E flite apprentice problem
 

HI
I bought a new e flite apprentice with the supplied spektrum dxe radio.it fkies weel on trainer mode but as soon you put in 2x mode It just dives down with very little elevator control. When stationary no movment in elevator when switcing between modes, Excep 3x mode then elevator go down. any
suggestios
Alex

What is 2x mode and 3x mode??
Show us picture please.

I have the same plane and know what you mean. remember the switch J is the high and low rates switch. high rate give 100% servo movement. if you need more movement remember you can move the control rods on the control horns to a lower hole(closer to the pivot point) on the rudder. this will give it more travel. low rate gives only 70% movement. unfortunately, that's just how it is with the stock spektrum radio for the plane. you can't change anything. you cant change the gyro settings either. you would need to buy a different gyro.
also keep in mind when in intermediate mode, below 100 feet, its still operates in beginner mode. I do not know how it knows the altitude. but this is what the manual says.

If the sudden pitch down is extreme, then there is a problem with the Safe select function in the receiver. I have seen it happen several times. I lost an Extra 300 due to a sudden pitch down to vertical with no elevator control when switched to SAFE mode. However if the pitch change is moderate but controllable, then consider this scenario: In the "beginner" mode, the gyros built into the receiver limits pitch and bank angles and adjust the pitch angle to automatically climb at full throttle, cruise at half throttle and descend (glide) at low throttle. If the elevator pitch trim setting is not where it needs to be, say too much nose down, the "beginner" mode will apply what ever "up" elevator is needed to achieve a pitch attitude that is appropriate to the throttle setting for climb, cruise or glide. Switching to "intermediate" mode turns off this automatic pitch adjustment function. This results in the airplane reacting to the elevator setting at "neutral". Get an experienced fly to properly trim out the airplane using the "advanced" SAFE setting and then try the 'beginner" and "intermediate" modes to see if that cures your pitch down problem.

One of my students just experienced the same sudden pitch straight down into the ground after completing a loop in experienced mode and switching to SAFE mode. The same Apprentice had completed 7 or 8 previous flights that day with no issues. The student was on a buddy box and at 300 feet altitude when the dive initiated; she called out "I have no elevator". The instructor took over at about 100-150 feet altitude and also had no elevator control. After the crash the radio range tested OK at 150 feet; all control surfaces responding as they should.
The radio continues to accept rebinds and perform well. Apparently, there is no way to check or to update the firmware in the flight controller. I will post again here if I find a solution.

Out of curiosity, was the SAFE mode active in the instructor's transmitter too at the time of the crash? Was the Apprentice flown in safe mode at any time during that flight prior to the loop and subsequent loss of control when switching to SAFE mode? If that was the first time the SAFE was activated during that flight, then perhaps it is possible the receiver did not properly initialize when it was powered up. For SAFE to work properly, the receiver needs to learn which way is up every time it is powered up. The plane needs to be completely motionless (no bumping, moving or tilting it) during initialization. Did the airplane controls go through two complete sets of control twitches while linking to the transmitter? If it did not, then I suspect the receiver may not have "learned" which way is up and subsequently tried to fly the plane into its incorrectly assumed "up" position when the SAFE switch was selected. Lets see if Andy Kunz (with Spektrum) replies with a more probable explanation.

It's also possible that the problem is once SAFE is off the balance is off causing the pitch down. You don't see it when SAFE is one because SAFE is correcting the issue. I like to have an expert do first flight on a plane with the autopilot turned off. Then when the plane is balanced, I like him to again do first flight and turn the autopilot on in the air.