Originally Posted by Bill G
They fly so well that there's little concern about crashing them. I've had their FW190 since the initial release, and it's my overall best flyer after flying 50 models or so. Light and incredibly flyable with no bad habits. I would be much more concerned about the "so-called" more durable EPS and EPP foam planes, as they are much heavier, more difficult to fly, and crash much harder than than an Alfa, which is much easier to do with a heavier plane with less agility. I would literally say that with minor training, anyone should be able to fly a good flying Alfa warbird forever without crashing, as long as they don't take excessive risks while flying. The responsiveness and handling is so good, that I've gotten out of a few very close situations that I never would have with heavier warbirds. I have a large collection of hand build models and have been parting with most all of my foamie ARFs. I'll still keep the Alfa 190 after getting rid of all the other foamies, as it's a real keeper.
Can't agree with all of that Bill
. 99% of ARFs etc are less than perfect fliers, and less weight does mean less kinetic energy when they nose in i.e, the heavier the plane the bigger the crash
. My EPP warbirds are great fliers, and nearly indestructable, so I tend to take huge risks with them. In real terms, it means I crash a lot attempting to stretch my flying skills, and usually over reach. I never do this with EPS and other foam types, as I know what will happen
. My last 18 months have been spent trying to make better planes out of the ARF bare airframes that I bought very inexpensively. It did not always work out, but planes like the Durafly vampire and Starmax F22 raptor were great successes. I'm painfully aware what would happen if I used them as combat planes against my Me 163 Komet though
Two hits from that and my pz stryker was written off. The Komet is also my best flying plane, bar none
. The FW 183 Huckbein is still sitting in its box waiting to be assembled, so I can't comment on it yet, although it is a really well finished and good looking plane. With my wild weather and potato paddock flying field, the last thing i want to do is write it off before it even has the trims sorted
. Fingers crossed I learn to fly her first, so it does not auger in. Time will tell
cheers
