I've had this plane for 5 days now......here's my take.....
Prior to purchasing the plane I had read a lot of reviews, some good, many bad. In spite of all the negative reviews about the GPS I went ahead and purchased it anyway. It got the BNF version and paired it with my DX9 which was also purchased new at the same time.
I did email Horizon Hobby and asked them what their opinion was on all the problems relating to the GPS and got the following reply a couple of days later:
"As a trainer for our local club, I've test flown around a hundred of this particular model of plane. I've yet to find an issue with it that wasn't user error. The problem with trainer planes being reviewed online is that the person is new to the hobby and usually doesn't have a firm grasp on the manual or what they have to do, so when it flies off they think it was defective. They're just too excited to get the plane in the air and didn't take the time to read and understand what they should have done. They usually skip a step in the setup or have a switch in the wrong position. I hope this helps".
I've only been flying a year so I'm no expert but I'm not new to the hobby either. Many other flyers who have reviewed this plane have a vast experience so I think for Horizon to say that it's only been reviewed by new people to the hobby is a bit shallow on their part.
I spent a good couple of hours setting this plane up, reading the instructions thoroughly. I had followed the instructions to the "T" and also spent a long time getting it all working in unison with my DX9.
The maiden flight took place the following day. I took the plane manual with me to the flying field so I could ensure that the compass calibration and virtual fence set up were done properly along with a range test.
After all my presice and meticulous setting up, the first 2 flights of that day went very well with no hiccups, everything worked exactly as it should've. I've flown it a further 8 times with no issues, each time using the GPS and going through the full calibration, set up and range test process on every flight, all from the same flying field. I did this to ensure and to try to mitigate that no problems would happen with fly always etc.
Now........yesterday was a little bit different.
I took the Carbon Cub to the same flying field that I've been going to for the last 5 days and went through the same calibration and set up process as I have been doing all week.
The plane flew well initially, hitting the virtual fence and turning around as expected, responding well to the holding position and also auto landing well when I tested them. It was after the second take off (still on the same battery) that I noticed the first issue........after climbing to a safe height and turning the plane to the left, it decided to go in to a holding position by itself....I pressed the bind button and regained control, hmmm, no issue I thought. The plane continued to fly well for a few more minutes. Again, after a left hand turn, the plane decided to head towards the ground and I had no control, I quickly switched flying modes and regained control of the plane before it ate dirt.
A few more minutes of flight (with a now very concerned me) I decided to line the plane up for a landing approach. On the cross wind leg, turning to the right, I again lost all control with the plane now heading towards the ground with full right aileron! Switching modes allowed me to save the plane once again (to my amazement) and I managed to climb to a safe height. At this point I slowed the plane right down and deactivated the GPS system whilst it was in the air. This allowed me to land the plane safely.
Having read all the reviews about the plane prior to purchase I decided last night that I was going to remove the GPS from the plane completely. As the plane was already bound to my DX9 there was no issues with it connecting to the receiver once removed (I know this has been commented on in earlier posts).
I took the plane out today and it flew amazingly and the SAFE system still works as expected.
I was able to enjoy the flying experience without worrying what the plane will do. My 8 year old son has even got his hands on it and managed to take it off and fly it on begginer mode, the plane really is that easy to fly.
From a flying and stability perspective, this plane is perfect for beginners because of the way it handles. It flies on rails and can be floated to the ground dead stick style if required. With that in mind, in experienced mode it can be thrown around and really enjoyed for the aerobatics that it can perform.
The stall characteristics of the plane are pretty much none existent. If you are considering buying this plane then you wont regret it, just please take notice of the GPS issues that can present themselves at unexpected moments during flight and fully familiarise yourself with the switches and the way to deactivate the GPS during flight if it is needed. It will make all the difference between you going home with a whole plane as opposed to one thats in bits.
You may get lucky and not have any issues at all....It's always good to prepare for the worst though.