When I saw on the E-Flite website that they RV-9 was “coming soon” it really caught my eye. It’s a somewhat small sport-scale rendition of the Vans Aircraft RV-9 build-it-yourself civilian aircraft. The fact that it has functional flaps appealed to me as well. It is designed around the Park 450 motor, though it will accept the Park 480 as a direct bolt-on upgrade.

So, I called Dennis over @ Porkeez and had him put me down for one. I paid the MAP price of $169, then noticed it dropped to $139 a couple days ago. Oh well, I’d rather support the LHS anyway.

For this build, I will be using the following gear:

E-Flite Park 480 1020kv moter

Castle Creations Thunderbird 36 ESC and CC-BEC

Hitec HS-65MG’s for Elevator, Rudder, and Flaps

Hitec HS-5065MG’s for Ailerons

Spektrum AR6200 receiver

APC 12 x 6 prop (don’t try a 10 x 7, ask me how I know!)

When I took it home, I immediately checked contents. Yup, everything there, and in good condition. Like all these E-Flite ARF’s the covering needs to be cleaned up with a heatgun.

Everything here!

Plenty of room!

Time to install servos & radio gear! I mounted the AR6200 receiver with servo tape off to the side, for easier cable routing.  Placed the satellite receiver dead-center with the antennas oriented 90 degrees from the main receiver. Installed the 2x HS-65MG servos for the elevator and rudder. Also installed the supplied velcro battery straps. Quite straight-forward.

Radio & servo gear installed

Next was installation of the motor and ESC + BEC. The motor bolts right up to the motor mount with the included hardware. Easy. I soldered up the Thunderbird 36 and CC-BEC, then installed the ESC off to the side of the motor mount – for good airflow. I installed the CC-BEC on the firewall as it’s small.

Motor, ESC and BEC.

The CC-BEC is rated for 5A constant, and 10A burst. It’s small, light, switchmode, inexpensive, and a good idea for a 5 servo setup.

Extra Insurance!