The DH Vampire is a truly loved aircraft here in South Africa, the Vamp served in SAAF for many years and we still have the famous silver and dayglow birds gracing our skies at airshows or museum flying days. At startup the goblin motor would melt the tar!! Quite a fast jet for it's day and gives a superb display. As always a great vid, and a great review of a superb model. Mine's in the post!
I am going to order 3-4 of these, I have a story about these jets. Originally, my dad flew them in the RAF back in the 60's (yes, they were still in use) and at the time, the RAF were trying to decomisson all of them. At this time, my Grandfather stepped in, and purchased 3 of them. They are all still in my families ownership, and we currently have 2 flying. They are great aircraft, and I love them!
Haven't watched this in quite a long time. Just saw it on Hobbyking and thought it might be a nice EDF to try out (my first EDF) and clicked on the "Watch the video" link and came to this old video when Flite Test was sponsored by HK. I really like the old videos. Fun watching them.
The Vampire was the first aircraft I served with in the RAF. 1962. It was getting on by then but used as an ab initio trainer. I am getting on a bit now too !
I bought this EDf after seeing you review... Vampire arrived OK no damage.. Easy to put together,swapped out stock ESC for a Turnigy Plush 60amp ESC , fitted 6mm carbon fiber rods into the tail booms,Balanced Fan(a must) using a 2650mAh 4cell 40c Li-Po (320g) CG on the squares in front of the boom 65mm,,still to maiden. For more info on the DuraFly Vampire check out RCGroup forum Vampire thread.
Got the limited edition. Quick sum up, its a cheap edf, servos and speed controller suspect, flight time on stock 4s 2200mah 4 minutes max. To make it a really nice model, strengthen tail booms with carbon, change speed controller and fit quality servos. Love flying mine .
Very nice guys, just a suggestion you could have 2 new plane ( one for each josh) and a quad or tri for David each week so everyone is doing something. Love the show
Hey Guys, Great stuff. BUT.......I'm a nitro flyer and builder. Got my first C/L plane back in 1959. Started with Plastic then to Balsa Flat wing then to build up real airfoils. 1/2a to start with, .049's the to bigger ships with ,35-.40 engines. In 1976 got my first 5 channel radio and have been flying radio ever since. Winter time here in Michigan, I build, summertime is for flying, and I teach others to fly these things. Flying R/C with Nitro engines just adds another part to the Model Airplane Hobby. I build with balsa, monocoat for covering. 4-5 channels. As a suggestion......Go pick-up a 40 sized High Wing RTF Training Airplane, put an engine and radio in it , then go fly it. Film it all, of course, it would be an interesting shoot. The biggest thing about Nitroplanes is Flight time, 20-30 minute flight times pretty normal with throttle control versa 6-8 minutes for the electrics. Another thing is size, 60 inch Wingspan Trainer Planes, easier to see well. 1/2 throw on the controls, 70% power, properly trimmed and balanced, the bigger planes fly very smoothly. Crank Up the controls to as much as you can get, add a bit more power and the plane can be more acrobatic than most pilots skills allow. Put a .049 on one of your folding planes with 2 channels, you'll see what I mean.
Nice :) Ive been waiting for this episode since the last one!! :D Good job with flite test! love it, keep it up boys! :D Question, why isnt david in the show? :)
I have been waiting a long time for a decent foamie version of the vampire, from all my research there isnt too many foam ones ever made ... theres a few fiberglass ones and some balsa kits. I had to settle for making one out of depron ... but found the scale sized ailerons were too small and it wasnt so nice at a slow pace. Cant wait to get my hands on this one .... i have ben thinking about getting an edf for a while .,... now i can buy one!!! Just AWESOME!! Just wish it was on the HK site
Cool channel guys-duration of flight is one topic I hardly ever hear about on your videos.It seems,if you are using a stock set up and the suggested battery,an estimated flight time(or an average)would be a good thing to mention-just a thought.I know there are lots of variables to consider,but a ballpark figure would be better than nothing...
I contacted hobbyking and they said this had been discontinued. However this video has been uploaded since I contacted them. It looks beautiful, can I get one or not?
Josh, was the plane more twitchy in pitch under power because you are blasting the control surface at the rear with the fan which should give you more authority under power... which then in turn becomes less pitchy in glide or with less power applied... cool looking plane though, might get the kit and play with some different power! ;-)
Hi Josh, I am getting this vampire and i have only been flying 4 months or so...i want to install a 401 gyro for ailerons... do you think this will help take offs and landings? thanks
Hi! I just got this plane. On the the box it is rated for a 2200 mah 25c battery. I went ahead and got a 2650mah 30c.. but elsewhere on youtube, people say to use at least a 3000 mah because anything less would be too light and decrease flight time. What kind of battery did you guys use on this flight? Thanks! Great video.
david, a little history, there are three vampires flying today, one is owned by a rich guy in England, huge house , own runway, another is in the U.S.A. he flies it in the Reno air raises, has won twice, and the last is your country.
Is it good as first edf? I want a big thing that is stabel in the air, it blows much in my field and i have a good experience of motor gliders... So what do you think... God as first edf?
BS, is a cow of a jet, retracts suck, edf sucks the wires as there is no foam wall to protect them, tail booms have no reinforcement and snap. FT spam video advertising.
The USA first shunned jet engines thinking they weren't up to snuff with the regular engines everyone used. Germany was the first country to attempt mass production of jets during ww2, lack of the proper materials meant the engines were big heavy things that made little power and only lasted a few flights if you were lucky.
Yep. Me-262 engines had an expected service lifetime of just 26 hours! It took unskilled labor over 9 hours to replace one as well, and of course they were big, complicated, resource and labor intensive things to make. Their performance was unmatched at the time (the 262's axial turbine design outperformed the Meteor's radial design) but "expensive", "complex", and "short-lived" were not good adjectives for the resource-starved Reich of the late war.
Take a Radian with a Spektrum DX6i, imho one of the Best Beginner Plane and a good and not toooo expensive Remote. Check FT Video of the Radian and Radian PRO
What do you guys know about Openareo firmware to flash kk board designed for quads...it makes it a full function 3 axis gyro for planes...I personally would have ordered a kk board but could not find a video i could understand that explains in detail how...I bet you guys could make a video a novice would understand..this unit worked perfect..makes any plane crash proof..unless of coarse u hit a wall or something...
I've been flying RC helicopters and multi copters for a few years now and I can easily control one. Will this be a good 2nd plane? I had a £20 Flapless twin rotor air hogs jet set before but its really hard to fly because the propellors change speeds to turn.
+Cousins Nerfworld I wouldnt recommend one of these as a second plane i had one of those air hogs jets and it is completely different to a good edf jet. If you really want to get into rc plane flying then have a look at the fms super ez trainer or something similar first and then maybe progress onto this.
Stupid noob question: if EDF's are as underpowered as this video led me to believe, is it worth the time to take two or more EDF's and line them up fore and aft like the compressor sets in a turbojet engine?
IMO - the air blast from the exhaust of the first fan will just create more high speed drag for the intake of the second fan intake. Plus your talking a higher cell battery which will add more the overall weight and cut down on efficiency. EDFS don't compress air as much they accelerate it. Would make no sense for high compression anyways unless you're going to add fuel and spark for combustion like in a turbine. Best thing to do is just upgrade the fan and motor .
O. M. Q. (oh my quack) my grandpa flew the real vampire. looks like "he" might be getting a nice christmas present this year. (note air quotes around "he")
Josh S.: "Why are your fish red?"
David: "Shut up."
One of my favorite flite test moments.
Red herrings
Cool
i realize it is kinda off topic but do anyone know a good place to stream newly released tv shows online?
@Robert Royal i would suggest flixzone. You can find it on google :)
The DH Vampire is a truly loved aircraft here in South Africa, the Vamp served in SAAF for many years and we still have the famous silver and dayglow birds gracing our skies at airshows or museum flying days. At startup the goblin motor would melt the tar!! Quite a fast jet for it's day and gives a superb display. As always a great vid, and a great review of a superb model. Mine's in the post!
I Love Josh Bixler's Facial Expresions when talking about FLYING !!!
I am going to order 3-4 of these, I have a story about these jets.
Originally, my dad flew them in the RAF back in the 60's (yes, they were still in use) and at the time, the RAF were trying to decomisson all of them. At this time, my Grandfather stepped in, and purchased 3 of them. They are all still in my families ownership, and we currently have 2 flying.
They are great aircraft, and I love them!
Haven't watched this in quite a long time. Just saw it on Hobbyking and thought it might be a nice EDF to try out (my first EDF) and clicked on the "Watch the video" link and came to this old video when Flite Test was sponsored by HK. I really like the old videos. Fun watching them.
Ya, so are we. No more sponsors :)
Please make a scratch build of this and/or a bf-109
Happy to see flite test is getting back to flite testing. I love to experimenting too, but it is good to have a mix.
The Vampire was the first aircraft I served with in the RAF. 1962. It was getting on by then but used as an ab initio trainer. I am getting on a bit now too !
Looks sweet! And that landing gear rocks. Never flown an EDF but this looks like a fun and easy way to transition into it.
I bought this EDf after seeing you review... Vampire arrived OK no damage.. Easy to put together,swapped out stock ESC for a Turnigy Plush 60amp ESC , fitted 6mm carbon fiber rods into the tail booms,Balanced Fan(a must) using a 2650mAh 4cell 40c Li-Po (320g) CG on the squares in front of the boom 65mm,,still to maiden.
For more info on the DuraFly Vampire check out RCGroup forum Vampire thread.
Nice and subtle sneak peak of the P47 Hun Hunter!
Everyone on Flute Test is different! !
VERY AWESOME!!
Got the limited edition. Quick sum up, its a cheap edf, servos and speed controller suspect, flight time on stock 4s 2200mah 4 minutes max.
To make it a really nice model, strengthen tail booms with carbon, change speed controller and fit quality servos.
Love flying mine .
Nice works boys & beautiful plane. You guys sold me. I ordered from HK last week and I'm stinging to fly it.
Very nice guys, just a suggestion you could have 2 new plane ( one for each josh) and a quad or tri for David each week so everyone is doing something. Love the show
Josh- "Why are your fish red then?"
David- "Shut up!"
Lol I love Swedish Fish :) Nice vid FT!
Hey Guys, Great stuff. BUT.......I'm a nitro flyer and builder. Got my first C/L plane back in 1959. Started with Plastic then to Balsa Flat wing then to build up real airfoils. 1/2a to start with, .049's the to bigger ships with ,35-.40 engines. In 1976 got my first 5 channel radio and have been flying radio ever since. Winter time here in Michigan, I build, summertime is for flying, and I teach others to fly these things.
Flying R/C with Nitro engines just adds another part to the Model Airplane Hobby. I build with balsa, monocoat for covering. 4-5 channels.
As a suggestion......Go pick-up a 40 sized High Wing RTF Training Airplane, put an engine and radio in it , then go fly it. Film it all, of course, it would be an interesting shoot.
The biggest thing about Nitroplanes is Flight time, 20-30 minute flight times pretty normal with throttle control versa 6-8 minutes for the electrics. Another thing is size, 60 inch Wingspan Trainer Planes, easier to see well. 1/2 throw on the controls, 70% power, properly trimmed and balanced, the bigger planes fly very smoothly. Crank Up the controls to as much as you can get, add a bit more power and the plane can be more acrobatic than most pilots skills allow.
Put a .049 on one of your folding planes with 2 channels, you'll see what I mean.
I'm with David! Make it a J28 (as it was called in Sweden) Green on top, blu/gray on the bottom and the three crowns! :)
beautiful landing by the way josh. very nice
Nice :)
Ive been waiting for this episode since the last one!! :D
Good job with flite test! love it, keep it up boys! :D
Question, why isnt david in the show? :)
I really enjoy your channel. Keep um coming! Oh and I'd like to see comparisons on Futaba and Spektrum receiver.
I have been waiting a long time for a decent foamie version of the vampire, from all my research there isnt too many foam ones ever made ... theres a few fiberglass ones and some balsa kits.
I had to settle for making one out of depron ... but found the scale sized ailerons were too small and it wasnt so nice at a slow pace.
Cant wait to get my hands on this one .... i have ben thinking about getting an edf for a while .,... now i can buy one!!! Just AWESOME!! Just wish it was on the HK site
Cool channel guys-duration of flight is one topic I hardly ever hear about on your videos.It seems,if you are using a stock set up and the suggested battery,an estimated flight time(or an average)would be a good thing to mention-just a thought.I know there are lots of variables to consider,but a ballpark figure would be better than nothing...
great little jet guys . can you go a video on how to put the 2 batteries together and make a 4 cell
that sounds great, a lot of smaller edf's are too high pitched and whiney, but thats a really nice tone
Nice review guys
Thanks so much for your epic rc content
you guys are my favourite you tubers
and if you crash, you can use the main part as a hairdryer, so it means 2 in 1 , a plane and a hairdryer
hey Flite Test can u tell Santa get me one of these please? iv been a really good boy. keep up the great work guys
Great sound for an EDF
awesome video. keep up the good work.
I contacted hobbyking and they said this had been discontinued. However this video has been uploaded since I contacted them.
It looks beautiful, can I get one or not?
Wow that was one beautiful plane. I´d really like to see that one in swedish colors.
That would have been really awsome. :)
Someone at my club built his own Vampire EDF. Out of good old Balsa... I miss the old days... :'(
Josh, was the plane more twitchy in pitch under power because you are blasting the control surface at the rear with the fan which should give you more authority under power... which then in turn becomes less pitchy in glide or with less power applied... cool looking plane though, might get the kit and play with some different power! ;-)
these guys are so professional unlike that alishamhow or what ever these guys are cool thumbs up
awesome landing!
Hi Josh, I am getting this vampire and i have only been flying 4 months or so...i want to install a 401 gyro for ailerons... do you think this will help take offs and landings? thanks
Hi! I just got this plane. On the the box it is rated for a 2200 mah 25c battery. I went ahead and got a 2650mah 30c.. but elsewhere on youtube, people say to use at least a 3000 mah because anything less would be too light and decrease flight time. What kind of battery did you guys use on this flight? Thanks! Great video.
sirlordwhitman The battery you have is ok, but if you want to fly longer use a 3000 mah battery
Hey, to land do you cut throttle and simply glide in?
where did you get the retracts ? Im thinking about buying one of these and i cant find any affordable retracts
Bix: "I want to go fly it badly." lol
EDF tri/quad/hex/oct copter???
that would be legit haha
how much time can you keep it in the air with the stock battery and how far can you fly it?
Hallo is this the standart setup from Hobbyking or have you change something?
can you guys make a swapable Handley Page Hampden mk 1
david, a little history, there are three vampires flying today, one is owned by a rich guy in England, huge house , own runway, another is in the U.S.A. he flies it in the Reno air raises, has won twice, and the last is your country.
I think this'll be my first EDF
its been 8 years, was it actually your first EDF.
Is it good as first edf? I want a big thing that is stabel in the air, it blows much in my field and i have a good experience of motor gliders... So what do you think... God as first edf?
64mm or 70mm??? also she did seem touchy on the throws, maybe they were a little high???
When I watch these two I think of the movie Road Warrior.
You know, with the crazy motorcycle guy and his "woman" riding on the back.
It looks tailheavy!
BS, is a cow of a jet, retracts suck, edf sucks the wires as there is no foam wall to protect them, tail booms have no reinforcement and snap.
FT spam video advertising.
@123Dyln Watch our "Expos" video :)
WTF was that loop, lolz!
Good job Josh Josh David
Roughly, expo sets the "softness" or "chrispness" of the aircrafts response to contol inputs.
Is it difficult to control for someone without much experience?
The USA first shunned jet engines thinking they weren't up to snuff with the regular engines everyone used. Germany was the first country to attempt mass production of jets during ww2, lack of the proper materials meant the engines were big heavy things that made little power and only lasted a few flights if you were lucky.
Your wrong a British scientist made a jet engine and the raf didn't see a need for them not the yanks.
I did not mention who made them first. I know it was the British that tried to sell them to the USA. Germany was first to mass produce them.
Yep. Me-262 engines had an expected service lifetime of just 26 hours! It took unskilled labor over 9 hours to replace one as well, and of course they were big, complicated, resource and labor intensive things to make. Their performance was unmatched at the time (the 262's axial turbine design outperformed the Meteor's radial design) but "expensive", "complex", and "short-lived" were not good adjectives for the resource-starved Reich of the late war.
Take a Radian with a Spektrum DX6i, imho one of the Best Beginner Plane and a good and not toooo expensive Remote. Check FT Video of the Radian and Radian PRO
hello!!
When do they have this in stock.....don`t want to wait :-)
//Andreas
Hi flite test, I'm going to buy an RC plane for the first time. Do you have any suggestions for a trainer plane? Please reply and thanks in advance.
Would you ever do an ic engine aka.petrol engine plane
What do you guys know about Openareo firmware to flash kk board designed for quads...it makes it a full function 3 axis gyro for planes...I personally would have ordered a kk board but could not find a video i could understand that explains in detail how...I bet you guys could make a video a novice would understand..this unit worked perfect..makes any plane crash proof..unless of coarse u hit a wall or something...
@123Dyln It's where everybody gets together to check out all of the cool new RC stuff. I can't wait to get to the EXPOS.....lol
I would like to see you guys do the wing wing z84 from hobby king. Would really appreciate it.
I've been flying RC helicopters and multi copters for a few years now and I can easily control one. Will this be a good 2nd plane? I had a £20 Flapless twin rotor air hogs jet set before but its really hard to fly because the propellors change speeds to turn.
+Cousins Nerfworld I wouldnt recommend one of these as a second plane i had one of those air hogs jets and it is completely different to a good edf jet. If you really want to get into rc plane flying then have a look at the fms super ez trainer or something similar first and then maybe progress onto this.
Ok, thanks!
Get a UMX champ man best plane I've ever owned. Now I fly a large variety of planes. Great trainer, and you can fly it just about anywhere
:D
+Cousins Nerfworld No, do not get this as your first hobby grade rc plane. I would recommend the hobbyzone champ or the umx radian from horizon.
I got the kit but I am not sure if I can fly it with a 3 cell, how did you set up the 2 2 cells in there parallel or series? please reply. thanks
look for the series Y connector on ebay.. that will fit your type connector. Its pretty easy and self explanatory from there.
Can you review Giant scale planes?
I LOVE THE SHOW ANYWAY!!!!!!!
Is there a link to order?
Stupid noob question: if EDF's are as underpowered as this video led me to believe, is it worth the time to take two or more EDF's and line them up fore and aft like the compressor sets in a turbojet engine?
IMO - the air blast from the exhaust of the first fan will just create more high speed drag for the intake of the second fan intake. Plus your talking a higher cell battery which will add more the overall weight and cut down on efficiency. EDFS don't compress air as much they accelerate it. Would make no sense for high compression anyways unless you're going to add fuel and spark for combustion like in a turbine. Best thing to do is just upgrade the fan and motor .
hey do a review on the hobbyking stinger 64
HK marketed a limited edition of this Vampire...anyone know if it's any different tan this one (carbon fiber, etc)?
can you do a video on EPO sr-71, so many people say they dont fly, but i doubt this otherwise why would hobbyKing sell them so please.
since the full-scale f-18 has 2 motors, they should build an f-18 with two EDF motors in it.
But what has this video to do with the f-18?
GREAT!!!!
Hahaha. Even the way david says, "shutup" is funny!
how long does it fly
I am a big fan of ul.... Ur show thought me a lot Thanku very much
I would like to see ul build a tailspin model.
this aircraft was the first successful single engine jet to enter millatry service in the world
What happend to the DX8
Nice!!
@flitetest how much and when?
this is a EDV(Electric Duct Vampire)
I don't like vampires, but i like zombies. Is there a flying zombie you could review?
Nice, Looks awesome :-)
hey guys what do you think about fpving this thing out?
Yah, Swedish Cult airplane!!!! Weee!
@weebaldman OUTRIGHT LIE! Its live in their store. This was even tweeted recently, before release. I know because I've been waiting for it.
Can someone please tell me what expo means? I know it's short for exponential.
why dont u guys build a rc model runway?
looks like the afterburner vamp.
O.
M.
Q.
(oh my quack)
my grandpa flew the real vampire. looks like "he" might be getting a nice christmas present this year. (note air quotes around "he")
Can you make a supersonic RC aircraft.
i orderd one and when i put the riciver in there was some thing that looked like a mini speed controller any ideas anyone
Not right now.
i think "shut up" is the only "mean" thing we have ever heard david say.
why is it unlisted?
please put effort jet in this one too
64 or 70 mm????
flight test should make an edf like if you agree maby a saber or ho229