NEW Durafly Tundra

[Dom (Essential RC)]

Interesting PNF foamie. Features flaps and big Bush plane wheels. 3S2200 packs. Might make a good trainer. Not sure it's a winner though. Might grow on me.

Edited By Dom (Essential RC on YouTube and Facebook) on 02/02/2016 23:09:48

[Old Geezer]

Good review, tells us all we need to know.

Not a bad little plane either, but why buy a Tundra when for similar money you can buy an Mpx FunCub kit and fit it out with your own choice of motor, esc and servos?

Just my (slightly biased) opinion.

[Dom (Essential RC)]

Thanks Gurth...and good question. I guess this takes all the guess work out of putting a power set together. MPX stuff is premium price in my experience even compared to E-flite but it is premium quality. I guess it comes down to what you can afford. A lot more experimentation to do with this Tundra over the next few weeks.

[Kevin Wilson]

Posted by Gurth Scriven 2 on 03/02/2016 00:03:51:

, but why buy a Tundra when for similar money you can buy an Mpx FunCub kit and fit it out with your own choice of motor, esc and servos?

Mpx funcub RR £230
Mpx Funcub kit £78 + Mpx Powerset £100 + Servos + Mpx floats £26 >£200

HK Tundra £140 + p+p <£150

I supose you could buy a Funcub kit and fit cheap gear.... but why? you just might as well get the Tundra
Any cost benefit would be assuming the Tundra standard equipment to be sub-standard, which is as yet unproven either way.

I expect this will come down more to personal preference than cost.

Edited By Kevin Wilson on 03/02/2016 08:07:35

Edited By Kevin Wilson on 03/02/2016 08:08:36

[Mel Jones]

I don`t usually do business with Hobbyking but I have been seduced by the Tundra and have ordered one.

Will let you know my thoughts once I take delivery.

[Jack Banner]

Best order some proper wheels for it. It looks like the supplied ones are just painted EPO.

[Dave Bran]

Talking of wheels, and re-invention.......................

 

My Modded Super 60 from 1972 pre-dates that a little, and didn't need flaps to STOL shorter than that...............it did make more noise though, with its Merco 61 twin plug hammering away up front.

Edited By Dave Bran on 03/02/2016 09:04:10

[Jack Banner]

Just watched the review and was disappointed to see the lack of safe handling with the battery plugged in. The reviewer even caught the throttle by accident at one point!

[Dom (Essential RC)]

Thanks Jack but I hold my finger firmly down on the throttle stick so nothing can happen. That's safe enough for me.

[Jack Banner]

I've never talked to a man with three hands before, that's a first. I am pretty sure you caught the throttle by accident in the video and you picked the plane up with your wrist in the throttle arc. Of course I have done all those things too, from time to time but not recommended practise and not safe enough for me or, in my opinion, for a promotional video.

Edited By Jack Banner on 03/02/2016 09:21:44

[Geoff S]

Posted by Jack Banner on 03/02/2016 08:54:49:

Best order some proper wheels for it. It looks like the supplied ones are just painted EPO.

They're similar to the ones on the Fun Cub and mine have lasted several years though I use the grass rather than the tarmac mostly. I don't think they'll be painted; I suspect they'll be coloured right through. I think they'll be fine. I'll let you know.

Mine was delivered this morning at 0745 when we were still in the bedroom but awake and Parcel Force didn't bother with the doorbell but crept quietly away. Hopefully it'll be delivered tomorrow morning and I'll be able to report on both quality overall and the wheels in particular

I don't think it's overpriced. It's £140 delivered from the Euro warehouse and that's for a complete model ready to go after a hour's work ( 2 hours at most). My Fun Cub cost a lot more than that and needed a lot of work to get in the air. I take the point that the floats will not be used by most buyers and I think I would rather not have them and have the model cheaper but I'm not sure how much might be saved. I'm also happy to fit the push rods myself.

One thing I have noticed in the reviews I've seen is the fact that Durafly got the flap servos in the right orientation to allow a single Y lead to one channel. You need a channel/flap on the Fun Cub.

I also thought Dom was a bit casual fitting the battery as evidenced by the fact he accidentally knocked the throttle at one stage. A 12x6 carbon prop is not to be treated lightly if you value your fingers. I have a throttle disable switch on all my electric models and voice warning if it's not enabled. In fact I use the same switch on my liquid fuelled models. It's too easy to knock the throttle lever.

Geoff

[John F]

Posted by Jack Banner on 03/02/2016 09:16:59:
I've never talked to a man with three hands before, that's a first. I am pretty sure you caught the throttle by accident in the video and you picked the plane up with your wrist in the throttle arc. Of course I have done all those things too, from time to time but not recommended practise and not safe enough for me or, in my opinion, for a promotional video.

+1 for me too. That's not safe procedure at all and thinking that the model is, potentially, suitable for beginners the safety aspects need to be first on the list as well as ably demonstrated.

Considering that the vid can be viewed by anyone I would have thought that, in order to avoid criticism for poor safety procedures, another take would be required. It's better to get it right than be a horrible warning!

[Jack Banner]

I am glad to see some people agree with my concerns around safety being adhered to in these "infomercial" videos.

Interesting to hear that you run a safety switch Geoff, is this on your TX or a physical switch on the model?

I don't run any safety switch on my electric planes (although I do use throttle hold on my Heli's) just being very careful to treat them like I would a running I.C plane, once the battery is connected. I haven't had an 'incident' for a while but have previously caught the throttle, as was done in the video. I think the small size and (possibly) lower cost of these foam planes does lead to complacency, in me as well as others.

I think I am banging on about it as I am concerned to see that the public perceive our hobby as safety conscious, especially as it is being thrust into the spotlight with the increased press coverage of drones etc.

[Geoff S]

Posted by Jack Banner on 04/02/2016 15:23:26:

I am glad to see some people agree with my concerns around safety being adhered to in these "infomercial" videos.

Interesting to hear that you run a safety switch Geoff, is this on your TX or a physical switch on the model?

My safety switch is just one of the switches on my Taranis but I had similar set up on my Multiplex 3030 without the voice reminder. The only minor problem with it for liquid fuelled models is that they won't start if I forget to enable the throttle I know some people use an enable plug on the model itself but I haven't done that yet. As I use 4mm connectors I leave one off until I'm about to fly but I'm about to go through the tedious task of converting to XT60 and that may change.

Geoff

[Jack Banner]

Hmm, interesting. I have a throttle cut setup on my TX for my I.C models but it drops the throttle servo to -130% rather than just disabling it. I might look to setup a throttle hold, on that same switch, for my electric models. Cant hurt. I use XT60 and much prefer them to other connectors.

[John F]

Posted by Jack Banner on 04/02/2016 15:23:26:

I am glad to see some people agree with my concerns around safety being adhered to in these "infomercial" videos.

I've experienced folk who claim no need for a safety catch, stating that their finger is a safety, whilst carrying a weapon. You can guess the rest!

Like I said earlier it is always better to be a good example than a horrible warning!

A few years ago I played around with a latex strap that would loop over the throttle and under the Tx to be secured at the back by velcro, made from latex bands the physio would use.

It worked OK but was a bit bulky. It was nicked (a sign of a good idea) or dropped off the Tx and I never got around to making another one.

[Geoff S]

Well, as expected my Tundra arrived this morning as Parcel Force promised after failing yesterday. We seem to be on their early shift because they come between 0730 and 0800 when my wife and I luxuriating in bed listening to John Humphrys et al on the R$ Today programme. The walls on our old cottage are very thick and the chances of our hearing anyone knocking on the door are zero but I've installed a loud doorbell to overcome that. However, it seems PF's policy is not to ring doorbells for some reason! No wonder we get so many cards through the door when we've been at home all the time!

OK, first impressions:

Very well packed in its box wrapped in 2 large sheets of brown paper (saved for future use). The model components are fitted into a polystyrene moulding and it arrived after its long journey in good order apart from a little paint missing on the fuselage front.

Assembly isn't too difficult and there's a very good manual written in reasonable English. There are lots of small self tappers in different sizes but separated in small labelled bags, which stops you from using the wrong size. Just follow the instructions and you won't go far wrong.

Assembly pointers:

1: Fitting the undercarriage comes early but leave the wheels off to stop thing rolling about.

2: Read the instructions carefully. - I nearly forgot the carbon rod tailplane spar.

3:Take care when you first fit the wings. The aileron/flap connector is supposed to mate with one on the fuselage (no loose connectors needed ). In my case one wing was OK the other needed some careful tweeking before the 6 pins on the wing enterd the 6 sockets on the fuselage. Not a big problem but something to be aware of.

3: I set about fitting the optional tailplane struts which seem to be an afterthought as there's a loose instruction sheet for them. Unfortunately one of them came adrift from its plastic base so I've left them off for now. They don't say what glue to use. I tried Pound Shop cyano but it wasn't very effective. UHU Por might have been a more sensible choice.

Both aileron and flaps are on Y leads. I chose to separate the ailerons as I have loads of channels on the Frsky X8R I have spare (it was originally intended for my Ballerina!). I've set up a little aileron differential and see how it behaves on the test flight. The flaps worked out OK and I've put them on the LHS slider on my Taranis which gives me 45 deg at the mid point and 90 at maximum. Most of the ball joint connections to the control surfaces were easy to click on with finger pressure. A couple needed a pair of pliers.

The provided Velcro-like sticky back was used in the roomy area in the cockpit to hold the LiPo. I'm not happy using just Velcro for batteries having lost one in my Fun Cub whilst doing an outside loop so I've installed a strip of 10mm x 3mm hard wood across the fuselage over the battery held in place by a convenient rebate in the foam. I stuck some Diamond tape on the foam to protect it from wear. Some sticky back foam on the wood bears down on the LiPo and keeps it on the Velcro. Much more secure.

Plusses:

An attractive model of a type that suits me.

Goes together well and seems to be well thought out

Minuses:

The after thought tailplane struts which don't have proper mountings like other parts

The included floats. I'd rather have a cheaper model and buy them as accessories as the chances of my using them are slim.

The big minus for me is the number of very small screws needed to assemble the model at the field. There are 4 to hold the wing in place (though the instructions say some clear tape is enough if you're not intending to fly aggressively) I have an idea to make that easier involving some 2mm carbon pegs in place of screws. There are a further 4 screws need to secure the working wing struts. So a bit fiddly with screws likely to get lost, particularly if you fly off grass.

I'm looking forward to flying it but prospects are grim for the weekend. Next week perhaps?

Geoff

[Geoff S]

If anyone's interested I checked the current draw with the supplied 12x6 prop and 40 amp esc.

3S 2200 mAH 29 amps 320 watts

4S 3600 mAH 44 amps 620 watts

So if you want to use 4S it looks like a bigger esc is needed - 60 amps?

Geoff

[Speedster]

Tundra towing a vintage Graupner Cumulus 2,8 meter, 13/2

Standard setup, 3 cell.

Cheers Soren

[Geoff S]

Do you feel confident towing a glider without a tow release on the tow plane? It's OK if nothing goes wrong but what do you do if the glider cable release fails? Perhaps it never does?

Quite impressed how well the Tundra coped. Mine's still untested

Geoff

[Trevor Crook]

Geoff, if you want to use a 4s pack, you could go down a smidge in prop size - a 12x4 or 11x6 would probably do it.

[Tony Smith 7]

Looking forward to reading more about this one. To my eyes the lines look better than the FC, and it looks like it has less dihedral which should be an improvement as well. On the downside, receiving it fitted out removes part of the fun of choosing servos are power train etc. And there's a slight disapproval of something that's pretty much copied from the FC's success.

Anyway, for anyone who's built one, how are the flaps configured in terms of servos, can they be driven off a Y cable, or is one servo reverse like the FC?

Thanks, Tony S

[Dom (Essential RC)]

Yes Tony, they are driven off the provided Y lead.

[Geoff S]

As Dom says, they're not mirrored like the Fun Cub and so can be driven from a single receiver channel via a Y-lead. Multiplex dropped off I think and Durafly learned from that as they have from the undercarriage which is far too floppy on the FC. In fact I think the Tundra undercarriage may be worth buying as a spare to fit on own design/built models.

Geoff

[Bruce Austin]

Hi there fellow Tundra guys.

I have been flying my Tundra for a couple of months and really like it. It is my first undercarriage plane, being more used to foamie gliders.

Landings are still a bit "hit and miss", and I am getting quite good at wire straightening!!!!, as well as the application of Gorilla glue!!!!

I have been wondering about the possibility of changing the undercarriage to something like the "Great Planes" size .40 Dural arrangement to stop the "wire straightening" activities!!!

Yes the best solution, of course is to improve the landings, and I'm sure that I will get there.

Any thoughts and suggestions???

Any idea where i can get that dural U/C from a supplier in UK, please????

Go With the Flow

Bruce