Changeful Bat -- RC Electric Plane

I bought a Changeful Bat from Maplin when they were on special offer for £30. In the box you get everything you need to go flying; the RC plane, the rechargeable battery, the charger, and the radio control transmitter. You just need to buy 8 AA batteries for the transmitter.

I charged the battery pack and headed out to the field as soon as I'd built the plane. It only takes about 10 minutes to put it together and 20 minutes to charge the battery. It is, effectively, a plastic pod with two propellors, hanging below a kite.

I didn't read the instructions properly, putting the battery into the wrong place, and leaving the aerial wire to flap into one of the propellers. It was also too windy to fly, but I went anyway.

It flew badly, turning a lot to the left, and stalling. It crashed several times, after 10 second flights, was hard to steer, and felt very disappointing. It is sturdy though, and suffered no damage.

Next day I recharged it and went flying at dusk when the wind was almost zero. It flew much better, probably because I gave it a mild hurl to get it started. It climbed well, but I tried to steer it very sharply and it fell out of the sky. The instructions advise you to tap the stick to one side and release it in order to steer, rather than holding it to one side. This is because the steering is all-or-nothing, there is no proportional control. So, it did a spiral-dive, cracking the nose, but not too badly.

The third flight was good, but I don't know how long it lasted. I did a couple of circles, and then cut the power when it had reached a decent height. I flew it around a bit more, but soon the battery was flat. It glided to the ground nicely.

The steering is all-or-nothing, there is no proportional control

I tried recharging the battery for 40 minutes rather than the 20 suggested in the charger instructions. It didn't get hot, so I assumed it was ok!

After 2 unsuccessful attempts to launch, it flew really well. It always turns to the left, so I need to make some adjustments. It climbs well, but steering often results in a dive. You can only really "nudge" it a little in the direction you want, not really steer it. Still, it's a lot of fun. I managed a few circuits, tried a bit of gliding, and landed by just letting it glide in.

This plane is basically under-powered. I removed the wheels, undercarriage and any other spare bits I could find to try lightening it up. It flies unpredictably and only vaguely under control. I once nearly lost it in a farmer's field. In summary, it's hard to do much with because of the lack of accurate steering. It has a hopelessly short battery life, but will survive all your attempts to destroy it. If you've never flown an Radio Controlled plane before, and have almost no money to spend, you may get some fun with it, but you'd be better off saving up and getting a real plane. I did.. See the Tipsy.

Changeful Bat technical details:

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