RE: Great Planes Escapade .40 ARF
 

Has anyone flown this with just a plain old 46FP and a 11x6 prop? I know that it won't do 3D, but will it fly OK and do mild manuevers (i.e., loops, rolls, etc.)?

I was going to put a 55AX into it until I remember that I had that reserved for another airplane...

Bob

RE: Great Planes Escapade .40 ARF
 

It would be a fine sport flyer with a .46FP Bob.

RE: Great Planes Escapade .40 ARF
 

Thanks for the reply, Warren... It would just be something new to fly, just to bore holes in the sky. I just thought of a way to get a 55AX into it anyway, but perhaps I'll start out with the 46 just for fun!

Bob

RE: Great Planes Escapade .40 ARF
 

Just in case anyone was wondering this little plane is a VERY capable windy day flyer. I took it out to a Fly-In at one of the local clubs and it was WINDY!!! Steady state winds were around 26 MPH and toward noon they were gusting up to 40!I put about 6 flights on my Escapade and it flew like a champ. I ushed the CG up to 65 mm in anticipation of the winds and it flew great all day. The wind was right down the runway and it was really haulin but on the downwind!

RE: Great Planes Escapade .40 ARF
 

If anyone is looking for a cowl for this plane I have a brand new one still in the plastic that I decided not to use. if anyone is interested just shoot me a PM and we cna work out a deal.

RE: Great Planes Escapade .40 ARF
 

Sold. That sure didn't take long!

RE: Great Planes Escapade .40 ARF
 

I have looked at this plane for awhile and finally broke down to purchase. I can tell you that I am not regret my decision, because it's great built. The covering is among the tightest and gorgous classic looking. The plane goes together quick and straight forward. Here is what I found negative: The tail wheel. I just can't believe when I look at it. It is like you put a tooth pick size tail wheel assembly in a 6-7 lbs plane. I went ahead to install it anyway, just to test it strength. To my suspicion, it did not stand a chance in the grass field. It bent sideway and made my take off run, of course, sideway. Get rid of it; install some generic tail gear. I used one of my old gear that you had to stick it through the bottom of the rudder. In this case, DO NOT remove the Escapade rudder. Instead use the small piece of plastic connector that connects the retractable landing gear to the servo pull rod. Pull out the plastic poll at the rudder of the Escapade, but careful, you may damage the wood. Widen that hole and fit the connector in place, seal the hole with epoxy. The long tail of the tail gear should fit through the hole of the retract connector.
The battery should fit in the BOTTOM tray BELOW the fuel tank. Knock out a hole in the firewall (which already laser marked) so the battery pack can stick out to fit better. The CG is automatically balanced.
I flew mine with a Magnum XL 40 and a 10x6 wood prop. I hardly trim anything since it flies like on rail on the maiden, in the 10-15 mph wind. Landing is slow, contrary to some reports. I brought it in slow and it did not even drop a wing. 3 point landing was achieved.

RE: Great Planes Escapade .40 ARF
 

texaswarbird, I am in my 3rd season flying the Escapade 40 and the stock tail wheel is working fine for me. I too am flying off of grass. The one problem I am having is that the foam on the tail wheel is starting to wear out. By adding a third party tail wheel you are increasing the weight in the tail of a plane that tends to be tail heavy. I balanced mine by placing the battery over the fuel tank where it fits very nicely. I have enjoy the Escapade greatly and I hope you get many great flights out of it.

Bruce

p.s., I am ready to maiden my Escapade 61. Hope it flyes as well as the 40 size one.

RE: Great Planes Escapade .40 ARF
 

I hope your 60 size Escapade flies well too. It has a cowl so surely a leaner look. I use Alkaline battery in all my planes. Just buy a $2 battery tray, solder the z connector wire, and 4 AA batteries, then you can fly all day worry free about the receiver battery. I have a Voltwatch meter in the canopy. It stays green with this setting even after I fly 12-14 sorties. I hate the maintenance part of the rechargable battery and they don't last long for my flying day. The Escapade canopy does not seem to hold tight. I install my battery tray below the fuel tank where there is a hatch to cover it. I screwed the hatch down with 2 screws, put the fuel tank on top, and close the canopy. In this case I don't have to worry the battery pack falls out during an inverted maneuver if the canopy pops. I think this plane is a keeper. BTW, to those guys who still on the decision edge, check out Tower hobby today because it on sale for below $100. I hit my button when it was $109.

RE: Great Planes Escapade .40 ARF
 

I just bought another fuse for my Escapade. It's been flying with a motor all winter, now it's time to put a glow engine in it. I'll use the same wings, tail feathers, LG, etc. That'll be my bum-around plane for the summer. Then I'll go back to the e-motor next winter.

Is there a way to get ones hands on another tailwheel for the Escapade? It doesn't seem to be part of any parts packages that I can buy on line.

Thanks,

Bob

RE: Great Planes Escapade .40 ARF
 

I used a Sullivan tailwheel and bracket (part #S860). Much stronger than the stock.

RE: Great Planes Escapade .40 ARF
 

That's the one I use also. http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/js/f...eeth_smile.gif

Bill

RE: Great Planes Escapade .40 ARF
 

How did you fabricate the tiller mechanism?

Bob

RE: Great Planes Escapade .40 ARF
 

If you're asking how the Sullivan tail wheel assembly attaches to the rudder, no fabrication is necessary. The spring wire that comes with the Sullivan fits through the small plastic rudder post that comes stock with the Escapade so it attaches the same way as the stock assembly. If that's not what you meant please ask again. http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/js/f...eeth_smile.gif

Bill

RE: Great Planes Escapade .40 ARF
 

Nope, that's it. I didn't think that the wire would fit. I'll have to look around and see if I can find mine, or get one at the LHS...

Bob

RE: Great Planes Escapade .40 ARF
 

Quick video of me flying the Escapadehttp://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/js/f.../msn/72_72.gif.......

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zkZ41nq4Ad0

RE: Great Planes Escapade .40 ARF
 

Pretty cool

RE: Great Planes Escapade .40 ARF
 

I flew my Escapade last week for the first time this season. I have a single aileron servo and the included tailwheel. But after flying 3 seasons off grass fields, the tailwheel bracket finally has started to bend easily. I have replaced it with a Sullivan.

I also noticed that the aileron torque rods are getting loose inside the wing. So I am going to switch to double aileron servos this weekend.

I still love my Escapade and fly it on windier days.

RE: Great Planes Escapade .40 ARF
 

wellllllllll........I went and did it.....i found a used escapade that is wayyyyyyyy over powered....go figure huh???.....its got an older OS FP .60 size on it and it is wayyyy way wayyyyyyyy nose heavy.....i moved the battery back as far as I could....had to put the spektrum rx up underneath the landing gear pocket in the fuse......moved the fuel tank as far back as possible....etc etc etc.......after re arranging locations of everything and adding an MPI charging jack switch combo and a volt watch meter I was still able to remove over 3.5 oz of weight that the previous owner had epoxied underneath the tail of the fuse......and the stock tailwheel assy was mostly all missing so naturally I put in a Sullivan style tailwheel assy.....also I checked it out for lateral balance and was able to remove .5 oz of weight on the left wingtip that was epoxied there.....re sealed and tightened up the covering and checked throws and all......set up dual rates and expo but have yet to fly this plane to trim it out.......I am excited to be able to check it out after reading all the forum pages and studying up on this aircraft.....pix will be forth coming ASAP

Mark

RE: Great Planes Escapade .40 ARF
 

As promised earlier......here are a few pix of this escapade as I got it before freshening it all up......looks like a great flyer I think.......we will soon see....

Mark

RE: Great Planes Escapade .40 ARF
 

Well, I just ordered my second Escapade 40. I lost my first one last winter when I was on final for landing and it just ploughed into the ground. Upon inspection, I found that I had forgotten to put the screw that holds the servo arm on in and the arm came loose from the aileron servo and TADA......no control at a very low level. I have been flying since RC since 1979 and that is the first time that that has happened to me......I pride myself on a thorough pre-flight........... [:o].............anyway, I think that this time I'll do the dual servo aileron set-up.......I was just in a hurry last time and went with the center servo. I flew this plane for 8 months without a hitch............I loved it..........it was one that I just put together in my shop so when I got to the field all I had to do was fuel up and fly.......couldn't be without this for a week-end warrior...........gotta love it!!! Oh.......I fly it with an OS46FX and it is a bullet.

cheers,
Andy

RE: Great Planes Escapade .40 ARF
 

Awesome

RE: Great Planes Escapade .40 ARF
 

<span style="font-family: Courier New"><span style="font-size: larger"><span style="color: #339966">Oldtyme,
Congrats on the new Escapade....keep us posted on the maiden and send some pix too please....Who did you order it thru...???......LHSor.....???....will you use the same engine from the last one?.....Ihavent done the dual servo aileron setup on mine just yet....let us know how you prefer that setup vs. the last one also if there is any noticeable difference or not....GOODLUCK flying</span></span></span>

RE: Great Planes Escapade .40 ARF
 

I flew my Escapade with the single aileron servo for 2 seasons with good results. This season, I noticed that the aileron torque rods got loose inside the wing. So I modified it to dual aileron servos. I think the single aileron servo setup is fine as long as the torque rods are not loose.

RE: Great Planes Escapade .40 ARF
 

I agree that the single aileron servo works fine..........I just wanted to try it different this time...........also in the crash I mentioned..........one of the torque rods tore out the trailing edge of the wing when it took out the aileron so I think the dual servo setup will be sturdier........we'll see.