- Feb 14, 2004
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So I picked up an Air Hogs Powerhawk from Toys R Us today. It's the new version of the Aero Ace that so many of us from AT have come to know and love. The major differences are a front unpowered propeller, curved wings (bend upward), and a full tail boom (instead of just a stick). I took it out for a test flight today and it flew pretty poorly, which was really disappointing. So the first thing I did was rip off the lower wings, which helped the performance of my Aero Ace fleet immensely (faster climbing speed & better control). With the Powerhawk, it helped in terms of speed but not handling. It still nosedived quite frequently. Next I ripped the useless propeller off the front, but it still had flight issues.
Then I remembered seeing someone on an r/c forum extend their wings for better gliding characteristics. One of the major problems of the Powerhawk is how quickly it nosedives - if you turn it too sharply it just spins straight into the ground. So, I got some clear scotch tape and put the lower wings on top. That turned out to be too much weight, so I ripped them in half. Much better! Now all it needs is some weight on the nose. I found a stick and snapped it down to a more manageable size. Finally, the perfect combination! It's not as high-performance as the Aero Ace, but it still flies pretty well. If you've ever flown the Aero Ace Jet, it's pretty similar to that in terms of forward speed. I'm satisfied. It's about as ugly as you can make it but the performance improvements are worth it. Now I just need to find a better nose weight...
http://orionmods.com/temp/powerhawk.jpg
Cliffs:
1. Buy an Aero Ace instead of a Powerhawk
2. If you do buy a Powerhawk, do the mods I did to improve flight performance
3. Profit!
Then I remembered seeing someone on an r/c forum extend their wings for better gliding characteristics. One of the major problems of the Powerhawk is how quickly it nosedives - if you turn it too sharply it just spins straight into the ground. So, I got some clear scotch tape and put the lower wings on top. That turned out to be too much weight, so I ripped them in half. Much better! Now all it needs is some weight on the nose. I found a stick and snapped it down to a more manageable size. Finally, the perfect combination! It's not as high-performance as the Aero Ace, but it still flies pretty well. If you've ever flown the Aero Ace Jet, it's pretty similar to that in terms of forward speed. I'm satisfied. It's about as ugly as you can make it but the performance improvements are worth it. Now I just need to find a better nose weight...
http://orionmods.com/temp/powerhawk.jpg
Cliffs:
1. Buy an Aero Ace instead of a Powerhawk
2. If you do buy a Powerhawk, do the mods I did to improve flight performance
3. Profit!
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