Hangar 9 / Horizon Hobby
Meridian
10cc ARF
Big sport flying with an economical gas ignition engine!
By Dick Sarpolus PHOTO: FRANK FANELLI
10cc /.60 size engine, with an elec- tronic ignition system, that runs on gasoline and oil? And the en- gine goes into a really good look- ing pretty big sport/aerobatic airplane, with flaps, and the plane is already built? Would I like to try this package? Most definitely! I rarely do review articles, and to get a new project going I’m used to starting with a large pile of wood, a clean sheet of paper on the drafting table, and making a bunch of wood chips and sawdust.
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But I know that today’s ARF airframes, at least the good ones, are really well built and a good deal for the money. And the idea of a .60 size gas burner... well, I wanted to see just how that engine would do. The Hangar 9 Meridian is a large air- plane, 69-inch wingspan and 880 square inches of wing area. Although this review was done using the Evolution 10 cc gas/igni- tion engine, I should make clear that the Meridian can also be set up to use a glow .50 to .60 two-stroke, a glow .60 to .75 four- stroke, a 10cc/.60 gas engine, or an equiva-
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lent .60 brushless electric motor. I’m sure any of these powerplant choices would pro- vide a good flying aircraft.
The box this thing comes in is fairly big, obviously. It’s a big plane, and the parts are well packed and protected inside. A quick look at the covering job, and I’m thinking it’s a much better trim job than I could have done. The red and black trim was nicely ap- plied over the mostly white covering; it looked good. The covering was a bit loose in a number of spots, but the air bubbles were easily ironed out. I went over a lot of the cov- ering with a pretty hot iron, and pressed down with a folded cloth—my usual proce- dure. I’m betting the covering will now stay tight and good looking.
A look inside, and the structure is the usu- al balsa and plywood, but the laser-cut parts appear well engineered for light weight along with plenty of strength. If I was scratchbuilding an airframe, I would never have made complex cut out parts like those used here. An advantage of ARF airplanes, the factory does it for you.
AT A GLANCE Type:
Construction: Wing span: Wing area: Airfoil: Length: Weight:
Wing loading: Engine: Prop:
Radio: Manufacturer: R/C sport
balsa & plywood 69 inches 880 sq. in.
semi-symmetrical 55.5 inches
7.0–8.0 pounds
18.3–20.9 oz./sq.ft. Evolution 10 cc gas 13–6
4-channel
with 7 standard servos Hangar 9
Dist. by: Horizon Hobby 4105 Fieldstone Road, Champaign, IL 61822 217-352-1913
www.horizonhobby.com MAY 2013
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