Entry level aeromodelling is distinctly far removed from what it was when I began chucking free flighters around with my dad in the 70's. Nowadays it's usually straight into radio via an ARTF trainer and a plain bearing motor with a basic computer set and a few model memories. I can't remember the last time a newcomer to our club had 'rolled his own'. That was usually only a requirement for the 'second' model and even then it was a fairly quick to build kit like a Wot4 or Fun-Fly type. The market for a decent ARTF second model has until recently been fairly bereft of anything remotely adequate and if you think about it, a fliers second model doesn't really need to be anything too complicated. Take your basic boxy trainer and flatten out the wing. Maybe get it nearer to a symmetrical wing section. Slicken up the fuz a little but keep it for the same engine as the trainer. Enhance its aerobatic ability with some bigger control surfaces and maybe dispense with the trike undercarriage in favour of a tail dragger. What would that leave you then? Something like this I'd bet!
The Xclaim is the latest model from Ripmax set to plug the gap in the market. Looks strangely familiar doesn't it? But then how complicated can a simple advanced trainer slash sports model be?
Here's the kit blurb bit........
"The Xclaim is a versatile, highly manoeuvrable sports model that is perfectly suited to experienced flyers. However, with reduced control movements it makes a great first aileron model or aerobatic trainer. Superbly factory built and covered in a terrific 4 colour trim scheme, the Xclaim is supplied almost ready to fly and complete with a comprehensive hardware package."
Mmm! We'll see.....
The 'High Vis' colour scheme might make it look as if it's been covered from the scrag ends of material swept up from the ARTF factory floor but it's actually two layers of something. One is a pretty opaque heat shrink film, the other bears the colour and seem s laminated over the topm. How do I know it's laminated? 'Cos it de-laminates too! They have done pretty well to get the pattern to line up but it's a pity they didn't give the same attention to the edges. By the looks of some of the overlaps it could have been hacked out with the back of a bread knife. I had to spend about an hour sticking down anything that went round a corner. Wish I hadn't bothered as it soon lifted again. Patches over open structure were slack and wrinkled too. This is common in transit and a pass with the tacking iron sorted it out. The covering is often the bain of the ARTF world and this stuff while fairly thick, will rip easily if you don't keep your workbench/kitchen top/ironing board or whatever clear of detritus. A proper heat shrink film job would have been nice on this more advanced model. Other ARTF manufacturers can manage it and still keep the price low. Perhaps the gaudy 'Hi Vis' bit is the big selling point? Not so sure about the 'Ripmax' logo splattered everywhere though. I'd have preferred optional stickers.
The 'starburst' effect of the topside covering is poorly contrasted by the underside which says XCLAIM emblazoned across the wing. Pity they spoiled the effect by sticking a solid white fuselage across the word. The only other colour present on the underside is an inexplicable 'Ripmax' logo on one elevator. Go figure? An internet search might flag up a different colour scheme raising your hopes that there might be an alternative, but unfortunately there isn't. This is merely a throwback to photographs of Ripmax's conceptual model way back in 2000. I knew I'd seen it before somewhere and Ripmax confirmed that it had been on display at Sandown that year but not released until now in this 'improved' guise.
Underneath it's not too badly put together for the £89.99 rrp price tag although odd pieces of the balsa do look like old pallets in contrast to other bits which are pretty decent.
Construction is similar to many a basic 4 channel ARTF trainer. Many people picking this up as their second model will have already dealt with cyano wick hinges and epoxying in tail feathers and the like. There is an added glass cowling/top deck to deal with but the Xclaim really does nothing to stretch ones building skills if you've already done similar work before.
The glossy instructions are colour illustrated and many construction points are pictorially referenced. That said, the pictures are small and some are unclear. There are many more steps that should be in there but are overlooked. The booklet is littered with misguidance, incorrect dimensions and vague steps. The model doesn't tie up with the words and 'pre drilled holes' or 'alignment marks' are missing. The standard of the fixtures and fittings are adequate but obviously provided to a budget. The package is fairly comprehensive with only fuel tubing, spinner and prop to provide, but you might find as I did that some of the supplied bolts are either wrong or too short. This is especially so with the wheel axles and I had to replace them.
Nice to see the pushrods made to length for a change though even if some bending and wood trimming is needed to get a free fit.
The more experienced flier looking to build an Xclaim for a sports hack might seek to upgrade a few bits like metal clevices and maybe a rudder closed loop, but the GRP horns supplied are more than adequate and I've got smaller stuff on my quarter scale models! No bad thing but their size makes the back end a little cluttered.
The omission of a noseleg for the undercarriage simplifies the front end build somewhat but other areas do make it a little more complicated to balance it up. You'll need to 'stitch' on a tail skid with soft copper wire. The last time I did that I was flying control line! It isn't very strong either and soon flattens out.
Marking the engine mount holes proved quite tricky without the aforementioned alignment marks and it all got a bit hit and miss in the end. The supplied bolts (of different lengths) should have been self tappers according to the instructions and this would have simplified the motor installation considerably. Frankly though the fixed part of the cowling will still be in the way of good drill access.
The main dural undercarriage is quite strong but is only held in place by three short self tapping screws. I know that these will fail in short order for anybody not up to 'greaser' standard and it really should be bolted in place. Oh! And the cheap wheels wobble too as the holes through their centres are not straight.
The wing is supplied in two pieces which require one mix of a decent slower setting epoxy to butt together with the supplied heavy wood joiner in situe. These are then retained on the model by two 4mm metal wing bolts. Probably a first for many builders if using it as model number 2. The unsightly joint between the two panels can be hid by a bit of trim (not supplied, but should be!). There is only the one servo to mount here which could see a further upgrade in experienced hands to provide flapperons for floaty landings. There is certainly room.
The tail feathers are flat plate sections made up from just 5mm thick balsa strip. To be honest, I have misgivings about the strength of the emmpanage. The tailplane is especially flimsy and would have been better as a simple 6mm sheet affair. You might find that when novice builders, bigger engines and the need to score the surface of the tail to remove covering are factored in, some of these back ends might just give way. I'd be especially cautious during anything remotely 'High G' but I suspect that take off and landing errors may snap it first.
There was also a considerable twist in the back of my fuselage and I had to trim the tail plane and fin slots quite considerably to square them up to the wing. (See pic). I also had to cut a new slit for the bottom rudder hinge as the twist made it quite a way out of alignment. Curious to know if I'd received a 'selected' kit I inspected the three held in my local model shop. All had bent or twisted fuselages to a greater or lesser degree and were about to be sent back to Ripmax.
The whole functionality of ARTF dictates that the building route should be minimally time consuming and it really is just a matter of a few hours with careful reference to the instructions before you are adding the radio gear and drilling the engine mount. A sports aerobat with a modest motor does not see the aerodynamic forces at the control surface that many modern 3D types suffer, so it's standard gear all round for the Xclaim with no need to go silly on the over long servo arms and massive ATV's. Aimed at the 0.40in to 0.46in motor range, I'm sure many will inherit the well worn offerings from the users trainer before perhaps being re-engined at a later date with something more pokey. As if to prove the point I decided to use one of my older OS40LA's which had been laid up on the shelf waiting for just such an occasion. The motor was a comfortable fit on the engine mount but it will take something a little larger. I initially thought that the mount was too short until I realised that the dimension in the instructions was wrong by 10mm!
The supplied tank holds around 6fl oz (180cc). Be aware though that the wings leading edge locator hits the back of it when installed and I had to shorten this by about 5mm. The tank couldn't go much further forwards as it hits the engine mount bolts. Be sure to stand it off these or they will soon wear through.
I had to add weight to the back to achieve the correct CG and this was with a fairly light engine too, vindicating my comments that a sturdier tail could be used. Still, within just a few hours the Xclaim was ready for the off.
I had no reason to expect that the Xclaim wouldn't fly well. It looks right and most of the time that's enough. You can tear up the sky or tame it to trainer status by rating down the throws. You won't have the self stability that bags of dihedral provides but it can still be made pretty docile. There is some rolling with rudder which you'd expect from a high winger but it is only really a problem requiring attention in knife edge flight. Yes, it will do it if you enter with plenty of speed and up the rudder throws somewhat but it's fairly comfortable once you have some trick mixing applied on opposite aileron and elevator compensations.
Many learners have difficulty handling those first tail dragger take offs but the Xclaim's rudder is big enough and responsive enough to hold her straight or yank her back in line should you start to swing badly. Once up there its a breeze to fly. The 'Hi Vis' colour scheme really should shout orientation at you from the exits of flicks, snaps and spins but it doesn't. A better option in my book would have been to put 'XCLAIM' on the top and put a few parallels on the underside. Top and bottom blur into one against a blue sky when you're wearing sunglasses.
Snaps and spins are wickedly quick and are all fairly easy to do with the controls set at the upper end of the range, although the spin is quite nose down. This does improve a little with the CG moved back somewhat but it remains far from flat.
With the CG set in the recommended position, level inverted flight requires nothing more than a slight pressure against the elevator stick springs. The whole feel of the model is fairly responsive but is blighted by a 'heavy' elevator sensation. The model is quite long compared to similar ones available and it has more of a patternship feel to it through looping manoeuvres.
The lateral balance required correction with around 10g of lead in the left wing tip, which I thought was quite a lot, indicating more of a problem than just having the engine hanging off one side. The installed side thrust was also wrong and needed tweaking by a few degrees more in order to achieve a prolonged, straight vertical climb. Some of this will be down to the big wash of the 11" X 5" prop I fitted but you'd still need some more if you were a died in the wool 10" X 6" merchant.
The deadstick performance permits good handling right up to the incipient stalling point and the ailerons are powerful enough to contain the stall resulting in a gentle nodding of the nose. If you leave them alone it will drop a wing but recovery is easy if you've done it before. If you haven't well hey! It's a good model to learn it on.
One of my 'kill or cure' manoeuvres for a model test is to get to a good height and stop the motor. Then dive for the patch and pull out low for a deadstick circuit and landing. Any model of this kind should easily be strong enough to withstand it. It's not a G thing more an airspeed issue and a bigger motor will pull this model a lot quicker than this. Guess what happened? The whole tailplane fluttered. Not the elevators but the tailplane! I landed OK but it had creased both the leading and trailing edges on both sides. Perhaps it would have been OK with harder wood but my inspection of the other kits in the model shop was enough to know that I didn't have a bad one.
The Xclaim is easily capable of taking the novice flier onwards to the standard required of the BMFA B certificate, but a 3D toy it ain't. Maybe the hot shots could get it to hover reasonably well with bigger motors, emulating Paul Heckles' old tricks with the 'Webbit' of the 90's but that's not really what this is about. The Xclaim is a good sports hack. I'd like to say "Fly it like you stole it" but I think you'd rip something off!
Some outlets are already knocking them out for just £78.00 which is still too pricey for a model of this quality in my opinion. The ARTF market is very competitive these days and there is certainly better available for the money so it might pay you to shop around.
The Ripmax Xclaim is available now from most good model shops and doubtless some rubbish ones too. ARTF models have come a long way of late but the quality of the Xclaim is a throw back. This is overcome to a large extent by its flight performance and if you want to get in the air quickly then go ahead, knock yourself out. If you do plump for one and Ripmax haven't already taken the hint and done it for you, change the tail.
The full technical specification is as follows:
Wingspan 1390mm
Length 1205mm
Motor .40-.46 (6.5-7.5cc) 2 Stroke
Weight 2100g (approx)
Radio 4 Channel
Servos 4 standard
Andy Ellison.