Durafly DH-100 Vampire (Canadian Edition) Review

The Durafly Vampire looks magnificent but builds poorly. Do favorable flight characteristics make it worth your money?

Reviewed by James Whomsley

Overall Rating 

★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆

Solid, but room for much improvement.

Price

$159.25/ £122.00/€138.80

Pros

- Looks the part

- Gentle flying characteristics which make it a good choice for a beginner EDF pilot

- Nice steerable nose wheel mechanism

Cons

- Poor build quality

- Damaged in box

- No instructions included

- Retracts wobbled

Key Features

- 70mm EDF 

- EPO foam construction

- Electric retracts

- 5 Channels

- Formed canopy and pilot figure

What is this model?

This Durafly scale first generation jet fighter is modeled off a MK.6 de Haviland Vampire. The Vampire was a British aircraft introduced in 1946. It was one of the first aircraft in the world to be powered by a single turbojet (quite a claim to fame). De Haviland was known for making some cutting-edge yet somewhat strange looking configurations of airplanes - and the Vampire was one of them.

This particular model is a rerun of Durafly's original MK.6 Vampire. We featured it in one of our very earliest reviews. It was also the star of David Windestål's crazy EDF afterburner project.

What is it like to build?

To get started assembling the Durafly Vampire, I first laid everything out on the table. The model came in a large unmarked white box without much padding on the inside which was a bit of a shame, but that's how you keep costs down folks! There's a nice little pilot figure included with the Vampire. You get to glue him in the cockpit meaning you could stick a micro FPV cam in its place sometime in the future. If you'd like to see a future article on this, let me know in the comments!

The canopy comes seperate from the cockpit hatch and needs gluing down. Again, this is great if you want to customize the model.

There's not a whole lot of cockpit detail included, but at least you get the opportunity to add some with a bit of DIY if you feel like it.

The linkages are the standard Durafly screw type. I ended up replacing the control horns with our own Flite Test wooden control horns for a more reliable fit. The screw plate type mounts really didn't seem strong enough and wobbled in the foam. 

The Canadian Air Force decals come ready applied unlike some other newer Durafly models. 

Unfortunately, my model came damaged in the box. I had half expected this after seeing how little packaging there was to protect the fragile components in transit.

Other dents and scrapes were visible. 

Hot glue was used to secure all of the major components. You can use something with a longer working time like foam safe CA or epoxy, but I found the hot glue gun was perfectly adiquate.  

The booms refused to sit right. They were a poor fit for the slots provided. Extra glue was used to ensure that they were absolutely strong enough - mid-air breakups are not fun!

Flight Characteristics

So, it's safe to say the Vampire isn't exactly a fun build. Thankfully, it looks the part when finished giving you a reward of sorts for your hard work. The real reward, however, comes when you get this aircraft into the sky. After waiting for around a week for some still weather, I wheeled the jet onto the field for an early morning test flight. 

A word of warning - the CG in the online PDF manual is way off. Thankfully I had pre-empted this potential problem with a quick Google. Other Durafly Vampire owners had found the recommended location critically tail heavy causing all manner of calamities on their own maidens. Sticking the CG a whole 1.5" further forward had worked for them, so I went ahead and made sure mine was the same before taking the model out of the hangar. 

Lined up on the runway with a 4s 3000mAh, it was go-time. 

An initial problem I found on my first takeoff was that the model didn't want to track straight when accelerating. I believe this was due to the lack of steerable rudders and a loss of nose wheel authority. Tip: initially push forward on the elevator slightly whilst accelerating to keep that front wheel on the ground. I've found this helped in subsequent flights. 

In the air, this model is a joy to fly. Its light wing loading and smooth tracking results in a rock-solid performance that gives you a ton of confidence right from the moment go. 

The Vampire isn't a bullet by any means, but this is a good thing; it flies scale whilst giving you time to react. The stall speed is decently slow - even when dropping a wingtip, you'll have plenty of time to catch it before a spin. The aircraft feels at home doing low flypasts, cruising high up and pulling off graceful, classic aerobatics.

Noise isn't as much of an issue either - it's just like any other EDF really. The relatively loud fan on the ground quickly fades as you get airborne. Operating as a park flyer, you shouldn't find that you annoy anyone. 

The glide on this thing is incredible. Talking to David Windestål lately, he mentioned how you can modify the Durafly Vampire into a sweet flying slope soarer. I can certainly see why. You'll need to get used to the long glide slope with a few go-arounds before landing.

Verdict - Should you buy one?

This model certainly has some great talking points but, unfortunately, the Durafly Vampire ultimately feels a little tired and outdated - it feels like a model that was good seven years ago but could offer that little bit more in 2018. Flaps, stronger retracts and dual rudders could seriously enhance the flight experience. Yet, if you're after something cheap and cheerful with a great look for $159.25, you might be advised to pick one up. 

More RTF RC airplanes in the Flite Test Store

Review by James Whomsley

Editor of FliteTest.com

Contact: james@flitetest.com

YouTube Channel: www.youtube.com/projectairaviation