De Retro Series - Pioneer 1020mm EPO (PNF)

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Customer Rated

Jan 19, 2015

What a great plane, after a bit of tweaking, ie, 27grms of weight in the front using stick on wheel weights recessed into the foam, 45pcnt throws on the elevator and 55pcnt throws on ailerons with 10pcnt rudder mixed, this thing is primo. It flies at scale speed and looks fantastic in the air, got a lot of comments from people, they thought it was balsa not foam. Well done Hobbyking, as in one of my previous comments, forget the wing wires and use black elastic cotton, looks great and less fiddly, holds tension all the time, enjoy you will not be dissapointed.

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Customer Rated

Apr 26, 2014

It was my maiden flight today with this beautiful beast! First two flights were amazing, didn't have to trim or change COG. Everything flew perfect straight from the box. On the 3rd flight though, My mind blanked and i hit a the top of a tree. The tree was about 200m high and it just fell through the tree and eventually hit the ground. Guess what? was hardly any damage at all. Had to glue an aileron back on and the wing and that was it. The wing didn't even break, just the part you screw in. the fuselage wasn't even slightly damaged. Either this plane is extremely tough or i got extremely lucky. How many planes can fall 200m from hitting a tree and have hardly any damage to it? Definitely would recommend this plane to anyone!!!!!!!!

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Customer Rated

Mar 12, 2014

Here is a video of the pioneer fighting it out with a SE5A.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z3D1jzKl0-4

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Customer Rated

Mar 10, 2014

Great little' plane, that looks awesome both in the air and on the ground. It flies very well if and only if there is little to no wind. If there is wind, it becomes very unstable around its pitch axis. I wouldnt recommend this as a real beginners plane, while its forgiving, it has to be flown relatively fast (and in windless conditions).

Overall build quality is excellent and honestly stunning for the price. Mine did come with a rudder that was warped, but thats not a big deal. Apparently you can fix that by soaking it in hot water, but it didnt really impact the flying best I could tell. Assembly is almost no work at all, apart from the rigging wires. Pro tip: you can solder them instead of using those crimps.

THis pane is not overpowered, but motor and prop give it enough power to fly this "scale" with some reserve to get you out of trouble. Just right IMO. Pitch authority is a bit too good, dial it down on your radio or use a lot of expo. You probably also want to mix throttle with elevator to avoid the infamous nose drop if you cut the throttle, although I found that problem not as big as most people claim. You will want to put some weight in the nose to get the cg right.

User manual is a joke. But who needs one with this?

All in all, Im quite pleased with this plane. Its not quite as easy to fly as I imagined, doesnt fly as slow as I hoped (even with flaperons),

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Customer Rated

Feb 28, 2014

My Pioneer parcel arrived the other day and with excitement I couldn't wait to get inside. Everything was great all parts there and no damage from shipping from Hong Kong. The build was easy as really, the wiring was the time consuming bit, but is easily done with patience. Looks very nice when built. The CG is 46 mm from front (leading edge of wing) now I put a texture mark to balance point and it was still way too tail heavy even with the 1300 lipo in! I ended up needing about 45 grams of extra weight I put some lead inside the slot on underneath (behind the motor cowl) mount. Then she was balanced good. I maidened her on one of my Towns smooth open dry slat lake beds and she was a charm to fly! I did need a bit of up trim but it fixed fine once trimmed! I Get about 8 minutes on the fully charged lipo. Just remember the extra weight and this plane is a beauty!

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Customer Rated

Jan 31, 2014

Nice build, wires are hard to keep tight but not bad. Hard to fly though. Agree with other posts not a slow flyer at all. Not a plane for beginner. Keep to j3 cub if u want a trainer

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Customer Rated

Jan 10, 2014

Very happy with product and delivery time. Well made great looking no issues with lining up or placement of parts, can't wait to get her up.

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Customer Rated

Jan 03, 2014

Received my Pioneer this morning, fast delivery from NSW warehouse. Downside was no screws for attching the tail and not enough tubes for crimping the wires on. Battery placement will be tight, theres a lot going on in there. I am expecting flight to be as good as the write ups, will post more after I have acheived that.

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Customer Rated

Dec 15, 2013

It's not a beginners airplane, flies well, but a little "nervous", have to "play" with c.g. Position, dual rates and expos, to make it less "unstable". After that,I managed to fit a 3s, 2200 mAh battery for longer flight times and better stability,due to more weight in the front. Loops and inverted flight, ok.
The landing gear is a little weak, but the price, for an airplane with servos, esc, motor, etc. is very good!!!

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Customer Rated

Nov 20, 2013

I too ordered Sunday and it arrived today, tuesday. It was extremely well packed with a nicely retail printed artworked box, inside another bigger plain box. Perfect if you want to buy it for a present. The contents are well spaced, secure and all arrived completely free of marks or damage. It has a beautiful finish completely in keeping with the models 'Retro' look. All the installation is done bar the receiver just as listed. The EPO foam is dense and thick in the places it should be. The fuselage is stronger than it looks and I imagine will take many knocks. Tools you need are inside so assembly on a desert island is assured. One bad bit, the dummy rotary engine is made of ordinary foam and I will glue a piece of card inside it to secure it before the lower cylinders break off. Assembly is easy and I have it hanging up in our back room already. This is the 3rd aeroplane I have had from Hobbyking and as time has gone on they have got better and better this being the best so far. I will fly it but I think letting potential buyers know just how good this is now before they go out of stock. For 68 quid delivered its brilliant. Thank you again Hobbyking.