Customer Reviews

Radian RTF

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I've flown radio control gas planes for a long time and just got hooked on the electric planes for their portability and fly anywhere concept. With 2.4ghz DSM technology, you can bypass 99% of the issues with gas powered 72mhz flight.

As for this glider, it is well designed, extremely easy to assemble, well balanced, and has great flying characteristics. I wouldn't recommend it for a first time RC'r though, if you hit it pretty hard on the ground, there is enough mass that you will break it. First time RCer's might want to look at the micro Vapor RTF. Extremely fun and great to learn on, difficult to damage.

I can assemble this glider at the park in 5 minutes, I can charge the battery with the supplied charger on the way. It will easily runs for 30 minutes and will run a lot longer if you soar with the power off.

Overall, great plane, I went with the RTF version because you get a radio and extras that would cost a lot more to buy individually.

UPDATE 07/23/2011 This glider is so much fun to fly, I thought about getting the Radian Pro but am glad I didn't, this thing is fun and relaxing to fly. I also use it as a "RECON" bird by placing a GoProHD on top and taking spectacular pictures of the flying area. :)

Ok, you have mastered the RC simulator on your PC, and the Ember 2 in your back yard...THIS is the perfect plane for #3. Great great great. My daughter (10) flies it every chance. It is not fully acrobatic as described in the first review (no ailerons), but it will do loops and spirals. Get it to altitude, shut the power down and enjoy some great gliding.

I'm really impressed with this plane kit.

I'm an experienced RC pilot, having flown everything from brushless pusher jets to trainers, to 3D stunt planes, to pattern planes. This is my second sailplane, the Multiplex EasyGlider Electric was my first. I bought this plane to replace the Multiplex EasyStar that my friend crashed into the swamp, and which I never recovered. I found myself missing the long flight times of the EasyGlider, but also the simplified wing connection of the EasyStar. (no ailerons to plug in and route wires for.)

I was pleasantly surprised to find that this plane floats better than the EasyGlider. It is not as responsive as an EasyStar, and more susceptible to wind, too. This, coupled with the fact that this is a front engine design means that the Multiplex EasyStar is still the superior trainer. (the pusher motor configuration makes the EasyStar much more resistant to "rough landings" than the Radian. The only problem with the EasyStar is getting parts. Multiplex has historically done a bad job of getting a supply of spare parts to the USA. ParkZone should be a lot better in this regard, even to the point of being stocked in your local hobby shop.

The plane goes together easily, taking only maybe 15 minutes for someone who has flown before. Just a heads-up: If you're not an experienced pilot, take the time to read the manual first, and get the plane set up properly.

If you're not an experienced pilot, I highly recommend buying a flight simulator program and learn to fly on that first. It will save you hundreds of dollars in parts, and you can fly in any weather. Crashing is free. The main thing simulators (such as the RealFlight programs) help with is orientation. Keeping left and right straight whether the plane is flying away from you, towards you, or sideways is critically important, as is being able to tell which way the plane is flying when it becomes a speck in the sky.

When you want to move onto more aerobatic planes, the simulator will help again with learning to fly upside down, learning to fly helicopters, (these are even more expensive to learn to fly than planes!) learning to fly 3D, and just getting used to speed.

Right, back to the Radian. For your first flight, plan on making it with the motor power off. Adjust the elevator and rudder per instructions to be neutral by eye. Then, throw the plane level and see how it flies. Does it go up a bit, then stall and crash gently? Does it bank right or left? Fine tune this flight as much as you can before even powering up the motor, and you stand a better chance of success. Set the "RATE" switch to low to start with. With the motor on, this is all you need. With the motor off, and at high altitude, you may want to go to high rates eventually.

One thing to be aware of with this plane is that it takes a lot of room to land. It has light wing loading, and no flaps, so it takes quite a long approach.

Flight times of over an hour on one charge are possible and even frequent. You will find yourself getting a neckache from looking up and tired of standing before you run out of juice. If you use it with the motor on, you'll of course get shorter flights. I just use it to climb to a nice height, then cut the motor and see how long I can stay up.

The radio is pretty nice. No interference problems, due to it being spread spectrum. It only uses 4 AA batteries, which are included. The charger is good too, it is a proper balancing charger. The only complaint about it is that it has a stubby little cord, less than a foot long. It is a shame, because if it were maybe 8 ft. long, one could plug it into one's power socket in the car and set it to charge on the pavement unsupervised. As it is, one would have to leave it INSIDE the car, and it would be disastrous if the battery were to burst into flames. The charger has variable charging rates from 0.2 to 2.0 Amps, and it will charge both 2 and 3-cell lithium polymer battery packs, as long as they have the right balance tap. The beeps are nice and loud, but not too repetetive. The 7.5 A fuse is easily accessible. The one thing to be aware of is that it is DC input only. Later, as an accessory, you may want to buy a power supply that plugs into the wall and that has a power socket like the one in your car.

The elevator of the plane is attached with thin foam. It doesn't flex very well. It moves more freely near the control horn on the left side than it does toward the end of the right side, where it hardly moves at all. I cut mine loose and re-attached it with packing tape: much better.

I also covered the leading edges of the wings with packing tape, to make them a bit more resilient to impacts.

The flight battery slides right in a compartment and is held in place with a velcro strap. Very well done. The electronics are accessible through a hatch on the bottom of the fuselage with a magnetic closure. The canopy is also held on with neodymium magnets. The canopy has an intake for cooling air to get to the speed control and battery, and the vents in the bottom hatch serve as an exhaust. The control horns on the rudder and elevator are adjustable without tools. The nose cone and folding prop are a great fit for the plane. The power connector on the battery is a good quality one, not like the old Molex "Tamiya" connectors of old. All my other battery packs and chargers are equipped with Deans connectors, and I had planned to replace these too. But since these batteries won't be used in other planes, and since they're of good quality, there's no reason to do so here.

Some have complained in the past that the canopy comes loose at high speed, such as dives to get speed for a loop. I used a small piece of packing tape at the front to act as a hinge point to prevent this.

The "Z-Foam" that ParkZone uses for this plane is indeed durable; it is a copy of Multiplex's Elapor foam. The neat thing about it is that, while it is heavier than old-fashioned styrofoam, it is more flexible and resilient too. It can take a bit of stress before it breaks, and when it does break, it can be glued with regular super glue. (super glue will melt styrofoam) When it is dented, light dents can be mostly popped back out by pouring hot water on them, then smoothing out the puffiness with the bottom of a spoon.

I've had four flights on this plane now, and I really enjoy it. On my last flight, I found a boomer of a thermal (by watching where the hawks were going) and stayed aloft for 20 minutes without power. As a matter of fact, the plane was getting so high, I had to dive back down out of the themral for fear of losing the plane! I've read about this, and always though it was bragging or just BS, but it can happen!

I see that ParkZone now has another version of the Radian with ailerons. Be aware that this plane will not soar as well. It will still do plenty well, but it will have a higher wing loading due to the extra weight of more servos and wiring. The complexity added by putting wires in the wings makes it less of a "grab-n-go" plane.

I highly recommend this as either a simple soaring sailplane, as a second plane after you've beat up your trainer and gotten some skills, or as a first plane after learning on a flight simulator. To me, there is no more relaxing way of spending an afternoon than flying an electric RC glider, and this one is the cream of the crop.

I have some experience piloting real gliders, but this is my first RC. Absolutely loved it, but alas, I crashed it a few times too and caused some damage on about the fourth crash. Tried to fly it in foot-tall grass...not a good idea because you end up doing a wing loop on every landing. This plane is just too much fun. Read the instructions regarding the "failsafe" mode. It says that, if you ever lose your signal, the plane reverts to the transmitter settings as they were when the binding process was done. Naturally, they strongly recommend that the controls be in the neutral position when you bind the transmitter to the receiver. In my case, the factory "bound" the receiver and transmitter with the throttle full on. While standing in the kitchen, I reached over and shut off the transmitter. The plane instantly went to full throttle. The plane came within an inch of holding its maiden flight in my kitchen. I re-bound the transmitter, and the problem was solved.

I bought this based on a recommendation from a good friend and reviewing videos on youtube about it. Bottom line this plane is fully acrobatic, quiet and can soar for over 30 minutes on a single charge. It is big too. Over 6 foot wings span that can fit in your trunk. Whenever I fly it people will see it an come over and start asking questions. If you crash you can easily fix it with the right styrofoam glue. I highly recommend this if you want a plane that is worth every penny.

I've had other Horizon Hobby / Parkzone / Blade, etc. products before and they do turn out a nice product.

I bought the Radian that comes with the DX5e transmitter, and it's a fine transmitter for this plane. Though the plane is easy to fly for someone who has some experience with RC planes, it might be a little frustrating as someone's very first RC plane. Practice with something smaller and/or use an RC flight simulator if you have one.

Be aware, it is big. It has a 2-meter wingspan, that's over six feet across. It needs a large area to fly in. A large field is great. A large park could work, but watch out for light posts! The EPO Z-Foam is durable, but it can dent and it can break if you crash hard. I was able to repair it perfectly with carefully applied white Gorilla glue.

The motor is strong and will get the plane up fast. Be careful not to hurt yourself on the prop. Again, the motor is very strong! The battery lasts a long time. Since this is a glider/sailplane, you're not always using the motor, so you should be able to get 30 minutes or more in the air. You'll have to experiment with battery life to know how much charge you are using.

The plane handles nicely and predictably and I've really enjoyed flying it so far. I've only flown it in clam air or with gentle breeze. I'm not sure how it handles in stronger winds.

I love this airplane. I am a relative newcomer (6 months) to the world of RC airplanes and I must say that this is one very nice airplane. I have been trying to learn to fly with a Multiplex EasyStar, and this plane is MUCH easier to fly.

I purchased the plane as a RTF, and it was very quick and easy to assemble. I had a little trouble with the attachment fittings for the rudder and elevator cables, and actually broke one of the screw fitting during assembly and had to replace it.

The plane took to the air instantly and there was virtually no trim to adjust. The plane just loves to soar and the handling is first rate. I had looked carefully at both the Radian and the Radian Pro models, trying to decide which to get. And I am SO happy that I decided on the regular Radian. The Pro may have ailerons, but the regular Radian controls just fine without them. I have seen and talked to member of the club with the Pro model, and while they are happy with it, it is a more difficult plane to fly. The Radian is a gentle and easy plane that seems to want to fly on its own. The Pro needs more "hands on" and the people who have it talk about how they needed to mod it to make it fly better. The extra weight of the Pro also reduces the fly time and makes the plane an inferior sailplane.

As the winter weather seems to have come upon us here in Maryland, I look forward to the warmer days of Spring to get back outside with this super flyer. In the meantime, I will have to be content with Indoor Electric Flying with my Night Vapor in a local gym.

This plane is only for very advanced fliers. I spent an hour trying to understand the control instructions and never really got it. It crashed on it's 2nd flight and is now completely useless. Very expensive junk!

It has very bad material ( the Clevis is broke when I tried to assemble tail , very badddd .

A friend of mine started me on the hobby. He's been flying for over 10 years and big into warbirds, fast flying and stunts. I bought a 55" T-28 at his recommendation as well as this on my own desire. My buddy didn't seem too impressed when I told him I ordered it... Long story short, the Radian is way faster and more fun to fly than the T-28. It is surprisingly fast, yet you can fly it extremely slow as well. You can just float around 10 feet off the ground at 1/4 throttle... Then full throttle and rocket up to 1000 feet, kill power and soar for tens of minutes. Two batteries will keep you flying for a good hour or more if you do a lot of gliding.

Oh, and my buddy who flys the warbirds...he bought a Radian too. They are too much fun!

The only downside is that the fusalage is kind of weak, but replacements are fairly cheap.