First Flight.
 

My first RC airplane and my first Maiden flight.

built a Great Planes Escapade. Spent almost 2 month on the ground getting everything just right - unfortunately the motor has been giving me a hard time. Still runs gurgly.

First I had a buddy fly my plane. He did some fast passes - slow passes - trimmed it ( couple clicks down on the elevator and couple clicks left on aileron). He took it straight to a vertical climb and the motor quit. He did a nice stall turn came in a steep nose dive - glided down hill parallel with the runway - turned 180 - flared and landed. Wow, I was surprised how well the escapade glides. on the bench He leaned the low some more but He believes that the motor is junk. Second time around we buddy boxed and gave me the controls. She flew nicely - really fast - felt like the simulator. Flew her mostly half throttle and quarter stick - 3/4 stick around the turns. I wanted to try some vertical climbs and loops but opted not to because of the earlier dead stick. My first landing was a bouncy one. it bounced a couple times and sorta clipped the right wing onto the ground. 2nd and 3rd landing - was really smooth. I don't know if it was luck or by accident.

Posting a Youtube video right now. I'll put the link in as soon as it is available.

RE: First Flight.
 

Here it is.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tChegJxefWw

RE: First Flight.
 

Congratulations on your sucessful first flight! It's nice to hear the happy endings rather than the sad ones we hear about so many times.

RE: First Flight.
 

Very nice, I would say your hooked.


Bob

RE: First Flight.
 

Great job.

My first landind required overnight repairs.

Welcome to the addiction known as R/C

RE: First Flight.
 

that enigne isnt junk, it just needs a little time to break in, dont try to kill it for the first gallon and you should be good. also the low end is set way to rich from the factory. if you have a 10x6 or 10x77 prop use that the 11x6 is to big of a prop for break in. if you really want a 11 sized prop use a 11x5
other than that not a bad flight for the first time. that plane needs some rudder on takeoff and heres some advice on landings.
land as you were landing except, when the plane is a foot or two off the ground try and hold it their as long as possible without increasing your throttle (use your elevator), your plane will float their for a good 50 feet before gently touching down, instead of bouncing.

RE: First Flight.
 

is it me or is he landing that thing really fast

RE: First Flight.
 

First of all if thats your first flight and with a tail dragger-Your going to be an ACE.

First landing just to fast and don't push the plane down-let it sink
Great takeoff 2nd time-doesn't get any better
second landing-SLOW it down before decent, 3rd landing was good-You are well on your way.

This is really a great accomplishment-This should be your 2nd or 3rd plane not your first. You handled the takeoffs perfect and a few more landings you will be good as gold.

Remember to slow down and let the plane land-don't force anything-GREAT JOB

RE: First Flight.
 

It's you :D

He just needs to let it float a little longer, until
the wing quits flying.


Bob

RE: First Flight.
 

I don't know how slow the escapade can go. I asked my buddy and he said it should float down. Like the simulator - the escapade went where I pointed it. On the simulator I pull back on the throttle and the plane slows down really fast. The escapade just keeps on darting forward. Next time (I don't know if it is adviseable) I'll take it up high and see how slow it can go before the wing stalls.

Engine question: If I see a small pooling of oil/fuel on the bottom of the crankcase (where the back plate meets the crankcase) - is there a leak? The magnum xls 46 (the one I have) does not have a gasket.

What do you guys think about an OS 46LA?

RE: First Flight.
 

Steer clear of the LA Motors. I am a big OS fan but I have never seen the appeal of the LA line of motors. I know they are relatively cheap but i would rather spend a few bucks extra and get more power. My favorite 46 size motor is the Thunder Tiger Pro .46. It is almost universally praised for its ease of use and reliability. Plus it is a pretty good deal at $94 at tower and even cheaper if you can find it used. It is only $14 more than the LA and worlds apart in performance. Great job on your flights by the way. Slow that thing down and your landings will be perfect!

RE: First Flight.
 

Congratulations, Nrad2000!!

You are gifted; in no time, you will be an awesome pilot.

Yes, getting familiar with the stall of your model up high is a must.

Yes, you may have a leak, which needs to be corrected, in order to be able to tune and operate the engine properly.

That engine is a good engine, very operator friendly.
Just learn how to tune it and take care of it properly.
Use a mix of syntetic and castor oils in the fuel for that engine, and it will last forever.

Read the following articles and reviews:

http://www.masportaviator.com/ah.asp?CatID=8&ID=20

http://www.masportaviator.com/ah.asp?CatID=8&ID=141

http://www.rcuniverse.com/product_gu...m?engine_id=35

Regards!

RE: First Flight.
 

That 3rd landing was Beautiful..As far as the OS 46LA I have a 10 and a 15..very simple and reliable engines. They aren't powerhouses but a fool could tune them.-BW

RE: First Flight.
 

your magnum is FINE dont worry about it. like i said wait a gallon before you judge it, its a decent engine that is way more powerful than a os 46 la, and is just as powerful as a ax46
most engines do leak a bit, tighten the bolts. you should do that from the factory on all engines and again after 10 or so tanks
it isnt unusual for ANY engine to die on you during the first 20 tanks, it just needs a little breakin time and some fine tuneing.
as for your landing speed, try a 11x5 prop, your engine wont deadstick as often from overheating and your plane will slow down much faster

RE: First Flight.
 

Thanks everyone for the kind and supportive words.

On the remote High Needle, is it normal to have a slight slight jiggle? My buddy said this could be one of the reason for not being able to tune. When I bench test I don't see bubbles but I haven't jiggled the needle when running so I'll try that next time.

Another question: when I slid on the carb to the motor I noticed when the holes aligned it just touched the rubber ring. With my OS heli motors I have to squeeze the rubber to align the holes. I'm wondering if I could be having an air leak at the carb.

Another question: the back plate on the magnum xls 46 does not have a gasket. should I seal that?

Again, the motor is new - perhaps I should be patient and give it some break in time.

RE: First Flight.
 

I don't think sealing the engine backplate will hurt. I've used RTV sealant or you could make a gasket out of gasket material. If anything it will help you troubleshoot down your engine issues. As for the o-ring on the carb you might consider getting a thicker o-ring for it or putting a small bead of rtv around the rim of the carb mount.

RE: First Flight.
 

toss the remote needle valve, its just a PITA (leaks, vibrates more than on the carb,ect)
you can seal the backplate/carb if you wish but it really isnt nessiary (cant hurt though)
your magnum isnt running that bad, its running rough because its breaking in and is to rich, but only time/tuneing will fix it

as i said before CHANGE YOUR PROP (10x7 is best, 11x5 is ok), a 11x6 is to much load for a new engine, thus causeing the engine to work harder, since the parts are mateing their is more friction than usual, aka more heat, when you put to big of a prop on a new engine you are decreasing the cooling while increasing the heat which is bad. thus causeing your engine to die
that prop will cause you more deadsticks than anything else

RE: First Flight.
 

I'll go get a 11x5 prop tomorrow.

Can I use an O.S remote High Needle assembly on my magnum xls 46?

RE: First Flight.
 

im not sure, i hate remote needle valves they never seem to work as well compared to when the needle is on the carb, if you tune a engine from behind the plane you wont put your hand in the prop if thats what your worried about

RE: First Flight.
 

Needle in the carb is awefully close to the prop. Only inches away from losing a nuckle or even fingers.

RE: First Flight.
 

For the last year I have been flying a GP Escapade with a Magnum .46 XLS using an APC 11x6 prop right from the beginning and it has worked great. I also have the remote needle valve set up without any problems. I am running the engine slightly rich and getting about 12000 rpm with no idling or midrange problems and no dead sticks. The 11x6 gives both good speed and vertical performance. There is no slop in the needle valve. The low speed needle valve never has needed to be adjusted. The 10x6 is too little for that engine and is more appropriate for a .40 size bushed engine. You will love the combination when you get it set the way you want:).

Bruce

RE: First Flight.
 

My first flight with the GP escapade was a success. many thanks to the people on RCUniverse who have helped me.

I have a Seagull Decathlon (40 size) that I built before the escapade. would it still not be adviseable to fly the decathlon? Will it not handle the same as the escapade? Since the Decathlon is a high wing I would assume it would glide better. It also has a much larger wing area. Realistically it should fly slow and float - ??

RE: First Flight.
 

Yeah I would say if you flew the Escapade without any difficulty the decathalon isn't too far off. Two totally different feels of flying though. This plane is a little more than a trainer because it looks like there is little to now dihedral and not a flat-bottom wing. Simialr to a Piper Cub. But you're right, should be more stable, but the floating is all dependant on your balancing and weight. Most of the time if will float, but I've flown an escapde that floats pretty well too. Good luck!

RE: First Flight.
 

"He took it straight to a vertical climb and the motor quit. "

Nah, your buddy just doesn't know how to properly tuned and check out your engine.

If it died in a vertical climb the engine went too lean.

Have you performed a nose up test with 1/2 a tank of fuel at low, mid and high throttle?

Or did he? I bet not.

Turn the HS needle out another 1/4 turn to start with and try a nose up test...

RE: First Flight.
 

I have 3 LA engines that have been crashed more times than just about anything on the planet. I think crash test dummies have less crashes on them. They still run and run, not to mention they are really easy to keep running well. I use them on trainers for people to help them get started, and when they move up they give them back and then it goes again and again etc.... LA's fly trainers really nice for training, but I wouldn't put them on anything else. I got the 3 for 100 bucks years ago, was hard to argue that price, and just what I needed at the time.

I would however recommend the 46 AX. Plenty of power and easy to run.

Magnums are really touchy. Had a 52 I had to mess with every flight to get it right.