A package has arrived...

[TX-Deck]

and is currently under tight security...



TX-Deck out.

[TX-EcoDragon]

From Fusco??Boy. . .post that at RCU and see how all those naysayers feel now!  lolsay. . .are you gonna open that or is it just going to be used as the worlds most expensive nose rest???S!TX-EcoDragonBlack 1TX Squadron XO

[TX-Deck]

For the moment, they can still say "nay" for now.   Alas, this is only the 1/5 scale Long-Ez, not the coveted 1/3 scale Berkut that everyone is raising a stink about.I did, however, get my "title" for the Berkut, and to my surprise I was not stuck at the end of the line.   For fear that someone may track me down and beat me to a pulp, I'm not going to say what serial number I got!For those here who would like some history:I had planned on building the Long-Ez from scratch, as I missed the 2 for 1 deal offered by Fusco Aircraft back in December of last year.   I was a gnat hair away from firing up the wire foam-cutter and cutting some foam wing cores to begin the construction process.   That is when this happened:http://www.rcuniverse.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=89091&pagenumber=1&forumid=It is a long read, but it will explain the minor significance of my post above.  Notice how the thread started back in December?TX-Deck out.

[TX-FlightRisk]

Sum it up in one word. Awesome!!!S~TX-FlightRisk Black 3

[Shadow]

S~ Deck !!!Man.. I wish I lived around the corner from you or something. I'd love to be in on that process. I miss building and flying r/c. That looks like an awesome craft to have for sure. Congrats !   What motor are you puttin in it ?Shadow

[TX-Bomblast]

That's one big pusher R/C plane, how much will it weigh? Will it have retracts?TX-BomblastRed 2

[TX-Deck]

Answers to the questions so far...I have an O.S. .61 that I'm going to slap on the back of it, and watch it quickly rocket over the horizon.  Probably too much engine for this 1/5 scale aircraft, but you make do with what you have.  I guess if I had too much engine on a CAP or EXTRA, unlimited vertical is a good thing, but seeing as how hovering is impossible with a canard configuration, I will just haul butt around the aerodrome.Here's the specs of the manf. website.   Keep in mind this is the "small" one, the 1/3 scale comes a few weeks from now.   Whooooo Hoooooo!!!!I will probably skip the retracts on this model, and wait to rig up the Berkut with them.SCALE 1/5 WINGSPAN 62.6 inches CANARD SPAN (FRONT WING) 29.6 inches TOTAL WING AREA 630 sq inches OVERALL LENGTH 40 inches WEIGHT 6-7 lbs WING LOADING 24 oz./ sq.ft ENGINE .40 - .45 WING CONSTRUCTION foam core, balsa sheeted FUSELAGE CONSTRUCTION balsa, plywood and fiberglass RADIO 4-5 channel TX-Deck out.

[TX-EcoDragon]

The Long-EZ has a sort of variant retractable configuration.  The main gear are fixed under the main (rearward) wing, while the nose gear is retractable. In fact, this retractable nose gear is a mandatory Item on the full scale aircraft because it can not balance nose heavy enough without a Pilot onboard to keep it from tipping onto the prop in the event of  wind, it also makes boarding a bit easier so the plane is parked with the gear retracted and with the nose of the aircraft on the ground as seen here:and here is the way they look in flight:The berkut is a very similar airframe, with just a very few SLIGHT mods, the only real difference is that it has a fully retractable gear all the way around, as seen here:For those who are wondering about the canard planform design intent(what some people call a tail first airplane) ask me on coms. . .but the short answer is that the in conventional aircraft the wing that supplies most of the lift is also the wing that stalls, in the case of the Long-EZ the main wing CAN NOT BE STALLED, the critical angle of atack of the main wing is greater than that of teh canard surface, which is the means by which the airplane changes its angle of attack. . .if the surface that would be used to increase the angle of atttack of the main wings stalls before this poin is reached the main wing can not be stall by pilot induced stick pressures. . .so in effect its something of a safety measure. I still sorta think its really all about the looks. . . .nobody can deny that this is a sleek bird, and from the cockpit you almost think your in  an F-16, great vis, a sleek nose. . . bring on the bandits!S!TX-EcoDragonBlack 1TX Squadron XO

[LW_Tornado]

Can you show a pic of the Rutan pusher as well, whats the diff./similarity between Burt's design and this, or is that Rutans plane , the EZ, lol ?S~TX-Tornado

[TX-EcoDragon]

This is the  rutan design, Burt Rutan did two models, first the Vari-Eze, and then the Long-EZ. The Berkut is a modification to his design to allow the retactable main gearS!TX-EcoDragonBlack 1TX Squadron XO

[TX-Deck]

Val'a Fusco (the maker of the kits) is due for a meeting with the Robart company very soon in order to discuss some custom built retracts especially for the Long-Ez and Berkut kits.   The last shipping delay was finally overcome when they decided to scratch the included retracts for now and start shipping the kits out the door.   Seems there were many problems with angles, steering and such.   On the full-scale Berkut, the nose gear is simply a caster that the pilot has no control over, and steering is accomplished via individual brakes on the rear wheels.   Unfortunately, this is next to impossible on an RC aircraft, although in the back of my mind it has become an informal goal.   Hmmmmm, miniature disc brakes for the RC aircraft world.. I may be on to something.  (doubt it, they already have them for the RC car market)TX-Deck out.

[TX-Deck]

I have just been alerted within the RCUniverse.com forum's that this thread is being viewed by people who have ran general internet searches on "Fusco", "Val'a Fusco","Berkut" etc....Therefore I feel the need to update the situation.Construction goes very slow on my 1/5 scale Long-Ez.  Time is at a premium this summer so it seems.   I do have a few pictures of the construction, and I'll post those in another project thread when time allots.As of this date, 7/28/2003, I have not received the 1/3 scale Berkut from FuscoAircraft.com.  I purchased the two-for-one deal back on 5/11/2003.  Similar deals offered on eBay and the Fuscoaircraft.com website displayed a 60 working day time-frame for delivery, and this deadline has not yet passed.  For those of you who purchased your 1/3 scale Berkut back in December and have not received it yet, I have no answers for you, but rather suggest you contact Val'a Fusco himself and talk to him about it.He can be reached at 1-800-492-3551.TX-Deck out.

[TX-Deck]

Ok gents, time for another update, and probably the last one for this thread.   I'll open a "TX-Deck's 1/5 Scale Long-EZ Project" thread sometime in the near future.It has been over a month since anyone has seen or heard from Val'a Fusco.  Supposedly he has sold the company, and vanished into thin air.  The new company has no plans to honor current orders for the 1/3 scale Berkut.   This prompted me to finally contact my credit card company late last week and request a full refund.   Today, I checked my account online and noticed this in the recent activity screen:10/7/2003  ITEM IN DISPUTE ADJUSTMENT  ($629.98)  10/7/2003  ADJ- PURCHASE FINANCE CHARGE  ($69.79)  SOOOOOOOOooooooo......I'm free and clear, and washing my hands of this foul Fusco Fiasco.   But as an added bonus, I still have the original 1/5 scale Long-Ez which was shipped to me as a "promotional" item, and the box is shown in the first post of this thread.    I originally set out to either scratch-build one of these, or find a cheap kit somewhere if the scratch effort failed.   So here I am, kit under way, and it didn't cost me a penny.     Pretty cool how things work out sometimes, and this helps to take a bigtime edge off the bill for my new PC just recently built.Look for pics of the 1/5 scale kit to be posted soon, probably within the next couple of weeks when construction picks back up on it.TX-Deck out.

[TX-EcoDragon]

Wow. . . free huh. . .sweet!Too bad about Fusco. . . we need people making kits like these.It seems that most of the real amazing scale makers always go under. . . Byron Originals used to be all over the place with awesome aircraft. . .now I never see them, even though they were picked up by another owner, the market seems to have shifted towards ARF 3D machines. ( I am guilty of participating in this arena).Yellow Aircraft still look pretty scale, and fly fairly scale like as well.S!TX-EcoDragonBlack 1TX Squadron XO