Kit contents

The kit consists of pre cut balsa and ply parts to build the wing, booms and tail, vacuum formed ABS fuselage mouldings and canopy, a hardware pack containing linkages, torque rods, snake, hinges and horns etc, and a 150*110 Gunther prop, to eliminate the need for the buyer having to source these items separately. The kit also includes a full size plan and instructions comprising coloured photographs and text, covering absolutely every stage of the assembly process. Indeed all the items to complete the finished airframe are supplied in the kit apart from the motor, glue and covering materials, RC, ESC and battery etc.. We recommend the use of cyanoacrylate adhesive (super glue) throughout construction of the kit to save weight and because of its versatility, with Solarfilm and Solarlac paint, or traditional tissue, dope and spray paints being equally suitable for finishing the model.

 Included options

The kit includes all the parts required to build either a 28” or 31” wingspan model, the smaller one suiting battery packs such as 500 AR and the new 1050Kan cells, whilst the larger version (which has a 27% larger wing area than its baby brother) suits larger packs such as 800AR and 1300CP cells. I have actually flown one example powered with a 480BB motor using an eight cell pack of 1900mAh 4/5 FAUP NiMh’s which gave both excellent duration and performance, however at just two ounces short of two pounds all up weight, this really was at the limit of the design’s aerodynamics.

Construction 

The models construction is both rapid and simple and uses a solid balsa wing made up from interlocking pre cut balsa components, built up balsa booms and flat plate tail section, with the fuselage comprising vacuum formed ABS mouldings eliminating a lot of building, carving and sanding time to achieve that classic curvaceous shape. Due to its small size and low all up weight the model is surprisingly rugged, the one in the picture having been crashed vertically from about twenty feet, (albeit into quite soft earth) after radio failure, and survived with some cracks to the fuselage mouldings and a ding or two in the leading edge of the wing.

Flying

Having been designed from the start as a simple hand launched model, the Jetsmart Vampire flies away nicely from a gentle hand launch. Having gained some height, which it does rapidly, the model can be rolled or looped with ease. One favourite manoeuvre is to gain some height and then dive towards the runway, using the momentum to make a low fast pass before pulling up to complete a couple of vertical rolls. 

Versatility of design

The model is a pleasure to operate on the field as the flight battery is quickly and easily replaced by simply removing the whole of the front fuselage section to reveal two pultruded glass fibre rods, onto which the chosen battery pack is fixed with a couple of rubber bands. The chosen battery pack is then moved fore or aft to achieve the correct centre of gravity and this feature enables the Vampire to make best use of whatever battery packs you may already own.  

Speed, its all a matter of opinion, you know!

Whilst amply fast enough for most modelers using the recommended  standard speed 400 motor, speed freaks have been known to fit 400 size brushless motors giving truly ballistic performance, and whilst the airframe is well up to the job in hand, this option is really only recommended for anyone with flying skills to match.

At the other end of the speed range, the very benign stall characteristics exhibited by all ‘flat sheet wing’ designs makes the Vampire a pleasure to fly ‘low and slow’ without having to worry about her dropping a wing at an embarrassing moment which is something that aircraft with highly tapered wings and “proper” wing sections are prone to do.

Customer feedback & development 

This model has proven itself very popular all over the world, examples having been flown in Australia, Canada, America, New Zealand, much of mainland Europe and of course, Great Britain. Since its introduction three years ago, we have listened to customer feedback and have retained the things people liked about the original and eliminated anything that wasn’t as popular. Over the last three years battery technology has really improved at a staggering pace and for anyone not wishing to invest in brushless technology at this moment in time, a truly stunning performance can be achieved with ten 1050Kan cells and a standard 6.0 volt Speed 400 motor (the motor we sell for £4.50), making this a very economic ‘pocket rocket’ indeed. As well as being flown as an electric powered model, the Vampire makes an excellent slope soarer (as does our Vulcan). We recommend that for extra durability, in what can be a pretty tough environment for a model aircraft, the Power Scale Soarer (PSS) version should have some polyurethane foam, (available from your local DIY store) squirted into the nose area of the model for extra strength, all of the mouldings also being permanently glued to the wing. Alternatively you could fly the powered version off the slope, and use the power of the motor to get you out of trouble, should you fly into an area of poor lift !!