RC-Hangout

Many of you know that my 40th birthday was last weekend. To treat myself, I ordered a Hobbyking Skyfun and I plan on setting this plane up for FPV. I ordered the plane Monday morning and it arrived at my door today (Thursday). The cardboard box that they always use is that cheap crappy cardboard but the box was in "pretty good" shape. I get the box open and they overkilled on the packing bubbles, lol. The box for the Skyfun is in perfect condition. Quite happy to see that. I get the box open and I see that all the parts and pieces are present and in good condition. I've read many reviews and I've seen a few videos where some people are quite upset about the bearings in the new 2500kv motor (vs the 1800kv motor that was in the v1 Skyfun). I grabbed the spinner on the motor and gave it several good spins. This motor seems to be turning very smoothly and I don't hear any illnesses from the motor bearings. Quite happy about that, too!

So, this will be an easy build (compared to my usual scratch builds, lol).

The clear canopy was only glued on at the front and the rear, so removing it was pretty easy. I wanted to remove it so that I could color it black. I really thought that the clear canopy would be a cheap and brittle plastic. Surprisingly, it's quite a bit more tougher than I thought it would be.
I removed all the decals because I'd like to cover the plane with packing tape. The decals were just stickers and some of them were poorly applied, anyway, so it was pretty easy to remove them.

I just noticed that one of the elevon tips is broken. No worries though! I planned on replacing the elevens with balsa, anyway, and then reinforcing the hinge.
Was this broken when it got here? Maybe. Or did this get broken here? That's possible, too, lol.

That's a sweet looking plane and plenty of space for fpv gear. It's a shame about the broken eleven but if you were planning on replacing them with balsa it's no to much of a big deal.
I love build season nearly as much as flying season, so when's the maiden?

Thanks Dan! It really is a sweet looking plane. The foam is much more solid than I thought it would be. The cockpit has tons of space to FPV and other components and a reasonable sized battery. I'm very much looking forward to this. As for the maiden...it's possible that I can go flying next week. According to the forecast, we are looking at warmer temperatures coming. If I can get a day off work with decent/nice temps and mild winds, I'll be at the flying field.

What batteries are you planning on running, I read on the hk site that 1300 3s is the recommended size. It just seems quite small.

Yeah, to start, I'm looking at running 3S 2200 packs. Once I get a few good flights on it, I'm going to put a 4S setup on the plane and have some good fun.

There are some slots, preformed, into the underside of the plane for the addition of carbon fiber reinforcement. I'll be sure to get some CF from my hobby shop. One of my YouTube buddies has a 4S Skyfun. He has some CF added to the plane and runs a 4S 3000mah pack.

That's a fast, sharp looking plane your putting together Derek. Good luck with the rest of the build. Can't wait to see the FPV with that bird.

Here is a Skyfun video that I was watching earlier today. Keep in mind, this is NOT my plane. This is NOT my video. I saw this video and I really enjoyed the ride.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HIBGUQm6hm8

If you need any advice Derek, I had this plane for a long time.
Mine was on 4S set up.
Turnigy 2350KV motor with 70A ESC 1800mah 4S. 120mph

First tips.
Change ailerons to balsa.
Cut out servo slots on top of wing like the video above. Otherwise you just rip them off when you land.
Fit a Carbon spar across the bottom.

I have many photos that i'll find later for you.
You will love this plane. The only reason I didn't buy another, was because I put the electronics in a Radjet to give that a try.
Enjoy

Thanks Lee! It's funny that you mention your Skyfun. While I was searching "4S Skyfun", this is what I found:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4jRyqc8Bu9Q

It's also funny that you mentioned changing the elevons to balsa, adding carbon fiber to the underside, and putting the servos on top. I've already done all three of those changes, lol. One of the elevons had a broken tip. Not sure if it was that way when it arrived or if I accidentally broke it. I decided to replace them with balsa. The addition of carbon fiber just makes sense to me, so that was a "no brainer", ha ha ha. This plane is a "belly lander" so it doesn't make sense to me to have the servos on the belly. Putting them on top is just the right thing to do.

If you can find any pics to share, I'd be excited to see them.

In other news, my new Mobius camera just showed up today (insert Happy Dance here, lol). Now I just gotta figure out a way to mount the Mobius to the Skyfun.

Nice one Derek:) video to follow:)

You should get the mobius docking station Derek, so simple to mount and no wires to worry about.

Graham Lawrie wrote:Nice one Derek:) video to follow:)

I'm gonna share some more pics as the build goes on and then there will definitely be flight video to come

Lee wrote:You should get the mobius docking station Derek, so simple to mount and no wires to worry about.

Thanks Lee. Ill look into it.

I was just looking at the Mobius Docking station. It looks pretty cool, and simple, but it states that it has a 200mw transmitter. The ImmersionRC vtx that I have is 600mw. What kind of range difference is there between the 200mw and 600mw?

Not an aweful lot Derek:) i use both and dont really notice any difference between the 2:) 200mw will be fine:)

Another curious question....using the Docking Station, is there a lag in the video feed? If there is, I'm not sure I'd be happy with that. I want to be able to fly fast and low. Therefore, any lag could mean trouble.

Derek wrote:Another curious question....using the Docking Station, is there a lag in the video feed? If there is, I'm not sure I'd be happy with that. I want to be able to fly fast and low. Therefore, any lag could mean trouble.

I think lee has used one on his glider, he will probably chime in later.

heres a video derek

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3bRiBZPGqtU

Bit of delay, not horrible though. Don't know how low you're talking, Derek.

Dan, what was the critter?