Was considering one of these for a while, but wasn't sure after being disappointed in the quality of the paint on my TJIRC Screamer (not purchased from Hyperflight) - the paint was very thin on the colour. So I Ummed and ahhed for a while, but when these came back in stock I decided to go for it. Well the quality of the paint on my Orange carbon version is superb, with deep luscious paint. So I'm very happy with the purchase and the usual great service from Neil's team. As the heading suggests, this is a glider I plan to carry on a motorcycle as it breaks down very compactly.
this kit was one of the best i have built for a long time.everything fits and is simple to build.it took approx three evenings to build the airframe,and a couple of evenings to cover it (english instructions are on the german site for downloading)quick delivery as well!
As all the other reviews mention great quality. I bought this for an Inside F5J and it fits fine except the horizontal stab is too long to fit in the pocket. Not a big deal as there is plenty of room next to the wings. There is one thing about these bags to carefully consider. If you put the fuselage in the outer sleeve then the fin sticks out past the bag and is totally unprotected. You have to be careful carrying the bag around you do not catch the tail on something and chose a storage location where the fin will not be damaged. Overall very nice.
Ordered a carbon Mini Dart 2 together with servos and a 1s lipo from Neil at Hyperflight which arrived in less than 24 hours in a sturdy box with the components well packed and in perfect condition. Excellent service from Hyperflight. This is my first composite model and the quality of the components is impressive.
Using the downloaded instructions plus tips from on line forums the build went well but with only one of each of the small assembly components the “measure twice cut once” advice holds strong.
Very happy with the finished model, just waiting for some calm weather to give it a maiden flight
Impeccable service by Hyperflight as usual, I always recommend them.
E Kite is my first foray into the small 1.5m models, it appears well made and finished, better than some of my bigger stuff. I started the build this weekend using the downloadable instruction sheet, but fell at the first hurdle, the 2 glass tail horns provided are different styles, one slotted to allow pull string disconnection and the other just a hole, I have bonded in the slotted one to the elevator to allow removal of that and considered cutting a slot in the rear of the rudder horn but there’s little meat on it so it may become too weak, I’ll have a think before bonding it in and progressing further, maybe the designer intended it that way. A bit disappointed so only a 3 star for potentially poor quality control.
First F5L model I've built, although I made some mistakes in the building the model is now flying beautifully. I initially went with the DYS D2225-19 and the VitaProp 8x4 on a 3S setup, it's fine, but I wanted a bit more speed to get around the sky and the DualSky 8x5.5 was perfect. It still climbs well, but also gives the model a bit more speed.
The model flies well and responds to lift well. I got 200mm of 10mm brass rod cut up into 30mm lengths to use for ballast (complete with wooden spacers). the total weight of the cut up brass is about 120g.
The thing I'd change is I'd probably have a slightly larger fin/rudder to have more authority at low speed.
Stunning quality of foam moulding with no rectification or adjustment needed.Instruction booklet simple to follow. Buy a reel of Blenderm tape whilst you can if you wish the tail to be demountable. Delivery is rapid, and if you have the flight pack, that’s in there too. Great service, great product, great fun….
I hate giving reviews, but feel this company is worth it as this is how on-line shopping should be, very fast response when ordering, fast putting order together and items are shipped the same day. Usually arrives next day but this is out of their hands once the order has been posted.
Always answers the phone promptly and sorts any problems out without issue.
All in all a 5 star service and I will certainly feel confident to use again when I want anything.
Although not purchased through HyperFlight (lots of other stuff is), my Stadard layup Cayley (weight 1270g RTF) is excellent in calmer conditions. The Light layup version could be even better. I have been flying mine in NZ for 6 months and it behaves well. It compares well with my 1380g Sensor which is also good in windier weather. The well printed servo tray and 2 part fuse work well. Also the built-in wing servo mounts and IDS linkages are excellent. All F5J models are quite costly but I have had hours of great flying with the Cayley, so compared to your average NZ$800 foamy they are good value.
Excellent service from Neil as always. As previously mentioned the part numbers are adjacent to the parts I guess this is so that you do not seen them through transparent type coverings.
Beautifully laser cut wood and very well drawn plans with all options shown, the build is complex for "simple" model requiring a lot of thinking ahead and working out the assembly order, there are no assembly instructions included and there are a lot of parts, however the result is a superb structure and I only hope it flies as well as it looks.
The fit of the parts is exemplary almost engineered rather the traditional type of die cutting
Some advice about the Dune Freak 1.2m slope glider.
Although I am modifying my kit, (increasing the span, making the tip panels removable and simplifying the fin/rudder shape), I have one bit of advice .
Before gluing the wing parts together check very carefully the main spar depth.
Because if the wood spar is not sanded to reduce its depth, once the carbon spar caps are added, the carbon spar caps will protrude beyond the rib depth and the covering will not be smooth over the carbon spar caps.
So sand off about 1mm from the wood spar depth before gluing on the carbon top and bottom strips.
I can confirm what many others already have stated: Hyperflight's deliveies are super fast. I had orderd/paid the Micro Bird o Time plus servos for it on a Monday, and on Friday I already had received it - in Switzerland!
The Micro BoT as a product is mostly just great, albeit probably not for every beginner as the "parts click together - no plan needed" may suggest to some.
Especially the few ribs that take the dihedral joiners are extremely delicate but can be handled well with the appropriately light touch, calm, concentrated mind and accordingly enough time.
My three main complaints with the kit are:
1.) The 1.2mm carbon rods that cross the fuse for the rubberbands o hold the wings on: they were (in my kit) very short. Nonetheless I used them. Lo and behold, it turned out that it indeed was finicky to get the rubber bands on in the field, and I swiftly replaced them after the first day of flying with slightly longer rods made of 1.5 mm iron wire I had at hand (weight penalty of 1 gram).
2.) The instruction manual's description and photo of the high start hook's position refer o a different and very similar looking model airplane fuselage!
I found out that the correct position of the hook is exactly 12 mm in front of the center of gravity (+/- 0.5 mm according to your preferences and taste). Measure on the bottom of the fuse from which you project a line at 90° to the CG position on the wing's underside. The in the manual described position of the CG (center of the wing spar) is spot on.
3.) The colloquially written instruction manual doesn't keep all described processes in order. Not a big issue for the average and occasional model builder but maybe a (minor but resolvable) problem to some (but not all) beginners.
But as I said, this Micro Bird of Time is overall a great little glider, and it was fun to build!
Mine turned out at a weight of 116 grams, including high start hook which is enough to stick on with low-tack 3M Scotch "Magic Tape", separable wing halves (own variation, weight penalty 0.7 grams), magnets holding the winghalves close to the leading edge together (weight penalty 0.8 grams), steel wire tail bumper (own variation, weight penalty 1.1 grams + therefore 2.5 grams additional ballast in the nose required) and "heavy" servos (4.4 grams each) right in front and after the CG, and it flew perfectly straight and level from the get-go, no adjustments whatsoever needed!
Ordered my green/yellow carbon mini dart 2 with 4x PTK 7306 MDG servos and other bits needed to complete my build on Saturday, received on Tuesday so basically next working day delivery. Packaging was very good with the extra parts separately packaged in a very thick jiffy bag. Everything ordered was in excellent condition. Not tried the servos yet as I'm getting my head round a new radiomaster tx15 max but they look very well made.
Only negative points which is not Hyperflights fault...
1 slight bleed through on the wing graphic
Launch bar delaminating
It would be nice to have a printed instruction sheet included but these are available to download.
All in all very satisfied. Thanks Neil 👍
I received an example of the APEX last fall, and brought it home with me from Europe. I built it over the winter, and have been flying it ever since. As the happy builder/flyer of several Puritos, I had no issues building this kit. Design changes from the Purito represent either (1) weight savings, or (2) simplified structure. I would have enjoyed having plans, but they were not necessary, and the instructions answered every question - especially after I read them again, only carefully! I spent significant time getting the airplane trimmed, but the process included radio problems. In the end, the airplane flies very well as designed and built. I see it as noticeably faster in cruise flight than a Purito, for pretty much the same sink rate - exactly as claimed by the designers. Handling is quick and positive. The large, late-Purito-derived spoilers bring it down very well. Mine launches right alongside every Purito I have managed to fly with. It's expensive, but I found it an excellent model. If you are a sport flyer, there are other airplanes for less money. If you are a serious flyer, you will want the APEX.
first time i have bought the higher end servos as have an application in a slope wing so was looking for better centering and control. so decide to spend some extra money. as with most slope flying difficult to see the difference in practise although bench testing certainly suggests worth the money if you have a particular need for more precision.
I purchased a set for my Willow 2 F3F knowing that they would be a little short but cover the leading & trailing edges.
They are very well made with with webbing tape sewn-in on the edges and thick silvered bubble wrap inside and out. Much better than home made!
Great service from Hyperflight once again - dispatched super well packed as always and arrived next day!
Unlike the photograph my model had an all flying tailplane. I cannot fault the kit but in a steady decent it developed tailplane flutter resulting in the model becoming rapidly uncontrollable flying straight into the ground. It is well beyond repair.
I hope the fixed tailplane and elevator as shown on the website, resolves the problem
£400 a fair amount of time absolutely wasted.
Disappointed there are no instructions. I've no facility for printing, so it's incredibly frustrating to have to watch a small screen. Additionally, not having the proper version 2.1 instructions available anywhere is poor, can no-one be bothered updating them, making it more difficult for the user. Finally, the V2 has a nicer structure in my opinion, and cost cutting again seems evident between the 2 versions
I have yet to finish covering this model but the build has been straight forward. The board jig to align the ribs for and aft combined with the combs to alight the ribs vertically makes building easy the accuracy of the CNC parts is very high I have not had to fettle a single piece to make it fit. The ribs slide on the carbon tubes easily nether too tight or too lose. I am just hoping we have a summer this year.
The kit I received is the F5J V-tail version only. The plans and instructions cover a conventional tail, with no guidance for V-tail assembly, and the materials for the conventional tail are not included. Parts required for an F3J variant (such as the nose and tow hook) are also missing. This kit is not intended to be built as a pure glider.
I really like these hight quality clevises. They are nicely moulded and seem to be really strong. Handling the brass pins can be a bit of a pain if you have sausages for fingers(!) or arthritis, but they are a nice tight fit. Spare brass pins can be purchased, which I recommend.
Wanted a little wing that I could carry on one of my motorcycles in a backpack, and the Micro Dammit fits the bill, along with the SOAS. Built with removable fin. Literally the build is a matter of a few hours of time. Just waiting for the opportunity to fly it, but if the standard size Dammit S is anything go by, then I expect this to fly well.