The Catalina is a wonderful plane. It took about
an hour for me to get it together. There is nothing particularly noteworthy
about putting it together, except things will go much faster with five minute
epoxy instead of the provided contact cement. Every single item is included,
even a screwdriver and glue. The only thing you need to provide is 8 AA
batteries for the transmitter.
So...how does it fly? Just great. With the provided brushed geared motors and
NIMH battery, it has adequate power to fly around nicely, and will loop from a
shallow dive. It is extremely stable, and extremely easy to fly. It could be a
first or second plane. Hand launching is very easy. It will also get off water
or snow. If you plan on flying off water, you will probably want to add a water
rudder to help steer it around after landing. If you are flying off anything but
soft grass or water, you will probably want to add some clear packing tape to
the bottom of the fuselage and wing floats to prevent them from getting
scratched up. Do not attempt to fly it without the provided wing struts, they
are needed, and stay away from any wild aerobatics that might give the wing
negative G forces, it's not really stressed for that. The plane is plenty strong
for normal flying, but it's not an aerobat, nor was the real PBY Catalina. It
looks best doing a low pass or touch and goes off the water. It's extremely
light, and will fly very very slowly, it's hard for beginning pilots to get into
trouble with it, and the flight characteristics are certainly suitable for park
flying.
Flight times are around 8 minutes with the provided pack, and the wall charger
takes about an hour to refill the pack. The 27 MHZ radio works fine, it
occasionally glitches here and there, but recovers right away. Keep in mind that
range is not unlimited, keep the plane withing 500 feet of you or so, and that
you are subject to interference from many other toys and other devices out
there. It would be very easy to install a different receiver, but, again, the
provided one is perfectly adequate. Do make sure your receiver antenna is
stretched out all the way to the tail, that you have fresh batteries in the
transmitter, and that you range check your system before you fly it.
As far as upgrades go, if you change the installed connector, you can put in an
inexpensive 12c 3 cell 2200mah lipo battery. It will fit flat on the tray right
above where the NIMH pack went, and will stay where it is by just a friction fit
between the tray and the fuselage and the pushrods. The extra power of the 11v
lipo makes for a dramatic transformation...power is now much more than is
needed, she will climb out at a 45 degree angle, and flight times are 12-15
minutes. Full throttle is rarely needed. Motor life may suffer in the long run,
but mine has been fine so far, and it's a lot more fun to fly with the lipo
pack. I feel no need at all to upgrade the motors to brushless, the provided
geared systems are more than adequate to fly the plane very well.
It's a heck of a deal for $99, you really can't go too far wrong. I'm very
pleased.
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products by rc enthusiasts, click here.
Specification:
Wingspan: 1380mm (54.3")
Length: 880mm (34.6")
Flying Weight: 780g (27.5 oz)
Drive System: Twin 370 carbon brush motor with gearbox
Control system: 4 CH Multifunctional Radio Transmitter and
Micro Receiver
Radio Control Range: > 1000 feet (300m)
Feature:
4 Channel Full Function Radio Controlled (Aileron, Elevator,
Rudder, Throttle)
Full aerobatic characteristics; inside loops, outside loops,
axial rolls, inverted flight, knife edge, stall turns,
hammerheads, and spins are possible
The wing and body used in this jet are specially designed to
allow high G maneuvers, yet the wing loading is still very
low
Powerful brush motor makes it possible to fly this plane at
high speed in the situations with much wind
Excellent stability of nosing up and down
Rudder helps steer plane on water
Ready to Fly in Just Minutes!
Super tough, lightweight airframe!
Perfect appearance and emulation (Scale appearance, great
attention has been given to details)
Shock Resistant Reinforced Fuselage and Strong Wings
Can Take Off From water or Hand Launched
Excellent Flight Performance
Super easy and super stable electric powered scale R/C park
flyer for beginner or middle-level users
Stable inverted flight
Fuselage with pre-installed Electronics, Motor, Servos, and
Speed Controller
Super stable for beginner, Super low speed for safety, Super
low altitude for fun
Fabricated by accurate molds with high fidelity of real
airplane
Excellent stability and aerobatic capability
Detailed Body Structure
High roll rate
Digital Proportional Motor Speed Control
Slow Speed Flying Capable, Good for Beginner
Suitable for both beginners and experienced pilots
Approximately 10-15 minutes flight time on each charge
Complete Kit, Ready to Fly, Easy to Assemble (Everything
is included and 90% assembled -- only required 8 AA
batteries for the transmitter to start flying)
Package Include:
Airplane (90% assembled, all electronic components are
installed), Ready to fly in minutes
