E-flite by Horizon Hobby USBACH 342 3DMX
By Daniel Walton Big 3D performance in a micro package thanks to AS3X technology! PHOTOGRAPHY: DANIEL WALTON & JAN C. JONES T
he E-flite UMX Sbach 342 3D rep- resents the latest commercially available advance in Micro R/C models. This review, while about this aircraft in particular, will also be about something that is not so obvious at this point and cannot be seen, but must be expe- rienced to be appreciated. For more informa- tion it will help if you visit this web site
http://www.e-fliterc.com/airplanes/as3x/. Over the past 25 years or so the develop- ment of micro R/C models has been very dra- matic. Starting back in early 1990s DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) called for a UAV the size of “a dollar bill” for military surveillance mis- sions (see
http://tinyurl.com/bjlceag and also
http://ww.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/military/rise- of-the-drones.html and, for a more recent perspective,
http://www.suasnews.com/2013/ 02/21064/new-video-of-black-hornet/ to see DARPA’s earlier vision as actual hard- ware). The call has been taken up by organ- izations large and small like Paul Mac- Cready’s Aerovironment to try and make such a machine.
Dr. MacCready was a life long model air- plane builder himself and, while not easy or inexpensive at the beginning, the dream of a small remotely controlled flying machine has been pursued with a vigor that has re- sulted in a string of aircraft and innovations
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that defy description. The R/C community has been the beneficiary of many of these in- novations. The Sbach 342 3D is just one of the most recent examples.
In June of 2008 the first 4-channel “full house” R/C aerobatic scale aircraft appeared on the market in the form of the Sukhoi 26M. Although larger than a dollar bill in span, the price was that of a $100 bill and it was ready to fly (BNF for Bind aNd Fly) and fly it did.
Because of its light weight and small size however, a major factor affecting these small aircraft now became very apparent to all who flew them. Any wind much over 8– 10 mph made them difficult for the average flyer to manage on such a day. Because of their small size, indoor flying where there was no wind was a natural. Outside flying however in all but the calmest conditions (winds under 5–8 mph) remained quite a challenge unless you were a very experi- enced pilot.
The model’s handling was demanding with the symmetrical airfoil at low air- speeds and Parkzone addressed this issue with their next offering, the P-51, which had a cambered airfoil on the wing and provided somewhat more gentle handling character- istics for the average pilot, although invert- ed flight was now a lot more work. The P-51 is much easier to fly and has better low air-
AT A GLANCE Type:
Construction: Wing span: Wing area: Airfoil: Length: Weight:
Wing loading: Motor:
Radio/ESC: Manufacturer:
R/C micro sport scale foam
17 inches 65 sq. in.
fully-symmetrical 16.6 inches 75 grams
5.9 oz./sq.ft.
E-flite BL180, 2500 KV Spektrum AS6410NBL
DSMX 6-channel AS3X receiver w/ESC Battery:
2S 7.4V 180mAh E-flite
Dist. by: Horizon Hobby 4105 Fieldstone Road, Champaign, IL 61822 217-352-1913
www.horizonhobby.com
speed characteristics even though both it and the Sukhoi share many other features like radio, motor unit and basic weight. In the summer of 2012 E-flite and Horizon
Hobby announced a new product under the UMX line that at first seemed well nigh im- possible for all but the most accomplished modeler and pilot to manage and fly as a BNF (bind and fly) item—a scale model of the famous Gee Bee R-2. Although similar
MARCH 2013
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