Not so long ago I bought an IYF off Mat from KiwiRC (matwelli on the forum). I took up his free build offer because my building skills are abysmal. Mat has put up the build process over here for those who are interested. http://www.parkflyers.org.nz/modules/ ... php?topic_id=1048&forum=9.

Being quite new to wings, and just getting back into the hobby I had a lot of questions. A quick check of Gmail shows we have exchanged 88 emails since the beginning of May. Mat has always answered all of my questions quickly and he’s given me a lot of advice which I am really grateful for.

Onto the wing itself; it arrived via courier in a massive box, carefully packaged. I had been following the build process here on the forums, but the first thought I had was how big the wing is. Mat kindly loaned me his gear: an AR500, MD 2900kv motor, 40/50Amp ESC and BEC so I didn’t have to wait for the slow boat from China/and the US for my MD motor. After binding my TX to the AR500 and following the TX instructions Mat put up in the build thread I went down to LEP.

It was pretty windy that day, maybe 15 km/h and a bit gusty. I probably wouldn’t have got out the Parkzone planes in that wind, but Mat’s emails had promised exceptional wind performance, after all flying on windy days was the whole point =). So after doing the pre-flight, I hit the throttle and launched the wing into the air. The scream of the MD motor with the 6x4 prop pierced the silence at LEP. I didn’t even notice the wind at all, flying was a breeze. The wing really can move, much faster than the T28 or Corsair and real quick it was nearly down to a dot. Quickly I brought her back around and attempted a landing. On the final turn before approach I gave too much elevator and stalled leading to a spiral into the dirt. Most of the way across the fields, the IYF was on the grass and nobody could have been the wiser. I was expecting at least a wingtip to have broken off, but no. Everything was pristine, bar some mud on the underside. Thus ended the IYF maiden.

Since then I have had about 15 flights and am impressed with the capabilities of the wing. I have put in my own gear bar the motor as mine is on its way. The IYF is really tough, goes fast and can slow down well (when you don’t give full elevator with no throttle). Now I can fly slowly around the park marginally faster than my floaty Corsair or much much faster if I engage the MD. =)

Really happy with everything, and Mat has been a great help.

TL;DR: Got Mat to build me a wing due to my entire lack of build skills and the approaching inclement weather. Turned out awesome.

I have to apologize because I have no pics/videos yet. I will try to get a video up when I can commandeer a recorder and an assistant.

Good review eleventyfour. How many amps does the motor draw, and what are flight times like?

Could it be used to slope as well? I'm thinking about trying sloping, but the reassurance of the motor sounds good.

Awesome man, your thoughts on the IYF44 are the same as mine. Wait until you try a fully loaded Demon in the wind Even the stacking it bit I agree with! The faster you go the bigger the mess, but even then they are stupidly tough. Good to see people enjoying RW as much as me, give it a few months and you'll have more of em!...

We will have to catch up for a fly at some point.

The rumour mill is suggesting another "mission to Tokoroa" is brewing, be awesome to try and get NZ's first Ritewing swarm happening REEEEeeeeOOoooOOOWW!

Motors and props just add drag on the slope.

However that is the advantage of a wing they just slice through wind.

MrHappy: I think the max amp draw was 39A static with the 6x4 prop. Sorry I can't really help you about sloping, never been. I would be keen to try though. I have set the time for 6 minutes on my TX that's with about 50% WOT on a 2200 battery. Normally put in about 1000mah back. You could probably get more if you weren't super keen on hitting the gas. Once you get it going full tilt you probably won't go back to puttering around at 1/3 throttle. =)

Jacko: Yeah definitely should catch up. I am in the middle of exams at the moment, but am free from next Monday. Where do you normally fly? There's nothing like the sound of the MDs winding up ;p

Mr Happy - On a good high discharge 3S 1800+ mah pack it'll suck 37ish A statically and unload to 30 odd amps in flight. Flight time as always depends on how big a pack you stick in the front, and how much throttle you like The Turdy 2650 packs gave me a good 6+ minutes of heavy throttle abuse with my LTG36

The LTG36/IYF44 does make a good slope wing, but you need good lift to support the healthy sized power system as both wings have pretty symetrical foils.

A HK 6x3 TGS folding prop draws near the same current as the trusty APC 6x4 sport on the MD2505-2900 but doesnt preform as well, but it will help reduce the drag from the prop when gliding. As Rob says a fixed prop does add noticeable drag gliding, both when its stopped and windmilling.

EDIT - I have never tried it, but my money would be on litely built lam filmed LTG48 with the MD on is tail and 2500odd mah packs being the best jack of all trade powered slope wing. Wouldnt be as fast as the LTG36/IYF44, but wont have the wingloading either so will suit the slope better.

Cheers for the info Jacko. Have you used the Flightmax 3000 mah packs? They are the same dimensions as the Turnigy but you get extra capacity for a loss of max current.

No sorry, But I rate the 30C Turnigy 2650 cells very highly. The 37" demon sucked them back at 40C and they held good voltage and never showed signs of dying prematurely being abused, so when used at lesser rates they should last very well.

Eleventyfour - thanks for the review, makes me very happy to see/hear you are enjoying it.

88 emails ? wow, bet ya never had that many back and forwards with a shop before I class you as a friend, most of my customers end up the same, always happy to help any time dude.

Would be awesome if we can get Tokoroa happening and invade it rite-wing-style Reeoooooowwwwwwww !

Mr Happy - these slope fine, best deal is to remove the motor and then run a lighter battery up front, then the weight compared to a purpose built sloper is alot closer, I sloped an ex Jacko Demon 40 that way, just threw a 5 cell nimh in place of the Lipo, packed the batt bay with foam to stop it moving, and removed the motor/esc. All up time to swap would be 10 mins maybe.

The LTG48 is a cool machine, wish I had some spare cores, the rumor is its being phased out, its a jack of all trades.

Mat: Ha yeah 88 emails, thanks for answering all my questions mate. Been flying more lately than I have in a while.

Do you have any idea what they will replace the LGT with Mat?

Jacko: I'll let you know I have some on order in addition to the turnigys.

Finally, another question. Flying today the grass was still a bit damp, and on a fairly soft landing there was a bit of moisture on the windings of the MD from the wet grass. Is it a concern?