Tag Archives: UMX Adventures

UMX Adventures – E-flite UMX Turbo Timber Flight Review

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Fly it like you STOL it, micro bush planes FTW!

I had this E-flite UMX Turbo Timber arrive last week and I was really excited to give it a go.  It’s been a while since I had played with a UMX airframe and I’m always so impressed with how well they fly.  In the case of this Turbo Timber, it has some additional features I’d not actually seen in a UMX thus far, most notably the airframe features full navigation lights.  Also, being noted as a STOL airplane (similar to the UMX Timber), it features some nice big “Chuck Norris tires” for those unimproved field operations which do the job of impaling the landing area into submission quite well.

The design itself is an evolution of the UMX Timber, but features an updated turbo-prop look as well as a higher power 3400kv motor paired with a 3-blade propeller.  The result is a bit better vertical performance if that’s something you’re looking for.  For me, it’s a fun STOL aircraft to take on the road for those backyard flying adventures!  Plus, with the included flaps and slats, the airplane slows down to a crawl which is quite fun.

 

WHAT’S IN THE BOX?

The beauty of these UMX airframes is that they come out of the box Continue reading →

E-Flite VTOL V-22 Osprey Flight Review

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Yes, I love technology…always and forever…

In this article, we’ve got something a little bit different we’re talking about, the new E-Flite V-22 Osprey! With the advent of the quadcopter technology and the miniaturization of it all, it really opens up some great opportunities for a model like this and it’s pretty awesome!  A tilt rotor is an extremely difficult challenge to overcome in full scale so imagine what it would take to truly scale that down in miniature.  Well, E-flite has leveraged their vast experience in VTOL aircraft and really put something together that is simple and effective right out of the box…not to mention just looks incredibly cool in the air!

The full scale V-22 is a pretty amazing aircraft that really is an incredible technological achievement to come into full scale production.  The V-22 did have a few teething problems during development but the aircraft is common place now and I see them flying quite regularly around town since they operate out of Miramar.  I can tell you, it’s a unique looking and sounding aircraft to see in the air.

 

WHAT’S IN THE BOX?

This is the Bind N Fly version, so in terms of what you get in the box, it’s the aircraft ready to go with the included accessories.  All you need is a Spektrum transmitter and a 3s flight battery to get it flight ready.  The Osprey is firmly packaged in the box and you’re Continue reading →

UMX Adventures – E-Flite UMX Pitts Flight Review

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The Ultimate in ‘Mike Rowe’ Aerobatics…

As I had teased in my E-flite UMX A-10 flight review video, I’ve been having a lot of fun with the E-Flite UMX Pitts biplane and so wanted to put together a flight review video for it.  E-flite has really built up an awesome line of UMX airplanes and this Pitts is one that I’d been eying for a while.  Scale aerobatics are a fun and welcome change to my otherwise scale warbird and jet flying and when they came up on sale a while back, I quickly picked one up.  I’m glad I did because the airplane is an absolute blast to fly.

The full scale Pitts is a pretty iconic aerobatic airplane and what’s interesting is that the aircraft that are campaigned by both Sean Tucker and Skip Stewart are based on the Pitts airframe.  Highly modified of course, but still based on the Pitts.  So that tells you a lot about the design as those guys do some pretty incredible flying in those airplanes.  They’re even approaching some of the 3D aerobatics that we’ve been doing in the RC world and it’s pretty crazy to watch.  So, trying to replicate that in small scale is always a fun challenge and this tiny Pitts does a good job of it.

 

WHAT’S IN THE BOX?

Just like the UMX A-10 and other E-flite UMX aircraft, the Pitts comes out of the box completely ready to go.  Bind and setup your Spektrum radio and you’re good to go in about 10 minutes.  E-flite has done a great job with the shape of the airplane and the color scheme is a great choice.  It’s a pretty awesome representation of the pitts.  The Continue reading →

UMX Adventures – E-Flite UMX A-10 Warthog Flight Review

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The UMX Warthog that will have you brrrrrt while you fly!

Ever since the UMX A-5A Vigilante scratch build project with my friend Brent, I have been playing with a few UMX aircraft of late.  I have to say that there are some really great and unique UMX airplanes out there and Horizon Hobby has really been leading that charge.  The technology is such that you can create some really neat projects at basically 1/32 to 1/24 scale…essentially plastic model sized!  So, when the E-flite UMX A-10 arrived at my door step, needless to say, I was stoked!  I had been eyeing the airplane for a while, though surprisingly hadn’t seen one fly in person to that point.  I had heard that they fly great and so was excited to give the airplane a try.

The full sized A-10 is arguably one of the most iconic attack aircraft of all time and is just an incredible machine.  Designed for the close air support role, it really succeeds in that mission sporting a 30mm nose cannon and having a considerable stores carriage capability to back it up.   Mention the A-10 and usually someone in the room will crack off with brrrrrrt!  Emulating of course the sound of the 30mm cannon firing (What else would you think that was!? 😉 ).  So to see a twin EDF UMX A-10 realized and on the market is awesome and this cute little A-10 looks the part really well.

 

WHAT’S IN THE BOX?

The cool thing with these micros is they come out of the box completely assembled and ready to go.  All that is needed is a flight battery to install and a Spektrum radio (all the E-Flite UMX’s are Bind n’ Fly).  Opening the box and unpacking the airplane, you are met Continue reading →

UMX Adventures – The DIY UMX A-5 Vigilante Team Up

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THE ONE WEEK UMX A-5 VIGILANTE BUILD

Once in a long while my good Friend Brent (Corsair Nut) gets to spend some time in San Diego.  We’ve been friends since we were kids as his dad used to work for my dad at one point in the shop.  I have memories of him, his brother and I running around the back of the shop just doing what kids do.  We reconnected about 10 or so years ago and pretty much picked up where we left off!  So when he’s in town, there’s always some RC madness going on whether sporadic fly days or projects and it’s great!  We’re always encouraging and pushing each other to go for that next project or running ideas off of each other on builds, etc.  One thing about Brent, he is a master when it comes to working with foam and he’s shown me a lot of the techniques that I’ve been sharing with you.  So, when he mentioned he was coming to town, we talked about teaming up on a quick Ultra Micro (UMX) jet.  The subject? The A-5 Vigilante.

We actually planned this project (including sizing some drawings!) over a year ago on one of his previous trips.  For me, I have always had this airplane in mind for a build as the proportions are perfect for an RC subject.  It has a big wing, big tails and a nice wide fuselage which means good flying characteristics.  For a big bird, landing gear are kind of an issue (they always are!), but for a UMX bird like this, that’s no matter.  Fixed gear chicken legs here we come!

BTW, I have included the templates for the build further down in the article (no instructions), so if you’d like to give building one a shot, do it!

Now, I can’t say I was a huge help in the building process since our schedules really didn’t line up very well for the week he was here.  Add to that that I was a hand down based on abroken finger I was 3 weeks into resulting from an ice hockey injury.  I was fresh out of a cast but had a removable splint and couldn’t grip anything very well still even without the Continue reading →