eagle09tbl

Capt, I've had well in excess of 25 flights on mine and I haven't experienced any problems with fuel flow.

Do you think there is a possibility that the fuel flow issue is coming from something else other than the tank position? Has it always done this since it was built or is this a new symptom that has just came up? Whatever it is, I hope you can find it and get the mystery solved. Please report back once the solution is found.

Thanks and good luck with it.

[email protected]

The engine I have on the escapade now is an OS .40 SR that has the carb mounted at the rear of the crankcase. I originally had an Italian Super Tigre .46 on the escapade but never could get it to run right so after consulting Bax the moderator for ST engine support decided that the ST was not going to work.
The OS 40 Sr instructions says to use the pressure tap built into the crankcase for fuel tank pressure as this engine will not work with suction only. I checked the crankcase pressure this morning and it has pressure every flip of the propeller whether I have the glow plug installed or removed. So I know I have crankcase pressure.
Bax said that the only fix for the ST engine would be a pump or a regulator because the center line of the fuel tank is over 2 inches below the needle valve on the ST engine.
I am thinking now about purchasing and trying a Perry Pump regulator on the OS 40 SR because it is supposed to maintain a constant .25 PSI rather than the pulsing pressure that I am getting from the crankcase pressure fitting and the Perry pump requires a crankcase fitting that I already have on the OS .40 SR.
I first tried the the OS .40 SR with the pressure fitting attached to the fuel tank vent but the engine wouldn't run right. My 7 flights with the OS 40 SR were with the muffler pressure fitting attached to the fuel tank vent but I don't know if I am getting any pressure from the muffler or not. I will have to attach a pressure gauge to the muffler with the engine running and see if there is any muffler pressure or not.
Thanks eagle09,
Will update you with my results.
Captain Buford

F4U Corsair

My Feedback: (22)

I've got one for sale if anyone is interested: http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1088756

immelman50

Just maidened my Escapade today. I won it in a raffle at a fun fly, so the price was really right. As I built it I did some of the modifications mentioned here. I also did my usual procedures. Most of my other planes are scratch built or of my own design so I am kind of set in my ways. I only mention this as some things may be overkill on my part.

I sealed the aileron and elevator hinge lines with monocote.

I glued the tails feathers on and the wing panels onto the tube because the wing isn't that big to transport.

After reading of problems with the plywood tab at the front of the wing , I cut a little slot on each side and glued in some .007 carbon fiber strip about 2 inches long sandwiched between the halves as I glued them together,

I was concerned about flutter some have reported, so I checked the linkages and hinges carefully. All seemed well glued, in fact, everything on the plane did except the elevator joiner.

I put pin holes around the elevator joiner and wicked in thin CA.

I noticed that the control horns don't match the clevises well. Every one of them has holes that are big enough to allow some movement of the clevis pin inside them. It may be that one is metric and the other is inch specs. I would recommend either replacing all the control horns, or drilling them to the outside diameter of a 1/16 ID aluminum tube and making little bushings that way to CA into the holes tighten up the fit. I did that on mine. Slop in the linkage here is a real invitation to flutter.

The covering was truly well done and had absolutely no wrinkles but I sealed around all edges anyway.

It has an Evolution .46, a surprisingly powerful engine for the price. I used a 10X7 prop as I didn't have an 11X6 on hand. It needed no additional weight to balance 2 3/4" back from the leading edge and all up weight was 5 pounds 3 ounces.

The Escapade flew very well on it's maiden. It need only a few clicks or down and left trim. It is fairly fast and took off from pretty rough long grass with no problems. I didn't see the need to change the tailwheel and it worked fine so far.

I did snaps, very large loops and and flew an intermediate pattern sequence just to see if it would do it. It did quite well for a sport plane and was wrung out enough that I have confidence there won't be any structural failure. Teething pains were that one linkage on the dual servo ailerons came off at the servo end when the plastic keeper fell off and the fuel tank leaked. The tank was likely my fault, though, I was over cautious in tightening the stropper becuase I've split some tanks and didn't get it tight enough. I will put some heat shrink around each of those snap on keepers at the servo ends to prevent any reoccurance of the keepers falling off

Overall, I'm very happy with the flying characteristics and feel it's a good value for the price. It just needs some attention to the linkages and elevator joiner.

It's a nice looking plane and I think I'll be flying it a lot.

Good luck with yours!

immelman50

landeck

My Feedback: (1)

Today I maidened the Escapade I built in spring. It had all of the standard mods/fixes except I kept the original tail wheel which worked fine. I bought a Magnum .46 XLS when they were on sale for $47 including shipping. It ran flawlessly. The plane took off easily from our grass runway. It only need three clicks of right aileron for trim. It flew rock steady and went where I pointed it. I brought it in on our paved runway and it was a smooth landing. After the roll out I turned to taxi back and the engine died. When I went to pick it up it felt like it had fuel all over the bottom. I went to empty the tank but there was no fuel in it. Taking the wing off I found the foam around the fuel tank was soaked with fuel. Getting it back home and taking the fuel tank out, I found the rubber stopper was loose I had forgotten to tighten it when I assembled it[:-]. Luckily I had fuel proofed the entire tank area combined with the foam rubber around the tank soaking up 90% of the fuel resulted in no damage to the wood. I still used some K2R but it did not find much oil.

One more circuit and I would have dead sticked it low and heading the wrong way. Some days things just go right.

Bruce

hairy46

My Feedback: (1)

Thanks guys great reports! They are a wonderful airplane! Bob



Remember it is easier to ask for forgiveness then for permission!

paul33507

I just lost my Avistar on Sunday, 3 years without incident. Started playing around with functions on my 9CAP Tx and stupidly reduced the rates to around 10%, then in a panic flipped the flapperons to spoilers, well, now i need a new plane. The guy who was flying with me had just poked fun at all my switches and knobs. After reading all of this I will be placing an order at my LHS. Sounds like a great plane can't wait to dive in.
-Paul

rclement

My Feedback: (1)

I know what you mean about all the switches on the 9CAP. There is a bunch on there but they are a super nice radio. I like them better than the Spektrum I have, that's for sure. About the Escapade, I just maidened mine yesterday, and although I only got about 4 flights on it, it's a really, really good flying plane. Unbelievable for the price. One of the guys at the field has both the Escapade and Hangar 9 Pulse and he likes the Escapade better.

landeck

My Feedback: (1)

I have both an Escapade with a Magium 46 XLS and a Pulse XT 60 with a OS 61 FX. While the Pulse flies great, I think the Escapade is a little better and a lot of fun. The Pulse will float more than the Escapade while the Escapade just sets down nicely on landing.

Bruce

Moki 1.8

My Feedback: (11)

Hey guys, I just bought a Escapade on the 15th of this month, after reading some of these post im kinda nervous about flying this thing! Im scared its gonna come apart in the air. I have a Great Planes big stick 40 with a Webra 50 on it and thats my pride and joy. Well ive been wanting another plane lately so I debated between the Escapade and the stick by hangar 9. Im a vey big fan of sticks, they fly like a dream, anyway, I decided to go with the Escapade. Im kinda regreting it now. Yesterday I ordered a new O.S. .46AX for it. Well I have decided to sell it. All I have done is mounted the the landing gear front and rear and bolted the rear down. If someone is interested in it I will sell for 100 bucks and ill eat shipping. Robert 318-201-1703

landeck

My Feedback: (1)

If you read the whole thread, you will know what to do to prevent any possible failures. The known weaknesses are in the tail where the elevator wire connecter needs to glued into the wood with thin CA and the wing hold down tabs where the lite ply can delaminate; this too can be fixed by CA. Otherwise just reinforce the the landing gear block and fire wall with epoxy and possibly some additional triangle stock. Also fuel proof the firewall and fuel tank compartment if you are using a glow engine. It is a great looking and flying plane.

Bruce

Moki 1.8

My Feedback: (11)

Yea bud, I read the whole thing. I've just decided to go with a new project.

crash1ace

Hiya,
I just finishe building my Escapade. Now its time to balance it. I was wondering if anyone had any issues with the balance? I built in to the the directions,with receiver and battery place above the wing saddle (per the instructions) and am using an OS46FX engine. My plane has turned out to be super tail heavy, and seems to need about 6oz of weight in the nose to balance (sounds crazy I know).

Thats my problem. I really could use some help here, thanks!

landeck

My Feedback: (1)

Mine balanced perfectly by placing the battery right behine the firewall over the fuel tank. The engine is a Magmum 46 XLS.

Bruce

eagle09tbl

I too built mine by the plans and with the heavier Magnum 52 four stroke it balanced perfectly. Wow, 6 ounces is a lot of weight to add. When you built yours did you do the modifications listed in this thread? Did you do anything at the rear of the plane such as adding extra glue when gluing the tail on that could be causing this? What type of servos are you using?

I would suggest trying different things other than just adding dead weight first. For example, can you move your engine more forward on the engine mount? Use a heavier weighted prop hub? Maybe try a heavier battery pack and moving it as far forward as possible in front of the cg?

I try anything I can to avoid just adding dead weight when I build. Usually shifting things around just a bit can eliminate having to add more than one or two small weights at most.

Good luck with yours and I hope you can get it to balance soon. You will enjoy the plane once you get it right. Keep us informed.

crash1ace

Thanks for the info ! I havent the weight in their just yet. Wanted to hear from others first. I already have the motor as far forward as possible. I havent done anything to the tail section other that what the plans say. Im using standard Fut 3004 servos. Id like to move the battery just behind the firewall but I think its too late now (that plate holding the tank is glued in tight). May have to resort to cutting the bottom out to move that battery forward. Id also like to use a wood prop for a change since it looks nice on the plane instead of the usuall APC, etc.

hairy46

My Feedback: (1)

Wow that seems like allot of weight to add! I have the same set up with the 3004 servos, I have a 46 AX on it the balance was very close just had to move battery around to get iyt to balance out! I too do not like the dead weight in a plane! keep looking it will balance out! recheck the balance it just so not like this plane to be that far off! Good luck with that! Bob



Remember it is easier to ask for for forgiveness then for permission!

road_rascal

I put a 2.75" aluminum spinner on my plane to balance it out. It added about 2oz of weight. I'm using an OS 46FXi with an 11x6 prop. I really like this plane- flies great!

Mickzo

I put one on lay by today. Can't wait to pay it off and start putting it together. I will have to re-read this whole thread so that i know where and what to reinforce. I still have to choose an engine and propeller size to put on it. I'm thinking a 4 stroke as I love the sound.

Its a pity we can get the thread as a pdf with all the mods so that its easily available to download, print and follow when building.

Mike

Prop_Washer2

My Feedback: (26)

Just ordered one from Tower today for a quick and eesy throw it in the truck and go fly. Also ordered the 1/4 scale Extra 300S "Gene Soucy" ARF on sale for $279.00 minus $80.00 in coupons. I have an FTL 45cc Gasser from Hobby City $179.00 to go in that. Should be a good intro to Gas, as my 1/3rd scale Yak 54 and FPE 5.8 are still NIB. The escapade looks like a great "take along" to keep the "rust" off of my sticks. Haven't flown all year...gotta get back into tha' groove..!!!

djculver

Just a note to think of. If you are using a Spektrum DX6 or 7, they have built in timers. It is activated in the programming mode, and you set it up for whatever switch you would like. I have mine set on a 9 1/2 minute timer so after my pre-flight run up, the last thing I do is flick my trainer switch, and that starts a 9 1/2 minute count down. It beeps at you at 1 minute intervals and continuously beeps when time has elapsed. Great built in feature. Of course it's only good if you know your planes and how long each typically runs on one tank minus a 10% variable. I have an average of 11 minutes per tank so I give myself 1 1/2 minutes extra, just in case I may not be lined up, or if someone else needs the run way on a dead stick, ect.
DJ

paul33507

I just got a call from my LHS, my escapade FINALLY came in. Now i have to wait until 12:30 to go pick it up. Maybe I can be flying by Monday. Thank goodness for Labor Day Weekend
My plans are:
-Epoxy tail feathers
-Epoxy wing halves
-Dual Aileron servos
-O.S. .40 LA (leftover from the Avistar)
-Finish by Sunday, Flying on Monday (wife's plans permitting of course)
-Paul

[email protected]

Paul,
The tail wheel nylon retainer will not stay on very long even if Caed or epoxied on. I used a 1/16th wheel collar after my tailwheel came off durning a landing. I was lucky enough to find the tail wheel on the runway.
The plane will come out tail heavy. I installed my flat receiver battery pack on top of the fuel tank using double sided mounting tape as far forward as possible. My CG came out to be 2 and 3/4 inches from the leading edge even after putting 1 ounce of weight behind the firewall.
I also installed the fuel tank with the fuel lines to the left side so that it is in line with the 3 pre drilled holes in the firewall. That is 180 degrees different than what the instructions say.
Also the outside fuel line kept splitting where it was cut so I got some Dubro medium fuel line for the outside of the tank. The inside fuel line is different than the outside fuel line that kept splitting.
The plane does the best knife edge of any plane that I have owned.
Enjoy.
Captain Buford

paul33507

Captain,
The tail wheel did feel a bit cheap, total of 11hours to assemble, 5:00pm - 4:00am (I did take one break to scarf down some dinner). I was too impatient to wait until the next day to go to the LHS. I'll probably pick up a Sullivan tail wheel this weekend and replace it after the first flight. Added 2 oz of lead to the nose after I moved the battery against the firewall. Very easy build, (this will be my 3rd) I was confused about the wheel collars, I thought GP left out the set screws for the main's collars. I was expecting to find little black hex key set screws. It wasn't until I had finished assembling and was looking through my box of leftovers when i realized they used Phillips head machine screws. Oh well now I have spares. How where your wing bolts? I thought I was going to break mine just threading them in w/o the wing. I am using some nylon bolts i had picked up from Home Depot I was going to use on the Avistar, they feel much stronger, not nearly as brittle. Now I have to fine tune the servos and program my radio, charge the batteries any go flying. Can't wait.
-Paul

[email protected]

Paul, yea the wheel collar screws are phillip head screws which I didn't use. I had some narrower collars that used set screws and I used them instead. The GP collars are a little too wide for the axles or else the axles are too short.
The wing bolts were real tight to begin with. They may have gotten some CA in the metal threads. I am still using the GP nylon wing bolts that came with the kit and they are fine. I like the fact that you can screw them in with with a 7/16 socket rather than with a screwdriver.
Be careful on the amount of up and down on the ailerons at high rate. 1/2" up and 1/2 down was way too much for my taste. I have about 3/8" up and 3/8" down on high rate and that still gives a very fast roll rate. I have been using low rate on my flights on the ailerons and I have that set for about 1/4" up and 1/4" down and I like that better than the high rate.
Captain Buford