Official FMS 1400mm Votec 322 Thread

[Hemidoo]

If I’m not mistaken the 330 will use 12s power. That’s getting a bit pricey with the cost of decent lipos. That size bird I’d be more inclined to go with a gas powered aircraft not manufacturerd from foam. The votec for me seems to be at the threshold of size and battery affordability. I’m still on the fence even there and have been watching for more feedback from votec owners but there has not been much. The votec has been in my cart at MRC for 3 weeks but I’m still not convinced I want to add it to my hanger. Seeing not much activity on the votec leads me to believe it’s not a good seller and in short time could lead to being discontinued and that means no parts availability.

My Votek 322 is a super nice flying plane, but i can only fast and quick sport fly it at this point . I had one of the best 3D flying guys at the field fly mine yesterday , he had a ball doing stunts i wish i had the skills to do ! ! His thoughts were for the money it's well worth it .

[Aros]

And to help you "visualize" how large this one is and what it can do ... a short teaser vid. Sorry for the slightly off-topic posts ... this one needs it's own thread.

Start it up! Pappa Likes! Bigger Is Better!

[Wildcard]

My Votek 322 is a super nice flying plane, but i can only fast and quick sport fly it at this point . I had one of the best 3D flying guys at the field fly mine yesterday , he had a ball doing stunts i wish i had the skills to do ! ! His thoughts were for the money it's well worth it .

Thats is very encouraging to hear. I’ve watched all of the flight videos numerous times and I’m very content with its flight characteristics. Seems to be a very gentle flier and also an aggressive 3D airframe wrapped in one. My flying field limits me to only aircraft that can handle poor grass field conditions so any aircraft that have low prop clearance and light landing gear are not a great choice. Our field is a sod farm that we get free usage of and we go from perfect field conditions to terrible in a day if they remove the grass.

Are the wings easy enough to remove for transport and do you think they will hold up to repeated removal without creating excessive wear?

[Hemidoo]

I only fly off grass and have had no nose overs so far ... Not even close id have to say . I have a few taildraggers that are quite fussy in the grass so i think i know what your saying.
The Wings come off really easy and I made some sleeves out of bubble wrap on the cheap. The side Force generators that clips on the wing tips work really good for on and off no problem so far as well.

[Wildcard]

I only fly off grass and have had no nose overs so far ... Not even close id have to say . I have a few taildraggers that are quite fussy in the grass so i think i know what your saying.
The Wings come off really easy and I made some sleeves out of bubble wrap on the cheap. The side Force generators that clips on the wing tips work really good for on and off no problem so far as well.

Yeah my flying field at current state is really bad. Past 2 weeks 2 balsa planes have had their gear ripped out of the fuselage. That’s one reason I’m being really careful on my next choice of aircraft. Looks like the votec can really slow down allot before stalling, coming in for an approach hot is always risky on a rough field. Thanks for the info about the ease of disassembly of the wings and great idea for bubble wrap wing bags. If by chance you try the alternate prop you have let me know how that works. Still hoping to see MRC list a 15x7 wood prop on their website.

[Wildcard]

Well placed the order today for the votec And a couple batteries thru MRC. I seen horizon is back ordered until October. When I receive it I’ll add my input to this thread for anyone else considering buying one. I’d still like to see MRC pick up the stock wooden prop on their site.

[Hemidoo]

Sweet ! I'm still really love flying mine . A few days ago i brought a few 3300mah Admiral 6s batteries with me to the field try . One of the 3D guys helped me out by flying it for a few mins. and re-trimmed it . Wow !!! this thing zipps around and hovers so quick now . I'll still fly with the 5000's as its a super fun sport flyer as well with the extra weight. It's like having 2 planes for me at this point :-)

[Hemidoo]

What batteries did you order Wild card ?

[Wildcard]

What batteries did you order Wild card ?

I went with the admiral 6s 4500mah, figured maybe that might be a sweet spot for sport and 3D.

[Hemidoo]

Yeah my flying field at current state is really bad. Past 2 weeks 2 balsa planes have had their gear ripped out of the fuselage. That’s one reason I’m being really careful on my next choice of aircraft. Looks like the votec can really slow down allot before stalling, coming in for an approach hot is always risky on a rough field. Thanks for the info about the ease of disassembly of the wings and great idea for bubble wrap wing bags. If by chance you try the alternate prop you have let me know how that works. Still hoping to see MRC list a 15x7 wood prop on their website.

Tried the spare prop today , performed great. Had a nice sound maybe a little less noise than the wooden stocker .

[Wildcard]

Glad to see the prop performed well, thanks for the report back on that. Received my bird on Thursday and kudos to MRC getting it to me lightening fast even with free shipping. All goes well and weather holds out should get the maiden in on Sunday. Only need to mount my receiver And neaten up the battery compartment and I should be ready to go. Looking forward to getting her up in the air.

[Wildcard]

Got the Votec out to the field today, very light breeze clear skies and extremely humid. Set my flight timer @ 5 min and lined her up pointing down the runway and gave full throttle and within 20’ she had taken to the air. She was very squirrelly when using the rudder because of the insane throws she has but I’ve now got that dialed back . Spent most of the flight trimming out. The elevator trim is really sensitive. One click up it climbed and one down she nosed down. I think I have this solved as my transmitter has an option to decrease amount of trim per click.

The votec is a pleasure to fly. It tracks very well, extremely responsive and can slow down very well without stalling. Landing was almost like landing a high wing trainer, she set down ever so softly without any bad tendencies. I got 2 flights in this morning and she’s back home in one piece. I call that a good day. 5 min flights conservative flying on admiral 6s 4500mah resulted in the battery being at 83% charge, not bad at all and looks like an 7-8 min flight will be what I’ll shoot for.

Overall my opinion on this plane is it’s a great choice for a 3D capable airframe. It’s fun to fly and can be tamed to sport fly or untamed to be a 3D monster.

[Wildcard]

Got back to the field this morning and got 3 more flights in and happy to say she is dialed in perfectly and a dream to fly. The only issue I would like to find a resolution for is removing the forward wing mounting bolts. The bolts unscrew from the internal anchor point but remain recessed where it is difficult to grab and remove them, having to use a small pair of forceps to grab them. I already see replacing all wing bolts with a higher grade bolt. I’m seeing wear on the heads which tells me that it’s only a matter of time before they start rounding out the hex slot. I’ll have to go into detail another time on the issue I had on first assembly of the wing so others might be able to avoid the incident I had.

[Wildcard]

Here's a paint code from Lowes , near perfect match for the orange ! I've picked up a little hanger rash transporting this big bird .

Well I took this photo to Lowe’s and the first mix the guy hands me pink lol. He tried again and ended up with peach color. I’m guessing he had absolutely no clue what he was doing. Either I gotta try a different store or just take maybe one the pieces in for them to scan.

[Hardway]

:Confused::(

[Hardway]

Better try just taking a stab or wing and letting them scan it.... It should be close then...

[Hemidoo]

Well I took this photo to Lowe’s and the first mix the guy hands me pink lol. He tried again and ended up with peach color. I’m guessing he had absolutely no clue what he was doing. Either I gotta try a different store or just take maybe one the pieces in for them to scan.

Oh wow .... ugh ! I brought in the clip on wing tip side force part

[Hemidoo]

Got back to the field this morning and got 3 more flights in and happy to say she is dialed in perfectly and a dream to fly. The only issue I would like to find a resolution for is removing the forward wing mounting bolts. The bolts unscrew from the internal anchor point but remain recessed where it is difficult to grab and remove them, having to use a small pair of forceps to grab them. I already see replacing all wing bolts with a higher grade bolt. I’m seeing wear on the heads which tells me that it’s only a matter of time before they start rounding out the hex slot. I’ll have to go into detail another time on the issue I had on first assembly of the wing so others might be able to avoid the incident I had.

Glad you like this plane , I take it rolls on your grass runway well ?

[Wildcard]

Glad you like this plane , I take it rolls on your grass runway well ?

Yes rolls out good even on rough ground and with as much power to weight ratio it does not need allot of ground to get up lol. Yes I’ll definitely be taking one of the wing tips in to have paint match done. The battery compartment has been taking a few hits unhooking the ec5 connector but as someone else had the idea of using a pair of angled snap ring pliers to disconnect them it’s made the task very easy.

[Hemidoo]

Good idea with the pliers, I've done some of those dings.... thinking mostly because I was a little clumsy !:-)