jeffie8696

Without tail reinforcement the Escapade has been know to flutter and crash even with "just" a TT Pro 46.

oldvet70

My Feedback: (10)

I disagree that the Escaped will "flutter and crash even with just a TT Pro .46". The cause of that would be someone exceeding the design of the airframe. I have flown and my wife has flown this plane for over a year. It was assembled as designed, no modifications to the design were made. It was bolted together and flown. It shows no indication of any self induced destruction. My guess is that people who believe it will flutter itself apart have Over G'd the airframe . All planes have design limits and almost all can be flown past those limits, mainly by people who don't seem to understand this. Fly it past it's limits causes all manner of troubles.

An Escapade assembled as designed with a TT 46 will be a joy to fly. Add a bunch of weight doing unnecessary reinforcements, which will add weight, and it will be easier to Over G the plane and fly it apart. Just my opinion after flying one hundreds of times.

hsukaria

Since the wag is not a very negative thing, I am going to consider it a "feature" of this plane.

As far as the 60-size Escapade being offered at $150, it could only mean trouble to me because then I'll want to get one!! Then what will I do with my 40 Escapade?

jeffie8696

Ican only report on what happened to a buddy, he pushed the plane a little hard speedwise and it fluttered and went in .

oldvet70

My Feedback: (10)

Well was it in Level Flight or was it headed down at the time and building speed?  Like I said you can Over G any plane.

jeffie8696

Iwill have to ask.

TimBle

the open cheeks have nothing to do with the tail wag. I have the optional cowl fitted to mine and it still wags the tail. I think the rudder on the Escapade is too large and its very sensitive to turbulence. It will ride the waves in the air like a surfboard.

Irish_Santa

I would definitely agree with that statement tim....the tail does seem to have an abnormal amount of surface area.  at our field we have some crazy turbulance areas due to the trees and hills and such.....when the guy who maidened and trimed out the escapade for me got the plane up and steady he was in one of the tricky areas and noticed right away the tail wagging.....I think it was just happy to be in the air and like an excited dog, it was just wagging away.   as the plane was trimmed out he did say that the plane was a very stable and predictable plane. 

I have had this plane through some crazy mishaps(dumb sticks...no accidents though) and will say that on low rates all is perfect...on high rates, you better be 10 mistakes high, because if you are not prepared a mistake 10 mistakes high can very quickly become 2 mistakes too low.

TimBle

Correct, on low rates shes as docile as a labrador .

On high rates the Dobberman comes out and things can get ugly faster than a fast thing and the Escapade is a fast thing.

Love mine to bits

landeck

My Feedback: (1)

I have been flying mine since March 2009 with a Magnum .46 XLS in it and have not noticed any tail wag or any other problems with the flight of the Escapade.

Bruce

hsukaria

Interesting details about the tail wag. When I first got mine, I noticed that the tail surfaces were considerably larger than a Sig 4*.

EscapeFlyer

My Feedback: (1)

The proclivity towards flutter in the horizontal can be fixed by sealing the hinge line between the stab and the elevator. Cut a strip of monokote 1/4"-3/8" wide. Fold it in half and seal it with a trim iron. Make sure the elevator is deflected fully down when applying the trim. One could also affix a permenant tapered 1" + wide TE to the outsides of the elevator.

Regular tape can be used as well.

I did not have any deflection on the ailerons as purchased stock. Therefore I cut the ailerons and inserted my own hinges. This completely frees up all movement and is easier on the servo. As I do not trust "factory" installed hinges, and NEVER will for that matter, I will do the same for the tailgroup, and seal all the hinglines.

This is indeed the proper way to fix the built in problems with this airplane. It will also perform better in general.

Just my unrequested two cents. I hope it helps.

Brian

redbiscuits

My Feedback: (6)

Some of you may have already seen this, but I will post it anyway. http://www.rcuniverse.com/magazine/a...rticle_id=1289
It's a great little article about flutter from MinnFlyer.
Red.

jeffie8696

That helps.
Icontacted my buddy about the TT46Pro and he assured me the flutter occured in a shallow dive at full power ( 7 pitch prop) with no excessive G forces involved.
It lost the elevator joiner as we are used to seeing. His new Epade will sport a reinforced joiner.

billmay

My Feedback: (1)

Bruce, just curious, did you epoxy your tail on or just bolt it on as in the instructions?

Bill

hsukaria

I did not epoxy my Escapade tail, and I still don't see tail wag. I am using a Super Tigre 51 and previously used an OS 55AX, without tail wag. So, lots of power, but I don't do power dives either. I cut back on throttle when the plane is nosedown attitude, like coming out of a loop, etc... So, maybe this is happening at high speeds?

NotAnAceYet

My Feedback: (9)

I have an Escapade with a O.S. 46AX on it. Did the maiden a couple weeks ago and it flew great! No flutter, no tail wagging - just a couple of clicks of trim and it flew great. I had a friend fly it on the maiden as he's a seasoned pilot - also flies the bigger 100cc size planes. He put it through the ringer - aerobatic wise, including snap rolls and flew it wide open vertically and level flight - did not put it into a powered dive as he feels that's too much stress for most planes.
I did most of the listed mods as I built it. Epoxied the tail feathers, wicked ca into the horiz stab joiner, added epoxy reinforcement in the landing gear area and the fire wall, glued on a hardwood stick between the cheeks and added the foam pieces at the end of the canopy to hold it tighter. I also epoxied the wing halves together. I changed out the stock fuel tank for a 8oz Sullivan, changed the tail wheel assy. to a Sullivan as well, and replaced all wheels with low bounce rubber.
I think that's it! The guy who did the maiden for me said that "it shouldn't be this much fun to fly a $100 plane." It replaced my Super Sportster and I have to say that I like flying the Escapade more than the Super Sportster.

jeffie8696

Ionly see the tail wag at low speed, if Ipour the coals on it goes away. My tail is glued and Ihave done most of the mods except the tail wheel, mine is crappy but it is still there.

tms96460

I see the tail wag at slow speeds only, does'nthurt anything just a little un-nerving This plane is fun and scoots right along in a hurry. No other problems here. I looked at theGP website and there second mpeg they showitkinda looks like a wag but could be the poor vid resolution.

Tim
Suisun city, CA

TimBle

A powered dive is very bad airmanship in my view. Not even pattern pilots fly theirplanes into powered dives nor do the Large scale guys. So I can't see how an Escapade breaking up in a powered dive a measure of quality for the airframe.

Thats said, I have done exactly that to prove a point. I've wrung the neck of my escapade in a powered dive and in 3 to 4 consecutive loops at full throttle. The wings stayed on and the tail feathers remained attached to the horizontal stab. I have not sealed the gaps.

I am willing to bet that a large percentage of the crashes associated with the Escapade is due to shody piloting. I can't say that my Escapade is the best buitl of the bunch. The balsa sheeting onthe top of the wing is soft in places indicating cracks in the sheeting but its held together for over 30 flights and a lot of those in winds over 30km/hr.

My experience of the Escapade is that it is built tough enough for any pilot with a solo rating. This little bird just take the abuse levelled at her and soaks it up.

Anyone taking it up high  and taking  it into a powered dive it just looking for unnecessary trouble they probably would'nt be looking for if she cost twice as much.


Bruce, mine also only wags the tail at low speed. at high speed shes as steady as a pattern plane

landeck

My Feedback: (1)

Bill, I just bolted the tail on. I have not had to tighten the bolts since I started flying it but I do check them every few flights.

Bruce

landeck

My Feedback: (1)

If you want to see a picture of the new Escapade 60, go to the Club House section and the first sticky contains pictures from the IHobby show in Chicago. The third picture in the first post is the Escapade 60 and it is a good looking plane.

Bruce

billmay

My Feedback: (1)

Bruce, thanks to you and the others who commented on the tail bolting/epoxying vs. tail wag issue.Since I'm new at this I think I will just bolt it on per the instructions and see what happens.No power dives for me anyway.

Bill

mschulz531

Does anyone own this plane or have you heard how this plane might compare to the Escapade .40?

hsukaria

Looks nice. I 'guesstimate' that the wing loading is about the same as the Escapade's. It is smaller than the Escapade based on wing area and weight, assuming you can trust the manufacturer's claims (both of them).

I am guessing again, but with the double-taper wing shape, you would more likely get tip stall? I will wait to hear what the experts say.

But since I don't have this other plane, all I'm saying is guesswork.

Sure looks pretty though.