Great Planes Twinstar EP ARF
Written by Tom Sullivan A nice-performing twin-powered sport model Abridged product review Photos by the author Read the full product review in the May 2016 issue of Model Aviation.
Specifications
Model type: Sport ARF Skill level: Intermediate Wingspan: 47.5 inches Wing area: 392 square inches Airfoil: Semisymmetrical Length: 42.5 inches Weight: 4 to 4.25 pounds recommended Power system: Two RimFire .10 brushless motors; two 25-amp brushless ESCs; 3S 3,800 mAh LiPo battery Radio: Minimum four-channel transmitter and receiver; four micro servos Street price: $139.98Test-model Details
Radio system: Tactic TTX850 transmitter; Tactic TR625 receiver; four S3115 Futaba servos; two Futaba Y harnesses; and two 12-inch servo extensions Power system used: Two RimFire .10 brushless motors; two 25-amp brushless ESCs; 3S 3,800 mAh LiPo battery Flying weight: 3.75 pounds Flight duration: 6 to 10 minutesPluses
• Laser-cut balsa and plywood used for construction. • Includes all control hardware, wheels, and fiberglass wheel pants and cowl. • Airframe comes precovered with MonoKote iron-on film. • Vacuum-formed nose is painted to match the covering. • Firewalls are predrilled for the RimFire motors and include preinstalled T-nuts. • The front “cockpit” area is a removable hatch held in place with magnets, allowing quick access to swap out battery packs. • It can go from the box to ready-to-fly in roughly 5 hours.Minus
• The design limits the physical size of batteries that can be used. I’ve outlined a quick, easy modification that forgoes this limit.Abridged Product Review
I think all of us need that go-to airplane—something that is small enough to throw in a car and doesn’t require much support equipment, yet is big enough to have fun with. I’m reviewing a model that might fill that spot for many of us. It is of one the newest offerings from Great Planes: the Twinstar EP. This aircraft is a smaller, electric-powered design with tricycle gear and twin motors mounted outboard on each wing. If I’ve caught your attention so far, trust me; it gets better as we go. Let’s dive in. My reviews start by opening and inspecting all of the parts as I arrange them for pictures. A few things caught my eye. With the exception of the two nacelles and the nose cone, the entire airframe is assembled from laser-cut balsa and plywood, making it lightweight, but strong. All of the airframe pieces are precovered with MonoKote in a blue and white color scheme, with red and black trim.The Twinstar EP ARF is built up from balsa and plywood construction. It comes with a complete hardware set, including wheels, control hardware, and three plastic spinners.
The nacelles and the nose cone are vacuum-formed plastic. The nose cone’s walls felt thin, so I made a note to be careful not to dent it during assembly. A 24-page printed manual is included, along with a couple of addendums. These addendums cover the nose gear steering pushrod and the application of the windscreen stickers. A large sheet of self-adhesive stickers is included, giving the Twinstar the look of cockpit windows, and some fake N-numbers for a realistic appearance. Rounding out the parts count is a complete hardware kit, including the wheels, pushrods, clevises, hook-and-loop straps, and two red plastic spinners. One thing I didn’t expect was the inclusion of a Y harness for the power system.
1 comments
prop rotation...to counteract torque ?
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