AXN Floater Jet.

Foam Addict

Squirrel member
Hey all,
I am considering getting an AXN Floater Jet for Christmas.
I was wondering if anyone had experience with it.
AKA how hard is the EPO?
I have an EPO wing that is like a baseball bat at one end of the spectrum, and at the other end, I have a Flyzone sensei that is as soft as EPS. (Thankfully It is a little bit stronger)
So What is the verdict?
Foam Addict.
 

MrClean

Well-known member
with a funny accent. You beat me to it rob. Bruce thinks the world of the floater jets, but he ain't no fan of HHO.

Can't blame him there either. I don't like snake oil salesmen.
 

lobstermash

Propaganda machine
Mentor
I've set up 4 AXNs for newbies. It's a great plane. Although two had a dodgy servo that was swiftly replaced, and one has had the motor mount pop off in flight due to the dodgy glue they use to fix it on. I've occasionally seen the same glue come loose on the servos, but a little extra hot glue fixes that up.

The AXN grabs at thermals well, is good on the slope, has plenty of power, is OK for FPV and is easy to set up. Roll rate is fairly marginal, but if you want a sport flier you'd buy one instead.
 

Foam Addict

Squirrel member
Ok, Yesterday I gave in and ordered the Floater Jet!
It should arrive on Monday or Tuesday, and I will be doing a Build log.
I might do a flight Vid, but doubtful
Up till now, my only RTF aircraft have been two Flyzone sensei that were Modded to death, but thanks to Elapor soup have now been resurrected Into one mutant, so this one is off limits for mods, But "Improvements" (hint hint) aren't out of the question.
Foam Addict.
 

Foam Addict

Squirrel member
Its Here!! AXN Floater jet 100.JPG AXN Floater jet 105.JPG
AXN Floater jet 078.JPG AXN Floater jet 084.JPG AXN Floater jet 088.JPG AXN Floater jet 096.JPG
The Quality is excellent, the foam is hard and seems durable.
 

SteveOBHave

Senior Member
I'm on my third AXN - the only mods I ever do to it is put fiber tape on the nose, belly and wing leading edges. Also make sure you free up the control surface hinges before attaching them. I also replace the prop with one 1 inch larger, fly it with a 1300mah battery and replace the aileron push rods because they're always too short. Oh and I replace the prop saver with a collett type spinner.
 

Foam Addict

Squirrel member
Done, Done. i don't have a 6x4, but at my altitude I will need one!
I don't have a 1300 yet but I'll get one!
My pushrods were to long!:confused:
I will replace that! thanks a heap!
Foam.
 

Foam Addict

Squirrel member
Ok. this is a great plane.*
I have some problems though.
The ailerons are so anemic I'm scared to fly it.
The wings popped loose 4 times, even with extreme tape.
It tip stalls and drops a wing at low speeds, resulting in very bad landings.
The rudder can only be used with full over aileron in the same direction.
What I love: Nicds, NiMh, and two cell 1650's were great.
It's soooo Fast with the wind.
It glides F O R E V E R .
Hawks Like it.
Has anyone had experience with either clipping the wing, or building a new one sans polyhedral?
I flew into our club's radio frequency building because I couldn't turn at all with the wind.
Thanks,
Foam.
 
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SteveOBHave

Senior Member
Yeah the ailerons are pretty weak, if you use a little rudder at the same time then it'll roll faster but for the most part I still fly with just aileron and elevator. With the control horns I use them all at the hole closest to the surface and for the most part it's fine. The key with landings is to not turn too slow - line up your landings then keep it straight. A little bit of nose down elevator to maintain a nice glide slope, then flare at the last moment. It's often a little bit of a challenge because as you say they do glide very well. Clipping the wings does defeat the beauty of the plane a bit because it loses a great deal of stability but some people say that it improves the roll rate.

I think the great thing about the plane is how sedate it is. With the wings I put some extreme tape on the thicker bits at the root and it seems to hold it pretty snugly. The other thing you can do is put some velcro on the inside of those two jigsaw like bits.
 

lobstermash

Propaganda machine
Mentor
A couple of days ago I trimmed out a mate's AXN for him. I demonstrated how well it tracked by letting it do three circuits with no control input.
 

Foam Addict

Squirrel member
Okay, so I taped the wings together differently, and straightened some of the polyhedral.
This won't wreck the looks, and it should make it less stable. I also increased the mechanical aileron throw, and added some washout to the wingtips. it is now much more stable in a glide, and doesn't tipstall so much.
Oh well, I didn't expect to buy a tumbling wing Glider.:black_eyed:
It is durable if nothing else. I lost both wings in a vertical power dive due to simple separation, not flutter, and it only took about 10 minutes to fix after i chased down the St. Bernard and wiped off the drool!:)
 

IamNabil

Senior Member
The AXN is a fantastic plane. It is not perfect, but it may as well be. You will find that the roll rate is more than good enough for just about anything that you want to do, it can fly inverted, it is plenty fast, and with the right battery, it is very stable. I've put mine through hell, and it keeps coming back for more. So far, I have:
  • Flown it in 25 mph winds
  • Landed it, gently, at full throttle into corn stalks.
  • Landed it in a tree at work. A branch went through the wing. Nothing an inch of tape couldn't fix.
  • Bashed one with a PVC pipe to pull it out of a river. Two new servos were required.
  • Dove one, directly into the ground, at full throttle, from 100 feet. Had to boil the foam a bit to get the nose the correct shape again.
  • Landed it, many, many times, on a parking lot.
  • Had the wind rip a wing out of the root while flying.
  • Had an aileron linkage fall out mid-flight. I could only bank one direction. Perfect landing, mostly.
  • Somersaulted. On the ground.
  • Flown it in the rain.
  • Run into a building.


It is worth mentioning that I fly safely, and most of this stuff can be attributed to flying it in very gusty, very strong, winds. Also, my general impatience.

You want a good starter plane? Buy an AXN floater jet, a hot glue gun, and some colored Duck Tape. I use blue and white, my buddy uses yellow. Makes it easy to tell the planes apart. :D
 
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Foam Addict

Squirrel member
Okay,
I went flying today with my modded floater jet.
Can you say 115 MPH?!!!!!:D
Setup.
Stock motor.
Stock ESC.
clipped wings.
4 cell 850.
5X5 Prop.
A pilot at my field had a radar gun, and thought that my floater jet was beating his Radjet.
Rad Jet-level pass-84.3
Floaterjet level pass- 98.7
Floaterjet, vertical dive- 115!!!:eek:
Rad jet vertical dive-106!
both of us were running 4 cells, but his servos couldn't take it! he was toast by the third pass!:p
My club now wants an open foam pylon race class.:cool:
Foam.
 

fwa2500

Ramp Rat
had my prop and adapter decide they didnt want to be part of my AXN anymore and went off flying solo...

27169010151367767446508.jpg


make sure everything is on firmly before flying!
bunnyi.gif
 

Foam Addict

Squirrel member
Hey all,
I tried to use my axn as a seaplane today,but I couldn't find anything but Ice!
I did some take offs and landings from ice and did a couple of spins and blenders, but then I discovered that this thing is even cooler on Ice than in the air. I will upload some vids once I find out how to get movies off my camera!:mad:
Happy New year.
 

Foam Addict

Squirrel member
It did help, but I've had it for almost a month, and It looks a little less than new to say the least.:p
Oh well.
I've never crashed that plane directly, but I have lost my wings and battery on numerous occasions, and you know how that ends!:black_eyed:
Advice to beginners: go out and buy some velcro straps and regular strips. Velcro the wings together inside with the strips, and glue the strap to the battery bay. Wrap the strap around your battery. Now the above can't happen.
 

Wade's RC Hangar

Forever Noob
Yeah, I have had that happen but to my Dynam Hawk Sky. It was way up there too. I just cut out some holes and put some magnets in there and it worked like a charm. Good luck to you and hope all goes well.