There have been some questions on RCSE about the Omega HLG, so I thought I would give a mini kit review of the one I recently purchased. This is a fairly inexpensive ARF HLG that is available through NSP a few other retailers. It has also been marketed as a light wind sloper. I ordered mine from NSP and it arrived as promised. One note, NSP has annoyed me in the past with its packing. I have received several kits that were poorly packed, most lacking in enough packing material. However, the Omega was very well packed and arrived in good condition. The construction is nothing new to most, but I will review for those that have not seen this type of thing before. The leading and sub trailing edges are one piece foam that has been glassed into a mold. This gives a strong and accurate wing, that is easier to fix than a regular molded wing. The ailerons on built in a similar way, but are a separate piece. From about 1/3 back from the leading edge to the trailing edge is left open, with balsa ribs glued in to hold the covering to shape. Overall this yields a nice wing that is pretty light. The molding is not perfect, the molded areas of mine are silver, and there are places where the glass shows through. This is nearly unavoidable in such light construction. The ailerons are also fairly susceptible to damaged, especially before being attached to the wings. The glass is light so be careful if you are ham fisted! The servos glue into premade boxes in the wings. No servo wire is run, but there is a tube for the wire. No covers are included, but are instead finished with covering (would be nice if this was included). I used CS-10 servos for the wings. I wrapped them in white electrical tape before gluing them in the wings. I also left the tabs on. As a result they stick up ever so slightly from the wings. If you use anything thicker than a CS-10 plan on having a lump. The wings join with an included carbon rod and bolt to the fuse with 2 nylon screws. My wings required a little finishing around the wing rod and screw hole moldings to fit smoothly. The front hold down pins are installed. The fuse is a nicely molded fiberglass part. Its fairly light. A consequence of light molding is that you inevitably end up with pin holes. This plane has its share. However, since most people will never paint it most people will never notice. The fuse appears to made of several layers of glass, which will help its strength. The wing bolt holes are already drilled, but required a tap to be run through them. The holes for the front hold down pins are drilled, but this area (including the saddle) required a little sanding to get a good fit. The v-tail mount is molded in. Its not terribly smooth, I sanded mine a bit to get a better fit. I also sanded the area around the canopy opening to remove errant bits of epoxy. The canopy is molded carbon fiber, and one of the more annoying aspects of the plane. Its is meant to fit into a molded groove in the fuse. It fits, but looks to be about 3/32" too short all the way around. Pushrod tubes are already installed. The tail is precovered balsa. The construction is good. Its nice and light as well. The angle for the tail is sanded into the roots. The instructions say to glue the pieces together. However, no angle is given. The angle that the tail pieces have and the one on the fuse mount are two different things. The angle sanded into the tails is very wide (about 130 degrees I would guess). I joined mine at about 100 degrees, which seems to fit the mount pretty well. I think the instructions could be better here. Hardware is included with this plane. A nice set of laser cut control horns are a nice touch. The rods for the ailerons are run of the mill 2-56 rods with a snap clevises. They are also overkill if used for a HLG. I replaced mine with lighter wire. EZ connectors are included, I assume for tail control duty. However, the wire is too small to be firmly held by these connectors. I used a small piece of heat shrink to add some girth to the wire. For the tail I bent two small piece of brass tube (not included) to act as torque rods. This is the best method I have found so far, but maybe not the lightest. I used 2 CS-21s inline in the fuse. I glued them in with Goop. In front of that I stuck the Hitec 555RX, which fits with case on. For power I am using a 4 cell 270 NiMH pack. It weighs much less than a 270 nicad, and more than a 150 nicad. I have read that this plane required a lot of noseweight. Mine has about 1/4 an ounce at the nose, which is what I prefer. This gives me a bit of weight to adjust the CG with. If I would have gone with lighter control horns in the tail I maybe could have done without any nose weight at all. Total weight, based on guessing from an inaccurate scale, is about 9.5 oz. I will hopefully get to fly it in the next few days, it should be a great little airplane. Kristopher Harig RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send "subscribe" and "unsubscribe" requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
