Raven Kit

Specifications:

Radio: 4 channel with V-tail mixing
• five 30+ in./oz. servos (Mini servos - similar to HS-5065MG)

Power:
• 64mm EDF Power Unit (12 bladed unit - similar to Freewing E7207)
• 60+ amp ESC, 4S LiPo)

Needed To Complete:

• 64mm EDF Power Unit (ESC, battery)
• Radio system with 5 servos (we used mini-sized servos in our prototypes)
• Pushrods: 6" pushrods for the ailerons and v-tail, 8-10" for the nose gear
• Clevises for the pushrods.
• Servo extensions: four 12" for the control surface servos
• Y-harness for nose gear servo
• Wheels: one 1.5-2" (nose), two 2" (mains)
• Covering (typically 2 rolls will work, depending on the color scheme)

In the full-scale aviation world, the Very Light Jet category (VLJ) is comprised of small business jets that seat four to eight people. They give private pilots the speed to effortlessly zip past an ordinary Cessna 172 on the way to a weekend fly-in. With a VLJ, the pilot would be finished eating that $100 hamburger before the 172 even enters the landing pattern.

The design of our Raven is inspired by Terry Dunn’s VLJ design published years ago in Fly R/C magazine. Although Terry’s original design was a simple, foam park-flyer, it had great lines reminiscent of the VLJs that Cirrus, Sonex and others now produce - or even possibly Mooney, if they had ventured into private jets back in the day.

We based the size of the Raven around a 64mm EDF - a power system that’s inexpensive, readily available, and has plenty of power for this type of design. It’s mounted right up-top, in the air flow channel of the fuselage. From there, we massaged and reworked Terry’s design, adding landing gear and re-engineering the fuselage to have a removable wing section. A little tuck here, a little snip there, and the Raven was born.

The Raven’s wing is a snap to build. It utilizes our unique WEB-LOCK wing construction to lock in critical alignment locations. The stressed balsa skin makes the panels very light and surprisingly rugged.

We’ve designed the Raven’s fuselage to be self-aligning, with a light-weight internal structure for added strength. Surrounding this is the outer balsa skin, which is strong, light-weight, and twist-resistant. Overall, this balsa/ply airframe is uncomplicated, lightweight, easy to build, and features precision laser-cut parts that fit together quickly and accurately.

Oh, and let’s not forget that V-Tail. It’s the Raven’s party piece - the touch that gives it that unique look - its swagger - its style.

The wing is removable for storage/transport and for giving access to the radio/servo area. From there, you have easy access to install the radio and ESC. What's more, the fully assembled model can fit in the trunk of most cars.

Up front, there’s a large hatch, which gives quick access to the battery and nose-gear. The hatch’s spring-loaded latch makes swapping in a fresh pack a breeze.

When it comes time to fly, the Raven will surprise you in a number of ways:

First, is the takeoff roll - it’s shorter than you might expect!
Second, the Raven’s wide flight envelope. It’s just as much at home cruising around the pattern at lower throttle settings as it is tearing up the skies at full-throttle.

Next is the Raven’s surprising aerobatic capabilities. Now you’ll never confuse this for a pattern ship, but Raven can easily perform loops, rolls, 1/2 Cubans, split-S, inverted flight and more - and most without needing a dive to start.

Lastly is the controllability. Even at very low speeds, you’ll always feel that you have control of the Raven. And that controllability is a welcoming feeling when it comes time to land smoothly, slowly, and right down the runway.