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THE ULTRAFLY OUTRAGE 3D & FURIOUS 3D -- A NICE PAIR.

by John Stennard

Following my very positive experiences reviewing the Ultrafly Extra 300, I was pleased to have the opportunity to take a look at a pair of Ultrafly biplanes: the Outrage 3D and Furious 3D.

Although there are a few small design differences, both these biplanes follow the usual construction pattern for foam models. Because of this I will concentrate on one model, the Outrage, only highlighting any important sequences or modifications required by either model. The most obvious difference between the models is the self-adhesive vinyl colour schemes. The wings of both models are of the same span of 720mm, (28.3ins) and length of 760mm, (30.1ins) but the Outrage has inset ailerons on the top wing while the Furious has strip ailerons. The elevators are different with the Furious featuring a balanced elevator.

The Outrage was supplied with the direct drive brushless Ultrafly B/06/10 motor. This is a high torque motor that can be used with props from 9 - 11 inches diameter with a maximum input of 180W. The Furious came with the C/13/36 brushless motor which uses a 370 type gearbox. The fuselage moulding is very clever as it combines cut outs for both the ply firewall used with the direct drive motor and for the motor stick if the gearbox is used.

3D Biplanes are very popular as as they invariably look good and fly well, I was sure these two would not disappoint me.

THE DESIGN & THE PARTS.

This design features a ‘one-piece’ construction so that the models are both rigid and easy to transport. Some parts like the pushrods are duplicated in wire and carbon fibre. The idea here is to enable the builder to produce a lighter version of the model for indoor use. Frankly the quoted weight of 290g, (10.2oz), this proved to be the weight without the battery, is already high for an indoor model and a few grams saved on pushrods is insignificant. If you wanted either model for indoor use, a different approach to the power plant and battery would be required. Their size makes them perfect for small field flying.

The foam is all sharply cut and the usual accessories, including a preformed UC and lightweight plastic foam wheels, are provided.


A 10 page A4 instruction manual is included and this contains clear drawing but very little text. Photos are included to show the positions of the decals. Sport and 3D control surface angles are given with suggested expo settings. These are shown as 50+. Remember we are talking about negative expo that softens the movement around the centre. Futaba Transmitters use a minus for this but some transmitters show this as a positive value.

Other than the usual safety precautions, the manual contains very little information about flying the model other than test flight recommendations. As these models are unlikely to be purchased as trainers, hopefully fliers will already have the skills required to fly them.

ASSEMBLY X 2.

Assembling the wings follows the usual 3mm depron foam pattern with 3mm x 1mm CF strip glued to the LE and TE where appropriate. This requires 3 strips on the Outrage wing and four on the Furious. For some reason although four strips are provided with the Furious the instructions only show three being fitted. I used Blenderm™ tape for hinging the ailerons. With the ailerons hinged, the centre pylon was assembled and the aileron servo glued in place. The movement and loads require a fast, accurate and tough servo. Fitting the best 9 - 12g servo you can afford always makes sense. The instruction mention using sub-micro 6g servos but personally I would opt for a larger size. I used HS-55 servos for the rudder and elevator and a larger … for the ailerons. Access to the horn and screw is virtually impossible after the servo is installed. This is also the time to connect up the servo and set it for the correct direction of rotation.

The fuselages key together accurately and after installing either the firewall or motor stick, the halves can be located and glued together. Although positions for the rudder and elevator servos are indicated I fitted mine further forward so that I would not need to use extension leads. There is very little more to do to the fuselage other than glue the plastic UC mounting plate in place.

For some reason the fuselages are different underneath. The Outrage has a hole in front of the UC plate through which the RC gear and battery pack can be inserted. The Furious does not have this hole and requires a hole to be cut in the centre of the lower wing to provide access to the fuselage. This is far less convenient and the Furious fuselage was modified later to the same pattern as the Outrage. Curiously this hole is not shown on the drawing of the Outrage fuselage.



With the fuselage halves glued together, the lower wing and pylon can be glued in position followed by the upper wing. The aileron linkages work fine but the plastic pivot tubing is shown just held in place with tape. I was unhappy with this and glued and taped them. The tailplane assembly, again hinged with Blenderm™, can be checked for alignment and glued in place. I decided to alter the rudder on the Outrage and leave the Furious as shown. As designed, the rudder extends below the fuselage and forms a steerable tailskid. It is hinged to the fin with tape and I foresaw that flying from grass would quickly result in damage to the rudder. On the Outrage I reshaped the rudder by cutting off the tailskid part and hinged it with mylar hinges. I then fitted a commercial tailskid. Subsequently the unmodified rudder on the Furious became detached after only a few take offs and landings so it was also modified.

An omission seemed to be any sort of hatch to cover the hole in the fuselage after the battery has been inserted. I fabricated one from scrap with a 3mm Depron.

FINAL FITTINGS.

Installing the Rx and controller was very easy on the Outrage as it could be inserted through the fuselage hole and situated above the lower wing. This left the forward area clear for the battery. The situation on the Furious was rather awkward as while there was room behind the wing hole for the Rx, the controller needed to be further forward. This then made it difficult to insert the battery pack as it had to push forward past the controller into the front of the fuselage. The installation on the Outrage seemed much better and as previously mentioned the Furious was later modified to have the forward hatch.

The last task was to apply the trim, easily done aided by the flexibility of the decals and their strong adhesion.

The final weights of both models turned out to be the quoted 290g (10.2oz). This is actually shown as the flying weight in the instructions so there is clearly a mistake.

Realistically with a 1000 – 2000 mAh LiPo battery pack the AUW is around 360 – 400g, (12.8 – 14.2oz).

So after the pre-flight photos it was camera at the ready for some flying shots.

DOUBLE NO TROUBLE.

For the first flights the direct drive motor was fitted with a GWS 9 x 6 straight prop and the geared motor with an APC 10 x 4.7E. Although the grass was short I found that the models nosed over easily due to the small wheels. However successful take offs were soon made but applying a generous amount of instant power and both models proved to be great fun to fly.



A full range of aerobatics was possible with either model and they respond positively to control inputs. With a fairly light wing loading they glide well but the power available also allows them to fly smoothly in windy conditions. They are easy to hover and can fly away vertically from a hand launch with power to spare. After a few flights I changed the 9 x 6 prop to a 10 x 4.7 and this seemed to be a more suitable choice. The 1000 mAh 3S1P LiPo provided enough power for nearly 15 minutes of aerobatic flying. Biplanes like these are really intended for scale like aerobatic flight and not for scorching around the sky. Because of the power available, they will actually fly quite fast but I would be cautious about pulling high g manoeuvres as the 3mm foam wings do flex. This is noticeable even when pulling out at moderate speeds.

These two models are really delightful to fly and with reduced throws could I’m sure be flown by less experienced pilots.



Which one? The price difference between the two models is very small so the choice is almost down to whether you prefer a yellow or red trim on your model! I am a little biased as I prefer the more rapid throttle response of the direct drive motor. This is the effect of too much indoor flying where a rapid throttle response is very essential. However whether you are Outraged or Furious, I’m sure you will be very happy with the looks and performance of your model.



Well done Ultrafly and keep them coming.