Vigorsky Champion 3D Profile ARF Build, x2

[Joker 53150]

This is my first foamie in a couple years, and my first 3D profile build. Actually, it'll be the first two times I build it since I'm building one for myself and one for my buddy Mike. Most of my time has been spent building balsa planes, re-building planes, and flying giant scale, so this is a pretty big departure for me.

This is what I'm building, the Vigorsky Champion 3D profile. This is a very complete kit, requiring only a receiver and battery. The goal here is to document the build for those interested.




Before building can start - heck, before I can even put the box on the work bench - I need to make some room! Taking up space right now are a couple planes I picked up this past weekend, both should be quick projects as they only need to be converted from nitro to electric. But first, the Champions!




Upon opening the box, this is the first thing you're greeted with, a nice note from the manufacturer along with some Jolly Ranchers. You certainly don't see this kind of personal touch very often!




Laying the parts out for quick inspection, no damage was noticed and everything was nicely packed. The electronics are all bagged together as well.




High quality components are included. The kit isn't cheap, so this is good to see!




Here all the pieces are laid out and inspected. You can see how the bottom of the wings are milled out for weight savings. Grooves and marks for the carbon fiber rods are all over the pieces, which should make it easier to assemble.








The instructions are NOT included with the kit, but are supplied from the manufacturer as a .pdf so you can print as needed. This (in theory) allows them to quickly update the documents as needed so the builder always gets the most recent versions. View them on your computer, tablet, or go old-school like me and print them out.

 

[Joker 53150]

I've now got both planes and can start building! Before I start, here are a couple close-ups of the finish on this plane. I'm pretty amazed at the quality of the finish, compared to most of the other foamies I've had over the years. The bottom of the plane is milled for weight reduction which creates a very uneven surface for painting (or however they do this finish??). Maybe it's some type of inkjet process, but either way it's far better than I expected as most of the painted planes I've seen have tons of heavy paint and you can still see all the foam "dots". Here, the milled portion is a little rough but the rest is very crisp. This was certainly not just painted by holding a template over the foam and hitting it with a spray can!




Here you can easily see the difference in texture. I think I read that the planes are also available without a milled surface, which would mean more weight, but a better finish on the bottom. But it's only the bottom, so no big deal.




On top it's all a super nice finish. The black line going through the word "Champion" is actually the hinge line for the aileron. Where it's black is where it's milled all the way through. The rest is still intact creating the hinge. All surfaces are already beveled.




And a view of the fuselage design, complete with a "pilot"! At the bottom of the fuselage are marks showing where the CF reinforcements will go.




And here are the first few pieces glued together on both planes. I'm gluing these parts together and will then fit the CF spar into the wing. This spar goes from wingtip to wingtip.




I also chatted a bit with Andrew, co-owner of Vigorsky about the plane, building it, construction tips, etc. This is a HUGE benefit compared to buying kits from much larger companies, as he's been super responsive to questions and gets back to me quickly. We need more companies with attitudes like that in the US!

 

[VigorSky]

Hey guys this is Andrew Radcliffe if anyone has any questions about my products your welcome to PM me Facebook me call me text me whatever you need!! Great build review thus far cant wait to see the Champion fly it is my current favorite out of all the airplanes we currently offer with the Polaris as a close second

 

[Joker 53150]

Andrew, if you get a minute you should post pictures and that video of the foam bending and the plane being run over. This stuff is WAY stronger than the DTFB, which makes me wonder how a Flite Test plane made from this foam would work. It's probably heavier than DTFB, but would last much longer.

 

[VigorSky]

here is the video of our SU-27 being ran over by our factory manager I do not recommend doing this but it does show the difference in our foam and our airplanes are over engineered to offset the little bit of weight difference. We will soon be offering depron and depron milled airplanes as well for all of you indoor counting grams addicted guys! Enjoy this was a fun video to make!
https://youtu.be/PVYT7SzWYGU

I want anyone to go to there airplanes and do this to there rudder if you do and its not broke or torn I want video proof and will give you something for it! I have owned every brand foamy out there and not one can do what my foam does! Our foam will literally double back on itself and nothing happens its a totally different formula then what is currently out. It takes the fear out the first time flier. Also the planes like the Skyline which is a trainer airplane that we offer is hot cut and is much stiffer but is made out of our foam and it just a stiff version of the same formula just by the cutting method that we use. It makes it nearly not breakable you will break the glue before the actual foam breaks. With all this being said I am offering rx ready kits cheaper than anyone out there $120-$130 for a rx ready kit is insane compared to most major companies that aren't even close to the quality we have.

Sorry to be giddy about it all just excited to show the world what www.vigorskyrc.com has to offer

 

[Joker 53150]

Continuing on with the build, as the glue from yesterday has cured... And on the topic of glue, I'm using Bob Smith Industries Foam Cure. It takes about 10-12 hours to fully cure, but I'm not rushing. It's also supposed to stay a bit flexible after drying, and it does a very nice job filling small gaps, like around the CF bracing.




The landing gear is first. 2mm CF rods are cut to length and CA glued into the supplied white plastic guides. They're then wrapped with the supplied thread and flooded with some thin CA. It's a quick procedure and gives you the right angles for the landing gear. So if you're keeping score at home, beyond what is included with the kit I've had to supply the foam-safe glue, both thin and thick CA, and every day tools like a hobby knife, so pretty much what most of us already have on hand. So far I'm liking the completeness and ease of building on this kit.






In the pics you can see a couple small areas where I lifted the paint (ink?) with tape I had applied to hold parts together while the glue cured. They're small areas and on the bottom of the wing, so they won't be too noticeable.

Pushrod guides are also included and marked on the fuselage. I glued them all in place with the BSI Foam Cure, and then slid a 1mm CF pushrod (included) through them to make sure they're all lined up. This process was repeated on the other side of the fuselage, and then on the other plane I'm building.




Last, to keep everything nice and flat while the glue cures on the bottom bracing I used a bunch of 4" tiles to keep the fuselage flat on the building board. Right now there is nothing on top, so it's easy to make sure the CF bracing doesn't push things out of shape. So the tiles hold the wings and fuselage flat, and then the CF braces are cut to length and glued in place. After it cures it should be sturdy and flat, ready for work on the top side finally!

 

[VigorSky]

This is a great build log looks like you will have two great flying Champions!!!

 

[Joker 53150]

I hope to have one, and my buddy Mike will have the other.

 

[Joker 53150]

It was a short build, but the Champions are now completed! I'll avoid too much verbiage about the rest of the build, as it's pretty straight forward and easy.

There were only two small problems I had with the build. First, one of the engine mounting screws was de-formed and wouldn't work - I fixed that by grabbing a similar size screw from my stash of parts. Second, I screwed up on the aileron pushrods and missed the note in the instructions telling me to use the 1.5mm pushrods. I used the 1mm and it was WAY too flexible. Doesn't matter, it was an easy fix.

The ESC and motor are labeled with the VigorSky name, a nice touch. Both functioned exactly as expected with no issues. I left the wires full-length and simply coiled up what I didn't need behind one of the nose braces. The kit also included all the shrink tubing needed for the wiring as well as the pushrod ends.






I also found that my building technique may be a little heavy-handed for a lightweight plane like this, as I needed to add a small amount of nose-weight to balance it out with a 3 cell 500mAh pack. I'm going to try both 2 and 3 cell to determine which I like better, and then just dial it in with that battery size so I don't have to swap props along with batteries.

Programming of my Taranis was done with three different rates. Low is for take-off and final approach, so I don't accidentally over-correct and crash. Mid gives me about 1/2 total available control throw while high rate is full deflection. My pushrod connections are set to give me the overall maximum throw possible, although seeing the ridiculous amount of throw this provides I'd recommend going back one end - that should still give enough total throw to max the surface out. My full rates were dialed back in the transmitter to keep the surface from going beyond how far it can physically move.

So with all that said, I also got in a maiden flight today (although the last pics are from before adding the motor and ESC)! It's getting dark early and I didn't have any packs charged, so I put a 3 cell on the charger and got it up to about 90% before heading to the park with Mike (the guy who owns the other Champion I built). The plane is very sensitive to trim to get nice & level flight due to the huge control surfaces, but trimming it is fast and easy. 10 seconds later and it's cruising nicely at 1/2 throttle doing rolls, inverted flight, etc. It also did a better knife-edge than I've ever done before! This plane is FAR more capable than I am as a 3D pilot, and I look forward to honing my skills with it.

 

[Joker 53150]

Weather after work yesterday was decent, so I took the Champion out for Flight #2, which ended with the plane needing some repair.

After a few minutes of trying to hover, knife-edge, etc I zigged when I should have zagged and came in for an unscheduled "landing". It wasn't a lawn-dart, but it still came in in a manner that should result in damage.

Upon inspecting the plane I found 1 of the 6 carbon fiber wing supports came out of the fuselage. No rips or tears or any visible damage to the foam, just a 1.5mm hole where the CF support and a little dirt on the prop.

Taking it back to the workshop I spent more time trying to find my glue than doing the actual repair! The CF was roughed up slightly with sandpaper to make sure it's got a good grip this time, something I didn't do previously. Now I just wait for better weather so I can get it out to fly again. For the one pack I used yesterday I was really enjoying the flight, and am looking forward to learning to fly 3D.

 

[Joker 53150]

Durability Report:

After another half-dozen flights in various wind conditions, the only issues I've had were self-inflected. After a few landings two of the CF glue joints came loose, which were fast/easy fixes. I should have sanded the CF rods prior to gluing, which would have given the glue a better surface to "bite" into.

Also, I ended up with a pretty rough landing due to dumb-thumbs. The only damage was to the landing gear, and both sides where sheared off from the force. This is not an issue with the plane, as the actual airframe came out with only a small grass stain on the nose. There is just no way a 2mm CF rod could survive that impact. Not a big deal, as I land in grass with it anyway so it will actually improve my landings without the landing gear hanging up.

Mike put his Champion down in a corn field yesterday and found zero damage. This foam is some pretty stout stuff! No way a DTFB airframe is going to take this abuse without peeling or wrinkling!

 

[VigorSky]

Glad your liking the airplane and it seems to that you are putting her through her paces. Keep practicing 3d you will get it there are some pretty good 3d learning videos on youtube if you want I can DM you them.

 

[crackup007]

Glad your liking the airplane and it seems to that you are putting her through her paces. Keep practicing 3d you will get it there are some pretty good 3d learning videos on youtube if you want I can DM you them.

Hi friend, good day! I bought a vigorsky rc airplane extra 330sc EPP + PP on an online page, and I have not wanted to buy more but it is no longer for sale in that online store. Do you know where I can buy it?