shadow102
50cc
Recently picked up a 59" 3DHS Slick during the garage sale held here on 3drcforums and wanted to write a small review on it based on the pros, cons, and things I found while building and flying the plane. Let me preface this by saying this is my first official review, I am an intermediate/advanced pilot and a novice 3d pilot (i can do the basics, but rollers and such still elude me), I have owned many planes in the year and a half i have been flying including 3d planes from the big 3 (3dhs, EF, PA) and will be bringing up some of the differences in the review between these planes, i hold no brand allegiance but i fly the planes enjoy.
The Unboxing:
Yes the part of the review everybody looks forward to the oh so exciting unboxing. This was one of the items from the 3dhs garage sale i picked up for $150 shipped (normal retail is $299.99 plus shipping) based on what was being called "water damage on exterior box"...water damage, aka it looks like somebody dribbled some water on the box if you really looked hard at it. Typical packaging from companies that know how to ship these things; double boxed, all items taped down securely, everything in protective bags, wings in their wing bags, ect. All items were in the box and undamaged.
It was like christmas: 59" Slick, servos, esc, 103g motor for 42" slick, and a60-18l i also got in the garage sale
Things right off the bat i noticed, there was a bag of spare parts included, extra pull pull cables, axle, some hardware ect, a bunch of vinyl decals on top of the sticker sheet, and the obvious extra is the wing bags. These are always a nice touch to protect your investment, and while i am really happy they are included I will say they are extremely flimsy. They are made of a very thin foam and reflective covering, I ended up tearing one upon opening it the first time. The single wing bag included with my 60" EF plane is much thicker bubbled reflective material. Again not a huge deal but this is worth mentioning, i am still happy they are included.
Equipment Used:
Since I wasnt originally planning on adding this plane to my hangar i decided to experiment with some electronics i have been interested in trying out.
Motor: Motrolfly 4315 - 500kv w/ optional fiberglass X mount
Esc: ZTW 85amp B-series w/SBEC
Servos: PowerHD 1207tg x4
Prop: 15x7 Xoar w/ EF spinner
Battery: 6s 3300mah 30c Haiyin
Rx: Hitec Optima6 w/SPC lead
1 6" extension 1 12" extension
This is the first time using the powerHD servos (bought standard ones for a 30cc plane i am currently building), first time with a B-series ZTW (using ZTW exclusively for about a year), and first time with a motrolfly motor. The motrolfly motor requires the use of 1/2" spacers, I found mine in the hardware section at lowes for about $1.50 in nylon. The ZTW B-series esc finally solves a couple of small complaints with the addition of a 6v BEC and simplified programming, however it still has some extremely short battery leads, i would gladly pay $1-2 more for some longer wire. The powerHD servos are piece of mind over the Hitec 5245's which have been known to have case problems and binding over time. The downside is the powerHD servos are longer and wider than the hitecs... unfortunately this requires some custom fitting but more on that later. I will say the tins that the servos come in are a really nice touch.
Can't say enough good things about the haiyin packs i have been using and we all know how good xoar props work.
The Build:
I have built several Arf's and with every one i have been getting faster and faster, this one took me about 6-7hours to complete and would have knocked off a bunch more time if not using the powerHD servos. Also with every plane i have assembled there have been different things i have noticed good and bad.
The online build manual and videos that are floating around are very helpful in building these planes and can direct even the novice builder on how to do it right. The hardest parts are installing the pull pull wires and lining up the horiz. stab.
Minor annoyance: Something i have come to enjoy on EF planes is the covering holes are already opened up from the factory, on 3DHS planes they are not, again not a big problem but its so much cleaner and just one of those nice finishing touches you notice when opening the box.
Cowl Design :clap: ...awesome, just plain awesome. The ringed cowl slides on and pretty much lines up absolutely perfect, it takes the guesswork out of lining up the opening with the motor, assuming you drilled the firewall correctly. on top of that the cowl to canopy design is ingenious. It completely opens up the battery tray allowing for complete access in case your battery needs to be slid forward it will never be under the cowl.
Now onto the servo install per what i mentioned earlier. The servos i chose are both longer and wider than the suggested servos. I had to open up all the openings, the elevator is a complete non issue as there was plenty of room there, the rudder servo wasn't too bad but getting a tool in there is a bit rough and the servo sits on the lip of the servo tray. Now the aileron servos, there isn't enough meat on the wing servo trays for the servos, i would highly suggest building your own servo trays for a nice seamless build, however i was in a hurry and didn't have any spare balsa. I used what little wood i had there which in fact held the servos but also used some hot glue to hold them in. All 4 servos are completely secure in the fuse and aren't going anywhere on their own.
Maiden Flight and Emergency Landing:
Plane was completely finished and decaled in time for a Sunday morning maiden during 0 wind conditions. All surfaces setup for 3d throws and dual rates set at 60% throw. The maiden was very uneventful, battery position was set slightly nose heavy with the battery about an inch in front of the wing tube. Trimmed the plane out with a few clicks there and there. Plane tracks like a dream and the tail is super violent if you put the sticks in the corners, just the way i like my planes. Continued a full flight with a few pop tops, KE spins, blenders ect. Hovers and harriers were kept to a minimum as the CG was still nose heavy. After some other flying i threw in another battery this time i pushed the battery against the wing tube. Plane needed a very very slight push on the elevator when inverted and tracked completely straight during the 45* test so i am completely happy with the CG, wish i had more adjustability but i am using a heavy setup where as a lot of people will fly this plane on 4s.
Now again uneventful take off, pulled a few maneuvers and started checking KE flight, however on one of the circuits i noticed i had no elevator control and then it would come back but the plane would dive hard if i let off up elevator. turned the plane around and got it landed in a harrier/elevator in the middle of the field. Good landing gear test as well which i am happy to report everything held up perfectly.
Here is the major problem i have with the kit, the servo control rods are a threaded ball link on the control horn side and a barrel/set screw on the servo side. The barrel/set screw slipped on the elevator control rod causing down elevator in the plane. Something with surfaces this size should have a double threaded rod and ball links on both sides, in a perfect world some turnbuckles would be awesome. Temporary fix is to flatten the control rod and add hot glue to the rod but i will be switching both ailerons and elevator to a double threaded part.
Put two more flights on it adding a very slight rudder to aileron mix and the plane flies perfect, on the third flight i was comfortable enough to hover the plane a foot off the ground, something i have never done with any of my other planes.
This plane is a complete winner, and I stand by the fact that nothing flies like a slick in any size the track so amazing but are completely violent when asked to be. This plane is a great choice for even a 3d beginner as long as you have some 4ch flying experience under your belt (see proficient in landing) and will be a great flying tool you can grow with. This size is also perfect as its big enough to have a large presence in the air but not too big where you cant fit it in smaller vehicles or have it unable to fly in smaller rogue fields, if you can afford the invest of this size over a 48" size plane go for it.
I also couldn't be happier with the equipment i chose, the ZTW performs great as always, with 6v going to the powerHD servos they center perfectly every time, are very fast, and i get 0 blow back with a ton of torque. The motrolfly motor is absolutely ballistic, i am getting a 1550watt 75amp static peak, the plane climbs vertical extremely fast and i plan on getting more of these motors in the future.
So if your in the market for a 60" plane...pick your poison...3d planes are so advanced these days you can't go wrong with anything from 3DHS or Extreme Flight but I will say everybody needs at least one Slick in their collection.
photo w/ 42" slick
Somebody likes the wing bags lol
The Unboxing:
Yes the part of the review everybody looks forward to the oh so exciting unboxing. This was one of the items from the 3dhs garage sale i picked up for $150 shipped (normal retail is $299.99 plus shipping) based on what was being called "water damage on exterior box"...water damage, aka it looks like somebody dribbled some water on the box if you really looked hard at it. Typical packaging from companies that know how to ship these things; double boxed, all items taped down securely, everything in protective bags, wings in their wing bags, ect. All items were in the box and undamaged.
It was like christmas: 59" Slick, servos, esc, 103g motor for 42" slick, and a60-18l i also got in the garage sale
Things right off the bat i noticed, there was a bag of spare parts included, extra pull pull cables, axle, some hardware ect, a bunch of vinyl decals on top of the sticker sheet, and the obvious extra is the wing bags. These are always a nice touch to protect your investment, and while i am really happy they are included I will say they are extremely flimsy. They are made of a very thin foam and reflective covering, I ended up tearing one upon opening it the first time. The single wing bag included with my 60" EF plane is much thicker bubbled reflective material. Again not a huge deal but this is worth mentioning, i am still happy they are included.
Equipment Used:
Since I wasnt originally planning on adding this plane to my hangar i decided to experiment with some electronics i have been interested in trying out.
Motor: Motrolfly 4315 - 500kv w/ optional fiberglass X mount
Esc: ZTW 85amp B-series w/SBEC
Servos: PowerHD 1207tg x4
Prop: 15x7 Xoar w/ EF spinner
Battery: 6s 3300mah 30c Haiyin
Rx: Hitec Optima6 w/SPC lead
1 6" extension 1 12" extension
This is the first time using the powerHD servos (bought standard ones for a 30cc plane i am currently building), first time with a B-series ZTW (using ZTW exclusively for about a year), and first time with a motrolfly motor. The motrolfly motor requires the use of 1/2" spacers, I found mine in the hardware section at lowes for about $1.50 in nylon. The ZTW B-series esc finally solves a couple of small complaints with the addition of a 6v BEC and simplified programming, however it still has some extremely short battery leads, i would gladly pay $1-2 more for some longer wire. The powerHD servos are piece of mind over the Hitec 5245's which have been known to have case problems and binding over time. The downside is the powerHD servos are longer and wider than the hitecs... unfortunately this requires some custom fitting but more on that later. I will say the tins that the servos come in are a really nice touch.
Can't say enough good things about the haiyin packs i have been using and we all know how good xoar props work.
The Build:
I have built several Arf's and with every one i have been getting faster and faster, this one took me about 6-7hours to complete and would have knocked off a bunch more time if not using the powerHD servos. Also with every plane i have assembled there have been different things i have noticed good and bad.
The online build manual and videos that are floating around are very helpful in building these planes and can direct even the novice builder on how to do it right. The hardest parts are installing the pull pull wires and lining up the horiz. stab.
Minor annoyance: Something i have come to enjoy on EF planes is the covering holes are already opened up from the factory, on 3DHS planes they are not, again not a big problem but its so much cleaner and just one of those nice finishing touches you notice when opening the box.
Cowl Design :clap: ...awesome, just plain awesome. The ringed cowl slides on and pretty much lines up absolutely perfect, it takes the guesswork out of lining up the opening with the motor, assuming you drilled the firewall correctly. on top of that the cowl to canopy design is ingenious. It completely opens up the battery tray allowing for complete access in case your battery needs to be slid forward it will never be under the cowl.
Now onto the servo install per what i mentioned earlier. The servos i chose are both longer and wider than the suggested servos. I had to open up all the openings, the elevator is a complete non issue as there was plenty of room there, the rudder servo wasn't too bad but getting a tool in there is a bit rough and the servo sits on the lip of the servo tray. Now the aileron servos, there isn't enough meat on the wing servo trays for the servos, i would highly suggest building your own servo trays for a nice seamless build, however i was in a hurry and didn't have any spare balsa. I used what little wood i had there which in fact held the servos but also used some hot glue to hold them in. All 4 servos are completely secure in the fuse and aren't going anywhere on their own.
Maiden Flight and Emergency Landing:
Plane was completely finished and decaled in time for a Sunday morning maiden during 0 wind conditions. All surfaces setup for 3d throws and dual rates set at 60% throw. The maiden was very uneventful, battery position was set slightly nose heavy with the battery about an inch in front of the wing tube. Trimmed the plane out with a few clicks there and there. Plane tracks like a dream and the tail is super violent if you put the sticks in the corners, just the way i like my planes. Continued a full flight with a few pop tops, KE spins, blenders ect. Hovers and harriers were kept to a minimum as the CG was still nose heavy. After some other flying i threw in another battery this time i pushed the battery against the wing tube. Plane needed a very very slight push on the elevator when inverted and tracked completely straight during the 45* test so i am completely happy with the CG, wish i had more adjustability but i am using a heavy setup where as a lot of people will fly this plane on 4s.
Now again uneventful take off, pulled a few maneuvers and started checking KE flight, however on one of the circuits i noticed i had no elevator control and then it would come back but the plane would dive hard if i let off up elevator. turned the plane around and got it landed in a harrier/elevator in the middle of the field. Good landing gear test as well which i am happy to report everything held up perfectly.
Here is the major problem i have with the kit, the servo control rods are a threaded ball link on the control horn side and a barrel/set screw on the servo side. The barrel/set screw slipped on the elevator control rod causing down elevator in the plane. Something with surfaces this size should have a double threaded rod and ball links on both sides, in a perfect world some turnbuckles would be awesome. Temporary fix is to flatten the control rod and add hot glue to the rod but i will be switching both ailerons and elevator to a double threaded part.
Put two more flights on it adding a very slight rudder to aileron mix and the plane flies perfect, on the third flight i was comfortable enough to hover the plane a foot off the ground, something i have never done with any of my other planes.
This plane is a complete winner, and I stand by the fact that nothing flies like a slick in any size the track so amazing but are completely violent when asked to be. This plane is a great choice for even a 3d beginner as long as you have some 4ch flying experience under your belt (see proficient in landing) and will be a great flying tool you can grow with. This size is also perfect as its big enough to have a large presence in the air but not too big where you cant fit it in smaller vehicles or have it unable to fly in smaller rogue fields, if you can afford the invest of this size over a 48" size plane go for it.
I also couldn't be happier with the equipment i chose, the ZTW performs great as always, with 6v going to the powerHD servos they center perfectly every time, are very fast, and i get 0 blow back with a ton of torque. The motrolfly motor is absolutely ballistic, i am getting a 1550watt 75amp static peak, the plane climbs vertical extremely fast and i plan on getting more of these motors in the future.
So if your in the market for a 60" plane...pick your poison...3d planes are so advanced these days you can't go wrong with anything from 3DHS or Extreme Flight but I will say everybody needs at least one Slick in their collection.
photo w/ 42" slick
Somebody likes the wing bags lol
