Flight Conditions : As with most winter days our flight testing day was less than ideal. It was a very cold 40 degrees with over cast skies and some light rain from time to time. There was also a strong cross wind that swept across the runway at the Lexington Model Airplane Club field. Despite the conditions the VQ Texan performed well at the hands of PJ Ash.
Overall Impressions: I was recently asked why there are no Texan's on RCWarbirds.com and the best answer I could give was because no one has sent in any pictures to post. I think that could change with VQ's version of the timeless AT-6 Texan. The overall quality, easy of construction and flawless flight performance make this a great plane at twice the price. The fact that VQ is able to delivery a plane with many of the tedious tasks already done like pre-installed control surfaces and a generally good set of mechanical retracts at $169.95 is feat in itself. The big names ARF's will have to play catch up to VQ to beat its quality to price ratio.
So if you looking for a quality inexpensive plane for that quick trip to the flying field or a full days worth of flying the VQ AT-6 delivers.
My original concerns that the ailerons were not large enough went completely out the window the moment the AT-6 took to the skies. The VQ Texan handled every aerobatic maneuver PJ throw at her with greatest of easy. Loops and rolls were very precise even in the strong wind.
The OS FX 46 engine proved to be a good match for this plane. Power on throttle was very strong which made for short quick take-offs. The large elevators and rudder again made this a very aerobatic performer.
Setting up the approach for landing the Texan handled well but as with any small plane in a strong cross wind it required PJ to use all the stick moment he had to keep the Texan tracking straight down the runway. Considering how well the Texan performed in the less than ideal weather, normal flying conditions will be a walk in the park for this plane.
Gear coming down for landing was smooth and locked in place. This of course is the case when the I finally paid attention to the instructions on servo setup.
