T.W.

Thanks guys - funny eh! I was hoping to "get it right" from the very start as far as the thrust-line is concerned (for once!). But I guess this is not to be. Perhaps the Epalor moulding differs from one EZ* to another? I know this happened with the original TwinStar (not Epalor I know - but moulded nontheless), having compared mine with my pals'

Tony

KarbonBird

I have just bought an Easy Star and am having problems with the instructions (or lack thereof). I notice that the rudder and elevator seems to have an outline moulded into the foam for the bits that traditionally move. I can't see any instructions that say I should cut them out or add any hinges. The only thing that is mentioned is the arm that links the rudder suface to the rod. Can anyone shed any light on whether or not the controls surfaces need to be cut out and "hinged" in some way.


Tks

Dr Kiwi

The control surfaces work more freely if you cut them free and use hinges (or tape, I suppose).

cheshireflyer

Hi Tony

I bought an ES recently as a way to get back into R/C after a long break and did not want to smash the vintage models I have.
I set everything as per instructions and used a 900mh 7 cell Nimh pack.
The first flights were in very calm conditions and Es climbed away pefecty and showed no sign of stall or other problems the TX was handed to me and I felt quite relaxed - which is rare for me. My only concern being about the Jeti REX 4 RX I was using and if it had enough range. I lost a Junior sixty on my last outing a few years ago when the radio failed and it went off into the clouds never to be seen again. That was using a new Futaba setup with full range gear.

I decided to take the ES out on my own. There was a slight breeze but not windy. She climbed like a mad thing and so in panic I cut power to half and headed downwind and brought her back into wind intending to land. She stalled over and over and soI managed to land and left it at that for the evening.

I went out again lastweek with the club and even an experienced flyer said it just was not right. Again it was stalling downwnd and did not respond tothe rudder very well. When I tried to bring it upwind back to myself it was up, down, up ........... My friend applied power and climbed out of trouble.
I checked out the ES last night!!!
I had wrapped the battery in foam andthinking I had lost the foam wrapped it again. Theoriginal foam had been forced up into the nose and so the battery was a little further back than beforeand so it was slightly tail heavy. Nexttime I expect all will be well again. I have now pushed glass head pins into the wings to mark the CG making it easy to keep a check on this in future.
This shows how sensitive ES is to CG movements.I would never move the CG further back than the point mentioned in the instructions. In fact mine is a tiny bit further forward now Ias I have replaced the RX with JR slimline to match my tranny and calm my nerves re. range.
Also I noticed that the wing is slightlyundercambered whichmeans it will lift like mad when power is applied just light a free flight contest power model and theyclimb vertically. This thing is really a powered glider and so you have to use power gently to get height and then gide around.
Powered gliders I have built have been easier to fly than this but the videos show that the E.S. will loop etc. where a glider is built just to sniff thermals .

I think you would really enjoy this model.

Pete

North Staffs

ryan_t888

When going from up wind to downwind or opposite, always keep AIR speed up. IT will appear you are gaining speed when going with the wind but this is ground speed not air speed. Sometimes going back in to the wind causes a tip stall if you are moving too slow.

Also, I have the CofG well ahead of the value noted in the instructions. Can't remember the exact value but it is a lot more nose heavy than instructions state.

Ryan

cheshireflyer

Hi
Thanks for the info. I should know better thats for sure. It is a case of getting my confidence back having suffered a couple of fly-offs a few years ago .

I used to fly diesel powered gliders and always kept them upwind as you can't put power back on once the engine cuts. One day it got in some real lift and there was a stiff breeze. I tried to get out of the lift and came too far downwind. Well there was no getting her back and so I locked on full rudder and put her down. A few days later the farmer asked if we had lost a model. It was only a few hundred yards away in a field. They always look so much further away than they are!
The second flyoff was with a 60 inch vintage model Junior 60 which took a long time to build from plans. She just went off downwind when the engine cut and then the R/C failed. The last we saw was a tiny dot high up. She is still missing 5 years later. And so I am still a little nervy when I see my models getting away from me.

With the ES I had intended to keep the model below about 50 feet and as close as I could. ES was having none of this and so I just did not have much height when I brought her around and not wanting her to get away down wind I reduced power .
I will have to be more brave and get some height next time and as you say, keep up the air speed whilst going down wind.

I know the theory but I have to teach it to my thumbs!!

MozFlyer

The trick to have good landing is first go over your COG by test glide/landing...................
..................So the next time you have an hour to kill grab your plane and batteries and carry out some test glides and have some fun.

Cheers lawrence

PS all my landing are done ''dead stick'' = no power no matter how the battery holding

[size=2]Hi Lawrence,

This is the best advice i have ever read and followed
Being a newbie, i purchased an E-flite Apprentice 15 and... what a beauty
Flew it like if i had been flying for years (i dived into the hobby after just many hours of Clear View SIM.......no instructor or Club membership)
Then got the EZ, because i work in Angola and needed something i could transport easily, and all hell broke loose
Did mods such as B/L, 3S Lipo, ailerons, re-inforcements, etc, etc
Crashed it many, many times and got so damaged to the point of having to insert a piece of balsa 6mm thick at the rear of the wings because there was this gap inbetween the fuselage and the rear end of the wings!
Put her thru the Elapor Soup Recipe many times and looks new again (Thanks Brandie for such a great recipe and to all CF rods!)
Due to perhaps changed geometry of the plane, it was very hard to fly
Also due to the change of geometry(?) the factory recommended COG setting no longer applied......i presume
Anyhow, followed your glide/landing ground test and now she is a beauty and no crashes for a while (had to trim the rudder quite a bit because she was going right)
The COG is now at 69,5mm from the LE and with all the added weight at the nose she wheighs in at 953 grams..........but the 2700Kw E-Max B/L handles it well
On the test she flyes beautifuly, lands smooth and glides for ever for about 20 metres!
I am finally enjoying my EZ
Thanks again for the great tip
Carlos

p.s. I now realise that being inexperienced, the reason of most of my crashes was because i was flying too fast all the time and very low.
I am more cautious now because i really dont want to fix the EZ again!