As the titling describes, this is the first flight of my SECOND Polaris RC seaplane. Looking down at my transmitter to find the aileron trim button (less than two seconds) permitted my first Polaris to get into an altitude and attitude from which I had insufficient time to recover. I was able to retrieve all the vital parts (motor, battery, ESC, servos, etc.) and they were put into this second aircraft.
I purchase the laser cut kit from Model Aero (both times) but I just as easily could have made it from the free online plans. As a design it builds easily though I would recommend that this NOT be your first build because there are a number of things that are not covered in the instructions that you must figure out for yourself.
As a flyer it is fabulous. As you see in this video it can be a docile, predictable flyer, or you can dial it up to 3D capability. It has very good high alpha -slow speed stability and is capable of putting on a good turn of speed. One thing that this design permits is a radical pitch-spin achieved by cutting the motor, flying straight up until it hits zero airspeed, and give full down elevator while ramming the throttle full forward. If you have trouble getting into this maneuver, it is probably because you are falling to one side or the other before shoving up the throttle. Recovery is achieved by shutting down the throttle and letting it stabilize pointing down followed by an easy pull up and easing on of the throttle again. Obviously you need lots of height before attempting this.
I highly recommend this plane for anyone who wants a seaplane with a wide spectrum of capability.
