jetnfast

My Feedback: (2)

One more thing....Looking at the installation of the motor and according the directions it specifies using the X-mount AND the 1 1/4 inch spacers to extend the motor further off the firewall, this is using the 450 motor of course. But in later pictures (specifically when looking at the cowl installation pics) it does not show a motor installed with the spacers it show the motor attached to the firewall directly using the X-mount. Whether or not to install the spacers or not will definetly affect the CG and also the position of the cowl relative to the spinner. So what is the right way? If I use the spacers then the cowl is barely covering the fuse at the screw points. Again, this is a little confusing to me. From viewing the pictures in this thread of various Pulse XT's, it seems it is correct to use the spacers. If this is the case, then how far is the cowl over the fuse? It cant be much right? I really dislike when assembly manuals contradict themselves. Any clarification is appreciated. Sorry for the long posts too. Thanks!

Aaron

clovus

I used the aluminium spacers. A right pain they were with the 480, very fiddly.

clovus

smbohn

jet, use the spacers with the 450. The cowl should just barely cover the front of the fuse. They put plywood tabs that extend past the front of the fuse and those are where you place your screws.

I didn't have a problem with the spinner. I used an APC 10x7E prop and the two plastic spacers that they included. The spinner nose cone does not seat flat against the spinner base (there is a little gap), but after 30-40 flights it has yet to pop off, even when I have broken the prop on a bad landing.

Question: Do you have the PNP version? I wonder if the 450 PNP has a shorter prop shaft/adapter than the real 450.

jetnfast

My Feedback: (2)

Smbohn,

Actually I dont have the PNP version, just the ARF/Kit version. Thanks for the informative post, it really help to get the picture of the setup you are talking about. I understand the tabs are for the screws for the cowl, but I was curious about how far the cowl goes on the fuse, and you clarified it when you said its just barely on there. I am going to wait for the Dubro spinner to arrive and give that one a try, since I cant seem to get the stock one to work despite all the suggestions. I want to get it in the air soon so I will go without the spinner and then just approximate the position of the cowl so when the Dubro one arrives it will be close. Anyhow, gotta get building. Thanks -

Aaron

djdavidcp

I have a really stupid question........ I finally have the time to set up my Mini Pulse. I got a Hitec Electron 6 receiver, E-Flite 40A ESC. I am using a Futaba 9CHP transmitter that I also use on my heli. Anyway, the Hitec receiver didn't come with any instructions and their webiste has no info. What I need to know is, which channel do I plug the ESC into on the Electron 6. Channel 6 is marked Batt/6. I am afraid to just start plugging things in without knowing what channels are what on the receiver.

Doug

djdavidcp

Nevermind guys.... I answered my own dumb question Should be ready to fly in a couple hours.

Doug

Lazy8

I was finally able to maiden the MPXT today, perfect weather here in Indiana 5-8 mph winds and sun. Everything went perfect, great flying plane, nearly hands off inverted flight and only minimal trimming needed for straight and level. I now feel the need for the BL480! The 450 is great, but this plane flys so well I now see the reason for unleahing the full potential of this plane using the 480.
Question- I used the APC 10x7 prop, did anyone have any luck with using the spinner with this combo??

Fliprob17

The APC 10x7E or the APC 10x7 Slow Fly? The E-Prop is a little different and does not work, even with the DuBro Spinner, without cutting out some material. The slowFly works perfect. No cutting involved.

Lazy8

fliprob, Thanks I just checked the packaging the prop came with and it is indeed the 10x7E. Also, thanks to all that have contributed to this thread it has been a big help for me. This is my first balsa/lite ply model and love it! fliprob, how did you connect the 3/4" pvc to your garage ceiling? Nice idea.

djdavidcp

My Mini is all ready to maiden tomorrow. I'm meeting a couple guys at the local flying field for some help. I've been away from airplanes for a long time, so they are going to check it out and trim it up for me. I'll report back to let everyone know how it went. It's been a while since I've flown a plane, but I shouldn't have any problems. I just wanted some help because I'd hate to crash it on the first flight.

Doug

Fliprob17

I just used drywall plugs. I did not want to go into the studs. They do not need that much support, so it works out pretty good.

clovus

D'oh,

I'm almost ready to maiden- everythign fitted really well and it looks great! Just gotta mount prop and cowl. I got the 10 x 7 e-prop. Guess it might be another trip to the hobby shop for me.....

clovus

djdavidcp

I didn't get to maiden the Mini today. Too much wind. 20 mph and gusts up to 30mph. But I got it completely ready to go.

I did stop by the field for a little while and watched a few brave people fly. They were mostly big gassers. I saw a 29% Funtana slam into the ground. That was horrible. Something happened to his radio just after takoff and it went into a nasty spiral. Pretty much totalled the airplane.

Oh well. Hopefully I'll get a chance to fly this week.

Doug

jetnfast

My Feedback: (2)

I almost maidened my Pulse Today after finishing it this weekend. I will be out of town for the next two weeks so it will have to wait a while for the maiden! A few questions and observations:

1.) CG - Mine is balancing a little nose heavy? Is this sounding correct? I am using a TP2100 Mah and the 450 motor. All HS55's, E-flite ESC, Futaba RX. It seems like it will take about 1/4-1/2 ounce of wait to get it to balance. This is with the battery furthest forward.

2.) Nylon Bolts - I remember reading in this post that Flipbrop found somewhere online to get the nylon 4-40 replacement bolts. Any direction on where to find these online would be appreciated....since I cant find them on Tower's website. I like the idea of using them for the gear and the wings.

3.) Tailwheel - Mine came with a little POS plastic wheel that I replaced with a 3/4" diameter one, looks much better.

4.) Spinner/Prop - I have the stock one bolted on there now with the E-flite 10x8 and it is not balanced correctly and I dont want to fly it like that. I am going to try the Dubro one when I return in a few weeks for the maiden. I also think I will order the APC 10x7 SLOWFLY. I have virtually all the others and it sounds like that one works well with the dubro setup.

5.) I have flaperons dialed in. Any experience with this setup on the Pulse? Might help to slow her down a bit on landing.

Overall, it is a really nice looking plane. I could have maidened her out today, but it was a little breezy just like Doug's experience and I didnt want to risk it. Also, my wife has the digital camera right now and I wanted to take some pics of her before she flew. We'll find out in a few weeks. Until then I need to find those nylon wing bolts.....thanks for reading my post and any thoughts on the observations above is appreciated.

Aaron

djdavidcp

Without sounding like an old geezer (I'm only 46), I was amazed at how easy it is to get an airplane set up properly these days with programmable radios. Back when I used to build and fly with my dad in the late 70s and through the 80s, we stick built everything. Then the centering and servo travels had to be adjusted mechanically. It was kind of a pain sometimes to get everything adjusted properly. This Mini Pulse was a joy to set up with my Futaba 9CHP. Just hook everything up, get it at centered manually, then dial it in. Can't wait to fly it!!

Just one question though. My antenna wire from my Electron 6 is pretty long. Does anyone have a tip on mounting the antenna wire. Whats the best way to route it and mount it without compromizing reception. Any pics? Thats the only thing in my setup that I don't like how I did it.

Doug

Fliprob17

1. All you need to do is move the battery back a little in the bay, just a little south of center should do it.

2. http://www.pratherproducts.com/ - This is where I got them from - #4020 Nylon Round Head Bolts 1" x 4-40 - I only use them for the landing gear. I didn't really see a need to have nylon for the wing bolts.

Fliprob17

I wrapped up as much of the wire as I could on the bobbin. I then wrapped the bobbin up in some of that blue painters tape, it barely has any adhesive on it so it doesn't get anything on the antenna wire and it was the only thing I could think of to use I then used a very small piece of packing tape over the top of the blue painters tape and taped the bobbin inside the fuse. I am sure there are better ways to do this, but it has worked perfect for me in all of my planes Then you can just run the wire out of the cut out in the bottom of the fuse and use the rubber band/servo horn method to attach it to the tail wheel. I actually ran the wire up thru the top of the canopy and then back to the top of the vert. stab./rudder on this plane. I fly this plane a lot and didn't want the wire dragging around on the asphalt.

clovus

I think my search for the perfect park flier is over!

Checked everything over last night and maidened this morning. What a nice plane! A joy to fly. Only took two clicks of down and it was hands off. I thought that was always poetic licence from product reviewers when they build a plane but for the mpxt its true! If I'd set the elevator level it would've been trimmed perfectly, but I tend to err on the safe side....

I kept reading about how it floats along, but until you experience it for yourself..... Took me three circuits to set up for landing, even with minimal throttle. I'm using the 480eflite, 10x7 apc e prop25a eflite esc, 2100 lipo from the stryker c, hs55 for ailerons, s75 for elev/rudder. Does anyone know how to reprog the esc for prop braking?

Thanks for such a great thread. The first 5 or 6 pages got me hooked on this great plane and Doc Austen's posts were so descriptive I just had to get one.
5 smileys from me too!

clovus

jbajor

You guys have inspired me! After agonizing over what the 'next' plane should be, I just ordered a mini-pulse for my first aileron plan... been flying parkzone cub, and eflite jenny up until now... any suggestions for the first flight? I ordered the pnp and will be flying it with a 6 channel spectrum radio.

Jordan

Fliprob17

Glad it all went well!!

Fliprob17

If you set it up as spec'd in the manual, you should be good. Just don't be afraid to give it the throttle, she is much easier to fly when moving along. Make sure you get the nylon bolts for the landing gear, you may bring her in a little hard the first few times, and they will save you from buying a new fuse.

zoott

Set it to minimum throws if this is your first ail. plane. Have someone experienced trim it out and give you a hand. Trust me on this advice. It is a nice flier but is a handful for a first ail. plane. I'm sure it can be done.
Just make it easy on yourself.
I hope others will chime in here.

mikec456

My Feedback: (1)

Be sure to pull the cowling off and check your motor mounts! My PNP 450 was missing one bolt into the motor and two others were stripped. Not to mention they had used so much thread lock on the firewall bolts that they had to be ground off. The 450 ran well but was inferror quality when compared to a boxed 450 or 480. The windings were so sloppy that to install bolts without touching the windings I had to grind away half the bolt. To fix the stripped out holes in the motor I used red loctite, which worked well. Good flying plane but crappy motor quality[&o]

clovus

I read earlier that this would be a good 2nd plane. Maybe for some people, but not for me. I think it would've bit the dust quite early on in the piece. Why? well there's no self correcting tendancies, you need co-ordinated inputs to get it to fly well and it sure moves along. Then again one of my friends has been flying for a few months and is way better then me. Maybe if you have better reflexes then me and my dumb thumbs!

I'd second the minimum throws. Also if you have a trans capable of mixing in some exponential it might smooth things out for you. Good luck! It is a beautiful plane and flies really well.

clovus

djdavidcp

By bobbin, do you mean a ferrite bead?