The RC Geek Blog

By: Chris Wolfe

Flight of the Bonanza Vtail…at last!

At the point I had finished the assembly of the VQ Warbirds Beechcraft Bonanza Vtail we were still on Coronavirus quarantine here in SoCal and all of our flying sites were closed. Well, when our fields opened up again I could not wait to get the airplane in the air! So, the first day out I brought her along and promptly logged 6 flights on the airplane. It took a few flights to get dialed in, and once tuned, I fell in love with the flight characteristics. It has great power and speed and looks awesome in the air with that characteristic vtail.

WHAT'S IN THE AIRPLANE

To recap from our Assembly review, the VQ Warbirds Bonanza Vtail is a nicely sized ARF of all wood construction coming in at a 62" wingspan. At final ready to fly weight of 9.75lb the airplane flies beautifully and has a really wide flight envelope. The power from the E-flite Power 52 and Master Airscrew prop is awesome as the airplane is quick and maneuvers extremely well (and is happy performing any sort of non-scale high performance aerobatics). Here are the final specs and equipment that are in the airplane:


AIRCRAFT SETUP & CG

As mentioned at the beginning of the article, it took a few flights to get the Bonanza Vtail dialed in. Most notably, the airplane wanted to carry down elevator for trim and also would climb at full throttle. I adjusted the CG and thrust line to try and mitigate those characteristics and ultimately they didn't make significant enough differences to continue exploring (i.e. a much larger thrust line change would be required than I cared to explore as it would require realigning and remounting the cowl). Ultimately, I moved the CG a bit further forward than the recommendation (stock location definitely felt tail heavy) and then added an 11% throttle to down elevator mix to resolve the climb at full throttle issue. Once these items were dialed in, the airplane was an absolute joy to fly! The control throws I honed in on through flying the airplane are shown below. Please note that due to the AR9350 AS3X Receiver being used, all of the aircraft configuration information is taken care of within the receiver through the Spektrum Programming APP as opposed to the transmitter. As a result, my dx radio file won't be useful if not using the same setup, so I'm not including it as a download.


  • Elevator - 8mm up/down with 5% expo (11% throttle to down elevator mix to remove the tendancy to climb at full throttle)
  • Aileron - 9mm up/down with 15% Expo
  • Rudder - 9mm left/right with 25% expo
  • Flaps - 15mm partial and 30mm full and no elevator mix required

Regarding the CG, for the first flight, I set the CG as recommended in the instructions. I found it to feel noticeably tail heavy, so I moved the CG incrementally forward. My final CG location equates to 115mm as measured from the wing root leading edge aft which is 13mm further forward than recommended. With this location, the airplane only requires a slight amount of down elevator in the inverted and feels rock solid in flight.


There is a ton of space inside the Bonanza fuselage based on the nice large hatch that it has. I'm using a Spektrum 6s Smart 5000mah battery which is placed essentially in the middle area just behind the nose wheel opening for where the nose gear retracts. Additionally, I have a 2s 1300 mah battery placed at the rear of the hatch as a dedicated landing gear battery. I highly recommend using a separate retract battery as this way it doesn't put any additional load on the receiver power.

FLYING THE VQ WARBIRDS BEECHCRAFT BONANZA VTAIL

The reward for any project like this is finally getting it in the air and I have fallen in love with this Bonanza Vtail! The airplane is fast and maneuverable and flies like a fantastic sport airplane. Combine that with the looks of the vtail and it's truly a unique beast that looks beautiful in the air. I was pleasantly surprised at just how effortlessly the airplane performs aerobatics as it tracks on rails easily performing point rolls, cuban 8s and the like. Those aren't scale maneuvers of course, but you do learn much about a design and the aircraft characteristics by putting it through it's paces like that. Additionally, with the flaps down, the airplane slows down and lands really nicely. The airplane has a really wide gear stance and so ground handling is rock solid and easy as well. Lastly, though the Bonanza takes off easily with neutral flaps, I have found that you get a little smoother rotation with partial flaps deployed during the takeoff roll. However, you need to carry notable amount of up elevator stick during the takeoff roll to ensure that the main gear don't lift first.

With respect to the Vtail, aside from looking awesome, I found that the airplane doesn't maneuver any differently compared to a conventional tail as the airplane is extremely stable and responsive. I did notice the tail would wiggle a little bit in some wind gusts (especially noticeable with an aft CG) which is also a characteristic of the full size. Otherwise, the aircraft response and feel wasn't notably different to a conventional tail. With a little more rudder throw, I'm confident that the airplane will even do a legitimate knife edge maneuver fairly easily with minimal coupling.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Well, at long last, quarentine and all, there we have the VQ Warbirds Bonanza Vtail.  Civilian airplanes aren't typically my go to, but I tell you what this is a great everyday flyer and I really love the looks of it. The maneuverability, the power, and the flight characteristics make it an airplane that is sure to provide a great long term platform for practicing much more precision scale aerobatics. Needless to say, I was pleasantly surprised by this Bonanza and am looking forward to logging many many flights with it! Until next time, I'll see you at the field!

The RC Geek Blog is your place to learn about all aspects of the RC hobby. Learn to build, design, drive or fly that RC project you’ve always wanted to build, but have been intimidated to try. This blog is here to help you on your journey and provide tips and tricks as you go! My hope is to inspire builders both experienced and new! So, welcome, please look around, it’s an exciting beginning!  I’m currently documenting my latest competition scale RC jet build, a Mark Frankel F4D Skyray, along with some other fun tips and videos. If you can’t find what you’re looking for on this front page, click on any of the categories to the right and it will show just posts related to those categories. Please feel free to add comments and/or contact me directly if you have questions, I’m here to help! And don’t forget to check out my YouTube Channel, I post new videos every week!

Subscribe To Our Blog Now

By Chris Wolfe 19 Sep, 2023
The B-58 Hustler Saga - From Triumph to Tragedy
By Chris Wolfe 13 Mar, 2023
Preparing for Battle: The ULTIMATE Guide to Scale Documentation Maybe you've heard about RC Scale Aircraft competitions, but the thought it sounded intimidating, or the process of it all seemed daunting and discouraging. Well, fear not! I am here to encourage you and dispel any myths you may have heard if any. Scale competition is a fun and challenging segment of the hobby that will undoubtedly make you a better pilot! So, in light of this, I've started a new "Preparing for Battle" live series and in my first episode, "Preparing for Battle: The ULTIMATE Guide to Scale Documentation," we talk about the AMA Scale Nats with special guest Joe Vermilion from Balsa USA and peel back the layers of scale competition and provide information on what it's all about! As an experienced RC Scale Aircraft competitor and two time US Scale Masters National Champion, my hope is to share whatever knowledge and practical advice I can for newcomers and seasoned competitors alike.
By Chris Wolfe 14 Feb, 2023
Are You Ready to Take Your RC Flying to the Next Level?? Then you’re in luck, because we’re giving away an FMS 1400mm F4U Corsair and an FMS 1100mm PC-21 ! But first, let's address the elephant in the room...it's been quite a while since my last blog post. With the move to TN and everything going on trying to get The RC Geek up and running full time, it's been difficult to sit down and set aside time to write. My goal is to change that going forward, so here's hoping! (check the vid below for even more details about everything mentioned here!)
By Chris Wolfe 25 Jan, 2022
Flight of the Flir Cat…The Sequel!! I tell you what, it has been quite the journey getting here! As a project, this Freewing F-14 Tomcat refinish took much longer than I had originally planned based on all of the other distractions that have come through the shop, but I'm so happy with how this model turned out in the end. It did take a few flights to get tuned and I have made a few small modifications in the process since our last installment, but otherwise I'm happy to report that the Tomcat is flying quite well. The F-14 Tomcat has such a great look and presence in the air, you just can't beat it!
By Chris 10 Jan, 2022
10 channels of power…and 1 receiver to rule them all! I personally love having the option for more channels, especially when building my own scale aircraft. While not always necessary, having channel options available is almost always helpful and it opens up opportunities to add scale functions and/or customize the controls more to your liking. And that's not to mention having individual servo setup across the same functions. So, I was excited to finally see the AR103060T and AR10100T 10 channel receivers released from Spektrum. It opens of channel options in a lighter weight package while also supports all of their new technology. Having been flying the NX10 for some time it is nice to finally be able to utilize all of those 10 radio channels.
By Chris 10 Jan, 2022
Good times and Warbird Flying are back! Needless to say, the last year and a half plus has been hard on all of us. With so many of our normal routines and activities disrupted, it has only brought that many more challenges it seems. This hobby is not just about the airplanes and flying, it is about the friends and comradery that can be enjoyed together with others as well. So, when the Scale Squadron's Warbirds & Classics came up again this year after being cancelled in 2020, I was beyond excited to go; it had been almost 2 years since the last event I went to!
By Chris 24 Nov, 2021
Refinish a Foam Jet Ep 4 – Freewing F-14 Tomcat Low-Viz Navy Weathering How low can you go?…a little low-viz Tomcat weathering. Finishing up the refinish work on the Freewing F-14 Tomcat, it’s time to apply some characteristic low-viz Navy weathering. The Flir Cat paint scheme is from the mid 90’s at a time when the Tomcats in service were painted primarily in Dark Ghost Grey (FS36320) with variations thereof. They were high maintenance workhorses at this time and the aircraft got extremely dirty during operation. This opens up lots of opportunities to apply different weathering techniques on the airplane to simulate those years of service on the carrier.
By Chris 24 Nov, 2021
Refinish a Foam Jet Ep 3 – Freewing F-14 Tomcat Paint, Markings, & Panel Lines
By Chris 27 Sep, 2021
Refinish A Foam Jet Ep 2 - Freewing F-14 Tomcat Cockpit 3D Printing, Painting and Moving Pilots
By Chris 27 Sep, 2021
Fill…sand…poly…sand…primer…sand…aaaannnnddd repeat… You've probably figured out by now, I have many favorite aircraft. ;) However, if I was to put together my top 5 favorite aircraft of all time, the F-14 Tomcat would probably be at or near the top of that list. The airplane was one of brute force, but packaged in an elegant and distinct looking airframe that truly personified its name, Tomcat. And that's not to mention, it was an extremely capable fighter that filled many roles through the years that operated from the early/mid 70's into the mid 2000s.
More Posts
Share by: