Radian Glider Pro Review

Sunday, May 8th, 2011 at 5:36 pm

Radian Pro BNF & PNF

To really start with the Radian Pro Glider by Parkzone-Here are some specs and then move on to if this concept 5 channel glider is what fits your needs.

Key Features

* 5-channel control - throttle, aileron, elevator, rudder and flaps

* Powerful 480-size 960Kv brushless outrunner motor installed

* E-flite® Pro 30A brushless ESC installed

* Ready to fly in minutes

* Durable, lightweight and repairable Z-Foam™ construction

* Spektrum 2.4GHz DSM2 AR600 receiver installed

* 3S 11.1V 1300mAh Li-Po battery pack included

* 2- to 3-cell DC LiPo balancing charger included

* Requires a full-range DSM2 aircraft transmitter (sold separately)

Now we have to realize this is a bind and fly version of the Radian Glider.

Like the original Radian, the Radian Pro boasts Z-Foam™ durability and the same potent 480-size brushless power system that can catapult it to altitude in seconds. What it adds is a completely new wing design with ailerons and flaps as well as a few other features more experienced glider pilots will appreciate. It will be available in Bind-N-Fly and Plug-N-Play versions, both of which you can have flight-ready in the time it takes to charge a battery.

In this video ParkZone product developer, Matt Andren, gives us an in-depth look at some of the more notable features on the Radian Pro, such as the:

• New wing design with ailerons and flaps
• Spektrum AR600 6-Channel DSM2 Receiver (on the BNF version only)
• Reinforced fuselage
• Flap-to-aileron mixing possibilities like camber, reflex and crow

IFRAME Embed for Youtube

Some Flying Techniques Of The Radian Pro:

To start with this is geared up for a Spektrum AR600 receiver so you need a Spektrum full-range DSM2- now that is not a problem as such, but if you had say a remote from HobbyKing you are going to have to change your receivers which is a pain-- To take full advantage of the capabilities of the Radian Pro, a programmable radio system with sailplane mixing functions is recommended.

The original Radian is, in my opinion, one of the best thermal trainers around. It does lifts well and is very easy to get into upflight and to control it. Because the plane is simple, the pilots concentrates on the air and the up lift, not so much the controls, flight modes and all the switches.

The Radian Pro will add additional options when working up lift.

Here is my flight idea:

Launching - Click that switch for our launch setting and send the plane up the launch line. At the top of the launch we will turn throttle off so that we are in normal floating mode. We are now 300-600 feet up and looking for a thermal up lift.
Time to search out those thermals!

We see some lift and we start to circle turn. We turn on Elevator-flap mix, E-F, so when we pull elevator slightly, we get a tiny bit of flap to help us climb smoothly in a thermal.

We lose the lift so we turn off E-F and go hunting again. We hit some fast falling air, current We want to run through some sink, so we click our
camber/reflex preset on, flaps and ailerons move up a little, and the plane moves quickly through the down move. When we are in more buoyant air we turn this off.

We catch some up lift and turn and circle up again and switch turn on E-F to rise in the thermal. We have been in this thermal for 20 minutes or so. We hit about 1000 feet and have ridden the thermal about 1/2 of a mile down wind. Time to head home and prepare to land. During our return run we will fly in cruise or we might turn on that camber/reflex preset again to help us penetrate through the head wind. Remember we have no motor so we are flying upwind in a glide.

OK, time to land. We set up for an approach into the wind. We want to have more energy than we need to make it to the landing mark because a gust might hit us and rob us of energy causing us to fall short. As we finally get close and are confident of making the landing zone, we can start to use that. Crow mix to lower flaps, raise ailerons and mix in elevator to keep the plane level or slightly nose down. As we judge our speed we may go full crow to "put on the breaks" so that when we touch we are moving slowly and will not overshot our mark.

Should I Buy The Pro-The benefit of having ailerons and flaps?

Now I started with the RTF Parkzone Radian this bird is so easy to fly I feel the original Radian will always be popular. It is the best first glider available. Parkzone just got it right.
I would not use the Radian Pro for a beginner to learn with. All that info adds a learning curve and the flattened wing means less stability.
Radian's, we should have two-LOL

Once you become flight ok with the original Radian you are ready for more! This is not like a trainer plane where you have to progress on to learn more about flying.

At this stage you are now ready to learn thermal soaring and the base Radian is a great thermal soaring glider even if you are a beginner or an experienced . Thermal soaring is not about flying the plane more about reading the air currents the air. (Thermals)

Thermal soaring is not being the best pilot , it is about the search for the elusive, hard to find wind. Understanding where it is likely to be and where she is hiding.

So it is with the Radian and later the Radian Pro. The more advanced plane gives you more to learn and more to try but when you get into it, it is about reading the air, knowing the weather, feeling the wind, understanding the temperature change. Always check the birds and the insects, look for the flutter of the leaves and working those thermals.

So the difference between the R/E nature of the original Radian and the full house Radian Pro is not the ability to do aerobatics, it is the options you have to work that air IF and only IF your radio can handle the surface mixing.

The original Radian, in my opinion, is maybe the best thermal trainer around. It lifts well and is very easy to operate and to use this bird.The plane is simple, the pilots focus is on the air and the lift, not the controls, flight modes and all the switches.

The Radian Pro will give many additional options when getting up lift.The benefit of having ailerons and flaps is the ability to have a somewhat curved wing, providing dihedral, while still maintaining full trailing edge control. If you had ailerons alone you would lose the control of the inner wing style shape. If you went full on width ailerons then the wing would have to be flatter to accommodate the aileron. Both are valid configurations, but having them split gives you design flexibility in the shape of the wing. As for what the flaps are for, they are for both.

My total concept as said earlier you might end up with both,the original Radian then the Radian Pro-For a total beginner start with the RTF version 3 channel Radian as will give you the best glider to learn with and move on from there, as you have a Spectrum remote that can be used on other planes-just my view.This bird is for a fligher with some knowledge on board about thermals- Everything is just how I see things with the Radian always do your own research-Bet after that you buy one!!