Well my 17 yr old son who has been out of RC for 2yrs wanted to get back in. We found a SE kit at Perry and finished this week. Went with an Irvine 53. made the Rudder 1in longer, trimmed the Elevator halves to allow for more Rudder throw, Sullivan tailwheel. Dave brown light wheels. Futaba 3004 servos all around 1100mah Nicad and used Sullivan Gold N' Rods to Rudder and Elevator. I stayed with the 2-56 pushrods.

Plane weigh 5.6 lbs only 1/4oz weight to lateral balance. Recommended throws with -40 and -25 expo on high and low rates respective. Covered in Ultracoat. (Sry no pics yet)

Usual ground checks and engine adjusting. Had an APC 12x6 on the 53 and changed to an APC 11x7 as it gave better rpm's and spooled up better.

My son was certain he wanted to maiden this plane despite the fact he hadn't touched a TX in 2yr. He brings it down the runway pushed the throttle and is off and Victory rolls it at 50 ft. ( no we're not trimmed yet) he's got a smile ear to ear and gets up to altitude to trim say's it took a click of down Elevator and one of Rt. Aileron. Pete goes through all the basic maneuvers and had been flying at 1/2 throttle or less to this point when he does a Split S and gives throttle for a high speed low pass. Just as the plane was to pass us at 20 ft we hear and SEE the Ailerons FLUTTER. Pete chops the throttle and brings her around then GREASES the landing like he did it yesterday.

Post flight inspection revealed no damage to plane, servos or linkages. I had a good hinge on both Ailerons with almost no gap and didn't seal the gap (Lazy I guess) So I'll seal the gap and change to 4-40 pushrods.


Took the SE up again keeping the speed down and had another great flight. These kids just amaze me.

Very pleased with the Irvine 53. Anyone also have any Flutter issues on their SE and how did you resolve them?

Pete

Sounds like he is a good pilot. Thats cool. I fly mine pretty fast and haven't had any flutter yet. You gotta make sure the linkages are clean and slop free. Those are big surfaces. I didn't seal the gap, but many do. It is sure a fun plane! Its amazing how many snap rolls it will do in a row.

I hinged all surfaces with ultrakote so there is no gap what so ever. Over 400 flights and no problem with flutter. Engines used Saito .72 with 13X6 and HP .61 with 3 blade 12X6

Well the SE Ailerons have new 4-40 rods and the gaps are sealed. Will fly Sat or Sun. Will also try the APC 12x6 prop on the Irvine 53. Hope to have a photo or two to post.

Pete

Good luck