Introduction
The Falco,
which I am reviewing today, is the “little brother” of the Wasabi, a
high-performance F3F glider manufactured in Slovakia by Juraj Stanček. The
Wasabi has managed to carve out a place for itself in the market and in
competitions, despite being dominated by one or two best-sellers.
The Falco,
on the other hand, is a 60-inch glider, a format that has fallen somewhat out
of favor in recent years since the abandonment of pylon racing, but without
really disappearing. This size of glider still has some arguments to make. So,
the test of this Falco is an opportunity to discover or rediscover this
pocket-sized glider format. Let’s go!
Kit overview
With its
1.5-meter wingspan (well, we lost 2cm in the process because 60 inches = 1.52m)
and its F3F glider look, halved in size, the Falco offers interesting technical
choices: Removable wings, removable V-shaped tails, a fuselage design that
allows for either electric or pure glider configuration, with a removable plate
(optional) accessible through a hatch located under the fuselage. In the case
of the electric version the nose is cut, in the pure glider version, the nose
ends with a small 3D printed part.
3 layups
are available: standard fiberglass version (G110/G50 fiberglass), light carbon
version (C55/G25 carbon fiber) and reinforced carbon (C90/G50 carbon fiber). My
glider is the lightweight carbon version.
The wing,
hollow molded, is not very thick, this promises to be fast in flight, but the
downside is that the use of 8mm servo (and not 10mm as usual) is recommended or
even mandatory at the ailerons.
The tails
are made of a machined Rohacell core, then laminated, therefore a result that
is both very light and particularly rigid. They are hinged in the middle which
avoids the addition of a sealing lip, the slot being reduced to a minimum. The
tailplane control system is inspired by that of the MicroMax tested in these
columns. The piano wire comes out on the side of the fuselage at a recess, and
is just bent to fit into the hole in the elevator horn of each half empennage.
It couldn’t be simpler, and it’s slop-free and easily assembled and dismantled.
The molding
quality is truly superb, adjustments are perfect, no blocking points, the
surface is shiny, flawless, the paint is beautiful and the colors pop, and not
forgetting the kit arrives with accesories (wire harness with MPX green
connectors, MPJet clevises) but also a set of wings and tails covers.
No
dedicated ballast tube in the wing or fuselage but the wing joiner is hollow
and can accommodate lead ballast that you easily prepare. The weights of
the different elements are as follows:
- Fuselage:
155 gr
- Wing
joiner: 31 gr
- Right
wing: 148 gr
- Left
wing: 146 gr
- Right
tail: 14 gr
- Left
tail: 15 gr
This gives
us a total before assembly of 509 gr.
Assembly
The
assembly, although not complicated, does require a little attention. Let’s
start with the wings:
I chose to
equip the wings with 4 MKS HV-6120 servos which are 8mm and offer the torque
and precision sought for this type of glider. Not usually using this model of
servos in my slightly roomier F3F gliders, I purchased 2 HV-6120 servos (flat
mounting) for the ailerons, and 2 HV-6120-H intended for vertical mounting (out
of stock ☹) but flat mounted thanks to the
Servorahmen frame which is adapted to the 2 variants. I was also very surprised
that the Servorahmen frames for the HV-6120 did not have any ball bearings as
usual.
For the
ailerons, however, I designed and printed my own servo frames. They are printed
in PETG-carbon and have a good bonding surface with the addition of a small
hole so that the glue penetrates better and further strengthens the bond. I
have recently been using this material for frames because it sticks well with
30 minutes epoxy glue.
On the
other hand, there was an unpleasant surprise when assembling the LDS when I
discovered that the Servorahmen arms (I had chosen the Midi version) are too
long even when using the shortest arm. I finally recreated and printed custom
arms, still in PETG-carbon. The “micro” version of the Servorahmen arms may be
usable, possibly by moving the servo frame towards the spar. Finally, nothing
prevents you from installing more standard controls with a threaded rod for
example. The wing wiring uses the green 6-pins MPX plug, glued to the wing
root.
Let’s move
on to the tailplanes: All that remains is to glue the metal elevator horn
provided in the kit in the right position with a little epoxy glue.
We finish
with the fuselage with the gluing of the MPX green plug and its previously
prepared wiring, and finally the installation of the elevator servos. Having
the removable tray option, mounted on 2 rails glued to the side of the
fuselage, I just remade a plate of identical size but to receive my HV 75K-R,
mounted flat this time. Once the servos are in place, I cut the piano wires to
the right length and glue MP-jet brass threaded ends and brass axle plastic
covers from the same brand. I have only used this on my F3F gliders for years,
and it allows for slop free while remaining robust enough of the use.
With this
layout, there is really a lot of space left at the front of the fuselage, which
allows the use of a 2s 3A 18650 battery. The receiver is located in front of
the wing joiner, the antennas are simply taped with 3M Blenderm tape on the
sides of the fuselage respecting an angle of 90° relative to each other. The
addition of a magnetic switch completes the fuselage equipment. Despite the 2s
18650, I still needed 60gr of lead in the nose, giving a final empty weight of
820gr.
It is true
that the fuselage is initially designed for the installation of an electric
motor, which is why the servos are located behind the wing joiner. If you want
to reduce the flying weight, you can always relocate the servos under the
canopy and use a smaller battery.
Let’s fly!
In these
light conditions, the glider shows a high cruising speed already due to its
rather high average weight. The Falco is very stable and precise on all axes.
It transitions particularly well and signals changes in lift well. By slightly
increasing the camber, the glider slows down a bit and lifts better. Circles do
not show any particular problems but must be flown in 3 axes, due to the weight
and the low dihedral. However, I don’t think flying at low speed and high
angles is its favorite thing.
I was able
to witness a beautiful thermal hunting session by Robert Bartok (Slovakia) on
the sidelines of the Pyrenees Cup F3F (Eurotour) when the conditions were too
weak to launch the F3F competition. Robert was flying the Electro version of
the Falco so he could easily push the thermal hunt to the end without the risk
of landing downhill. We could assist to a festival of climbs from downhill,
hunting, and transitions to explore the slope flight volume.
But let’s get back to our pure glider version on test. As soon as the Falco has gained some altitude, you push and the glider picks up speed, and then shows a whole other face: It accelerates very hard, retains energy, gives back a lot for its size, in short, a really dynamic glider!
I have been
able to confirm this temperament on many occasions since then, in the mountains
with a good 10m/s of wind and without ballast, or in Normandy on a small sand
dune only 3m high but well powered by the sea wind! The position of the center
of gravity at 66–67 mm from the leading edge has proven to be perfect and
versatile from light to strong wind, at altitude or at sea level.
Of course,
basic aerobatics is a simple formality, the V-tail does not particularly
hinder, but on the other hand the conservation and restitution of energy allow
for beautiful trajectories and beautiful clean maneuvers.
I finally
went for a little spin on the dark side of the slope (Dynamic Soaring) and the
Falco didn’t disappoint me. I particularly like this exercise to test the
abilities of a new slope glider because you can quickly see its predisposition
to accelerate, and lap after lap gain speed. And the Falco is very good at this
exercise, because it doesn’t need a lot of wind to already maintain its speed
in trajectory and then accelerate. You just have to put a little bit of
exponential or dual rate because it is already lively in normal flight, so at
high speed the corrections must be minimal and smooth.
On landing,
the Falco makes clearly the difference with gliders that do not have flaps. The
butterfly mixing allows to greatly slow down this little ball of nerves and to
land safely, even in a small area, a real comfort!
In
hindsight, I would advise you, if you opt for the pure glider version, to
relocate the servos forward to reduce the centering lead, or even reduce the
size and therefore the weight of the battery. It should be possible to save
around 60 to 80 grams for this “carbon light” version. The Falco will then be
even more versatile, and it is always possible to ballast afterwards in the
wing. I am actually thinking about making this modification.
It’s
time to conclude
The Falco
is a well-designed glider with a motorized version available. It is superbly
manufactured and very convenient to use because it can be completely
disassembled. However, it requires very thin servos (8mm) in the wings and
therefore care during assembly if you want to install an integrated LDS.
Hopefully this type of slim servos becomes easier to find and more affordable.
In flight, the Falco demonstrates top flight performances with great speed and
energy retention. It remains nervous and precise in all circumstances. Overall,
the Falco is a great choice for pilots looking for a high-performance but small
glider that is also easy to transport and store.
Specifications
- Wingspan:
1500mm
- Length:
903mm
- Weight: 700–1100g (820g for the
model tested)
- Wing
area: 21.4dm2
- Chords:
180mm / 165mm /80mm
- Manufacturer:
Aviatik Composites (aviatikcomposites.sk)
- Reseller
: ZELLER MODELLBAU e.U (www.zeller-modellbau.com)
- Price: From 769 Euros
(wings/tails cover)
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