TimFil (3 points) 2/1/2010
Thanks for the reply Whiskers. I have one other question. Does the ESC have a built in BEC or do we need to have a separate battery for the receiver?
Thanks again ... Tim
Reply:
Whiskers (42 points);
Yep, the ESC has a BEC and I have had no problems with it. In fact the plane is almost problem free. The landing gear is a bit fragile with the plastic fairings stuck on with D/S tape, but I glued them on and they are OK. I fly from a field with very short grass and have had no problems with takeoff or landing there.
TimFil (3 points) 1/29/2010
Do you have to use a 1300mah battery or could you use a higher capacity? I notice the art-tech comes with a 1800mah battery.
Thanks
Reply:
Whiskers (42 points);
You have about 8 x 3 x 3.5 cm in the bat box. I find a 1300 to be ideal. It places to CG just right on the top-wing rear mounting and keeps the plane nice and light. I get an 8 minute aerobatic flight and have plenty of juice at the end.
Whiskers (42 points) 1/20/2010
It's not not included and is no problem for an experienced builder. The manual is useless anyhow. If you Google: art-tech pitts manual you will find it. Set it up perfectly true with just a touch of right rudder and the balance point on the top-wing rear screw and it will fly fine. That is if you can fly it. It is not a good plane to try to learn on. Feel free to ask any specific question you have.
cj.wants2fly (1 points) 1/20/2010
I got a "Pitts" for Christmas. The pack did not come with a instruction/parts manual. Did anyone else have this problem? Where can I get one?
Whiskers (42 points) 1/14/2010
Shame about the "Pitts" graphic in the fin. However Mad Marcel, my carved from foam pilot, is having so much fun he does not give a ratz... PittsFin
Alvin (0 points) 1/7/2010
Anyone know why this plane torques hard to the left? what is the center of gravity on it? At the point decal on top wing?
Reply:
Whiskers (42 points);
You must have a bad set-up if your Pitts is turning hard left. Make sure the ailerons are all set completely neutral and that the wings are true. Take your time - Get it perfect. I flew mine on its first flight with just a touch of right rudder and no trimming was required. My 1300 packs place the CG on the rear mounting screw of the top wing. It seems ideal, nice and responsive and with a good glide and sweet landings. If all the flying surfaces are true and you still have problems you should check the thrust-line.
snans (2 points) 12/27/2009
can anyone tell me howmuch room there is for a LiPo ? what are the maximum dimentions for a LiPo ?also, is this plane suitable for a beginner ? I used to have a nitro training plane a few years ago, but it was to fast for me. now i want to start over again, with a plane which is slowerthnks !
Reply:
Whiskers (42 points);
I just poked a rule into the bat box of mine and measured 8 cm depth, 3 cm wide and 3.5 cm long ways. Not to say a pack of this size would fit, you need room for the wires etc. And a bit of room if the bat puffs up. For a real beginner I would make this a third plane. A docile powered glider would be a good choice.
I just went to do a control check out, and I'm not sure how or why, but I think ALL THREE of my servos are dead!
Everything was fine initially, and controls all responded as expected. About 15 seconds later, all of the servos stopped working. The RX is fine, as every other servo I've connected to it works.
I disconnected the ESC and pulled the RX out of the plane. I plugged a separate 4-cell NiMh batt pack into the RX, and I get NO RESPONSE from the servos that came installed in the Pitts, yet others seem to work fine.
I pulled the aileron servo out of the plane, and opened it up. It has that signature smell of burnt electronics. However, with ~5.2vdc applied directly to the motor contacts, the motor operates as it should. I'm thinking that somehow the control electronics in the servos all died, but I have no idea why.
Can anyone help me? What happened???
JC77 (0 points) 12/21/2009
One other question - Does anyone know which ESC this plane uses? It has a HobbyKing sticker on it, but I can't find it anywhere.
This plane is a Christmas gift from my wife, so I haven't been able to mess with it yet.
The reason I'm asking is that I'm trying to find out what voltage is output to the receiver from the ESC. The receiver I plan to use is an old Airtronics unit that does not have BEC built-in, and if the voltage is over 6.5 volts, I'll need to add a BEC inline between the ESC and receiver. Thanks again!
Reply:
rei170 (35 points);
The voltage comming out from the ESC is approx. 5.8V max. using 3 Lipos, so there schould appear no problem to your receiver. The built in ESC is similar to the cheap Towerpro series, but it`s absolutly enough for flight. Have fun with your christmas-gift, wish you a merry christmas and some smooth times to bring up your pitts.
JC77 (0 points) 12/17/2009
Let's try that site listing again (replace * with .): *******www*art-tech*cn/english/pdf/pitts.pdf
JC77 (0 points) 12/17/2009
I was not finding the manual at the **** site, however, I found it in full here: ***********art-tech.cn/english/pdf/pitts.pdfI have one question: If the battery is supposed to go into the forward bay just behind the motor, and the transmitter is shown in the manual to go into the bay underneath the wing, what is the empty bay aft of the battery and forward of the wing for???
Reply:
rei170 (35 points);
Hi J77, I used for the Zippy 3s 1300mAh Lipo the forward shaft, as supposed in the manual (art-tech-pdf), in the rear box there is nothing, the receiver is located in the hole above the lower wing on backside. So installed the CG. is perfect. To your question, I think, this box is thought to install "larger receivers", maybe you can fix even a flycam there. best regards Steve
GertvZ (19 points);
The rear box is mentioned for use with a Nimh accupack. Art-tech is selling this plane in two version. Nimh pack is much heavier, so the plane will be nose heavy. Lipo in the front area and Nimh in the box under the wing. Best regards, Gert
ABDON (6 points) 11/26/2009
Vuela de maravilla, muy noble. Con bateria de 1300 vuelo alrededor de 15 minutos. Buen material y buen acabado. Lo unico que no trae manual pero no le hace falta. 100 recomendable.
JAVIER (13 points) 11/12/2009
puede hacer cuchillos o el torque o algo de eso? can this plane do the torque or knife or any of this aerobatics??
raddavis (5 points) 11/4/2009
Does anyone know what the black tip 25mm length screws are used for? Securing the struts? I did not get a manual with my Pitts.
Reply:
GertvZ (19 points);
To fix the upper wing, see page 8 at the manual mentioned below : ***********art-tech****/english/pdf/Christen-Eagle.pdf
Eoler (0 points) 11/4/2009
Podria modific**** el hueco de la bateria para meterle una de 2200mAh? Unos 30/40mm de rebaja.
It's possible to bay area mod? About 30/40mm to put inside a 2200mAh batery?
Reply:
JAVIER (13 points);
con una 1000mah 3s como iria? iria con poca potendia y duraria poco? esque tengo 3 de esas x casa y nose si las puedo usar. otra cosa.este avion permite cuchillos o harrier o torques o algo as?
Pablo Preciado llamazares (7 points) 11/3/2009
El Avion cien por ciel mas recomendable que he tenido de HobbyCity, tiene un vuelo de lo mas noble y una presencia en vuelo como en tierra inmejorable por su precio, no tienes que preocuparte de nada solo montas tu receptor y encajas las alas,con unas baterias de 3s y 1300ma 15 minutos esacto de reloj y sin problemas de calentamiento ni nada por el estilo, la electronica que trae esta sobradamente bien y parece resistente en todos los aspectos sin olvid**** nunca de cuanto cuesta este avion puesto en casa.Creo que merece la pena tener uno aunque sea por capricho, no te arrepentiras.Saludos
Reply:
Eoler (0 points);
Hola Pablo, veo que tambien vives en Lega... como yo... jajajaja
Estoy mirando este avion pero quiero meterle 2200 de pila, como lo ves?
JAVIER (13 points);
con una 1000mah 3s como iria? iria con poca potendia y duraria poco? esque tengo 3 de esas x casa y nose si las puedo usar. otra cosa.este avion permite cuchillos o harrier o torques o algo as?
brendan (1 points) 11/1/2009
is this plane good 4 a beginner
Reply:
AlexinOz (38 points);
No, I'd recommend a high wing trainer for a beginner - they're more stable and much easier to learn on. This will be a 3rd or fourth plane.
BCBasher (118 points);
Biplanes are easy to lose visual orintation on. I tried a Tigermoth as a 3rd pane after only a few months and would lose track of wich side is up. This caused alot of close calls and one realy bad crash. I'm 3yrs in and worked my way up through planes and just considering somthing like this now.
IVAN (1 points) 11/1/2009
Does somebody know if this plane (Pitts) is suitable for idoor flight? For example in a baketball hall. Thanks for your answer.
Reply:
AlexinOz (38 points);
It would need to be a pretty huge hall - I'd be taking this out onto at the very least a small oval in no wind to test it out. A little large I'd say for indoor, but it depends how good a pilot you are - I couldn't imagine anyone doing much more than mild aerobatics with this indoors, not enough height available :)
beautiful plane to fly especially for this incredible price.
add your own receiver and a 3s 1500 20c turnigy or zippy pack for good performance from the stock brushless motor. - some readings for ya'll with the stock motor + esc, and a 1500 3s 20c turnigy pack. (i run this pack but i fitted deans connectors) http://www.hobbycity.com/hobbycity/store/uh_viewItem.asp?idProduct=9273
Pitts arrived well packaged (double boxed) to Dubai. Assembly took awhile longer than expected as the motor was not connected to the ESC (you need some one with small hands to connect these!). The elevator servo was faulty so had to replace it before flight so HK gets marked down . Ohh, and those screws with black plastic heads screw through the top wind and in to the wing braces (no Manual, spotted this from pics on the Art Tech website). Had to mod the battery box as Im using a Rhino 1250 3S but I knew this would be necessary. CG worked out perfect. Once assemble it look good. Apart from the above this is an awesome little plane, not quite 3D but a whole chunk of fun. The different decal on the underside means you dont get disorientated whilst youre chuckin it around either. Ive already ordered another for my brotherKK I guess thats as good a recommendation as youll get.
I received this plane a couple of days and i have to say that its a very good one!!. It flies well and can fly slow enough for good landings.. Only problem is the weak wheel system that needs clear surface (not grass!). Also it would be good to mention the battery box size because my battery didn't fit (rhino 1350 3s1p) and i cut some insulators(!)... I give 4 stars only for the reason that the undercarriage should be more strong... This plane is good!!
For the price good! Looks great, fly OK. Just I recommend to strengthen the engine cover from inside with the tape. It is very thin and my one has broken during flight! Also the tail gear I already changed... This is why four stars.
received with great double packaging. really nice and good flight. easy to assemble without instructions. I changed battery compartment by cutting 0.8 mm. so the battery pack Turnigy 1500Ah 3S 20C is Perfect. Original battery compartment size: 70x35x32mm. Changed size: 77x35x32mm Thanks
Awesome plane. This is my first venture into planes, what can i say, i like to jump right in. I race cars, so this helped a bit. Even on my very first flight ever, i was able to do rolls and loops. The pitts is well powered for me so far, maybe i will go to a faster prop shortly. As a firt time flyer, it was great, easy to assemble and setup. i used 3s 1500mah bats, i feel it still may be a little tail heavy, so i will add some weight inside the cowl. I would like to see it in EPO foam and cant wait for the 1.1m version to come in. Heaps of fun, highly recommended.
For the price good! Looks great, fly OK. Just I recommend to strengthen the engine cover from inside with the tape. It is very thin and my one has broken during flight! Also the tail gear I already changed... This is why four stars.
This was a disaster. Took forever to get it, mailing was almost as expensive as Pitts. It came broken can't get people at HobbyKing to answer phone. Servo would not work, motor was not strong enough to do loops, no docs no way to set C.G. or anything else.
Lovely plane to fly. I modified the compartment behind the front one, (which only takes 1300mah batteries) to take 2200mah batteries. I cut a hole in the compartment as far forward as I could and now put the batteries in perpendicular to the fuselage. This makes the c of g about right with the extra weight and being a bit further back. It flies great and I've since put a 10x7sf prop on it and it goes even better. Looks great in the air and for the price, can not be beaten. Wheels are strong enough. I take off and land on grass all the time. One sticky piece,on the landing gear (you will see it), just comes unstuck now and again on some landings, this is no problem though. One of my favourite planes at the moment.
Assembled kit with no instructions was a breeze, only thing I will note is to make sure you center your aileron servo before putting wing on and adjust the clevis'.
Long bolts for the main wing. I also moved the elevator and rudder linkages to the middle hole, cleared some foam away for a smoother control. This is where you notice, HEY!! no access to the two servos for the tail. I am sure a blade and some time and that can be solved.
Quick test on the watt meter showed a draw of ~2A @ 1/2 throttle, and ~10 at full throttle with the stock prop and a 3S 1500.
OK flight test. With the landing gear, it took a 1/2 throttle to get it moving, a quick shot to full and it was airborn. Smooth and slow sailing away! Adjust my elevator and rudder a couple clicks and she is gently gliding through the air, I had a little expo (25%) and 80% DR . I went to switch to full deflection, after a close by, low turn and then I wrapped the Pitts around the goal post of the field! DOH! I was impressed with the flight, and the damage was minimal, broken prop, probably bent moto/shaft and one wing needs some glue! Will be flying again next weekend! I think this is an art-tech plane made for HK, only marking is on the plastic battery case.
I am happy with this plane, and I am sure you will be too, if you have read this far, click buy now! and have fun!
Bon produit. Pas encore eu le temps d'essayer en vol, mais les assemblages sont parfaits ainsi qu'une belle dco. Livraison sans problmes avec un emballage robuste. +++++
All hobbyKing.com® content is copyright 1999 - 2010 by hobbyKing.com® and hexTronik Ltd. except where otherwise indicated.
The hobbyKing.com® logo and name are both trademarks of hexTronik Limited.