Avios Grumman Albatross!

[Mark 2]

I’m guessing it might be a case of waiting until they can make up a big enough order for the factory, both these planes are still in stock in the U.K. and EU warehouses, I expect there is a minimum order quantity they would have to hit to get the right price. They might have to wait until they are out of stock in all warehouses before they reorder.
They also seem to be back as a site sponsor on the other site again, which can only be a good thing.

[JamesonC]

Something weird is going on with HobbyKing with this and their C-130. The C-130 had a brief "re-stock" after the lottery and has not been in stock since. It's been months now and nothing. This may be a similar story to the C-130. The difference may be that the C-130 may have had production and quality problems and they picked the best ones for the lottery and perhaps picked a few more (OK ones) for the re-stock. The re-stock was very quick right after the lottery finished and those ran out in a matter of hours. All you can do is "wonder" OR "wishin' and a hopin' and a prayin''. Anyone who knows the truth ain't talking.

You are forced to wonder if there is a money issue going on. First, they let Stephen go and then pull all the sponsorship and ads off of "the other site." And now their stocking status on a ton of inventory is all on backorder. I know they have never been known as having the best stock of parts, but this is the worst I have seen it in a while on not having big items in stock for long spans of time. I am probably way off, but it does make you wonder.

[xviper]

Wonder if they will ever be in stock?

Something weird is going on with HobbyKing with this and their C-130. The C-130 had a brief "re-stock" after the lottery and has not been in stock since. It's been months now and nothing. This may be a similar story to the C-130. The difference may be that the C-130 may have had production and quality problems and they picked the best ones for the lottery and perhaps picked a few more (OK ones) for the re-stock. The re-stock was very quick right after the lottery finished and those ran out in a matter of hours. All you can do is "wonder" OR "wishin' and a hopin' and a prayin''. Anyone who knows the truth ain't talking.

[MANFRED]

Wonder if they will ever be in stock?

[TiredIronGRB]

Yeah see I figured 3s would work well.

I've actually got an extra set of SkyMule motors. The original blue bell motors, not the heavy ones that're in the Albatross. They're the same 3536-850KV motors from the BushMule which is why they recommend 4s. But given the Albatross' similarity airframe-wise to the SkyMule, I bet it'd fly just fine on the old Mule's much lighter motors.

I almost want to put this thing on extreme weight reduction just to see what kind of flight performance you could get out of it if it wasn't a fat cow.

She's supposed to be a fat cow, that's what's so cool about her :)

I think it flys much better than the Bush Mule and the fit and finish on it is very nice, I've got over 20 flights on mine and not a bit of damage from flying from grass.

[rampage]

I fly mine on a 3S 5500 Roaring Top and it does great, 12 minutes easy...I love this plane :Cool:

Yeah see I figured 3s would work well.

I've actually got an extra set of SkyMule motors. The original blue bell motors, not the heavy ones that're in the Albatross. They're the same 3536-850KV motors from the BushMule which is why they recommend 4s. But given the Albatross' similarity airframe-wise to the SkyMule, I bet it'd fly just fine on the old Mule's much lighter motors.

I almost want to put this thing on extreme weight reduction just to see what kind of flight performance you could get out of it if it wasn't a fat cow.

[TiredIronGRB]

It does feel heavy. My next few flights are going to be on 3s. There's plenty of room in the nose to move a 3s pack forward and still get the 80mm CG. My 4s 4000 is actually pretty far back. Given that you can take off and fly the entire flight at half throttle or less, I think 4s is just massive overkill and the heavier 4s pack is probably adding to the heavy feel. I'm also going to down-prop it to a scale prop. The FMS B-25's 9x6.5s should work perfectly since a 9" prop is the right size for scale.

It'll never be the floater that the PSM kit is (Power 10s on 3s for a 97" span plane. Jesus...) but I think it can be lightened up enough to fly fairly scale at least.

I fly mine on a 3S 5500 Roaring Top and it does great, 12 minutes easy...I love this plane :Cool:

[rampage]

It does feel heavy. My next few flights are going to be on 3s. There's plenty of room in the nose to move a 3s pack forward and still get the 80mm CG. My 4s 4000 is actually pretty far back. Given that you can take off and fly the entire flight at half throttle or less, I think 4s is just massive overkill and the heavier 4s pack is probably adding to the heavy feel. I'm also going to down-prop it to a scale prop. The FMS B-25's 9x6.5s should work perfectly since a 9" prop is the right size for scale.

It'll never be the floater that the PSM kit is (Power 10s on 3s for a 97" span plane. Jesus...) but I think it can be lightened up enough to fly fairly scale at least.

[xviper]

Yes I maidened mine last weekend too, lovely plane although I agree with your comment about it feeling heavy, I might have too much expo set which could be contributing to that.
Mine leaped up into a 40 degree climb out on the first flight, even though I had been careful to set the elevator at what I thought was neutral. Nothing that a good dose of down trim couldn’t cure fortunately.
My only reservation about the quality is that the aileron hinges seem to be upside down, which gives an unsightly hinge gap on the top of the wing surface, but that’s only a minor cosmetic thing and would be easily sorted out if I decide to bother.
Definitely a keeper IMO.

Mine was also heading for the sky like a love sick angle. The elevator was set as level as I thought I could get them but still needed a lot of down trim on the first flight. The second flight, it was fine. Judging from the stable inverted flight, I think the elevator is now set the way it needs to be. I have very high expo on mine and I fly on high rates (100%) even though I do have lower rates on the switches. There's a delicate compromise between the roller coaster ride with too little expo and having the plane fly too heavy with too high expo. I'd rather not have the roller coaster. It flies "heavy" not so much of high expo but because it's a heavy plane and acts like one.
You made me go look at my aileron hinges and yes, you're right about them. However, it doesn't bother me. They work and in the air nobody can see the gap anyway. All they see is what a beautiful plane it is. Yup, it's a keeper.

[Mark 2]

Yes I maidened mine last weekend too, lovely plane although I agree with your comment about it feeling heavy, I might have too much expo set which could be contributing to that.
Mine leaped up into a 40 degree climb out on the first flight, even though I had been careful to set the elevator at what I thought was neutral. Nothing that a good dose of down trim couldn’t cure fortunately.
My only reservation about the quality is that the aileron hinges seem to be upside down, which gives an unsightly hinge gap on the top of the wing surface, but that’s only a minor cosmetic thing and would be easily sorted out if I decide to bother.
Definitely a keeper IMO.

[xviper]

I flew my Albatross today for the first time. I also flew my HobbyKing Canadair CL-415 for comparison. The 415 has been my favorite "skidder" for years. It flies in all kinds of weather and winds. The original kit cost $40.00 and I put as much salvaged gear into it as I had lying around. The total cost was maybe just over $100.00. The 415 didn't disappoint today. It's light, nimble and very powerful.
The Albatross is a beautiful plane and shows very nicely when doing a fly by. However, it flies heavy and if the power isn't kept up, it wallows really badly in the wind. Maybe on a calm day, it will be better. It does loops, rolls quite well and it takes off with no flaps easily and lands with no flaps very gracefully even in the stiff winds that changed direction every minute. Stalls were quite benign and was easy to deal with. It just holds the wings level and noses down and drops. Used high rates with high expo and never a twitchy moment except for the wind gusts blowing it in ways I wasn't always able to compensate for right away. For my liking, it could use more power, perhaps a 5 cell to really bring it to life. But I guess that's why the "scale" guys love it.
Quality of the Albatross is superb and can't even come close the 415 but in spite of that, my favorite is still the Canadair. Nevertheless, I'll keep the Albatross as it will be one of only 3 skidders I have. Was it worth 3 times the cost of the Canadair? I don't know, the jury will stay out till I fly it a bit more.
With the wind the way it was, I didn't want to fiddle with a hat cam, trying to keep my head always tracking the plane, while trying to deal with all the buffeting.

[rampage]

HK just advised me that the B-17 radial engine moldings are on “Backorder” . You can interpret that anyway you wish but I am going flying, not holding my breath !

The link I posted to the SonicModel version are exactly the same part. The cowl is painted a little differently but the cowls and dummy radials are the same mold. No backorder necessary.

[Spitfire4life]

Water Ops!

The real world Albatross is listed as being able to optimally operate in 4 foot seas, with more extreme seas of 8-10 feet possible but JATO required for takeoff.

It was not exactly calm this evening .. winds out of north at 8-10 maybe? But the Albatross handled the chop with no major issues. The reversing throttles and differential thrust feature definitely came in handy. The water rudder struggled to overcome the winds at times, but with the diff flipped on ... no problem! :cool:

Great Pics Bajora, I'm so pleased HK reactivated my old project and its now on the market, I may even pick one up myself this summer, the CNC flew great and it looks like the molded version flies even better. Great for all the water we have in these parts.

S.

[xviper]

HK just advised me that the B-17 radial engine moldings are on “Backorder” . You can interpret that anyway you wish but I am going flying, not holding my breath !

When it comes to HobbyKing, holding your breath is a very slow death. I've seen "backordered" stuff in that state for over a year, sometimes two, then they label it "discontinued". It may be quicker to sit down on a tree stump with your corn cob pipe and whittle your own.

[brk6188]

HK just advised me that the B-17 radial engine moldings are on “Backorder” . You can interpret that anyway you wish but I am going flying, not holding my breath !

[wvrailfan]

It is a sweet flying model, even from grass. I put the Mobius on yesterday. However, it seems I hadn't fully charged it so I didn't get the landing on video.

[rampage]

I found the B-17 cowls, but they're out of stock in both green and silver.

Edit: Here we go. Cowls from the Sonic Models B-17, which was apparently the same airplane as the HobbyKing B-17.

[rampage]

Might, but they don't look as good.

True, but they're available. I don't think the B-17s were without buying the wing.

[TiredIronGRB]

The "ball links" on this plane is the first of their kind I've seen on a plane. Standard ball link pliers won't work. I used a flat blade screwdriver to pry them off. Anyone got a better idea?

Small needle-nose pliers used like a yoke to lift them off.

[TiredIronGRB]

Given that the Fliteline B-24 and the Hobbyking B-17 are the same scale, I wonder if the FL B-24's radials will fit.

Might, but they don't look as good.