I would love to see Flightline do a bigger version of this plane. Here's my take on this new offering from HobbyKing.
My Durafly Brewster Buffalo Maided Flight
I don't usually buy smaller planes like this but the Buffalo is a unique plane and I thought I'd give it a try.
The plane went together easily and looks really nice, from an arms length away you'd have a hard time telling that it's a foam plane. The quality of the foam and paint is
really great, Hobbyking has come a long ways in the past couple of years. Their stuff from Durafly seems to keep getting better and the quality has gone up.
I do have a couple of complaints / problems with the plane.
I went to flex the rudder and the foam hinge instantly broke. I used Foam Tac to create a new hinge and it seems pretty solid.
I've read a few reports that the supplied prop is way out of balance and weak, it appears to be a cheap Chinese APC knock off so I tossed it and put an APC prop on.
The ball links seem a bit "cheap" to me, I guess I'm used to the Freewing / Flightline RC quality. They are usable and I'm sure will hold up and be fine but they are a bear to get the ball head buckle off of the ball once it's one.
I flew the plane with a 2200 mAh 3S battery and it was tail heavy, I did not add any nose weight (yet). Seems like a few guys are flying it without adding nose weight so I thought I'd give it a try. It flew a bit tail heavy and I made that determination by how twitchy the elevator seemed but that could also have been the wind. I will fly it again without adding weight on a calmer day to see what I think. If I don't like it I'll add some weight and experiment.
The first hand launch wasn't the best, I should have given it a better shove (you'll see what I mean). The second toss was much better. I was surprised at how well it handled the wind today. The plane is very sporty and fast, I was surprised and pleased.
For $140 this plane is worth the money, I'm thinking I now want to get the blue scheme.
Yellow wing scheme
Blue scheme
Features:
• 2 x Classic US Navy schemes
• EPO foam construction
• Pre-applied scale decals and paint
• Hand launch and belly-landing design
• Sports scale detail
• Cockpit with scale pilot
• Compact size for easy transportation
• Ball-link connections
Specs:
Wingspan: 920mm (36”)
Length: 650mm (26”)
Weight: 675g (13oz) (without battery)
Motor: Aerostar 28mm 1200KV Brushless Outrunner
ESC: Aerostar 40A Brushless
Propeller: 10x5
Servo: 9g x 4
Recommended Setup:
CG: 52~55mm from leading edge
Aileron: +/- 14mm
Rudder: +/- 15mm
Elevator: +/- 8mm
Exponential: 30~35%
Requires:
1 x 4 Channel 2.4GHz Radio System (TX and RX)
1 x 2200mAh 3S Lipo Battery
My Durafly Brewster Buffalo Maided Flight
I don't usually buy smaller planes like this but the Buffalo is a unique plane and I thought I'd give it a try.
The plane went together easily and looks really nice, from an arms length away you'd have a hard time telling that it's a foam plane. The quality of the foam and paint is
really great, Hobbyking has come a long ways in the past couple of years. Their stuff from Durafly seems to keep getting better and the quality has gone up.
I do have a couple of complaints / problems with the plane.
I went to flex the rudder and the foam hinge instantly broke. I used Foam Tac to create a new hinge and it seems pretty solid.
I've read a few reports that the supplied prop is way out of balance and weak, it appears to be a cheap Chinese APC knock off so I tossed it and put an APC prop on.
The ball links seem a bit "cheap" to me, I guess I'm used to the Freewing / Flightline RC quality. They are usable and I'm sure will hold up and be fine but they are a bear to get the ball head buckle off of the ball once it's one.
I flew the plane with a 2200 mAh 3S battery and it was tail heavy, I did not add any nose weight (yet). Seems like a few guys are flying it without adding nose weight so I thought I'd give it a try. It flew a bit tail heavy and I made that determination by how twitchy the elevator seemed but that could also have been the wind. I will fly it again without adding weight on a calmer day to see what I think. If I don't like it I'll add some weight and experiment.
The first hand launch wasn't the best, I should have given it a better shove (you'll see what I mean). The second toss was much better. I was surprised at how well it handled the wind today. The plane is very sporty and fast, I was surprised and pleased.
For $140 this plane is worth the money, I'm thinking I now want to get the blue scheme.
Yellow wing scheme
Blue scheme
Features:
• 2 x Classic US Navy schemes
• EPO foam construction
• Pre-applied scale decals and paint
• Hand launch and belly-landing design
• Sports scale detail
• Cockpit with scale pilot
• Compact size for easy transportation
• Ball-link connections
Specs:
Wingspan: 920mm (36”)
Length: 650mm (26”)
Weight: 675g (13oz) (without battery)
Motor: Aerostar 28mm 1200KV Brushless Outrunner
ESC: Aerostar 40A Brushless
Propeller: 10x5
Servo: 9g x 4
Recommended Setup:
CG: 52~55mm from leading edge
Aileron: +/- 14mm
Rudder: +/- 15mm
Elevator: +/- 8mm
Exponential: 30~35%
Requires:
1 x 4 Channel 2.4GHz Radio System (TX and RX)
1 x 2200mAh 3S Lipo Battery
