Ultra 3D uses 6mm EPP foam and is a toughened-up version of Flying Wings' Ultra.This is my first 3D style plane and a great introduction to that discipline. It's easy to build, light but tough – like all Flying Wings products – and I love the fact that even in the basic kit, all the carbon reinforcement, pushrods, small wood parts and pre-bent wire is included, at under twenty quid you can't go wrong.
All the bits line up reasonably well and UHU Por is ideal as the main adhesive; I find my glue gun tends to melt a bit too much of the foam, but I used it for installing the servos.
I fitted a 2212/10 BRC brushless motor I had, salvaged from a previous project, a cheap 20amp ESC and an APC Slow-Fly 9 x 4.7 prop An 800mAh 3S LoongMax battery provides flight times of around ten minutes with a judicious mix of fast and slow flight. It needed a little tail weight to balance, as the motor is quite large, but the result is a slow flying aerobat with more than adequate power.
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The model flew beautifully from the off, and a bit of trimming later (I probably didn't build in quite enough downthrust) had it doing pretty much anything I wanted. I'm not an expert 3D flier, obviously, but this is a great model to get me started in that direction.
DATAFILE
Name: Ultra 3D
Model type: EPP foam shock flyer/aerobat
Available from: Flying Wings
RRP: £19.95
Wingspan: 32" (812mm)
Power system used: see review
