Multiplex recently introduced the Dogfighter: a cross-over fighter/pylon racer hybrid that grabs the best airframe attributes from a handful of famous WWII-era planes. Kurt and Rob build two of them and take to the overcast skies of war-torn Northern Ohio…well, it was at least overcast. See how the Dogfighters built, performed, and scored on the 5X5 review…
Summary
The experience of building the Dogfighters really depends on some decisions you make upfront. Are you going to install a rudder servo? If so, you’ll want to take special note of the modification photos below. It only takes a few minutes of foam trimming and a little soldering to duplicate Rob’s setup. His Dogfighter had a lot more room for shifting the CG and achieving balance with a wider range of battery capacities. Assembly of the airframe goes exactly as instructed, you’ll just want to address the balance before you get too far along the build. Once you get your Dogfighter built, the real fun begins.
Hand launches are easy and very consistent, just consider a little torque roll counterclockwise but nothing too notable. Once lift takes over and the Dogfighter enters flight you can do whatever you want. Straight up to infinite climbouts, hard carved pylon turns, snaps, lightning fast ailerons rolls, graceful but aggressive loops, and inverted flight that feels as easy as upright. Fast, slow, and everything in between, the Dogfighter is a marvel of modern RC airframe design. The Dogfighter is what would be created if there was such thing as the perfect piston-driven WWII fighter plane. Landing the Dogfighter just completes the picture – graceful and controlled all the way to the ground. After flying the Dogfighter, you have to grin and shake your head a bit. And then charge the battery and do it all over again.
A true pilots airplane, the Dogfighter reset all of our expectations of what is possible in a foam airplane. If you like low-wing fighter flying and are looking for a pylon-capable all around sport airplane, go get the Dogfighter. It is, for unknown reasons, one of the best kept RC secrets out there. As for the powerplant? Don’t even worry about customizing. The Dogfighter Power Pack shreds the air and gives you amazing runtimes so we can’t imagine wanting anything more!
Optional Fuselage Modification
We found that after some trimming and adjustments, we could obtain better balance and more options. The image below shows in green where we trimmed both halves of the fuselage BEFORE assembly in order to fit the ESC and the battery further forward than the stock battery tray. You can use a small piece of self-adhesive Velcro® to keep the battery from sliding forward or back during flight. Not too much, or you’ll have a hard time getting the battery in and out! You’ll also need to shorten the ESC to motor leads, and the motor leads themselves. If you don’t, the wires quickly become impossible to manage with everything up front. De-solder the factory plugs, shorten the wires, then re-solder and secure new shrink tube. Check out our soldering clinic if you need some guidance with this process.
2 Brothers Setup
Download the Aurora 9 SET file
Expos and Dual Rates
