The Flite Test Widgeon came into reality because of our love for it’s beautiful lines, amazing history, and incredible versatility. We designed this aircraft to compliment almost any pilot’s hangar both in flight characteristics and its wide range of use. With the FT Widgeon, you will have the benefits of being able to take off the ground, water, or snow using the removable landing gear or flying off the reinforced plastic hull. The large open fuselage leaves plenty of room for FPV gear, advanced electronics, or a wide range of batteries making it a fantastic choice to be flown as an FPV platform. The FT Widgeon also assembles with no glue or tape. The whole aircraft assembles with the use of magnets and locking pins. Keeping with the vision around our full PNP line, we made sure to make all the electronics accessible for both modification and servicing. Flying the FT Widgeon will be a rewarding experience for both the intermediate and advanced pilots. The twin motors provide great thrust with no torque or pitching issues. The newer pilot will love this as a first experience for flying off the water with the use of the large water rudder and reinforced hull. This allows for smooth transition off the water and the ability to easily taxi back to shore. Once in the air, the FT Widgeon is gentle and predictable. The advanced pilot will love the ability to use differential thrust to make this classic design do crazy aerobatics like flat spins and pinwheels. Combine this aircraft with the FT Aura 5 and experience stabilized flight along with amazing features like launch assist and level assist for our beginner and FPV pilots. Our desire is that the FT Widgeon will be an amazing addition to your hangar and an aircraft that will always grow with you in your RC Journey.
Features:
Quick Assembly: This plane quickly assembles and disassembles using magnets and push pins
Optional Landing Gear: The landing gear quickly attaches and removes. Steerable tail wheel and water rudder
Navigation Lights: There are pre-installed LED navigation lights on this aircraft
Specs:
- Wingspan: 1200mm
- Length: 965mm
- Flying Weight: 1156g
- Motor: 2x 1250kv
- ESC: 2x 30a Speed Controllers
- Propellers: 2x 8x6 3-Blade Props
- Servos: 4x 9g Servos
Required to Complete:
- Transmitter: Minimum 4 Channel
- Receiver: Minimum 4 Channel
- Battery: 1800mah 11.1v Lipo Battery
Next, I didn't see any discussion of how to set control throws per the manual. I dug most of that out by myself also. And I had left the elevator with far too much throw so my first flight was almost the last!! I moved the elevator control rod further in on the servo arm and that helped greatly!
I tested all three modes and will make some further mods to them. The mid config results in scale flying with limited aerobatic capability and gyros. Nice.
My first flights were from land and I noticed the wheels would either come loose or pop off! Needed to check after each landing.
I think FT needs to do more work on those videos because new flyers using the Aura5 are in for a surprise if they use the default settings!! Maybe have available a default config designed for that plane, not just a generic high performance model.
Other than these shortcomings, I think the Widgeon is a nice model. I do wish they would have not put on those awful looking FT decals! They really degrade the looks from a nice scale model.
I have uploaded a video to my youtube channel, MEFLYER, that is comprised of my first four flights.
One other note: The left motor has a ticking noise and nothing is hitting so I expect bearing or something internal to the motor. I spent 1.5hrs on chat with no answers before I closed it.
Joe
Unboxing the Widgeon was a bit of an adventure. The starboard motor had poked a hole in the wing's plastic bag and the prop nut and washer were not in the bag. Luckily I found them both in the bottom of the box. The rudder had a bit of a twist from shipping, but it was easily straightened out. Both of the wingtip LEDs were angled down like they had been bumped into something during shipment. They were easily straightened out also. Here's the Good News - the Flite Test Widgeon looks even better in person than it does in the pictures and it goes together just as easy as they claim. Since I prefer differential thrust in all my twins, I separated the throttle Y-harness and used my gear channel for the starboard motor. The hardest part of the build was programming Throttle Cut for the second motor. I set up the AR637T for the recommended AS3X defaults and used my slider to adjust the gains.
Maiden Flight went very well. I set the AS3X for "OFF" and the Widgeon was airborne at barely 1/4 throttle. This plane flies very nicely at all power settings. It is very stable and doesn't really need a stabilized receiver, but I like them, so it's in mine. The Widgeon was much more aerobatic than I expected. The aileron rolls were nice and axial - much better than a high wing twin has a right to. Pretty much unlimited vertical was a bonus. Upright and inverted snaps and spins worked out well with the recommended CG. I guess I got a bit too rowdy with the aerobatics as the port motor cover came off part way through the maiden. I put a tiny touch of FoamTac on the front of each motor cover and snapped them back in place. They haven't come off again.
I can't wait to get this Widgeon out on the water, but that will have to wait till our local authorities relax a few restrictions.
Overall I am very pleased with the Flite Test Widgeon. It's a great flying model of one of the most beautiful seaplanes every built. What more could you ask.
Color is not appealing to me. Despise the Flite Test logos all over it. Stripped off logos with heated up windex, soaked paper towel placed on them to loosen up and remove. Paint stripped off too easy with isopropyl alcohol 91% but messy job. Repainted red white. Led nav lights very limited, just red and green wing tips and white on top of tail. The floats feel very wobbly so I rigged up support cable like the real plane has. Lacks flaps tho think I can add them with a bit of work.
Using this on water only with bias differential control on engines when on water so not installing wheels or rudder. The 30amp esc seem ok but props could be better, look rather toy like. No spinners, just a rounded nose tip nuts. Waiting for hood weather to maiden but on whole happy with results after doing my personal magic to it.
What I have a small problem with, is that The Flite Test store is selling these without replacement props being available! So if you get one, BEWARE, there are no spare props! Unfortunately, one of my props touched the water on a landing, and it was enough to back the nut off, and not realizing it was loose, attempted to taxi to shore, and it spun the rest of the way off the shaft and into the deep blue. I fly in a Bay. I called Flite Test and they didn't have any, and at first they told me they weren't getting any, and then admitted they were having problems receiving those. They said they are trying to resource them and get them in.
This was a major disappointment. I had just 3 flights on her. I scoured the internet and found what I thought was a perfect replacement, but the counter rotating prop was cancelled. So I had no choice but to buy another Widgeon for a prop so I could fly the first one. First $200 prop I ever bought. The plane was that good, plus, I knew I would end up using the other parts eventually.
But I am back in the air, and still searching for a set of propellers on the internet. Love the airplane, but I've lost a teeny little love for Flite Test. So if you
are a pilot that never bends a prop, it's OK to order this, but if you're like me, I've only got about 40hrs of flying, and still ding a prop here and there, I would give this a second thought! Nothing more frustrating than having a perfectly good airplane sitting on the shelf because you can't get a prop for it!
Addendum, 8-28-20
I thought I would add something. I have changed my rating to 4 star, because the plane really is a 5 star, but I couldn't get any spare props. I was able to find the exact same propellers at Team Black Sheep, a drone company. They are made by HQ props, which is what is has on the props themselves. Also, some literature, including the box, states that it has 8x6x3 props, when they were actually 8x4.5x3(which it states in manual). I went with box, and wasted a lot of time online. My bad, I should have just read it off prop, which I eventually did. That's when I found Team Black Sheep. It helps I've ordered stuff from them for drones, and I knew these were drone props. It was just a matter of time to find them. I really think Flite Test should have known this and maybe passed it on to customers like me, who was looking for replacement. Maybe even just order a few dozen of them to sell themselves, to sell to customers. I will continue to patronize Flite -test, because all in all, their products are really good!
Great Job !!
* Good Power
* Economic Battery
* 8-10 minute flight time with reserve on the battery
* Fly off of land or water
* Reasonable price for what you get
Teamed with an Aura 5, mine flew incredibly scale and smooth. I had both a 6-axis flight mode for that locked in "SAFE" flight experience, and a 3-axis flight mode for a bit more freedom. Have not yet moved up to high rates to see what this can really do.
Maneuvering on water with Differential Thrust set up via the Aura 5 was a joy. Not the vague, hope I can get it to shore, feel of my other sea planes. This drove like a boat. Incredibly scale. I did not yet try differential thrust while flying as I wanted to get a feel for it first.
Take off is absolutely scale. The Widgeon very noticeably comes up on plane, tracking straight ahead with the twin motors, then gently lifts off completely scale, but with plenty of power. My guess is a hammering of the throttle would produce more energetic less scale like take offs.
With the help of the Aura 5, in the air it is rock solid and predictable with 6-axis "Safe" like help, and nicely lively with the low rates 3-axis. Plenty of speed. Landings onto the water were again incredibly scale and easy to land perfectly. It's not exactly a STOL type plane (maybe with a Flaperon set up), but it sure lands nice and easy and smooth. Makes you look like a great pilot!
Still working on perfect CG, but I found the recommended CG a touch nose heavy, but I was flying with a 2200 instead of the recommended 1800.
I have flown a E Flite Otter. The Otter is clearly more just a model compared to this. The price difference is absolutely worth it if a beautifully engineered and finished plane is something you like. Simple things like the way the wings secure with hand twist large pins from either side - just works beautifully on the Widgeon. The Otter wing mechanism is hugely clumsy by comparison. Even all the servo arm hook ups are such high quality. Plus, if you choose to set it up, this has the fun of Differential Thrust!
This is just a great plane, you will not be disappointed. This is my first Flite Test product, but certainly not my last! If the rumored Beech 18 is produced, I will be first in line to pre-order!
REVIEW UPDATE AFTER A FEW FLIGHTS: More flying of the Widgeon tonight. Flew a 1800mah 3s for four minutes of light flying and had 54% left. There was maybe a 12mph breeze. Very impressed with the flight envelope. Can just hang in the air like almost like a STOL plane. Very light on its wings. Very smooth for large lazy 3/4 throttle scale like loops, or crank the elevator for a super tight loop. Seems to have unlimited climb but I did not fully test that. The real surprise was the rolls. Rolls almost like a fighter jet. Stays absolutely straight and level while rolling at a surprisingly rapid rate for this type of plane - all this on “low rates”. I can’t believe the wide flight envelope and no bad habits all through the range. Once I get more comfortable with low rate aerobatics, I’ll give it a go on high rates, and eventually try stunts with differential thrust (which so far I have reserved for taxiing on the water). I’m not sure how much the Aura 5 is helping create these fantastic flight characteristics, but this really is a great flying plane. Any comparison to an E Flite Otter (which I have flown) goes completely out the window once the Widgeon is in the air. It’s in a completely different league in terms of flight characteristics and wide envelope of capability. I can’t say enough great things about this plane. Can’t wait for more to come out in this line.
And here I was looking to do my Porcorosso plane project to fly on lakes this month and I fall on that gorgeous ship, perfect flying boat, rightly priced and with the insurance it'll go great and even if not, FT customer service will be there anyway.....
Now....which one do I take.....?!? SAINT BIXLER HELP MEEEE.....is it plane porn to buy both even if I won't have use for 2...?!?
I'll give a full review once I'll get the Grumman here.
Thank you so much for having those great products ideas.