With the rear plastic cover removed you can see the motor and thrust vectoring mechanism (above left). It is driven with a digital metal gear mini servo which can be removed if desired. To achieve the center of gravity in the manual, the 4S 3,200 mAh Li-Po must be pushed as far forward as possible (above right). The huge battery bay gives you lots of battery options.


premium. The nose can only lift a few inch- es off of the deck before the central lower skid hits the ground, so I knew a gentle take off was in order. On my paved runway while on low rates, the Scimitar lifted off at less than three-quarter throttle with slight back pressure. It was airborne! Only a few clicks of up elevator was re-


quired for the Scimitar to fly level and, de- spite its rather radical looks, I found it to be quite tame. On low rates, I would say it flies very similarly to a mid-wing trainer. While circling for flight shots, I also discovered that the Scimitar has great low-speed char- acteristics. It showed absolutely no tenden- cy to tip stall and the large dual rudders keep you going right where you want to go. Certainly one of the more relaxing maiden flights of recent memory. High rates are much more intense, with blisteringly fast rolls that are nigh uncount- able. Full-on knife-edge passes are easy with all that rudder area, and adverse cou- pling was nonexistent. Without even touch- ing the thrust vectoring, high rates alone turn this bird from a tame sport wing to a monster even the most hardcore 3D’er


would enjoy! With the included 10–8 prop, performance is top-notch too. Vertical is un- limited and level, full-throttle speed is very respectable, especially for a foamy this size. Now for what I was looking forward to the


most, the thrust vectoring! Altitude is your friend, especially when experimenting with new maneuvers, so I made sure to get sever- al mistakes high before flipping the switch. Once you do, you will see the Scimitar doing all types of things it looks like it should not be doing. Insanely tight flat spins are possi- ble after finding the appropriate amount of cross aileron and elevator input, so much so that you can almost climb while doing them. “Boomerangs” are also achievable, which


are basically exactly what they sound like: flat spins with sideways momentum! Any maneuver you can think of that involves rud- der input gets all kinds of intense with the vectoring on. Just make sure you have enough airspace to recover. Having the thrust vectoring assigned to a switch is great because you can leave it and come back to it as you see fit (or as your pulse calms). Landing the Scimitar is nothing new for someone with delta experience like myself,


but could be slightly tricky for someone with none. Deltas slow down very well at higher angles of attack, so the best way to land the Scimitar is to cut the power on your final and keep the flare up, but not too much so as to not scrape the ventral fin. Landing overly hot and flat will just lead to bounces and ugly landings. Nothing difficult here, just learning the attributes of a new airframe. The Scimitar has become something of a spectacle at my local flying field. Every time I bring it out I get all kinds of questions about how it flies and well-deserved compli- ments about how cool it looks. Its unusual planform seems to indicate to most that it would be difficult to fly, but the truth is that it flies extremely nicely. I think that E-flite has really pushed the


limits on the Scimitar, bringing something to the R/C enthusiast that has not been seen before. This great looking delta stands apart from everything else at the field, is capable of maneuvers you would not think possible, all while being friendly enough to welcome any intermediate pilot. The E-flite Scimitar certainly holds a place of distinction in my hangar.


PHOTO: JENNIFER ALLAN


Chris’s lovely fiancé and camerawoman, Jenn, sells the Scimitar on maiden day (at left). It is one large foamy! The Scimitar gives the camera some wing on a high-speed pass (above). The bright red certainly shows up great against a green treeline!


FLYING MODELS 55


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68