A project article on this Aerial or FPV aircraft from Hobbyking.  Formerly known as the Volantex Ranger it has been updated and re-marketed by HK as Quanum Observer.  The popularity of models with the abilty to carry video cameras has increased dramatically especially if you include multicopters.  However this fixed wing model looks more of a Drone, with it's new grey colouring and rather dramatic looks giving it that menacing appearance.  The airframe is made from blow moulded plastic, slippery surface like nylon, a texture similar to supermarket milk bottles.  The fuselage at just over a meter has a wide body up front and the wing is EPO at nearly 2 meters span with curved down wing tips.  The electric aircraft is of the pusher prop variety.

The Ranger 1600 from Hobbyking is another plane from the milk bottle stables, ie; plastic fuselage and very similar stabiliser and tail fin to the Phoenix glider range.  The big difference though is the plug in wings so no screw driver required.  The Ranger is designed for much easier hand launching and virtually a mid-wing type plane.  This model is very similar to the Bixler series except it now has a virtually indestructable fuselage!  The front nose has a flat area with a small aperture for a camera if using it as FPV.  It is quite capable of powered flight or used for slope soaring, your choice.  The plane comes with  pre-wired servo connections, 30 amp ESC and a unbranded 2212 1400Kv brushless outrunner and designed to run on 3 cell Lipos in the 1600 to 2200 maH range. These batteries will balance the model perfectly.

With the Covid-19 creating a lockdown I now find the time to build a few more projects that have been waiting for some attention and has an ample supply of balsa in stock.  First project on the bench is a Rubin by Wolfgang Matt and H. Nishioka.  F3A-Model
Europameistermodell 1992 and 1994.  Wingspan -184cm.  Length - 80cm.  Weight 4.3kg.

Fuselage is underway. A very simple box with thick sheets of balsa on top of the nose in front of the canopy.  Turtle decks cut from white foam and skinned with 1/16 balsa using Gorilla Glue. I was not looking forward to cutting these, but they were a lot easier to make than expected.  Fin and rudder made in the same way. They're curing now and can come out after about 3 hours...much quicker and easier to work with than epoxy.

 Once glued to the fuselage and carved/sanded to shape you get a very strong but light fuselage.

What to do with a 1550mm EPP slope soaring wing? First a little history. I have had this wing for some years now purchased from Hobbyking. It's initial outings were purely as slop soarer and performed well although not a fast wing, more like a lumbering bomber. At least it was not bothered with the collisions from the more popular 46 inch Zagi, X-its and similar clones who just bounced of it and spun to earth. Flying it got boring so was stored away and forgotten. Some time later during an idle hands moment I spotted it laying around in the back of the workshop. After some measurements I decided to bring it back to life again as a slope soarer with a difference, it would have a fuselage and tail fin and hopefully look like a delta wing aircraft.

Introduction - Quite a few years ago we were all happy to recharge our power packs from the car battery, although some found that this was not a good idea after a days flying when the car refused to start - flat battery. As time went by our power packs got bigger and bigger and more powerful to go with our larger electric aircraft.  This is becoming a problem!  We then turned to leisure batteries which are by no means cheap, a 75 amp battery could easily set you back by £120 and upwards.  As my aero fleet increased and a sizeable number were electric requiring 6 cell packs at 5000 mah I was now going down the "adding more expense" route to my pastime.

I recently acquired a Weston Hype 3D. It was brand new but with no box. I am not into 3D as such. No-one seemed to want it so I took it on as a  general "muck about" plane and it would be a shame for it to go to the bin which it was destined to be. After doing some research for a manual or some kind of guide it appears that there is not much on the "Tube" for these things although there were a few items for the Mini Hype but scarcely anything for the 60+ inch version. I found a manual but it was for a later version as the one I was looking at did not have a battery hatch or EP conversion mount. Neither were any control wire guide tubes installed as per the manual.  Oh No! What have I commited too?

Designed by Chris Foss and sold by Ripmax this biplane has become a popular model in an instant.  The first batch of models sold out quickly along with option packs.  The second batch turned up but the option packs were in short supply.  For me this put the purchase of the model on hold till the electric pack became available. This ARF comes as an airframe only, leaving the user to decide on the power option.