Friends don't let friends fly 2 meter unless it's the ESPADITA!
The Espadita is the long awaited two meter from Jaro Muller. We first heard about the Espadita 3 years ago, when we talked to Jaro and he explained to us he was using all new TOP SECRET technology. We twisted his arm to get as much information as we could, but we were left extremely excited waiting to see what it was. When Jaro says new technology we know it is something special. To say the least, when we received the Espadita it blew our minds!
Jaro's mind just works differently than anyone else's and we are very lucky to have him designing models for us. Two of Jaro's goals when designing a new model is to have it as fast and easy to build as possible, and then have as much of his mass centered on the CG as possible. With the Espadita, he achieved both of these goals. He came up with a system called Full Integrated Servo Drive (FISD). He wanted a system that had no external linkages, like RDS but Jaro's special RDS, and a system that allowed him to move all the mass of the servos to the center of the wing. Try and figure that one out, and you will see why this model was two years late. So how does it work?
FISD:
Fully Integrated Servo Drive has both the servos slide into a pocket molded in the root of the wing (picture one). The aileron servo gets pushed in first and slides to meet up with an round aluminum servo arm like seen in picture two. Then you put a set screw on each side and the servo is in and ready to go. It drives the aileron using a torque rod from the servo arm to another connection where it meets up with a push rod made out of G-10 that drives the aileron. The whole system is, of course, made smooth with ball bearings. That part of the system is all set up so all you have to do is slide your servo in and put in the set screws. The flap servo then slides in to the pocket with the aluminum arm already attached, then you slide the G-10 push rod through the wing and attach it to the servo arm using a pin. You then put the pin through the flap and add a few pieces of wood to hold the ball bearing and you are ready to go! Oh yeah, I almost forgot, Jaro includes a cover for the pocket that's the perfect size and is already sized for the multiplex connector (seen in picture 4).
Construction:
When Jaro said the Espadita had all new technology he didn't mean just the FISD, he meant the whole plane. If you have ever seen or owned an Espada you know that Jaro likes to mold the surfaces outside of the wing molds to provide a stronger and lighter surface than anything out there. To do that he also had to use tape hinges which caused problems for some. With the Espadita he found a way to mold the surfaces outside of wing mold but still have a live hinge. The wing also features advanced molding that no other manufacturer can produce. Jaro does not simply make the whole wing carbon, because that's just extra weight. Jaro uses advanced fabrics in the right places to make the best weight to strength ratio out there.
Fuselage:
The fuselage is made 2.4 friendly and features many of the same features as the Espada. Jaro uses a very similar servo box that is removable and makes installation fast and simple. He also has the push rods already hooked up with a round aluminum servo arm so all you have to do is push it on and put in 2 set screws. No fussing with servo arm lengths, its all done for you. The tail is very similar to the Espada R and works perfectly.
Flying:
So you may be thinking "Yeah, this is cool technology, but it's only a two meter. It can't be that great." Well you are wrong! The Espadita is an incredible performer. IT FLIES EXACTLY LIKE THE ESPADA RL! It is eerie how similar they are. When first flying it, I could not believe what I was seeing; it moved, read lift and flew just like a more nimble RL. Impressive! This is not your average two meter, this is the future of soaring. So don't let your friends fly two meter unless it's the Espadita.
Keep an eye out for the new F3J and F3B models featuring this technology.
