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Big Foamy Glider - HK BFG 2600


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I know you lot aren't really plane fans but I'm on a mission to fill this section with recent content. So suck it up! :ack:

 

Today's subject is the HK BFG 2.6m sailplane glider, which coincidentally, I've been playing with today. I'm hoping someone at HK had a sense of humour and they named it Big Flippin Glider. I rather suggest that's not the actual name but it works for me (or a slight variation :smilies_eusasmiles2:).

 

For anyone out there not familiar with HK naming convention, the 2600 is the wing span in mm. Why mm?

With a low wing loading, basically weight to wing size/lift properties, this thing is a really floaty bird but not great in stronger winds. Great for nice, warm, still days, like what other countries get. The downside to the size is mainly that it doesn't fit very well in the car, even with the seats down. Oh, and it tries to knock you over if you pick it up in reasonable breeze. This is the , basic beast, you can see it tries to attack me in the vid, just as I go to throw it...

 

DSC_0347.jpg

 

As standard you get a rudder and elevator at the back, like normal, but with the elevator at the top of the vertical. The wings come adorned with an aileron and a flap on each wing, as it's more balanced that way. Rocking a 700kv brushless motor up front, swinging a 13.5 x 7 folding prop, it runs best on 2700 (ish) mah of 4s power. It's no Concorde, obviously, but with a battery that size you can easily stay up for longer than 30mins, if you're a bit frugal on the juice stick. This thing is happy floating round for ages, stable enough that I can roll a ciggy while it does its own thing and it's easy to fly with one hand afterwards.

 

Although it's only 2kg of finest chinese foam, as already mentioned, it's a bit unwieldy on the ground but with a good chuck into the wind, it can get up high pretty quickly. These are a little low-level flight circuits I did earlier.... 

 

 

This one's from last year, from the turnigy, onboard direct onto SD card, although I do also use it for FPV as well,

 

 

As I don't like to limit one's options, I've modded the canopy to accept different cameras. Both a 1/3" Sony Super HAD 2 CCD camera, and the same again on a pan/tilt mount, sit on top of a bix 1.1 fpv tray, while the turnigy 2k action cam can slot directly into the canopy.  While there are better ways to achieve this, I simply hacked the foam out with an old stanley blade so the structure of the canopy was kept intact but I have a chunk that can be lifted out when I want to add a camera. You can see in the pic above, the tasteful use of gorilla tape (good stuff!) to hold it in when LOS'ing.

Here's the fixed FPV cam securely (hahaha) mounted with an indiscreet red velcro strap...

 

DSC_0353.jpg

 

And one with an even less-securely mounted turnigy cam...

 

DSC_0355.jpg

 

Judging by the onboard video, the turnigy cam might need a little bit more attention next time as it appears to move somewhat in flight.

 

In summary, if you want a very stable, docile plane, to float about and find some thermals, you could do worse than the BFG 2600. Due to it's size you can send it fairly high before losing sight of it. It does still get quite small, say over 1000ft, you do would need quite good eyesight. It's a very capable FPV platform with enough room for OSD and telemetry inside. I currently have battery sensor, variometer and OSD Pro stuffed into the canopy without a problem, by that I mean I don't have to force the lid shut. If it's a nice day, and you can fit it in your car, the BFG provides for a pretty chilled flight, FPV or LOS. Decals are crap though. :thumbsup:

 

 

 

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  • 4 weeks later...

Just keeping the thread alive like there's some interest in planes.....

Yesterday I decided to take the BFG for some high level flying, won't say how high just in case. It's a glider so not exactly exciting footage (I didn't even bother adding a sound sound track). If anyone wants to see Northamptonshire from a few feet up, crack on. There's also a nice shot of a wind turbine if anyone likes those:

 

 

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I know you've all been on the edge of your seats waiting for the next installment of the exciting BFG story, so here it is. Apologies if the initial sequence makes you feel slightly ill but it does get better/less. Mostly slope soaring with a bit of follow the leader behind my mate's Excalibur. For those of you interested in the views of the countryside, it's Leicestershire! You can probably see Melton Mowbray somewhere but unlikely any pies are visible.

 

 

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  • 4 weeks later...

Nice vids  SBB

 

Took my lad out with a hobbywing commander2

 

Third outing he crashed it into a forests, had to return to said forest for 3 days in a row waiting for it to drop from a pine tree!

 

I'm waiting for summer to properly kick in before getting him another!

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On 5/24/2017 at 10:04, Fly In My Soup said:

Nice vids  SBB

 

Took my lad out with a hobbywing commander2

 

Third outing he crashed it into a forests, had to return to said forest for 3 days in a row waiting for it to drop from a pine tree!

 

I'm waiting for summer to properly kick in before getting him another!

 

???? do you mean hobby zone? Can't find a hobbywing commander. Is it the v-tail one? That one gets some good reviews for being nice simple fun.

 

When will he be ready for the next step...... fpv? :D

 

Didn't see your post for a while, even I don't hang round the plane section very much! :whistling:

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Me neither.

 

Yeah hobbyzone.

 

To be fair it was a borderline POS. The wings didn't give enough lift at all.

 

Yours looked a joy to fly, responsive, great lift, may look at one of these for him this summer, where you Get yours??

 

He does have huge vintage gliders with airscrew ally props etc but it's balsa constructed and hanging from his bedroom ceiling, so that is where it will stay!!

 

He has mothered me about flying some of the aerobatic planes I've got in at the moment, but as I say they're fragile and he's no captain sully..

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Hobbyking is my go to for planes, I stick to foamies as I'm not the most careful of fliers. I don't value the building and frequently need repairs so foam is champion for me.

A bixler/skysurfer type might be a good step up from the commander. Really easy to fly, quite floaty out of the box but cut the wings and upgrade the motor and they're halfway to a speedy beast that bounces back from all but the worst crashes. Even then they can be repaired easily enough. Something like an excalibur would be the next step again, certainly faster but needs a bit more skill/speed to get the most out of it and bring it back down safely.

 

FPV is a different beast altogether, I still struggle, not sure why, but can't escape the feeling I'm going to lose the model, even using an OSD with compass.... Strange when most of mine are only 100 quid to replace, although I guess the OSD is nearer 200 itself. I wouldn't worry too much about the coastal winds, some of the smaller foamies will struggle to penetrate maybe but should be stable enough. Have a look at the phoenix 2000 or 1600. The blow molded fuse gives it a bit more chance into wind, it can fly reasonably quickly or float around depending on what you want to do.  

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  • 2 months later...

And the BFG saga continues........................

Some footage from Hornsea at the weekend. Wedding anniversary?? Yes, the perfect time to go flying my plane, then do some fishing..............

Some pretty footage of the coast but also pretty boring. You have been warned. Finishes with a nice shot of Hornsea Lakeside Lodges where we were staying. Lovely venue for anyone wanting a well spec'd lodge with fishing lake and 5 mins walk from the coast. In yorkshire tho....... :D

 

 

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  • 3 years later...

Hello! I just bought a USED BFG 1600 at local hobby store.  I need to remove the wing so that I can travel with it.  How do I remove it?  On top it has a motor tower and also a small piece of plywood.  Do I just remove the motor tower and then pull on the wooden peg with pliers?!  I don't want to break anything.  

 

Thanks!!!!

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  • 7 months later...

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