Skylark F3A RC Plane Build Review - Some Issues.

Update: In the video when I mention CG I used the wrong units: I have the plane set at 95mm not cm.
This is the rcvideoreviews.com build review of the Skylark-S F3A RC Plane. There are kit and PnP options for this model and after building it, I know which option I'd take next time without question.
I purchased this PNP model from Value Hobby in my ongoing search to find a replacement for the now discontinued Millennium Master.
Banggood Listing: usa.banggood.c...
Value Hobbies Listing: www.valuehobby....

[@Jon_Flys_RC]

These planes that run back axle motors make sourcing different motors than what they come with difficult. I have also seen a difference between motor naming. 2212, 2216, 2217 are the stator dimensions and 2830, 2836 are the rotor dimensions but are interchangeable naming for the same motor class.

[@RCVideoReviews]

Yup, motor naming conventions in this hobby are annoyingly inconsistent. Big planes drop the dimensions all together in favor of a cc equivalent.

[@93rc69]

ESC goes under the plywood easily if you cut just one bit of the plywood mounting plate out. Then the ESC will slide in sideways. 10minute mod.

[@ShadowOppsRC]

Horizon bought them out to close their doors.

[@airhammer6203]

Sad, but true.

[@RCVideoReviews]

According to the Tower people, the Tower planes that still show on the website--even if they say "temporarily unavailable" are intended to stay in the lineup once they find a replacement manufacturer for them. Signs aren't good though. They killed off some solid products.

[@ShadowOppsRC]

@@RCVideoReviews make me glad even more that I went frsky then spektrum!

[@RCVideoReviews]

Me too. I do admire the Spektrum marketing strategy of getting in with the clubs--very smart. But if you tried to take my Taranis from me, there'd be a fight ;)

[@ShadowOppsRC]

@@RCVideoReviews same here!

[@jamesweed8510]

You cut the shaft because it's space is for the spinner that should be mounted , you did not have to cut the shaft

[@philippeneuhaus5694]

CD is the Point of Balance? 95mm from the front shut to be Right. 110mm is to mutch in the Back. My experience whit plains like this is 1/3 back from the Front of the wing. For me is 95mm still a bit to mutch back from the Front. Do you flow the plain 95mm (Schwerpunkt) we Call this. I enjoy your Videos so mutch and they helping me a Lot by fresh making this plain. A guy here in swiss sells me the skylark s for 20 SFR and he was empty. Know I am finish with all. The motor is a leopard 2835 6t, like yours and the prop a 9/3.9 works fine. 40 Ampere Bec regler and iron servos. Know im ready for go. Thanks a lot for the videos. Great wishes from Bern, Swiss

[@RCVideoReviews]

Technically CG is a range, in practice for RC it is definitely used as a point. There's normally room to move that point back and forth within the range to suit your needs. If I recall correctly, I do use the factory CG on this plane. If I ever question it, I tend to nose heavy and adjust aft from there.

[@garrettcody424]

Definitely a good suggestion with screwing the wings onto that piece of board. I did that as well, but I also coated the t-sticks in epoxy for extra strength.

[@RCVideoReviews]

That seems like such a simple little fix to screw those wings down. Good call on the epoxy for strength.

[@mgpmbass3616]

Is Value Hobby still in business? They don't answer their phone or emails.

[@RCVideoReviews]

I ordered something from them a few weeks ago. Dunno anything about phones or email responses though.

[@MrZeek101]

95 to 110 mm not cm lol great review i have a tough time liking the looks of the front of this plane looking forward to maiden great job John

[@RCVideoReviews]

Yep--95mm. A face only a mother could love eh? I never thought much of how pattern planes looked until a guy at our field who really knew how to fly showed up with his and put on a show. They kind of grew on me since then, but I hear you. Definitely odd looking.

[@msj143]

Thanks for the great video and additional tips. Good luck on your maiden.

[@RCVideoReviews]

Your welcome and thank you. The maiden went just fine. Video (hopefully) today/tonight.

[@richardwebb8729]

Hello 👋.

[@skytalon74]

Glad I found this vid. I have mine build and ready to maiden but was wondering about the center of gravity. I marked mine at 110mm per the manual but will try 95mm for general flying. Is this still recommended?

[@RCVideoReviews]

I use 95mm.

[@phatfpv8350]

Great detail Mate! Loving the review and can't wait for the maiden!

[@RCVideoReviews]

Thank you! It was a different kind of flight experience but the plane did fine.

[@jirvin4505]

Great write up very useful detailed info I have the kit on the way. What servos do you recommend? Suggested size of esc?. Cheers Jeff

[@RCVideoReviews]

Any 9g servo should be fine. It's not a heavy or fast plane. I like Emax servos, but the generic Towerpro 9g's should be fine too. 40a ESC with my motor. Check out the Leopard Motor Upgrade Video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/d4fCoHiVqNKEacU I run that with a 9x4.5 prop @30a peak. I use a 40a for some overhead.

[@johncarolelewnes3005]

My biggest gripe is the fitting of the wheel spats. Expecting them to hold by just screwing them on to the wire legs. It just doesn`t work so I discarded them. No problem with the O rings, I find they secure the wings very well. no need to screw them on. Some build manual would have helped.

[@RCVideoReviews]

Mine have held on for the whole time.

[@FlankerTanker]

It all looks poor quality - the paint over spray looks really bad. thanks for the video.

[@RCVideoReviews]

Hope it helped. This is a one footer plane for sure. I think it looks better than any EPS/EPP plane I've ever seen. The red stripe seems to be the biggest problem area. Other than that, the rest of the paint is acceptable.

[@Blackfarmerunion]

Nice job! What are the dimensions of the ply wood you attached the wings to?? I’m trying to figure out that setup on mine so I don’t have to glue the wings. Are you glueing the plywood into the fuselage only or do you run it thru the wings? Thanks for your time!!

[@RCVideoReviews]

I just cut the ply to fit between the fuselage sidewalls. Honestly, I eyeballed it. I didn't glue it down at all. I just pressed a wing half in to the wing and screwed it down to the ply. Then I pressed the other side in and screwed it down to the ply. It's not fancy. Only about 3/4" wide and only long enough to fit between the fuse sidewalls. J

[@thomasallan8113]

A friend bought the PNP version and he did not mention any build problems you discuss in this video. The motor does not seem to be that powerful Yes it will do decent loops but its vertical is limited. He had used your tip about using screws to hold the wings in. Overall it flies well.

[@RCVideoReviews]

I upgraded my motor too. The stock motor was just ok as you pointed out: kzbin.info/www/bejne/d4fCoHiVqNKEacU

[@mrfourtysevenman]

The cg is a little aft due to the swept wing. It seems like you're going off the dimension at the fuselage point of the wing where it's longer

[@RCVideoReviews]

I've got a handful of wings and a BAe Hawk, so I'm familiar with placement for swept wings. I'd agree that sweep pushes it back; however, there's pretty much universal agreement out there that 110mm is too far but no consensus on what works. My maiden today showed 95mm to be spot on for neutral in a dive test and required the slightest down elevator while inverted. So here's the good news: Set to 95mm and it will fly. It can be tuned from there per preference.

[@christophersimpson3165]

Sorry if you mentioned it but what control throws did you start out with? I don't see it mentioned in the manual. Thanks!

[@RCVideoReviews]

I started with 10mm on elevator and ailerons. I tweaked from there. This thing has a violent roll rate at full deflection. It really doesn't need much. If you put 10mm on high and 6mm on low, that should get you in the air and let you tweak from there.

[@philippeneuhaus5694]

Thank You verry mutch for the Video, i just buy a second hand from this and need a motor set. Is 4S 2200mah fine for this model? And witch motor you guys use for this model? The one how is in the description? All the Best from Swiss, Bern

[@RCVideoReviews]

4s might be a little much for this plane depending on your power setup. This is a light plane, it doesn't take much.

[@philippeneuhaus5694]

@@RCVideoReviews your right, 3s and 2200mah will be fine. Do you think a 30 Ampere Bec regler will be enough for the setup leopard 2835 6t and 9/3.9 prop? At the moment i have a 40 amp Bec regler in the skylark. I put the Bec under the wood, put it trough the hole in the front. So is verry effective cooled. And the 3 cable from the motor goes under the wood, so the motor can run easy. Do you know what i mean? This day's I will fly this little guy. Maybe i will try a 3s 1350 mAh. I will post a joutoube video on my Chanel. Thanks for all

[@alanreid250]

Hi....what size esc would you recommend for this motor?

[@RCVideoReviews]

40a with the Leopard.

[@deancooper5513]

Regarding the ESC location what you're meant to do is locate the ESC under the motor and run the 3 motor wires down the void so you can connect them to the ESC. Thats why the bottom air scoop is as wide as it is because you can squeeze an ESC thru that scoop to get it mounted correctly. The only caveat is if the ESC you are using is too wide and doesn't fit then you'll have to look at other options. Have a look at a very similar model to this, the Sunrise EP....in the PDF manual on page 6 it shows how to mount the ESC correctly - go to www.thewingsmaker.com/products/airplanes/manuals/GM040P.pdf. This manual is fantastic for anyone who gets the Skylark S as it gives the CG at 95mm and advises the right control throws so the model is not so twitchy in flight.

[@RCVideoReviews]

Yeah, I tried to stuff the ESC that came with the plane under the deck and couldn't find a way to do it without taking things apart. Thanks for sharing information about the Sunrise with the channel.

[@93rc69]

Yessir. If you cut one bit of the plywood mounting plate out, then the ESC will slide in sideways easily. Disconnect the motor, push the ESC forward, and pull the connectors through to connect to the motor leads, and then put everything back in place. It took about 10 minutes and now the ESC and wires are out of the way, and the ESC is directly in the airflow.

[@airhammer6203]

Thank's for the shout-out RCVR!! I can't really take credit for the idea. When I noticed how the Skylark main wing attached, it reminded me of the PARKZONE F4F Wildcat I used to own. It required screws instead of a O-ring to hold it in place. I thought about getting the kit as well. They make a blue one. Value doesn't carry it.I don't prefer red. I have a complete 3s power, electronic system from a wrecked Durafly F2A Buffalo. It swings a 10×5 prop. and as others will testify, it's fast for 3s. It weighs 675g. I don't know if that's flying weight. It doesn't say. I'll weigh the new one! AirHammer out!!

[@RCVideoReviews]

Regardless of how you got the idea, thanks for sharing it. It worked perfectly! Check Banggood USA for the blue kit, they might have it if you're interested in the plane. I completed the maiden today and the plane did fine although I will be upgrading the motor. Sounds like the heart of your F2A will get a second lease on flying. What motor is it?

[@airhammer6203]

@@RCVideoReviews the F2A Buffalo weighs 675g without battery. It has a Aerostar D2217-1200kv, 12 pole motor. The "can" measure is 28mm. With an Areostar 40A ESC. 10×5 prop, and it's very, very quick. I was going to save them as spares for the new Buffalo I purchased, but........ I'm trying to find a new X mount for the motor, it broke in the final crash.(CG issues) AirHammer out!!

[@RCVideoReviews]

The Skylark is supposed to be 760g. The motor turned out to be a 2835/1100kv marked as a 2217a/1100kv. It makes about 230w on 3s with a 9x6SF and a 10x6. I thought the plane flew ok with that combo, but it definitely wasn't anything like unlimited vertical or blazing fast. FYI: If you use that motor in a Skylark you don't need an X-mount. The base bolts to the firewall ;)

[@Medmann48]

Can you put an outrunner motor in this plane? (I am going to get the kit version)

[@RCVideoReviews]

If you're asking if a motor can be mounted forward of the firewall the answer is yes. You'll have to figure out balance doing that and it looks kind of silly, but it can be done. The Leopard motor in the plane IS an outrunner mounted aft of the firewall. An outrunner has permanent magnets outside the electromagnets. Inrunners are opposite.

[@roadstar499]

No more $40 kits😢

[@RCVideoReviews]

They have a v2 for $60.

[@roadstar499]

yes i know ,but not sure if v2 is upgraded at all...its a cool little plane.thax@@RCVideoReviews

[@thomasallan8113]

How do u get a motor into that front mount? I ordered a sunnysky X2216 -8 long shaft KV1100. The hub of the motor will not fit into to metal motor mount. I am afraid to drill it out and am not sure the hole patterns will match. I can order the same Leopard motor you installed in the plane. Will it match the motor mount plate? Is there some trick to getting the motor in? I would like to avoid buying another motor thou I will probably be able to use the SunnySky motor for something else.

[@RCVideoReviews]

It's a bit of a challenge, but there's no trick. Just take your time and be patient. The leopard was a direct bolt-on.

[@thomasallan8113]

OK will order the Leopard lesson learned do not order a motor till u get the plane

[@thomasallan8113]

I found mounting the Leopard motor to the front of the plane needed more than patience. I finally used longer machine screws to get the motor in place. Then I put in the short screws. Whew. Then I ordered a couple of collet fittings pretty cheap. I also ordered 4 Freewing 9 gm servos 2-300mm leads, 2-500 mm leads for the tail servos. Total cost of the servos and the collet fitting, and the Leopard motor with shipping was $110. Will follow your advice on mounting the wings.

[@codebuster3132]

any recommendations about the hardware to use with the kit version?

[@RCVideoReviews]

Altitude sells a good motor for this plane: kzbin.info/www/bejne/d4fCoHiVqNKEacU - I use a 9x4.5 APC prop on that Leopard - 40a ESC amzn.to/3fPu2ll - 4x9g Servos: amzn.to/315Kmuh - 3s2200 battery That's how I fly mine.

[@superdon1chw]

what book I did not get anything but the parts

[@RCVideoReviews]

You can download the manual here: www.valuehobby.com/media/wysiwyg/upload/Manual/PDF/Skylark.pdf