New E-Flight Turbo Timber REVIEW

[FLY BOY]

NEW E-FLIGHT TURBO TIMBER MAIDEN AND FLIGHT REVIEW.

E-Flight just released this last week there ALL NEW TURBO TIMBER 1.5. Couldnt wait to get my hands on it considering I already have the first version Timber. I was able to do a side by side comparison and the results were astonishing to say the least. We all know what we get with the Timber, Lets take a look at the Turbo Timber. The all new Turbo Timber comes with a 50 amp ESC, A specially wound motor that excepts both 3s and 4 s power cells with NO mods needed. A reconfigured nose and motor mount with a 3 blade prop, Also a stiffer main wing and your choice of either a carbon fiber spar, or a steel rod spar for added tail weight in the rear wing. but every thing else is the same, and all is interchangeable. This is great news and a great idea. Assembly was straight forward and easy just like the original Timber.

I first assembled the TURBO model using the carbon fiber support rod option in the rear wing. It balanced out nose heavy with the 2200, and 3300 3s batts. Also nose heavy with the 4s 2200. Installed the steel support rod in the rear wing and CG became almost perfect, and didnt matter what batt I was using. The 4s 2200 seamed to be slightly nose heavy, the 3 s batts CG was perfect from 2200 -3300. Again this was great news. I imagine that anything less than 2200 mah and I would be reinstalling the carbon fiber option support for a good CG per say an 1800 mah size batt.

The maiden flight was performed on the 3s batt pack. Turbo Timber on 3s was a real joy to fly. I didnt install the STOL slats at this time. In my opinion it did not need them. Turbo Timber was air born with in 3 feet of run way at 20% flaps. Elevator mixing with flaps deployed required. The mix settings are different from the Turbo and the original Timber. In flight, the Turbo model was more aerobatic than its older brother. The roll rate is much improved as well as other aerobatic performance. Slow flight is just the same as its older brother, dosile, predictable, and floats like an umbrella on landing. Love this plane!!! Over all on 3s power cells, the Turbo Timber was just like the original except for a little less straight line speed. Flight time varied from 6-10 minutes depending on how I flew. The 10 minute mark was easy to hit on the 3s 3300 mah pack.

BOOM!! On a 4s 2200 mah pack this plane blew my mind!!! The straight line speed was INCREDIBLE!!! Loops, rolls, knife edge, hover, you name it, it will do it with EASE!!! Oh my how the TURBO TIMBER comes alive on 4s power!!!
With the all new and improve nose design and the 3 blade prop on 4s and you have UNLIMITED VERTICAL!!! The Turbo model did things on 4s that would have snapped the main on its older brother, and maybe the fuse too!!! Flight time on 4s 2200 mah pack was 5 minutes of ringing out the whole time. Could have easly went 6 minutes with less aggresive flying. But on 4 s, forget that.

Over all the Turbo model gets 5 stars. It has great looks, great aerobatics, and great power on 4s. The best part for me was NO MODS NEEDED, and parts are interchangeable with the original Timber. This one should take over the top spot in sales in no time at all. Good luck, hope you enjoyed the read, and Happy Flying from the Pacific NW.

:Cool::Cool::Cool:

[FLY BOY]

Prop testing with the Turbo Timber and the results. Factory electric motor is 800kv

The Factory 11x7.5x3 was used to establish a base line static amp and watt draw. Then switched to a single blade prop to see what its match is. Single blade props offer much better performance for they have less drag.
Here are the results of my testing.

Factory Prop = 32 amps, 360 watt draw on 3s pack. On the 4s pack results were 44 amps, and 660 watt draw. Results may vary depending on equipment and conditions at the time of testing.

APC 12x6 prop = 26 amps, 280 watt draw on 3s. On 4s the results were 35 amps, 540 watt draw. One thing I noticed right away was a lot less vibration with the single blade.

APC 12x8 prop = 32 amps, 360 watt draw on 3s. On 4s I got 44 amps, 660 watt draw. (WINNER) With this prop there would be a moderate performance gain due to less drag, and way less vibration. Going to fight test this one as well and will post the updates. You could most likely use a 13x6 and be safe from over amping the motor, or the ESC as well. Didnt have one to test. The nose cone from the original Timber went right on and was a perfect fit, So switching to a single blade is no problem. Again I hope you enjoyed the read, and happy landings from the Pacific NW.

[CaptAmerica]

Nice review, I think I'd like to get rid of my Turbo Beaver for the Turbo Timber. I purchased the Timber X and was blown away with how it flies. It was my first Timber and hopefully not the last.

[FLY BOY]

I'm really enjoying the Turbo Timber. It does all the things as the regular Timber with the option of 4s. On 4 s this plane is truly amazing. I cant say enough about this plane. Been running the APC 12x8 prop with out fail. Have improved flight times and performance gains too. It has become my favorite plane in my hanger with out a doubt.

[Topshot19]

Still a pain to fit in a car. Pain in the butt to take the wing on and off. That’s a must for me if gonna buy a plane !

[Cnubern]

With the Turbo Timber, do any of you notice a mix of up elevator at 3/4 to full throttle. On the bench i saw this and asked Tech Support. They said the AS3X was programmed that way. Upon flight test, the up elevator at full throttle is very noticeable. Just want to check to make sure others see the same thing.

[Bill Wakeley Jr.]

I'm going to maiden my Turbo Timber today. I'm so excited I could … well, ….:Poo:! I had to replace a noisy screeching elevator servo so its been sitting on my bench for a week waiting for my new servo. And of course I'll tell y'all how it went.

[Bill Wakeley Jr.]

Good grief. I've taken a notch or two of my conceived R/C prowess and crumpled it up and tossed it in the circular file. I was flying my beloved Kingfisher on Monday morning. Beautiful day for flying. Had to come down and swap batteries so I touched down ever so soflty and the plane separated from the wheels and nosed over. Wtf? I took her home and glued it all back together. All in all not a big problem. Maiden flight of my Timber Turbo. Upon landing the rollout took the plane into and over a low, narrow swell on the landing strip. It broke a blade off the prop and busted a spring on the front gear. WTF!? Then, back flying my Kingfisher on Thursday I was up fairly high and made the turn for the final approach when my radio went dead stick. I looked down at the radio and the screen was blank. I'm vigilant about keeping my batteries charged so if I get a spare hour or so I can just load and go. Forgot to charge my radio. Plane landed in a tree about 15 feet from the ground and got hung up by the gear on a branch. I walked around in the woods for a while until I found a long stick and fished the plane out of the tree. Not much damage - flew her again this morning and shes fine. Fellas,the Kingfisher is one tough airplane and I probably will always have one. From what little time I had on my new Timber I'm saying it's cool. I'll put some pic's on as soon as I figure out how.

[Bill Wakeley Jr.]

Tired of waiting for broken prop replacement, ( Horizon has changed the time frame three times now.... ) I started calling any hobby shop I could find within a 200 mile radius of home trying to find one. Mind you, I bought three other props from my usual shop but couldn't find a spinner to fit any of them and besides, I like to start with a stock plane before I start messing with any mod's. Anyway, I got a bite on my first try from a shop in Pittsburgh. They said they had 4 and I asked them to hold all for me and they agreed they would. I made the trip in record time, ( with no wife punching me in the arm I will cruise along in the fast lane ). The guy at the store came up with one prop that was proper for the plane and I was grateful for it. He even went as far as opening a new plane so we could compare. Thank you Hobby Express in Pittsburgh! I'm not sure what to think about changing to a 2 blade prop, ( which is what is pictured on the front of the manual ) and I'm not sure how to balance a three blade prop. I'd appreciate a little help here fellas, I don't want to fly my new plane with a lot of vibration, or switch to a two blade balanced prop with no spinner. I was going to maiden flight this morning but it was really windy and this new plane isn't dialed in yet, which I could use a little coaching about also.

[boomer108]

Flying with or without a spinner won't make any difference and as far as the three blade prop, just go on YouTube there are a few video's on balancing a three blade prop.

[Bill Wakeley Jr.]

Thanks! Never thought about youtube...

[Bill Wakeley Jr.]

Oh man I got trouble. I went out with my usual planes this morning including my new Turbo Timber. Excited as hell after a maiden flight mishap cost me half a trip to Pittsburgh for a prop I wanted. Take off - no trouble. I thought maybe a little nose heavy but maybe just a new plane thing. Came down to land and this is where I had a problem in the first place. I was lined up, settling down, flared and they plane ran over it's on gear. No S**t. Last time I blamed it on the landscape, which did play a part. But something my wife said to me came to mind. I had the plane upside down in a cradle and she walked by, stopped and turned around. "There's something bent or twisted here..." She was looking straight down the belly of the fuselage and I saw it too. The right side wheel was twisted, and you can see it in the picture. If I spun the left wheel it was free and easy. The right side wheel didn't spin correctly at all. It was crooked on the gear and went around crooked as hell and vibrating and shaking. "I'll definitely get to that tonight..." I told myself. Well you guessed it. I loaded up the truck and went to sleep. I was up and flying by 6:30am. It was time....again. No problems at all til it was time to come down. I was easing her in and when she hit the deck the plane rolled right over the landing gear. Oh boy. At first I thought an easy fix but when I got it apart I see that the right side gear is actually broken off my heart sank. If you can see in the picture, the landing gear on each side is actually embedded in the foam. There is no slice, dice and it's out. I can epoxy it or foam tac it or....what? If I got it straightened out and glued up can I ever trust it again? I need advice or a technique to glue up the gear that will last. Its hard for me to ask for help but I'm pleading - how do I fix this correctly so it's a trusted piece of plastic?

[Bill Wakeley Jr.]

Crickets......

[FLY BOY]

[FLY BOY]

I have had my Turbo Timber since April of this year. It takes a pretty hard landing to damage the gear as discribed. This is one mod you can do to keep the gear from buckling in during a hard one. Just a simple aluminum plate. The plastic tabs like to break off. This plate acts as the stopper now. As far as running a single blade prop, I recommend either an APC 12X8, or 12X6 with the ORIGINAL TIMBER NOSE CONE! Fits like a glove. Original Timber nose cone is a single blade cone and is interchangeable with the Turbo model. ALL PARTS between the 2 Timbers are interchangeable. Happy Flying from the PNW. Hope this helps.

[Bill Wakeley Jr.]

I have had my Turbo Timber since April of this year. It takes a pretty hard landing to damage the gear as discribed. This is one mod you can do to keep the gear from buckling in during a hard one. Just a simple aluminum plate. The plastic tabs like to break off. This plate acts as the stopper now. As far as running a single blade prop, I recommend either an APC 12X8, or 12X6 with the ORIGINAL TIMBER NOSE CONE! Fits like a glove. Original Timber nose cone is a single blade cone and is interchangeable with the Turbo model. ALL PARTS between the 2 Timbers are interchangeable. Happy Flying from the PNW. Hope this helps.

Thanks man, I appreciate the info.

[mootzeroni]

I can't recommend this platform. Flies fine, but the motor is mounted to a thin brittle plastic extension for the longer cowling which upon mild face-plant landings breaks. Wouldn't mind if the part could be ordered, but after contacting Horizon Hobby, you have to purchase an entire fuselage, complete with environmentally unfriendly styrofoam just to get the plastic extender piece replaced. This is so obnoxious, it has turned me off to the idea of Horizon Hobby, which is deliberately making their planes overly expensive and contributing to climate change and toxic landfill refuse. Worse than my Mercedes for part$ $upport. Anybody interested in a Turbo Timber with a broken mount? I'm not buying a whole damn fuselage for what should be a $3 replacement piece of plastic... designed to shatter on the slightest impact.

[RRHandy]

Sure I will take the plane, location?

[FLY BOY]

You know it actually takes a pretty hard lick to break that mount. The day I maiden mine I entered a fun fly competition to. During the touch and go part of it, I smacked it hard on the nose, breaking off the tips of the prop, recovered after a bounce and finished the day with a 3rd place over all with no damage to the motor or the mount. Tips and tricks 101= scratch build a better mount to hold up under your rookie pilot moves.

[FLY BOY]

This simple metal strap keep the gear from buckling on the hard landings. The zip tie helps with the plastic X clamp for the springs. Now its takes a licken and keeps on ticken, HA!!!