Flyzone
Tidewater
Classic watercraft looks combined with ease of flight equals a great go-to electric seaplane!
By Larry Kruse PHOTOGRAPHY: LARRY KRUSE F
ollowing up on its immensely popu- lar DHC-2 Beaver sport-scale sea- plane on floats, Flyzone’s newest water sprite takes a step in a differ-
ent direction by offering an almost retro- grade planform reminiscent of the classic planing-hull models of the past. FLYING MODELS readers of a certain age will remember fondly the beautiful seaplane designs of FM editor, Don McGovern, that relied on the time-honored formula of a planing hull and floats mounted on the wings. Sleekly designed ships like Piranha, the Moray Monster, and the Mako Monster graced the pages of this magazine, even as the Privateer and the Navigator became popular kits of the time.
Other designers, too, were mutually in- spired to create models of the type. Ken Willard’s Sea Master is still regarded as the archetype of what a seaplane should look like, and is still being produced in ARF form by several manufacturers. Flyzone’s Tide- water maintains both the classic seaplane formula and lines, as well as paying homage to the nautical names of the past.
26
This new plane comes either “RTF” (Ready-To-Fly) complete with radio system, battery and charger, or “TX-R Prime”, which translates into requiring just a transmitter and flight battery. I chose the latter, since I already had a Tactic TT650 transmitter and batteries from other ships that met the sug- gested power parameters.
Opening the bright four-colored carton re- vealed well-packed parts, so much so that the foam packing forms surrounding the fuselage must be forcefully separated to re- lease it for assembly. Manufactured from proprietary “AeroCell Foam”, all of the parts have a smooth look, feel, and sheen to them that make it difficult to tell if the model is foam from a few feet away.
The three-color trim scheme is attractive and shows well in the air. The only quibble I would have is that the red trim paint chips off very easily and doesn’t require much as- sistance to do so. All of the window outlines, doors, lights and panel lines are of the decal type and are very well done—adding real- ism to the plane, particularly at flight dis- tance as the accompanying photos illustrate.
AT A GLANCE Type:
Construction: Wing span: Wing area: Airfoil: Length: Weight:
Wing loading: Motor: ESC:
Battery: Radio:
Manufacturer:
R/C sport seaplane AeroCell Foam 41.5 inches 526 sq. in. symmetrical 36 inches
29–31 ounces 7.9-8.5 oz./sq.ft. 28-30–1300 Kv 30-amp
3S 2200 mAh Li-Po 4-channel Flyzone
Dist. by: Hobbico P.O. Box 9021
Champaign, IL 61826 217-398-3630
www.flyzoneplanes.com JULY 2013
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