3DHS Blog

3DHS in the UK

2011-12-15T21:21:00.000-06:00

3DHobbyShop is proud to announce that 3DHS aircraft will soon be available in the UK and Europe! Global RC has been named the exclusive distributor of 3DHobbyShop aircraft to the United Kingdom.

Stuart and his crew at Global RC are experienced with ARF aircraft and will be importing the entire 3DHS line. Their first shipment will be on its way soon with a variety of different aircraft onboard, and more selection will be available during 2012. Join us in welcoming Global RC into the 3DHS family! You can find them at www.globalrc.co.uk, their new URL www.3dhobbyshop.co.uk, and their Facebook page!

3DHS 48" EPP Extra

2011-12-06T08:00:00.000-06:00

Introducing the 3D Hobby Shop 48" EPP Extra!

We debuted this design at the 2011 Holiday Electric Fly and RC Expo in Geneva Ohio this weekend:

The 48" EPP Extra is the first in a new line of aircraft from 3D Hobby Shop. Built at the world's premier EPP production facility, the 48" employs built up EPP foam structure with

carbon backbone
carbon wing tube
removable airfoiled wings
carbon stiffened wings, fuse and tail
SFG's

which all combine to give superb flight performance and serious durability.

Recommended setup includes:

130g 870kV Omega motor
45-55A ESC
4- HS65MG servos
3S 2100-2200 mah lipo

This rugged and versatile design is great as your next step up from flat EPP foam planes, a fantastic practice plane, or your go-to hardcore aerobatics plane, with extremely easy 3D and good speed and handling in gusty winds. Available now at 3DHobbyShop.com!

Foam Fest Report

2011-12-05T09:44:00.001-06:00

What a great event! Just look at this fantastic facility:

Noll hovers the 33" EPP Extra

Joe and Arron attempt the 3D obstacle course with the 34" EPP Edge

3D Hobby Shop introduced the brand new 48" EPP Extra... but more on that later in the week...

And congrats to Team Pilot Joe Smith, winner of the 3D Freestyle event!

Thanks again to Flying Giants and the Holiday Electric Fly-RC Expo for hosting such a great event!

2011 Foam Fest

2011-11-29T14:31:00.001-06:00

We're packing up our foamies and heading to the Flying Giants' Indoor Huckfest this weekend at the Holiday Electric Fly in Geneva, Ohio. There's going to be several contests, including a 3D smack down- we can't wait!

Hope to see you there!

Lots of Slickness

2011-10-21T10:00:00.000-05:00

AJ Slicks are back in stock! This includes the 51", 71" and 42" and 89", all in the newest color schemes:

Visit the product pages at 3DHobbyShop.com for all the details, including combo offers for motors, ESCs, and more!

Congrats, AJ!

2011-10-19T14:29:00.000-05:00

Our congratulations, once again, go out to Andrew Jesky!

AJ is the 2011 Tucson Aerobatic Shootout Invitational Champion- woot!

Andrew's hard work, talent and determination has delivered an amazing year: USA F3A Nationals Champion, Bronze medalist at the FAI World Championship, and now winning Tucson! Congrats, Andrew- we love to watch you fly.

Oktoberfest 2011

2011-10-17T13:49:00.000-05:00

Oktoberfest 2011 was fantastic! Absolutely perfect flying weather, good food, and lots of Flying Low!

The Byper made its first public appearance:

Thanks so much to everyone at the Austin Radio Control Association for their hospitality and a great event!

The 3DHS Grand Re-Opening!

2011-09-17T10:31:00.000-05:00

We've (mostly) finished the move, and the 3D Hobby Shop online store is open for business!

The entire site has been redesigned and included some brand new products, including the 34" EPP Edge 540:

These are in stock and shipping now!

The EPP 34" Edge 540 is an indoor/outdoor aerobatic aircraft designed for fun, value, durability and high performance. Like our 33" EPP Extra, the 34" Edge can be crashed many times without damage, but the Edge adds a complete landing gear system, additional stiffening, and aerodynamics focused on a wider speed range.

As you can see, it makes the perfect backyard flier!

We also now have great new combo items for many of our airframes, including motors, ESCs, and servos. Check them out!

Sneak Peek

2011-09-09T21:47:00.001-05:00

As we settle into our new warehouse here in Pennsylvania, we thought we'd give you a sneak peek at the new 3D Hobby Shop biplane, designed by Scott Stoops and currently being flight tested.

It's sized to use the same gear as the 51" Slick, and with a few more changes, will be coming soon from 3DHobbyShop.com!

Ohio Huckfest and Winner of the King 50!

2011-08-27T13:51:00.000-05:00

We're having a great time at the Ohio Huckfest this weekend- great weather and great flying, day and night!

And speaking of great flying, congrats to Joe Smith- winner of this year's King 50!

Joe won with his 3D Hobby Shop 87" Extra SHP... and look how low he got to win:

Check out Sleepy's Photo Thread for the Huckfest at Flying Giants for more...

www.flyinggiants.com

Vote for 3DHS!

2011-08-08T22:31:00.000-05:00

The AMA magazine, Model Aviation, is having a contest for next month's cover, and you can vote for 3D Hobby Shop! Just go to their virtual boardroom and vote for the Red 104"AJ Slick:

Thanks for your vote!!

On the Move

2011-08-04T19:31:00.000-05:00

As some of you may have heard, 3D Hobby Shop is moving! We are relocating the warehouse to Lancaster, Pennsylvania during the month of August. As a result, the last day of website sales will be tomorrow, Friday, August 5, until we reopen in September.

In the meantime, you can purchase 3D Hobby Shop products from our dealers:

ADC Hobby Store
Aero-Model
Esprit Model

The target date to relaunch the website is September 10, and we'll have new products, airplanes and features ready to go! We'll post updates here on the blog and on the homepage at www.3dhobbyshop.com... stay tuned!!

Congratulations Andrew!

2011-08-02T07:52:00.000-05:00

Congratulations to Andrew Jesky, bronze medalist in the FAI World Championship!

For results, photos and sequences, visit the AMA website.

AJ, you rock!

Back In Stock

2010-09-14T20:35:00.000-05:00

Just received a shipment of:

The 68" Velox in Blue and Yellow...

89" Slicks in Red and Yellow...

and the 72" 330 SC in Red and Yellow are now available!

Kicking off the 2010 Huckfest Tour

2010-06-24T09:22:00.000-05:00

Join us at the first stop in the 2010 Flying Giants Huckfest Tour this weekend in Hot Springs, Arkansas! We'll be flying low all weekend, and look out for the debut of a brand new 3DHS prototype... For more info on the event, visit the thread on Flying Giants and

Fly Low!

Basher

2010 Fly-Low-In ReCap

2010-06-15T22:11:00.000-05:00

The third annual 3DHS Fly-Low-In was HOT HOT HOT! 80 pilots, 25 raffle prizes, and 105 degrees.

The big winners of the raffle were Jordan with the 70" Slick and Walter with the 103" Extra 330 SC!

There was plenty of flying low...

And the new look for the 47" Extra was revealed...

(...more on that later...)

Thanks again to everyone who showed up and made this event fantastic, and especially the 114th for another great Fly Low In- you guys really know how to

Fly Low!

Basher

Jamie Hicks at XFC

2010-06-13T21:01:00.002-05:00

Big congrats go out to Jamie Hicks for putting together his entry to the XFC at pretty much the last minute with a 103" Extra 330SC - Check out the video below! He flew it really well, and it was great to see a 3DHS plane competing this year.

Work scheduling took AJ and the 126" Slick out of the XFC this time, so we thank Jamie for stepping up and putting a 3DHS plane in the show.

Raffle Prizes for the 2010 Fly Low In

2010-05-13T15:33:00.000-05:00

The 3rd Annual Fly Low In is fast approaching! We're lining up the raffle prizes- here's the list to date:

3D Hobby Shop ARFs:

   40" Edge
   42" Slick
   51" Slick
   Various 55-57" planes
   65" Vyper
   70" Slick

Wood Props: 12-27"

Motors:
   Omega
   Torque
   E-Flite

Servos:
   Hitec
   Spektrum

...and more...

And the grand prize this year:

103" Extra 330 SC ARF

So make your plans to be at the 114th RC Aero Squadron Field in Grapevine, Texas, June 4-6, 2010. For more info, see RC Groups event thread, and get ready to

Fly Low!

Basher

All New VR-1

2010-05-02T22:16:00.004-05:00

Introducing the 3D Hobby Shop VR-1, developed by Scott Stoops:

Inspired by the full-scale Velox Revolution I, the VR-1 has a 48" wingspan, 460 sq in wing area, and a RTF weight of 34.5 oz without lipo.

Recommended equipment includes the Omega 130g870 outrunner (or comparable motor), a 45-55A ESC with BEC, and 4 HS-65 Hitec servos.

The VR-1 features Ultracote covering, tinted canopy, carbon-carbon-carbon landing gear attachment, pre-drilled and nutted motor box, carbon wing spar tube, airfoiled tail surfaces, SFGs, aluminum wheel axles, and ball-link hardware.

And here it is in action at SEFF:

These are due into the warehouse at the end of this month, available for pre-order at 3D Hobby Shop in Red or Black. Order yours and get ready to

Fly Low!

Basher

SEFF 2010 In Review

2010-04-28T22:37:00.006-05:00

So here's what you missed if you weren't at SEFF...

As you can see, SEFF was fairly awesome. Thanks to everyone who makes it possible.

Fly Low!

Basher

SEFF 2010 Here We Come!

2010-04-15T22:16:00.000-05:00

Join us next weekend, April 22-25, for SEFF 2010!

We're looking forward to flying with friends and fans all week long- and we will definitely....

Fly Low!

Basher

Weak Signals Toledo Show 2010

2010-04-04T19:01:00.000-05:00

We're headed to the Weak Signals Show in Toledo, Ohio this week!

Several of the 3DHS Team pilots will be on hand to answer questions and discuss all things 3D. If you're planning on buying a 3D Hobby Shop plane at the show, come early- we expect to sell out quickly this weekend.

Stop by and say hello!

Fly Low!

Basher

72" Extra 330 SC at TEFF

2010-03-28T20:37:00.000-05:00

We had a great weekend in Austin at TEFF! We'll post video soon, but for now, here's some shots of the new 72" 330 SC-

Fly Low!

Basher

TEFF- March 26-28

2010-03-18T16:39:00.000-05:00

Next weekend we're headed to the Texas Electric Flight Festival, hosted by the Austin Radio Control Association in Austin, Texas. This is a nice, short road trip for us, and we look forward to having some fun! Click on the flyer to enlarge, or go to the thread on RC Groups for more info... hope to see you there!

Fly Low!

Basher

T.I.N.Y. Fly In & Challenge This Weekend!

2010-03-04T21:19:00.001-06:00

We're headed out to the TINY Fly-In and Challenge! This 4th annual event is held at the Coliseum in San Angelo, Texas- a great venue, and all the flying you can handle...

For details, check out the event thread on RC Groups, and join us for a great weekend!

Fly Low!

Basher

Slicks Back in Stock!

2010-02-22T21:59:00.000-06:00

Yellow AJ Slicks are back in stock in our warehouse!

42", 51", or 89" - take your pick! 89" in Red are also restocked and shipping...

Fly Low!

Basher

Pro Bro Andy Flies the 65" Vyper

2010-02-15T15:14:00.000-06:00

3DHS Team Pilot Andy Warwas (aka Pro Bro Andy) posted a great video on his YouTube page:

Fantastic!

Fly Low!

Basher

46" Vyper Pics & Combos

2010-02-08T17:26:00.000-06:00

A few shots of the 46" Vyper from this weekend...

Now available in combos in Green or Yellow at 3D Hobby Shop!

Fly Low!

Basher

68" Velox Vid

2010-02-07T10:32:00.000-06:00

We finally got some good weather here (although it was a little windy), so we got out and flew!

3DHS 68" Velox

87" SHP & 70" Gasoline Slick in Stock!

2010-01-29T12:16:00.001-06:00

The 3D Hobby Shop 87" SHP in the red color scheme is back in stock and shipping daily!

Photo courtesy Ryan White

The new 70" Gasoline Slicks are also in stock, in RED or BLUE.

Fly Low!

Basher

Arizona Electric Festival

2010-01-28T14:22:00.000-06:00

Join us this weekend at the 6th Annual Arizona Electric Festival in Mesa Arizona!

3D Hobby Shop will be there flying, and ADC HobbyStore will be on hand selling 3DHS ARFs.

Fly Low in AZ!

Basher

Flying Giants Huckfests 2010

2010-01-14T12:17:00.001-06:00

3D Hobby Shop is proud to announce that we will be sponsoring the Flying Giants Huckfest 2010 US Tour!!

This year's schedule has been posted:

June 24th - 27th - Mega Huckfest - Sallisaw, Oklahoma
July 29th - August 1st - Snap a Huckfest- Gardnier, Massachusetts
September 9th - 12th - Heart of Ohio Huckfest- Napoleon, Ohio
September 30th - October 3rd - Sunshine State Huckfest - Tampa, Florida
November 12th - 14th - West Coast Huckfest- Sacramento, California

Make plans to come to these great events, and

Fly Low!

Basher

New Look for the Website and New Combos Now Available

2010-01-11T13:53:00.000-06:00

The 3D Hobby Shop website is getting a facelift- check us out! It's a ongoing process, so bear with us.

And while you're there, take a look at our Combo page- we've got combos back in stock, and a couple of new ones added, including for the 46" Vyper and the 57" 330 SC.

Fly Low!

Basher

AMA Expo This Weekend

2010-01-08T15:36:00.000-06:00

Check out the AMA Expo this weekend in Ontario, California!

One of our dealers, ADC HobbyStore, has a booth and will be selling 3D Hobby Shop planes all weekend. (One of our customers snapped this shot on the run through the convention center!) Stop by and say hello to Rob and his staff, and pick up a 3DHS ARF!

3DHS End of Year Sale!

2009-12-27T07:52:00.000-06:00

We've got a great sale for the end of the year right now at 3D Hobby Shop!

Deals on ARFs and combos from the 46" Aspera to the 103" 330 SC. This sale ends on New Year's Eve, while supplies last.

Wishing everyone a Happy New Year from 3D Hobby Shop!

Fly Low!

Basher

Flying Giants Photo Contest

2009-12-06T21:40:00.001-06:00

Congrats to Ryan White from Colorado- his photo of Tyler Hawker's 103" Extra 330 SC won the Flying Giants' Photo Contest this month!

Great job Ryan! (And nice flying Tyler!)

Fly Low!

Basher

DFW Area Fly In This Weekend!

2009-12-03T12:23:00.000-06:00

We're headed to the 114th RC Aero Squadron's 7th Annual Santa Cops Fly In this Saturday, December 5th! The field is located in Grapevine, Texas, and every year these guys put on a great event, for a great cause. Admission to the event is one, new, unwrapped toy, which will be donated to the Grapevine Police Department Toy Drive. For more info, see the club's website, or the thread on RC Groups. See you there!

65" Vyper Available for Pre-Order

2009-11-12T19:01:00.000-06:00

The 65" Vyper, our latest ARF design, is now available for pre-order at 3D Hobby Shop!

Designed by Scott Stoops, the 65" Vyper is a Hybrid Precision/3D ARF design.

Available in red or yellow, these birds are due into our warehouse Dec 15. For more info, visit our website, and check out the discussion thread on RC Groups.

Finally on Facebook

2009-10-27T17:24:00.001-05:00

Well, we finally made it to Facebook! Join us in the 3D Hobby Shop Owners' Club Group and keep up with the latest from 3D Hobby Shop.

To celebrate our Facebook arrival, we're sponsoring a Holiday video contest! Enter and you could win $100 gift certificate or a 40-42" ARF from 3D Hobby Shop. Log on or sign up for Facebook and read more about this event here.

Fly Low!

Basher

68" Velox In Stock!

2009-10-20T23:32:00.000-05:00

The new 68" Velox is in stock and shipping out daily!

Scott Stoops posted a great video flying with the 30CC DLE engine:

Order one in re d or blue today!

Pre-Orders for 68" Velox Now Available

2009-09-25T15:50:00.003-05:00

The new 68" Velox is now available for pre-order!

They are due into our warehouse in mid-October. For more info, check out the product pages on our website- (red & yellow or blue color schemes) and follow along on the RC Groups thread.

Fly Low!

Basher

Ohio Huckfest!

2009-09-13T20:32:00.003-05:00

Just got back from the Ohio Huckfest- we had a blast! Beautiful weather, lots of flying low (especially in the corn field), and a little bit of carnage!

This is a great shot of Josh Price hucking his 103 Extra 330 SC-

Head over to Flying Giants for the Sleepy's weekend report.

Fly Low!

Basher

57" Sukhoi Video

2009-09-04T20:35:00.003-05:00

Another great RC video from one of our customers!

Fly Low!

Basher

70" Slick Video

2009-08-30T16:51:00.002-05:00

New 70" Slick video is up on our YouTube Channel!

Fantastic vinyl package from ADC Hobbystore.

Fly Low!

Basher

And for the Vyper Fans...

2009-08-29T21:51:00.004-05:00

We've got some new T-shirt designs on our Cafepress site for you Vyper guys-

In green & yellow, of course!

Fly Low!

Basher

Cool 89" Slick Video

2009-08-28T12:19:00.003-05:00

Check out this video from some 3DHS pilots on the Pacific coast- very cool piloting, videography, and editing on this one- good job, guys!

They let us post it on our YouTube Channel, so once you've watched it, head over there and tell us what you think!

Fly Low!

Basher

3DHS in Model Aviation Magazine

2009-08-24T19:58:00.004-05:00

3D Hobby Shop is featured in the September 2009 issue of Model Aviation Magazine!

Model Aviation is the publication of the AMA (Academy of Model Aeronautics). Author Jay Smith wrote a great article in the About Us section (pp. 114-115), which includes interviews with yours truly, as well as our aircraft designers- Scott Stoops and Andrew Jesky.

The write up also includes a contest to win one of our 57" Sukhois- so check it out!

And to find out more about everything the AMA does for the RC airplane community, visit their website.

Fly Low!

Basher

57" Extra 330 SC Video

2009-08-23T09:05:00.002-05:00

Here's a video of the 57" Extra 330 SC in action:

Expected in our warehouse mid-September, you can pre-order here in red/blue or blue/yellow, and follow the thread at RC Groups.

Fly Low!

Basher

AJ in Portugal- F3A Pattern World Championship

2009-08-22T11:58:00.004-05:00

So, as many of you know, one of our designers and National Pattern Champion Andrew Jesky is in Portugal to contest the F3A Pattern World Championship. Here's his basic schedule:

Aug 20th Thursday- Arrival of Teams FAI Jury and Judges.
Registration.
Unofficial Practice at Practice sites.

Aug 21st Friday- Arrival of teams and registration
Briefing and training flights for judges
Team Managers Meeting
Model Processing and Official Practice

Aug 22nd Saturday- Model Processing and Official Practice
Opening Ceremony Reception at Town Hall and Buffet

Aug 23rd Sunday- Round 1 - Preliminaries - Flight line A and B

Aug 24th Monday- Round 2 - Preliminaries - Flight line A and B

Aug 25th Tuesday- Round 3 - Preliminaries - Flight line A and B

Aug 26th Wednesday- Round 4 - Preliminaries - Flight line A and B

Aug 27th Thursday- Reserve day for Preliminaries Flights
Official practice for semi-finalists
Judges Briefing
Sightseeing Tour

Aug 28th Friday- Semi-finals - Rounds 5 and 6 - Flight line A and B
Meeting for judges and TM of Final pilots

Aug 29th Saturday- First round of finals according to schedule F09.
Second round of finals according to unknown schedule 1.
Third round of finals according to schedule F09.
Fourth round of finals according to unknown schedule.
Closing Ceremony in front MCPO headquarters Banquet at Sporting Complex of Pombal.

And here's the first pic I've found of AJ at the contest.

This plane is his custom-painted Krill Aviation Spark.

We'll post progress and results as we receive them...

Good Luck, Andrew!!

Basher

3DHS Build Videos

2009-08-21T19:25:00.003-05:00

One of our goals here at 3D Hobby Shop is to provide great info and resources about the RC hobby. Although our aircraft are ARFs (Almost Ready to Fly), they of course do require assembly and set up. While each kit comes with its own instruction manual, sometimes it's helpful to see the steps of a build rather than to just read about them.

IPSmotors, one of our Team 3D Hobby Shop pilots, has put together some great build videos for most of our ARFs. You can find them here on his vimeo page.

These videos are well-made and give some great building tips for beginners and pros alike.

This is build video #1 for our 70" Slick. Check out all his build and flight videos on vimeo!

Fly Low!

Basher

Heatwave 2009 Night Flying

2009-08-18T18:25:00.005-05:00

The Tulsa Heatwave in the Heartland lived up to its name- it was hot!! But there was some great flying, all day and all night.

We rigged up our 87" & 103" Extras with Xerogear LED lights- they lit up the whole field at night! (Credit goes to Brian Chitty for the above pic.) Check out this video on our YouTube channel-

51" Slick Vinyl Bling

2009-08-17T19:01:00.003-05:00

Just got the vinyl decal packages for the new 51" Slick fantasy scheme in from ADC Hobbystore, and they are awesome!

Here's the new color scheme out of the box:

And here are two different vinyl packages ADC created:

This vinyl will be available for the 70" Slicks as well. Great job as usual, Rob!

Fly Low!

Basher

3d EPP

2009-08-15T22:23:00.005-05:00

A good friend of ours in the RC world is launching his own website tonight- 3dEPP.com !

If you were at SEFF or the Fly-Low-In this year, you saw some of these amazing little planes fly.

By popular demand, they are now in production as a pre-painted EPP kit. To see how they fly, check out our YouTube video:

And to get one for yourself, visit 3d EPP.com!

Fly Low!

Basher

New!! 57" Extra 330 SC

2009-08-15T15:17:00.007-05:00

We introduced a new ARF to the 3D Hobby Shop lineup this week- the 57" Extra 330 SC!

This gorgeous new ARF was developed for us by Scott Stoops, and is the little brother to our 103" Extra 330 SC.

Specs:

57" Wingspan, 57" Long (w/ spinner)

680 sq. inches wing area

Covered in Ultracote

Carbon landing gear

Composite-reinforced LG plate

Tinted canopy

Single Ball-link controls

SFGs included wing bags, with pockets for wing tube and SFG's

Recommended Equipment:

8-10 oz. brushless motor

80-85A ESC

4S 3000-4400mah or 5S 3000-3700mah

4 x HS225MG servos

63mm spinner

DUB672 servo arms

14x7 or 15x7 prop

Decals come standard with the kit-

Thanks to ADC Vinyl for allowing us to use their design.

These planes are available for pre-order in red/blue or yellow/blue (no pics yet of the yellow/blue, but the scheme is very similar to the 103" 330 SC) and are due into our warehouse in mid-September.

For more info, follow the thread on RC Groups-

Fly Low!

Basher

New 51" AJ Slick Fantasy Scheme

2009-08-15T14:54:00.007-05:00

Our customers love our Andrew Jesky designed AJ Slick! Starting with the original 51" size, the Slick fleet has grown now to include 42", 70", 89", and 126" versions. Because of their popularity, we've come back to the 51" and added a third color scheme. Available for preorder, these will be ready to ship in mid-September.

This fantasy scheme is striking as is, or add your custom decals from ADC Vinyl.

For more info on the 51" Slick check out the RC Groups thread here.

Congrats AJ!!

2009-07-19T13:52:00.004-05:00

Congratulations to Andrew Jesky- 2009 National F3A Pattern Champion!

After an amazing amount of dedication and plain old hard work, Andrew took the title this weekend at the Nationals in Muncie, Indiana. Next month, he's headed to Portugal to compete as part of the 2009 United States World Aerobatic Team in the FAI World Championship for Aerobatic Model Aircraft. To read more about Team USA, go here, and to make a donation to Team USA, go here or here.

Once again, congrats, Andrew, and good luck!!

Fly Low!

Basher

YouTube Channel

2009-06-28T11:25:00.005-05:00

As you can see from our recent posts, we've been busy making lots of new videos featuring 3D Hobby Shop designs. You can find them all in one place now, at Blucor Basher's YouTube Channel! Click on the link to take you there, or type "blucorbasher" into the YouTube search bar.

This is the latest one- the 46" Vyper Hybrid Aerobatic, available for pre-order in green or yellow.

So check out the YouTube channel and subscribe to get the latest 3D Hobby Shop videos!

Fly Low!

Basher

70" Slick

2009-06-23T22:39:00.004-05:00

Debuted at SEFF 2009, the 70" AJ Slick is the latest 3D Hobby Shop design from Andrew Jesky.

For more info, check out the RC Groups thread here.

Have to have one? Pre-order yours in red or blue today!

Fly Low!

Basher

2009 Fly-Low-In Video!

2009-06-11T09:56:00.003-05:00

2009 FLI- AWESOME!

2009-06-08T20:27:00.007-05:00

Well, we just got back from the 2nd annual 3D Hobby Shop Fly-Low-In at the 114th RC Aero Squadron in Grapevine, Texas, and we had a blast!

Pilots came from all over the country- California, Alabama, Colorado, North Carolina, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, and even a few from Texas!

We unveiled the latest 3D Hobby Shop design- the 68" Velox!

The fun lasted well into the night, with LED & Glow sticks night fliers...

And the proof that everybody was flying low...

Thanks so much to everyone at the 114th Aero Squadron, for their fantastic field and great hospitality! You can find more photos from the event on their website and on the thread at RC Groups.

Already looking forward to next year!

Fly Low!

Basher

Gearing Up for the Fly-Low-In!

2009-05-21T21:03:00.005-05:00

Believe it or not, the 2nd Annual Fly-Low-In is almost here!

Come fly low with us June 6-7, 2009 at the 114th RC Aero Squadron in Grapevine, Texas. Find info on the field here, and read the thread on RC Groups here.

We've already started packing the trailer with fantastic 3DHS raffle prizes, including a yellow 89" Slick ARF!!!

We'll also be debuting a brand new 3DHS plane!

You can get your t-shirt and gear here.

We want to thank the 114th Aero Squadron in advance for being our gracious hosts- these guys really know how to put on a great event.

See you there!

Fly Low!

Basher

The Right Stick

2009-05-09T10:20:00.005-05:00

The Right Stick is *the* premiere podcast for remote control enthusiasts! They discuss all things RC- they even featured 3D Hobby Shop a while back!

Their most recent podcast is a great interview with pilot and 3DHS aircraft designer Scott Stoops. And they are also doing a 3DHS giveaway contest- the prize is our 40" Edge 540 ARF! Click here for the RCGroups thread to post your entry.

Joe Nall

2009-05-09T09:51:00.001-05:00

So we just get back from SEFF, and now we get to turn right around and head to the Joe Nall Fly-In! We'll be flying to the event, so we won't have any planes with us to sell. Instead, we're offering a special on our 50cc aircraft on the website, from now until May 17th.

This special applies to in stock 87" Extra SHPs and 89" Slicks.

This discount is about 1/2 of the actual shipping cost, so don't miss out!

And speaking of giant scale, we will be taking pre-orders on the 103" Extra SC and the 126" Slick at Nall. Hope to see you there!

Fly Low!

Basher

SEFF 2009

2009-05-09T09:20:00.001-05:00

As always, SEFF was a blast! But I think this year was the best yet- great friends, food and of course, flying!

MLT and Mrs. MLT cooked up a delicious supper for the 3DHS tent city on Friday night.

Scott, Andrew and Josh flew fantastic demos on Friday and Saturday. Andrew debuted the much anticipated 70" Slick- details to follow!

Except for a little rain on Saturday, the weather was perfect. We really enjoyed hanging out with and meeting so many 3DHS fans- what a great group of people! And thanks to everyone who makes SEFF possible- it's a great event, and a LOT of work goes into making it happen.

Can't wait for next year!

Fly Low!

Basher

New T-Shirt Designs on Cafepress

2009-04-12T23:00:00.000-05:00

We've got some new 3D Hobby Shop t-shirts designs on our site at Cafepress! Get yours in time for SEFF!

The 3D Hobby Shop Owner's Club

2009-04-09T22:12:00.000-05:00

Here's a shout out to a very cool thread on RC Groups- the 3D Hobby Shop Owner's Club! Rob (aka Hypersprint) started this project, mapping out the proud owners of 3D Hobby Shop planes all over the world! You can find the current Google Map here.

View 3DOC in a larger map

The Club is a place for 3D Hobby Shop plane owners to keep in touch, and to organize regional 3DHS Throw Downs & Fly Ins.

As for us, we'll be doing some fun & cool stuff for the 3DOC in the near future, so sign up!

Fly Low!

Basher

Whoa, Toledo!

2009-04-08T21:56:00.000-05:00

Well, we made it back from Toledo, safe & sound. Thanks to Weak Signals- you guys really put on a good show. We had a great time, and sold lots of 3D Hobby Shop airplanes!

Scott Stoops' new 103" Extra 330 SC graced our booth in the yellow & blue color scheme. These are available now for preorder on our website.

Scott was on hand to sign copies of his book (we sold out!) He also signed some wings, and I think some 3DHS Addict's forehead...

We unveiled our newest addition to the 3DHS lineup at the show... the 126" AJ Slick! Andrew designed this for the DA170 engine with tuned pipes. Testing is proceeding, beta testing starts soon, and we hope to produce this beast by late Summer.

And now, we set our sights on SEFF '09...

Fly Low!

Basher

Toledo Show and special show pricing!

2009-03-30T12:42:00.001-05:00

We'll we're off to Toledo today for the Toledo RC Expo where we will be exhibiting our aircraft, hanging out with Scott Stoops and Andrew Jesky, and selling airplanes at special prices.

Because not everyone can travel to exciting and mysterious Toledo, Ohio for this event, we're offering special Toledo-Show Pricing on many aircraft via our website during the show. Show pricing starts today on www.3DHobbyShop.com and runs through April 7. Check out the great deals available right now.

See ya in Toledo!

Back in Stock

2009-03-28T18:52:00.000-05:00

The restocking container arrived yesterday, and we've got planes up to the rafters!

Almost all of our ARFs are back in stock, including blue 47" Veloxes, red 89" Slicks, white 47" SRs, and both green and red 40" Edges.

Plans are to leave for Toledo on Monday, but we will attempt to ship out as many orders as possible before we leave.

Fly Low!

Basher

Calling All Scott Stoops Fans...

2009-03-25T22:13:00.000-05:00

For all those Stoops Devotees, we'll have a special treat for you at the Toledo Show. Scott will be at the 3D Hobby Shop booth signing his book, The Pilot's Guide to Mastering Radio Controlled Flight on several occasions throughout the weekend.

This book is a must read for every 3D pilot, and for every 3D wannabe! Copies will be available for purchase, so stop by the booth and meet the author!

Fly Low!

Basher

103" Extra 330 SC

2009-03-23T18:50:00.000-05:00

Pre-orders are now open on the 103" Extra 330 SC, in Red/White or Blue/Yellow. Developed by Scott Stoops, this is 3D Hobby Shop's first 35% airplane. This new Extra is the premiere 35% aerobatic aircraft on the market, using an 85-111cc gasoline engine. Expected delivery is in June, and quantities are limited, so order yours today!

BTW, the great graphics package on the above red scheme was designed by ADC Hobby Store.

You can also find more info, pics and video on the RC Groups thread.

Fly Low!

Basher

What A Month!

2009-03-02T21:49:00.000-06:00

So, February came and went! The 89" Slicks arrived, and only a few yellow ones are left- we've sold out of the red color scheme. If you were still on the fence, I'd grab one now- we won't have more until April, perhaps May. We also have yellow 51" Slicks in stock now to match their big brothers.

The 46" Aspera (V2) pattern planes are in stock and shipping daily, and the blue 57" Sukhoi is back in stock.

We're getting ready for the Toledo Show at the end of the month- we'll have lots of ARFs to sell, and some surprises on display. And of course, we'll be in the AJ cheer section at ETOC in the evenings!

Fly Low!

Basher

Getting caught up.

2009-01-29T10:24:00.000-06:00

Got back from the Arizona Electric Festival earlier this week, now we're getting caught up on emails and shipping. Lots of info will hit the blog over the next several days about our new aircraft shown at the Festival:

The 46" Vyper Precision/3D hybrid
The 103" Extra 330 SC
The 42" AJ Slick
The 40" Extra 330 SC

Thanks to Scott Stoops, Andrew Jesky, and Josh Young for awesome demo flights in Az. Video to be posted here.

Fly Low

Basher

EVENTS!

2009-01-07T09:04:00.000-06:00

Here's a list of the events on the 3DHobbyShop calendar (so far) in 2009:

Arizona Electric Festival Jan 22-25

Scott Stoops and Andrew Jesky will be flying their designs and the 3DH crew will be selling airframes and accessories. 3 new aircraft to be officially unveiled for Late Spring/summer delivery.

T.I.N.Y March 7-8

I'll be hosing up simple maneuvers in the indoor pattern competition, 3DH crew will have ARF aircraft for sale.

The Toledo RC Show April 3-5

Tentative. It is difficult to get into the show, but we're planning on being there. Andrew Jesky will be competing in the ETOC contest with his "Osiris" indoor precision aircraft. We should have a full lineup of ARF aircraft to sell. 1 new aircraft expected to debut.

S.E.F.F. April 30-May 3

Too much fun! We'll be on the 3D flightline. Andrew Jesky and Scott Stoops to fly demos. Lots of our friends set up tents on the flightline and it's a big party all weekend.

Joe Nall May 13-16

Tentative. It's only a few weeks after SEFF, so we're planning to fly in and set up a small tent near the main flightline.

Fly-Low-In June 5-7

This is our company Fly-In. Last year, we had people from Alabama, California, Kansas, and Norway! 3D all weekend. Plenty of aircraf to sell and a great raffle. Excellent hosting by the 114th aero Squadron.

Futaba XFC June 12-14

Tentative. Andrew Jesky expected to compete. We may spectate, or may vend, too early to plan.

BEST Electrics - Expected in October - Info to come.

Tucson Shootout - October - Info to come.

--------------------

Whew. I'm tired already.

Fly Low!

Basher

Happy New Year/ Schedule/ Freestyles

2009-01-03T13:45:00.001-06:00

Happy New Year, everyone! Let's hope 2009 settles down so we can all get back to normality and fly!

----------------------------------

3DHobbyShop will be attending the 2009 Arizona Electric Festival on January 22-24th. Here's the thread. It's a fantastic event. Scott Stoops and Andrew Jesky are scheduled to fly with us, and we'll be introducing 2 or perhaps 3 brand new aircraft at the event, all of which are scheduled for Spring or late Spring delivery. We'll have plenty of aircraft and accessories for sale in the vendor's area, too. Should be a good time, hope to see you there!

----------------------------------

Still working on my 2009 goal of flying a credible freestyle in front of the public. I think the music is finished. That took a lot longer than I expected. Along the way, I mixed up several selections that I've decided not to use, but maybe they'll help someone else start flying freestyle, so I'll make them available. All of these are .wma files to play in windows media player. A .wav file is 10X as large, and that's not so practical. What I do for practicing is to set Media Payer on loop and turn off all of the sound functions on RealFlight G4.

Freestyle 1

Freestyle 2

Freestyle 3

Which mix am I using? That's a secret. Andrew and Mark and QuiQue aren't worried, I'm sure.

So, part #1 of the project, create a freestyle music mix that can be flown to, is accomplished.

Part #2, design a series of maneuvers that I can fly (with practice) and which flow logically to the music, is underway. To do this, I've made great use of the very best tool I know of, www.higerplaneproductions.com

Fred Midgett at Higherplane has produced and collected the finest collection of freestyle videos in the world. I have them on DVD, and I'm also a "FlightPass" subscription service member so I can watch even more of them online. For learning what a high-scoring freestyle is, this has to be the best resource. There are some free videos to watch, I recommend you check them out.

More news to come!

Fly Low!

Basher

One more deal before Christmas...

2008-12-19T16:20:00.001-06:00

OK, there's time for one more money-saver before Christmas, and since ReaperBrushless' logo is so Christmas-y, why not do a Reaper promotion? So, we have a special deal that will run through Christmas or while supplies last. Here's how it works:

1.Make a new web order for any 3DHS ARF (that's 40" up to 89", any of them) but DON'T CHECK OUT YET!

2.Go to our homepage and click on the "Add-A Reaper" banner.

3.Choose either a Reaper GR-35 motor (great for our 47" aircraft) or a GR-60 motor (Great in our 55-57" aircraft) for your "add a Reaper", click the link to the "Add a Reaper" you want an add it to your cart.

4.Check out.

5.Sit back and wait for your package to arrive, knowing you got a screaming deal on a great airplane and an awesome motor.

The cost to Add a Reaper GR-35 to your ARF order is only $39.99! The cost to add the awesome 1200W Reaper GR-60 is only $59.99!

Note that the "Add a Reaper" is only valid with a NEW ARF order placed over our website. It's not retroactive to any previous orders.

Fly Low and Merry Christmas!

Basher

Omega motors

2008-12-18T13:01:00.000-06:00

We're proud to introduce our first 3DHS motors, the Omega line. Starting with 2 motors to fit our most popular aircraft, we'll be expanding the line to fit most of our airframes during 2009.

Why motors? Aren't the Torque and Reaper and Hacker products basically perfect? Yes, they are. And, for a lot of folks, they're also too expensive. We've seen way too many people taking a risk on unknown motors and sometimes people get burned.

So, we decided we also needed a line of motors that was both reliable and less expensive. So, Omega.

The Omega system has part numbers that are based upon the size/weight of the motor (the first number) and the KV of the motor (second). The Omega 103G-1030KV is a 103 gram motor in weight, and has a KV of 1030. Hopefully this will help simplify things.

One thing that is usually problematic on less-expensive motors is bearings, so we are using name-brand NMB bearings to avoid this problem.

We're using a basic, simple, durable bar magnet package that delivers good performance.

The prop adaptor system is set up for 3DHS aircraft and uses a bolt-on adaptor for easy replacement. These 103g and 130g use the same adaptor with a 6mm prop-mounting diameter. The adaptor is long enough to use a spinner with Xoar props up to 13x6 with the aluminum prop washer, larger Xoar props require the substitution of a flat washer.

The 103G-1030KV is intended for the 47" Extra SHP. It's perfect on 3S and either a 12x6 or 13x6.5 prop, depending on how much voltage the pack holds. We'll be introducing a new aircraft for it in Spring '09, as well.

The 130g-870KV is perfect for the 47" Edge 540, 47" Extra SR, EBT, and 46" Aspera. It's a flexible 3S/4S motor. On 4S, with most packs, 12x6 is appropriate, although a very hot lipo pack may require propping down to 11x5.5 to stay within amp limits. On 3S 13x6.5 or 14x7 are appropriate, again depending on how hot the lipo is.

In the coming weeks, we'll be adding some combo deals with these new motors.

Fly Low

Basher

New Video, Schedules, Stuff

2008-12-09T13:26:00.001-06:00

Lots going on -

The Pre-Christmas sale is winding down. We'll have the sale finished and regular pricing back within a few days. If you've been looking at an airplane on sale, get that order in now, you can still catch the sale price until we get all of the sale buttons turned off!

------------------------------------

Josh Young and myself have beating on our 89" Slick prototypes. Josh recently made a new video, see it here.
I've been flying mine on a Hacker A60-18L lately. Excellent setup. 12S 5000mah Zippy batteries (Only $152 for the 12S pack!!!!) are working fine. Here's some video on the Hacker.

We'll be posting pics of the #2 yellow color scheme for the 89" Slick this week.

------------------------------------

Look for a new money-saving promotion from 3DHS and ReaperBrushless in the next week or so. We're loving our Reaper motors, really excellent products, and we think everyone should try one...so we're cooking up a promotion to to make that happen! more details soon.

------------------------------------

Look for a major new product announcement from 3DHS before Christmas. (No, it's not an airframe this time)

-----------------------------------

Fly Low!

Basher

The Sale

2008-11-21T12:33:00.001-06:00

Guys - We'll be starting our pre-Christmas sale tonite. It will run through Thanksgiving weekend. We'll also be introducing new combos with big savings. Be sure to check out the airplane combos page tonite for these special deals. Also, the 87" Extras in the White/Blue color scheme will be shipping for $99/ground service during this sale.

Partial list of sale items:

Extra SR 47" ARF Red
Extra SR 47" ARF White
SLick 51" ARF
Velox 47" ARF
Sukhoi 49" ARF
Sukhoi 57" ARF
Extra 87" SHP (Special $99 shipping on blue/white)
Extra 300 SHP 47"
Extra 300 SHP 55" Red
Yak 54 55" purple
Hitec HS-65MG Servo
Hitec HS-85MG Servo
Hitec HS-225MG Servo
Hitec HS-7955TG Servo
Edge 55" Combo
Edge 40" Combo
Extra 47" SHP Combo
Extra 55" SHP Combo

More to come...

------------

Also, the Aspera V2 product page is up, and pre-orders are being taken. This is a really, really great 46" precision aircraft that uses the components from our 47" aerobatic aircraft. It's very tame and gentle in the pattern and you can use 3S 2200mah setups to fly it on 350-450 watts, but it's even better on 4S at 500-600W. While you're on the Aspera page, watch the video - I think it's still one of the best RC videos ever produced - great job Fred and HigherPlane!

Fly Low!

Basher

89" Slick UPDATE

2008-11-19T10:06:00.000-06:00

We're getting ready to post the 89" Slick product page in the next week, when we do, the 89" Slick will be available in two color schemes done in Ulracote.

Scheme #1 is Andrew's competition scheme. This scheme is probably the most visible scheme I've ever flown. The red curve on the wing top vs. the blue squares on bottom is unmistakable.

Scheme #2 is this yellow scheme, with more straight lines.

Both will be available in limited quantities only, and full-paid pre-orders start soon!

Fly Low

Basher

Vacation! 89" Slick!

2008-11-11T09:39:00.000-06:00

We're getting away for a whole 3 days...and we're not taking any airplanes along! This hasn't happened in years. Wed November 12- Fri November 14 we'll be closed.

-------------------

AJ SLICK 89"

The AJ Slick 89" aircraft are in production. Delivery is expected in February. When this aircraft arrives, it will be the biggest, baddest, floatiest, 3Ding-est 50-60CC ARF in the world.

To watch Andrew fly the Slick on DA-50, click here for video.

To watch a very average set of thumbs (mine) fly the Slick on Hacker A60 electric, click here for video.

The Slick design, created in CAD by Andrew Jesky, is a relatively small-wing/large fuselage design. So, 89" wingspan doesn't even being to express how big this plane is. It's huge. As a result, it floats through maneuvers like few other aircraft. We've been letting pilots try the prototypes over the last few months, and their typical comment is "It flies like a 40%!".

With any aircraft this large, inevitably there will be questions about how to power it. Most of the test flying was done on a regular, stock DA-50 at 18.5-19.5lbs. This provides good pull out of hover and good (but not crazy) vertical. Any of the basic 50CC engines, such as the DL-50, will do a fine job. If you want guidance on a 50CC engine, contact us at 3DHobbyShop, because there are a few to stay away from. For more vertical, or for high-altitude flying, a larger engine can be fitted, and the Slick ARF includes pre-fabricated mounts for the MTW 75K canister. For electric power, the Hacker A60-16L or 18L on 12S 5000mah do a fine job, but more power is available with the Reaper GR-70 or Hacker A80. Note that the Reaper 70 and Hacker 80will require a large ESC, usually a Hacker Spin 170, while the A60 is happy on a Castle 110HV.

The 89" Slick will be available for pre-order starting around Thanksgiving. Projected price is $679 + shipping. This includes carbon wing spar tube, carbon wing sleeve tubes, carbon stab spar tube, carbon main gear, carbon tail wheel, ultracote, pre-attached and finished canopy, aluminum bracing on firewall and landing gear plate, and much more. A limited number will be available on this first shipment.

Fly Low!

Basher

Edges and Extras!

2008-11-09T19:21:00.000-06:00

A big shipment arrived at 3DHobbyShop this weekend. The Edges in 40", 47", and 55" are all in-stock. Pre-orders are shipping out first, expected to be completed by Tuesday.

87" Extra 300 SHP's in the White/Blue color scheme have also arrived and are in-stock.

47" Extra SHP's are in-stock in both Yellow and Blue color schemes.

Also, look for new products from 3DHS coming in Late November and December!

Fly Low

Basher

Another Frequenty-asked question..

2008-11-06T21:43:00.000-06:00

I'm trying to put all of the commonly asked questions into this blog for safekeeping and easy retrieval. Here's a common one:

How do I program my DX7 radio to activate both of the elevator servos in a 55" Extra or Yak, or the 87" Extra or 89" Slick?

Answer:

Dual ELEVATOR servos and DUAL Aileron servos on DX7 -

Originally posted by Mike McConville, Horizon Hobby, on RC Universe

First, the rx connections:

1. Right side elevator into ELEV channel
2. Left Side elevator into AUX 2 channel
3. Right Side aileron into AIL channel
4. Left side aileron into FLAP (AUX 1) channel
5. Rudder and Throttle into the normal channels

TX program

1. Go into the Set-up mode (hold down scroll and select keys while turning on tx)
2. Scroll to the Input Select screen
3. Set Aux2 to INH, AUX2 TRIM to INH, FLAP to INH, FLAP TRIM to INH
This turns off both of these channels from the levers and switches. This is the proper way to do this, not using P-mixes or Travel adjust.
4. Scroll to Wing Type
5. Activate Flaperon

Elevator Set up
1. Power off tx and turn back on. Go to normal programming mode
2. Scroll to P-mix 6 (or Mix 5 - mix 5 and 6 "master" trim changes into both master and slave channel. Mixes 1 through 4 do NOT - editor). Set ELEV as master and AUX2 as slave.
3. Scroll to Sub Trim and set the neutral for the right side elevator with ELEV channel and the neutral for the left side elevator with AUX2.
4. Scroll to Travel Adjust. Set the desired travel for the right side elevator with the ELEV adjustment.
5. Scroll back to P-Mix 6 and tweak the travel of the left side elevator to match the right side with the mix values, for each stick direction.

Fly Low

Basher

Will this motor work?

2008-11-05T15:58:00.000-06:00

As you can imagine, we get that question a lot. Here are some rules for evaluating brushless motors for our airframes:

1.Weight

In order to use a motor in one of our aircraft, it will need to be approximately the correct weight, or else it won't be possible to balance the aircraft. This is the most important and basic criteria for selecting a motor. Below are weights for some of the motors we recommend for our aircraft. If you want to know if a certian motor will work in of our airframes, compare its weight to the weight of the recommended motor. Try to choose one within 10% if possible.

Torque 22T-930 57grams
Torque 2830-1095 70g
Torque 2818-900 104g
Torque 2814-820 143g
Torque 2812-720 180g
Torque 4014-T570 280g
Reaper Gr-25 67g
Reaper Gr-35 132g
Reaper Gr-45 193g
Reaper Gr-60 276g

2.KV

The second criteria is KV, which stands for Thousand RPM per Volt. Look up the motor we recommend and find its KV value. Here is a chart of typical values for our aircraft according to the battery pack used:

3S Lipoly 820-1200KV
4S Lipoly 700-950KV
5S Lipoly 500-650KV
6S Lipoly 350-450KV

Try to choose a motor with a similar KV to the one recommended, or at least within the range above. NOTE: Very inexpensive motors, in addition to having other problems, often have an erroneous KV value advertised for them.

3.Motor and Prop Mounting

Our aircraft use a motor mounting system in which the motor mounts in front of the firewall. This means the motors we recommend come with a part called a backmount or X-mount to attach them to the firewall. Make sure any motor you are considering can mount like this.

We much prefer a bolt-on prop adaptor system, such as the ones used on Reaper, Hacker and Torque motors. The other mounting system, used on most other motors, is called a collet-type prop adaptor. This type of prop adaptor is less secure and less compact. Many 3DHobbyShop aircraft are designed for the bolt-on type adaptor and any motor with a collet-type adaptor will be toolong to fit well. Please call or email us about your application if you want to use a collet-type prop adaptor in a 3DHobbyShop ARF.

4.Take a Chance?

If you have located a motor that is the right weight, correct KV, and has the correct mounting option, you may have found a good motor for your 3DHS aircraft. However, just a word to the wise, motors are literally not all created equal. There are good motors that feature high quality shafts and bearings, pure copper wire coated with good high-temp varnish, good quality glue on the magnet bell assembly, strong bearing mounts...etc. There are many other motors that have only some or none of these features. You can't always tell by looking at them from the outside. This is why we recommend the brands that we do, we know they are built well. If you want to try a less-expensive brand, follow the rules above in your selection and you may strike gold. However, in RC you quite often get exactly what you pay for.

Fly Low

Basher

Show your colors

2008-11-02T22:15:00.003-06:00

Busy weekend (getting ready for the shipment of:

40" Edge
47" Edge
55" Edge
47" SHP
47" SR
87" SHP White/Blue

...so only a short post tonite. Just wanted to remind everyone that if you are a certified 3D junkie, you need to wear this stuff. Guys - don't end up with a new tie this Christmas. Give your loved ones this URL and you'll get cool stuff under the tree. Much better than a tie.

Fly Low

Basher

Happy Halloween - Spooky Specials at 3DH

2008-10-30T14:03:00.000-05:00

Since Reaper Brushless has a spooky name/logo, it seems right to do a Halloween special based around the Reaper motors. So, we have two specials going:

3DHS Extra SR 47" ARF + Reaper GR35 motor - $189.99

This reaper is a perfect fit in the SR. Use a 14x7 prop on 3S or a 12x6 prop on 4S and a 45-55Amp ESC.

3DHS Yak 54 55" Purple ARF + Reaper GR60 motor - $239.99

Lots of power here. The GR60 produces over 1,000 Watts on a decent 4S pack wuth 14x7-15x7 props. Perfect for the 55" Yak.

Limited quantities on both. Happy Halloween!

Fly Low

Basher

Books you need.

2008-10-29T13:15:00.000-05:00

Warning - RC airplanes are addictive, fun, and complicated.

Just about any other hobby, besides creating a lifelike robotic companion to keep you company, is easier and simpler. However, for those of us who love it, RC flying is what we want to do, no matter what it takes.

So, we need to educate ourselves! We need to study, to become experts at this, so that we can extract the maximum enjoyment for the minimum investment of money and time. Some of us have a mentor, a friend or relative who knows everything about RC and is willing to teach. These saintlike individuals do exist, but unfortunately, most of us don't have one in our neighborhood. For the rest of us, the mentor-less, we need resources. Let's talk about the best ones:

Books on building

There are a lot of skills and techniques to learn in this hobby. With the advent of really, really good ARF aircraft, many people think building skills aren't needed any more. Not true. Now, they are repairing skills. Repairing takes even more skill than building, because you have to invent just the piece you need to fill in whatever is missing. So, to be able to maintain your fleet of 3DHobbyShop over the long run, a little building skill goes a long way. Here are the books I recommend:

There Are No Secrets by Harry Higley

The title sounds like something out of the X-files, and the book is massively out-of-date...but you need to read it! This is the book on basic woodworking and basic covering/finishing. If you absorb the relevant sections of this book, I guarantee you will be able to handle all the typical repairs on balsa ARF aircraft, and they will look right and fly well afterwards. Ignore the sections on glue, thankfully we now have a wide selection of CA and Polyurethane adhesives that solve all of those problems.

Tom's Techniques by Tom Ingram

The book for teaching basic covering techniques. Absorb this, and you will be able to re-cover an ARF in a factory-quality color scheme of your own, and easily handle any covering repairs you need to. These Higley books are printed very cheaply, but chock-full of good stuff.

Building Techniques by Randy Randolph

A great collection of, exactly as the title says, model building techniques. Absorb this, and you'll be ready to build new sections and structures when you need to. A great confidence-builder for flying low!

Book on flying

Before we can learn to fly a maneuver, we need to understand that maneuver. If you don't have a personal champion aerobatic coach, a good book is the place to start.

RCPilotGuide by Scott Stoops

There are other books about learning to fly RC...but if you want to progress from soloing up to advanced aerobatics as smoothly as possible, get this one. Scott knows what he's talking about, and knows the pitfalls you'll encounter. Get it, you won't be sorry.

Fly Low

Basher

Planning a Freestyle - Music

2008-10-29T10:00:00.000-05:00

So, in addition to running 3DHobbyShop, I occasionally get to fly, too.

I started flying in 1979 (thanks to my Uncle James W) and progressed through what I call the "RCM Program" of trainers, sticks, pattern, and scale (like everybody else). The last several years, however, have been by far the most fun I've ever had flying, with always-improving aircraft, really good small practice planes, and my ever-improving thumbs.

I've been trying to become more disciplined in my flying, and have set a goal of being able to competently fly a competitive 4-minute freestyle routine during 2009. I probaby won't ever get to use said freestlye routine in any competition, but I want to do it just because I think it will be super-cool. I'll be documenting the steps in the blog here and hopefully show some actual progress.

So, in this first post about it, I'll go over the process I'm using for music creation. A freestyle should demonstrate at least a couple of different musical tempos/styles to allow the pilot to fly both graceful and high-energy maneuvers. 3 songs in the 4 minutes appears to be the concensus. Therefore, we need to create a 4 minute long piece of music out of three existing songs. I'm using a techno song, followed by a classical piece, followed by a rock song (I may change my mind along the way).

A buddy suggested using YouTube to identify pieces of music. Perfect. It seems that virutally every song ever recorded is posted as a music video or live performance on YouTube (at least for the moment). After identifying a candidate song, if I'm serious about using it, I need to purchase it, so I use iTunes. 99cents a song seems fair, I only need 3 of them.

iTunes uses a weird file format, .mp4 I think, which nothing else recognizes. Thanks Apple for making my life more difficult. So, in order to actually USE the iTunes song, we must convert it. This is a weird process, but Apple is a weird company. In iTunes -

1.Create a new playlist with the songs you want to use for your freestyle.
2.Right click on the playlist and choose "burn to disc" to burn it to a CD-R
3.Close iTunes, go to "My computer" (on PC) and open the disc you just burned
4.Open a track from the disc in Windows Media Player
5.Choose the "Rip" option in Media Player to transfer the songs to your hard drive.
6.They will be brought in as "Unknown Songs" since iTunes does not save the titles (thanks Apple) so you have to re-name them.

Whew. Finally, now, after wasting a CD-R and 10 minutes, you can actually use the songs you already paid for. Last time - Thanks Apple.

Now we have to mix them. I use a piece of software called CubaseLE. This is the "Lite" version of a very big and expensive music creation software package. It is often sent free with a variety of audio gear, and people often put it up for sale separately on Ebay. I got mine for $29. There are several other competing packages that do the same thing, but this is the one I know. I've even seen Cubase offered as a free download lately, but haven't investigated.

On Cubase, it's really easy. Select a new project in "16 track audio" format. Under "File" choose "import" and "Audio file". Your song will show up in one of the tracks. In the image above, the orange track is a song in stereo (notice the two jagged white paths in the orange trackbar - that's the right and left channel of a stereo song - that's what your songs will look like). It's intuitive, move it left to make it appear sooner in the mix, move it right to make it play later in the mix. We have to trim each song to length - again really easy. Double click on the song you want to trim, it opens in a new window. You can listen to the song while the progress bar moves across the screen. Hit "stop" when it's at the correct point (you can move the progress bar with the mouse to get exactly the right point) and highlight the part of the song you want to get rid of. Right click on the highlighted portion, choose "Edit" and "delete". Your song is now trimmed.

Trim your 3 pieces of music, slide them together on the screen, and hit play to listen to your freestyle. After a few tries, you'll see what it takes to make them end up close to 4 minutes long (or however long your routine will be). To make it sound more professional, you'll want to have a faded transition between songs. Double click on the song you want to fade out of to open it in the detail window. Highlight the last few seconds of the song, right click on the highlighted portion, choose "process" and "fade out", click the "process" button in the fade out window. Done. Go to the next song, highlight the beginning few seconds, and this time choose "process" and "fade in". Done. You now have a faded transition.

There's a LOT more power and features even in one of these "Lite" audio programs. If one of your songs is significantly louder or quieter than the others, bring that track up in the detail window, highlight the whole thing and use the "process" and "gain" command to make it louder or quiter. There's a whole lot more, too. Some pilots use their own personal sounds (like a tape rewinding or other effect) between songs instead of fades. These types of things are added just like a new song, trimmed, and put into the right location. You can also overlay sounds. A few pilots have used Nasa countdown recordings, sirens, and other effects over their songs. Just add your overlay sound and put it on a different track, slide it left or right to make it play at the precise time you want it to.

When you are satisfied that you have a freestyle mix worth flying to (you can always do it again, better, later), use "File" "Export" "Audio Mixdown" to save your mix. I save it a couple of different ways, as a Windows Media File and as a .wav file. That way I can use it anywhere I want, import into iTunes and onto my iPod, on an audio CD for the car, and for sim practice I play it as a "loop" in Windows Media Player.

There are, I'm sure, better ways to accomplish this. However, I'm not a pro musician or sound engineer, and this system works for me and my slow brain. I can sit down at the PC with an idea, and within an hour have a finished mix ready to fly to (assuming I had a good idea and the three songs actually sound good together and can fit into 4 minutes!).

Next time, I'll pass along some good coaching I've gotten about how to plan your maneuvers and the single best tool for the aspiring freestyle pilot.

Fly Low

Basher

Katanas and more Katanas

2008-10-28T12:49:00.000-05:00

We still need to make more room in the warehouse - 87" Extras are inbound (the white/blue scheme) and are expected to arrive within a few weeks. Shortly thereafter, we expect 89" Slicks...big boxes that take up a LOT of space. So, it's time to close out the 55" Katanas as well.

When the 55" Kat was designed, motor choices were more limited than they are now. The best power setup was the Torque 4014-T570 on 5S. This is still a good choice, it gives the Katana a massively overpowered feel that personally I like a lot. However, now we also have the Reaper motors - the GR-60 can do on 4S what the Torque does on 5S, giving us extra flexibility...and the cool little GR-45 can haul the Katana around just fine for 3D on cheaper, smaller packs. So, lots of options.

The 55" Katana is a fun airplane. Very happy to chase its tail and do wild 3D, it's also fast, especially on the GR-60 or 4014 w/ a 13x8 prop.

So, more closeout craziness! We also have a pre-Christmas sale coming next month, but you'll have to wait for details on that one.

Time to let the Katana go... (and other news)

2008-10-24T14:52:00.000-05:00

Well, the time has finally come to phase the 47" Katana out of our lineup. It's been a great plane for us, but we need the room (both physically in the warehouse and in the website lineup) and so we're closing it out, starting today. To lower the price as far as possible, the closeout ARFs do not include printed manuals (.pdf is on the Katana ARF product page), nor decals, nor velcro, nor our super-cool wheels axles (regular 3mm bolts are included in the boxes). But, the upside is the price, only $79 + shipping. Let the craziness begin.

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This week we rec'd a small shipment of airplanes, and were able to put the RED 55" Yak 54's back in-stock, but they're close to selling out again already.

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We're getting ready to test Scott Stoops' new 103" Precision/3D plane. It's intended for 85-106CC gas(Single or Twin) or as an electric with the Reaper GR-85 or the Hacker A80 or A100.

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More news to come.

Fly Low!

Basher

My first podcast

2008-10-23T11:27:00.001-05:00

Last month, the guys from THE RIGHT STICK podcast had me on as a guest. They're good guys, and it was a lot of fun. To listen to me make a fool of myself in front of an audience of dozens, click here to listen. We talk about aircraft design, the ARF business, why we like airplanes (we have no idea, BTW), RedBullAirRacing and lots of other stuff. Good way to kill an hour when you should be working.

Fly Low!

Basher

New planes?

2008-10-18T22:24:00.000-05:00

OK, this is a short post, but we get asked pretty constantly "What's coming next?". The answer is - we don't always know which one we want to produce next until our developers pronounce a plane "ready". So, I thought it would be helpful to make a list of what's in development, knowing that the production order is not set in stone.

On the water:

55" Edge
47" Edge
40" Edge
47" Extra SHP
87" Extra SHP (White/Blue color)

In production:

46" Aspera V2
89" AJ slick 540
47" Velox (Blue)

In development:

40" 3D scale
42" Precision/3D
45" Precision hybrid
47" Scale
55" Profile
56" Precision hybrid
60" Precision
70" 3D scale
78" Precision
86" 3D scale
103" Precision/3D
123" Precision/3D

Some of these are flying, some are only lines on the screen, but all are in the pipeline for '09.

Should be a great next year!

Fly Low!

Basher

3DHobbyShop ARF lineup 40-53"

2008-10-17T09:29:00.000-05:00

We've been asked on many occasions to write an article detailing the characteristics of our various ARFs. Here's a first attempt at that:

40" Edge

The 40" Edge is a next-generation mini-3D/aerobatic plane. It has no wing rock upright (when flown correctly, of course), very good pitch rate, very low KE coupling and is basically capable of anything its 47" brothers can do. It features carbon-fiber gear on a strong plate that won't break out on the first landing like so many 40" planes. This plane is tremendous fun. My current favorite setup for it is a 3S 1500 20C pack and a Torque 2830-1095 or Reaper GR-25 motor. 3S 1320 prolites and a 20mm motor make for a light setup, but I like the higher power on this one. Available in November '08 in Red/White and Green/White schemes in lightweight film.

47" Extra SHP

Friendliest scale balsa 3D plane in the world. Developed by Scott Stoops. If you are new to 3D or just want a no-stress plane with lots of performance to keep in the trunk or backseat, the 47" SHP is it. Now in its 5th production run, the Extra sells out too quickly! Very little wing rock upright, none inverted, very little or no roll coupling, and easy-easy-easy post-stall flight...the Extra is very confidence-inspiring. Don't overpower it, it likes to be under 500 watts. 3S 2200mah packs are perfect. Available in Blue/White and Yellow/Black schemes in lightweight film.

47" Extra SR

A development of the 47" SHP for more power. Clear to go all the way up to 800 watts. Can also fly on the same power system as the 47" SHP. Like the SHP, but stronger and more responsive, at the penalty of an extra ounce or so of total weight on the same power system. Very versatile 3D and precision plane. Adds SFGs to the wingtips for better knife-edge performance. Use either 3S 2200 lipo for a 400-450W system, or 4S 2200 lipo for a 550-650W system. Fun either way. I prefer the Reaper GR-35 motor on either pack. Available in Red lightweight film.

47" Velox Revolution 1

A scale model of the Velox Revolution single-seat plane tested for Red-Bull air racing. Developed by Scott Stoops. The full-scale racer has SFG's and so does our model. Wild. Crazy. Extremely high performance 3D aircraft. Still the highest performance small balsa 3D plane around. Best powered with 4S 2200 25C to get 550-650 Watts, the Velox will do crazy high-speed climbing maneuvers, wild tumbles, elevator down without rock, harrier without rock, and hover easily...then you can shoot out of hover back into crazy climbing maneuvers. Not as gentle as the Extras, but tremendous fun and a real shock to the guys at the club field. Available in Red/White and (sometimes) Blue/White lightweight film.

47" Edge 540

A quite scale single-seat Edge developed by Scott Stoops. Perfect upright harrier. Perfect rolling harrier. As perfect as knife-edge gets with an Edge airframe. Superb tracking. Feels like giant-scale on calm days. Not quite as knock-around robust as the Extras, but more precise and lighter-feeling than the Extras. Perfect on 3S 2200 as an extremely slow, light-feeling, close-in 3D machine. Also works well on 4S 2200. I prefer it on 100-110 gram motors like the Torque 2818 and Hacker A30-16M. and 12-13" props. Available in November '08 in Red/White or Pearl Green/White Ultracote.

47" Katana

Lightweight precision plane for 3S 2200 that will also 3D fairly well. Excellent tracking, precision, and snapping performance. Hovers and torque-rolls easily, but has some wing-rock upright with most setups. No rock inverted. Virtually no knife-edge coupling. Likes a 100-110gram motor. Not for 3D beginners, but great fun for sport pilots, precision pilots or advanced 3D pilots. Available in White/Red lightweight film.

49" Sukhoi

Scale model of Scott Stoops' full-size Sukhoi SU-26MX. 500+ Watts required for good 3D performance. Very precise. Fast. Stable in harrier and hover, very stable with low coupling in knife-edge. I like it best on 4S 2600 25C and a Hacker A30-10XL on 13x6.5 prop. Lots of power. Looks fabulous. Great all around precision and 3D aircraft. Available in Scale Red/White and fantasy racing Blue/Silver lightweight film.

51" AJ Slick

Scale model of the Slick 540 aerobatic plane. A very big 51" plane because of the large fuselage. Developed by Andrew Jesky. Simply awesome all around 3D and precision aerobatic performer. Easy hover, no-rock and easy harrier, great snaps even at low speed, very precise. Does a convincing impersonation of a 100CC giant scale plane in calm air.

53" EBT Trainer

Basic flat-bottom-wing trainer. Light, strong, easy to fly, simple. Good way to continue training after planes like the HobbyZone SuperCub or the Aerobirds, etc. Can fly on any of the setups from our 47-49" aircraft, so you won't be throwing away any parts when you progress from the EBT to one of our aerobatic aircraft. Good camera plane, good float plane, good ski plane, good bomb-drop plane. Good fun plane. Available in Yellow/Blue and White/Blue lightweight film.

Setting Center of Gravity

2008-10-16T20:10:00.000-05:00

CG has to be set IN THE AIR before you are done!

Most ARF manufacturers provide a "starting CG point" or a "CG range". Definitely, do try to get your new airplane close to this value on the bench, and it's usually better, if the maker provided a range, to be closer to the nose-heavy end of the range for a maiden if you are a less-experienced pilot.

However, realize that even among experienced builders, very few people can set CG correctly. There are many "CG machines" on the market, tools to help bulders set CG accurately...but despite this many people measure incorrectly or otherwise mess up in some way and get it wrong. It's a fact.

If you have assembled an ARF, and you find yourself adding lots of weight to the tail or nose to get your CG set, stop and look at what you are doing.

Is your motor the same size (weight) as recommended?

Is your battery pack(s) the same size as recommended?

Are you using the expected type and number of servos?

If you are doing the above and cannot get the CG set without massive modifications, you may be doing it wrong. Check your measurement, are you sure you are reading the ruler right? Some planes are sensitive to orientation, they need to be balanced either upright or inverted, make sure you are doing it the right way.

If you can find information about your plane on-line, check with other users. In my opinion, it's safer to copy the setup of a person who is successfully flying the plane than to go with your own CG measurement if it doesn't seem right.

A war story: We went to an event in '07 and two pilots showed up with identical 3DHs airplanes. Using the recommended setups and batteries as they both were, I knew from experience that a nice CG was easy to obtain with the lipoly pack in the center of the tray. One pilot had his pack up in the very nose of the plane, the other had his hanging off the back of the battery tray. Both, of course, "balanced" their planes at the same, recommended location.

So, to sum up, if it doesn't seem right, it probably isn't. Figure out why before proceeding!

So, once you have your CG set on the bench, it's time to fly. Setting CG in the air is a process of making your airplane fly right FOR YOU (not for anyone else). The following information is right for AEROBATIC AIRCRAFT. Flat-bottom wing aircraft like trainers should NOT be balanced with the method that follows.

Here's what you need to know:

Test your CG location by doing the "roll inverted" test. Fly your plane level at 2/3 or 3/4 throttle, and use the trim knobs on your radio to trim it fly *STRAIGHT AND LEVEL* by itself. Once it is perfectly trimmed, roll it over inverted. Observe what it does.

If it DIVES inverted, it is NOSE HEAVY.

If it KEEPS FLYING STRAIGHT inverted, it is NEUTRAL.

If it CLIMBS inverted, it is TAIL HEAVY.

Move your battery pack, or add/subtract nose/tail weight as needed to move your CG. Don't change the CG much, only about 1/8 inch at a time. Fly the airplane again with your adjustment. TRIM THE AIRPLANE AGAIN for straight and level flight, then do the roll-inverted test again. Repeat as necessary RE-TRIMMING the aircraft for STRAIGHT AND LEVEL EACH TIME before rolling inverted.

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A VERY NOSE-HEAVY airplane, during the roll inverted test, will sharply dive while inverted. It will require a significant push down on the elevator stick to maintain altitude inverted. This CG is NOT good for aerobatics. It's OK for basic sport flying with many aircraft, but the airplane will not fly high-performance maneuvers well, and probably will not 3D much at all.

A SLIGHTLY NOSE HEAVY airplane, during the roll-inverted test, will gently descend when rolled inverted for the test. It will thus require a slight push down on the elevator stick to maintain altitude inverted.

What the vast majority of pilots want is a SLIGHTLY NOSE HEAVY airplane. This is where competition aircraft are usually balanced, this is where most sport aircraft are balanced. This location provides good tracking and easy landings. Most 3D aircraft will 3D well at this CG.

HOWEVER, the very best 3D performance will usually occur at a NEUTRAL CG location.

A NEUTRAL CG balanced aircraft will have lots of pitch (elevator) authority and will rotate around the wing spar very easily. It will often hover and harrier easier than a nose-heavy aircraft.

HOWEVER, a NEUTRAL CG balanced aircraft will not track very well. It is not going to easily fly precision figures. It will be difficult to land smoothly and will tend to balloon up on final approach.

A TAIL HEAVY airplane is only for experienced 3D pilots. It will NOT fly precisely at high speed. It will be very challenging to land smoothly. It may have very high 3D performance at low speeds, but be cautious with any setup balanced like this until you are experienced with it.

Experiment with different CG locations. Move your CG only a bit (1/8 inch or so) at a time, so you are not taken by surprise when making changes, but do experiment so that YOU will learn how different CG points feel and what YOU like to fly. Remember, this airplane is YOURS and it should feel right to YOU, not your flying buddies or anyone else!

Fly Low!

Basher

Setting rates and exponentials on your transmitter.

2008-10-16T17:02:00.000-05:00

There needs to be a reason for each setting in your transmitter.

Rates:

High aileron rate (on a 3D plane) is usually chosen for low speed maneuvers where the ailerons aren't very effective, such as harrier rolls, or holding stright in a hover. Personally, I use roll rate in a harrier roll to determine my aileron high rate, so I can hold full aileron control in a harrier roll and concentrate on the other controls. Low aileron rate is typically set for all higher-speed rolling maneuvers, and a lot of competent pilots use a setting that gives about 1 roll per second, which is a nce, manageable rate for precision maneuvers.

High elevator rate is really important. On 3D planes, we typically want at *least* 45 degeees of elevator throw on high rates, so that we have enough throw to actually stall both wing halves on command and fly 3d maneuvers. If the high-rate elevator setting on a 3D plane is set at some lower value, 25-35 degrees, many 3D planes won't 3D, but will instead snap and spiral out of maneuvers. You also have to pull the stick like you mean it, to ensure that you actually get the 3D stall that you want. A weak or slow pull can also cause the spiraling or snapping out on some aircraft.

Low elevator rate is also critical. We typically want a low value, like 15 degrees, that is totally safe at all speeds, and a hard pull results ONLY in a partial loop, never a snap roll. We also expect to land on low elevator rate, and it need to be low enough that the pilot does not overcontrol and cause the airplane to porpoise up and down during final approach. The lesson to be taken here is "low rate usually needs to be lower".

Rudder can't be ignored either. High rate rudder should be enough to allow the rotation we want for flat spins, stall turns, blenders, etc. However, many airplanes develop a lot of bad habits in that last several degrees of rudder throw before the rudder hits the elevator half. If you ever have an airplane that develops too much coupling in high-alpha knife edge flight, try reducing the rudder throw a bit on high rates. You might find that you don't give up any noticeable KE performance, but a lot of your coupling goes away.

Low rate rudder may only be for landing or cruising around, or a pilot may choose it very precisely for point-roll maneuvers. Personal preference.

Expo:

First off, make sure your expo is going the right direction. We want the kind of expo that makes our controls LESS sensitive around the center stick position. Most transmitters that have the EXPO function also allow you to do it the other direction (have you ever actually seen anyone use expo the other way? I haven't, but the radio wil let you do it).

Expo basically has two purposes:

1.To make a high rate control more flyable without the danger of over overcontrolling.

2.To make low rates and high rates feel more similar around the center-stick position.

High-Rate ExpoExpo is a very personal thing. Some people tend to overcontrol on high rates, and therefore tend to use a higher expo value (60, 70, or 80%) other people tend to undercontrol on high rates and use less (20, 30, or 40%). The first time you flip a new airplane onto high rates, you'll know if you have enough expo or not. If you find it difficult to keep from overcontrolling the airplane on high rates, no matter how small a stick movement you make, you can bet you don't have enough expo.

Keep it straight in your mind which control you're working on. If you find the controls feel sluggish around center on high rates and you feel sort of disconnected from the airplane on high rates, you probably have too much expo on those controls.

As long as you have a low enough low rate set before you fly, you can flip to high rates, see how it feels, and flip back if it's not right. Low rate is your safety position. For this reason, many pilots prefer to program their radio to have all 3 rates (aileron, elevator, and rudder) controlled on one switch. Makes it easy to get back to the safety position in the air.

Low-Rate Expo: I set my low-rate expo values at an arbitrary value to start (for me, 25%) and tune them after I have set my high rate expos. I tune them so that, at low stick movements, I can flip the rate switch back and forth and the surfaces don't change position much. I want the controls to feel about the same near stick center on both low and high rates. Then, as I move the stick to the end of its travel, the rates feel very different from each other. For me, this keeps the amount of switch-flipping to a minimum during flight. This is a personal preference thing, and other pilots have different purposes for low-rate expo.

Specific Expo Settings:

There are a couple of expo values that, if set correctly, can be really helpful:

For hovering, if you are having problems, take note of how the airplane falls out of hover. If the airplane tends to slowly fall to the right or left, and you can't seem to get it back in time, try reducing your ridder hi-rate expo.

If, instead, the airplane is always dancing back and forth to the right and left too quickly and is never stable, try increasing your rudder hi-rate expo.

For harrier, take note of two things - If you have a very high expo setting (75%+) on your elevator hi-rate, then your elevator is very gentle around the center stick position, but is very sensitive at the end of the stick travel. It may be too sensitive in maneuvers where we're flying with a lot of stick but still need to be precise, like the harrier. If the plane jumps around in pitch while flying the harrier, and in general seems too sensitive, be sure to try the Expo both more AND less before deciding which is better.

Rudder is very important in harrier. When you turn in harrier, it's important to be very gentle on the rudder, or you will cause the plane to very unstable in harrier. One of the leading causes of unstable harrier performance is a too-sensitive rudder control which causes the pilot to overcontrol the rudder. If your plane isn't stable in harrier, try more hi-rate rudder expo, so that you can add just the tiniest bit of rudder and be smooth and gentle on the sticks...this will really improve your harriers.

The only way to have perfect transmitter settings for your plane is to fly it a lot. As you fly, you will learn the aircraft and get more comfortable with it, and you will improve your settings based upon your experience.

Fly Low!

Basher