By Geoff Barber Get your glide on for less than $100 Abridged review and flight video. Featured in the Fall 2014 Park Pilot.
You want to start flying RC aircraft, but you’re on a budget. You are looking for a small model to fly at a local park that includes everything, so there’s no guessing about what else you‘ll need to buy. I have good news for you! All of these items can be taken care of with one airplane: the Cox Sky Cruiser RTF (Ready-to-Fly)! This glider is a trainer/beginner’s airplane, capable of helping new pilots learn to fly in small places. Everything you’ll need is included in the box, and it costs less than $100! As I do with any aircraft, before starting assembly I read the manual. I have found that, no matter how simple the project may look, there’s always something to learn. Assembly began with installing the four included AA batteries in the transmitter, and charging the 7.4-volt LiPo flight battery. While the flight battery was charging, I installed the carbon wing rod in the left wing half, and slid the wing into the fuselage. The other wing half was then mounted by sliding it onto the carbon rod. The propeller was snapped in place on the motor. Cox has an ingenious propeller mounting system called SafeProp—a two-piece snap system that allows the propeller to simply pop off if it comes in contact with an obstruction. With the propeller snapped in place, I waited for the LiPo battery to finish charging. Assembling the Sky Cruiser took less than five minutes. When the battery was charged, I turned on the transmitter, connected the LiPo to the airplane wiring harness, and attached the magnetic canopy to the fuselage. That’s it! The Sky Cruiser was ready to fly. Because my local RC flying field is less than 3 miles from my doorstep, I fly there. The Sky Cruiser could also easily be flown at a baseball or soccer field. I advanced the throttle to full, and gave the Sky Cruiser a gentle overhand toss into the wind. When I say wind, I mean a breeze of 3 to 4 mph. There was plenty of time to get my fingers back on the right transmitter stick, as the airplane flew straight away from me with little altitude loss. When the Sky Cruiser was approximately 30 feet in the air, I checked the trims. Two clicks of down-elevator were needed to maintain level flight at three-fourths throttle. A few circles around the field, and I was really enjoying the little model. It is a lot of fun and easy to fly! As a three-channel trainer aircraft, aerobatics are somewhat limited, but the motor had plenty of power to push the Sky Cruiser through a few loops. Landing the aircraft was easy. I simply lined the Sky Cruiser up with the runway, and brought the throttle back to approximately one-third power. The RC glider came in gently, and when it was a couple of feet above the runway, I pulled the throttle back. The airplane glided past me and set down gently on the runway, sliding to a stop. The battery life with the 250 mAh LiPo was decent. The maiden flight was close to 10 minutes with some throttle management. I really like the Cox Sky Cruiser. It’s a simple aircraft. Assembly took just a few minutes, and it was easy to fly. My recommendation to you is if you find yourself with a Sky Cruiser, make sure you get plenty of extra batteries. You’ll want to keep it in the air all day!
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