Tom Nied

Nice going on the maiden Amistad and thanks for posting the pics. Looks like a great sport plane. So what do think, the TT Pro 46 more power than it needs, or its a nice match?

_Tommy D

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Great post and congrads on the maiden!

Just a quick question..... how much elevator do you need to hold flying inverted? What I love about the Pulse is the fact it flys inverted nearly hands off.

Tommy D

Amistad

T Neid - I'm pretty happy with the .46 engine, but I'm sure many would be satisfied with a larger or smaller. It just depends on what your style of flying is; just tooling around flying scale and shooting landings, or wanting lots of speed and tearing up the sky with all the aerobatics. By shifting the engine on the mount, the .46 is easy to balance. A lighter engine might require moving the battery around or adding some lead.

Tommy D - Sorry, but can't give you an answer on inverted flight. The maiden flight was short just flying around the field to trim and threw in a roll or two.

Tom Nied

Well it sounds like the TT Pro 46 gives the Escapade plenty of power and it balances out well with it. So I think you made some good decisions. Looking at the specs earlier I was thinking something like a TT GP 42 would make sense. I happen to be a big fan of the GP 42, had a couple, they ran well, were economical. But it sounds like I'd have to push it forward like you did with the HB 40. I just bought a couple of Magnum XLS 46's from Hobby People. At $47 apiece no shipping, I couldn't resist. The Escapade might make a very good home for one of them. Thanks Amistad for your reports.

ptuxbury

Does anyone know what the optional cowl looks like for this plane? I have the plane and the cowl on backorder from Tower. I am planning on taking the TT Pro .46 out of my PT-40 trainer and putting it in this one.

I went to Hobby People to try to get the same engine as Tom, but they are all out of stock. It's too bad... what a great deal on a .46.

bigedmustafa

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Even at $79.99, the Magnum XLS .46A is a pretty good deal. I think a Super Tigre GS-40 ringed or GS-45 ABC would be a good fit for the Escapade as well, if you want to buy a good, inexpensive engine. I think the Thunder Tiger Pro .46 might just be the best .46 2-stroke on the market at any price, however, and if you have one to put on your Escapade then you probably ought to.

twostroke

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I ordered(backordered) one yesterday hopefully comes in soon I need a home for a RCV .58. Cant wait to fire her up

BreakingPoint

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Well, I too purchased an Escapade.. I took it out today for the second time and decided to put her through the stress test. FAILED. Decided to do a full throttle dive. After about 1 second into the dive, the elevator decided to rip off!!! Nose dive in the dirt and a total loss. Flutter got the best of it!! I had an OS 55 on it, which is the recommended motor for this plane (according to great planes).. I can say though, the plane does fly VERY well. It does all the basic stuff very well. Seems to be a really nice flying airplane that is probably better fit with a less powerful motor. Oo, and DONT do any dives with speed. I don't think she is built to handle that kind of speed.

out of money

Sorry to see that, man that sucks and only the second flight. [&o]

bradywat23

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I just ordered my escapade looks like it is gonna suit me well. I am gonna run a magnum .46 in mine

HawkI

Did you have single or dual aileron servos?

I maiden my escapade today & put it thru a good work out, everthing held together ok. I have dual servos on ailerons.

I have a Magnum 52 4 stroke pulling it around which does a great job.

Got a lot of compliments at the flying field today.

Sorry for your lost.

HawkI

PS Going to love this plane

Tom Nied

BreakingPoint, just curious, did you seal the hinge gaps?

BreakingPoint

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No. I didn't seal the hinge gaps. I guess I should have. I believe the depth of the elevator surface may be a troublesome part of this plane at high speeds. The elevator control surface is fairly short in length, but long in depth. I believe this can cause more "flutter" and stress on the elevator than the plane can handle. Again, this may only be a problem during high speeds, like the full throttle dive that I did! I believe that most planes designed for speed have a long (length) elevator, with short depth. Of course, this is not meant to be a speed plane either.

I've performed countless full throttle dives with that motor in a Mustang PTS and it always held together.

Anyone care to perform a full throttle dive with their Escapade and report back their findings?

ptuxbury

Yes, I was planning on putting my TT 46 Pro into this plane.

Can someone tell me how to seal the hinges, or point me to a thread about it?

Thanks

Tom Nied

Sorry to hear about your crash BreakingPoint, forgot to mention that earlier. I don't claim to have all the answers, but have heard that sealing the hinge gap can sometimes help with flutter. I've never had the problem but have seen and heard it on others planes. Usually when flutter occurs you can hear the elevator making a noticeable "buzz" sound. Catch it in time you can back off the throttle hopefully slow down, land and possibly correct the surface. Probably easier said than done.

ptuxbury, I seal my hinge line gaps with strips of clear MonoKote that I cut, bend in half lengthwise then adhere into the hinge line using a trim seal tool. It's kind of a pain but also makes the surface more effective. As well as helping to minimize flutter. Slop in the linkages can also be a culprit. I'm sure if you do a "Search" on the subject, you'll find plenty of info on how to do it. Some guys just use tape, but I think that is more for lighter airplanes.

A full throttle dive really builds up a lot of speed. Cant say I've tried one, my planes fall out of the sky fast enough for me. But sorry to hear BreakingPoint's Escapade crashed. Pretty nice of him to share his experience with us and a photo.

ptuxbury

Thanks, Tom. I found plenty of threads on sealing the hinges.

It looks like the back-order delivery date has been pushed back a little bit - Early February. I may have to buy skis for this thing, living in the Northeast.

ptuxbury

The optional cowl for my Escapade shipped today. I'm interested to see how it looks. I probably wouldn't have bothered ordering it, but it took me above the threshold to get $20 off at Tower, and since it is $20 I figured it's pretty much free. Let's hope that they'll ship a plane to go with it in the next week or two.

I noticed that the Great Planes website has some updated pictures and video on the plane:
[link=http://www.greatplanes.com/airplanes/gpma1200.html]http://www.greatplanes.com/airplanes/gpma1200.html[/link]

It looks like it does rolls and flies inverted just fine.

twostroke

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I see the planes have come in stock and are shipping out my should be here this week!!

jriley1974

My Plug n Play Pulse40 fluttered (elevator) and I heard a buzzing sound though I didn't know what it was at the time. The elevator snapped at one side eventually but I was able to land it. Fixed it and made sure there was plenty of CA on the hinges and haven't had a problem since. The plane has a 55AX on it.

Brainiax

Wonder how this plane would be on floats......[sm=50_50.gif]

pkevinb

Has any one got the cowl yet?

I am wondering what it looks like.

robbinsp

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im building my cowl if i think i need it. theyre quite easy...

anyways, anyone thing a saito 50 would power it okay. they say .52 in the specs on the low end...

robbinsp

robbinsp

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if not the .50 saito, its the mvvs .45abc or the tower .46

both of the two strokes i have tuned pipes for. if i go that route I will hack off the left cheek and run the pipe down the center of the belly of the fuse....

any input guys?

ptuxbury

I ordered the cowl, and it is scheduled to arrive by Friday. I'll take some pictures and post them Friday night.

My plane shipped out yesterday, and is scheduled to arrive tomorrow. I'm looking forward to it.

robbinsp

My Feedback: (10)

just a tip on helping you out with your cowl... if it is fiberglass like the rest of em are nowdays, do this...if you want to keep it snug and pretty. on the inside of the cowl where you plan to put a screw through, take one of those "ca hinges" and ca or epoxy it there. let it dry so it is fully cured before mounting to fuse. it helps prevent cracking, which thise thin fiberglass ones do. i did that with my pule40xt and it hasnt split yet!

hey and i think this plane is gonna rock, got mine tonight![8D]


oh and i think im going with the tower .46 with tuned pipe. pipe right down the belly! ill help test that dive theory, though i seal my hinge lines