Greg found this finned heat sink (at left) at his local Radio Shack. Having a smallish footprint, the tall fins on this unit would work well when placed on the ESC within the fuselage and away from fingertips. The Fire Phoenix, from Hobby King (above), captivated Greg when he had a chance to fly it. Designed for a 90mm fan unit, it is a very economical airframe-only model that possesses a tremendous “fun factor” with crisp handling and smooth takeoffs/landings, which is sure to peg your fun meter.
tween an F7U Cutlass and an F-35, but flies like a nimble trainer. I looked it up the evening that I flew it and it was listed as an airframe only model, priced at $65.00. Look- ing it up a week later (while I’m writing this) it is not listed, so it is presumably sold out; however, it is worth book marking to look for later.
Bob converted the full flying elevators into fixed stabilizers with elevators, added electric retracts, took a WeMoTec Midi Fan with Hacker motor he had laying around and added a bellmouth to it. Using Hitec HS-81 micro servos, the controls felt nice and solid. The intakes are grossly oversized (they look like they would work for a seven-
inch fan!) but even with no ducting, the bell- mouth smoothes out the airflow well enough to give very sprightly performance, and is an incredibly easy airplane to land. Take off was a non-event and the flying was crisp and nimble, perfect for working the throttle and performing an aerobatic se- quence within the confines of the length of the runway. So, if you are looking for a ridiculously inexpensive airframe to put your existing “stuff” into, this just might fit the bill. I know I will be checking back! While I prefer turbine power for jets, I have a very big soft spot for a well powered and nice flying edf. One that really makes me drool is the Me-262 from Dynam. Being
a twin 70mm “foamy” distributed by Nitro Planes, known for the variety of foam edfs (with a few fiberglass planes thrown in for good measure), this airplane just works. Twins are an area that I feel edf excels in, since the costs become much more reason- able than a twin-turbine setup. With some of the EPO foam models out of China being very well made, this one has my attention. Having seen at least one fly at every event I have attended the last two years, I am just waiting for an excuse to get one of the receiv- er-ready versions and go looking for imagi- nary bombers overhead.
That’s it for this time around, so until next time: fly safe, and trust in thrust!
PHOTO: BOB RUFF
Bob Ruff’s Fire Phoenix (above left) flies past looking like a cross between an F-35 and an F7U Cutlass. Using a 90mm WeMoTec Midifan on 6S Greg reports that this is a very fun airplane to fly. Kevin Whitlow’s Dynam Me-262 (above right) blasts past the flight line in Waco, TX. Twin 70mm fans powered by a
single 4S battery make this a simple twin to power. Sold by Nitro Planes as either a “plug-n-play”, or a “receiver-ready” model, everything needed to get the airplane in the air is included. Greg did not want to give the transmitter back when he had the opportunity to fly it!
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