With winds gusting to 15mph, I took my new R/C plane, the Stryker, out for its maiden flight. If you’ve been following the build log (part 1 and part 2), you already know that it’s outfitted with a Tower Pro 2409-12 motor, a Blue Arrow 30A ESC, an 8-cell NiMH battery (9.6V), and a 7×6 slow flyer prop. The maiden results are in:

• Flights: 3
• Aileron Rolls: 2
• Split S’s: 1 (accidental)
• Immelmans: 1
• Landings: 3
• Crashes: 0

I am very pleased with the results. The plane flies fast and responsive. Only a few clicks of right trim were needed on takeoff for level flight. The glide ratio is exactly perfect for slow, controlled, short runway landings. I am very impressed with this plane. Even with my wimpy 8-cell NiMH battery, it seems to fly around 50mph in the flats. I think when I go to LiPo, it’ll be closer to 70mph. The final speed upgrade will be a 7×7 prop, and that should put me right at 80mph. Wow.

Here’s a video of the takeoff (you can tell how windy it is by my hair blowing straight up and back):

Here’s a video of some aerobatics during the first flight. It starts with the first roll this plane has even performed, which turned into more of a Split-S since the ailerons were on low rates (50% travel):

And finally the landing. I bobbled a little on the approach, but the touchdown was nice and smooth. I love belly-scraping planes like this. They land so much better than geared planes on uneven terrain:

I was pretty nervous flying this plane for the first time, but I’m not nearly so afraid of repairing this plane as my Formosa, since it’s all one piece of foam. Hopefully I won’t have to find out how hard it is to repair.