3D!! What's going on? It's everywhere! 3D this, 3D that. Shock flyers coming out of your ears! Heli fliers trying to implode their expensive machines; Dethermalising tails on slope soarers; Reverse pitch props on indoor electric models. What next, free flight duration prop hanging?
I've dabbled in the past of course. Sometimes without actually realising it. I used to spend hours copying Hanno Prettners Sandown Park tricks with my Wot-4 back in 1983. I'd even had one or two of the early 'dedicated' toys myself but never really found one I was happy with. With the theory down off pat it's tricky to pick up new show stoppers if you don't have the right machine. If half the battle is against the airframe you're on a loser from the start.
Now though, there are many more refined models available and most of the aerodynamic issues are being addressed. With new Hi-Torque 3D servos being developed and prop manufacturers increasing diameters and shallowing pitches in their new 3D prop ranges, it seems that the revolution (is that a trick?) is well and truly here.
Never being one to miss a bandwagon, when Mr Ed gave me the chance to get my hands on a new 3D toy I jumped at the chance. Ever more surprising when two showed up!
It's no surprise that the seagull 'Harriers' are named after the manoeuvre. It's one that the manufacturers claim they will do particularly well. The models come in two sizes nominally known as the Harrier .46 and the Harrier .90, with the bigger one being the more favoured of the 3D crowd. Having said that, the smaller models are only just beginning to really break through and could be the next 'big thing'. The 0.46 spans just 48" and whilst the 0.90 at xx inches doesn't sound that much bigger, in reality it most certainly is.
I dragged my old mucker Julian in for the ride. He's well into that sort of thing and can draw the odd round of applause from the indoor 'Shockie' crowd when he has too. I much prefer fast and furious and well, he is younger than me so there's less of the 'old dog' syndrome! He had also just outed a purported 3D airframe for it's crapness so never got round to finishing it off. We're fussy too, didn't I mention that? All of which meant that he had all the required gear for the bigger of the two toys sitting lonesome on a shelf, and we weren't in the mood to be fobbed off by any old rubbish.
There were a few things that struck us immediately. Firstly they're not the prettiest models around but that's what functionality gives you. I couldn't put my finger on it at first but then I realised that there is no fin! Bags of side area as you can see but the rudder just slips into the back of the deep fuselage. The second thing that hit us is the sheer quality of the kit. The build is very, very good. The covering simply the best we've seen on an ARTF. A credit to whoever specified it. Having said that if you're going to go down the route of covering things in transparent film you'd better make sure that the quality is high. One minor problem that the covering job does bring to light is that you have to stop and think for a moment before you pick the model up. It's quite difficult to find a non-squidgy grip.
Another thing that became immediately obvious is the practicality of having a two piece, plug on wing. Transportation will be a breeze compared to some other stuff we've dragged around over the years. The wings are joined by two quite large Aluminium tubes and retained by wing bolts through the fuselage sides. These are easily accessible as the whole of the front fuselage top decking lifts off!
The instructions are a bit of a curates egg. Well illustrated and broken down into the most basic steps but it doesn't need a page and a half to tell me how to stick cyano on an Aileron hinge and then the same page and a half again for the Elevators.
The hardware pack is very complete and despite Julians' misgivings about the strength of the horns when we tried to wreck one it proved to be more than up to the job. There are some long and unsupported 2mm wire pushrods, especially from the elevators, which do tend to whip a bit under load and they're really not conducive to the longevity of the models. This is especially so on the big Harrier. It's worth considering upgrading to your personal favourites. As mine were bending on the bench as it were I decided to sleeve them with 4mm carbon tubing. This way I could still utilise the supplied fittings rather than changing them all to 3mm. Julian did similarly employing some scraps of Carbon and some Pete Tindal fittings to upgrade his. They really could crash your model if left as supplied.
Another thing we were both agreed on is the distinct lack of locking nuts or spring washers. The instructions advocate cyano for locking up everything but in reality you'll need to get something back off once in a while and if you've cyano'd your nuts up you're knackered! An alternative method of locking things down is required as Four stroke engines in particular will soon have things dropping off all over the place.
Aside from a few cosmetic differences (the large one has a wire braced tailplane and no spinner whilst the smaller one has a big shiny red one) there really is nothing between the two except size. As I was building the small one and taking the photos, many of the assembly shots are of the Harrier 0.46.
Anyhooo! Building is a term loosely used these days for 'fitting out' and once you've glued in the tail feathers the rest is a formality. With three servos to fit in the back end, wiring can become a rats nest if you're not careful. We used a simple paper tube up the chuff to keep it neat and tidy under the see through covering.
There was some misalignment in the pre fitted captive nuts on my undercarriage and Julians bulkhead bolts were a full 12mm out of place for the motor (ASP 1.20 FS) he used. After checking that he'd not done anything stupid with the motor mount like hang it upside down or something, he changed them all. This got the thrust line correct for the cowling avoiding that 'Concorde on approach' look. The cowling is much simpler to dress for a four stroke motor than a two. Mine was going over an Irvine 0.53 motor and although still tidy it ended up looking like a piece of Gorgonzola with small holes all over the place for access. The wheel spats too had to be dressed out to allow at least one of the wheels to spin freely. The tailwheel screws to the bottom of the fuselage with a tidy fitting clamping it to the bottom of the rudder for steerage. The simple tank arrangement is very easy to fit snugly under the removable fuselage top and there remains lots of space (too much?) to fit the nicad and the receiver pack. I do wish that the removable top had been supplied with some kind of canopy flooring to hide the gear under that big clear bubble. I might cover the underside in something suitable later.
All that's left to do after this little lot is to apply the simply awful decals. They are printed onto a semi clear sheet which clashes with the covering in the most horrid way. Best to cut most of it out if you're going to use them. Oh and it will also say 'Harrier' in 8 places on your model as well as silly things like 'No Step' if you decide to use them all. Julian has a vinyl cutter and binned the lot in favour of his own brand. I stuck with a couple or so for the piccys but they'll be coming off again in short order I can tell you.
The secret of easy 3D often lies in good propeller selection. Julian opted for an APC 16"x4" for the 1.20 FS and after trials with a 13"x4" APC on the Irvine 0.53 I eventually settled on the 12 1/4" x 3 3/4" APC originally developed for control line stunt flying.
Nothing left to do now but fly. I'll let Julian report on the 0.90 with me chipping in at the end with anything noticeable different for the smaller model.
Flight report - Harrier 0.90
Well, where to start.
The take-off roll is very short. Pretty much as expected and totally understandable with the big stump puller four stroke up front! Note that using low-rate for take-off and landing is to be advised before slipping it into 'crazy frog mode' when you're safely airborne.
You'd expect that a model having barn doors for flappy bits would be all over the shop in a instant, but the reality is very different. She feels very graceful on the sticks, and is capable of regular aerobatics on low rates. Something that many devoted 3D models aren't often good at. This is a good starting point to build a relationship with the airframe and get a feel for the things to come. You'll quickly realise that there isn't a stall as such. More of a mush. It's far more likely that you're going to upset it by using too much elevator throw and messing up the tail that suffering anything wing induced.
Obviously Knife Edge flight is a real gimme. Did you expect anything otherwise with all that side area working for you? On high rates very small knife edge loops are a real hoot to perform, with those around you cringing as the model simply shrugs off the manoeuvre.
Various mixes were tried. Herein lies the real secrets of mental manoeuvres. Snap flap didn't work as well as I thought it might, with the model getting a little cross with me when pulling lots of elevator in really tight loops. Reflexing the wing to the point of 'dethermalisation' is a better way to go in order to achieve effortless harriers etc. I started out at 20% spoiler but eventually settled on 50% with application coming via a mixer switch. This reflex makes the model rock steady in the Harrier, with the tail well down beyond the 50-60 degree from horizontal mark. It's funny as hell to traverse the patch with only the tailwheel touching the ground!
To get a nice 'flop' into inverted Harrier's I found I had to move the C.G. further back. My C.G. is around 200mm from root L.E. now, but I have to land the model with ¼ down elevator!
This rearward CG permits the execution of much crisper waterfalls, but I had to max out the elevator throw to get consecutive tumbles.
The extra size of the larger model gives the pilot more time to think, and more time to admire the crazy attitudes that it can be coaxed into. My favourite is a short vertical climb into a flat spin. If the entry is just right the model will rotate on the spot for as many revolutions as the pilot dares, without descending. It looks particularly cool to fly out of this bizarre manoeuvre in high alpha knife edge!
The model size took some time to get used to. She's really big when at close quarters and a little intimidating if you're not very confident with low level 'in your face' hovering. Following a couple of good flights on a nice calm day I was able to tap the rudder on the ground at my feet, with a seriously juicy hand catch for dessert!
Landing is quite easy but the model does have a tendency to hit the floor tail first. A blip of power is often required at this point to stop you dropping vertically and splaying out the under carriage.
Harrier 0.46
Much of the same applies but obviously with it's lower wing area and slightly higher loading the smaller model is less inclined to 'kite' around like the bigger one. The Irvine 0.53 is about as small as you'd want to go for satisfactory vertical performance and safe hovering on what does actually turn out to be quite a heavy model. Even on the shallow pitch prop it could better benefit from a mini pipe of some sort. A more powerful and slightly larger 4 stroke like the Yamada 0.63 will probably be the desired choice or possibly the higher end range of the OS 0.70 surpass series. The model requires a slightly longer take off run than the bigger toy but this is possibly due to the tail wheel holding the back end up and obstructing the rotation on the floor a little. Despite misgivings at first about the suitability of standard servos on a model of this type they handle the flight loads perfectly well. The model flies quite slowly with a shallow prop pitch and you are never near to flutter if you can nail the linkages. It is entirely possible to make the model fly like a pig by using excessive control throws or switching to 3D rates at higher speed and in the wrong attitudes. However if you can get your head around the amount of switch flicking required for proper 3D then always deferring to a 'safe' mode before flying away will help when you get the model into a little trouble. As a parting shot , the model is very draggy which is quite desirable, but you don't want to be hanging around too long with a deadstick motor though. Make your decision quickly and get it down onto the patch to avoid damage arising from running out of ideas and altitude all at the same time.
Concerns?
The tail could be a bit stronger, particularly as both Julian and I needed to add considerable lead to the tail to optimise the CG for 3D flight. Dead weight that could have been put to better use.
We also swapped out the canopy fasteners with 4mm nylon bolts - the 'grab' keeping them in place. You tend to get fed up of losing them to be honest!
Other than these little niggles we were both very pleased with the models.
Summary
3D is very popular right now. If you want to cut your teeth on a suitable model, we can recommend the Seagull Harriers.
With the smaller model being priced at around £90 and the bigger version only £30 or so more depending on your outlet, it really is hard to fathom how they do it for the money. Consider that a YT Adrenaline currently costs £120 more than the larger Harrier. A not insignificant amount of cash which could conceivably buy you the motor you need to fly it.
At these prices you needn't worry too much about telling your partner what yours cost either. Unless of course you're the type that needs to get themselves down to the hospital to get a thumb taken off the top of their head! Why not stash yours in the attic before they get home and get them to help you bring it down a week or so later. You can tell 'em it's been up there for ages!
The Seagull Harriers are distributed throughout the UK by Perkins. Any model shop worth it's salt should be able to get their hands on one for you.
Andy Ellison / Julian Beckett