Avios Grumman Albatross!

[OV10]

I think the later HK stuff is better than HK of old, and, I think Motion is part of the reason. Motion made about everyone else step up their game just to keep up.

JB

OH SO TRUE ...……….Same comment I've said for several years.

[wvrailfan]

I have flown my Albatross from grass and water and I like it. So far I haven't had any negative issues. I did remove the water rudder and set up differential thrust for ground handling and that seems to be working okay.

I will fly it from snow, when we get some.

I think the later HK stuff is better than HK of old, and, I think Motion is part of the reason. Motion made about everyone else step up their game just to keep up.

JB

[Woodcock]

Well heck, listen to xviper, he know his stuff. I'm proud to call him one of my online friends.

But, I gotta say. I think Hobbyking planes are as good as any. They're comparable to Flightline, and Freewing, "IN MY OPINION". My fleet consists of about 50% HK, 40% FW, FL. and 10% of various other stuff. About 60 planes in total. As a matter of fact I have two 64mm Stinger jets. One HK, and one FW. They're virtually identical in almost every way. But I kinda liked the HK paint job better than the Freewing. Simply a matter of taste.

As a matter of fact, FW has some pretty serious issues of their own with elevators, with more than a few of their models. I know FW, FL and company do there very best to make sure we have the best quality models they can provide. So does HK. Saying one is dramatically better than the other is simply nonsense, "in my opinion".

W

[xviper]

I don't fly on or off water even though I have a big pond beside one of our fields. I bought the plane because I fly in the winter and a belly skidder is always something handy to have when the ground is covered with snow/ice (and also because I liked the look of it and the size). I completely forgot about the 2 in one rod at the servo for the ELE. This isn't the first plane with that design and on this one, it hasn't appeared to be a contributing factor to any deficiency even though it's not my "preferred" way to do it.
I had to go take a look at the plane after the last couple of posts. The elevators have a ball link on each one. It was one of the ball shafts that was too big to fit into the hole of the elevator horn and that's what I had to drill out. It gets a little sloppy after it works around a little. Next time I fly it, I'll go and put some glue where the shaft and nut are so it can't move around. That shouldn't be a problem since the ball and socket are the things that need to move.

[Bluebird]

Interesting that you mention your elevator control rod as being one Xviper. The airplane I bought last September has two elevator rods attached to one servo. After each crash the elevators were literally locked into full down position so that the gears in the servo were damaged and it no longer worked. I just assumed this was the result of the impact of the crash but I've never seen that before and I am an experienced crasher. LOL. So another mystery I guess. It would be scary to assume this actually caused the crash!

It's good to hear you have not experienced any unusual handling issues with the plane. I have had issues with the rubber pad in the fuse for holding the battery in place. Velcro tape doesn't seem to stick well to it when it's wet or very cold. This is why I suspect the battery is coming loose. I will remove that pad next time and put the Velcro right on the underlying wood, along with an extra strap.
I also plugged the little drain hole in the back because when flying on the water everything gets wet inside. A real dumb idea from Avios.

Thanks for your feedback Xviper!

[xviper]

The Skysword always looked a bit "gimmicky" to me and really never appealed to me. I can't really say that all HK planes require some work to get "right". My Albatross is pretty good and no extra work was needed out of the box. The elevator thing was my fault as I had trouble getting the end of the rod into the hole, so I drilled it out - a bit TOO much. My Mig-17 has been perfect out of the box as is my BushMule. My C-130 Herc was the second production run and it too was perfect out of the box. I can't say the same about some of the many other early HK planes that have come and gone from my hanger. There have been Freewing and FMS planes that haven't been as good as some of the HK planes I listed above.

[mr.frankenjet]

HK planes can look slick but they are still in the good old days of - by the time you get the plane the way you want all you got from them was the foam shell. Got a Skysword, looked cool but I will be working on it for some time before it takes to the air. Not to say they won't fly but takes allot of mods to get them the way I like um. Now their graphine batteries on the other hand, ohhh so sweeeet

[xviper]

Hi there fellow Avios Albatross fans.

I have just ordered my second Avios Albatross after loosing the first to a snap roll and tumble out of the sky. This had actually happened twice. Each time it was after a somewhat aggressive flying manoeuvre . I'm thinking the battery came loose and ended up in the nose of the plane. However I've heard these planes don't stall that well and will snap roll easily if you're not careful.

Any thoughts on the stall characteristics of this model from anyone?

Thanks! Bluebird

I can't recall any significant or remarkable flight characteristics that would cause me alarm. It's a fairly big, heavy foamie that has a very mushy roll. Stalling is also unremarkable and without alarm or fanfare - chop throttle and ease back on the stick and it just begins a shallow sink. The only thing I can mention (and it's minor) is that the elevator is a bit sloppy but that may be due to my elevator control rod being a slopping - rod being too small for the horn hole. So far, it hasn't bothered me and if it ever does, I'll go in and try a few things like putting on a new horn or bigger wire for the rod or try more expo in the ELE.

[Bluebird]

Hi there fellow Avios Albatross fans.

I have just ordered my second Avios Albatross after loosing the first to a snap roll and tumble out of the sky. This had actually happened twice. Each time it was after a somewhat aggressive flying manoeuvre . I'm thinking the battery came loose and ended up in the nose of the plane. However I've heard these planes don't stall that well and will snap roll easily if you're not careful.

Any thoughts on the stall characteristics of this model from anyone?

Thanks! Bluebird

[AirHead]

I have almost finished my Albatross until I halted because I fell into the "Upgrade" trap. Marketing is such a slick and sometimes evil department that "upsells" components on either a "whim" or a "false pretense" depending on how accurate and true the "reviews" of products are. I also don't want a bird to fall from the sky because of stupid electronic arrangement...Most RC folks know that if you're running 4S power, you're going to want a fairly beefy ESC with at least 10 Amps of "headroom" to handle amperage due to pushing the motors mostly because of weight. So, "HobbyDing" decides to market the Albatross with 30Amp ESC's running on 4S with a "weighty" plane with twin motors and scale size props pulling that good chunk of weight. So then I read online, that quite a few guys did what I'm doing or asked for by "UP-Spec-ing" the ESC's to handle what looks like 66 Amps or higher during flight. Some people reported that their ESC's burned out. Now HK shows they are "Out Of Stock" on the 30Amp ESC units. Gee! I wonder why? Freewing; FlightLine and Motion RC, cover the electrical headroom on their planes so you don't have to tear them apart and buy the "Upgrade" which the designer should have put there in the first place!!! Dang! It's a solid plane; seems well built, but the electronics again are "short-changed" in favour of either "cheapness" or "weight saving" or both. The big issue is that they glued the center section so you have to run in a "pull string" on each motor pod so you can pull in your new upscaled ESC wiring.....Oy Vey.....
Oy Vey!!!.....

[John Bergsmith]

Here is the one I used. https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3545655/files

[WrightBrosRC]

I printed out so radials and installed them in the cowl.

That looks great! I was considering the same thing but didn't know a file was already available, or is that your design?

[John Bergsmith]

I printed out so radials and installed them in the cowl.

[John Bergsmith]

I assembled mine originally thinking I would program the throttle differential. I've only flown it 6 times now but I just haven't noticed a need for it. Yesterday I flew from our little duck pond and it was great fun.

It's a great flying airplane. The reason I like the differential thrust is you can remove the water rudder and servo.

[WrightBrosRC]

I assembled mine originally thinking I would program the throttle differential. I've only flown it 6 times now but I just haven't noticed a need for it. Yesterday I flew from our little duck pond and it was great fun.

[John Bergsmith]

How are you guys setting up the differential thrust, and reverse in the your transmitters?

Set up instructions for differential thrust.

https://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?3054251-Spectrum-iX12-differential-throttle-for-twin

[John Bergsmith]

How are you guys setting up the differential thrust, and reverse in the your transmitters?

[Hardway]

It will be there. Trish should have her Dynam PBY ready then too.

Good for you both!!! Those two that I own will still be in the box at the end of Sept!!!! LOL FYI Charlie, the Albatros I received from HK wasn't a retread, either!! Good stuff!!! Blessings to you all!!! Jerry

[Twowingtj]

Look forward to seeing it at the AGS float fly at the end of Sept.

It will be there. Trish should have her Dynam PBY ready then too.

[OV10]

Got it yesterday. It's NIB and not a reworked or returned. Very nice bird. The finish is top notch.

Look forward to seeing it at the AGS float fly at the end of Sept.