Official Skynetic Bison XT STOL Discussion Thread

[Atrix]

So, I've made it to literally step 3 in the manual so far, and none of the screw sizes match up, some of them don't even exist in the kit. What screws are supposed to hole the top strut mount to the fuselage?

Also my landing gear was assembled incorrectly, the mounting plate was on the wrong side of the braces and had to be moved before it would fit the fuselage.

I also appear to be totally missing the screws to joining the wing braces together, the instructions just say "Use the correct screws" but there is nothing in the kit that matches the ones that are on the braces.

nvm, I misread

[Starck Mad]

Watched the video. I think buyers remorse is the right description, but I'm hoping to feel differently after flying it. *sigh

Thank you for watching! I think this build has taken some by surprise. I get that. It is a more advanced build than most foamies and introduces a new step airplane guys don't usually do with the tires. I see this mentioned as a failure by MRC...I don't see it that way personally...and I mean that with the upmost of respect. I know you're frustrated and I'm sorry you are. If I may...just want to give another perspective. What we do is model aviation...we are modelers, but in today's market so many foamies are made so easy to assemble that when we are challenged with having to actually do some modeling we can get frustrated. I see the tires as a new skill set to add to my capabilities as a modeler. It was also my first time doing it, and I messed it up a bit...not as clean as I would have liked. That said it doesn't make sense to me to blame MRC for that. Its not their fault for making the step the way they did...if it wasn't doable at all that would be one thing, but it is doable, and its my fault for not doing it right. That said lots of things didn't go my way the first time I tried it...soldering comes to mind. I sure can solder like a champ now though.

As far as the lights I had no issues with over heating. I hope you feel better about it soon bud...tomorrow is a new day. When you fly it...it will all be worth it. Happy flying!

[Starck Mad]

So, I've made it to literally step 3 in the manual so far, and none of the screw sizes match up, some of them don't even exist in the kit. What screws are supposed to hole the top strut mount to the fuselage?

Also my landing gear was assembled incorrectly, the mounting plate was on the wrong side of the braces and had to be moved before it would fit the fuselage.

I also appear to be totally missing the screws to joining the wing braces together, the instructions just say "Use the correct screws" but there is nothing in the kit that matches the ones that are on the braces.

The manual says in step 2 of the undercarriage section to use 6x12 on the main strut mount. Those are self tapping by the way...

The wing strut attach screws are in the same packaging as the struts...at least mine were. They are short self tapping screws with a big head.

[2much2do]

Thank you for watching! I think this build has taken some by surprise. I get that. It is a more advanced build than most foamies and introduces a new step airplane guys don't usually do with the tires. I see this mentioned as a failure by MRC...I don't see it that way personally...and I mean that with the upmost of respect. I know you're frustrated and I'm sorry you are. If I may...just want to give another perspective. What we do is model aviation...we are modelers, but in today's market so many foamies are made so easy to assemble that when we are challenged with having to actually do some modeling we can get frustrated. I see the tires as a new skill set to add to my capabilities as a modeler. It was also my first time doing it, and I messed it up a bit...not as clean as I would have liked. That said it doesn't make sense to me to blame MRC for that. Its not their fault for making the step the way they did...if it wasn't doable at all that would be one thing, but it is doable, and its my fault for not doing it right. That said lots of things didn't go my way the first time I tried it...soldering comes to mind. I sure can solder like a champ now though.

As far as the lights I had no issues with over heating. I hope you feel better about it soon bud...tomorrow is a new day. When you fly it...it will all be worth it. Happy flying!

The build doesn't bother me at all, I've built foam, balsa, composite, whatever, that's not the problem. Wrong parts in the kit does bother me, but is recoverable.

But my biggest gripe is that from your video, every single Tundra, Timber or foam cub I've seen in person out-performs this thing. That's my biggest worry, it neither took off, nor landed great in your video, until that very last scenes on the dirt road, I felt a little better watching that, but I'm worried its under-powered (you can hover timbers at 3/4 throttle), and now that I've held it WAY too heavy.

[2much2do]

The manual says in step 2 of the undercarriage section to use 6x12 on the main strut mount. Those are self tapping by the way...

The wing strut attach screws are in the same packaging as the struts...at least mine were. They are short self tapping screws with a big head.

Yeah, those little screws aren't in the bags with my struts, I haven't opened them yet, but I shook them in the bag, nothing there.

Next thing is the main gear on one side fit the M3 bolt just fine, the other side doesn't and has to be drilled out to fit the M3.

[Starck Mad]

The build doesn't bother me at all, I've built foam, balsa, composite, whatever, that's not the problem. Wrong parts in the kit does bother me, but is recoverable.

But my biggest gripe is that from your video, every single Tundra, Timber or foam cub I've seen in person out-performs this thing. That's my biggest worry, it neither took off, nor landed great in your video, until that very last scenes on the dirt road, I felt a little better watching that, but I'm worried its under-powered (you can hover timbers at 3/4 throttle), and now that I've held it WAY too heavy.

I thought it did very well...slows down well. Keep in mind I never was at full throttle long at all on takeoff...trying to get a more scale take off. Landings were good I thought, but a plane this big is going to roll out more than a super light foamie half its weight for sure. As far as hovering...I know some sport/ scale planes will, but a lot won't. It isn't a 3D plane, but with a better battery it probably will...my Pulse packs are older with a lot of cycles on them...most in pairs in a 12s 3DHS 75" Edge.

[2much2do]

I thought it did very well...slows down well. Keep in mind I never was at full throttle long at all on takeoff...trying to get a more scale take off. Landings were good I thought, but a plane this big is going to roll out more than a super light foamie half its weight for sure. As far as hovering...I know some sport/ scale planes will, but a lot won't. It isn't a 3D plane, but with a better battery it probably will...my Pulse packs are older with a lot of cycles on them...most in pairs in a 12s 3DHS 75" Edge.

Your landings on the gravel road looked tops, that's for sure. I'm anxious because I spend money, and I'm willing to take it all back if I get to fly it Saturday and all is amazing.

[Capt G]

Finally got the airframe together - not like Freewing is it? Turns out the left wing has the wrong slat on it. The plastic atach points do not line up with the actuator wires. Anyway - i opened a ticket and will try to fly with no slats? I hear it flys ok that way?

[Starck Mad]

Your landings on the gravel road looked tops, that's for sure. I'm anxious because I spend money, and I'm willing to take it all back if I get to fly it Saturday and all is amazing.

I hope it goes well my friend!

[2much2do]

OK, so no screws came in my tail wheel assembly bag eigther. Did anyone get screws in here for the tail wheel like the instructions say? Are they the 2.6x12 screws?

[2much2do]

My kit came with 2 left wing struts.....they can't be built upside down...wtf

I even tried to flip one by re-tapping the plastic parts, the angles on the plastic do not fit with the bottom of the fuselage.

[Gilatrout]

My kit came with 2 left wing struts.....they can't be built upside down...wtf

I even tried to flip one by re-tapping the plastic parts, the angles on the plastic do not fit with the bottom of the fuselage.

I see this kind of thing and my experiences with the plane really reminds me of dynam, but without the discounted price tag.


This isn't about modeling and making modifications to suit a particular retract or motor selection. The manual reviewers failed at their job. Missing parts, parts improperly connected over heating controllers have all been reported and not as one off issues. These are not something fixed merely by modeling skills. This is poor quality control.


I love motionRc. I've had a blast with their planes and when I look back, every single favorite plane I have is a motion plane. In every single case it has been apparent that quality was first. As a customer I didn't have to demand quality from Motion, because they demanded it of themselves. I'm not seeing that same level in this plane, and that is one reason for my disappointment with this plane. A plane from MotionRC should be excellent, because excellence defines Motion.

[2much2do]

Well, I dont think this is flyable like this, the spar isnt long enough to just not have the struts, so we will see what they say when I call them in the morning.

[Randy H]

Please keep us up to date 2much2do. I wonder if they will address on the Friday morning UTube or just try to ignore these problems.

[Atrix]

My kit had two right hand struts, not mirrored, but i got it to work by having the screws on top for the left hand side. I chalked it up to a cost savings measure, but maybe it's a mispack?

I normally would not care too much, but I am still looking for the source of why I need a lot of rudder trim, maybe there is a weird torque on the wings because of mismatched struts?

[2much2do]

Thats a solid 1/2" of twist in one wing, not good.

[2much2do]

Motion's response was to ask me to open a trouble ticket....so I'm waiting. I submitted a 9-item long nit-list with the kit, and I haven't even powered on the servos yet. I fully expect to have to re-wire the y-harnesses so that I can get all the surfaces to move the way I want, I don't understand why they would crimp two wires together like that, we build hundreds of wire harnesses a month at work, and the techs will NEVER do this because its so unreliable.

[Gilatrout]

Motion's response was to ask me to open a trouble ticket....so I'm waiting. I submitted a 9-item long nit-list with the kit, and I haven't even powered on the servos yet. I fully expect to have to re-wire the y-harnesses so that I can get all the surfaces to move the way I want, I don't understand why they would crimp two wires together like that, we build hundreds of wire harnesses a month at work, and the techs will NEVER do this because its so unreliable.

Haven't looked at wiring yet. What exactly was crimped?

[2much2do]

Haven't looked at wiring yet. What exactly was crimped?

To make Y-harnesses for the Ailerons and Flaps, they actually crimped two wires into each of the single crimps (sockets) of the connector. In general, this is not a good practice.

[Starck Mad]

Man guys I hate to hear some of you having these issues. Seems like some of you got a Friday plane that was packed by a guy at the factory that was more ready for the weekend than doing it right. That happens with every company, but that doesn't make it easier for the fellas that get one of those.

My experience was better with the one I got. All the parts were there, and my light controller doesn't get hot. My struts are basically identical from the wing mounting points to where the connector for the fuse is...that connector is different on each one...obviously one is a right and one a left...so I too have one mounted strut with the screws facing down and one with them facing up. As someone suggested probably a cost savings measure...doesn't bother me personally. There were two instances in the manual (at the time...I understand its been updated) that didn't tell me what screw/bolt to use, but they were there and it was easy to figure out. My frustration was mainly with the tires because I was unsure the best way to do it, but now that I've done it once I could do it again much easier. Basically...a little modeling did the job for me personally. I was also in a really big hurry trying to get the plane done so we could shoot some footage on the one day we had to do it, and then be ready to edit on the one day we had to do that. I think without being in such a rush there would have been way less frustration for me. Its very hard to get a video done to the level we want ours to be in two days. I was under fire to get the plane done so that could happen in the first place.

Keep in mind I'm coming from the perspective of a guy that has flown it...and that really helps how I feel about it. In only 6 flights that one day I got really comfortable with it and was able to do what I wanted with it. With more time to really focus and get the finite adjustments to our set up done it will be even better. MRC has always done me right and my hope for you guys is they will do the same for you...I'm sure they will. Also I hope after you all get to fly it you enjoy it as much as we do.

Also - the question about the slats...Planes with slats require much more rudder...more of a coordinated turn initiated by rudder rather than aileron. I start my turns with rudder and control the bank angle with opposite aileron. And yes...the slats can very much affect the yaw axis and rudder trim. If both slats are not in exactly the same position...in other words at the same angle..think of the opening at the trailing edge of the slats...if that opening is slightly bigger on one side than the other that will affect yaw/rudder trim. Hope that helps.