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Orca
May 19, 2009 19:55:40 GMT 10
Post by sean on May 19, 2009 19:55:40 GMT 10
I picked up the Orca today and was not disappointed. I'm really happy with the fit and finish on this one, better than any of my other moldies anyway. Very stiff and light. The fuse inparticular is very light. The paint is glossy and thick enough so you can't see the carbon through it (quite unusual on an F3J plane). We weighed the assembled airframe at 1750g. It comes with two sets of wingtips - the shorter ones give it a span of 3.39M and the longer ones 3.6M. The tips are very lightly made from glass, and unfortunately there was some damage to the longer wingtips (dent in the LE), but nothing I can't fix. Bit of a bummer but seems to be pretty common. That would be my one complaint - for a plane that was being shipped halfway around the world it could have had a bit more padding etc in the box, especially to the tips as they look pretty easy to damage. The box itself is reasonably sturdy but not much protecting everything inside. I dropped in to Andrew's place on the way home to open the box. We both oohed and ahhed as each part was removed . Andrew seemed as excited as me and took the pics below: The cat with the cream : Long, broad flaps should slow it down nicely. This pic shows the longer tips. You can just make out the dent in the tip closest to the camera (looks a bit worse on the bottom): Name on the bottom so I know which one's mine . Not an easy plane to manoeuvre indoors...
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Orca
May 19, 2009 20:13:27 GMT 10
Post by nick on May 19, 2009 20:13:27 GMT 10
wow
how big is the smile on your face in the second photo?
one very happy chappy
well done sean,
i can't wait to see you fly her,
good luck with the build, im sure you will do an excelent job.
have fun and be patient
kind regards
nick
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Orca
May 19, 2009 20:14:58 GMT 10
Post by jase on May 19, 2009 20:14:58 GMT 10
sean you look as excited as a 5yr old at x-mass. LOL.
glad it turned up relatively ok, i'm sure it will fly better than you ever anticipated.
can't wait to hear the maiden flight report.
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Orca
May 19, 2009 20:41:49 GMT 10
Post by bananaman on May 19, 2009 20:41:49 GMT 10
Beautiful bit of gear Sean. You'll be transformed after flying the Pike ++PLUS PLUS PLUS++ Can't wait to see you guiding it around winning some comps.
The box looks good and sturdy, did it have loose foam pieces inside there or just the bubble wrap?
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Orca
May 19, 2009 20:44:25 GMT 10
Post by sean on May 19, 2009 20:44:25 GMT 10
He he, yes I'd make a very bad poker player . In my defence Andrew made a bit of joke just before the second pic was taken . I'm not in a rush to finish this one, it'lll be several weeks at least before it takes to the air. There's not much to do though, it comes with wiring harness, servo tray and ballast.
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Orca
May 19, 2009 20:50:23 GMT 10
Post by sean on May 19, 2009 20:50:23 GMT 10
Beautiful bit of gear Sean. You'll be transformed after flying the Pike ++PLUS PLUS PLUS++ Can't wait to see you guiding it around winning some comps. The box looks good and sturdy, did it have loose foam pieces inside there or just the bubble wrap? Thanks Brian. It'll take a lot more practice before I'm ever in a position to win comps. Thermals still manage to do a good job of avoiding my plane. At least now I'll know for sure the weakest link is myself . Aside from the bubble wrap, there was newspaper and everything was taped down quite securely. But no foam! The box walls are a good 4cm thick.
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Orca
May 19, 2009 21:18:41 GMT 10
Post by jirvin4505 on May 19, 2009 21:18:41 GMT 10
I'm wet with anticipation Nothing like the smile on the face of a man with a new moldie ;D ;D good one sean cheers jeff
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Orca
May 19, 2009 21:46:19 GMT 10
Post by shane on May 19, 2009 21:46:19 GMT 10
Fantastic Congrats Should go around and around on rails !! Thermal rails that is ;D
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Orca
May 20, 2009 11:51:54 GMT 10
Post by skyboyken on May 20, 2009 11:51:54 GMT 10
So I guess that's an Orca then??? Nice! I look forward to straining to see it at all Ken.
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Orca
May 23, 2009 2:11:34 GMT 10
Post by airtime on May 23, 2009 2:11:34 GMT 10
Another great piece to ur already fine collection Sean . Is it ok to ask the price ???The thermal should be attracted to it I think . Yes would think so.
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Orca
May 23, 2009 12:11:50 GMT 10
Post by sean on May 23, 2009 12:11:50 GMT 10
Hey Astan, it wasn't cheap, but it was a good price for what it is. With the extra handling fees the customs broker slugged me with, it came out about the same as an Xplorer or Supra from www.airstrike.com.au. PS sounds like you've been having a good time with the Erwin recenty .
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Orca
May 27, 2009 20:33:20 GMT 10
Post by nick on May 27, 2009 20:33:20 GMT 10
more photos more photos
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Orca
May 28, 2009 12:22:47 GMT 10
Post by sean on May 28, 2009 12:22:47 GMT 10
I've been too busy to start on it yet, and I won't be able to start on it for a couple of weeks now.
I'll post some more pics when I do start on the build.
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Orca
Jun 22, 2009 15:05:34 GMT 10
Post by sean on Jun 22, 2009 15:05:34 GMT 10
Just started on the Orca build today. The servos for it still haven't arrived but I have everything else so still plenty to do. Figured out how much lead it'll need in the nose last night - about 160g. This should make the AUW around 2230g. Not bad I reckon for a big plane with such a strong wing. making up the battery pack today - 5 cell Eneloop. Will use a Dean's connector for the switch like I did with my Pike, only this time I'm gonna have two leads coming from the pack as well as two leads going to the rx.
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Orca
Jun 22, 2009 18:15:09 GMT 10
Post by sean on Jun 22, 2009 18:15:09 GMT 10
The finished battery:
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