ElectricFlight I
finally got my hands on the Hobbico Flyzone Fokker Dr.1. This comes in two flavors, the HCAA2554 RTF (Ready To Fly) $89.99, which comes
with a Tactic™ TTX402 2.4 GHz transmit- ter with a built-in charger, and the HCAA2555 Tx-R (Transmitter Ready) $79.99 which includes a separate DC Li-Po battery charger. The Tx-R models currently come with a free AnyLink SLT 2.4 GHz Ra- dio Adapter (TACJ2000) which lists for $25. I opted for the Tx-R version and had to go
back to the hobby shop to claim my “Free” AnyLink. (I had thought it would be in the box.) This basic AnyLink came with two adapter cables, one for Futaba with a square trainer port and one for JR and Spektrum DX6, DX6i, and DX7. Other adapter cables are available. The AnyLink SLT 2.4 GHz Radio Adapter
plugs into the DSC (trainer) port of a trans- mitter. The transmitters need not be 2.4 GHz. When connected, the AnyLink SLT Adapter broadcasts a 2.4 GHz signal com- patible with the SLT receivers in every Tx- R airplane. I used it with my old Spektrum DX6 transmitter. I had relegated this non- DSM2 transmitter to use as a simulator con- troller. Now it can be used for flight again. Since the trainer port on Spektrum and
JR transmitters does not include power, an- other cable from the adapter plugs into the battery charging port to supply the power. With these transmitters, the transmitter power switch is always kept off as you would do with the slave radio in a trainer setup. When the trainer end of the adapter cable
is plugged in, the trainer jack applies power to the PPM logic circuits in the transmitter, but not the RF section. The power cable end of the adapter cable is then plugged into the charge port to supply power to the AnyLink adapter. The adapter then beeps and the LED glows to show it is transmitting the SLT signal. The output power is less than 0.1W resulting a range of about 1,000 feet. The AnyLink Adapter has two mappings
of channel assignments, one for Futaba and Hitec and one for JR and Spektrum. Since Tactic has a relationship with Futaba, the
PHOTO: JIM WIGGIN Here is the stock Dr.1 as it comes in the box without the pilot or guns installed.
Futaba is the default mode and is indicated by a single beep. The instructions explain how to set the mapping to the alternate JR mapping which is indicated by two beeps on power up. In order to execute these instructions, all
mixes must be inhibited. Once you have the correct mapping selected, you can activate the mixes. And of course you can set any rate, exponential, trim, mixes, and servo di- rection as you normally would with your transmitter. Well now that we have the transmitter
set up for the SLT operation, how does the receiver react? I plugged in the battery on my Tripe and it bound after a few seconds and the LED on the model glowed steadily. The first time I tried this I was in the wrong mapping and nothing worked right. With the right mapping, the throttle and el- evator worked correctly, but the rudder was on the left stick and was backwards. I reversed the rudder and mixed the aileron 100% to the rudder so I now have rudder action on the aileron (right) stick as well, both moving in the correct direction.
Okay, now how does it fly? It took off at
half power, but I had to hold a lot of down stick. I put in full down trim and it flew bet- ter but still acted tail heavy. I added a pea sized wad of clay (1.2 grams) behind the dummy motor and pulled off some down trim. Now it flew very well indeed. It can be slowed down nicely and is very maneuver- able. It may indeed fly even better than the Albatros. Taxiing however was a bit dodgy. I found
one wheel did not spin as freely as the oth- er. I pulled the end cap off and reamed the wheel slightly so both spun freely. Now it taxied just fine. The battery is only 130 mAh and weighs 3.75 grams. I figured I could use a larger battery in lieu of the clay. So I trimmed a bit of foam at the front of the bat- tery tray and slid in a 150 mAh battery, which weighs 4.7 grams, as far forward as I could get it. Now I get longer flights. The new Tactic SLT receiver and servos
have better resolution than the older radio in the original Flyzone Albatros. The motor in the Dr.1 however is the same and almost as noisy and that’s about my only real complaint.
by stew meyers You can reach Stew Meyersat 8304 Whitman Drive, Bethesda, Maryland 20817, or via e-mail at
stew.meyers@
verizon.net
PHOTOS: STEW MEYERS
You can see here where a bit of the foam (at left) has been removed to make room for a larger battery. Just to remind you what the FZT compatible receiver (above) in the old Albatroslooks like.
34 MAY 2012
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