Banana Hobby XFly B-1B Lancer EDF Jet Maiden Flight & More

00:00 Intro
00:11 Maiden Flight Take Off
01:08 Do an aileron roll!!!
01:35 First Wing Sweep
02:40 Flap Test
03:24 Landing
04:00 Flight 2
05:05 Do (another) aileron roll!
06:08 Landing 2
06:32 Flight 3 Take Off
06:52 Another Roll
07:35 Slow Flaps Pass
08:35 Landing
08:56 Credits

I got my maiden flight in + 4 more flights on Sunday. Mine was used from a member on here and required a lot of work fixing the wing sweep mechanism.

The plane took off great and barely required any trim with wings out. CG is about where the manual specified. The plane took a long time to lift off the runway. I was expecting a bit more power on take off, but it is what it is. I tried taking off with half flaps (same flap settings that Jeremy and the manual describe as "maximum" flaps) and the plane lifted off with about 1/3 less distance, nice and smooth.

Speaking of flaps; I ignored the BH Setup video and set my full flaps at 100% throw and noticed NO issue with this at all. I'm not sure what the "aileron washout" mentioned in the BH setup video is about, but I didn't notice it. I did need a lot of elevator trim to prevent the plane from nosing down when the flaps were deployed. This was also the case at half (stock) flaps too. I don't have my transmitter in front of me, so I can't give specific numbers, but at 100% flaps, I think I have -25 trim (Spektrum) of elevator to keep the nose from dropping. The full flaps did help reduce approach speed, which at my small field was very welcome.

On the topic of the small field, this plane sure eats up space fast. I have flown the FW F-14 and Mig29 at this field and it felt manageable, but this B1 made it feel extremely cramped, and that's with the wings out. With the wings back, it was sweat-inducing. The plane needed significant elevator trim to fly neutral with wings swept. A LOT of trim. Literally I ran out of trim (-100) trying to get this thing flying straight with wings swept. Fortunately, I am bypassing the gyro and had a lot of elevator throw (as much as was physically possible before the elevator hits the servo). This amount of elevator was sufficient for flying, but it still made making turns at my field REALLY stressful. Unfortunately, since my plane was used, it had some warping in the wing that causes it to roll when the wings sweep. So I had to trim this out too. I eventually got it setup so that it flew more-or-less straight and level with the wings swept. But whenever I transition between the two settings the plane bucks or dives pretty bad because the trim settings (assigned to flight modes) take effect instantly, but the wing sweep takes 5 seconds or so. My F-14 does this too, but the trim change isn't as drastic, so the shift isn't too bad. But on this model it's pretty obvious and you HAVE to be prepared for it.

I had a few more flights and got the plane more and more dialed in. I only swept the wings a handful of times because (truth be told), it was just too stressful flying it with wings swept at my field for more than a circuit or two. On my last flight, I noticed the plane was doing a bit of an uncommanded roll. I also thought I saw one of the wings maybe not in-line with the other, so I brought her in and sure enough, the port wing was loose. It wasn't the bracket that broke (I already installed the reinforcement plates before flying), but the screw holding the wing pivot mechanism to the plane's frame came out. This is because my model is used and had some serious issues with wing bowing in its past life. So, I need to get back in there and make sure I secure the pivot appropriately (again). I'll probably use a slightly longer screw this time so it can "bite" into the frame better and stay in place.

Overall I think this is a very unique model, but I am not sure it's a good fit for my field. It may be a bit too large and cumbersome for me to enjoy flying. I really REALLY like the B-1 as an aircraft, so it really bums me out that I have to consider letting her go because of my field limitations, but it is what it is. However, I won't pass final judgement just yet. I'll take her out some more and see if perhaps my opinion changes.