Hi Andrew, I've raised the back of the elevator by 1mm on its seat, now I measure 3° angle difference (EWD, or einstellwinkeldifferenz in German) By placing the 1500Mah 3C in the planes "neck", that is on the wingconnectors/tubes, I could even place Josh,(the pilot) back, and leave the wheel as it comes off-factory. With the flaps 3 to 4mm down(=thermal setting), and the CG at 58mm, it floats forever ! Out of the box its incidence difference is near zero, so needs uptrimming all the time. Also I changed the prop-blades to 13X6,5... Now there's powerrrr ! at 33Amps +45° raises continuously Good flights, Rudi, Belgium
Hello Andrew. Thanks for your review. I have this plane and it is amazing. Yesterday I flew 40 minutes in thermic mode. Without engine. Sine 200 meters, to 450 meter. But in my opinion this plane is very difficult in a windy day. I'm sure you will enjoy a lot in slope soaring mode on the beach!!
I know I'm late to the party,but...I just bought a Phoenix 1600 and I just love it also. Tidied it up,mostly on trailing edges. Flies very well for its' size. I think you have flown it,Bill! Did similar with my ASW 28.
I bought one of these from Bangood a few months ago. It arrived in a black plastic bag (garbage bag). The box was crushed beond belief. Contents were all good to my relief.
Betcha cant wait to take it to the shore for some fun sloping action aye? With motor off most of the time you could keep her in the air for a good long time I bet. Very nice Mr. Newton. Cheers!
andrew, i recommend you take a roll of blenderm and some loose change with you for initial flights - it's easier to add a selection of (streamlined) coins near the fin root to pull the cg back on the field, and the extra few grams is inconsequential to auw, but magic to establish better flight trim with minimal faffing around when you just want it to fly the best it can :) later at home you can find out where the balance point is that was working well, and rearrange the innards accordingly (smaller lipo further forward if that does okay) nice work, as always...
Thank's for your all videos. Please, can your explain your method to test Flight at 1:43. Very nice. Did you use stick elevator on radio? Very nice job.
Maidened mine this evening! A very nice glider indeed! Just a few clicks to get straight and level flight after the maiden launch. (range checked it too and chatted to some dog walkers to explain (ex-plane?) what I was doing 100 ft away from my model on the ground) Flies beautifully, very smooth and the climb out is great! I'm using a Turnigy 25amp esc as I couldn't get the original to set the prop brake. It's easier to fly than my pod and boom but I' happy to say that it doesn't actually float so well in light air. I had a sunny evening with 5 knots and a few thermals, (which I did struggle to catch) no battery tray and 1300mah 3s lipos under the back of the cockpit. I did fly it with one 1500mah, but decided on the lighter packs in stead. So the fact that something I built from scratch flies higher for longer and is 300g heavier is cool by me. And I'll have no qualms about modifying the ASW's trailing edges (wings, elevator and rudder) some time later on. I shall add at least 10mm of depron and sand it to a finer edge at the same time I add some carbon strip to the wings.
More breeze this evening, so I'm going up again but yes, it's gonna be interesting. I almost did the mod before the maiden, but decided to see what everyone was singing praises about. And it's almost a beginner's glider, so easy and smooth.
Heh, first mod happened this evening. Two thicknesses of prone top up card under the back of the horizontal stabilizer. Big big difference! I'll even try an extra one next time. but this alone made a major difference to the glide slope!!! Still not as floaty as my pod and boom machine, but improved indeedy!
Flew it this eve with my tapered 15mm extensions packing taped in place, just to see. Oh it's a pretty good floater now!! Here's a quick description of my method. In order to form the tapered edges, I'm using a method I discovered recently. Which is, to pinch them in a vice!! This means you actually make the edg tougher as you work it! I used some round edge ally angle bar that was scrapped off at work. It looks a lot like this, but ours has a flat on the face. www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Aluminium-Rounded-Corner-Nosing-25-x-10-mm-hockey-stick-round-edge-profile-/112802657522 You just install it like a vice jaw protector. I actually use two pieces in each jaw to extend the width of my 4" engineers vice to 9". I also have a carpenters vice which is even wider, but it got hidden when I had a major tidy up last year. :¬/ When you clamp the foam sheet, a pinch and release gives a partial crush, and you ca ntime it to get diffent thicknesses. But it does regain some after a few mins. But the trailing edge (last 3mm or so) needs several minutes clamped before it stays at it's thinnest. I'm making long strips to add the the trailing edges and they do curve a bit, but are easily stuck down straight when applied to the wing or control surface. I will get pics and a video of this up in the near-ish future.
Hi Andrew, you said you are finding it similar to the Radian and curious in what way since it looks like it has a higher aspect ratio flat wing with the advantage of full house controls, and the Radian is rudder/elevator only with a polyhedral wing for roll. I was thinking this should out perform the Radian not to dismiss a polyhedral wing glider with a good pilot, but this looks like an intermediate (harder to fly) glider with the payoff in better performance. I have the UMX Radian and it blows me away how well it flies FPV at under 50 grams!! and people don't even notice it as a real RC aircraft at the park which is great... but it's limited range RX and battery size has me looking at it's bigger brother wishing there was something in-between as it's FPV stable camera mount in wind and soaring performance even with AS3X activated is so impressive. But I like the blow molded fuse's Volantex uses after some motor mount reinforcement and wish E-flite would follow suit.
With further flying I have radically changed my mind. For pure thermalling the Radian out performs just about all other foamies, it's almost too good. This ASW28 looks great but doesn't work well as a foam model. I find the Phoenix Evolution 2.6m to be more fun however because it has all the control surfaces.
Thanks... I think it's the Radian's super thin wing with the air foil dialed in as I noticed the same thing on the UMX Radian where it just seems to fly better than it should. If it could carry more battery weight it's all I need on low wind days for exploring the mountain ridges FPV where I can't fly LOS from up top. I think I already mentioned it but I got 2 of the Phoenix 2000 kits on a blowout HK sale but both sets of wings have the square aluminum spar tubes off about 1.5 mm with one side too high which due to being located forward of the middle causes one wing to have a higher angle of attack than the other when you join them at the trailing edge. It's an easy fix IF I could just find a 9mm carbon or glass rod thick enough to sand the top of the spar down and use some carbon strip to add what was removed to the bottom on one side and glue that side into the square spar that's too low so it can't rotate. Easy fix since it uses a square spar with 4 contact points on a round rod inserted, but have not been able to find a thick enough 9mm carbon rod so just been waiting for one to show up somewhere and not waist time on other less desirable ways to resolve it. As a last resort I may end up getting a high quality thick wall 7mm carbon fiber rod and use some Dave Brown carbon strip to size it up as needed. Tempting to glue both wing half's together and then glass/epoxy the center section and cover it after hinging it with proper hinges and be done with it. What size battery are you using in the Radian and your flight times under power?
Nice review 👍 Since you're not short on cams, why do you mount only one per flight? Just for looks or did the model behaves difficult because of the drag? Or simply weight?
Best onboard cam is the Mobius with C lens and I only have one of them. Balance and responsiveness are upset by the cameras so I prefer to just deal with one at a time.
Hello Andrew. Always a pleasure to see your flights!. You are a much better pilot than Brian Philips RC US ; he broke the rudder servo of its ASW28 after only 20 minutes and 4 landings... 🙂 Tell us : did you ever pilot the Kavan TShark 2m70 which is higher quality made in comparison to the low cost Volantex models (goods, but less sustainable... a glider also needs to be solid). The proof: all the little modifications you made on this Volantex. The bigger they are in this brand the more adjustments they require 🙂 I have an FMS-ASW17 and it is, fortunately ... indestructible (you can trust me) with high great glider qualities. To read you, thks.
Andrew, I have one too! It's a very good plane! I like it very much too. I use to soar it by the beach. It's very good for soaring too. You should try! Enjoy your New plane! Best wishes.
Great Video Andrew I like the view from the Tail. Sad that the deal code does not work for me..... I'll have to make this my next Plane. Thanks for the Video
Hi Andrew. 4½ year old vid I know, but on subject (Volantex ASW28 v2) so thought this the best place to post the questions in the hope of an answer. 1. Can you suggest an optimal sport climb prop to replace the 10x6 in the PNP ASW28 for use with the OOTB motor and ESC on 3S. Either 1500mAh Nano-Tech or 2200mAh Turnigy available to power, W&B dependent. Wheel will be replaced with a much lighter foamie, and I'll be stripping out the non-functional cockpit cosmetics too. 2. Any reason not to use electric flyer hinge tape (DU-BRO 916) longitudinally along the length of the control surface to wing joint to reinforce the foam flap and/or aileron hinges instead of glue? Ta.
@@AndrewNewton Thanks Andrew. Hinge tape it'll be for me then. That climb performance on the 10x6 on the stock motor in this vid was most impressive. I have since bought that PhoenixS BTW. Assembling it now, slowest part of assembly, ...the decals. Ugh. They required laborious individual recutting out inside what should have been their clean die-cut lines which weren't. Trying to make the cutting die last I suppose, or just blunt/miscalibrated. An onerous task so I split it up into concentration manageable and frustration tolerable periods over the past day. Heat affected and expansion lifting at intervals, they weren't in the best shape either, so will be trying the surface tension surfactant wet application with a squeegee method today as I've used in the past with difficult decals to try an achieve as optimal a result as possible. Again thanks for the ASW28 answer. Although I did have in mind the possibility of eventually acquiring the Phoenix 2400 later if I liked the 1600, and I do from the PNP I received Monday, I hadn't intended buying another anytime soon. However, the PNP ASW28 V2 came up on a 'just too good not to' Bangood spot special AUD price last night, and I wasn't going to let that pass. Particularly as like the Phoenix 2400 which has just changed status to out of stock locally a couple of days ago, they aren't always available when one wants one. Yum. 2.54M with flaps and CROW.
Hi Andrew, I am helping a friend set up one of these. Where did you end up with the CofG relative to the "dot" on the wing or measured from the leading edge at the wing root? Thanks for the video.
Hey I have been wanting to get into Sailplanes, but I am still a novice RC pilot, I have had a few starter planes. do you think this would be a good sailplane to start with?
Awesome, thanks for the videos, I wanted to ask you between this one and the phoenix, which one do you recommend best for thermal soaring? Thanks, Carlos
Hi Andrew. I am in trouble. I've got the volantex ASW 28, assembled... But a propeller continues rotate after the takeoff with a throttle off. I know that the ESC has "active brakes" (when the prop doesn't rotating by the wind) but don't know how to activate it. Sorry for my poor English.
Oh No!! I just changed to a Turnigy Plush ESC because I have a programming card. Here is the info on RCGroups www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?2164365-How-to-set-the-brake-on-the-volantex-ESC
Did you setup flight modes on your Taranis, it lets you separate out your trim for each flight mode so you dont need to trim for powered/unpowered flight.
Well worth looking at, I had setup flight modes for speed (reflex), Soar (camber), normal (motor) flaps and landing (crow) each had its own trim values. Really neat once you get your head around it.
Liked the view from the Tail Andrew....What a great place to mount a (compact) FPV Camera..?.....Then you could really expand the flight envelope of this Glider...No problem finding lift when you ride on the Tail....:) It's so restrictive flying this model LOS dont you think? 1280mhz Video Link....Tiny 200mw VTX......6km range.....sorted....:) Bangood have loads of 1280mhz VTXs..?
Andrew Newton Lol....If you tried 1280mhz Video, I guarantee you will be amazed at the performance increase over 5.8G...A typical 200mmw 1.2G VTX is only about 25 Aus Dollars....You only need a decent Video Receiver....A Lawmate.....but remember, you can use conventional RDs at this frequency, you dont need fancy (big) Skews...I use centre fed Dipoles on my VTXs....Imagine thermalling 5kms out at 1000 mtrs..?
Hi Andrew, which would you say is the better plane, the ASW28 or the phoenix 2400? I’ve watched your videos on both models and it seems that the ASW28 doesn’t balance without removing parts where the phoenix seems to balance easier. TIA.
Something between the two would be great. ASW28 looks great but isn't so good a thermal gliding, Phoenix 2400 is better but it's big and draggy and can surprise you with a tip stall.
6:41 pretty ballsy hitting flaps moments before you land. In the phoenix, that would have ballooned and stalled unless heavy down elevator applied. Airbrakes I get. Flaps at this point, not so much. :)
I always use flaps as airbrakes, even better with crow braking and elevator compensation mixed in. Of course you have to test how much it will pitch up first.
great flying job and a very nice glider here. Did you have to use any counterweights when flying the camera (particularly when on the wing) or did you just balance it with steering trim? The camera image suggests it was some kind of an action camera like GoPro or a Banggood-style "NoPro" (I've got their little H9 variant myself and like it a lot), so which one did you use and what's its weight and wind resistance like? Agina, very nice and interesting video -- thanks for sharing!
Hi there Andrew, one question do you think 🤔 that the pvc fuselage interfiere in some way with the signal of video or dragonlink signal? I had a ranger volantex a few years ago that I lost due to the lost of radio signal,
Andrew some of the comments coming in are about damage to the wings etc with poor packaging. Was yours Oka? Is Banggood Aus in Sydney ? so not far to come. Ian J
@@AndrewNewton Mine does not glide well with the 2200 Mah (did not remove the wheel but removed dummy pilot. I'm placing the 2200mah in front of the wheel foam. With 1300mah my flight time is almost same with 2200mah in a non windy, no thermal day.) I really cannot understand how 50gr battery weight affect a 1kg glider that much. I guess it's a CG issue. BTW crow braking is excellent for this model, literally. Thanks to you I can land hills more comfortably.
Nice flight Andrew - as usual :) Quick query, are you throwing the plane just straight or with a 20-30 degrees up tilt? I'm struggling with the solo launches....But when my friend is throwing it straight on full throttle and slightly elevator up it works fine..
I have a V1 that I upgraded the ESC to 45 amps and run it on 4s 2200 mah. Tough little motor but I'm only using it for 30 second runups. What a picture it makes in the sky and those flyby WHOOSHES!! What a value! ;]
Andrew what is a vario exactly and where did you get it? If I'm guessing right it gives an audio indicating for the loss or gain of altitude is that correct?
Vario = Variometer. Used by glider pilots in real gliders as well as RC models to reveal whether the glider is rising or falling. Can be in the form of a beep that varies in tone, or spoken altitude
Hello Andrew, Love your videos and reviews. I always been interested in aeroplanes every since I was a child specifically gliders and sailplane. I am planning on purchasing this plane within a few days. Question: how is this plane compared to the radian? Are they similar in flight characteristics or is this plane a lot harder to keep in the air? I have the older 3ch radian WITH OUT the as3x stabilization and I wanna say I'm passed the "new flyer stage." Is the asw 28 a good 2nd plane ?? Is it easy to fly? I like flying to scale and fly med to slow speed and glide and float around. I've seen some other people UA-cam review that this plane is quite challenging to fly and hard to get into the air. Some people said it's hard to launch the plane and you have to run then throw the plane to get it to fly from launch. Like what I said I'm pased the "beginner stage" BUT I'm not an expert in flying just yet ( NO acrobatics and 3D FLIGHT). I'm more of a novice flyer. Would you recommend this asw28 as a second plane?
Hi Edwin. The ASW28 is not a good thermal flier unfortunately, nothing like the Radian. It stalls and loses lift very easily making it a pain to fly as a glider. It's OK for motoring around and for slope soaring but I dont think the fine wings work well in foam. The Phoenix 2000 V2 would be a better choice if you want to play with flaps and full house setup, but nothing thermals as easily as the Radian. My favourite is the Phoenix Evolution but it's no longer available. The Phoenix 2400 is a bit disappointing being too draggy and prone to tip stalls.
@@AndrewNewton thank you for the quick reply! Love your honesty on your videos! Ahhhg thats very disappointing to hear as this plane looks so beautiful and looks almost to scale. You would think it would be a performer as it's based on the real ASW 28. But thank you for the honest advice. I think I'll justy skip out on this and justy keep flying my beautiful radian. I was also thinking of the volantex Phoenix 2.4m but looks like it's also no good. Im looking for something around 2.4m to 3m wing sail plane with a full house setup with flaps and ailerons. Other than the Phoneix 2000 and the evolution (since it's no longer available) Can you recommend something that is similar to the radians flight characteristics ?
Hi Andrew, I'm Glider and RC pilot, i search for my first FPV model , would you recommend the ASW 28 for also long range FPV flights (Glideratio is very good less power needed) or is the ASW 28 no stable enough? thanks.
Not stable enough I would say. Looks great but does not scale down well for foam wings. The Phoenix Evolution 2.6m is a much more stable glider but not much room for long range gear. Something like the Cloud Surfer is much more suited to efficient long range FPV (although the fuselage is a bit weak)
I'm just a little over 9000 miles from your location. I live in Deer Park Texas surrounded by petrochemical plants and oil refineries. About 5 miles from Galveston Bay. Bells beach is fairly near you isn't it? If I'm not mistaken that's big wave country certain times of the year. I believe I saw it mentioned in a 1991 movie with Keanu Reeves "Point Break".
Thanks Andrew. Where did you get one of those and would you recommend the ASW28 over the Phonenix and how about the Radian XL 2.6m? I'm trying to get back into it. I used to fly balsa kits many years ago. It seemed I got to where I was building more than flying and got bored with it and quit.
Purchase link is in the description. I prefer the Phoenix Evolution 2.6m over the ASW28, much easier to fly and better themaller. Have not tried the Radian XL
![☀ Огромный планер для FPV блаженства... [Volantex ASW28 V2]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/SFHgeDXmEMc/mqdefault.jpg)
![☀ Огромный планер для FPV блаженства... [Volantex ASW28 V2]](/img/tr.png)
62000 thousand views and counting, people still watching and learning from you Andrew, thank you.
Great videos thanks very much. Really nice to see it flown as a glider rather than raced around the sky.
Yes, has to be flown as a glider
I’m in my 70s and have gone back to soaring for some gentle relaxation!
Hi Andrew,
I've raised the back of the elevator by 1mm on its seat, now I measure 3° angle difference (EWD, or einstellwinkeldifferenz in German)
By placing the 1500Mah 3C in the planes "neck", that is on the wingconnectors/tubes, I could even place Josh,(the pilot) back, and leave the wheel as it comes off-factory.
With the flaps 3 to 4mm down(=thermal setting), and the CG at 58mm, it floats forever !
Out of the box its incidence difference is near zero, so needs uptrimming all the time.
Also I changed the prop-blades to 13X6,5... Now there's powerrrr ! at 33Amps +45° raises continuously
Good flights,
Rudi, Belgium
Nice demo.. Fantastic in flight camera!
Hello Andrew. Thanks for your review. I have this plane and it is amazing. Yesterday I flew 40 minutes in thermic mode. Without engine. Sine 200 meters, to 450 meter. But in my opinion this plane is very difficult in a windy day. I'm sure you will enjoy a lot in slope soaring mode on the beach!!
Great to hear that Aitor, that would have been wonderful. Sloping soon hopefully.
very nice build and flying.
Thanks heaps for posting.
funny that something that big needs a smaller battery.
My pleasure, could put a bigger battery in if you added tail weight or removed the landing wheel.
Nice one Andrew I have the Volatex Phoenix 2000 V2 and just love it
Yes it's a classic
I know I'm late to the party,but...I just bought a Phoenix 1600 and I just love it also. Tidied it up,mostly on trailing edges. Flies very well for its' size. I think you have flown it,Bill! Did similar with my ASW 28.
1 more plane to your collection!
can't wait for the soaring video.
thanks for all those videos!
This one is a keeper.
Rubber band serves as a positive canopy lock and prevents prop fouling.
I bought one of these from Bangood a few months ago. It arrived in a black plastic bag (garbage bag). The box was crushed beond belief. Contents were all good to my relief.
Ooh lucky.
Betcha cant wait to take it to the shore for some fun sloping action aye? With motor off most of the time you could keep her in the air for a good long time I bet. Very nice Mr. Newton. Cheers!
FPV sloping, oh yes
andrew, i recommend you take a roll of blenderm and some loose change with you for initial flights - it's easier to add a selection of (streamlined) coins near the fin root to pull the cg back on the field, and the extra few grams is inconsequential to auw, but magic to establish better flight trim with minimal faffing around when you just want it to fly the best it can :)
later at home you can find out where the balance point is that was working well, and rearrange the innards accordingly (smaller lipo further forward if that does okay)
nice work, as always...
Excellent advice thanks, luckily I have a permanent collection of coins in the car.
Thank's for your all videos. Please, can your explain your method to test Flight at 1:43. Very nice. Did you use stick elevator on radio? Very nice job.
Thanks for watching. Test glide with no motor to check balance and elevator requirement. Yes I did use elevator and ailerons
Thank's very much. All the best.
Very nice, seems the lipo position is a bit of a problem, thoiugh a few people have come up with clever ways round it
Maidened mine this evening!
A very nice glider indeed! Just a few clicks to get straight and level flight after the maiden launch. (range checked it too and chatted to some dog walkers to explain (ex-plane?) what I was doing 100 ft away from my model on the ground)
Flies beautifully, very smooth and the climb out is great! I'm using a Turnigy 25amp esc as I couldn't get the original to set the prop brake. It's easier to fly than my pod and boom but I' happy to say that it doesn't actually float so well in light air. I had a sunny evening with 5 knots and a few thermals, (which I did struggle to catch) no battery tray and 1300mah 3s lipos under the back of the cockpit. I did fly it with one 1500mah, but decided on the lighter packs in stead.
So the fact that something I built from scratch flies higher for longer and is 300g heavier is cool by me. And I'll have no qualms about modifying the ASW's trailing edges (wings, elevator and rudder) some time later on. I shall add at least 10mm of depron and sand it to a finer edge at the same time I add some carbon strip to the wings.
Excellent ideas, bigger control surfaces and thin trailing edges are just what it needs. Watching with interest
More breeze this evening, so I'm going up again but yes, it's gonna be interesting. I almost did the mod before the maiden, but decided to see what everyone was singing praises about. And it's almost a beginner's glider, so easy and smooth.
Heh, first mod happened this evening. Two thicknesses of prone top up card under the back of the horizontal stabilizer. Big big difference! I'll even try an extra one next time. but this alone made a major difference to the glide slope!!! Still not as floaty as my pod and boom machine, but improved indeedy!
Flew it this eve with my tapered 15mm extensions packing taped in place, just to see. Oh it's a pretty good floater now!! Here's a quick description of my method.
In order to form the tapered edges, I'm using a method I discovered recently. Which is, to pinch them in a vice!! This means you actually make the edg tougher as you work it! I used some round edge ally angle bar that was scrapped off at work. It looks a lot like this, but ours has a flat on the face. www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Aluminium-Rounded-Corner-Nosing-25-x-10-mm-hockey-stick-round-edge-profile-/112802657522 You just install it like a vice jaw protector. I actually use two pieces in each jaw to extend the width of my 4" engineers vice to 9". I also have a carpenters vice which is even wider, but it got hidden when I had a major tidy up last year. :¬/ When you clamp the foam sheet, a pinch and release gives a partial crush, and you ca ntime it to get diffent thicknesses. But it does regain some after a few mins. But the trailing edge (last 3mm or so) needs several minutes clamped before it stays at it's thinnest. I'm making long strips to add the the trailing edges and they do curve a bit, but are easily stuck down straight when applied to the wing or control surface. I will get pics and a video of this up in the near-ish future.
Love your videos, Andrew. 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼
Hi Andrew, you said you are finding it similar to the Radian and curious in what way since it looks like it has a higher aspect ratio flat wing with the advantage of full house controls, and the Radian is rudder/elevator only with a polyhedral wing for roll. I was thinking this should out perform the Radian not to dismiss a polyhedral wing glider with a good pilot, but this looks like an intermediate (harder to fly) glider with the payoff in better performance.
I have the UMX Radian and it blows me away how well it flies FPV at under 50 grams!! and people don't even notice it as a real RC aircraft at the park which is great... but it's limited range RX and battery size has me looking at it's bigger brother wishing there was something in-between as it's FPV stable camera mount in wind and soaring performance even with AS3X activated is so impressive. But I like the blow molded fuse's Volantex uses after some motor mount reinforcement and wish E-flite would follow suit.
With further flying I have radically changed my mind. For pure thermalling the Radian out performs just about all other foamies, it's almost too good. This ASW28 looks great but doesn't work well as a foam model. I find the Phoenix Evolution 2.6m to be more fun however because it has all the control surfaces.
Thanks... I think it's the Radian's super thin wing with the air foil dialed in as I noticed the same thing on the UMX Radian where it just seems to fly better than it should. If it could carry more battery weight it's all I need on low wind days for exploring the mountain ridges FPV where I can't fly LOS from up top. I think I already mentioned it but I got 2 of the Phoenix 2000 kits on a blowout HK sale but both sets of wings have the square aluminum spar tubes off about 1.5 mm with one side too high which due to being located forward of the middle causes one wing to have a higher angle of attack than the other when you join them at the trailing edge.
It's an easy fix IF I could just find a 9mm carbon or glass rod thick enough to sand the top of the spar down and use some carbon strip to add what was removed to the bottom on one side and glue that side into the square spar that's too low so it can't rotate. Easy fix since it uses a square spar with 4 contact points on a round rod inserted, but have not been able to find a thick enough 9mm carbon rod so just been waiting for one to show up somewhere and not waist time on other less desirable ways to resolve it. As a last resort I may end up getting a high quality thick wall 7mm carbon fiber rod and use some Dave Brown carbon strip to size it up as needed. Tempting to glue both wing half's together and then glass/epoxy the center section and cover it after hinging it with proper hinges and be done with it.
What size battery are you using in the Radian and your flight times under power?
Very nice! It looks to have a decent roll rate for 2.6M too!
Actually doing a full roll is weird. Very slow roll to inverted then quick snap back to upright.
Andrew Newton Yuck, that is weird. Happy flying!
Very cool, I could watch a lot more with that cam' on the T Tail... as you said "Luvley"
Yes it's a great view.
Video greetings Anbrew very good friend and the plane flies very well
Thanks Eunario, it does fly well
Nice review 👍
Since you're not short on cams, why do you mount only one per flight? Just for looks or did the model behaves difficult because of the drag? Or simply weight?
Best onboard cam is the Mobius with C lens and I only have one of them. Balance and responsiveness are upset by the cameras so I prefer to just deal with one at a time.
+Andrew Newton You're right. But if they spent the Mobius a built in gyro stabilization ... would be a great thing.
Would you be able to transport the plane in the original box?
Thinking of keeping tail/ruder in place while rest of the plane disabled?.
Yes it would fit, but it's not a very strong box.
Actually the horizontal stab would not fit back into the box once fitted
Hello Andrew. Always a pleasure to see your flights!.
You are a much better pilot than Brian Philips RC US ; he broke the rudder servo of its ASW28 after only 20 minutes and 4 landings... 🙂
Tell us : did you ever pilot the Kavan TShark 2m70 which is higher quality made in comparison to the low cost Volantex models (goods, but less sustainable... a glider also needs to be solid). The proof: all the little modifications you made on this Volantex. The bigger they are in this brand the more adjustments they require 🙂
I have an FMS-ASW17 and it is, fortunately ... indestructible (you can trust me) with high great glider qualities.
To read you, thks.
No I haven't seen the Karvan. Thanks
nice machine. good camera angles on the plane too
Thanks Phil it does carry a camera well
Great flight review as always. The tail cam is excellent and I'm sure it helps with some extra tail weight too.
Made it tail heavy, that was exciting until I added more nose weight
Which cam did you use on the tail? I notice a new one on the hat, is that a Foxeer?
Mobius onboard, yes thats a Foxeer on the hat near the end. Reviewing it soon.
Ha, the work never ends....
Andrew, I have one too! It's a very good plane! I like it very much too. I use to soar it by the beach. It's very good for soaring too. You should try! Enjoy your New plane! Best wishes.
Great Video Andrew I like the view from the Tail.
Sad that the deal code does not work for me..... I'll have to make this my next Plane.
Thanks for the Video
It's a keeper. Bummer the code doesn't work.
The radio that you reviewed: Fs-i6 - will it go with that glider?
Thanks!
Yes it's a very capable radio, good for that glider
Hi Andrew. 4½ year old vid I know, but on subject (Volantex ASW28 v2) so thought this the best place to post the questions in the hope of an answer. 1. Can you suggest an optimal sport climb prop to replace the 10x6 in the PNP ASW28 for use with the OOTB motor and ESC on 3S. Either 1500mAh Nano-Tech or 2200mAh Turnigy available to power, W&B dependent. Wheel will be replaced with a much lighter foamie, and I'll be stripping out the non-functional cockpit cosmetics too. 2. Any reason not to use electric flyer hinge tape (DU-BRO 916) longitudinally along the length of the control surface to wing joint to reinforce the foam flap and/or aileron hinges instead of glue? Ta.
Stock prop was all I used. Hinge tape or glue carefully applied both work well.
@@AndrewNewton Thanks Andrew. Hinge tape it'll be for me then. That climb performance on the 10x6 on the stock motor in this vid was most impressive.
I have since bought that PhoenixS BTW. Assembling it now, slowest part of assembly, ...the decals. Ugh. They required laborious individual recutting out inside what should have been their clean die-cut lines which weren't. Trying to make the cutting die last I suppose, or just blunt/miscalibrated. An onerous task so I split it up into concentration manageable and frustration tolerable periods over the past day. Heat affected and expansion lifting at intervals, they weren't in the best shape either, so will be trying the surface tension surfactant wet application with a squeegee method today as I've used in the past with difficult decals to try an achieve as optimal a result as possible.
Again thanks for the ASW28 answer. Although I did have in mind the possibility of eventually acquiring the Phoenix 2400 later if I liked the 1600, and I do from the PNP I received Monday, I hadn't intended buying another anytime soon. However, the PNP ASW28 V2 came up on a 'just too good not to' Bangood spot special AUD price last night, and I wasn't going to let that pass. Particularly as like the Phoenix 2400 which has just changed status to out of stock locally a couple of days ago, they aren't always available when one wants one. Yum. 2.54M with flaps and CROW.
Hi Andrew, I am helping a friend set up one of these. Where did you end up with the CofG relative to the "dot" on the wing or measured from the leading edge at the wing root? Thanks for the video.
From memory it was about 62mm for gliding
Hey I have been wanting to get into Sailplanes, but I am still a novice RC pilot, I have had a few starter planes. do you think this would be a good sailplane to start with?
Not the ASW28, it's doesn't work well for thermal flying, but it's OK for powered flight and slope soaring. The Phoenix 2000 V2 is the best
@@AndrewNewton Thanks a lot!
Awesome, thanks for the videos, I wanted to ask you between this one and the phoenix, which one do you recommend best for thermal soaring?
Thanks,
Carlos
2m Phoenix V2 is the best thermal glider, less draggy than the 2400 and more forgiving than the ASW28.
@@AndrewNewton nice, have you tried the FMS ASW-17? how does it compare. Thanks again
Beautiful sky and great gliding! Such a nice place where are you located in general? I noticed a good bit of breeze there which is great.
Thanks Lee, I'm in Geelong, Victoria, south eastern Australia
What type of camera was that you put on the Wing..The quality was really good..was that a keychain camera?
Mobius C2
Looks good, that last landing I was thumb stressing!
Me too, it got a bit close.
Great video as always. What camera did you use for the onboard footage?
Thanks, Mobius C lens for onboard. It's the sharpest of the flat form factor cameras that I have tried.
Hi Andrew. I am in trouble. I've got the volantex ASW 28, assembled... But a propeller continues rotate after the takeoff with a throttle off. I know that the ESC has "active brakes" (when the prop doesn't rotating by the wind) but don't know how to activate it. Sorry for my poor English.
Oh No!! I just changed to a Turnigy Plush ESC because I have a programming card. Here is the info on RCGroups www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?2164365-How-to-set-the-brake-on-the-volantex-ESC
Did you setup flight modes on your Taranis, it lets you separate out your trim for each flight mode so you dont need to trim for powered/unpowered flight.
No I don't bother with flight modes
Well worth looking at, I had setup flight modes for speed (reflex), Soar (camber), normal (motor) flaps and landing (crow) each had its own trim values. Really neat once you get your head around it.
Liked the view from the Tail Andrew....What a great place to mount a (compact) FPV Camera..?.....Then you could really expand the flight envelope of this Glider...No problem finding lift when you ride on the Tail....:) It's so restrictive flying this model LOS dont you think? 1280mhz Video Link....Tiny 200mw VTX......6km range.....sorted....:) Bangood have loads of 1280mhz VTXs..?
Yes great viewpoint for FPV, but stop tempting me with more gear! I have enough.
Andrew Newton Lol....If you tried 1280mhz Video, I guarantee you will be amazed at the performance increase over 5.8G...A typical 200mmw 1.2G VTX is only about 25 Aus Dollars....You only need a decent Video Receiver....A Lawmate.....but remember, you can use conventional RDs at this frequency, you dont need fancy (big) Skews...I use centre fed Dipoles on my VTXs....Imagine thermalling 5kms out at 1000 mtrs..?
Heh, I've eventually decided to get one of these. Bangood can't ship to my location, so it's on backorder with Hobbyking.
Excellent. Hope it doesn't take too long. It's a lot of plane for the money
It was available next day, so I bought one!!! :¬)
Hi Andrew, which would you say is the better plane, the ASW28 or the phoenix 2400? I’ve watched your videos on both models and it seems that the ASW28 doesn’t balance without removing parts where the phoenix seems to balance easier. TIA.
Something between the two would be great. ASW28 looks great but isn't so good a thermal gliding, Phoenix 2400 is better but it's big and draggy and can surprise you with a tip stall.
6:41 pretty ballsy hitting flaps moments before you land. In the phoenix, that would have ballooned and stalled unless heavy down elevator applied.
Airbrakes I get. Flaps at this point, not so much.
:)
I always use flaps as airbrakes, even better with crow braking and elevator compensation mixed in. Of course you have to test how much it will pitch up first.
great flying job and a very nice glider here. Did you have to use any counterweights when flying the camera (particularly when on the wing) or did you just balance it with steering trim?
The camera image suggests it was some kind of an action camera like GoPro or a Banggood-style "NoPro" (I've got their little H9 variant myself and like it a lot), so which one did you use and what's its weight and wind resistance like?
Agina, very nice and interesting video -- thanks for sharing!
H Fred. Camera is a Mobius C and I have a counter weight under the other wing tip. It does upset the flying style a bit.
Hi there Andrew, one question do you think 🤔 that the pvc fuselage interfiere in some way with the signal of video or dragonlink signal? I had a ranger volantex a few years ago that I lost due to the lost of radio signal,
Not in my experience, I often have the Rx antennas inside. That's with 2.4GHz.
Andrew Newton thanks
What is your favorite, the phoenix 2400 or the asw?
Thinking about buying one for fpv
Phoenix 2400 would be better for FPV and is better at gliding.. The ASW is not as robust.
Andrew some of the comments coming in are about damage to the wings etc with poor packaging. Was yours Oka?
Is Banggood Aus in Sydney ? so not far to come.
Ian J
Yes mine was good. Build video here. Definitely get it from Aus if you can, might be Sydney
great video ! Looking forward to seeing it slope !
Nice blue sky you mean??
Hi
Great review! Hope to see more !
What are your thoughts of putting a 2200mAh in ?
I'll try 2200 soon. Needed mods to allow battery to move back
@@AndrewNewton Mine does not glide well with the 2200 Mah (did not remove the wheel but removed dummy pilot. I'm placing the 2200mah in front of the wheel foam. With 1300mah my flight time is almost same with 2200mah in a non windy, no thermal day.) I really cannot understand how 50gr battery weight affect a 1kg glider that much. I guess it's a CG issue.
BTW crow braking is excellent for this model, literally. Thanks to you I can land hills more comfortably.
Nice flight Andrew - as usual :)
Quick query, are you throwing the plane just straight or with a 20-30 degrees up tilt?
I'm struggling with the solo launches....But when my friend is throwing it straight on full throttle and slightly elevator up it works fine..
Gliders I throw straight and level. Pushers like the Bixler need to be aimed a little bit up and a strong throw. Never full throttle for pushers.
@@AndrewNewton Alright, thanks for the reply :)
I will give it another try this week. Will try to throttle up to about 75% then.
Love the flex on the high aspect wings.
Is the T tail stronger than the cloud surfer?
Much stronger and stiffer than the CS
I have a V1 that I upgraded the ESC to 45 amps and run it on 4s 2200 mah. Tough little motor but I'm only using it for 30 second runups. What a picture it makes in the sky and those flyby WHOOSHES!! What a value! ;]
Excellent
What camera are u using in the wings?
Mobius
Andrew what is a vario exactly and where did you get it? If I'm guessing right it gives an audio indicating for the loss or gain of altitude is that correct?
Vario = Variometer. Used by glider pilots in real gliders as well as RC models to reveal whether the glider is rising or falling. Can be in the form of a beep that varies in tone, or spoken altitude
FrSky high precision vario from Banggood
OU TROUVER CE PLANEUR ASW 28 MERCI
is there any thing not made in china any more? nice glider though.
i' also think about to buy this glider. anyone know some special offers?
Hello Andrew,
Love your videos and reviews. I always been interested in aeroplanes every since I was a child specifically gliders and sailplane.
I am planning on purchasing this plane within a few days.
Question: how is this plane compared to the radian? Are they similar in flight characteristics or is this plane a lot harder to keep in the air?
I have the older 3ch radian WITH OUT the as3x stabilization and I wanna say I'm passed the "new flyer stage."
Is the asw 28 a good 2nd plane ?? Is it easy to fly?
I like flying to scale and fly med to slow speed and glide and float around. I've seen some other people UA-cam review that this plane is quite challenging to fly and hard to get into the air. Some people said it's hard to launch the plane and you have to run then throw the plane to get it to fly from launch.
Like what I said I'm pased the "beginner stage" BUT I'm not an expert in flying just yet ( NO acrobatics and 3D FLIGHT). I'm more of a novice flyer.
Would you recommend this asw28 as a second plane?
Hi Edwin. The ASW28 is not a good thermal flier unfortunately, nothing like the Radian. It stalls and loses lift very easily making it a pain to fly as a glider. It's OK for motoring around and for slope soaring but I dont think the fine wings work well in foam. The Phoenix 2000 V2 would be a better choice if you want to play with flaps and full house setup, but nothing thermals as easily as the Radian. My favourite is the Phoenix Evolution but it's no longer available. The Phoenix 2400 is a bit disappointing being too draggy and prone to tip stalls.
@@AndrewNewton thank you for the quick reply! Love your honesty on your videos!
Ahhhg thats very disappointing to hear as this plane looks so beautiful and looks almost to scale. You would think it would be a performer as it's based on the real ASW 28.
But thank you for the honest advice. I think I'll justy skip out on this and justy keep flying my beautiful radian.
I was also thinking of the volantex Phoenix 2.4m but looks like it's also no good.
Im looking for something around 2.4m to 3m wing sail plane with a full house setup with flaps and ailerons. Other than the Phoneix 2000 and the evolution (since it's no longer available) Can you recommend something that is similar to the radians flight characteristics ?
greetings friend discurpe the translation yet but still not handling the traductr vien
Thank you much for the info.
Hi Andrew, I'm Glider and RC pilot, i search for my first FPV model , would you recommend the ASW 28 for also long range FPV flights (Glideratio is very good less power needed) or is the ASW 28 no stable enough? thanks.
Not stable enough I would say. Looks great but does not scale down well for foam wings. The Phoenix Evolution 2.6m is a much more stable glider but not much room for long range gear. Something like the Cloud Surfer is much more suited to efficient long range FPV (although the fuselage is a bit weak)
Maybe ask Heppy Ket. He is a long range FPV expert and has used these planes. ua-cam.com/channels/tq9EDXfvFzjbQ3FKkG0saA.html
Nice plane ,great video.
I'm just a little over 9000 miles from your location. I live in Deer Park Texas surrounded by petrochemical plants and oil refineries. About 5 miles from Galveston Bay. Bells beach is fairly near you isn't it? If I'm not mistaken that's big wave country certain times of the year. I believe I saw it mentioned in a 1991 movie with Keanu Reeves "Point Break".
Awesome Flight, waw, thanks for sharing.
Thanks for watching
Like it a lot! Maybe I'll get one for xmas.
Gonna need a bigger stocking!
Ironically I just bought some large size socks!
Thanks Andrew. Where did you get one of those and would you recommend the ASW28 over the Phonenix and how about the Radian XL 2.6m? I'm trying to get back into it. I used to fly balsa kits many years ago. It seemed I got to where I was building more than flying and got bored with it and quit.
Purchase link is in the description. I prefer the Phoenix Evolution 2.6m over the ASW28, much easier to fly and better themaller. Have not tried the Radian XL
cool
Yeah
Andrew program some crow.
Next on the list Graham
Lol 222 views
Sloth FPV ..... SEVENTEEN THOUSAND views #SHMUCK™
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