[gbanger]

I have been admiring this aircraft for some time, so as soon as it arrived in Oz I had to have one.
The aircraft is made of a very hard EPO and is painted purple, all the other colours are ultra thin water decals. A number of people have rubbished this covering but apart from it being susceptible to hanger rash I am very impressed with the finish.
The included hardware is very good quality and all the fasteners come in individually marked bags which makes construction a breeze.
Assembly of the aircraft is an absolute breeze, the quality of the fit up is the best I've see from HK, all the components fit together beautifully and even though I am a very fussy builder and used epoxy on the main wing spar, it only took me 5 hours from opening the box to having it ready for maiden flight.
All the control surfaces pivot on pin hinges and come pre installed. I gave them all a good tug to check they had been glued properly and they are well installed.
The electronics bay is big enough to hide a small army and I have a 6S 5000 25C battery installed as far forward as it goes to get the C of G just right on the complete model. The electronics package comes with Y leads to connect everything, there is an extra little servo just in front of the rear wheel for steering, it was pre installed and had the servo wires on the outside of the arm which was over controlling the rear steering to almost 90 degrees so I repositioned the wires on the arm to the holes closest to the centre, now I am getting 30 degrees steering which is much better.
The whole aircaft is held together by 5 screws so if you really wanted to throw it together you could have it done in 2 hours, including trimming.
The only let down was that the flaps servos (Yes.. it comes with flaps)were installed one spine missaligned either side of centre... but that was easy to work around.
The servoless retracts appear to be pretty good quality and I have cycled them about 20 times , they are smooth and slow which is nice.
Flight weight with the big battery is 3.1 kgs.
I cant wait to get this sweet lookin' ride in the sky... I recon it will fly like a cracker.
Up... up... and away!!!
       
       
       
       

[wingtipper]

Bastard !

[Raptorfly]

What a nice looking plane Gaza well picked.

[Flying fisho]

That is a sweet looking plane Gazz & very tempting. From the specs it shouldn't match it's smaller brother for speed but will be spectacular in the air. Love the colours.

[secant0give]

looks like a beautie Gazz

hopefully well see it in the air on the weekend if the weather holds !!

I've been looking at that one too

[smuzz]

What sort of KV is the motor? ... and have you put a Wattmeter on it yet?

[wingtipper]

Bastard !

^^^^^^^^ LET ME EXPLAIN FURTHER , our president has been flying for few years now , everytime i look at a plane and dribble over buying one , one day shortly after build thread appears , my ideas and Gary's wallet seem to agree on whats a nice rc plane . LOL

[gbanger]

Sure have mate
It has got enough torque to blow your budgie smugglers accross the street.
51 amps pulling 1100 watts should be a shade under 6000 rpm. Thats pretty cool on 6S with a 3kg aircraft.
The motor is a 4258 @ 270kv. Don't know what pitch the prop is but it's a 15" 4 blade, so I recon the pitch is probably a little less than it looks... It is a very nicely manufactured piece of engineering, I don't think it will be a really fast plane but I'll put money on the take off roll being less than 6 meters and there is a better than average chance that it will climb vertical, it really has got a huge amount of torque... as you can see by the above comments... I'm very impressed.
Roll on some fine weather so I can get it in the air.

[smuzz]

Yes Gazz - looks good at 1100 Watts with 3kg takeoff weight!

[gbanger]

Finally got the replacement retracts from HK, they were pretty good actually its is just the backwards and forwards communication that slows things down.
Anyway... forcast for tomorrow afternoon is good... batteries are charged... Up, up and away!
       

[Raptorfly]

Finally got the replacement retracts from HK, they were pretty good actually its is just the backwards and forwards communication that slows things down.
Anyway... forcast for tomorrow afternoon is good... batteries are charged... Up, up and away!

That looks great Gaza, l love the colours. Good luck with maiden. Let us know how she flies.

[gbanger]

Took the RB up this afternoon after finishing the mowing.
First flight was with a 4000 compact as far forward as it would go. It took off in about 5 meters at half throttle, a little trimming followed by a few straight and level circuits to get a feel for it and it felt pretty neutral.
I increased throttle to about 75% and did some scale aerobatics. Roll rate was a little slower than I expected but more than sufficient, the elevator is a lot more responsive and quite snappy.
I think the C of G could go forward a little but that would turn every landing into an instant accident. All in all it was very sure footed and does pretty much what ever you ask it to do without any fuss.
2nd flight on another 4000 moved back 10mm to stop the nose over on landing and help get off the ground without issues. Much better but was very floaty on final approach but didn't nose over.
Did some aggressive aerobatics and discovered that I could knife edge the fat little sucker, which was very surprising.
I did a low speed fly buy, pointed it at the stars and hit full throttle... the thing climbed vertical, I stopped and did a little prop hang at about 300 feet. This thing has power to burn.
3rd flight was on a 5000, noticed a big drop in performace due to the extra weight (Note to self: buy more 4000 compact batteries.
Very surprised, this ones a keeper.

[samste]

Sweet, Sounds like the 6s Rarebear a winner, definately looks very nice and sporty.

Steve

[Steven]

Are we going to be blessed with it's presence on Saturday?

I will bring a proper video camera this week.

[gbanger]

More than likely!

[secant0give]

I was there this afternoon just in time to see the last flight of the day and it's a beautie !!
It flies very well, and looks nice and stiff for a foamy, no visable wing flex in high G turns. greta verticle performance too.
I just loved the Knife Edge pass for the length of the field. This bird can really hold it own and looks great in the air, nicely flown by Gazz as well.

[wingtipper]

KNIFE EDGE !!! AND PROP HANGING !!! , i thought it would be a dosile flyer , sounds great , more powerful than i expected , nice write up Gary. bet that prop sounded pretty good on 6S too.

[gbanger]

Its no speed demon, I recon the prop is about a 13 x 6 or thereabouts, so its not all that quick, its just got gobs of power.
The prop actually makes the coolest sound at about half throttle but it certainly does have that typical 4 blade whirr.

[Indolingo]

Hi all,

probably a usual question but I was unfortunate enough to break my prop on the beautiful Rare Bear 1400mm from the King and struggling to find a replacement. Any suggestions very much welcome.

Also, and am not sure if its me, but I find the plane too fat and slow - maybe its the lipo (4500 at heaps C).

Help welcome !

[gbanger]

I tried mine on a both a 4000 and 5000 during initial flight testing and found that the 5000 ruined the flight performance. I fly mine on a Zippy compact 4000 and it isn't a pylon racer but it sure isn't slow.
Can't help you with the actual prop specs but I would put money on it that it is a 15 x 6 or 15 x 8, 4 blader

[Indolingo]

Thx - wonder where I can get spare props from. I find some of the shopsmaround Sydney less Han well stacked with spares...

[secant0give]

You could allways try a 16X8 2 blade prop. Have you got an Amp meter ?
Just check to see that it's not pulling too much current. If it is go for a 16X6 but I think the 16X8 would fly it probably better and certainly spool up faster than the original 4 blader and it will likely be cheaper too.

http://hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__9..._16x8.html

Here's the 16X6 as well

http://hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__9..._16x6.html

I'd order a couple of each as wooden props are a little easier to break than plastic ones.


Amp meter/Wat meter can be found here

http://hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__1...lyzer.html

[Indolingo]

You could allways try a 16X8 2 blade prop. Have you got an Amp meter ?
Just check to see that it's not pulling too much current. If it is go for a 16X6 but I think the 16X8 would fly it probably better and certainly spool up faster than the original 4 blader and it will likely be cheaper too.

http://hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__9..._16x8.html

Here's the 16X6 as well

http://hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__9..._16x6.html

I'd order a couple of each as wooden props are a little easier to break than plastic ones.


Amp meter/Wat meter can be found here

http://hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__1...lyzer.html

Do prefer the original 4 blade prop - so there is no replacement or similar ?

[secant0give]

You might try contacting these people and asking the dimentions of the 4 blade props they sell

You never know you might get lucky

http://www.hobby-paradise.com/en/product...etail.html

http://www.pw-rc.com/product_info.php/products_id/1967

[gbanger]

The HK 1400mm Rare Bear is not an FMS airframe Jason.
I've been doing a heap of research myself and the only thing I can find that looks close is the HK 1600mm P51 Mustang prop, but as I dont know the actual prop specs it may not be compatible

This is the HK P51 1600mm prop
http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store...eller.html

I have not had a chance to pull the spinner off mine and check it out, as soon as I do I will post back here!
I have emailed HK and asked the question re a replacement prop for the Rare Bear.
Watch this space!

---

Here is a photo of my Rare Bear Prop
I have just taken some basic measurements and it does appear to be the same as the 1600mmm P51 prop... but I can't guarantee it.
You would have to do an amp test to confirm it.... that is of course if it fits the hub.

   

[secant0give]

Interesting Gazz, There must be spares for it somewhere, Those FMS props look pretty similar I'm sure that one of them would probably fly it just as good as the original. If it's the scale look that your after.

If you want good flight performance you probably need a 2 blader

Hopefully with Gazz on the case he'll be able to sleuth out the original manufacturer and find a link to the original prop as a spare.

[Indolingo]

Ah sweet Lord - had my second flight with the Bear and it didn't get off the ground well, flipped and is totalled. Am honestly not a fan of that plane - too fat, too slow and turns weak thanks to the ailerons being the size of a stamp - I think I handle acrobatics better.

That said, if anyone here in OZ needs spares on that plane - well guess whos got some. Just send a message here and I am happy to send the parts (or specific parts)

[samste]

Sorry to here the Rare Bear in pieces, What a shame, Some planes do require a little different approach to flying.
All Planes can have very different Flying Characteristics due to the design, weight, power, wing area etc.

My experiences with many of my take off Crashes with these planes normally come down to 2 main reasons.
1. Taking off when windy with the wind side on, causing it to flip when gusty.

2. Not getting enough air speed over main wings causing a torque roll which is common on high wing loading planes.

A parkzone t28 has a low wing loading which in turn needs less air speed to take off and also has a very low speed Tip Stall.
Wind in any direction really doesn't bother it Too much.

Where as the rare bear 6s 1400mm has a high wing loading due to its weight overall hence requires more air speed nto lift and will have a higher tip stall rate at low speed.

I have the Hobbyking nemesis and it Flies really nice on a 3 blade Prop with light Setup overall,
But Flying with a 2 Blade Prop on it requires more skill Flying as it will torque roll easy on take off if there is not enough air speed and when Im flying in the air and get near stall speed and give it throttle it will snap roll so easy if I give too much throttle to quick.
Hence this plane has less torque or bad characteristics with a 3 blade prop but 2 blade prop it screams fast in the air with the added bad characteristic's including more room for landing as the 3 blade washes the speed off plane when throttle down.

Steve

[wingtipper]

my big edge 540 70 inch wing span takes off at full rpm verticle and tipstalls causing a 90 degree rotation as it rockets towards the clouds

[gbanger]

I would hazzard a guess that Indolingo has a set up problem with his Rare Bear. The aircraft is very C of G sensative and if your set it up how HK suggest it is very tail heavy and a pig to fly. I had to move the C of G forward considerabley to get its flight characteristics where they needed to be.
You quite right Steve because it has a big 4 blade prop it torque rolls quite violently if you do not allow it to build up sufficient airspeed on the runway before pulling back on the stick. The more speed you build up on the ground the more controlled and smooth the transition to flight is.
Too many people blame aircraft for having issues when it is more offten than not the actual setup that is wrong in the first place.
Take off technique is one of the most important things to learn and every aircraft requires a slightly different approach.
I love my big Rare Bear, now that I have ironed out the bugs.... BUT it is not a begineers plane.