ndbuckhunter

Two questions...
1. Any suggestions to putting a new tail wheel assembly on? When I got my Pulse, the tail wheel had been ripped off from a hard landing. It seems simple, however, I am new to having to making repairs on models and do not want to do it wrong. I have the manual already but doesn't show much.

2. Again when I got the plane, my friend was using a plastic...probably composite prop on the plane. Is there advantages/disadvantages switching over to wood props? I have never used plastic or composite props due to the fact that when I was learning to fly, I was crashing a lot and did not want to bend a shaft.

Thanks!

bikerbc

There are several different after market tail wheel assembly that you can get..Either Sullivan or Du-Bro are good ones...I used the Sullivan...Very easy to install and it has worked for 3 yrs now . The stock one lasted about 6 flights..I think some are probably cracked rite from the start.. No big deal..I don't like the way they are supported by the rudder anyway.. Probably best thing you could do is replace it..

bikerbc

One advantage to using a composite prop is that you can use them on the water.. A wood prop will shatter if it hits the water in the event you go float flying.. I have heard some guys say they feel a wood prop would cause less damage if you stuck your hand in it.. I don't know but I don't care to find out..I think if you are having lots of ground strike type of crashes I would go with composite but make sure to keep it in balance and watch for cracks etc.. Possibly have a few and change after a strike and only replace after rebalance and checkover ..I honestly dont think a composite is anymore likley to bend your crank than a wood but I could be wrong on that.. I am just guessing...I think composites are more flexable than wood ..

fly210sv

My Feedback: (1)

Is there really a Pulse Brotherhood? I have the 125 and the 25. I have about 150 hours on the 125. It is my favorite airplane. Running a Dle 20 on it and it is great. I had one of the 125s with the defective elevators. That one the elevator separated and augured in. Horizon replaced the plane. I fly the 25 in the winter and the 125 in summer. I have 10 plus planes and the 125 is the most fun. running a 16x8 prop and have not had any trouble with the plane. it takes off and lands like a dream. It rolls, loops, inverts, knife edges, etc. I just never tire of it. It is too bad they stopped making the 125. I found one online at Don's hobby and bought it as a spare.

fly24-7

There is a pulse brotherhood and you're bro no 12.

fly210sv

My Feedback: (1)

Bro 12 lol

pd1

A few years ago one of the guys at the field had a Pulse 60 with an OS 95 in it. He loved to do snap rolls and high speed passes.
Tail fluttered and ripped off. The plane went through the trees and hit the equipment shed. He gave me the remnants.
After assembling a new one for him I repaired the one I was given, I installed an E Flite 60 and 6 cell battery pack and a 15x10 prop.

I love the plane.
I did not have any tail fluttering problems with mine but Dick did with his new one.

I added a spar to the horizontal stabilizer and sheeted it with 1/16 balsa. This seemed to cure the problem.
Over time and a lot of flying I noticed his stabilizer had gotten loose again..
I think his aggressive style of flying causes the stabilizer to rock the tips up and down and the hardwood in the center of the fin mount to bite into the stabilizer.

I now glue the stabilizer on to the Pulse.
I now have three Pulses counting the original and I still love the way it flies.

VictoryRoll

My Feedback: (2)

PD1, Thank you very much for that info on the tail and the need to glue. I agree, especially as you stated, when flying with an aggressive style. Count me in as a "tail-glue'r" !

-VR-

thebest_102

My Feedback: (6)

Not quite sure I get the need to fly this plane aggressive. It has a few issues that seem to crop up when flying aggressive. Surface flutter and overstressing the airframe. If I want to fly aggressive I get a plane that is designed to do that. If I fly this plane, I do so in a calm manner. I have well over 200 flights on my airframe. I have seen no flutter. It has been my back up/practice pattern plane and a go to on many a day. I just do not understand the thinking. This is not designed to be flown very aggressive. Why try to fly it that way? Why not buy an airframe designed for stressed flights if that is your goal? Is my thinking far off? This is not meant to be argumentative but meant to show a differing view. Also this is not a jab at anyone's choice but it would be nice to hear different views.

pd1

I agree with you. I don't fly my planes aggressively and I have never had a flutter problem either.

My friend does fly his and all of his airplanes aggressively and that's his preference.
His flying does produce a lot more repairs than my flying but that's what he likes.

I think that's why there is more than one flavor of ice cream too. To each his own.

thebest_102

My Feedback: (6)

Great point about the different preferences.

VictoryRoll

My Feedback: (2)

@thebest_102: Having plenty of planes that love to fly aggressive, I agree w/ you, somewhat. I just think, however, your point is subjective... what is aggressive to you, or very aggressive, as you state, may be a beginner flying loops... it would have to be more clearly defined to get deeper into "what" is defined as aggressive.
This was all to answer my original question; whether to glue the tail-feathers or not. IMHO, @pd1 brought some good points to this thread and which furthered my decision to glue them on. That's all I would read into it.

-VR-

thebest_102

My Feedback: (6)

I can see it being subjective and did not intend to muddy the water. I will not glue my tail feathers on as I fly my pulse in a docile manner and while I had a structure issue. Gluing would have only changed a $25.00 dollar 10 minute repair into a new fuse and/or many hours of extensive wood repair. I state this to inform that gluing is not the only choice. My plane has been plenty strong enough for what I do and it seems to have helped when I believe a loading or hanger strike damaged my plane and caused the horizontal stab to break in flight I was able to fix and fly it in a matter of days and with minimal cost.

VictoryRoll

My Feedback: (2)

@thebest: I don't think you muddied the water at all. In your last post #88, you made a good case for the reason to not glue. However, @bikerbc (post #58) made a great point(s) in post #58, to glue. Strength and the knowledge and safety that comes from knowing that it is solid back there is more paramount to me than the necessity to carefully remove a broken set of tail-feathers w/o ruining the fuse. Again, that is my preference and it should be noted as just that. Personally, alignment is more of a concern of mine, as @bikerbc describes, than anything else. I don't like having to think about or be constantly adjusting my trim to compensate for the tail-feathers moving during flight. The more solid the plane is, the more solid my maneuvers and flight enjoyment, IMHO. I try my best to trim the plane 100% mechanically rather than w/ the comp. radio, by adjusting things like control rods, alignments, etc. instead of using the trim, which may screw up a different maneuver.

Bottom-line, no one answer is right for everyone. Actually, that is what I love about this hobby, gives me a chance to stop and think about different solutions and better yet, ask on forums like this one and get some great feedback/suggestions from people who are more experienced in a particular aircraft.

-VR-

bikerbc

Thank you for the vote of confidence Victory Roll , And you are right there is no one right answer for everybody.. pd1 could you elaborate on the spar you added to the horizontal stabilizer , I am not sure I understand what you did but I am interested in anything that might improve the strength and safety of the tail .

pd1

bikerbc, when I first saw a Pulse 60 my friend was flying it and had gone through a couple of stabilizers and resultant crashes.
I was asked to try to stop the tail from fluttering, I went after everything that I thought could cause a tail to flutter.

I added a 1/4 x/4 spruce spar to the stabilizer and then sheeted it.
Put 4 Du Bro pinned hinges on each elevator half.
I changed the pushrods to .095 diameter wire and stronger dual metal geared servos were installed.
I even went so far as to remove the aerodynamic balance tabs from the rudder and elevator.

I also noted out of 9 different Pulse 60's, 7 didn't have the elevator joiner glued in place, and all had very short arms on them.

After all that the plane would stay together long enough for me to surmise that the only thing that really was needed was the sheeting of the stabilizer and then glueing it on.

My friend currently has two Pulse 60's neither one show any sign of flutter.
I have one Pulse 60 flying and two not quite ready ( waiting for the stabs to be sheeted).

I think most of the modifications were overkill, but at the time I didn't know for certain what the solution was, and the result of flutter was the destruction of an entire airplane.
I think sheeting the stab is worth the extra effort, but that's just personal preference. I don't think a spar is needed.

Glueing the stab is good if you like snap rolls and aggressive flying.
So I remove the balance tabs, sheet the stabilizers, change the elevator joiner, and glue the tail on.

One other small point, the fuselage is weak at the rear just ahead of the empanage. It is prone to crack, without damaging the covering.
I have added some light ply sheeting inside the fuselage to strengthen the aft end of the plane.
I don't think aerodynamic loads are doing the damage as much as forces from the tailwheel transferred to the fuselage.

All of the tailwheels I have seen have cracks starting at the bend in the axel . I replace the stock tailwheel with a Sullivan assembly and I haven't seen any more cracking.

bikerbc

Thanks pd1 good point on the tail wheel I think I had posted something about replacing it myself a few posts back.. I had not realized the damage it could do to the fuse though.. I replaced mine after about 6 flights .. I am sorry I must be thick as a brick because I cant get my head around this spar .. where did you add it ? In front of the main spar? Like all the way along the leading edge between the horizontal stab and the elevators ? Trussing the tail with wire really adds a lot of strength too ..You can use alu bike spokes and crimp on elect connectors if you wish to make your own ..Thanks again for the info on the weak spot on the fuse .. I am going to check mine ..That joiner has been a source of problems for quite a few pulse owners but if you know what to look for it is easy to fix . You can inject a bit of epoxy in with a syringe on each side I have never pulled one apart to see how long or short it was , I know hardening the wood around the wire with ca has been suggested by some guys ..I have been lucky with mine ..I knew the tail was a weak area so I beefed it up a bit and kept an eye on it and also tried to fly within what I thought it was designed for .. .I think it is great how much we all seem to enjoy our Pulse'es and are willing to find a solution to any weak areas they might have and are willing to share our solutions with each other so that we can all continue to enjoy our plane as long as possible .

pd1

When I started working on the Pulse, I never thought anyone else would be interested in what I was doing so I didn't take many pictures.
First, is what the fuselage looks like after the tail breaks. This fuselage already had a solid 1/4 inch balsa stab installed.
Second, is out of order repaired Pulse.
Third, is a wing being repaired.
Fourth, stab broken and new stab with balance tabs removed.
Fifth, new tail being installed, New stab drawing can be seen on workbench,
Sixth,new and damaged stab
Seventh, spar location
Eighth, crack runs under stab hold down wood.
Ninth, lightly damaged wings to be repaired.
Tenth, top view, the spar is about under the red yellow separation line..
But here is what I have.

bikerbc

Thank you pd1 now I finally understand . You really went to town on it and have done a fantastic job. I think that's the best tail mod I have seen . You have made yourself a very nice plane that is far better than stock . Did you buy a new cowl ? Usually the cowl and wheel pants are cheap enough that it is easier to replace them and the pants aren't worth the bother ..

pd1

My buddy doesn't like cowls, he says they get in the way, so I have a few brand new cowls.
I don't bother with the wheel pants because I fly off grass.

One other change I forgot is I don't use the magnets to hold the cowl on. I use a spring latch from BVM products and I haven't had a hatch come off since.

One small sideline, repairing the wings of the Pulse is very easy. it seems the manufacturer uses some cheap glue and cutting the wing sheeting off the wing is a snap. A small block and 80 grit sandpaper and the remaining wood is off the ribs and spars real quick.
New leading edges and sheet and the wing is good as new.
I usually build my planes but I really like this ARF.

bikerbc

I thought I saw a latch set up in your finished plane pic.. Good idea ..I remember hearing about some Pulses losing their hatches ..Mine slides back under the cowl so it is well protected.. I am not sure what the 60 is like . I am a builder too but some of these ARFs are so fantastic that they are worth spending some time on . I like the Pulse and I also really like the Saratoga which is also no longer in production..I have one that needs a rebuild ..I think I will use your tail mod on it..

fly24-7

I've never had a problem with the tail feathers on any of the pulses I've ownen/flown. With that said, I don't fly them as a agressively as I would fly my Sbach 342. I think one would need to evaluate how agressively they plan to fly the plane and insure that the tail feathers have adequate structural integrity. Great feedback and suggestions from others on how to beef up the design.

bikerbc

As somebody else pointed out It very difficult to evaluate aggressive flying because what is aggressive to me might not be aggressive to you . There are lots of Pulses that are flying around and haven't had any tail mods or any tail problems either however this thread is for pilots who own Pulses who have had tail problems and want to warn other owners of potential problems before you have them . I flew around for awhile before I decided that I wanted to glue my tail . I could have said I have been flying around for a year with no problems so you don't know what you are talking about . If you are having problems with your tail feathers you must be doing something wrong.. Thats the wrong way to look at it.. Its so much better to realize that here is an opportunity to prevent an accident before it happens . Just because we have flowen 100 times with no problems is no guarantee that on the 101 flight we won't have complete structural failure . Especially if others are warning you that this has happened to them

landeck

My Feedback: (1)

I first got my Pulse XT 60 about 5 years ago and put an OS 61 FX in it. I had it out today again and it is still a great flying plane. The loops are giant, rolls are quick, and the verticals are almost unlimited. I love it!

Bruce

grosbeak

Can I join too?

I got my Pulse 125 XT at the end of my first year of flying and spent the winter getting it ready. I departed from stock in a number of ways:

• Dual external elevator servos vs single internal
• Pull-pull rudder vs push rod
• Screw-on canopy vs glue-on
• Riser block for the landing gear

It's flown with a DLE 20 so far but that's in the process of changing. The DLE 20 is going in my Hobbistar 60 trainer (Now a taildragger) and the Pulse is getting a new RCGF 32.

A few pics...