PARKZONE RADIAN RTF

This is an absolutely excellent product!I am an experienced commercial, multi-engine, instrument and flight instructor pilot. I am also very experienced in full size sailplanes. I'm probably rated "Intermediate" in rc sailplanes and quad-copters.This aircraft flies extremely well for what it is. Of course, it will skid in turns because it has no ailerons (they have a more expensive model that does) so it relies on differential airspeed to raise the wing once the rudder is deflected. This effect is barely noticeable however and is normal for any 3 channel rc plane.It is an absolute joy to fly and it thermals very well. My most notable flight was in a thermal with a hawk both circling about 150 ft above the ground until the hawk kept rising while I lost the thermal. I haven't crashed it yet but I have some packing tape just in case. It is made of a very durable foam.Use a little packing tape at the front of the canopy or you will watch it fly off. Also, the control rod set screws are very small. I lost one and stripped the other so I just did the following: make sure the system is ON and controls in neutral (untouched). Then carefully use needle nose pliers to put a ninety degree bend in the control rods and insert into the control horns to make the elevator and rudder exactly neutral. It worked perfectly for me and they don't come out. They should have a better system for this.The electric motor is very powerful and the battery lasts a long time. The last time I flew was a non-thermal day and I still had about a one and a half hour session on the first battery.......... climb, shut off motor, glide, land, repeat.I love this thing!

I've built balsa, but never had the guts to actually fly them. Then, I bought a 1980's foam glider which crashed and shattered before I could even touch the controls. Fast forward to polypropylene foam and inexpensive RTFs.Initial control trim wasn't too hard. I just made sure to get enough altitude. I did crash twice that day, once into a tree on one side of the field, then promptly into another tree on the other side. It isn't a park flyer as I assumed. Flew a few more minutes then the propeller fell off.I chose another field and after twenty flights I got kinda of bored with an left-right-up-down experience. Up until then, I let the direction of flight to be dictated by the plane when she veered away from certain areas. Now, little better at the controls, I decided force my way through that turbulence. Light bulb moment. I've been avoiding thermal lift all along. Don't discount the manual as Chinese translated junk as I did, it's not, and explains thermals very well.Good to know: Normally, the ESC uses the motor to make an audible buzz when the battery gets low and allows plenty of juice to motor to a landing site, but if the battery drains slower, like when thermaling for a while, the endpoint is a dead motor and jumpy controls. The aluminum control knob is made of two pieces that can unscrew and elongate, jamming the control range(like the prop nut, loctite blue fixes it). Buy a lipo charging bag, if for any reason to provide a storage cushion for the battery as it lacks a hard shell. Other than applying smooth blue painter's tape when needed, I just charge and fly.

I've had other Horizon Hobby / Parkzone / Blade, etc. products before and they do turn out a nice product.I bought the Radian that comes with the DX5e transmitter, and it's a fine transmitter for this plane. Though the plane is easy to fly for someone who has some experience with RC planes, it might be a little frustrating as someone's very first RC plane. Practice with something smaller and/or use an RC flight simulator if you have one.Be aware, it is big. It has a 2-meter wingspan, that's over six feet across. It needs a large area to fly in. A large field is great. A large park could work, but watch out for light posts! The EPO Z-Foam is durable, but it can dent and it can break if you crash hard. I was able to repair it perfectly with carefully applied white Gorilla glue.The motor is strong and will get the plane up fast. Be careful not to hurt yourself on the prop. Again, the motor is very strong! The battery lasts a long time. Since this is a glider/sailplane, you're not always using the motor, so you should be able to get 30 minutes or more in the air. You'll have to experiment with battery life to know how much charge you are using.The plane handles nicely and predictably and I've really enjoyed flying it so far. I've only flown it in clam air or with gentle breeze. I'm not sure how it handles in stronger winds.

I have some experience piloting real gliders, but this is my first RC. Absolutely loved it, but alas, I crashed it a few times too and caused some damage on about the fourth crash. Tried to fly it in foot-tall grass...not a good idea because you end up doing a wing loop on every landing. This plane is just too much fun. Read the instructions regarding the "failsafe" mode. It says that, if you ever lose your signal, the plane reverts to the transmitter settings as they were when the binding process was done. Naturally, they strongly recommend that the controls be in the neutral position when you bind the transmitter to the receiver. In my case, the factory "bound" the receiver and transmitter with the throttle full on. While standing in the kitchen, I reached over and shut off the transmitter. The plane instantly went to full throttle. The plane came within an inch of holding its maiden flight in my kitchen. I re-bound the transmitter, and the problem was solved.

Nach einigen Fehlanläufen (zu billig, zu kompliziert) hat dieses Modell den Spass am Modellfliegen den ich als Jugendlicher hatte wiedergebracht. Ein Anfänger sollte sicher trotzdem einen erfahreneren Piloten dabeihaben, aber wenn man die Grundregeln kennt ist es sehr einfach dieses Modell zu fliegen (selbst wenn man in den letzten 20 Jahren nur selten am Sender geknüppelt hat). Es ist sehr stabil und gutmütig im Flugverhalten und hat einen kräftigen Motor der es schnell auf Höhe bringt. Alles was man braucht ist in der Packung enthalten und man braucht praktisch keine technischen Fertigkeiten um das Modell zum Erstflug fertigzumachen. Sender/Empfänger sind gerade richtig, zuverlässig (2.4 GHz Spread Spektrum) und ohne unnötige Gimmicks. Der Sender hat 5 Kanäle, man kann ihn (allerdings ohne Mischen und Programmieren) auch für ein Modell mit Querruder und einer weiteren mit einem Schalter betriebenen Funktion benutzen.Ein kleiner Kritikpunkt: Das Ladegerät braucht eine Autobatterie (kann man in den Stecker im Auto anschliessen). Allerdings sind brauchbare netzfähige Ladegeräte für LiPo Akkus etwas teurer, das würde den Gesamtpreis noch einmal deutlich anheben.Der richtige Spass beginnt aber erst nach dem Steigflug. Der Radian ist leicht und hat einen erstaunlichen Gleitwinkel. An einem guten Tag kann man die Flugzeit mit angeschaltetem Motor (ca. 5-10 min bei Volllast, je nach Zustand des Akkus) leicht durch Steigen in der Thermik auf 30 min bis zu über 1 Stunde ausdehnen. Ich habe dann bald noch zwei weitere Akkus und ein gutes Netz-Ladegerät gekauft, damit kann man dann leicht einen ganzen Nachmittag in der Luft zubringen.Gesamturteil: Ein sehr guter Einstieg in die Welt der ferngesteuerten Elektromodelle.