MAAA Wingspan - Quarterly Magazine

29 MAY WING SPAN MAAALogo. PRODUCT REVIEW SEAGULL MODELS VANS RV-8 BY MIKE O’ REILLY The Seagull Vans RV-8 is a 1800mm span quarter scale ARF model of the popular homebuilt aircraft, introduced in 1995 at Oshkosh. The RV-8 was the eighth homebuilt from Richard Van Grunsven who’s RV-1 hit the world scene in 1971. The model, just like the original, has a broad speed range and docile handling, yet is fully aerobatic and can fly quite fast. The model is designed for a 22cc petrol engine, but we chose the OS GF30 four-stroke engine, hoping to capture the sound of a Lycoming. We think it sounds great even though it has three less cylinders. We chose Hitec HS-5685MH servos for all the functions; two for each of elevator, flaps and ailerons and then one each for rudder and throttle. We used a Dualsky 2000m Ah Rx LiPO for the receiver and the same for the OS ignition unit. The model weighs 6.2 kg empty and the CG was perfect with a standard radio install. The test flights were conducted at Noarlunga Model Aerosports field, south of Adelaide and what a sweet flying model it is. The OS GF30 engine has plenty of power so the use of flaps for take-off wasn’t really necessary, but we found that using landing flaps helped slow down the model nicely. It’s quite slippery, which makes for quite a high top speed. Loops and rolls are an absolute breeze as are slow fly pasts with the flaps deployed. The engine is very economical, which makes for flight times in excess of twenty minutes with the supplied fuel tank. We had the good fortune to have a visit in April from the owner of Seagull Models, Duyen Luu, (pictured with the Vans RV-8). Seagull Models started in 1998 in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam and now have a range of close to 200 models (including OEM projects), constructed from their purpose built facility with 210 employees. This makes Seagull Models one of the largest balsa model manufacturers in the world.