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As most of you probably know, for a while now I've been doing a ton of FPV flying, and I have to tell you - at some point it does start to get too much and just plain boring! This is part of the reason why I don't just do FPV for the heck of it, but keep pushing the limit of something all the time, and get new planes - to keep things interesting! Even with that, non-stop FPV could start to get "too much" as some quad racers will also testify, so I decided to get something to stray away from FPV for a second, and the XK A430 Micro 3D plane with integrated stabilization seemed like the perfect plane for the job!
It is small and packs neatly in its box, doesn't require heavy batteries, lots of space to fly, or even a Taranis, and being an XK product I did expect it to perform well, and in fact it does do so. The stabilization unit does a pretty good job of getting you out of trouble, and of stabilizing the plane pretty nicely, even in very strong winds for its size!
Oh, and one more thing - this little guy is brushless, so you get a lot of thrust and the ability to pull off most 3D maneuvers. It is a blast to fly and I particularly like how scale the landings look! Another top product from XK!
PARTS LIST
Flight controller: Stock
OSD: N/A
Radio system: Stock
Receiver: Stock
ESC: Stock
Motor: Stock (1406 Brushless)
Propeller: Stock
Servos: Stock
Batteries: 2S 300mAh (stock)
Connectors: Stock
Control horns: Stock
FPV camera: N/A
Video Tx/Rx: N/A
Video antennas: N/A
Monitor/DVR: N/A
Monitor/DVR: N/A
SPECIFICATIONS
Wing span: 430mm
Length: 400mm
Flying weight: 60g
Radio range: 200m
ARRIVAL STATE
Nothing much to report here. RCMoment shipped it quickly, and it arrived quickly, without any damage to the box or the model! I love it when I receive pristine boxes!
WHAT I LIKE
First and foremost, this little model is brushless, which is awesome as it absolutely has enough power to go vertical, which is good for 3D flying! Same cannot be said for the other similar model I have, the Graupner Micro Extra LEKI 300, but it was brushed... and as you can imagine thrust was not its strong part! Also, it didn't have an integrated stabilization, which made flying in windy weather a lot more interesting!
The brushless motor on the A430 is a good size, but also appears to be quite efficient as it is able to fly for quite a while on a single battery! The motor is also installed on a mount, which allows it to be easily removed for replacement or servicing, should the need arise!
Right behind the motor is where the battery goes, and although there is nothing there to hold it, it does fit in pretty nicely and hasn't ever tried to leave the plane during flight!
In that same compartment resides a button, and even though I have not checked the manual specifically to try and find out what it does, I am seriously hoping it is a bind button for the receiver. That would make binding this to another radio, other than the one it comes with, rather easy, and since I have an IRX4 module on the back of my Taranis at all times now, I just might try to bind it with that one, so I can fly the little bugger with a proper radio, which might even make it fly better!
The plane comes completely assembled, with servos, electronics, push rods, control horns, etc., pre-installed and setup. There are even tiny little hinges installed, which have been pretty solid so far! Really top notch build and quality here!
You even get the prop pre-installed, and there is a spare one provided, which is always nice!
You also get a charger, a battery and a remote controller, but will need to get 4x AA batteries for it, as none are provided. To be completely honest, this radio has more range than the stock one that came with the Volantex Ranger 2000... and that one is a 2 meter plane!
And last, there IS a user manual, and it is printed in colour! Always love that.
The brushless motor on the A430 is a good size, but also appears to be quite efficient as it is able to fly for quite a while on a single battery! The motor is also installed on a mount, which allows it to be easily removed for replacement or servicing, should the need arise!
Right behind the motor is where the battery goes, and although there is nothing there to hold it, it does fit in pretty nicely and hasn't ever tried to leave the plane during flight!
In that same compartment resides a button, and even though I have not checked the manual specifically to try and find out what it does, I am seriously hoping it is a bind button for the receiver. That would make binding this to another radio, other than the one it comes with, rather easy, and since I have an IRX4 module on the back of my Taranis at all times now, I just might try to bind it with that one, so I can fly the little bugger with a proper radio, which might even make it fly better!
The plane comes completely assembled, with servos, electronics, push rods, control horns, etc., pre-installed and setup. There are even tiny little hinges installed, which have been pretty solid so far! Really top notch build and quality here!
You even get the prop pre-installed, and there is a spare one provided, which is always nice!
You also get a charger, a battery and a remote controller, but will need to get 4x AA batteries for it, as none are provided. To be completely honest, this radio has more range than the stock one that came with the Volantex Ranger 2000... and that one is a 2 meter plane!
And last, there IS a user manual, and it is printed in colour! Always love that.
WHAT I DON'T LIKE
Access to the electronics is very limited due to the fact that the fuselage is glued together, and there is no hatch provided for that. If something needs replacing in there, you will need to cut it open!
The landing gear holder was not properly glued in, so it fell off during one of the flights. Thankfully a friend saw where it landed, so I was able to recover it and glued it back in.
And last, the rudder authority is not what it could be, or should be for full 3D flight! Even on high rates it is not enough to keep altitude during a knife edge, so the plane would go down slowly! I guess it could be modded to increase the rudder travel, but the radio sticks might be more to plane for this than anything else, being round and all!
The landing gear holder was not properly glued in, so it fell off during one of the flights. Thankfully a friend saw where it landed, so I was able to recover it and glued it back in.
And last, the rudder authority is not what it could be, or should be for full 3D flight! Even on high rates it is not enough to keep altitude during a knife edge, so the plane would go down slowly! I guess it could be modded to increase the rudder travel, but the radio sticks might be more to plane for this than anything else, being round and all!
THE VERDICT
XK certainly do not disappoint with this model, just as they did not with others before it. It is built very well, comes absolutely stunningly detailed and painted, and everything is setup and ready to go out of the box, only requires the battery to be charged, and a few AA batteries for the radio.
When it comes to flying, it actually flies much better than I would have thought. It weights almost nothing and yet that stabilizer is able to keep it reigned in even stronger winds, which makes it quite easy to fly and learn on! If you have some experience flying, but want to get into 3D, and want an easy to transport model that will not take a lot of space, the XK A430 is absolutely the model for you!
It can literally take off from a table... or from the tarmac, and has absolutely no problem landing on the latter, even if it is of the rougher kind! In the stabilized mode the landings look almost kind of scale, and the detail on the plane only adds to that feeling! You may struggle a bit with knife edge and hovering at first, but when you manage to increase the travel of the rudder, things will fall back into place!
For what this set offers, I think the price is more than fair, and the performance worth every cent! The stabilizer definitely makes things easier and the A430 would be a welcome change of pace from the regular flight days that I have, where I usually stare at a monitor and slightly move some sticks all day long! I am NOT planning to put FPV on this one, so please don't ask about it!
Now, here is my video of this Micro Acrobat, I hope you enjoy it!
When it comes to flying, it actually flies much better than I would have thought. It weights almost nothing and yet that stabilizer is able to keep it reigned in even stronger winds, which makes it quite easy to fly and learn on! If you have some experience flying, but want to get into 3D, and want an easy to transport model that will not take a lot of space, the XK A430 is absolutely the model for you!
It can literally take off from a table... or from the tarmac, and has absolutely no problem landing on the latter, even if it is of the rougher kind! In the stabilized mode the landings look almost kind of scale, and the detail on the plane only adds to that feeling! You may struggle a bit with knife edge and hovering at first, but when you manage to increase the travel of the rudder, things will fall back into place!
For what this set offers, I think the price is more than fair, and the performance worth every cent! The stabilizer definitely makes things easier and the A430 would be a welcome change of pace from the regular flight days that I have, where I usually stare at a monitor and slightly move some sticks all day long! I am NOT planning to put FPV on this one, so please don't ask about it!
Now, here is my video of this Micro Acrobat, I hope you enjoy it!
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