RE: New Great Planes Escapade 61.
 

AX95 would be a sweet motor for that...

RE: New Great Planes Escapade 61.
 

I ordered mine today, I am thinking of clipping the wings and maybe adding flaps to change it up a bit. I will see when it shows up
ED

RE: New Great Planes Escapade 61.
 

ok so i've ordered my escapade along with the rest of you guys.

i'm looking into choosing a power plant for this plane.

i have a 55 and i do realize that it's most likely underpowered for a .60 plane. i would like to use this engine if possible.

i guess im wondering how you guys decide on a engine for a model. i hear the 95 mentioned .. i hear even heavier 4 strokes mentioned.

the part that interests me is the power to weight ratios.

for example.. you could build this plane with a 55 or 65ax which weigh 18 and 17oz (notice the 65 coming in lighter with more power) ...

or..

you could jump up to engines that weight almost 10 oz more (75 95ax) .. to get a 30-50% power increase.

my question is... doesnt a stronger engine just cancel itself out with its added weight?

i dont want this plane dropping from the sky on landings.. like my past yaks seemed to do.

anyway.. im going to post some pictures of the plane out of the box.. and of my build.

let me know what you guys are considering for power plants .. and why.

thanks

RE: New Great Planes Escapade 61.
 

There's no need to over power this plane. It won't drop out of the sky like your Yaks did because it has a much lower wing loading - that said, if your yaks were dropping out of the sky on landing, that means they were going too slow. The escapade has a slower stall speed, so it shouldn't be a problem.

RE: New Great Planes Escapade 61.
 

I am planning on using a Fox .74 Eagle. The reason is that I have the engine in hand and based on my original Escapade this engine should do fine.

Bruce

RE: New Great Planes Escapade 61.
 

Ihave a 91 4stroke NIB, I have been looking for a home for. Last year I built a Tiger 2, and clipped the wings, and was really happy how it flew, and had the best landings.
Unfortunatly Ilost it in a shop accident. Iwork on some larger projects, and some lumber slipped and crushed it.:(
ED

RE: New Great Planes Escapade 61.
 

I ordered mine last night my plan is to use a supertigre 90 and then try a OS 91 surpass later ONLY because I have both of these engines NIB and I think I am going to leave the cowl off:eek: we shall see.

RE: New Great Planes Escapade 61.
 

It depends also on how much nose weight would have to be added for the lighter engine...

It also depends on your flying style and what you expect.

We are in the era of severely overpowering airplanes because going real fast, hovering, and climbing straight up out of site is the thing to do.

I flew a Sig Four Star 60 (very similar spec's) for years with a 55AX on a 12x6. I built it myself so lightened the back-end a lot and only had to add 2 ounces up front to balance.

With the Escapade .40 at 5ish pounds it's a rocketship with the 55AX - The larger version is slated to come in around 8ish pounds. The 55ax would still pull it nicely - probably on a 12x6 - Depends on how much vertical you want on whether or not it will make you happy.

And yes lighter is always better - But I think you'd have to put in at least 5+ ounces or so in the nose - And it's always better to use a motor for nose weight.

But... Since you've got the motor - Try it! And also remember to put in a smaller tank if you do to help out the overall weight.

Keep us posted if you do!

RE: New Great Planes Escapade 61.
 

If this one flies as good as the smaller Escapade then this should be a great flyer! The Escapades are such a great value it is very tempting to get another one. I too am curious if the DLE 20 would fit in this plane. It may be my excuse for finally getting a gas powered model!!

Minnflyer I am looking forward to your review!

RE: New Great Planes Escapade 61.
 

Weight is the main concern with it. Ihave the Revolver 70. The specs say 8.5-9.5 pounds. Iused a recommended engine, and my final weight was slightly over 10 pounds.
So it may depend on the wood used on the particular model. but if it is close to the lower weight limit, the 55 would fly it like a scale light plane.
Ed

RE: New Great Planes Escapade 61.
 

I think the best engine for this would be a 90 4-stroke. If you don't have one a 55, 61, or the new 75AX 2-stroke would be my next choices

A 90 2-stroke would be a waste of power

RE: New Great Planes Escapade 61.
 

But if you are going to buy a motor, and want a 2 stroke, the 95AX is virtually the same weight/dimension as the 75AX and opens more possibilities in the future.

RE: New Great Planes Escapade 61.
 

Maybe for you.

Personally, once engines hit 60, I switch to 4-strokes. I have one 75AX which I must admit I am partial to, but I just don't care for big 2-strokes.

RE: New Great Planes Escapade 61.
 

hey thanks for the advise/replies.

i've decided since the majority here will be using higher power engines, i will go ahead and try the build with my 55.

i guess i'll be representing and giving a review on the light sport build of this model.

warren, thanks for reminding me of the fuel tank.

next question is balancing specs .. hoping not too much is needed up front... where as mentioned above, a larger engine should be used.

anyway .. plane should be here weds and i'll shoot some pics and try to answer any hands-on pre-order questions.

thanks again for the responses

RE: New Great Planes Escapade 61.
 

My Escapade .61 has arrived! It is beautiful:D. In going over it I found only one problem-one of the back tabs that alignes the front hatch is missing. It will be no problem to replace. The monocote covering seems to be perfect. No wrinkles. After week in my shop we will see how it goes. Some other points:

1. There is triangle stock holding both the firewall and landing gear plate in. It looks very strong. I may still used fiberglass on the landing gear plate.

2. The engine compartment is fuel proofed.

3. Each elevator side has its own control rod which join just before the elevator servo. I have used this system on about 4 other planes and it works well.

4. On the original Escapade, I used the stock tail gear and it worked well. On the new Escapade they are using a different style of tail gear. I have to think about whether I want to use it or go with an aftermarket gear.

5. This version of the Escapade has no option to mount a single aileron servo in the center of the wing. You must use two servos mounted out in the wing. This is fine with me.

6. The main landing gear is about the strongest I have seen. You are not going to bend this gear.

7. The wheels are the cheap foam wheels common on ARFs. I am going to replace them with Sullivan FliteLite wheels.

The planes looks to be strong and well built. I still have not decided to use the cowling or not. If I use the cowling, I will have to buy a new aluminium spinner. On the original, I skipped the cowling even though I bought it. That way I went with a spinner nut which worked well and looked good.

MinnFlyer, in looking the plane over, I have no doubt is would handle a 2 stroke 91 engine very nicely. The instructions even specify that size engine for maximum performance.

If I get a chance, I will upload some pictures later.

Bruce

RE: New Great Planes Escapade 61.
 

I just got word that the one I will be reviewing shipped today. So I'll be right behind you.

But I'm shipping mine down to Florida to fly it cause we're getting even MORE snow dumped on us today!

RE: New Great Planes Escapade 61.
 

MinnFlyer, be sure to wave as you fly over Atlanta fleeing to Florida:D. I am looking forward to your review.

Bruce

RE: New Great Planes Escapade 61.
 

Fly over? You can't fly to Florida without making a stop in Atlanta! :D

RE: New Great Planes Escapade 61.
 

OK so I live 3-4 hours north of tower hobbies soooo where do they ship it first? Kentucky oh well it is going to snow here so bad that they sent us home early from work and are not going to open up the shop tomorrow.





I have always said you dont need four wheel drive in this state except one or two days a year
tommorow is going to be one of those days

RE: New Great Planes Escapade 61.
 

Let see some pictures Please

RE: New Great Planes Escapade 61.
 

I just got my escapade .61 yesterday and it looks great! I'm confused what engine to put in it. I know i can put in a 65ax and it wil fly,and i know the 95ax it the best to use for a 2 stroke.I really want to go to a 75ax to be in the middle.I have the 40 size esapade with a 46ax and it flies great with plenty of power.This is my first 60 size plane and my 5th airplane overall.If anyone is planning on using the 75ax please let me know if you think it is strong enough to carry it with ease.Im not into hovering and all that just a nice smooth plane with power if i need it.My runway is about 100yards and sometimes i come in to fast and have to go around.I need to know that if i get in trouble and i throw the throttle all the way i can pull out at a steep angle for a go around.What do you guys recommend for something with medium speed and good power?</p>

RE: New Great Planes Escapade 61.
 

I think the 75AX would work great for you if you already have it - If not the 95AX is the same size and weight with quite a bit more power so I would consider buying it instead - You can always throttle back. ;)

Albeit it is $80 more...

RE: New Great Planes Escapade 61.
 

I guarantee you the $80 additional you might spend on the 95 AX will be long forgotten if you ever find you need a bit more juice to get her out of a scary situation.

RE: New Great Planes Escapade 61.
 

i guess i should be more worried. i'm going to build this thing with a 55.

btw - got the plane. thing does look great. this is my first model from great planes.. im impressed so far. did notice that the control horns on the elevator aren't that symmetrical, but maybe thats on purpose?

but yeah, i would bet im gonna take the record for mounting the least powerful engine... at least at first.

does anyone enjoy/risk scale flight anymore? someone going to talk me out of the 55?

plane looks great though! id take pictures if i had a decent camera.

are you guys going to use standard servos on this? dual ball bearing at 60oz ?

RE: New Great Planes Escapade 61.
 

It's going to be fine (scale-like) on the 55ax.

For a good dual BB servo look at the [link=http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXPL94&P=7]Hobbico CS-67[/link] - Very nice buy and run them on a 5 cell pack.