Exceed RC F/A-18 Electric Ducted Fan Jet

For anyone wanting to get into an affordable remote control electric jet, Exceed RC has an F/A-18 Hornet waiting for you. Sold by Nitroplanes.com, you will find three different color schemes to choose from. There is a Blue Angel, Jolly Rogers, and Red Viper DiamondBack. All three look stunning, and I'm sure you will have as hard a time deciding which one to choose as I did! For right around $180 plus shipping, you can have one at your door almost ready to fly straight from the box.

The F/A-18 comes with five servos and linkages pre-installed, as well as a powerful 70mm fan unit and motor. The 45amp electronic speed controller is also pre-installed, so there is no soldering involved. The kit includes one 4S1P, 2200mah, 20C LiPo battery, and fits perfectly under the forward half of the fuselage, and gives plenty of power to the screaming motor.

I chose the Blue Angel version. When pulled from the box, I was happy to see that the manufacturer used the right color of blue for the jet, as well as all pre-applied yellow decals in accurate detail to the real team jets. Construction was fast and easy, as I used 5-minute epoxy. It was just a matter of gluing on the wings, all tail fins, nose cone, and canopy. Control surfaces were all hinged and glued at the factory!! The landing gear is fixed, and easy to install. The main gear wheels drop down just below the fuselage, so when in flight, they are hardly noticeable. The nose wheel is a bit longer, and easier to see when flying, but you'll soon forget that it's even there. The only thing left to do was plug in the servos to the receiver provided, or into one of your own, and you're all set to fly. It's not necessary to balance the jet, as battery placement has already been done for you. My first flight surprised me with only a few clicks of aileron and elevator trim.

There are no working rudders on this jet, so be careful on breezy days. All you have for steering on the ground is the nose wheel. As the jet picks up speed, the nose gets lighter, so don't apply "up" elevator until it's ready to fly!

I had some trouble on the first taxi tests. The nose gear has two wheels attached. What I found was that the wheels can not be pressed together tightly, or you'll restrict free spinning of the wheels. If you leave them loose, they will have enough room to "fight" each-other. The right nose wheel will want to turn right, and the left wheel wants to turn left. Ground control was a bit challenging in that regard, so I removed one of the wheels. I also added some bracing on the inside-bottom of the fuselage and outside bottom for the nose wheel strut to go through. The foam itself is just too soft to handle the stresses of taxi and landing. Otherwise the strut will flop around making the taxi worse.

My first flight was fairly simple. While slowly adding power and keeping the ground track straight, the jet quickly accelerated to takeoff speed. Once airborne, it is extremely stable and easy to fly, as long as you don't mind all the speed! Low, high speed flybys are awesome, and demonstrates some good vertical rolls and loops. The F/A-18 can also fly very well at slow speed. Landings are something that needs a little getting used to. Remember to keep at least 1/4 throttle on approach, and use light touches on flares. The jet bounces easy, but are easily recovered from. Just remember that if you land a little hard, you should check the landing gear for wire bends, and be careful if you have to bend back into shape. I broke one of them at the elbow bend on the mains after about the fourth of fifth adjustment.

I have crashed it once pretty hard, leaving it in about five pieces, but that was my fault. What impressed me was the durability of the foam. I broke one wing and fuselage in half, but the breaks were so clean, I just glued them back on/together with 5 minute epoxy. I touched up the paint with some old craft paint I had laying around the house, and it's flying as good as new again!!!

I have about a dozen flights on my F/A-18 right now, and it puts a smile on my face and a little shake in my hands STILL! I know you will love this little airplane as much as I do. I only suggest you buy extra batteries, as the LiPos take some time to charge. That way you can keep right on going.

If you would like to see the little jet fly, go to Youtube.com. Search "Exceed RC F-18" and there you will find numerous videos which WILL IMPRESS YOU!

Happy flying!