Written by Jon R. Barnes
Push Your Skills With This Durable, Aerobatic Model
As seen in the Winter 2021 issue of Park Pilot.
Pilot's Choice Product Review
Bonus Video
SPECIFICATIONS:
Model type: Profile foamie
Skill level: Beginner to advanced
Wingspan: 40.2 inches
Length: 40.6 inches
Weight: 19.8 ounces
Power system: 50 to 72 gram brushless
Radio: Minimum four channels required
Construction: Prepainted EPP foam
Radio system used: Spektrum DX9; Lemon RX six-channel receiver
Servos: Four Turnigy EX5252 12-gram digital metal-gear
Ready-to-fly weight: 50-gram power system: 17.4 ounces; 72-gram power system: 21.1 ounces
Flight duration: Four to six minutes
Price: $124.99
Info: twistedhobbys.com
50-gram power system
Motor: Hoffman Magnetics Rocket 860 Kv brushless outrunner
ESC: Cool Running 25 amp with integral BEC; Deans Ultra connector
Battery: Thunder Power 40C 3S 1,000 mAh LiPo
Propeller: 10 x 4.7 slow flyer
72-gram power system
Motor: BadAss 2315-1100 Kv brushless outrunner
ESC: BadAss 35 amp with integral BEC; XT60 connector
Battery: BadAss 45C 3S 1,500 mAh LiPo
Propeller: 11 x 5.5 APC E (black)
Features:
>> Eminently repairable EPP foam construction encourages pilots to push themselves to learn new maneuvers
>> Impressively comprehensive kit includes high-quality hardware, numerous plastic pieces, and carbon-fiber components
>> Abundance of embedded carbon-fiber reinforcement creates an extremely rigid EPP foam airframe
>> Can be flown on 50-gram to 72-gram brushless electric power systems
>> Full-flying horizontal stabilizer
>> Unique double-canted side-force generators
WATCH A VIDEO ONLINE!
I LAST ACQUIRED and built an RC Factory (rc-factory.eu) profile foamie in 2009. At the time, my Yak 54 EPP profile foamie kit shipped directly from RC Factory in Europe and made it to my home in the US sans any damage. RC Factory has continued to crank out new models since then and, conveniently enough, they are now available in the US from Florida-based Twisted Hobbys.
The latest 39-inch wingspan EPP foam profile airplane from RC Factory is the Revolto. It is available in a neon Kawasaki green and black scheme or a slightly more mundane—but nonetheless stylish-looking—white/blue/gray color scheme. I ordered it online from Twisted Hobbys on a Sunday and found it parked on my porch in Northern California the following Wednesday afternoon! Kudos to Twisted Hobbys for its impressively fast shipping and delivery via U.S. Postal Service Priority Mail!
For pilots who prefer one-stop shopping, two completion/combination packs are available from Twisted Hobbys. Each includes four metal-geared digital servos, a brushless power system, and a propeller.
The Twisted Hobbys Revolto product page includes a link to a downloadable PDF assembly manual. This digital manual is 100% photo based and does not include any accompanying text instructions. Although this approach allows it to serve as a universal, non-language-specific guide, pilots might find themselves, at times, a bit perplexed as they make their way through the assembly.
Twisted Hobbys provides a helpful link to an auxiliary build guide. This link is also embedded on the Revolto product page. This additional guide contains many photos and an abundance of text-based helpful hints and tips. Pilots will need to carefully select the appropriate adhesives for this project. I went with a fresh bottle of Foam-Tac (foam-tac.com) and primarily used it to assemble the airframe components. Thin and medium CA adhesives and accelerator were used for everything else, including any assembly steps for the variety of plastic and carbon-fiber components.
Pilots should resist the urge to cut any corners when building their Revoltos. One step not to be omitted early in the build is to repeatedly flex the ailerons then fold them back flat against the wing. The wing halves should then be placed on a perfectly flat surface and left overnight, with heavy weights placed on each half to hold the ailerons in their fully flexed positions. This step will help free up the long, integral EPP foam hinge line.
When reaching for the bottle of thin CA, pilots should always keep in mind that a little goes a long way—literally! Given its unique ability to go exactly where you do not want it to go, extreme caution should be used any time it is unleashed.
I was dismayed to discover that it found its way into and onto the aft end of the rudder pushrod, at the junction where the clevis attaches to the rudder control horn. This prevented the clevis from rotating on the horn when the rudder was deflected. It took approximately 30 painstaking and patient minutes with CA debonder and a sharp utility blade to free it.
I first flew the Revolto on a 50-gram-class power system, which keeps the all-up weight of the model on the notably lighter side of things, and then later with a significantly higher-performance 72-gram-class power system.
Switching back and forth between two different power systems is definitely a doable option. The most time-consuming part of a power system swap is switching the motor out. Pilots who intend to do this might want to harden the firewall motor mount holes with thin CA.
The required battery position for each of the two power systems will be significantly different. When making the cutout in the fuselage for the battery, pilots should not discard the piece of foam that is removed. Should a pilot again switch up the power system, the removed foam block can easily be grafted back into place. This maintains the aesthetically pleasing factory paint job on this model.
Like most crafty modelers who justify the purchase of yet another new airplane kit, I held off purchasing a new power system for the Revolto and first dug through my stash of electronics to see if I could come up with an appropriate power system. Buried in the bottom of my motor bin was a new, 50-gram-class Hoffman Magnetics Rocket 860 Kv brushless outrunner.
I paired it with an even older, but new-in-the-package, Cool Running 25-amp ESC. With a 10 x 4.5 slow flyer propeller pinned in place, my EagleTree eLogger showed a full throttle, static power reading of 165 watts. Using a three-cell 1,000 mAh LiPo battery, the Revolto had a flying weight of 17.4 ounces, for 150 watts per pound worth of performance.
Given this aircraft’s penchant for performing post-stall and 3D maneuvers, pilots will appreciate knowing that this 50-gram power system did indeed give the Revolto the ability to climb out of a hover, though the velocity with which it would do it was far from ballistic.
One positive tradeoff when going with this less powerful setup is that the Revolto manifests a significantly floaty feeling in the air. 3D and aerobatic maneuvers requiring a deft touch and good timing on the stick inputs are much easier to perform with a lighter net weight.
Like many pilots, I could not resist the call of the wild! I decided to supersize the Revolto to a 72-gram-class power system. I reached out to Lucien Miller at Innov8tive Designs (innov8tivedesigns.com), who, with a quick wink, replied that he had the perfect motor for this model! As the name would suggest, the newly released BadAss 2315-1100 Kv brushless outrunner throws this model into full-on beast mode!
When outfitted with a BadAss 35-amp ESC and BadAss 3S 1, 500 mAh LiPo, the Revolto bulked up to a somewhat portly flying weight of 21.1 ounces. With an 11 x 5.5 APC E propeller bolted to the motor, the EagleTree eLogger showed a full throttle static power reading of 335 watts.
This setup yields an impressive, screaming 255 watts per pound worth of performance. Innov8tive Designs includes a staggering amount of propeller and performance data for all of its motors, and the company’s 2315-1100 Kv motor is surprisingly high enough rated to handle two to six cells!
Vertical punchout with this power system is impressive and immediate. This heavier Revolto tracks much truer when performing precision aerobatics maneuvers. The added mass allows it to carry more inertia into tumbling maneuvers, with the wee caveat that the sheer amount of power on tap can, at times, make the model feel almost too far on the wild side!
No matter the power system a pilot elects to use on his or her Revolto, this model’s full-flying stabilizer is extremely effective. Less is more when configuring the elevator throws in the transmitter.
The eminent repairability of clean-fracturing EPP foam makes this profile model one that all aspiring 3D and aerobatics pilots need to keep in their hangars. Most crash damage can be repaired with virtually no evidence of damage. This frees pilots to routinely push the envelope when trying maneuvers that are new to their personal aerobatic and 3D portfolios.
As one of the newest 39-inch-class EPP foam profile aircraft from RC Factory/Twisted Hobbys, the Revolto really rocks! Standout features include its notably stiff, carbon-fiber-reinforced fuselage, the ability to prioritize lightweight floatability versus high power, all-out performance when selecting a power system, the uniquely designed, eye-catching, double-canted side-force generators, and a full-flying stabilizer that offers incredible pitch authority. Domo arigato, Mister Revolto!
SOURCES:
RC Factory
Innov8tive Designs
(442) 515-0745
