SIMON CRAGG Posted February 18, 2018 Share Posted February 18, 2018 Have read some good reports about these. Has anybody got one / crashed one?. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Fry Posted February 18, 2018 Share Posted February 18, 2018 I've got one. It flies very nicely. I've never owned a ducted fan before, and the noise on takeoff is great. Bit of Dutch roll. It is light, it loses speed very quickly when power is off, but that may be me used to heavier models. The biggest battery you can get in is a 2000 4s, dispite what HK says, indeed it says on the box it goes on a 2000 battery. HK don't give control throws. There is a set in the reviews on the machine, a long way down. On the reviews they all seem to want to put the CG forward from recommended. I set mine as the manufacturers say, and it is IMO, still too far forward, but a reasonable position. It must be horrible if you follow the reviews. One caveat. While well put in, the undercarriage is small, with very small wheels. You need a smooth surface to operate off. And the take off run is a bit vague until rudder authority kicks in. But if you have a REALY smooth take off area the nose wheel would have better authority. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pete taylor Posted February 18, 2018 Share Posted February 18, 2018 "The biggest battery you can get in is a 2000 4s, dispite what HK says, indeed it says on the box it goes on a 2000 battery." I fly mine with a 4000mAh 4S all the time (I have squeezed a 3300 6S pack in with a different motor/fan) The model flies much better for the extra weight and still glides forever! "And the take off run is a bit vague until rudder authority kicks in" The standard model doesn't have a rudder, just nosewheel steering, but it does benefit from a smoother surface. The best way to fly the Vampire is as a hand-launch model... KISS principle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Jones Posted February 18, 2018 Share Posted February 18, 2018 V2, the Canadian Version? Looks like it's addressed some of the issues of the original version (the one I have) so although I have been flying it for some years I don't think I can help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SIMON CRAGG Posted February 18, 2018 Author Share Posted February 18, 2018 Posted by Don Fry on 18/02/2018 14:11:19: I've got one. It flies very nicely. I've never owned a ducted fan before, and the noise on takeoff is great. Bit of Dutch roll. It is light, it loses speed very quickly when power is off, but that may be me used to heavier models. The biggest battery you can get in is a 2000 4s, dispite what HK says, indeed it says on the box it goes on a 2000 battery. HK don't give control throws. There is a set in the reviews on the machine, a long way down. On the reviews they all seem to want to put the CG forward from recommended. I set mine as the manufacturers say, and it is IMO, still too far forward, but a reasonable position. It must be horrible if you follow the reviews. One caveat. While well put in, the undercarriage is small, with very small wheels. You need a smooth surface to operate off. And the take off run is a bit vague until rudder authority kicks in. But if you have a REALY smooth take off area the nose wheel would have better authority. Agreed, Reading the various reviews all suggest bringing the c/g forward to 290. These may all have been based on the V1 though not sure. Fill in the u/c recesses and chuck launch seems the way to go. A bit less weight / drag and piece of cake to belly land. Most of the reviews recommend a 3300 will fit fine. All in all, sounds / looks like a great model for the money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Marsh Posted February 18, 2018 Share Posted February 18, 2018 I have two - the original one and the new Canadian one. Not flown the new one, but they fly well have plenty of power and the retracts seem to hold up well even on rough grass fields. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Bran Posted February 18, 2018 Share Posted February 18, 2018 Posted by pete taylor on 18/02/2018 15:08:06: The best way to fly the Vampire is as a hand-launch model... KISS principle Yup, took my u/c out after two flights and filled the holes with spare EPP and spackle, then painted silver. The Mk 1 MUST was to support the tail booms, I melted a small slot with a soldering iron and a metal ruler, then glued in carbon tube, filled with spackle and painted to hide. Don't understand the comment re slowing up, mine glides forever if you want it to and is GREAT on the slope. I trashed mine early spring when the thinsulate fingerless glove on my launch hand got caught in the wing and I torque rolled it to its death cartwheel. It probably COULD have been repaired but I took it apart then and there, just went home and bought another, not yet assembled as other things to do and fly! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cuban8 Posted February 18, 2018 Share Posted February 18, 2018 I've had one of these for a couple of years now and have to say that it's a great little fun model. Almost never happened though, as the separate UBEC that came with the model, failed during setup on the bench, thankfully. CG as standard is about 10mm too far back, so fit the biggest battery as you can - I have a 4S 3000 which gives me an easy five minutes of airtime with good throttle management. Don't forget to run reinforcement down the tail booms - they will fail if you don't (not sure if the latest versions already have this mod). Glide is fantastic and will float on and on and can catch you out with an overshoot, so make sure you've enough power to go around again. Mains are fine, nosewheel is prone to ripping out, so strengthen as much as you can. I fly mine from well mown grass, and as long as it's dry and freshly cut, it'll ROG with no bother. As for control throws - 5mm up and 5mm down on elevator - 8mm up and 8mm down on ailerons seems about right for me. Model does bump around in a breeze so a stabilisation system would work well - I just put up with it and not having a rudder is a pity but one just manages without it. We often fly three in formation (sort of) and they always attract appreciation from the 'goofers'. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trevor Crook Posted February 18, 2018 Share Posted February 18, 2018 Sold mine to make room last year after a couple of hundred flights (V1 though). U/C coped well on reasonably short grass, although the closed loop nosewheel steering went a bit slack after a while. On 4s 2200s I used to get about 5 minutes with throttle management - it's quite clean with a low wing loading so can be flown a lot on part throttle. I did get about 10 minutes once, but that was with thermal assistance! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Marsh Posted February 18, 2018 Share Posted February 18, 2018 The new version has the boom reinforcement done, after feedback from the original ones. I did reinforce the mk1 when I deduced that the booms were not to my liking and added some carbon fiber, which others did as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Bran Posted February 18, 2018 Share Posted February 18, 2018 Posted by Cuban8 on 18/02/2018 17:17:08: CG as standard is about 10mm too far back, so fit the biggest battery as you can Model does bump around in a breeze so a stabilisation system would work well - I just put up with it and not having a rudder is a pity but one just manages without it. Neither in my experience at all, in fact my CG was slightly back from your stated point, and it was true neutral either way up. I kept it light, 2200mAh 4S. (and all u/c weight removed) Maybe I never flew mine slow enough to see any buffeting, even though our tree surrounded field is not the smoothest environment for light foam.................... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trevor Crook Posted February 18, 2018 Share Posted February 18, 2018 Can confirm it does get bumped around by turbulence, I never got around to trying stabilisation. I just used to reserve its outings for calmer conditions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Piers Bowlan Posted February 19, 2018 Share Posted February 19, 2018 Like others on this thread I got the original Vampire which I found to be a cracking model after a bit of modification. The V2 seems to have addressed the issues of the V1, namely the booms are now carbon reinforced, the UBEC has been replaced with an internal BEC and the landing gear now has metal trunions so are hopefully a little more robust/reliable. I flew mine from a slope so I flew it without the landing gear (no short grass to ROG) which made it lighter and I found a 3300mAh to be perfect for it. (C of G at 290mm if I remember correctly) My longest flight was over thirty minutes but that was slope soaring, which it does really well (no need to remove the fan/motor for this). It has a great glide and flies well in a good blow, I can't see why you would want to fit a stabiliser to it. Mine could do with a new coat of paint now as the old silver paint is looking a bit shabby. The V2 has a new acrylic silver which is brighter and tougher apparently. Hope this helps. Edited By Piers Bowlan on 19/02/2018 07:40:33 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SIMON CRAGG Posted February 19, 2018 Author Share Posted February 19, 2018 Great info. Many thanks chaps. Safe flying! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoff Parkes Posted February 19, 2018 Share Posted February 19, 2018 The club that i fly from is very Vampire friendly, we have up to 8 flying at the same time all mk. 1 versions, various fans , motors and batteries, mine has a Mad Thrust 4000kv fan unit,80 amp speedo and flies with a 3750 4 s battery-you trim the middle out of the battery tray and push the battery through it ,We buy the basic kit which is foam bits only then add whatever we want to use, I dont think these kits are still available,because of the problem sorting which plane you are flying with that many up, I painted mine in the target tow scheme ,I dont use retracts just bungy off ,no problem, but you do need to reinforce the booms and I also reinforced the leading edge of the tailplane just in case, beleive me with this stet up its real fast, but a 5 blade fan turning at up to 60 k. is quite noisey for an electric Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SIMON CRAGG Posted February 19, 2018 Author Share Posted February 19, 2018 Have to say that the feedback from this forum is very positive!. After reading a lot of negative comments elsewhere (Fans exploding, blades out of balance, retracts collapsing etc. etc.), I was in two minds, but overall seems to be a good model (when they are back in stock). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Piers Bowlan Posted February 19, 2018 Share Posted February 19, 2018 No doubt you saw that the Canadian scheme Vampires are in stock from the UK warehouse Simon (£108.45 seems pretty good value to me). You could wait a long time for the model with the scheme you want to come back into stock (sometimes never). As far as the 'fan exploding' I have heard of this happening when the wires are not restrained properly and get sucked into the fan! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trevor Crook Posted February 20, 2018 Share Posted February 20, 2018 Piers, I'm not surprised the Vampire slopes well, it is a slippery airframe. The air up a slope is often smooth, so stabilisation probably isn't needed, but it's different on a breezy day at a flat flying site surrounded by trees. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SIMON CRAGG Posted February 20, 2018 Author Share Posted February 20, 2018 According to Hobbyking the V3 version will incorporate; A more powerful motor / fan Stronger u/c mounts Rudders Stronger booms Better servos Plus some other improvements Watch this space! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Fry Posted February 20, 2018 Share Posted February 20, 2018 I reckon the exploding fan stories have a lot to do with bits of loose wire going into the fan. Secure the wires. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Piers Bowlan Posted February 20, 2018 Share Posted February 20, 2018 Posted by Trevor Crook on 20/02/2018 08:13:45: Piers, I'm not surprised the Vampire slopes well, it is a slippery airframe. The air up a slope is often smooth, so stabilisation probably isn't needed, but it's different on a breezy day at a flat flying site surrounded by trees. I take your point Trevor, the vampire fin and rudders are quite small so probably not greatly directionally stable following a disturbance. The V3 sounds good, I wonder which colour scheme they will choose? I also wonder what price they will be on for, the V2 sounds cheap, so I wonder if they are selling them off cheap prior to the new release? Everyone should have a Vampire whether they are into EDF or not! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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