit is superb and once glued together you would not know it had not been glued together at the factory. I used Foam-Tac to glue the two together. With the model assembled it's time to add the RX and the battery. I installed a Spektrum AR610 RX in the front of the control board using double sided tape. The initial flights were carried out using a 6s 5000mAh battery. The battery tray is ideally located to produce the correct CG range by moving the battery forward or aft as required. All the controls including the retracts operated perfectly, no binding or sticking of the control surfaces or the landing gear doors. Excellent.
To date, I have only flown the model once and I can say it is a real delight to fly and it handles really well. It's very precise and it has no bad tendencies. I had to add a little right aileron trim and slight up elevator trim for the model to fly hands off. I'm going to move the battery back slightly and I think that will cure the pitch trim issue. Apart from those small change, the model is a great flying plane and I would certainly recommend it to anyone who is looking for an intermediate flying jet.
Martin
The model assembles quickly and can be ready to fly in a very short time. I began my assembly as I always do and that is with testing the servos to make sure they all work before I have the model ready to fly. The servos located in the wing have a block type connector at the root end of the wing that connects to a ribbon cable which in turn connects to a central control board in the fuselage. More or less the same as the Tigercat. To check the operation of each servo you will have to remove the block connector to access the individual servo leads. It's not difficult, it's two screws but it does mean you can check the operation of each servo before you have the model completely assembled. At this point, it is also easier to attach and adjust the pushrods and check the operation of the control surfaces. I carried out the same procedure for the elevators and the rudder.
The wings can now be attached to the fuselage, they slide onto two carbon fiber tubes and are held in places by four 4mm screws, two on each side. Being careful to thread the ribbon cable through the fuselage at the wing root and into the correct place to connect to the main control board which is already installed in the front of the fuselage. The horizontal stabilizer it secured to the rear of the fuselage with four screws and the elevator servo leads are threaded through the fuselage and connected to the control board. I used a length of thin wire to catch hold of the servo leads and pull them through the fuselage. I used the same procedure for the vertical stabilizer as well and this too is secured in place with screws.
The canopy does have to be glued to the cockpit base. This will allow you to fit a pilot and any cockpit detail you may want to add at this point. The fit of the canopy to the cockpit is superb and once glued together you would not know it had not been glued together at the factory. I used Foam-Tac to glue the two together. With the model assembled it's time to add the RX and the battery. I installed a Spektrum AR610 RX in the front of the control board using double sided tape. The initial flights were carried out using a 6s 5000mAh battery. The battery tray is ideally located to produce the correct CG range by moving the battery forward or aft as required. All the controls including the retracts operated perfectly, no binding or sticking of the control surfaces or the landing gear doors. Excellent.
To date, I have only flown the model once and I can say it is a real delight to fly and it handles really well. It's very precise and it has no bad tendencies. I had to add a little right aileron trim and slight up elevator trim for the model to fly hands off. I'm going to move the battery back slightly and I think that will cure the pitch trim issue. Apart from those small change, the model is a great flying plane and I would certainly recommend it to anyone who is looking for an intermediate flying jet.
Martin