Libelle - Build Review Part 1

Stock Photo dream-flight.com 

My Libelle arrived a mere 4 days after placing my order.  The model was well packaged and thankfully so as it appears USPS gave it a good thorough testing (read - they beat the living tar out of the box).  Regardless, the contents were in good working order.

While I didn't have the time to assemble it on the day it arrived, I did spend about an hour admiring the kit and reviewing the instruction manual in preparation for assembly.  I would highly recommend taking the time to review the material.  Nothing about the assembly is necessarily difficult, but I did find that it re-inforced some key aspects that could be "gotcha's" for some who may not have assembled many planes. Overall I found the instructions to be very thorough and accurate.

Kit Review:

The foam parts are well molded with no imperfections noticeable.  For those looking to eliminate any additional amount of drag, the trailing edges require just the slightest amount of sanding with very fine paper.  I also removed the sharp edge on the black plastic portion of the fuselage.  While very minor, this helped clean up the look and eliminated any sharp edges that will be encountered if hand catching.

The canopy is secured with multiple earth magnets and is also keyed for a perfect alignment.  I know some have suggested using tape due to losing the canopy when launching aggressively.  My guess (I'll find out soon enough) is that this was due to improperly securing the battery pack as the magnets appear to hold it very securely.

The wing and supporting components glued up quickly and were well described in the instructions.  The most challenging step I encountered was the alignment of the tail surfaces. While not difficult, I think the use of quick setting glue and knowing the importance of getting it aligned, created self imposed stress.

I opted to order the steel weights they offer due to the price and the fact that they were made to fit.  I would have ordered their battery pack as well, but I already had an order of NiMH batteries on their way that included 1/3 AA size cells.  Anything larger will be a very tight fit and require considerable trimming.

In Part 2 I'll report on the servo installation and setup.  I had a bit of trouble locating the recommended Hitec HS-35HD servos.  My review of this servo can be found here, along with a post from Hitec regarding its status.  I'm still anxiously awaiting the arrival of an alternate servo, the Dymond D47S sold by DymondUSA.com.  Several other Libelle owners have suggested this as well as Dream-Flight themselves.

Component List:

Libelle
Steel Weight Set
Dymond D47s (4)
Servo Extensions
4.8V NiMH Battery Pack (1/3AA size)
Taranis FrSky Transmitter
Taranis D4R-II 4ch Receiver