I just purchased an Escapade; well as some of you already know the Escapade was designed to get you flying as soon as possible. Because of this reasoning, the tail of the aircraft is a bolt together. Now there are two schools of thought here; One, you can just epoxy the tail section together making for a stonger join, but losing the ability to disassemble the tail, or two, you can bolt the tail together and if you ever damage either of the stabs. you can easily replace them. I need good advice here gentlemen. Anyone with any exp. is welcome. Pros. and cons. are welcome.

Over time, repeated tightening of the nuts slowly pulls the studs out of the fin. Irecommend epoxy.

I have never had something like that, but if I was just starting, I would use it the way the company designed it. After you get comfortable with it, you could glue it. If it aint broke-dont fix it. If it uses the same bolts as a detachable wing, they are plenty strong. The other thing is that the glue will definitly be heavier than the plastic bolts and you will need to rebalance the plane. Just to get in the air quick, my suggestion is to use it just like it came.
dan

I have several flights on one that has the bolt on tail feathers. Still on.

The wings and areas where the gear could contact the wings or fuselage are the most often damaged.

I have a "wall of shame" with the perfectly preserved tails of many planes.

I no longer bother with bolts on or removable tails ( except in giant scale ) because of the above... I epoxy them!

Yeah, I've had a few with those "bolt on tails" and ended up fixing them with epoxy. But, when you do that, make sure you strip off the covering where the epoxy contacts the wood on all surfaces. And, use 30 minute epoxy to give it a chance to absob into the wood. You can use the bolt system to hold it in place after you apply the epoxy.

CGr

i would glue the main wing IMO, the one i had was pretty weak(the holding tab)... the wing is small enough to transport easily

Ya know what?<div>
</div><div>If bolting components to the plane is a problem, I need to radically rethink my 100% preflight routine </div>

You're right, but the plane is still in the box. I haven't even begun to build it yet.

Heh...I think perhaps I wasn't clear.

I fly full scale...and I meant to suggest that if having parts of an airplane bolted together, rather than glued, was a problem, every plane I've ever flown has a problem.

Assemble it as designed, and give due attention to the fasteners and components during preflight, as you should with every airplane prior to any flight.
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epoxy them, better safe then sorry. those tiny m3 bolts are not hard to break, if they fail you loose the plane.

I've not had the pleasure of owning an Escapade, but I do fly a Pulse. The wings on the Pulse are bolted on using nylon wing bolts obviously, but the tail is also bolted on. I've never had a problem with either.

Myself, I like the ability to remove the tail if the need comes up. It hasn't yet, but who knows if and when it will so I prefer to have that option.

Just my .01

Why not use the best of both worlds?

Use a few dabs of epoxy to help the bolts do their job - Then, should you ever need to replace the tasil section, it won't be too difficult to remove.

I fly the World Models Mach I and Mach II.
They both have bolt on tail feathers.
I've had no problems to date.
Use blue Lock Tite when assembling them.
Since you don't R&R them on a regular basis
there is no reason to worry about things wearing out.

Having them unbolt is real nice when it's time to recover.

Good Luck,
KW_Counter

I have been flying both the Escapade and Pulse XT 60 with bolt on tails for the past year without any problems. I check the tightness before heading out to the field and have not had to tighten the nuts once.

Bruce

My wife has been flying hers since August 09. It has the tail bolted on per the instructions. She has had no problems with it, the nuts have never even started to loosen. I assembled the plane per the instructions and Tech bulletins without modification and it is just fine as designed in my opinion.

I just put the tail section on my H9 Pulse XT 60, and I noticed that when tightening down the nuts, it's hard to get a feel on the proper torque value without crunching the tail end of the fuse. So I did both. 30 minute epoxy and the bolts. I tightened the nuts down enough to get epoxy spooge and am about to loosen the nuts when the epoxy cures so as not to cause undo stress on the airframe.

Is that a technical term??? </p>

I've had several planes with the bolt on tail feathers they are ok as long as you do regular maintenance to ensure the bolts are tight.</p>

However, I have have noticed a problem with the Escapade. The wood in the tail that the bolts mount into is a little bit tender and can be easily "crunched" if you bump the tail feathers. I've had 2 of the Escapades and have seen the same problems. To cure it I strengthened the tail by using epoxy with mill fiberglass in it to make the area stronger. </p>

Ken</p>

Spooge, yes!

The good thing about the bolt on tail is that you can easily replace it if it gets damaged. I've had a couple planes that used this type set-up. They have been just fine with the exception of my GP Cherokee which had the tail come off in flight. Not sure if the Cherokee problem was due to the soft wood used which allowed everything to work loose or if I did something dumb during assembly. Either way, GP took care of it and sent me a new airplane.

I always make sure to use thread locker and periodically check the bolts. I also seal the areas where everything comes together with clear RTV silicone to prevent any fuel or oil from creeping in.

If you feel more comfortable using epoxy though, go for it. It definitely won't hurt anything. If you decide not to use it it will likely be just fine too.