Acro Wot or Black Horse Zlin

[John Murdy]

I have been an avid reader of RCM&E for a number of years and have never used the forum. So here goes for my forum baptism. I currently have a redundant OS 61FX and was looking at possibly housing it in an Acro Wot Mk2 ARTF, this was until I saw the Nuremberg 2013 article in April's edition of RCM&E, where there is a photograph of the Black Horse Zlin 50 designed for a .55 two stroke engine. My dilemma is which to go for, as I tend to be a scratch build flyer and have no experience of either manufacturer. My preference is towards a more scale like aircraft than pure out and out sport flyers. However, I do need an aircraft which will stand up to the harsh Lancashire weather. Any advice would be gratefully received.

[Lee Smalley]

zlin ...too many acrowots nowdays

[John Murdy]

Hi Lee

Thanks for your response, you are pampering to my own thoughts. I like something different thats why I scratch build. There do seem to be a lot of Acro Wots about these days. I suppose my concern is what is the typical build quality of Black Horse ARTFs?

[Glyn R]

How about a Chris Foss Acrowot

or a Hobbyking Zlin

You could fly either Electric or IC

Edited By Glyn R on 15/03/2013 23:22:34

Edited By Glyn R on 15/03/2013 23:24:12

[Reno Racer]

Zlin

[cymaz]

I assume you already know how to fly and got some experience under your belt. If so ZLin. If not get a cheap trainer and stick the engine in that.

[Gordon Bushell]

I've no experience of the black horse zlin, but do have their chipmunk and mosquito. I also have the artf acrowot.

I've not flown the mosquito yet, but it is very light in the fuselage formers. The chipmunk also looks more fragile than the acrowot. I'd be interested to see what the zlin was like.

I thoroughly enjoy flying the acrowot, and so far it has proven resilient enough for me. Happily, so far it's the only one in the club here, everyone else haswot4s. The construction of the black horse models doesn't really give me any great concern, except that I wouldn't want to give one a hard thump.

Edited By Gordon Bushell on 16/03/2013 08:43:12

[cymaz]

Great Planes kits are good as I have built a couple if thats your chosen route.

The trouble is that artf's nowadays are generally cheap and if set up correctly fly well.

The usual caveats apply to artf's like beefing up the undercarriage plate and adding extra glue where you can. The saying goes in the BMFA Handbook "if I built it would I build it like that?"

I do both artf and scratch build, enjoy both. Sheer pride in scratch built, wonderful easy convenience with artf.

This is food for thought

[Nev Haycox]

Hi John,

It's another vote for the Zlin.

Nev.

[Former Member]

[This posting has been removed]

[Jon Laughton]

Zlin

[John Murdy]

An interesting collection of views and thank you for the interest shown in my question. As an aero modeller for approximatly 15 years I have embraced both sides of the hobby the traditional build and flying and both have given me equal measures of enjoyment. I have dabbled with ARTFs but have never really found the success and enjoyment that I get from my trad models. The reason for my venture back into ARTFs is the unfortunate demise of a long standing Extra 300 which was powered by my OS 61, however, I am in the middle of building the Tony Nijhuis Hurricane and require a quick fix. I am very much a perfectionist when building my own models and hence the question on the quality of Black Horse ARTFs. The majority of responses point to the Zlin and this is probably where my heart is, so a deep breath and dip into my wallet. Thanks again for all the views and advice, I never thought I would get so many responses