HobbyKing Avro Lancaster V2 Thumper MKIII 4 Engine Bomber EPO 1320mm (PNF)

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Customer Rated

Apr 04, 2016

I got this plane on sale and have not regretted. The scale detail makes this a beautiful model to own; I especially like the little guns they added. Some of the issues I found with this plane was the setup with the elevator was really badly done. The rods were putting so much stress on the servo that there was little movement on the elevator. I had to cut out some foam to move the servo further out to the right to get the push rods to be straight. I also placed a slight bend on the rod near the clevis to remove some tension on the rod. I changed the elevator servo to a metal gear 17g servo because the 9g was humming and was not powerful enough. The next issue I had was with the ESCs. On my model all the ESCs were programmed backward and I had to reprogram them to get the props running right.

Flying the plane was very nice but like with any war bird you have to keep the power in to avoid tip stalling. Slow flight is not bad but you need expo to avoid sudden heavy elevator input or you will stall her. Landing was fine as well but with no rudder it is very difficult in windy conditions. On a calm day she handles just fine with a little finessing. All in all another great model but it is not for beginners or folks who want to yank and bank a plane around. Fly her scale as you are suppose to and you will be fine.

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Customer Rated

Apr 01, 2016

Ich habe die V2 im Sale fr 90 Euro ergattert, das ist sie meines Erachtens auch wert. Fr 155 htte ich sie nicht gekauft und das ist sie fr mich auch nicht wert. Handling und Flugbild sind toll, das Einziehfahrwerk ist sehr robust und zuverlssig. Die vorgesehene Akku-Position ist aber Unsinn, damit ist der Schwerpunkt nicht hinzubekommen. Ich habe daher den Akku sehr viel weiter vorne als angegeben eingebaut, was einen kleinen Umbau bedeutet. Habe die Lancaster von Anfang an mit einem Gyro geflogen, was das Flugbild im einiges authentischer macht.

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Customer Rated

Mar 13, 2016

I now have almost three. I bought one, then bought every spare available, wings fuse etc
then couldn't resist the $125 with free shipping and bought a second complete model.
Disappointed they never had spare u/c legs. Pretty important. One trick, use a Dremel grinding disc and shave off back of propeller hub almost flush. This allows the prop and spinners to fit closer to engine cover. Looks much better. I agree with all comments above on how it flys.

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Customer Rated

Mar 06, 2016

Model looks good and flies well. Value is high because it was on sale for $90. Quality suffers from very fragile props, landing gear mounts that weren't glued at all, landing gear mounts that were set at two different heights (luckily they weren't glued in), and instructions that don't reference control surface throws. Prop hit a blade of grass and broke (not a clump, a blade), then I waited 28 days for a replacement to arrive. Found out the gear mounts weren't glued in during first landing roll-out (luckily I had extra props)(and I was able to fix the lean caused by the gear mount height issue while I glued the mount). Throws were a guess based on other models with real instructions. It's interesting that they lightened the aircraft to improve performance then mounted the battery so far to the rear that you have to add weight to the nose to balance.

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Customer Rated

Feb 22, 2016

Not sure if this thing is worth having, even for the discounted price, and shipped for free.
It arrived with broken motor mounts, and after a month of waiting and them pestering a patient HK helper on LiveChat I got a replacement set of wings, as they don't stock any spares for this thing. Two weeks go by, and they arrive.

I finally built it today, and here are a few of the issues:
- None of the horns or clevis holes were the right size for the servo or control horns
- Elevator servo does not re-centre itself within 5mm of original position (it can be repositioned by hand too...)
- Vertical stabilisers are not vertical or parallel
- It is far too heavy

The instructions lack detail for placement of all those little details, but that's no big issue.

It did go together, and the electrics all work..I will attempt a flight next weekend and see if I can update this review with the news...

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Customer Rated

Feb 01, 2016

First let me say that I love the look of this plane. The scale details are terrific. When I first powered-up mine, one ESC smoked. HK credited my account for a new ESC so I bought four and replaced them with much difficulty. This plane was not built with maintenance in mind as I had to pry off the glued-on hatches from the bottom of the wings to replace the ESCs. However, that wasn't enough to dissuade me. The first flight proved it was very tail heavy despite having the CG at the recommended point. The landing tore out one retract and broke three of the four propellers. With a new set installed and an extra battery in front for CG, the second flight was better but still it still wallowed like it was tail heavy. When I came out of a dive, the wings flexed like a bird's and the plane became uncontrollable and spiraled into the ground. The broken wings, among all the other scattered parts, confirmed that there was no reinforcement of any type inside. Thankfully I bought it while on sale and didn't lose a lot of $$. I'm tempted to replace the fuse and wings and insert carbon fiber rods (we do chicken right!). Then again, I hate to throw good money after bad.

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Certified Buyer Rated

Dec 18, 2015

No consegui montar sem ter de resolver alguns problemas de montagem. Manual com boa impressao mas informao de montagem muito deficitria.

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Customer Rated

Dec 08, 2015

From reading other reviews, it seems HobbyKing should wise up and start putting a little more glue in the laminated wood supports for the landing gear. Mine flew well, and was landing beautifully until both gear collapsed when the laminations in the supports separated, allowing both wheels to fly off, resulting in broken props but not much other damage. It's going to be a fairly easy fix... reglue the laminated wood supports, probably drive a couple of screws down through the whole wood stack, to strengthen those laminations. Otherwise, very happy with the look and feel of the aircraft. And the other guys at the field were very jealous of my 4-engined beast!

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Certified Buyer Rated

Dec 02, 2015

Nicely modelled with lots of features - really looks the part. would rather not have a steerable tail wheel as is just a gimmick really - give me rudders any day but that is the only gripe

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Certified Buyer Rated

Nov 25, 2015

beautifull plane well detailed. First take off OK i've put the battery (2200Ma) at center of the plane. First landing a little hard finished in high grass. only broken propellers (seems very fragile) anyone could tell which can i put instead (3 or 2 blade)