I purchased an Aerobird Challenger over this past week. I had done a lot of reading on the plane and every review had something nice to say about it. Most of those reviews turn out to be true.
A little background about my abilities. I have a fair amount of flying experience. I have flown various gas and electric trainers and sport plans for over four years now with a growing wealth of experience. I fly on an average of about 20 times per season and have found myself more attracted to smaller and more aerobatic electric planes than their gas counterparts (mostly because of the lack of a private space to fly out of than anything else). I am not an RC guru, but know my way around planes and can fly around in a lamp post filled parking lot with relative ease as long as the plane behaves. I am not a builder but more of a flyer and I love the ability to take my planes up high in the air and fly around for hours.
Now for the Challenger. It is a relatively small plane with a lot of gusto. There is almost no assembly involved and the battery can be charged with the included 12V charger in under 40 minutes. So, time between acquiring and flying can be as little as an hour. If you are a first time flyer, think about watching the included Video CD and having someone with a little bit of flying experience at hand, it will save you a trip to the hobby store for parts.
The airplane is built very well and almost perfectly balanced right out of the box. Pay attention to the instructions and drain the battery completely before attempting to charge it the first time, you will ensure longer flight times that way. Once everything was checked and checked twice, I headed out to the UT soccer field. The day was not very windy and the ribbon at the end of my transmitter antenna was flying only at a 45 degree angle. I walked to the middle of the field, checked the controls again and tossed the plane gently into the wind at full throttle. The plane flew forward with authority and after waiting a few seconds to make sure it had enough wind speed, I pulled back on the stick.
I have to say that this plane flies itself. So if you make sure you do not over control and just control it with very gentle pressure on the stick, you will be pleasantly surprised. I climbed out to a safe altitude and tried some of the maneuvers. The airframe is hard enough to stay together in tight loops and tail slides. In the sport mode (a control program for the transmitter/receiver which prevents over control, much like training wheels) the plane is slower to respond and cannot perform tight turns and rolls. However, it is a lot more gentle to fly and easier to figure out.
Landings are controlled with a slow airspeed and a lot of flare. I suggest a little bit of power right before touchdown to ensure the plane does not trip over itself on the weak undercarriage, especially in tall grass. The plane can be fairly well controlled even at slow, almost stall speeds.
I had a couple of extra batteries (from the Zig Zag boat, from the same company) and I flew for about an hour before I had to get back into the car to recharge. With some throttle control, 20 minutes+ flights are not uncommon.
So if you are looking for a cheap and durable remote control airplanes (and have flown in the past) I would suggest this rig in a heartbeat. If you have never flown before, get the Aerobird model just below this one to get your feet wet on. This will set you back $150 and lesser. Well worth the money. More pictures to come as and when I get them together.
It was a lot of fun. The Thunderbirds were very good as usual and we got the rare opportunity of watching Air Force One come in for a landing. It has been raining all day today and I am really glad that we decided to go the day that we did.
