The number that jumped out at me was the flying weight: 800 grams ready to fly, battery included, on a 900mm balsa biplane. For a scratch-built Pitts-style machine with two wings and wheels under it, that seems remarkably light to me, and it shows in how smoothly the first flight went.
The airframe comes from laser-cut balsa, worked up from a simplified take on the classic Pitts design. AviPlanes covered it in Doculam and Japanese tissue, and the finish choices really stand out: a red and white sunburst pattern radiating across the upper wing and tail surfaces, red interplane struts linking the two wings, a solid red nose section, and a semi-translucent white film over the rear fuselage. That translucent tail end is my favourite part of the look.
Electronics are a Turnigy Graphene 1500mAh 3S LiPo, four SAVÖX SH-0257MG servos, a Futaba R7008SB receiver, an AXI 2208/34 motor, a Robbe 40A ESC and a light-coloured 9x5 prop at the nose. Before flying, the battery slides in through a hatch on the underside, the pack voltage gets checked with a handheld digital tester, and the motor and control surfaces are tested with the plane sitting upright on its wheels.
The maiden flight went well: a run down a dirt path, then banking turns, flybys and rolls before touching down on the grass and taxiing. Flight time came out near 8 minutes with about 2 minutes held in reserve. The trade-off is power, as the setup feels slightly underpowered and the aircraft still needs a little more trimming, and the maker plans to test different propellers for a better match. The laser-cut dxf files are also being shared, which strikes me as a generous move.
Project by AviPlanes. Watch it on their YouTube channel: