Parkzone Habu EDF Jet

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My good friends at Horizon Hobby kindly posted me one of their newest models, a sleek and aggressive looking Habu EDF (Electric Ducted Fan) Jet. I had watched some videos and was well impressed with it's speed and agility. It is available as with a lot of Horizon newer products in Bind N Fly (BNF) or Plug N Play (PNP), meaning if you are a Spektrum DSM user the BNF version means you can just bind your radio to it, or if you use another system you can still enjoy the model with their PNP version. Both come with servos prestalled, control connected and hinged, in reality less than 20mins will have it ready to go.

Here are the words and specs from Parkzone themselves..................

Parkzone’s Habu EDF Jet is just what intermediate to experienced pilots have been looking for. This semi-scale electric ducted fan model takes sport flying to a whole new dimension with a plane that combines blistering speeds, crisp and precise aerobatics together with forgiving slow speed flight characteristics for landing.

At the heart of the Habu’s fantastic performance is the outstanding power of E-flite’s BL15 3600Kv brushless ducted fan motor coupled with an E-flite Delta V ducted fan unit.

This dynamic combination generates more than enough thrust for out-of-sight vertical performance and thrilling high-speed passes. The Habu also boasts a remarkably wide flight envelope andwith its relatively light wing loading the model has very forgiving slow speed handling. That means when it’s time to throttle back and line up for landing, pilots used to flying faster, heavier sport planes will be able to perform “high alpha” nose-high landings. For take off’s the model can be flown from hard surface using the optional landing gear, or the gear can be left off and the model can be easily hand launched and landed back on the grass.

Specs (for BNF) 

Wingspan 920mm (36.5 inch)
Length 1100mm (43.5 inch)
Weight  1.3 Kg (2.9 lb) 
Motor  E-flite BL15 3600Kv brushless ducted fan motor 
Fan  E-flite Delta V ducted fan unit (pre-installed)
ESC E-flite 60Amp Pro with Switch Mode BEC (pre-installed)
Receiver AR500 DSM2 5-channel sport (pre-installed)
Battery  4S 14.8Volt 3200mAh Li-Po battery (included)
Charger  Variable rate 3- to 4-cell DC Li-Po balancing (included)

For the PNP version, you install your own receiver, supply your own battery and charger, but it's exactly the same model.

As you can see from the above, a well kitted out model whichever version you choose. It was a cold and wet night when I decided to build the Habu, well build isn't the word I would use, it was so simple anyone could do it (even me). I opened the colourful box, flicked through the well laid out and detailed instructions, established I needed a large cross headed screwdriver and a fine one, so that was the only tools I needed. on account of the already mentioned weather, I elected to do the build in the living room (and yes I was home alone!). I took all the parts out of the box and was well impressed by the dense yet lightweight Z foam, the finish on it was very good also very smooth, unlike some pressed foam models i've seen.

Following the instructions here is how the build went.

First Job is to attached the supplied Y-Lead to the two aileron servos and fix the wing to the fuselage. There are two location pins at the rear of the wing and a large bolt which threads into a plastic boss at the front of the wing.

The Underside of the wing (sorry about fuzzy picture). The aileron servos are outboard on the wings and are well protected by a plastic housing, prevented the linkage getting damaged if your belly landing, naturally this is all pre-installed.

The Wing from the top. You can see the wires etc in the centre of the fuselage, The Fan Unit, the servos, the ESC are all pre-installed.

The next task is to install the tailplane. This comes with the elevator/rudder servo installed. This is attached with two self tapping screws, you can see the recess for these, inline with the hinge near the centre of the fuselage. You also need to connect the servos leads to the pre-installed extension leads.

After the tailplane is installed, the Rudder/Fin is next. a carbon tube is used to key it to the tailplane and then a plastic cover either side is fixed to hold it in place with self tapping screws. At this piont you attach the rudder pushrod.

You can see the plastic covers, which hold the fin to the main fuselage. Self tapping screws make it all very secure.

The plastic tailcone is sleeved over the tunnel and attached with supplied tape.

The last thing to do is, installed the landing gear if you wish. I decided not to and go with the belly landing rather than have wheels, as our flying sites ar grass and more suited to that. You have options though, for the front nose wheel you get a plate with a servo for steering attached, or in my case just the same plate without a servo, but you have the option of either or and two minutes would change it out if you change your mind. The rear undercarriage legs clip into precut slots in hard points on the wing, I just ignored them for the belly land option.

So there you have it, 20mins has it ready to go, I'm just waiting on a chance to fly it now, fingers crossed this weekend.

 Matthew