Customer Reviews

Ember 2 BNF

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I got my EMBER2 to "get my stick back" after not flying RC for 25 years. Great radio control airplane that's also a Very Good buy. It is unbelievably light, but can fly remarkably well in a light breeze (notice that I said "breeze", not "wind"). When the breeze gets to be light wind, you can almost hover in place overhead. Multiple inside loops are not a problem. Although the EMBER2 does fly "faster" than the Vapor, it is still quite docile and flies pretty much hands off when trimmed properly.

It bound to my Spektrum DX5e with no problems. The supplied PZ transmitter works well, but for sure bind your EMBER2 over to your DX5e/DX6i if you have one. I give this feather of an airplane a five-star durable rating due to its amazing weight. I have nosed my into the grass a few times with little or no damage (be sure to check that the battery hasn't dislodged after this happens).

If you are thinking about your first RC park flier or, like me, you are looking to get those old flying brain cells working again, this is a great radio control RTF package to get. I liked this little critter so much that I ordered it's big brother, the Slo-V, because these things are just plain fun to fly. Even when I get my chops back and start flying my Radian, I'll still be keeping & flying my EMBER2.

If you get one you will be flying & smiling. Worth every penny.

I doubt I could have chosen a better plane for my situation - most of the time I'm limited to flying in a outdoor lot surrounded by large trees. This has kept me from attempting r/c for years, but with the Ember 2 this is no longer an issue.

Assembly couldn't be easier. If you've ever installed the landing gear on a drug store sheet balsa rubber powered plane, you already know what to do.

Binding to the transmitter is simple and takes only seconds using the directions.

I have no area smooth enough to attempt runway takeoffs, but gentle hand launches are all it takes to get into the air. I normally "tip launch" by holding the tip of one wing and gently "flinging" it into the air under 75-80% throttle.

Once in the air, maintaining full throttle will have your Ember 2 nothing but a speck in the sky. Throttle moderation makes the flight times longer, and reduces the severity of crashes.

Flight times are from about 7 minutes at near full throttle to as long as 10-15 minutes with the help of the wind and a steady hand on the controls.

Warnings about wind: Yes, everything you've heard is true - small planes do not do well in wind and gusts, but since this is not a mass market toy, it is the possibility of adapting it to fly in higher wind by moving the battery forward and incorporating down elevator trim. With these modifications, the Ember 2 made a surprisingly good slope soarer. Today's flights were made in 7 mph wind with gusts to 10 mph. This is not recommended to those without experience. I appreciate the challenge of flying it in the wind, but it can be a handful. Not to mention, once the wind has it's way with your Ember 2, it may be further away than you think possible, and bringing it back safely can be challenging to say the least.

Indoor flying is not something I haven't had the luxury of trying yet, but there is no reason not to expect this plane to do exceptionally well indoors after my experiences with outdoor flight.

This is a precision device with lots of small parts which are delicate and need to be treated with respect. This is not to say the plane is fragile, but rather not to expect to thrash the ground repeatedly and expect it to respond favorably. It was built to fly, not crash. That being said, I've drifted into the trees a couple times and cartwheeled once and only managed to crack the elevator. The fact that the plane is light helps prevent it from having a great deal of destructive inertia in a crash. In a clear field of 4-8" high grass, you'd be hard pressed to cause any damage to the plane if crashes are done at 0 throttle.

One of the most enjoyable gadgets I've bought in a great while. Wholly recommended.

I have flown R/C airplanes for 25 years. There is no better beginners plane, it practically flies itself. Very high quality, robust. The perfect starter plane for my 10-year old child. In anything more than 5mph winds, you should stay on the ground. You can use a larger capacity (120-160 mAh) battery to both increase weight (and thereby air speed) and flight times.

This thing almost flies itself. It doesn't have a lot of power but for a first trainer I think this is a great plane. I fly it around my yard and some of the neighbors yard. It is very quiet and unless you are looking in the direction of the plane you would not know it was there. Excellent build quality. You can get it to go inverted and it will do loops when placed into a small dive first to pick up speed. If all Parkzone plane are this nice, I will be buying more for sure. Of course, this thing does not like wind but if I wait until it gets close to dusk the wind usually dies down and I have a good 45 minutes to fly.

I'll try to make this short and informative. After a while of having bad luck with R/C helicopters, I thought I would give R/C airplanes a try. I have the Phoenix flight simulator (huge help in training) and a Spektrum DX6i (solid versatile radio), both of which I highly recommend.

I wanted my first plane to be simple, lightweight, and easy to fly. I wanted to be able to fly it in a small area. And, I wanted to know that if I crashed it, that it would not damage anything (or anyone) else. I purchased the Parkzone Ember 2 BNF. It was the perfect first plane for me. It is easy to fly, relaxing to fly, a great basic trainer, and, perhaps most importantly, a lot of fun to fly. I've about 30 flights now and am still not bored. You can actually fly it inverted! And in the right winds, I can even get it to hover. No crashes yet. It has become my "Zen" plane, a slow and meditative flyer.

Eventually though, I wanted to experience the additional control and maneuverability of ailerons. So I spent some time on my simulator getting prepared and then purchased the Parkzone Micro T-28 BNF. Again, another great plane. It is very easy to fly (on low rates) and pretty capable with higher rates (and higher pushrod throws). I did the research beforehand and read a lot of complaints about the slow roll of the plane. But I've experienced the opposite. After honing my skills on the simulator using elevator and ailerons, I can get the plane to roll very quickly (<1/2 second/roll). I've flown it over 20 times now and each time I learn new moves, and again, no crashes.

And, with no crashes, I cannot yet comment on the durability (they look and feel really durable), but I can say that they are both great beginner planes and lot of fun to fly. I'm now ready for my next purchase: the Eflite UMX Beast.

On a related side note, I have purchased both the 150 mAh (EFLB1501S) and 500 mAh (EFLB5001S) batteries for use in the T-28. You need to buy a JST-RCY to micro adaptor to use the 500 mAh battery, but other than that it works just fine. In fact, I did not even need to modify the battery compartment, I was able to just kind of squeeze it in there. It fits nice and snugly. In terms of performance, the 150 mAh offers great vertical and power opportunities, while the 500 mAh offers really long flight times (15-18 mins) but with slightly slower response, and due to the extra weight higher cruising and landing speeds.

Good luck and have some fun flying!

Nanotechnology has barely touched this plane, and look what it has made; a masterpiece! Everything about this plane is micro and pico-sized, but not the performance. Even the 3.7 volt 70 milliamp-hour lithium polymer battery is not lacking in punch. This plane is a joy to fly, easily reaching 300 feet in ideal, windless conditions. Don't let it go too far, or you will lose sight of it, and eventually lose control. The 2.4 gigahertz DSM2 radio system on this plane will easily reach 1200 feet in range; and some have told me that it's well over one kilometer. But again, who can see a plane this small from 1 km away to control it? Although this can be a beginner's plane, I highly recommend that you first buy a computer simulator, like Realflight, Phoenix, or E-fly. With a simulator, you can crash all you need, and learn and not risk damage or loss of the real plane. That aside, it's a fine first real plane. Many experience pilots also own and fly the Ember 2 as well, because it's small enough to fly in a large front or backyard. And back to performance, a 70mAh battery can last an average of 8 to 10 minutes on a full charge. Warm weather significantly increases the flight time, due to the battery. 120mAh, 130mAh, 150mAh, 160mAh batteries will produce longer flight times and a noticeable performance improvement, due to the increased weight of the larger battery, which moves the center of gravity forward towards the nose of the plane.

Who can I recommend this plane to? Boys, girls, women and men, from age 15 and up.

This plane is AWESOME. Bought about 10 different planes so far, but is one was the breakthrough. Taught my 9 year old to fly with this....she got so good she could chase me in the yard with it. TONS of fun. Can't recommend enough. Having said that, get an RC simulator first (Realflight 5 is very good).

I ordered this plane with a Ultra Micro P-51 RTF, and used this one as a trainer to get the hang of RC flight. The controller for the P51 works well for the Ember, though the rudder is configured as an aeleron servo, which made the changeover a bit difficult. This plane is controllable in a light wind, and a complete joy to fly in dead air. It has me waking up early to fly it before the breeze picks up on a football field nearby.

I bought this as a gift for my brother. We are a couple of old guys that act like kids. I have been flying RC planes for a long time and he is a novice. This was perfect for him. We flew in front of the house with no problem. I have the lighter Vapor and like this plane a little more. It is a bit heavier and flys a bit faster but is still easy to fly. It tolerates just a little more wind than the Vapor. (Vapor) needs almost still air to fly. This plane is more durable. He has had multiple mishaps and has had to replace the propeller shaft several times, but the airframe has endured. Rplacement parts are available at the local hobby shop and the batteries are cheap and available on Amazon. This is a good plane for a beginner in an open space with no wind. If it is your first time flying get some help for your first couple of flights.
I usually fly more complex planes but this was easy to step outside for a quick flying fix. Happy landings.

This is my second micro plane. I've got a larger foamy that I built recently and I started with a Night Vapor. The Night Vapor finally bit the dust. But since I had lots of batteries for it, I figured I'd buy another micro flyer. I chose the ember because it seems to be a little faster. It's a lot of fun and makes for a great backyard flyer. I actually keep mine in my car and fly it at lunch time at work sometimes.

It is a very light plane and doesn't do well in wind. A light breeze is okay, but even that will cause instability and you're likely to be fighting it more than you'd like. About 5 seconds into my first flight, while trimming the plane, I hit an aluminum building full-throttle, nose-first. Ouch. I was sure the plane would be busted, but after picking it up and checking the functions, all was well. SCORE!

These planes are so lightweight that they really don't get damaged when crashing. I just remember to cut the throttle and let it do its thing if I'm out of control. I don't use the landing gear. I just cut the throttle and coast in, landing on the belly of the plane.

This is a great little 3-channel plane. It's probably not for beginners, but would be a good next-step plane.