INTRO

Having flown the bigger brother, the EFX racer, the MFX doesn’t disappoint. The speed and agility are fantastic. The MFX has a wingspan of only 815mm, yet it doesn’t feel that small in the air. Made of durable and painted lightweight EPO foam, it comes in the green color scheme. The green/silver color actually helps in the orientation in lower light situations as with cloudy backgrounds. All of the hardware needed is included with this simple kit. The wing screws in with only 4 screws and the tailplane empennage slides together with an ingenious clip system. The MFX is intended for the intermediate to experienced pilots looking for that low priced speed demon in their hanger. A fun side note, our area is known for being windy, so we all learn to fly in less-than-ideal conditions. The winds one of the days were up to 40km/h (25mph), the MFX handled it fantastic. I wouldn’t hesitate to fly it in very windy conditions.

 

UNIQUE FEATURES

The parts count for the MFX is small, you open the box and are greeted with fantastic simple packaging. Wing, Fuselage and tail empennage’s with a small parts bag is all there is. The ailerons, elevators and rudder are “pre-hinged” within the foam forming process. Construction of this aircraft is simple and quick. It takes about 10minutes max to get the aircraft ready to fly then install you receiver. The MFX is a simple 4 channel aircraft with no flaps. It comes with a set of extra decals should you choose to add them. The aircraft comes with two wingtip options to choose from. 

 

The first one is the longer of the two, I went with this one. This wingtip type is called a booster wingtip design, it is intended to bring the wingtip vortices farther outboard. According to wind tunnel data information, it claims benefits of low-speed roll stability and a reduction in stalling speed. Given that I fly a lot in less stable weather conditions, I believe that this stabilized the aircraft a little more and gave the MFX a little better low speed handling. 

 

 

This is the second version. It gives the wingtips a squared off look and would theoretically make the aircraft stall sooner, and give it a higher top speed, however with the size and weight of the MFX you probably wouldn’t notice the difference. It all comes down to what look you like the best. I happen to like the longer curved look of the wingtips. I used E6000 glue available from most hobby stores to glue the tips on. The difference in wingspan length between the two wingtip types is 4 inches. 

 


Once you open the hatch, you are greeted with an extremely small opening and area to work with. It is however, big enough for everything you need to get the EFX flying. It only needs a 4-channel receiver. I used the new RadioMaster V2 R88 8-Channel receiver which is bigger than you would normally use but fits good. They recommend a 4S 850mAh Lipo battery which slides snuggly all the way forward. Since most batteries of this size are close in weight and dimensions, CG was not an issue. 

 

BOTTOM LINE

The bottom line for the MFX? It is extremely fast, durable, simple construction, quick to build and fun to fly. Durafly and HobbyKing made a great choice in designing a smaller version of the EFX racer. Since it’s a Plug N Fly aircraft, all metal gear servos, 2212-2200KV motor with a 5x5 prop and spinner, 30amp ESC and linkages are pre-installed. 

 

IN THE AIR/PILOT DEBRIEF

As I mentioned before with having an opportunity to fly the EFX, the MFX is very similar in speed and handling as the larger EFX, or so I thought. The best way to see the difference, if any, is to fly them both at the same time. Straight level flight, the EFX is slightly faster, in a full throttle dive from around 400ft, the MFX pulls away from the EFX. Launching the EFX is simple, half throttle and a quick underhand toss and it pulls away with no issues. 

The motor and prop combination are perfect for the EFX. Since the prop is small, 5X5, I didn’t notice any torque roll issues during the hand tossing. Tracking and Stability are rock solid in all flight attitudes. Turning the EFX is amazing, at high speed and low. There is a really good amount of aileron and elevator authority even though the movement once setup as per the specs isn’t much. Rudder authority is good as well, I kept the rudder at full deflection as I always do in all my aircraft with 30% expo. Knife edge passes are doable with some practice but challenging, especially during high-speed passes. Most general aerobatics can be done, but of course this is not what the EFX is designed for. Inverted flight was ok, however given that the recommended elevator throws are not much, the faster you fly the better the inverted control authority becomes.

Both glide and Stall characteristics are really docile. The EFX is really good at gliding and will take some time to bleed off some speed setting up for landing as it will glide for a long distance. Taking the EFX up to altitude to try out stalls, I was surprised that it only slowly dropped a wing, but mostly just mushed in a nose down attitude. I fly at a club called LARCC (Lethbridge Alberta Radio Control Club) or Broxburn Field that has a beautiful grass field, is 2000 feet long and a large flight box, two things that are perfect for the EFX racer, especially since it’s a belly lander.

 

 

HIGHLIGHTS

  • Exceptionally fast.

  • Easy to handle.

  • Fast build time

  • Great price
     

GEAR USED

Radio- RadioMaster TX16s with an R88 V2 8-Channel full range receiver

Engine combo- 2212-2200Kv brushless outrunner with an Aerostar 30amp brushless ESC

Prop- 5X5E

Battery- 4S Lipo 850mAh 80C 
 

AT A GLANCE

Model: EFX Racer (PNF) Plug n Fly

Manufacturer: Durafly/HobbyKing

Wingspan: 715-815mm (Wingtip type decides)

Pilot skill level: Intermediate to Experienced

Power req’d: 25C and above 4S 850mAh Lipo

Radio req’d: 4-channel (Throttle, Aileron, Elevator and Rudder)

Price: $139.99 USD

 

 

 


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