Doc Austin

No doubt a lot of sport fliers are really excited about the upcoming Mini Pulse by E Flite. Good thing mine is due in tomorrow morning, but for now, I'de like to make a few observations based off what I've learned from the instruction manual.

I'm excruciatingly persnickety about how my gear goes into my airplane. A lot of this is from being such a perfectionist (meaning that my standards are much higher than my ability) that I wouldn't be happy even if I had painted the Mona Lisa, and a lot of this is from having seen so many silly little oversights destroy otherwise good airplanes. Hundreds of dollars, thousands of hours work, and all it takes is one loose screw or a wire out of place to wash it all away in a heartbeat.

Dramatics aside, this looks like it's going to be a pretty standard build. Maybe the cowling is going to be a little tricky (well, compared to a Mini Ultra stick, anway.....) and we all know how much fun wheel pants are, but the engine and radio installation is going to be a snap. The servo locations are already cut out, and assuming you're going to use HS55s, there's not going to be a problem. Canopies are always a pain, but there looks to be enough meat on this one to where it will attach quite nicely with Dubro self tapping Allen screws, which I like to use for everything. One tool does it all!

There is one area I'm not sure about as of now. I'm planning on jamming a 480 under the cowl, and assuming it will fit, the only issue is the mounting. This plane is designed for the 450, but the bolt hole pattern on the rear, where the motor bolts to the X mount, is the same for the 450 as it is for the 480. I recently got a 480 that accidentally came with a 450 mount. Horizon made it right by sending out a replacement, but while I had the mount, I trial fitted it to a 480. it fit. The holes that bolt the mount to the firewall are closer to center than on a 480 mount, and the bolts won't clear the motor when you go to put them in. I don't think this is going to be insurmountable because I can probably put the firewall mounting bolts in before I bolt the X mount to the rear of the engine. either that, or I can mount the X mount and maybe go behind the engine to tighten the bolts that attach the engine to the X mount. Then, all I have to worry about it the motor itself fitting inside the cowling.

One saving grace is that the Pulse comes with it's own special X mount, and it appears the offending holes just might be spaced further apart.....maybe far enough apart that this will alleviate the problem. We'll have to see when I have the mount in my hands.

That aside, I do have a 450 and a couple of 1320 battery packs in the armada, so this baby is going to hit the air tomorrow afternoon..... no matter what.

The attached photo shows the e Flite 480 with the 450 mount attached and a bolt pushed through. You can see how the engine is too big for the firewall bolt pattern.

Doc Austin

Attached is a photo from the construction manual. It appears that the special Pulse 450 engine mount may have the firewall mounting bolts a little further apart, maybe enough to clear the 480 engine and make this installation a snap. My suspicion is that while E flite recommends the 450, they know there are plenty of sickos out there like me who don't know when to stop when we have enough power stuffed under the cowling....
......assuming there is such a thing as enough power.

Disclaimer: I photoshopped in the bolt to illustrate my point.

Doc Austin

One last observation before I hopefully get my paws on the kit: I hope there's enough room under the battery tray to slide the speed controller under there. For one, I don't like to have a bunch of visible spaghetti in the airplane. I like to tuck the wires away and keep everything as neatly appearing as possible, so hiding everything under the battery tray is a good option. I use this trick on my Mini Ultras and the installation looks clean as a whistle.

Also, with both the battery and ESC producing heat, it makes sense to separate them, especially if the bottom compartment is well ventilated.

So, with yet another poorly photoshopped photo, you can see where I'm planning to put the ESC. It looks like the slots where the battery strap comes through might be (like it is on the Mini Ultra) big enough to slip the ESC-to- battery connector through from below and into the battery conpartment. All that's left is to run the wiring from the ESC to the reciever through the rear of the compartment that now houses the ESC....provided there's a hole in the bulkhead.

Oh, and also..........let's hope there's a hole big enough to slide the ESC into that compartment to begin with. it's hard to tell from the photos, but I'm sure loathe to start dremelling big holes in the bulkheads of a new plane.

Doc Austin

This is one reason why the internet has made everything so much better. in the old days, you'de get a kit and you were pretty much on your own as far as building and set up. Now, you can get the instruction booklet months in advance and that gives you time to figure things out before you jump in and screw it up anyway.

Looking at this photo, it appears to me that my trusty e Flite 40 amp speed controller will slip nicely through and into the comartment under the battery tray. All that's left is to find a hole in the rear of this compartment to route the ESC-to-reviever wire back into the reciever compartment (under the wing).

Doc Austin

Part of the reason for writnig this is because everything about the sport is more fun when you can share it, and yes, that includes crashing, but lord forbid I do it in front of millions on the internet! Another reason is that when you write something like this this you have to think about what you're saying very carefuly, and that makes you see things you would ordinarilly miss.

And here's what I missed before............. You can see where I have marked "A" there is a slot that is presumably for one of the battery hold down strap locations. This is probably where i will route the ESC-to-reciever-lead back out of the ESC compartment, and into the battery compartment. Since in the photo it appears that the ESC-to-reciever-lead is already heading back to where I plan to put the reciever, there is presumably a hole already there.

Since E Flite seems to do things symetrically (something to be admired in aviation) I am again assuming there will be an identical slot on the other side of the tray. This is where I will route the ESC-to-battery-lead from the lower compartment and up to the battery.

While this may seem well thought out, inevitably something shows up that tosses it all into the fan, but we'll see. Mostly, I like the way E flite does things and seldom has one of their kits thrown me a nasty surprise. Of course, having said that, I may have just jinxed myself......

Wide Open

looks like youre ready to get it going! if my mini ultra stick ever dies or something bad happens where i can still use the electronics, im definatly getting the mini pulse

proptop

My Feedback: (8)

Looked at one today at our LHS...

Very well done little airplane...

I have the big one, so it looks like I just HAVE to get the small one, huh?

I've never really been happy with certain flight characteristics of my Mini Funtana...now I have a good excuse to take all the stuff out of it and put it in the mini Pulse...

Wide Open

lol, ive got the .40 size with a .50SX in it. i hope i can resist the urge of buying the small one. i dont know where i would put it!

gwarbot

Hi,

Orienting the cowl and prop/spinner are indeed the only tricky parts about this plane. I was stuck for a while about when and where to drill the holes for the cowl mount, thinking that step was before the spinner mount. Obviously, you do the prop/spinner orientation first, and then you can move the cowl up or back, to however close to the spinner backplate you want (I think they recommend 1/16"?).

Does anyone know how to use the two small white circular plastic things? I assume they're spacers for the prop/spinner mounting, but I'm not sure how those would be implemented.

Thanks for any help.

proptop

My Feedback: (8)

Hmmm...
I didn't have the ca$h with me yesterday when I visited the LHS...gotta go back today and get mine ...

I really like the looks of this airplane...

Would make a great 1:1 homebuilt, aye?!

Doc Austin

I think that spinner was really meant for a gearbox, which uses a small nut to hold the prop on instead of a big hub like the outrunners use. It's probably just a washer for that nut.

This is the same spinner that comes with the Edge 540 and all the holes in the washers and spinner backplate are the size of the gearbox output shaft. I don't like this spinner, and I had so much trouble getting it to work on this plane that I just flew it without it.

Doc Austin

I forgot about this thread and posted my flight review on the Mini Pulse owner's thread by mistake.

Here's my flight review:

I just got back and the Mini Pulse is an extremely nice airplane. Amazingly, it took no trim...........I mean zero trim. I follwed E flite's set up exactly, and it was absolutely dead on. High rate ailerons gave me three rolls in five seconds, which is perfect. The elevator was just right. One place I did deviate from the recommended set up was that I crammed as much rudder in it as I could, and that was just right too.

I flew out the 1320 pack, which with the 450 was about 20 minutes. I changed the battery, scratched my head thinking about what I wanted to change on the set up and couldn't think of anything.

It's really quite amazing. I took it out of the box, did what the directions said to do and the thing came out perfect. All I had to do was work the two sticks. I never touched a trim or flipped the dual rates.

Amazing.

The plane loops, rolls, snap rolls and spins just fine, but it's extremely stable. The dihedral keeps the thing level and tracking well, so it's hard to get into trouble with it. I tried a few slow rolls, and they were ok, but with all that dihedral you're going to have a compromise or two. Knife edge and slow rolls are do-able but a little sloppy. Axial rolls weren't perfect either, but the plane's sublime stability makes up for that.

The 450 is a nice little motor that runs forever on a small battery, and in this plane it provides just enough punch, but the operative word here is just. She will go vertical for a bit, but not out of sight. I'de say for the guy who is coming from a basic trainer, the power is just right. It's enough to have a little fun with but not enough to be scarey.

Landings were no problem and she slowed right don't. She doesn't have a single bad habit.

But, it's not the plane for me, which isn't necessarilly a bad thing. I think for the guy who wants a really good looking second-ever plane that he won't get into trouble with, this plane is absolutely perfect, but if you want to get wild the Mini Ultra Stick is much better. Too bad the Mini Ultra isn't this pretty.

I'm going to trade the plane to a freind of mine who I soloed last Saturday because it will be just right for him and he'll love the thing. In fact, when he saw it last night he tried to buy it from me before I could get it out of the box. I think he's going to be really pleased that all he has to do is just go fly it. I had fun building it, because it goes together so nicely, and I always enjoy sharing my experiences.......and I'm going to get my money out of it too, so I'm a happy guy as well.

But still, I'de have to give the plane five smileys because it does what it's intended to do even better than could be expected from it. Aside from the prop apdapter/spinner snafu, I've got no reservation in saying that anyone who has put together a trainer arf and soloed could whack this thing out in an evening with no help and then go have a blast flying it.

Very nice airplane and another E flite project that is very well done.

Doc's rating (five smiles is the max)

Wide Open

you got any pics of it together before you give it away?

Doc Austin

Oh, yeah. Pictures.

No, I ain't givin' it away. I did really well on this one because I got to build it, fly it, and write the report, which I really enjoyed. When my buddy takes it I'm going to get all my money out of it too, so that makes this plane and even better experience.

Really, the Pulse is absolutely perfect considering the pilot it was intended for.

I like the Plane so much I made a little wallpaper for the rest of you Pulse enthusiasts.

harleymhs

Can someone tell me what prop they are using in the Mini Pulse with a 450 motor? Thanks In advance

rascusn3

I'm using a master airscrews 10x7 and it works great

harleymhs

Thans for the reply!