New Great Planes Escapade 61.
 

I see this should be avilable in Jan. I hope to be has anyone heard any more or seen any of these yet?

[link=http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXAMXN&P=7]escapade .61[/link]

RE: New Great Planes Escapade 61.
 

looks sweet with the cowl :)

slightly big engine range though...is it a 60 or a 90 sized plane lol

RE: New Great Planes Escapade 61.
 

Its like the speed limit in Michigan, 70mph is just a reference or starting point. I like it, looks like it could take a DLE20cc very nicely, have to wait until it comes out to see the plane or manual.

Andy

RE: New Great Planes Escapade 61.
 

i'm hoping it actually comes with the cowl unlike the original escapade that you had to buy it seperatly

RE: New Great Planes Escapade 61.
 

dle 20 in that cowl?  r u sure?  might be interesting.  hopefully, this time around w/a bigger airframe, it doesn't build so tail heavy

RE: New Great Planes Escapade 61.
 

The OS .61 to .95 two strokes have the same mounting pattern and are similar weight so iut's easy to understand that recommendation. The size and weight listed at Tower would tell me it is 60 size (which means .91 four stroke for me) but many others would be strapping on Saito 1.25s.

The description lists fiberglass cowl as a feature

RE: New Great Planes Escapade 61.
 

Yea, I saw this plane at the iHobby show in Chicago last month. However, this one had no cowl. I'm slated to do a review of it when it becomes available. Looking forward to it!

RE: New Great Planes Escapade 61.
 

I preordered the 60 size Escapade when it first appeared on the Tower site a couple of weeks ago. I have been flying the 40 size since it was first released (I preordered it too:D) and I love it. In the 60 size I also have the Pulse XT 60 and the Revolver 70. It will be interesting to see how the Escapade 60 stacks up against them. I plan to put a new Fox .74 Eagle in the Escapade.

MinnFlyer, didn't you say you were doing a review of the Escapade 40 a couple of years ago? Did it ever get published?

Bruce

RE: New Great Planes Escapade 61.
 

I didn't do the 40 Bruce, I think Ken did that one.

RE: New Great Planes Escapade 61.
 

Mike,

Will be looking forward to the review, what were you thinking about powering it with?

Andy

RE: New Great Planes Escapade 61.
 

That's up to them! If it were my choice, I'd go with a 91 Surpass. But I'm guessing they would rather have me use a 60ish 2-stroke (Maybe the new 65AX)

RE: New Great Planes Escapade 61.
 

When you do these reviews do they supply all the needed items like radio and engine, also do you have buy the kit to review, I have always wondered how this works. Twostroke

RE: New Great Planes Escapade 61.
 

It would be fun to see how it ended up with a DLE 20 since they did recommend up to a 1.20 four stroke.

Andy

RE: New Great Planes Escapade 61.
 

im interested in this model. just found out about the .60 size.

i have a 55ax and id like to use it in one of these planes.

would it be better in the .40 or .60 ?

educated guess would be the .40

i just dont want the plane to feel too nose heavy.. i want it to fly like a sport plane.. more relaxed than my past yaks.

would the 55ax in the .60 just be a sad story?

thanks

RE: New Great Planes Escapade 61.
 

It is hard to say how an OS 55 AX will perform in the Escapade 60 since it has not yet been released. In the Escapade 40 it will give very good performance. I have had a Magnum .46 XLS in the Escapade 40 for 2 years and its performance is very good.

Bruce

RE: New Great Planes Escapade 61.
 

I had the 55AX in the 40 size Escapade and man what a lively airplane. I have since put 55's in anything that calls for a 46. There's something really fun about going really fast when you want to go fast. If i get the 60 size it will have at least an OS 91 or maybe a 120. I have never complained about too much horsepower.

RE: New Great Planes Escapade 61.
 

I agree. I put the 55AX in all my 40 size planes and they match up just about right. Power when you need it and does just about any regular flying you like.

RE: New Great Planes Escapade 61.
 

very cool. figure the 55 might help with truing the CG as well. im gonna buy the .40, mount the 55ax and watch this thread for the bigger plane. it will be interesting to see what sizes ppl use. thanks for the faast responses and goodluck with pre orders guys.

RE: New Great Planes Escapade 61.
 

very cool. figure the 55 might help with truing the CG as well. im gonna buy the .40, mount the 55ax and watch this thread for the bigger plane. it will be interesting to see what sizes ppl use. thanks for the faast responses and goodluck with pre orders guys.

RE: New Great Planes Escapade 61.
 

Anyone ever put a DLE 20 on it yet?

RE: New Great Planes Escapade 61.
 

I got a notice that it is starting to just ship today. Tower met their original estimated ship date!:D

Bruce

RE: New Great Planes Escapade 61.
 

I am seeing "in stock limited quantities" on the listing right now. Cant wait for a full rundown, think they will glue the joiner in?

RE: New Great Planes Escapade 61.
 

I just checked and see the escapade 61 is in stock at tower hobbies!!!!!

RE: New Great Planes Escapade 61.
 

I preordered mine and it is scheduled to be delivered Monday.:D

Bruce

RE: New Great Planes Escapade 61.
 

Looking forward to some feedback!

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