Precision Aerobatics Addiction X

When I built my Limbo Dancer way back in 1999 the current craze then was Fun Fly - agile aircraft capable of doing lots of rolls or touch and gos in a short space of time, and of course, limbos.

 

At the time, powering such a model with batteries was seen as an odd thing to do but, with nearly 2lb of NiCd batteries on board, it flew well and enjoyed a thrust to weight ratio of just over 1:1 so prop hanging was theoretically possible - not that I ever achieved it for more than a second or so.

 

All this of course was before the concept of "3D aerobatics" came along and, since selling the Limbo Dancer in 2006, I hadn't missed it too much until a clubmate turned up at the flying field with an Addiction X and showed just how much things had moved on in the intervening years.

 

I had a good look at the model with a view to building something similar and, after seeing all the clever laser cutting and use of carbon fibre, reluctantly came to the conclusion that I couldn't realistically hope to match it with a conventional building approach.

 

So it was time to accept that, in this case at least, the ARTF route was the way to go, so I parted with the cash and brought home a large brown cardboard box.

 

My only previous ARTF experience was six years ago, with two i.c. conversions, the Mig 3 and Piper Cub. Both of these are traditionally built and, to my taste, rather on the heavy side. The Addiction X couldn't be more different. Keeping the weight down has clearly been a high priority throughout and, of course, it has been designed for electric power from the outset, so the motor mounting arrangements are suitably lightweight, yet rigid.

 

For reasons of economy, I didn't use Precision Aerobatics' recommended motor but the one I chose fitted all four mounting holes perfectly so went in with no trouble. However, whilst the official motor can apparently be removed through the plastic air scoops, mine has a slightly larger diameter so I made the lower scoop removeable rather than glueing it permanently in place. Such is the quality of this model, that that was the only modification I made.

 

My Addiction X is about 3.5oz over the recommended 42.3oz all up weight. Most of that is no doubt due to using a 3000mah 3s LiPo instead of the recommended 2200mah battery. That said, even my heavier battery has to be mounted well forward in order to achieve the recommended cg position so I suspect that lead might be needed if I did try a 2200mah pack.

 

I'll get a few flyiing hours in the logbook before making any decisions on this though - It may be though that I could shed a couple of ounces by going for a 2400 - 2600mah size.

 

At the time of writing, the model has been successfully test flown and looks promising. I'm still adjusting control throws and optimising the propeller choice though, so will report further on the flying characteristics later. However, if you really want to understand what it's really capable of, there are lots of videos on the internet of the Addiction X being put through its paces by far better pilots than me!