Pilot-1 Champ 1/8 Scale ARF RC Airplane

I finally got a successful flight with this plane. The first two times I tried it I was riunning on a cheap ESC that made it underpowered. I fixed it, and even after having two hard nose crashes, I rebuilt the plane and flew it. Perfect. Pulled about 14amps with the eRC 480 motor on a 9x6 prop as recommended. I would suggest a slightly bigger prop though. Great first aileron plane, used a DX5e, so no fancy settings, and it flew great. Good job Hobby-Lobby.

Finally! Somebody decided to make a good-looking Champ model! Thank you Hobby-Lobby for introducing the Pilot-1 line with the 1/8 Scale Champ.

The Pilot-1 Champ 1/8 Scale ARF is a fine example of how ARF kits should be made. There is very little assembly to be done and all of the hard work has been done for you. The quality of this kit is just amazing. The covering is great and the airframe parts are pretty true-to-scale. You'll be impressed as soon as you open the box. The instruction manual is top-notch and very detailed.

Assembly of the plane is pretty straight-forward. Mine was equipped with the recommended power setup. Be sure you pay attention to the manual and program in some aileron differential. You may have to add a little weight to the nose to get it to balance.

Flying the Champ surprised me a little. I expected it to be a little more on the slow-flyer side, but this Champ likes to move along pretty good. If you get slow, it has a tendency to tip-stall (not unlike other planes of this size/weight) so be careful. Once you get the hang of it, landings are not a problem and can be greased whenever you want. The Champ looks great in the air just cruising around the field.

Based on my experience with the Champ, here's a few tips:
1. Be sure to use aileron differential.
2. Go easy on rudder inputs as the rudder is VERY effective. Recommend a aileron/rudder mix.
3. You may need to adjust your CG forward a bit from the recommended CG in the manual.
4. Keep your speed up on landing approaches until you get the hang of it.

One other thing...Hobby-Lobby carries spare landing gear and cowlings. Those are the two parts that seem to take the most abuse on rough landings.