My experience with 3 Pack Swappable SBK

This is the 17^th episode of ThePontificatingPilot.com. This episode contains a blog post and a YouTube video about my experience building FliteTest.com’s swappable speed build kit as a new rc hobbyist. I thought this information might be helpful for all those noobies who are thinking about purchasing a Speed Build Kit.

What supplies are required?

• 

  Flighttest.com’s Swappable speedbuild kit - Laser-cut foam for 3 airframes, 3 X Power Pods, 3 X Firewalls, Zip ties, Push rods, Control horns, Velcro, BBQ Skewers, Popsicle Sticks, Rubberband, Coffee Stir, 3 X Data Sheets, Throw Gauges, Foam Wheels, Rod for landing gear

• 

  LazerToyz Swappable Kit Power/electronics for FT 3 Pack - 1 power system, 1 emaz 2205/33 brushless motor, 1 Motor Mount built in to motor, 1 Prop Saver, 2 - 8x4 props, 1 - 10 Amp ESC, 2 Emax Budget Servos, 1 - 850 Mah Lipo11.1V 3 Cell, 2 EZ Justers

• 

  HobbyKing.com – Orange 2.4Ghz Transmitter Module, Turnigy 9XR Transmitter Mode 2, Orange Rx R620 Receiver, Turnigy Accucel-6 50W 6A Balance Charger, Zippy Flightmax 2500mAh Battery

A few things you should know about Hobby King. First, they are not going to help you figure out what you need. So you need to do that. Don’t waste your time chatting with customer service. Next, don’t be surprised if everything you need is out of stock, especially if you are ordering from the US warehouse. Something else you need to pay attention to is what warehouse you are ordering from. This can be a pain because all items in your order have to come from the same warehouse. For example, if the battery charger you want is in the US warehouse but the transmitter you want is in the Chinese warehouse, aka “international warehouse,” you will have to place two separate orders.  Now if your items are actually in stock in the US warehouse the shipping time is respectable. Don’t expect to pay any less for your US warehouse items. While the shipping costs appear to be less than if they had come from China it’s only an appearance because Hobby King has already included the shipping costs from China to the US warehouse in the product’s price. This is why products from the Chinese warehouse cost a few dollars less than they do in the US warehouse. The last thing I want to mention concerns the battery I bought for my 9XR transmitter. The battery that was designed for it was out of stock so I decided to go ahead and get a different battery that some others on the Hobby King website recommended would work as well. The Battery works fine but it does not attach to the Accucell battery charger without modification. So I would recommend that you get the Turnigy 9XR safety protected 11.1v (3s) 2200mAh 1.5c transmitter pack. If you get this battery you will have no problem connecting it to the charger.

What to expect for costs and shipping times

• Shipping from China takes a long time
• Shipping from Hobby King’s USA warehouse was quick, I was impressed
• You don’t save money because your products are shipped from Hobby King’s USA warehouse

Should you buy Flitetest’s swappable speed build kit?

Now for the big question, should you purchase Flitetest’s swappable speed build kit or just buy a Bixler form Hobby King? FYI, there are two versions of the Bixler. There’s the Bixler v1.1 and Bixler2.  Here is the Bixler1 review and Bixler2 review done by Flitetest. In my opinion you should go with Flitetest’s speed build kit. While the initial investment is high you should be able to acquire more airplanes for less money once you’ve made that initial investment, whereas if you purchase a Bixler you’re stuck with one airplane. Also, I prefer building something from scratch rather than just putting a couple of pieces together. Well, the speed build kit really isn’t building from scratch but you get the idea. Finally, the decision is yours to make so figure out what’s more important to you and make the investment because flying these things is a lot of fun and I look forward to flying many more in the future.

Building the airplanes in the speed build kit was an enjoyable experience and Mr. Bixler’s videos make the build experience delightful. Everyone on the Flitetest crew appear to be decent people although I have never met them.

That brings this week’s episode to an end. I hope you find this information helpful. Please make sure to post you comments in the comments section below.

Now for the big question, should you purchase Flitetest’s swappable speed build kit or just buy a Bixler form Hobby King? FYI, there are two versions of the Bixler. There’s the Bixler v1.1 and Bixler2.  Here is the Bixler1 review and Bixler2 review done by Flitetest. In my opinion you should go with Flitetest’s speed build kit. While the initial investment is high you should be able to acquire more airplanes for less money once you’ve made that initial investment, whereas if you purchase a Bixler you’re stuck with one airplane. Also, I prefer building something from scratch rather than just putting a couple of pieces together. Well, the speed build kit really isn’t building from scratch but you get the idea. Finally, the decision is yours to make so figure out what’s more important to you and make the investment because flying these things is a lot of fun and I look forward to flying many more in the future.

Building the airplanes in the speed build kit was an enjoyable experience and Mr. Bixler’s videos make the build experience delightful. Everyone on the Flitetest crew appear to be decent people although I have never met them.

That brings this week’s episode to an end. I hope you find this information helpful. Please make sure to post you comments in the comments section below.