The installation of the cowl and spinner (above, at left) as well as the attachment of the plastic fairings (below, at left) finishes off the Proud Bird. Trim schemes are left entirely up to you, but with any small, fast airframe, bright colors (above) are recommended. Can’t go wrong with checkering on a racing plane either.
Proud Bird to have excellent flying charac- teristics. Although I found the recommended low-rates to be very tame, a pilot new to a speedier airframe would find them comfort- ing. Recommended high-rates were more my style, allowing fast yet precise slow and point rolls as well as quick pylon-esque turns. I did find that the Proud Bird tended to snap out of full-elevator “bank and yank” turns, but subsequent flights with my bat- tery positioned more forward alleviated this tendency. This is no doubt due to the far lighter sport power package I was provided with. Stalls were gentle and straight ahead no matter the battery placement and low speed flight was surprisingly forgiving for such a slim-winged bird. Landing the Proud Bird is incredibly pleasant compared to others in the pylon racer category I have flown. The most im- portant thing to keep in mind is that, due to its possessing such a clean airframe, it does
not slow down anywhere near as rapidly as a typical sport aircraft. My typical approach is to cut power very early on my downwind approach and basically glide it in, applying short blips of power if necessary on base. Flyers with larger flying areas than mine will not have to be as cautious. The Proud Bird slows down and settles nicely onto the runway with little tendency to bounce. Elevator and rudder control re- mains effective all the while for nearly ef- fortless three-pointers. There is no need to come in overly hot and either overshoot or force it onto the ground, as I have seen with other sleek airframes. As I mention my Proud Bird, having the more tame 3S sport power package, is still no slouch. At full throttle it is no doubt near- ing the triple-digit realm, yet it still possess- es a typical sport level of flying time. Higher amp-draw systems tend to wear out compo- nents faster, and I do believe the sport setup
is better for pilots wishing for more of a mixed bag of speed, aerobatics, and cost ef- fectiveness. So far I have averaged 8-minute flights with mixed throttle usage, with plen- ty of milliamps left over.
My only remaining criticism is the two hatches that are required to be removed to get to your battery. I will likely modify mine to make battery access a little easier as re- peatedly pinching/flexing the plastic pieces tends to crack them.
Great Planes has really nailed every as- pect of an inexpensive and easy to fly speed- ster with the Proud Bird. It is of the highest quality yet is easy and quick to build. It has the looks and the speed, while still being tame enough to invite even an intermediate pilot to the sticks. No matter whether you want to go fast and turn left in competition, fly it for everyday sport, go mild with a 3S setup, or wild with the 4S, the Proud Bird is sure to please!
Veteran FMflight shot expert, Jennifer, offers up the ready to fly Proud Bird(at left). The Proud Birddips a wing during a high-speed camera pass (above). With its sleek lines and incredible capabilities, the Proud Birdwill fulfill that “need for speed!”
FLYING MODELS 53
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