Fly RC Magazine WE LIVE RC
This favorite aerobat is now bigger and better than ever!
I can remember my first experience with an Addiction a few years ago. My buddy Jim Champion brought his out to the field to wring it out. Truthfully, when he told me he was bringing an Addiction for us to fly, I wasnt very excited. I had only seen the Addiction in the magazine and thought it resembled a pregnant profile. Seeing it first hand and getting my hands on the transmitter taught me real quick that the Addiction was no porker! The original Addiction looks fierce and flies awesomely. I came away that day thinking that the only thing better than the Addiction would be a bigger one! Enter the Addiction X! The Addition X, like all other Precision Aerobatics products, is performance- tested and ready to rock!
INITIAL IMPRESSIONS
I received the Addition X for review complete with their IPA Bling combo package with all the bells and whistles. Included in the combo package are: fabric wing bags, expertly covered laser-cut balsa and plywood airframe with two pieced wing, carbon wing tube, carbon gear, carbon wheel pants, painted fiberglass wheel pants and cowl, wheels, Hitec servos, carbon servo arms, 45- amp speed controller, brushless motor, 3S LiPo battery pack, Deans connectors, carbon spinner, prop, servo wire, carbon vortex generators, pushrods, rudder pull-pull system, control deflection gauge, decals, hardware package and direction booklet. The IPA Bling package will save you over $85 compared to purchasing individual components and everything need is included minus the receiver. The airframe comes in three different color choices: red/white/blue, purple/white/blue and green/white/red.
Im glad that the base color of the X is transparent. It allows you to see all of the intricate laser workings and copious amounts of carbon fiber that make up the feather-light airframe. While it looks great with all of the composite construction, I love how rigid the FiberFusion construction makes the airframe. With laminated carbon occupying much of it, its got a robust nature that handles extreme flight loads, and normal handing, as well.
TIPS FOR SUCCESS
The Addiction X is so thoroughly designed that there is little to say in terms of helping you do a better job. Lets walk through the assembly so you can see what I mean. You start off with the installation of the horizontal stabilizer. The stab fits securely in a slot in the fuselage and self aligns when fully seated. All the control surfaces feature flex-style CA hinges. The wire tailwheel fits into a drilled hole and slot at the base of the rudder.
The two-piece wing slides onto a carbon fiber main spar and alignment dowels with a plastic thumb screws to keep the wing secured to the fuselage. The carbon landing gear screws into a carbon reinforced plate with machine screws. The directions indicate to loctite the threads before installation. Take it from the seasoned expert here, who specializes in learning from his mistakes, this is an essential step!
The wheels install with traditional wheel collars, while the pants feature a single mounting screw to prevent rotation. The canopy hatch is held on with rare-earth magnets and has an indexing pin to prevent shear loads from ejection the canopy during an erratic maneuver. The cowl requires the mounting screw locations to be drilled and then installed with wood screws.
Another interesting feature of the Addiction X is the carbon fiber vortex generators. The thin carbon VGs slide into precut slots in the wing and are secured with thin CA. I am using a JR 12X transmitter and Spektrum 6110e receiver to control the model. I used the Hitec HS-82MG servos included for all flight controls as their metal gear train will suck up all abuse you can throw at them. The elevator and aileron servos mount close to their respective control surface and the rudder servo has an option to be mounted aft of the wing spar or under the motor, allowing you to keep the Addictions CG in check with different weight power systems.
The control surfaces each have carbon fiber control horns that fit neatly into precut slots that are glued into position. Each servo was fitted with an extended carbon fiber servo arm to maximize deflection. The pushrods on elevator and ailerons consist of a carbon fiber rod with machined aluminum clevis for the control surface and a ball link for the servo end. Each end of the pushrod is epoxied into position after length is verified. The rudder is a pull-pull system that uses Kevlar line with cable length adjustment at the servo arm.
Before installing the power system the motor box has to be installed. The motor box is keyed with the firewall and is secured with epoxy as well as the addition of carbon rods to lock it in place. The Thrust 40 motor attaches directly to the back side of carbon reinforced mounting plate. Plastic air scoops direct air over the motor for cooling. The Quantum Pro 45-amp speed control gets the Velcro and zip-tie treatment to the side of the motor box. The Precision Aerobatics 3S 2200 mAh LiPo battery is fitted with Deans connectors. A carbon 1.8 inch spinner and VOX T-40 prop finish the motor installation.
AIRBORNE
The Thrust 40 motor really delivers for rapid acceleration. The takeoff roll was relatively long before lift off. I attribute this to the shallow stance of the Addiction X, which does not allow the wing a high angle of attack on the ground. In the air, the Addiction X proves that its a breed all to itself. The feather-light wing loading gives a nimble feel for which Precision Aerobatics is noted.
I flew level for a couple passes and added a click or two of trim before I had an overwhelming temptation to explore the wild side of the Addiction X. What a superb 3D flying machine! The Addiction can fly high-alpha maneuvers until the cows come home! I had no problems getting excellent camera opportunities because the Addiction X could easily hold virtually any position. There is enough side area that rollers and high-alpha knife-edge require little speed. With a blast of power and sticks pinned to their corners, the Addiction performs awesome gyrations that can be stopped as quickly as they were entered.
Flat spins, snap rolls, knife-edge spins are all performed with ease. The wing has lots of area towards the tips compared to some tapered, traditional aerobatic plane wings, making the plane fly as if it were larger than it is. This gives the Addiction X a slightly slower snap roll, and a bigger advantage by taking the sting out of tip stalls. The vortex generators keep help with laminar flow by increasing lift and aileron sensitivity at slow speeds and high alpha.
Let the Addiction X float around on the wing for awhile and you will see the gentle side of its personality. I would never consider the Addiction X as a trainer, but with sane rates, it could be flown and appreciated as a Sunday flier. Tracking is quite good considering how agile the Addiction X is. Slow rolls, point rolls and knife edge show minimal coupling. The fact that the Addiction X will sustain flight at what seems like a snails pace, makes landing a piece of cake. Despite having a relatively narrow fuselage, the Addiction slows down well. I found that dragging the Addiction X nose high with a little power worked best for me.
SPECS
PLANE: Addiction X
MANUFACTURER: Precision Aerobatics
DISTRIBUTOR: Precision Aerobatics
TYPE: Unlimited 3D
FOR: Intermediate through advanced
WINGSPAN: 50 in.
WING AREA: 744 sq. in.
WEIGHT: 41.6 oz.
WING LOADING: 8.06 oz./sq. ft.
WING CUBE LOADING: 3.54
LENGTH: 52.4 in.
RADIO: 4 channels required; flown with a JR 12x transmitter, Spektrum 6110e 6-channel receiver, 4 Hitec HS-85MG servos for all flight controls.
POWER SYSTEM: Thrust 40 brushless outrunner motor, VOX T40 prop, Quantum 45-amp brushless speed control with BEC, Precision Aerobatics 3S 2200 mAh LiPo battery
FULL THROTTLE POWER: 12 amps, 127 watts; 3.05 W/oz., 48.84 W/lb.
TOP RPM: 6,700
DURATION: 8-12 minutes depending on flying style
MINIMAL FLYING AREA: Ball field/RC club field
PRICE: $224.95
COMPONENTS NEEDED TO COMPLETE: Hand tools, soldering iron, glue, receiver, and an appetite for fun!
SPEC SUMMARY: Precision Aerobatics continues to be one of my favorite planes for all out fun. As light as the airframes are, they are completely rigid, take the vigors of extreme punishment in the air, and dont need the white gloves when handling. There is no guess work when equipping your Addiction X because Precision Aerobatics does it best! Dont second guess any of the details in the Addiction X; Precision Aerobatics designed it that way for a reason.
CONCLUSION
Im sure its a little obvious, but I really like the Addiction X! The fact is that the Addiction X does every bit of what its supposed to do and more. I loved flying this thing, and what it comes down to for me is the fun factor. And, the fact that the plane is more capable then I am and I feel comfortable when I fly it. Not much more to say but its a keeper! Happy flying.
Visit www.find.flyrc.com/071106 to watch the video!
Links
Hitec USA, www.hitecrcd.com , (858) 748-6948
JR, dist. exclusively by Horizon Hobby Distributors, www.jrradios.com , (800) 338-4639
Precision Aerobatics, www.precisionaerobatics.com , (770) 292-9122
Spektrum, dist. by Horizon Hobby, www.spektrumrc.com , (800) 338-4639
Thrust Motors, dist. by Precision Aerobatics, www.precisionaerobatics.com , (770) 292-9122
Vox Propellers, dist. by Precision Aerobatics, www.precisionaerobatics.com , (770) 292-9122
