36" HobbyKing Flowmaster C1 cat came today...

[lt130th]

First - I discovered I'm all out of 5.5mm bullets so I can't even run this thing until I order more. Pulled it out of the box this evening and the color definitely caught my attention. I was expecting a darker red and white, but this is more of a pastel/neon light red/orange. Not quite pink, but it's noticeable. Still looks neat. My 9-year-old niece will be piloting it, mostly, so she'll really like the color, and I'll leave it at that hahaha. I pulled a water jacket off and there is not a single number or name on those little cans. Over on RCGroups.com an Aussie member was able to get one of these into the mid-high 40mph range on the included nylon 3-blades...which are crap. As expected (like most of these RTR hulls) the fiberglass layup is not extremely rigid. It would be suicide to drop in 4082's without a carbon inlay, new stuffing tubes, etc. But there's plenty of room inside for later upgrades and using Jeff Wohlt's .078 wiredrive with the 4mm-3/16" step-up stub shaft, the rinky-dink stingers can stay. The one thing I like most, since pulling this hull out of the box, is the hatch. It came with a nice foam seal and six really strong magnets set into a birch-ply subframe. Feels like the fiberglass hatch will crack trying to pry the lid up. I don't think any modifications to the hatch are necessary, That sucker is on there snug with those magnets. I bet the hull would crack in a flip, before the canopy came off. Anyway, the ride pads seem fairly uniform/straight. The rudder is pretty beefy, although it's only held on with two screws threaded into a glob of epoxy on the interior wall of the transom extension. But that's hard to see because of this odd recess that rises up from the hull floor and eclipses the transom from the inside. Anyone have a guess what that is about? Lazy design?

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[lt130th]

Batan S1213 servo? Never heard of it. They could have at least thrown a Blue Bird in there.

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[lt130th]

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[Hi8iS]

Will definitely be following your thread & curious to see what upgrades you do.

[lt130th]

May not be upgrading this one for a while. I bought it specifically to go along with another hull I have for the kids to run, as-is, at the lakes. 40mph will be plenty for them, and I don't want to lose a lot if they send one to the bottom. If I were to attempt a build with this hull, the first thing I would do is lay-up carbon fiber in as much of the hull as I could reach & fill the canopy with foam. I'd fill the transom with epoxy & swap out the rudder with something else...maybe put pickups in the floor of the rear ride-pads. Then I would probably only do small leopard inrunners & something like your 120A ESC's for 4s. That's about it. Not sure that I would ever try to make this hull do SAW runs. I think it would be best for mild sport running. But, of course, nothing is holding anyone back from modifying any hull to their wildest imaginings.

[boilo56]

I will follow this thread, i'm getting one of those next week!

[lt130th]

There is more discussion on this hull in this thread: http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2418315

A member on RCGroups.com, JE5TER, posted this video of his first run with all the stock gear, 3s per ESC & the included 36mm 3-blade props (I believe). They adjusted the struts & got mid 40mph's I think...which is what I expected. Details are in the above thread.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hdC_IGc_iag&feature=youtube_gdata_player

My 5.5mm bullet supply & a pair of 40mm carbon props will arrive Monday, so I'll actually get this one in the water next week.

[lt130th]

I made a rookie mistake tonight. Went to the water with no retrieval plan. My rudder rate was set way too high and I couldn't get it trimmed out to run straight before I flipped it. Waited around to see how fast it was drifting, but it was stalled out in the middle so I had to go buy a fishing rod and some tennis balls (was too far from home) and go fishing for it. Happy to report that it was upside down for close to 30 minutes and had no water inside the hull. I really like this hatch. The foam is effective and those magnets are strong. No hatch bolts or tape needed.

Anyway, I never even got to open up the throttle so I don't have any results to share. Just venting about being a dummy thinking, "I'll go easy...it won't flip."

[Pedro Ramos]

good to hear,i like the hull, any videos?

[lt130th]

I didn't take any video. Tonight was the first time I got this hull wet. There is a short video of one on the second page of the link I posted above. That was the maiden run for that member before any scrutinous stinger adjustments, & he was running on the included 36mm props. I was running the 36's tonight & the thing was trying to jump out of the water. No soft start in the default ESC program, I guess. I was going to go ahead & bump up to 40mm 2-blades, but now I don't know. I'll see once I get to full throttle & get an idea of how stable this thing will be.

[Hi8iS]

Mine is due to arrive today! Can't wait to get home from work & take a look at her! I'm still waiting on a battery order before I will be able to take her for a spin. Just curious were you running on 3s for your maiden run?

[lt130th]

...were you running on 3s for your maiden run?

Yes. I haven't researched it in detail, but these ESC's might only do 3s packs. The instructions say 3s...not 2s-3s, and they read as if the LVC Is unchangeable at 9v.

[Hi8iS]

I didn't take any video. Tonight was the first time I got this hull wet. There is a short video of one on the second page of the link I posted above. That was the maiden run for that member before any scrutinous stinger adjustments, & he was running on the included 36mm props. I was running the 36's tonight & the thing was trying to jump out of the water. No soft start in the default ESC program, I guess. I was going to go ahead & bump up to 40mm 2-blades, but now I don't know. I'll see once I get to full throttle & get an idea of how stable this thing will be.

This happens to me all the time. I end up on my lid & have to go for a swim. I guess jumping in was not a viable option for you. I'm lucky to have several lakes & private beaches I can run at. My favorite spot is only 5' deep 100 yards out from the shore so getting the boat back is pretty easy.

[Hi8iS]

Well my Flowmaster arrived today. I must say I am really impressed. Your right the color is not red as it appears on the HK sight. I would say it's more of a fluorescent orange. I actually really like it. I would have to say that the hull is relatively thick. Definitely thicker than my 55" Venom Segad hull & also thicker than my buddies 34" KOS. Just waiting on a battery to arrive so I can take her for a run!

[lt130th]

I just pulled this one out of the water after the first good test session. All electronics were barely warm. 5.5mm bullets were the warmest, but not too hot to hold. It ran fairly well with all the stock gear & included 36mm 3-blade props. Was stable & turned well. Seems like one motor is getting more throttle than the other & I'm having to add a lot of rudder trim to keep it straight. I'll revisit the calibration for each ESC. But all in all it's what I expected. I'd say it's getting close to or under 40mph. The 40mm 2-blade props are going on before the next run. I'll get video & GPS then.