Stryker F27-Q

[akent]

Well, mine showed up today.
I am surprised that there wasn't a person inside the box. That thing is HUGE!!!

Once unboxed, the plane is about the same size as the old Stryker, but the foam is EPP/EPO. It should be much more durable.

The servos are digital and appear very strong, but one of the ailerons had binding hinges and that servo sounded like stripped gears! I unhooked the servo, moved the ailerons a bunch, then reattached the servo and it didn't do that again. It sounded stripped, but still seems to work now. Humm...

The motor is a new one from PKZ and has no specs, other than it's a 2200kv motor. No power specs.
The plane comes with a 40 amp ESC with a built in SBEC of 2.5 amps. Nice.

After installing and binding an AR600, I setup the transmitter and played with it. The stock pushrod locations should be used until you are VERY careful to cut the hinge surfaces for more throw. Otherwise the servos will bind. The instructions talk about using higher throws, but that ain't gunna work without work on the surfaces.

The stock prop is a very flexible non-E looking 6x6.

The stock power system pulls 36 amps on 3s, 460 watts on my watt meter. On 4s, I was seeing 55 amps and 840 watts. Too much for this 40 amp ESC, although the motor was cool...

One odd thing is the ESC has a power off switch. It does not power off the whole thing, but just the external BEC. Weird. It also faces into the area where you mount the battery. I don't want a moving battery to turn the thing off!!! THIS MUST GO!

Ok more. The ailerons are VERY flexible and the port one came prebent. I was easily able to straighten it, too easily. This stuff is going to bend by looking at it wrong. Not good.
I think that ALL of the control surfaces might need some carbon...

The airframe has quite a few pieces of what looks to be G-10 stiffeners. The airframe is not that stiff, even with this.

Ok, this is not a 150mph airframe. It is going to be maybe 80-100mph stock. It is too flimsy to go fast without mods.

I plan on flying mine soon on the stock 3s and then on 4s. 4s draws too much power with the stock prop, but I will play around with props then. I think a 6x4E or 6x5E might work well.

I do like the nose wheel and the tail skids. That should really allow a tarmac landing without damage. I'll always land my foamies on the grass though.

If this thing can do any 3d, then I will take back all negatives! I don't see that happening from the initial setup... It needs more throw, maybe....

I hope to fly it tomorrow. I hope!
Kent

[19000rpm]

Great information and observations. All of your experience with this type is invaluable.

They were aiming for a more aerobatic version rather than an all out speed demon. Even if they weren't thinking about a 150 mph plane there's no excuse for having weak control surfaces.

The servos are digital, metal geared and do make a lot of noise if there is any bind in the system. They've been using them in applications with steerable tail wheels and elevators like the P47D. It's odd they'd use such a strong servo with weak control surfaces. ;D

I look forward to your mods and flight report. It should be a blast to fly.

[akent]

I have not yet flown this thing. Too many other things going on!

I will tomorrow though.
In my waiting, I decided to change the rudder arrangement. I plugged them in separately instead of using the Y and turned the flap (idle up) switch into rudder brakes, using a couple of mixers. Position 1 is 60% out on both rudders. Position 2 is 100% out, which is almost 90 degrees! This should be interesting in the air!
Kent

[19000rpm]

You're really getting fancy with the programming. I bet that's a result of your 3D experience.

[akent]

OK!!!
F27-Q flight review!!!

This thing rocks, but it takes some getting used to. I flew 5 batteries through this thing today. All box stock with my own AR600 receiver and 2200ma 40c 3s Turnigy batteries.

Today was fairly gusty. I couldn't wait to fly this thing, so no matter what, it was going up!

First battery:
Full throttle toss. Straight as an arrow and it went towards the sky. I trimmed it on one pass, then started to toss it around in the sky. Man this thing is quick on the sticks. The roll rate is surprising at WOT. Not so much at lower throttle settings. Unlimited vertical, 'almost'. It will fall over eventually, but it takes a LONG time to get there.
I spent this battery mostly getting the feel for the plane.
I don't yet know if I like it much at this point. Rudder is WEIRD feeling.
I landed at 5:30 and had to put back 1800ma. Not bad.

Second battery:
Full throttle toss. The wind caught it and flipped it on it's back. I was able to get to the controls, chop the throttle and flip it back over just in time for a smooth landing! The audience applauded!
Retry: I caught the wind between gusts and it launched just fine. Straight and true.
This battery had the rudders turned down some. Ok. Time to test the brakes.
I flew it fast for a few laps. It probably hits 90 or maybe a little more. It's pretty fast! I then got it higher and hit the brakes. It immediately stopped and headed for the sky. Huh? I then let off the gas and it started to just come down flat with no other input. How odd! The rudder causes major up, as these are at an angle. Not the normal 90 degrees to flight.
This thing will take a whole new way of flying!

Third battery:
Ok, time to thrash!
The throw was perfectly straight and up. No gusts then. I like how this launches. Much better than the 'C' version.
I did a couple of flyby's at WOT and it's fast enough. Then I shot it up and then down into a blender. WOW! Perfect flat spin! But it didn't come out of it by itself!!!!! I had to power out of it!
Ok, then I started to get a little more nuts with it. Rudder throw on full (almost 90 degrees). Hitting full rudder now made the thing barrel roll at about 2 times per second!
HAH!! Then I hit full rudder, full down and full left aileron!!! HOLY CRAP!!! Invisible thing was going nuts up there!!!! Now, that's more like it!!!
I then started going WOT in a straight line, then letting off and hitting full everything, to see what it would do!

This thing is NUTS!!

The rest of the batteries were all in thrash mode!!! This thing LOVES to be thrashed!

I never did do any high alpha or other slow 3d stuff. Nah, this thing would maybe get mad at you for that!

Bottom line is I love this thing!

Pluses: It loves to be thrashed! It spins like it's a top! Blenders are INTENSE! WOT towards the ground then pop it and it will STOP and instantly go into an inverted flat spin!!!
You can go WOT at about 90mph or so, then hit the elevator and POOF, in 1 millisecond it's heading UP, then pop it around the box. It will do a vertical square with the corners being like a 1" radius!!! It makes a grunting sound during these turns, though, and you can see the airframe bend. But so far, it handles like a dream and the twisting doesn't cause anything bad to happen.
You must put your timer on 4:30 if you thrash the entire time! I had mine on 5:30 and it went into low voltage shutdown. Landing is a non-issue like this, as this thing does not stall, unlike the 'C'!
I found that 5:00 even was perfect. Mostly WOT and in thrash mode, when the beeper goes, you are going whew, wiping your forhead!

Minuses:
I'm not sure how you can move the CG farther back. There is no room!
I would love to try 4s, but there is no room!
The only reason I would like to have more power is to play with the vertical and WOT spins. While this spins awesomely, it could use more power there.
If you are not an accomplished pilot, then putting this in a spin could be a problem! An inverted flat spin with mine will STAY IN THE SPIN when you let off the controls!!! You have to power out of it. That was interesting for me! Luckily I had it pretty high for most of today.

Overall?
I REALLY REALLY LOVE this thing!
It completely blows the 'C' version out of the water in speed, and especially high speed 3d!!!

I am really sad I had to come home today!!!

I plan on adding some carbon fiber to the elevons and keeping it stock for power, at least until I either read about how to move the CG farther back or figure it out one of these days.
Kent

[19000rpm]

Great review kent.

This plane sounds like a huge improvement over the C and well worth the investment horizon made in the upgrade.

[akent]

Well, I added carbon to the trailing edge of the elevons. They are stiffer, but not as stiff as I expected. It should help in any event.

I then whacked out foam inside the thing between the ESC and receiver and then between the battery and ESC. I can now push the battery and ESC back a couple of inches!!!
That's going to be interesting!

Next mod will be to cut the elevons to allow more throw. I'll wait on that one for a little while, as I suspect the servos are going to die then. I don't have any good replacements yet.

I think the CG farther aft will wake this thing up, as if it really needs it!!!

This thing already can go into an inverted flat spin when doing a blender WITHOUT throttle added!! It just pops into the inverted flat spin!

What I really want to try to get is the super fast spin rates that are in a couple of the videos. Mine doesn't spin very fast....
Kent

[19000rpm]

This plane has a lot of potential to see the best of both worlds; speed and aerobatics. I think you're going to get the best of both of them.

[Gabe]

Hey Kent, have you thought about digging out some foam for cf tubing like we do on our darksiders? That would really stiffen her up. Or maybe the simpler solution is to just use the lightweight glass and z-poxy on the bottom only?

I had pretty good success with painting a coat of epoxy onto the stock elevons as well. I prefer the wood elevons though as the foam eventually will fail.

I'm waiting on my claim check from UPS and then this baby will be in the mail!

[akent]

Gabe, I really think this plane may be best left stock. At least that's what I'm thinking now.
The 'C' may be the better hotrod.

I only had one flight yesterday (AR600 died for the second flight) with the mods and it didn't fly as well as stock! The CG was moved back an inch or so and the elevons with the CF made it more touchy, but it did nothing for the flat spins. In fact, the flat spins were not as flat! I don't understand that part.

I'm going to de-mod the thing one at a time to see what affects what. This is a different bird, that's for sure.

Oh, and be sure to order a stock prop or two, as they are the best for this, that I have found so far. The next best prop seems to be the APC 6.5x6 pylon racer prop, but it draws more current and doesn't seem to fly any better. You also have to ream the heck out of any other prop. The propshaft is huge!
Kent

[Gabe]

Glad you're the guinea pig for this one! I'll be sure to buy a few extra stock props. Can't wait!

[19000rpm]

Jul 11, 2011 11:06:38 GMT -6 akent said:

Gabe, I really think this plane may be best left stock. At least that's what I'm thinking now.
The 'C' may be the better hotrod.

I only had one flight yesterday (AR600 died for the second flight) with the mods and it didn't fly as well as stock! The CG was moved back an inch or so and the elevons with the CF made it more touchy, but it did nothing for the flat spins. In fact, the flat spins were not as flat! I don't understand that part.

I'm going to de-mod the thing one at a time to see what affects what. This is a different bird, that's for sure.

Oh, and be sure to order a stock prop or two, as they are the best for this, that I have found so far. The next best prop seems to be the APC 6.5x6 pylon racer prop, but it draws more current and doesn't seem to fly any better. You also have to ream the heck out of any other prop. The propshaft is huge!
Kent

A plane that resists modding: That's modding hearsay. Strike the Styker with a lightning bolt.

Anyway, I like your step by step approach to de-modding. There may be something to be gained after all.

[akent]

A fellow I fly with liked the way mine flies, so he bought one, too.

He is a mad man with EDF jets. He has a few that are around 150mph.
He also built up a Funjet Ultra like my fast one.

We plan on modding ours tomorrow to see what works best. I'm not sure what he has in mind yet... I have a 4s battery, a 60 amp ESC, a few props and I plan on playing with the CG and the aileron stiffness.

It should be interesting!
Kent

[akent]

Ok, I flew my 'Q' for 8 batteries today!!! It's well broken in now!

My friend who just bought one has had horrible luck with his. On it's maiden, it went out of range for the AR6000 that he put in it. You don't want to fly a park flier receiver on anything that goes more than maybe 300 feet from you. I have been bit several times with these.
The 'Q' went behind the trees and was gone. We found it and it was in great shape! Just a broken prop and a few scuffs! It must have landed itself! One thing I can say is these are really tough!

So, he switched to a Futaba receiver that he had, programmed the radio and the ESC died right off the bat, before it could be flown.
I really hate Eflite ESCs. They are complete crap in my book.

He had a 50 amp one in a foamie, so he pulled that and installed it. He had a spare APC 6.5x6 pylon racer prop from our Funjets in his box. He reamed that out and installed it.

Well, he was finally able to fly it through a few batteries. He tried to do some of the maneuvers that mine does and it just won't do it. I don't understand why. And he can make his do things that mine won't do!

I did not demod my Stryker! I must have been tired last Sunday or something. I don't think the elevon carbon did much, if anything, and the CG definitely likes to be farther back! I moved it back to the center of the launch grab area. That's a little over 1" aft.

I was able to spin the thing today faster than the videos!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
That's what I'm talking about!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I took it way up there and then just put it in an inverted flat spin without power. I was playing around with the controls when all of a sudden it sped up and sped up to the point it was a helicopter!! The thing must have been spinning at 10 rotations per second!!! I then let off the controls and it kept spinning! Full throttle and reverse controls and it came out of it, but it was low. Almost too low! I was able to barely pull out of it.

I had a hard time making it do that again at will. I really don't know what I do to get it into that. I was able to do it once more.

It really is stupid looking!!!!!!!!! Like nothing I've ever seen before!!!!!!!!!!!!
I'll try to get a video next time.

My favorite things to do to this thing:
1. WOT in a straight line. Don't let off and hit full left rudder and full down elevator and full right elevon at the same time. It stops in it's tracks and flips a couple of times, nose over tail and then goes into a spin!
2. Same thing, but let off when you mash the sticks. It stops and then flips more times.
3. WOT in a straight line and then full elevons into a loop! It stops in it's tracks and does a super tight loop, grunting the whole way! It really grunts when you do that!
4. Get really high in the sky and then get it into an inverted flat spin. WOT makes it spin a little better.
5. Do number 3 with no throttle from way high and then play with it until it gets into the uber fast spin mode!!! Better have some height to get out of it!
6. Put on the brakes (both rudders way out) and put the transmitter on the ground! This thing just floats down!
7. Blenders are incredible! No throttle is needed on the way down.
8. I have gotten to where I can land the thing at me feet! I come in slow and then pop it into high alpha about 10 feet away. It floats down and plops at my feet!

I'm sure I'll be adding to the favorites as I learn how to do more stuff with this thing!

The first time folks see this thing do the weird maneuvers they gasp! I heard several of those from the crowd today! What gets em every time is #1 above!

I will always have one of these things! It's now a MUST HAVE, along with my Fast Funjet in my hangar!

I never had a chance to put the 60 amp ESC and 4s in the thing today. I'll do that later! I was having too much fun with it stock!

Did I mention that I love this thing?!?
Kent

[19000rpm]

That does sound like fun kent. I'll have to find room for a Q in my inventory soon.