RCU Forums - CG Eagle 400 ARF

Well I guess you could say I have "rediscovered" small electric planes. I am really a glow guy, but I have been flying an electrified CG Gentle Lady that I built when I was 15. It has become one of my favorite lazy-day planes, but I still fly the glow models when I want some action. A friend of mine gave me his RC collection (which he never really got flying). Among the models was an old Eagle 400 (brushed electric 38" version of the Eagle trainer). I initially tried flying it with the original geared 400-sized brushed motor, an excessively large prop, and a waaay too big/heavy battery pack. It also had a twist in the wing, and a travel issue with one aileron, neither of which I caught (i just wanted to throw it in the air and see if I liked it). The result was a fairly sharp left turn on takeoff (probably caused as much by torque as anything else) and a moderately bad crash.

I finally mounted my extra BL outrunner, got a BL ESC, installed a proper battery (2s 700mah lipo), and fixed the airframe issues. The result: a totally different airplane! I love the way it flies! It just floats around right in front of me, slow and gentle as you please.

Here's a video of it in-flight (sorry for all the focus issues, we only had a point-and-shoot camera available):

[link=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tQe8xbAmFrI]CG Eagle 400 Second Flight[/link]

I am currently electrifying a Sig Riser 100 (which was also given to me in the same lot) with a BL outrunner in the nose. I flew it once as a glider and liked it, but I don't really have the space (or care to take the time/hassle) to use a hi-start. I have already picked out two little planes I want to build soon: Herr Cherokee and Mountain Models Cessna 180...I do like general aviation planes!

This model is great because it is basically ZERO HASSLE and I can fly it almost anywhere. I was taking my Gentle Lady (and my 40-sized glow models) to the local park about 5 minutes from my house, but even that is a bit of a hassle...I work until 6pm or later, my wife and I just had our second child, and I no longer have the time or motivation to fiddle with transporting and otherwise dealing with larger glow models on a regular basis. Plus it is not always possible to fly the big stuff there, depending on other activities a the park. The little Eagle is awesome..I'm loading the battery from the front, so I can literally run to the garage, grab the plane and TX, and WALK to a big field across the street with my wife and kids, and fly around for a while. I have already flown three times in the past week, which is almost unheard of for me these days.

I don't even have to remove the wing...just turn on the TX, plug in the battery, and fly. I love it!

Matt