njswede
150cc
[h=1]"You drove 550 miles? Are you crazy?!"[/h]
I think it was Joe Smith who asked me that. And yes, a 1000+ miles round trip is definitely not for the faint of heart, but several back-issues of ATTF and RadioLab through the speakers certainly helped. I have to admit that I'm still a bit tired, though.
This was my first Toledo show, so I can't compare it to previous years, but it was certainly big and very crowded. Judging from the amount of people visiting the show, our hobby is definitely alive and well!
I would have imagined more focus on FPV and multi rotors, since that seems to be what everyone is talking about these days. Sure, there were multi rotors and FPV gear everywhere, but I didn't see that much of the high-end gear as I had expected. I think one of the reasons is that the market for that has matured and separated itself from the hobby market.
In terms of 3D products, I found the traditional vendors represented, unfortunately with the glaring exception of Extreme Flight. I think they decided to focus more on the flying events this year and I can't wait to get a chance to spend some time with them. It's also interesting to see that some of the vendors you typically don't associate with 3D, such as Horizon are making their way into the 3D market.
[h=1]3D Hobby Shop[/h]
In the 3D Hobby Shop booth, I found most of the team including Ben himself. I had a chat with Noll and he told me about the new stuff coming out. The Big Foot is finally in production and is expected to be available for customers very soon! The Big Foot really looks amazing and Noll told me a bit about the thought process behind it. One of the ideas behind is to provide 3D pilots with a plane they can kick back and fly lazy slow maneuvers and shoot approaches at crawl speed, while still having the capabilities for some sweet rolling harriers and torque rolls. It's also a great plane for those sport pilots who love the looks and gentle behavior of a cub-style aircraft, while enjoying the superb aerodynamics of a 3D Hobby Shop airframe. And who knows, maybe the Big Foot will lure a few circle fliers over to the joys of 3D?
The 92" Edge prototype was also on display and it looks amazing! It's been receiving very positive reviews from the people who have test-flown it, but 3D Hobby Shop likes to tweak things until they are beyond perfection, so the rest of us will have to wait until this fall. Maybe the 92" Edge will be the plane that makes me break my promise to myself that I won't go bigger than 30cc?
There are some other projects in the works (if I were to guess they involve Joe and Arron), but Noll was very secretive about it. And probably for good reasons! And while writing this article, I heard some rumors that there may be a surprise or two popping up at the Dallas FLI... But don't tell anyone I said it!
[h=1]Aeromodel/Hacker[/h]
Aermodel is putting out its own line of batteries this year. They come in a 30C and a 65C line and are designed to have a very good price to performance ratio with top performance at a moderate price. This is a complete line ranging from small 1s ultra micro batteries, all the way up to 5000mAh 6s.
On the motor side, Hacker is working on their new 230 series designed for fixed wing as well as multi-rotor use for props in the 12 to 22 inch range. These motors feature a unique 28 pole light-weight design inspired by the larger patter aircraft motors. The result is high efficiency, high torque and light weight. Sounds like pretty nice attributes in a 3D aircraft! There are also some new 50cc and 100cc equivalent motors in the Q-series coming out! These are very lightweight motors putting out up to 7500W while weighing in at less than 3-4 pounds.
Aeromodel is also about to launch a new series of indoor aerobatic airplanes so make sure to check in on their site for that!
[h=1]Castle Creations[/h]
The big news at Castle Creations is the Edge series soon to be released and intended to replace the ICE line. Other than being redesigned and re-engineered for even higher reliability and better performance, it also includes a fourth wire (in addition to the traditional three coming out on the radio port). The white auxiliary wire can be used for helicopter governor gain input adjustments mid-flight, serve as an audible beacon after a crash, act as RPM sensor for gyros, be used as an ESC arming lock or as a receiver arming lock. There are also some interesting firmware upgrades to make the legendary data logging capabilities of the Castle ESCs even better.
And let's not forget the Talon 90A with an incredible 20A peak output on the BEC (9A continuous)! Talk about a dream come true for demanding 3D applications when we're driving those giant control surfaces!
[h=1]Desert Aircraft[/h]
As you probably know, DA is about to enter the 30cc-class with their DA35. I don't think I'm exaggerating if I'm saying this is one of the most anticipated products on the engine market right now. Finally there is a super-premium 100% US-built alternative in the 30cc range! There's literally been years of development and testing put into this machine and it just looks and feels like pure quality. I wish the DA35 would have been available when I built my 72" Extra, but I'm pretty sure I'll try to put one of these in my next quarter scale build!
On the other end of the spectrum is the DA250 4-stroke monster. I asked Dave Johnsson about the sound it makes and he just smiled at me for a while before he answered me. Depending on the exhaust you can make it sound like a Harley or a high-end BMW. I hope I get to experience one live at some point! The engine comes in a naturally aspirated version and a supercharged (yes, really supercharged!) version. The target is primarily high-end pro IMAC pilots, although DA are pretty sure it will also find its way to super-giant scale modelers.
[h=1]EP Buddy[/h]
Our friend Dale over at the EP-Buddy booth had some new goodies to show us. First of all, there's the new iCharger 4010 Duo 2000W 40A 10S Dual Port Charger featuring a nice color display and capable of charging two batteries at 40A! That's a total of 2000W, my friends! There's also some new SunnySky motors coming out very soon. As if that wasn't enough, EP-Buddy is currently launching two lines of ESC. Etium is going to be their premium brand aimed at the 3D crowd, while the Swallow line is more of a value brand of somewhat less demanding applications. Both lines are expected to be launched in May this year.
And the Glacier line of batteries continues to be EP Buddy's best sellers. Gary did a thorough review of them a while back, and they held up to his brutal treatment!
[h=1]Hitec[/h]
Over in the Hitec booth, I had a chat with Mike Mayberry about their new 9000-series of servos. These servos are a bit unique since they employ brushless motors instead of the traditional brushed motors. There are several obvious advantages to brushless motors, such as fewer moving parts and less wear. However, Mike told me about a few other features that make these servos really cool. For example, they are able to hold their positions at stall torque (without burning) for much longer than a traditional servo. But the really cool thing is how they allow you to save battery life and reduce current draw. These motors are regenerative, meaning that they are actually able to feed back current into the battery when the servo is "coasting". Kind of the way a hybrid car works. All this should help things run cooler and more efficiently.
We also discussed the new Aurora 9X radio system that's about to be released. As you may have heard, this offers an important upgrade for 3D pilots with it's higher frame rate. All receivers include radio voltage telemetry and additional telemetry can be added. This radio system definitely looks like a great leap forward for Hitec and I think we'll see a lot of these in the hands of 3D pilots this season.
[h=1]Horizon Hobby[/h]
Maybe Horizon hasn't always been associated with 3D flying, but this year they're showing a nice lineup of interesting models. It all starts with the ParkZone VisionAire, which is a park-flier sized 3D plane made of Z-foam (Horizon's brand of EPO). This Quique Somenzini-designed model features the new AS3X stabilization system. While the stabilization is mostly intended to help fight wind and turbulence, it also helps inexperienced pilots holding steady harriers and hovers. This makes the VisionAire a perfect 3D trainer and everyday parkflier even for the more experienced pilots. It's too bad they didn't sell them at the show. I would have picked one up right away and used it for lazy afternoon flights in the parks around here.
Staying with the foamies, Colton showed me the E-flite Inverza which is the opposite of the VisionAire. The small size of the plane is deceiving, as this is a little bit of dynamite. Built for extreme high-energy maneuvers, this plane is geared towards the experienced 3D/aerobatic pilot. Colton told me this plane has a true zero degree incidence and no coupling whatsoever, including zero downline coupling and zero KE coupling. This plane probably isn't for me, but I'd be very interested to see it in the hands of the 3D aces here at 3DRCForums. In the meantime, check out this promotional video form Horizon. It looks pretty wild to me:
[video=youtube;wxr_OtDB_OI]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wxr_OtDB_OI[/video]
I also got to see two of the most high-end airframes Horizon puts out: The QQ Yak 54 and the Carden Edition Extra 260. The Yak is a 99% composite construction built for extreme rigidity and resistance to twisting forces. Any foam or balsa plane will inherently twist and torsion when exposed to high energy maneuvers. This not only could cause material fatigue, but also affects flight characteristics. Therefore, the Yak features a fiberglass composite monocoque construction for maximum rigidity. The Yak is designed around the DA 100 and 120 engines, although it can be equipped other engines in the 100-120 range. It was pretty clear that Colton had a very fond relationship with this plane. Make sure to listen to our webcast for a full interview with Colton!
The Carden Edition Extra 300 Is a joint project between Horizon/Hangar9 and Carden aircraft to produce a 50cc airframe for aerobatic pilot looking for that unique performance associated with Carden. This plane is designed around a DA50 to DA60 and is said to perform amazing both for 3D and pattern flying. One thing is for sure: I love the green color scheme!
But as you know, Horizon isn't all about air frames. I could go on about their Spektrum line of radios, but that topic has been covered by others. Instead, I decided to dig a little bit deeper into their engine lineup. When you think about 3D and engines, Horizon may not be the first name that comes into your mind. Well, that may be about to change. The Evolution line of engines offers several interesting products. I spent a lot of time talking to Peter Bergstrom about their Evolution 10GX 10cc engine. This is a pretty interesting product, as it offers a serious alternative to electric motors for the 50-55" segment without having to go to glow. As you know, our own "Enterprise" has been experimenting with this engine on a ValueHobby Sabre X. While conversions from electric have their challenges, I'm eagerly awaiting someone to actually design a 3D plane around one of these little power plants. The fuel consumption and flight times are simply amazing. You could probably keep a 3D plane in the air for some 20-30 minutes with one of these.
In addition to the 10cc and 15cc engines, Horizon recently discontinued their 26cc gas engine and replaced it with a 33cc machine. This should work well with quarter-scale 30cc-class 3D planes!
And if someone wants to build a super-giant scale Yak and has a few thousand to spare, why not get one of these radials?
[h=1]Troy Built Models[/h]
These guys are up to some interesting stuff! Troy Built Models is branching out into the commercial sUAV business and will be offering high-end FPV rigs for photography and other applications. In addition to this, they will be offering training for sUAV pilots. Troy Built Models is expecting the civilian sUAV market to explode within the next couple of years. Skilled sUAV-pilots may be looking at careers paying $80k-250k a year!
However, Troy Built Models are planning on staying in the hobby segment as well, focusing on gas engines. After experimenting with several Chinese brands, they settled with the DLE and PTE brands and are quickly building a reputation as the number one reseller of these brands. Troy Built pride themselves on servicing what they sell and are constantly monitoring the quality of the products they sell.
[h=1]The People[/h]
After all, the best part of any event like this is to meet all the people who share the love for RC flying. I'm going to let the pictures speak for themselves.
And to answer Joe Smith's question: Yes it was worth a 1000 mile drive!
I think it was Joe Smith who asked me that. And yes, a 1000+ miles round trip is definitely not for the faint of heart, but several back-issues of ATTF and RadioLab through the speakers certainly helped. I have to admit that I'm still a bit tired, though.
This was my first Toledo show, so I can't compare it to previous years, but it was certainly big and very crowded. Judging from the amount of people visiting the show, our hobby is definitely alive and well!
I would have imagined more focus on FPV and multi rotors, since that seems to be what everyone is talking about these days. Sure, there were multi rotors and FPV gear everywhere, but I didn't see that much of the high-end gear as I had expected. I think one of the reasons is that the market for that has matured and separated itself from the hobby market.
In terms of 3D products, I found the traditional vendors represented, unfortunately with the glaring exception of Extreme Flight. I think they decided to focus more on the flying events this year and I can't wait to get a chance to spend some time with them. It's also interesting to see that some of the vendors you typically don't associate with 3D, such as Horizon are making their way into the 3D market.
[h=1]3D Hobby Shop[/h]
In the 3D Hobby Shop booth, I found most of the team including Ben himself. I had a chat with Noll and he told me about the new stuff coming out. The Big Foot is finally in production and is expected to be available for customers very soon! The Big Foot really looks amazing and Noll told me a bit about the thought process behind it. One of the ideas behind is to provide 3D pilots with a plane they can kick back and fly lazy slow maneuvers and shoot approaches at crawl speed, while still having the capabilities for some sweet rolling harriers and torque rolls. It's also a great plane for those sport pilots who love the looks and gentle behavior of a cub-style aircraft, while enjoying the superb aerodynamics of a 3D Hobby Shop airframe. And who knows, maybe the Big Foot will lure a few circle fliers over to the joys of 3D?
The 92" Edge prototype was also on display and it looks amazing! It's been receiving very positive reviews from the people who have test-flown it, but 3D Hobby Shop likes to tweak things until they are beyond perfection, so the rest of us will have to wait until this fall. Maybe the 92" Edge will be the plane that makes me break my promise to myself that I won't go bigger than 30cc?
There are some other projects in the works (if I were to guess they involve Joe and Arron), but Noll was very secretive about it. And probably for good reasons! And while writing this article, I heard some rumors that there may be a surprise or two popping up at the Dallas FLI... But don't tell anyone I said it!
[h=1]Aeromodel/Hacker[/h]
Aermodel is putting out its own line of batteries this year. They come in a 30C and a 65C line and are designed to have a very good price to performance ratio with top performance at a moderate price. This is a complete line ranging from small 1s ultra micro batteries, all the way up to 5000mAh 6s.
On the motor side, Hacker is working on their new 230 series designed for fixed wing as well as multi-rotor use for props in the 12 to 22 inch range. These motors feature a unique 28 pole light-weight design inspired by the larger patter aircraft motors. The result is high efficiency, high torque and light weight. Sounds like pretty nice attributes in a 3D aircraft! There are also some new 50cc and 100cc equivalent motors in the Q-series coming out! These are very lightweight motors putting out up to 7500W while weighing in at less than 3-4 pounds.
Aeromodel is also about to launch a new series of indoor aerobatic airplanes so make sure to check in on their site for that!
[h=1]Castle Creations[/h]
The big news at Castle Creations is the Edge series soon to be released and intended to replace the ICE line. Other than being redesigned and re-engineered for even higher reliability and better performance, it also includes a fourth wire (in addition to the traditional three coming out on the radio port). The white auxiliary wire can be used for helicopter governor gain input adjustments mid-flight, serve as an audible beacon after a crash, act as RPM sensor for gyros, be used as an ESC arming lock or as a receiver arming lock. There are also some interesting firmware upgrades to make the legendary data logging capabilities of the Castle ESCs even better.
And let's not forget the Talon 90A with an incredible 20A peak output on the BEC (9A continuous)! Talk about a dream come true for demanding 3D applications when we're driving those giant control surfaces!
[h=1]Desert Aircraft[/h]
As you probably know, DA is about to enter the 30cc-class with their DA35. I don't think I'm exaggerating if I'm saying this is one of the most anticipated products on the engine market right now. Finally there is a super-premium 100% US-built alternative in the 30cc range! There's literally been years of development and testing put into this machine and it just looks and feels like pure quality. I wish the DA35 would have been available when I built my 72" Extra, but I'm pretty sure I'll try to put one of these in my next quarter scale build!
On the other end of the spectrum is the DA250 4-stroke monster. I asked Dave Johnsson about the sound it makes and he just smiled at me for a while before he answered me. Depending on the exhaust you can make it sound like a Harley or a high-end BMW. I hope I get to experience one live at some point! The engine comes in a naturally aspirated version and a supercharged (yes, really supercharged!) version. The target is primarily high-end pro IMAC pilots, although DA are pretty sure it will also find its way to super-giant scale modelers.
[h=1]EP Buddy[/h]
Our friend Dale over at the EP-Buddy booth had some new goodies to show us. First of all, there's the new iCharger 4010 Duo 2000W 40A 10S Dual Port Charger featuring a nice color display and capable of charging two batteries at 40A! That's a total of 2000W, my friends! There's also some new SunnySky motors coming out very soon. As if that wasn't enough, EP-Buddy is currently launching two lines of ESC. Etium is going to be their premium brand aimed at the 3D crowd, while the Swallow line is more of a value brand of somewhat less demanding applications. Both lines are expected to be launched in May this year.
And the Glacier line of batteries continues to be EP Buddy's best sellers. Gary did a thorough review of them a while back, and they held up to his brutal treatment!
[h=1]Hitec[/h]
Over in the Hitec booth, I had a chat with Mike Mayberry about their new 9000-series of servos. These servos are a bit unique since they employ brushless motors instead of the traditional brushed motors. There are several obvious advantages to brushless motors, such as fewer moving parts and less wear. However, Mike told me about a few other features that make these servos really cool. For example, they are able to hold their positions at stall torque (without burning) for much longer than a traditional servo. But the really cool thing is how they allow you to save battery life and reduce current draw. These motors are regenerative, meaning that they are actually able to feed back current into the battery when the servo is "coasting". Kind of the way a hybrid car works. All this should help things run cooler and more efficiently.
We also discussed the new Aurora 9X radio system that's about to be released. As you may have heard, this offers an important upgrade for 3D pilots with it's higher frame rate. All receivers include radio voltage telemetry and additional telemetry can be added. This radio system definitely looks like a great leap forward for Hitec and I think we'll see a lot of these in the hands of 3D pilots this season.
[h=1]Horizon Hobby[/h]
Maybe Horizon hasn't always been associated with 3D flying, but this year they're showing a nice lineup of interesting models. It all starts with the ParkZone VisionAire, which is a park-flier sized 3D plane made of Z-foam (Horizon's brand of EPO). This Quique Somenzini-designed model features the new AS3X stabilization system. While the stabilization is mostly intended to help fight wind and turbulence, it also helps inexperienced pilots holding steady harriers and hovers. This makes the VisionAire a perfect 3D trainer and everyday parkflier even for the more experienced pilots. It's too bad they didn't sell them at the show. I would have picked one up right away and used it for lazy afternoon flights in the parks around here.
Staying with the foamies, Colton showed me the E-flite Inverza which is the opposite of the VisionAire. The small size of the plane is deceiving, as this is a little bit of dynamite. Built for extreme high-energy maneuvers, this plane is geared towards the experienced 3D/aerobatic pilot. Colton told me this plane has a true zero degree incidence and no coupling whatsoever, including zero downline coupling and zero KE coupling. This plane probably isn't for me, but I'd be very interested to see it in the hands of the 3D aces here at 3DRCForums. In the meantime, check out this promotional video form Horizon. It looks pretty wild to me:
[video=youtube;wxr_OtDB_OI]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wxr_OtDB_OI[/video]
I also got to see two of the most high-end airframes Horizon puts out: The QQ Yak 54 and the Carden Edition Extra 260. The Yak is a 99% composite construction built for extreme rigidity and resistance to twisting forces. Any foam or balsa plane will inherently twist and torsion when exposed to high energy maneuvers. This not only could cause material fatigue, but also affects flight characteristics. Therefore, the Yak features a fiberglass composite monocoque construction for maximum rigidity. The Yak is designed around the DA 100 and 120 engines, although it can be equipped other engines in the 100-120 range. It was pretty clear that Colton had a very fond relationship with this plane. Make sure to listen to our webcast for a full interview with Colton!
The Carden Edition Extra 300 Is a joint project between Horizon/Hangar9 and Carden aircraft to produce a 50cc airframe for aerobatic pilot looking for that unique performance associated with Carden. This plane is designed around a DA50 to DA60 and is said to perform amazing both for 3D and pattern flying. One thing is for sure: I love the green color scheme!
But as you know, Horizon isn't all about air frames. I could go on about their Spektrum line of radios, but that topic has been covered by others. Instead, I decided to dig a little bit deeper into their engine lineup. When you think about 3D and engines, Horizon may not be the first name that comes into your mind. Well, that may be about to change. The Evolution line of engines offers several interesting products. I spent a lot of time talking to Peter Bergstrom about their Evolution 10GX 10cc engine. This is a pretty interesting product, as it offers a serious alternative to electric motors for the 50-55" segment without having to go to glow. As you know, our own "Enterprise" has been experimenting with this engine on a ValueHobby Sabre X. While conversions from electric have their challenges, I'm eagerly awaiting someone to actually design a 3D plane around one of these little power plants. The fuel consumption and flight times are simply amazing. You could probably keep a 3D plane in the air for some 20-30 minutes with one of these.
In addition to the 10cc and 15cc engines, Horizon recently discontinued their 26cc gas engine and replaced it with a 33cc machine. This should work well with quarter-scale 30cc-class 3D planes!
And if someone wants to build a super-giant scale Yak and has a few thousand to spare, why not get one of these radials?
[h=1]Troy Built Models[/h]
These guys are up to some interesting stuff! Troy Built Models is branching out into the commercial sUAV business and will be offering high-end FPV rigs for photography and other applications. In addition to this, they will be offering training for sUAV pilots. Troy Built Models is expecting the civilian sUAV market to explode within the next couple of years. Skilled sUAV-pilots may be looking at careers paying $80k-250k a year!
However, Troy Built Models are planning on staying in the hobby segment as well, focusing on gas engines. After experimenting with several Chinese brands, they settled with the DLE and PTE brands and are quickly building a reputation as the number one reseller of these brands. Troy Built pride themselves on servicing what they sell and are constantly monitoring the quality of the products they sell.
[h=1]The People[/h]
After all, the best part of any event like this is to meet all the people who share the love for RC flying. I'm going to let the pictures speak for themselves.
And to answer Joe Smith's question: Yes it was worth a 1000 mile drive!
Last edited by a moderator:
