From: hutto@SMTC.engr.scarolina.edu (Brent Hutto)
Subject: Re: Airtronics Infinity 600, 660, and Vision
Reply-To: hutto@smtc.engr.scarolina.edu
Organization: NIST Southeast Manufacturing Technology Center
Date: Thu, 28 Jan 93 02:28:47 GMT

In article <1k6tvfINN2li@shelley.u.washington.edu>, rael@carson.u.washington.edu (Russ Light) writes:
>I am having trouble picking out a radio for a Airtronics Legend sailplane.
>A friend bought a Infinity 600 for his new multichannel sailplane but was
>disappointed with limitations in the mixing options. He really wanted a 
>Visions radio but was unable to find one.  Tower said they waited until 
>they received a certain amount of orders for this radio before actually
>placing an order with the Airtronics distributor.  The 660 came out after
>he bought the 600.  Does anyone know the difference between these two 
>radios.  Is the Visions still hard to obtain?

    With all due respect, there are dozens of mail-order vendors other
    than Tower Hobbies. Sheldon's (somewhere in California) is perhaps
    the next largest after Tower and I've done business with them, they
    are easy to work with. I would simply call several vendors listed in
    RCM or some other magazine. Start with the ones with the biggest
    advertisements. Someone will have them in stock, they are just not a
    fast-moving item like your typcial power-plane radio. A less direct
    approach would be to call Jack Albrecht at Airtonics and ask him who
    would most likely have a Vision in stock.

    BTW, trying to order a low-volume radio like the Vision with other 
    than the "standard" (in this case model 94102) servos is not likely
    to work. This may be what your friend was trying to do. Almost no one
    keeps the more-expensive "good servo" setups in stock. I guess it all
    has to do with "what the market demands". I'm sure your friend didn't
    go along with the "place your order and wait until we feel like it"
    approach. I did that with my first (only) radio, a Futaba, and it was
    almost 6 months until I got it. Never again. Cash and carry (or plastic
    and UPS, at least) for me from now on.

>I would also be interested in anyone who has had experience with the Legend.
>My plane is about 90% done.  The wing servos recommended are the new ones
>from Airtronics (I forget number at this writing).  These are expensive and
>I don't see any mail order house offering them with a package radio. Any
>advice? Thanks ahead of time.

    Ooh, a Legend, I'm very jealous (no smileys intended, I'm dead serious). 
    I just finished my first sailplane, an Airtronics Olympic II, which will 
    get its first flight tomorrow (Thursday) afternoon. I finished it about 
    an hour before sundown Saturday, which was a beautiful day. Sunday dawned 
    with 18mph winds gusting to 27mph all day long. Monday and Tuesday were 
    rainy, cold and windy. Today was finally nice, and tomorrow will be too, 
    so I'm taking off work and going flying before the rain moves back in for
    the weekend.

    Back to the jealousy part. I'm *dying* to build a Legend, but my wallet
    won't allow. According to Jack Albrecht (the customer services fellow
    at Airtronics) you don't *have* to use the 94141 servos in the wing of
    your Legend, but it works a lot cleaner. The kits comes with cutouts on
    the plans that fit the '141s like a glove. You're on your own if you try
    a servo without the (unique) side mount system on the 94141. Because the
    Legend is a "flap dragger" servos with metal gears are considered a "must"
    by all the guys who write in the magazines. You also want a servo with no
    more weight than necessary since each wing gets two of them puppies.

    All in all, I wouldn't build a Legend and then not put the 94141s in the
    wing. Jack says a 94102 is fine for rudder and elevator, although *he*
    puts a 94102 for the rudder and a 94741 for the elevator (it has a ball
    bearing). By the time you find a light, small, ball bearing, metal-geared
    servo for the wings, you're going to spend at least 25 to 30 dollars a
    piece. Tower or Sheldon's has 94141 for around 39 bucks. The reason I'll 
    be doing without a Legend for a while is that the total cost for a Vision 
    system ($520) the Legend kit ($190) and four of the 94141 servos ($40 each) 
    totals up to around 900 bucks. That translates to no other discretionary 
    spending from now until mid-summer for me.

    Jack says that you can certainly fly a Legend just fine with the sort
    of low-priced Infinity 600. He says that the Infinity 660 has a few more
    mixing functions, but if you're buying a new radio with the Legend in
    mind, you might as well go for the Vision. The mail-order costs are on
    the order of $350 for the '600, $425 for the '660 and $520 for the Vision.
    I'd love to hear, in this forum or by E-mail, how you Legend flies. I would
    also like to hear a breakdown on how many hours you spent building and
    covering/painting it. Also, any good or bad features (as you see it).

    Jeez, if you do get both the Vision and the Legend, I'll turn green.
    Good luck, sounds like you've got some fun coming up...
-------------------------------
Brent Hutto
hutto@SMTC.engr.scarolina.edu