RC Model Reviews

My next project (after crashing my trainer once it's together) will be to get into FPV. I've been looking at various pusher prop ARFs on HobbyKing and elsewhere and am just curious as to what others think.

Their big foamy model seems like a bit of a pig with way too much frontal fuse. I wasn't surprised to see in Bruce's video that it wasn't all that coordinated in turns.

They have a nice fibre-glass kit that seems ideal at first look, but a light foamy would likely survive a remote crash landing better and would also be less likely to hurt anyone, or cause damage to property (like, oh I don't know, a control tower, hey Bruce)

The two obvious choices are the axn floater and the more roomy Bixler. I like the axn and it seems to fly a bit better, with greater speed range (and penetration) together with nice dynamic stability, but the Bixler is about the same price and seems to have more room for bits and bobs and can maybe handle the extra weight better.


EPP-FPV 1.8M X-Large EPP & Carbon Fiber R/C Plane


Fibre-glass FPV


Axn


Bixler

Thoughts?

Edit: Of course one could also scratch build a model, or adapt the wings off of a foamy and just make the fuselage or whatever.

You'll just have to wait for the FPV series at RCModelReviews

The bixler is roomier if you want to fit everything inside but I'm mounting my FPV gear externally on the AXN which makes for a nice modular setup without affecting the aerodynamics.

In the larger model area it's really a choice between the SkyWalker 3 and the HK EPP FPV.

I would not recommend a fiberglass model for FPV. If someone or something gets hit by a flyaway foamie the chances of a disastrous outcome are far less than if they're hit by a hard, unyielding lump of fiberglass! From a safety aspect alone, foam is a much better option.

Looking forward to the FPV series, I must say.

So, nose to the grindstone and shoulder to the wheel, Bruce (though god knows how you'd actually work like that).

Have you flown the axn with the FPV gear on yet btw?

I have this one http://www.bevrc.com/eaglewingstrong-ep ... p-210.html which works great for FPV. Similar size as the bixler but much more room for FPV gear.

Also have the Skywalker http://www.bevrc.com/skywalker-168cm-ep ... p-243.html. Much bigger than the Eaglewing and flys better than the HK EPP FPV plane.

pwy wrote:I have this one http://www.bevrc.com/eaglewingstrong-ep ... p-210.html which works great for FPV. Similar size as the bixler but much more room for FPV gear.

Also have the Skywalker http://www.bevrc.com/skywalker-168cm-ep ... p-243.html. Much bigger than the Eaglewing and flys better than the HK EPP FPV plane.

I really like the look of Eaglewing, and it seemed to fly very docilely in the video. The way they have mounted the motor appears more robust than the asx or the Bixler and also offers better cooling it seems. Price is not too bad either.

The Skywalker also seems nice, for a bigger model.

Decisions, decisions.

The Eaglewing does have a tendency to drop a wing when it stalls -- not a good thing if it happens close to the ground.

More enlightening information to follow

RCModelReviews wrote:The Eaglewing does have a tendency to drop a wing when it stalls -- not a good thing if it happens close to the ground.

More enlightening information to follow

That's a bit of a downer (groan).

I suppose there's no way to easily bend in a bit of washout on the wing-tips with foamies to alleviate that.

Btw, a bit off topic, but if you are using the Firefox browser, there's a neat add-on called Photobucket Uploader that allows you to right click on any image in a webpage, which then automatically uploads it to your Photobucket album. A popup then allows you to copy the url to the clipboard so as to quickly insert the image into a forum post. No need to have Photobucket open on another tab beforehand. Saves heaps of time when sharing images of interest.

Get it here: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/photobucket-uploader/

Sid, if you're in Australia then the Bixler is actually a little cheaper when purchased from AU Warehouse than the AXN International. Mind you they are still out of stock! Not that I'm in a hurry but once its in, thats the model I'll use for FPV

bmsweb wrote:Sid, if you're in Australia then the Bixler is actually a little cheaper when purchased from AU Warehouse than the AXN International. Mind you they are still out of stock! Not that I'm in a hurry but once its in, thats the model I'll use for FPV

That's another reason why I opted for the AXN. Because every man and his dog sells them you're not left waiting for HK to restock (which can be a long wait sometimes).

Funny you say that because I have a feeling once I decide on a FPV system (based on your video ) I'll probably end up having to go for the AXN