E-domodels F-15 from Nitroplanes

This plane is absolutley outstanding, particularly on two fronts...flyability and scale appearance.

What's in the box? Motor and 64mm fan and 25a ESC, already installed. Five servos, already installed. 2200mah lipo battery. A very useable balance charger that will peak and balance the battery to 12.6v exactly, just like my expensive charger does. A screwdriver, a package of good quality five minute epoxy. All hardware and landing gear. All foam components prepainted and predecorated. A canopy with the frame painted on. Everything you need except a transmitter and receiver.

Construction took about 45 minutes, with no problems and no surprises. Do check the fit of the foam parts, and sand away any paint where you are gluing. Keep in mind that both elevator control horns need to point towards the same side of the aircraft, so the elevators go up and down together. The main gear gets glued into place...there is no real easy way to change that(maybe with some plywood plates?), so you need to make the choice of either gear up or gear down and live with it. I got one and flew it with the gear on, and was so pleased that I ordered a second one so I could have another with the gear off for hand-launching over grass. Frankly, there is not much to say about building it, it's dead simple to get together.

So...off to the field. First takeoff took about 100 feet. It was obvious that it was at flying speed long before that, and that the slightly negative angle of attack from the small nosewheel was keeping the plane down, and I needed to apply elevator to get it off the ground. I suspect the designers did this deliberately, to make sure that beginning pilots would have adequate speed to avoid a slow takeoff and tipstall. If you put on a bigger nosewheel or bent the main gear forward a bit, it would take off a lot faster. Ground handling is exceptional. It will also go from a really easy hand-toss, or will even take off from its belly on smooth grass. Landings are super easy...just leave a little power on and fly her down to the runway, then cut the power. Don't try to "flare" her in, you would not do that will a full-scale F-15(stall a few feet above the runway!), you should not with the model, either. Again...it's really easy to land.

In the air, with the landing gear on, she likes a little dive before performing a loop. With the gear off, without the extra weight and drag of the wheels, she will go up and over with no issues at all. Rolls are just great, very axial and very scale. Speed is decent, no barn burner, but maybe 50-60 mph. It's not "nominal" in any way, it has plenty of power to fly around with authority. Above all things, it's a very EASY plane to fly, dead stable, a perfect first jet, perfect for anybody with a little aileron experience. And it looks just awesome in the air.

On the scale front, the plane is really exceptional. The outline looks great, and there are lots of panel lines and details molded in to the airframe. Even better, there are some really great decal(well...not waterslide decals, but stickers, anyway) sheets included, with dozens and dozens of little grates and "no steps" and details included, and the instructions show where every one goes. I spent an extra hour or more putting all these on(after I test flew it) and they really add a lot of texture and make the model come alive. So far, nothing I have seen on the foamie EDF front has come close to this F-15 on scale appearance. Both paint schemes available are nice, too.

It flies very nicely on the stock power system, but advanced pilots might want a little more urge...it's easy to modify. On the bottom of the plane you will see a hatch right beneath the motor, if you run a sharp razor around the edges, you will cut the glue joint and you can get to the fan to change motors. The battery holder is a simple and clever velcro strap, and I had no problem fitting in a 4s battery instead of the 3s provided. I flew around for about 3 minutes with the 4s, and it was a dramatic difference in speed and climb, but the motor was not made to take it, and burned out after three minutes. So...you will need a different motor, and perhaps a different ESC. The airframe is plenty strong to handle a lot more power. Fly it first, stock, you might be surprised at how able it is in the air, but feel free to upgrade it further, it's a good airframe for that.

At any rate, this plane is a real winner, and a perfect place to get your feet wet in jets...I can put in 5 quick flights on my way home from work, no maintainance, no problems, and fun in the air.

Nitroplanes FlyModel B-17 Flying Fortress

One of the most interesting models I have ever assembled.  A four engined bomber without a lot of hassle and expense...
First, the good parts...it goes togther pretty quickly, and it flies BEAUTIFULLY.  It also looks GREAT in the air.
Second, the bad parts...there are some minor quality control issues, and it's not perfectly scale.

It's mostly nicely-done wood, with a few plastic and fiberglass parts.  The decals were simply awful, and I threw them away.  The QC issues were not enough paint on the upper canopy deck, and complete and total mispainting of the ball turret.  Also, the nose is painted solid, it would really look better with some windows.  The retracts are not in the scale position, but that's something of a plus, as they are very simple and strong to set up.  I used Nitroplanes retracts, and had no problems.
The rest of the equipment...Raiden 1300kv speed 400 motors, Nitroplanes 8x4 props, Raiden 25a escs, towerpro 4010 servos, one JR retract servo, Spektrum AR7000 receiver, 2 2220 3s packs, one driving the inner motors, the other for the outer.
The motor and esc package is the one offered  by nitroplanes for $160, it's cheap, and works like a charm.
The plane flies just beautifully...I will post more detail if anybody is interested...

If you ever wanted to do a B-17, here is your chance.  Anything else is hideously complicated, or not very scale, or incredibly expensive.  This was my first four engined model, and everything went very well, and people are VERY impressed with it in the air.  And you can't beat the price.  Go for it, it's not too challenging, it's easy enough to get together, and very easy to fly, and the performance is just great.

NITROPLANES SU47 BEKRUT

I'm a foamie freak, I love all the new foamie jets coming out, I get them all, and this one is my current favorite.

It's fast, maybe 70mph, has plenty of power, and makes a really cool twin sound.  The foam is very tough, and CA safe.

It's very stable, in spite of the forward-swept wings.  It's very very maneuverable, you need to watch out, it reacts really fast.  The roll rate is unbeleiveable, fastest I have ever seen.

Takeoffs are about 75 feet off pavement, or you can hand launch it easily.

Flight times are maybe 6 minutes.

I'd stay away from the version that includes the radio, as it really helps to have a good computer radio with expo and dual rates.
The CG is set at the factory, you can't go wrong that way.  But you need to watch out, the plane is very agile and might surprise you on the first takeoff.  It's not for beginning pilots, but it turns in a really sparkling performance for more experienced guys.
It only takes an hour or so to put together.  Contact cement is included, but five minute epoxy works better and faster.  Be sure to secure all screws and connectors with CA or locktite, and make sure you have no slop in your control system.

Anyway...I cannot say enough nice things about this plane.  I have about fifteen flights with not a scratch on it, the sound and shape are fantastic in the air, and the performance good enough to keep me interested and excited.