jmir

My Feedback: (1)

I'm currently flying Parkzone's Typhoon 2 and Stryker 27C plus Eflite's Edge 540 profile, Ultra Stick 25E, Diamante 25E, and Eratix 25E.

By far, the Eratix 25E is my best plane. Best for 3D, low maneuvers, easy landings, etc., etc. And, of course, makes me look like a better pilot than I am.

I use an Eflite 60amp ESC, Power 32 and a 14 X 7 prop. It has lots more power than needed with this set up. It's incredible.

50mph

I am using the 25BL and recommended prop stated in the manual. I have enough power to hover and perform some fun maneuvers.

RCB757

OK, I have read this whole thread and not one word about the canopy blowing off on the first flight!
It blew off while I was right over a corn field last fall. I was unable to recover the canopy so I ordered a new one.

When the new canopy arrived, Surprise, Surprise! E-flite had redesigned the canopy to have two magnets holding it on the airframe instead of the original single magnet front and center.
Of course, now the new canopy with two magnets, located either side of center, does not line up with the original airframe which has a single magnet located in the center!
Use duct tape right! Wrong!!!

I called the company and explained the problem........That was six months ago!
They promised to send me additional magnets that I could glue in to solve the problem. I am still waiting!

I live in the "Great White North", so flying season is coming. I have figured out a design that should work fine instead of the magnets. I just have to finish another airplane first.

lejongleur

My Feedback: (10)

My canopy also blew off within the first couple of flights (older design, one magnet like yours) - but I was lucky enough to recover it. I put an extra magnet in the recess above the first one, and a steel washer in a corresponding spot on the fuse. You can get this type of magnets from Hobbycity if it's not too late.

Izeman

Maidened my Eratix 25 yesterday and must say this is my first aerobatic aerie and what a pleasure.
I fly it on a eflite 25 70 amp esc 3cell and 12 x 8 e prop.
It seems to be fine for my skills at the moment and just learning.
I live next to the coast and therefore almost always have to fly in quite windy conditions, so went out to my local airfield
yesterday and flew her there. Only prob is the grass runway. Ripped out the gear mount area on the third landing.
It seems like the wheel cowlings caught as they come quite low onto the actual wheel, might remove them later.
Spend a good 2 hours reinforcing the mount area and she's ready again.
I need to put some longer arms on the servos though as I am not getting enough throw on High Rates.

But all and all a lovely beginner 3d plane!

Ps. Make sure the canopy clicks in properly as mine also came off second flight.

jmir

My Feedback: (1)

Welcome to the group!

I've been flying the Eratix for quite some time and I think it is a great 3D trainer since it flies so slow, it is light, and plenty of control surface with thick wings. I'm up to a 2-1/2D with it .

Is your canopy held down by one magnet or two? Some units only have one magnet and the canopy comes off easily. Mine has two magnets and has never com off.

Also, I fly on a grass field so I don't use the wheel covers. I did reinforce the landing gear area when I was putting it together which is something I do to all of my airplanes. I fly in windy conditions and sometimes those rough landings can tear the landing gear off.

It's the best plane I have. I also fly Eflite's Ultra Stick 25e, Diamante 25e, Edge 540 profile and Parkzone's Typhoon and Stryker 27B.
Undoubtedly, my Eratix is the favorite.

Have fun!

blk822

I just maidened my eratix a week ago and what a plane. I have the Power 32 and a 4S 4000mah 25c Rhino battery, with castle creations ESC and BEC. I'm using a 14X7 APC prop and this plane is Ballistic. Vertical seems unlimited. I also fly from a grass run way but the plane flys so slow and with a little harrier action lands very well. I think I'm going to get a E-flite Aluminum spinner for it. Favorite plane after my 3DHS Extra SHP.

jmir

My Feedback: (1)

The Eratix is still my favorite plane.

I do have some problems with wings rocking doing harriers. I've tried many different ways but can't seem to get the wings from rocking.

I can do harriers with my Edge 540 and my Diamante 25e with wings very steady, but can't seem to get the same results with the Eratix.

Any suggestions? Anyone?

glattica

One thing that a lot of people forget is to not only check the c.g. which I am sure you have done, but to check the balance side to side. Pick up your aircraft by the spinner and tail to check the balance. If it is not balanced side to side it may cause harrier waffling.
Happy Flying

jmir

My Feedback: (1)

Thanks for suggestions.

Yes, I checked the CG and also the wing balance.
I didn't pick it up by the spinner because I assumed the down/right thrust to the motor might affect that.
So, I checked it by picking the center of the nose and tail. It seems OK.

jzrf6c

Anyone have a problem with the firewall coming apart?  I've flown my Eratix four time and today (perfect flying conditions) I started my ROT and heard a strange screetch.  I brought the plane back and did a run up. BAMP ! the prop came off flew back and hit the canopy.  No real damage.  But, when I looked over the plane I noticed the engine (eflite 32) was somewhat loose.  Futher inspection showed the first ply on the firewall had come loose on both the port and starboard sides.  I assume this allowed the motor to twist and thust hit the cowl and finally come off the spindle.

Anyone have any thoughts?

jmir

My Feedback: (1)

I've been flying the Eratix for quite some time and have not had this unusual problem.
Sometimes vibrations can cause something like this, so did you check to make sure the propeller is properly balanced?
Another possibility for vibrations is a bent shaft on the motor which you can check by running it slowly without a propeller attached.
Other than that, I don't know what else to suggest.

jzrf6c

The pro is balanced. And the motor shaft is true.  I even removed the shaft and run it on a flat stone to prove to myself taht it was "True".  I had no visible or sound vibrations on the first four flights.  Looks to me like the firewall plys just were crap.  I plan on adding epoxy today to see if I can fix the problem.

lejongleur

My Feedback: (10)

I think you were just unlucky, and the firewall ply was bad. An extra ounce (!!) of ply and glue should provide a firmer footing.

Incidentally, a guy at my club bought an Eratix, and immediately put a decent size glow motor on it. Despite other peoples' expectations that it would shake to pieces, he now flies it in a 45 degree knife edge all around the field, 2-3 feet off the ground. Of course, on the way to getting it working right, he has smacked off the gear 2-3 times, strengthened the nose/firewall area extensively, and rebuilt the vert/horiz stabilizers a few times due to ground contact.

3 people at my club now fly an Eratix - I am by far the worst pilot, but I love the way this plane lets me get away with a lot of rubbish piloting and still look quite good sometimes!

speedy72vega

Well, i'm going to jump in on this too. I am seriously considering an Eratix for my next plane. Iwas thinking about getting a .40 sized Ultra Stick, because I have the Mini version and love it. But there are a couple of guys at my local field with Eratix planes, and i'm very impressed with the flight characteristics. I've got a Turnigy 35-42-1000 motor coming in soon, and am looking for a plane to put it in (That is if it actually works). It's only rated at 605 watts, but it should still fly ok for now. i'm just starting to get into stunt flying, so I think it should be ok with this motor until I become more accomplished. I was thinking I would run 2 2S 3000 LiPo's in series for 4S, any thoughts on this? The 2S x2 setup comes in a few grams lighter than a single 4S, that is if the specs on the batteries is accurate.
From what i've been reading so far, it seems that the Eratix comes in just over 60 oz, so 600 watts would be about 150 watts/lb, should still perform somewhat ok.

lejongleur

My Feedback: (10)

Well, I say go for it. I think you can fly around with 600 watts very nicely. My Eratix originally built at 49 ounces, including a Chinese 80A ESC, a Socrpion 3020-12 outrunner, 13x4 prop, AR6200 receiver, and Hitec HS-225MG's all round. It's added a couple of ounces of ply/CA/epoxy since then, but it still flies at less than 4 pounds (64 ounces) AUW, and can jump away vertically whenever I (routinely) screw up some attempt at a mild trick too close to the ground for my novice skill level. By the way, my setup gives 780 watts with a fresh battery - you will be fine at 600 watts with a little less weight.
If you were to measure a 10 minute flight, I bet that an 800 watt setup quickly deteriorates to 600 watts or less, as the battery voltage drops.Actually, maybe I will stick a 13x6.5 prop on mine and avoid full throttle cranking climbs for the first 2-3 minutes of each flight !!

Good luck!...Chris

jmir

My Feedback: (1)

I fly mine with a Power 32, a Hobby City 4S 2650mah 30C pack, an Eflite 60 amp ESC and a 14 X 7 APC prop.
Tremendous power, unlimited vertical. Will do anything a pilot can hope for. Great airplane.

speedy72vega

Thanks for the input guys, I think i'm going to go for it. Iwant to wait and test this Turnigy motor to make sure it actually works before I buy the plane, but it certainly sounds like the perfect next plane for me.
Now i'm really looking forward to it!!

jzrf6c

Just wondering what kind of flight times you get with the 2650 Mah battery.

lejongleur

My Feedback: (10)

Mine uses abot 275-290 mah per minutes of a 4S pack (usually 3000-3600mah packs.) This is fairly hard flying, and it would use much less just flying around. So, anyway, I get about 10-12 minutes per flight.

jmir

My Feedback: (1)

The battery I use is from Hobby City, the 4S 2650mah, 30C.

I fly mostly at 1/2 throttle since that's all the power I really need. Only times Igo WOT is to demonstrate the unlimited vertical capabilities. I also use a little more power when doing knife edges since I like the high-alpha low passes and I need more power for that. I also do many touch-n-goes. I have a timer on my DX7 and I set it for 9 minutes. When the timer alarm goes off, I just make a turn or two and land it.

When I charge the battery back, it takes anywhere from 2200 to 2400 charge back.

I also use the Hobby City, 4S 2200 mah, 25C and I fly it the same way setting the timer for 7 minutes.

Hope this helps.

speedy72vega

Well, it's official! The *AHEM* Turnigy motor I bought actually works great! Idid some samlpe run ups last night, and it really cranks. Iwas reading some of the posts as far as prop sizes is concerned. I seem to have a bit of a concern. I tried the motor with a 12x6E prop, which seems to be a decent choice for this plane. My motor numbers were off the charts running 4S.
I was only able to go just past 1/2 throttle, and was drawing 45 amps at 645 watts! The poor little motor is only rated at 35-40 amps, 605 watts. I'm going to try a few different props, I was thinking of an 11x5E next, but not sure if this prop is enough for this plane? Any suggestions?
It is looking more and more like the Eratix is going to be my next plane!

jzrf6c

Thanks.  I did not have that option when I started with my plane.  So, I had to settle for the HK 4000 mah 20C.  So far I've only been up for about 5 or 6 minutes before the "old man" in me says "...land and fly another time".

speedy72vega

Well, I got it! I picked up my Eratix yesterday , I got the last one in the area. E-flite is out of stock with no release date, and all the local hobby shops were out of stock. Ihad to drive about 30 miles to pick it up at Hobbytown USA. It seems gto be the older version, as it only has 1 magnet to hold the canopy. I plan to either add more magnets, or make a latch from an old servo arm.
Bad thing is, Ididn't research the recommended motors, and the motor Ihave is only 42mm. Both the 25 and 32 are close to 50mm, so I orderd a different motor for it. The new motor should eliminate all of my lack of power worries, as it's rated at 1150 watts. I think it will spin a 12 or 13" prop no problem. I didn't want to use standoffs with the smaller motor, and the bigger motor is only $34.00. I just hope it works, it's a crap shoot using the China motors. If the new one doesn't work, i'll just use the standoffs.
I'll post an update as soon as Iget it in the air.
On a side note, if the new motor works, having the other one laying around gives me an excuse to build another plane

jmir

My Feedback: (1)

Speedy,
You will simply love this plane. Great flier and 3D trainer.