Ranger 600 RTF

Equipment Used: Stock li-Po, transmitter, receiver, airplane

Box contents:

• 1x Transmitter
• 1x airplane
• 1x 1S li-Po
• 1x USB Li-Po charger
• 1x Instruction booklet
• 1x Spare Prop

Pros:

• RTF micro airplane
• Selectable stabilization gains
• Easy-to-read manual
• Doesn’t require much throttle
• Easy to see
• Box doubles as a storage case

Cons:

• Tail heavy in expert mode
• Must turn it on in beginner mode
• Can get stuck in a tight circle

I found the manual to be clear and decently translated into English. Be sure to read the section on Li-Po charging to know how the Li-Po charger works and how to change the stabilization mode.

Charging:

Follow the instructions by plugging the USB charger into a USB port. This can be on a computing device, a wall charger for a mobile device, etc. The red light in the charger will be on until the battery is completely charged. Once the light is off, unplug the charger. Please practice safe li-Po charging by not leaving the Li-Po unattended while charging.

Flight:

Plug the batter into the receiver’s battery lead and nestle the battery down in the nose. The battery will “stand up” some but that is the design of the battery compartment. With the “AA” batteries installed in the transmitter, turn the transmitter on. The plane will bind to the TX. To arm the ESC move throttle up and back down. Before any flight perform a pre-flight check by standing behind the aircraft and moving all control surfaces one at a time. Ensure the rudder and elevator turn the correct way based on the given input. If any needs to be reversed, hold the corresponding input on the transmitter until a beep is heard. Note: the instructions indicate to turn the plane and TX on with beginner mode selected, this is the way the stabilization technology expects to initialize.

Launch the aircraft with a slight 30-45 degree upward angle with about 50% throttle. Give yourself plenty of room and space to get familiar with the plane for the first few flights.

Being an experienced pilot I found beginner mode to be too aggressive and limiting in the confines of my backyard. But in a larger field or baseball field this should not be an issue. I flipped to intermediate mode and felt a change in the aircraft’s behavior. In intermediate mode, the aircraft is more responsive and can easily fly around at 33% throttle. I was able to reliably keep the plane in my backyard without much effort while the battery had a good charge. I did find an odd behavior with keeping the plane in a tight circle, the plane didn’t want to get out of the circle. I could have mistakenly reversed the control keeping the stick to the far end for the circle, I’m not sure. Expert mode disables the stabilization technology and I thought I would prefer this flight mode. However, the plane shows symptoms of tail heaving in this flight mode. The elevator is sensitive and with power off the plane plops over on the nose.

Being a three-channel plane, aerobatics are limited to loops, stall turns, and wingovers. To perform a decent loop with the Volantex Ranger 600; climb to altitude, dive, pull up. To help protect the battery I don’t try to fly to low voltage cutoff. Instead, I limit my flights to five to eight minutes in length. This is typically long enough for a good flight while keeping the battery at a safe storage charge between flights.