Elan Has Arrived!
11-01-2007, 04:05 PM
#277
RE: Elan Has Arrived!
ORIGINAL: ThomasP
Do I need to put any screen mesh across the inner air intakes as a measure against FOD?
Has anyone else installed mesh additional to what maybe on the front of the turbine?
The reason I am asking is almost everyone used it on the Baby B.
Alistair.
Do I need to put any screen mesh across the inner air intakes as a measure against FOD?
Has anyone else installed mesh additional to what maybe on the front of the turbine?
The reason I am asking is almost everyone used it on the Baby B.
Alistair.
Dave
11-02-2007, 10:17 AM
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RE: Elan Has Arrived!
Today I managed to fit the Jet A1 gear and all the accessories.
Sandor: I want to mix the proportional brake valve with DOWN elevator. It seems a bit difficult to do. It's like there isn't enough travel, even with the ATV at 150% (Graupner MX-22). Any suggestions,,,,?? Oh, maybe I should read the manual...
Sandor: I want to mix the proportional brake valve with DOWN elevator. It seems a bit difficult to do. It's like there isn't enough travel, even with the ATV at 150% (Graupner MX-22). Any suggestions,,,,?? Oh, maybe I should read the manual...
11-02-2007, 10:35 AM
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RE: Elan Has Arrived!
Guys
My Elan arrived this morning after ordering it yesterday from Al's Hobbies, excellent service, thanks Ali. My initial impressions are quite good. The paint finish and film covering are very nice, 30 minutes work had the anti-rotation pins and wing tube fitting ok. I also cut back the wing skin at the retract mount and mamaged to fit my Feibao / JetA1 retracts without too much trouble, inboard of the mounting position there seemed to be a loose piece of plywood over the hardwood bearer so I pumped in some Hysol and left this to dry overnight.
My retract cylinders are air up / down and one of the nipples exits the side of the cylinder which means I have to drill a couple of holes to run the airline through the retract mount stiffeners in the wings and also make up a hardwood spacer for the nose unit with a hole drilled through it for the airline. Other than that no problems so far other than the quality of the servo arms and clevises. I just don't think wire "Z" bends and plastic clevises cut it on a model capable of nearly 200mph. Alan may remember that I said exactly the same thing about the Boomerang Intro and I can tell him that I am just as happy as I was then at having to spend £20 on 3mm steel clevises and screwed rod to make up proper control arms.[:@]
More next week.
John
My Elan arrived this morning after ordering it yesterday from Al's Hobbies, excellent service, thanks Ali. My initial impressions are quite good. The paint finish and film covering are very nice, 30 minutes work had the anti-rotation pins and wing tube fitting ok. I also cut back the wing skin at the retract mount and mamaged to fit my Feibao / JetA1 retracts without too much trouble, inboard of the mounting position there seemed to be a loose piece of plywood over the hardwood bearer so I pumped in some Hysol and left this to dry overnight.
My retract cylinders are air up / down and one of the nipples exits the side of the cylinder which means I have to drill a couple of holes to run the airline through the retract mount stiffeners in the wings and also make up a hardwood spacer for the nose unit with a hole drilled through it for the airline. Other than that no problems so far other than the quality of the servo arms and clevises. I just don't think wire "Z" bends and plastic clevises cut it on a model capable of nearly 200mph. Alan may remember that I said exactly the same thing about the Boomerang Intro and I can tell him that I am just as happy as I was then at having to spend £20 on 3mm steel clevises and screwed rod to make up proper control arms.[:@]
More next week.
John
11-02-2007, 12:29 PM
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RE: Elan Has Arrived!
Hello Again.
I managed to get the Jet A1 proportinalt valve to work with down elevator by moving the "servo" centerpoint to the maximum and setting the ATV to 130 %. It's gonna be windy her in DK during the weekend, so I'm not sure I can go test the model/gear
Here are some more detailed pics of the gear.
BTW1: The Z-bend pushrods and plastic horns still work very well after 20 flights. But in a way, I agree with John that 3 mm pushrods and metal clevises would be more suitable, for safety reasons, if you want to go fast with this bird. (I don't fly very fast,---- getting old and slow)
BTW2: The Jet A1 gear was a perfect fit to my Elan. No mods needed.
I managed to get the Jet A1 proportinalt valve to work with down elevator by moving the "servo" centerpoint to the maximum and setting the ATV to 130 %. It's gonna be windy her in DK during the weekend, so I'm not sure I can go test the model/gear
Here are some more detailed pics of the gear.
BTW1: The Z-bend pushrods and plastic horns still work very well after 20 flights. But in a way, I agree with John that 3 mm pushrods and metal clevises would be more suitable, for safety reasons, if you want to go fast with this bird. (I don't fly very fast,---- getting old and slow
)BTW2: The Jet A1 gear was a perfect fit to my Elan. No mods needed.
11-02-2007, 12:39 PM
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RE: Elan Has Arrived!
I understand where you're coming from John, but it has to be said that ALL three of the Elans we have flown with turbines af all sizes (including the "test to destruction" huge one which came through unscathed) have been fitted with exactly what you see in the kits regarding pushrods and clevises.
I too had my doubts but they have been thoroughly tested and have come through 100% OK! I wouldn't sell them if I hadn't tested them well. They are still flying with the same pushrods and the same clevises.
The one wiped out at Jetpower was due to a total radio failure, as the entire control system failed on all channels. Probably PCM lockout. Nothing to do with the pushrods.
Alan
I too had my doubts but they have been thoroughly tested and have come through 100% OK! I wouldn't sell them if I hadn't tested them well. They are still flying with the same pushrods and the same clevises.
The one wiped out at Jetpower was due to a total radio failure, as the entire control system failed on all channels. Probably PCM lockout. Nothing to do with the pushrods.
Alan
11-02-2007, 01:08 PM
#283
RE: Elan Has Arrived!
ORIGINAL: john agnew
Sandor
The spring is Blue. The Elan nose should be much lighter than the Velox as there are no batteries in the nose of the Elan apparently. I had .75 kg of batteries and lead in the Velox nose.
Best regards
John
Sandor
The spring is Blue. The Elan nose should be much lighter than the Velox as there are no batteries in the nose of the Elan apparently. I had .75 kg of batteries and lead in the Velox nose.
Best regards
John
then you are fine
11-02-2007, 01:13 PM
#284
RE: Elan Has Arrived!
ORIGINAL: Stig Andersen
Today I managed to fit the Jet A1 gear and all the accessories.
Sandor: I want to mix the proportional brake valve with DOWN elevator. It seems a bit difficult to do. It's like there isn't enough travel, even with the ATV at 150% (Graupner MX-22). Any suggestions,,,,?? Oh, maybe I should read the manual...
Today I managed to fit the Jet A1 gear and all the accessories.
Sandor: I want to mix the proportional brake valve with DOWN elevator. It seems a bit difficult to do. It's like there isn't enough travel, even with the ATV at 150% (Graupner MX-22). Any suggestions,,,,?? Oh, maybe I should read the manual...
that is weird the valve should start "vibrating open and close "
the operation (PWM)value should be between 20-80% after these it will behave like a normal NC valve..
11-02-2007, 03:20 PM
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RE: Elan Has Arrived!
ORIGINAL: digitech
that is weird the valve should start "vibrating open and close "
the operation (PWM)value should be between 20-80% after these it will behave like a normal NC valve..
that is weird the valve should start "vibrating open and close "
the operation (PWM)value should be between 20-80% after these it will behave like a normal NC valve..
11-02-2007, 04:07 PM
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RE: Elan Has Arrived!
Hi Sandor,
I picked my Jet 1A retract set up this morning for my Elan from Al's Hobbies, the usual great quality from Jet 1A, nicely packaged too.
Regards,
Alistair.
I picked my Jet 1A retract set up this morning for my Elan from Al's Hobbies, the usual great quality from Jet 1A, nicely packaged too.
Regards,
Alistair.
11-02-2007, 07:18 PM
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RE: Elan Has Arrived!
Guys, I'm repeating this notice with update for those who missed it earlier in this thread.
We have been getting feedback from several Elan builders that the two servo mounts for the elevator are apparently being put in some kits in the wrong hand. This is due to some of the elevators being made in the wrong hand regarding pushrod position. With the correct servo mounts for these kits, there is no problem. We have the correct mounts now, so check your kit and if it appears wrong in this respect, just contact us for replacement tail servo mounts.
The drawing on page 8, section 14 of the manual shows these mounts in the wrong hand [u](for those kits only). It is correct for all the kits with the regular elevators.
If you look carefully at the elevators you will see the inset ply top and bottom, about 1" square, close to the end where the elevators meet in the centre of the tailplane (Stab) Have a look at post 152 by rcguy in this thread.
Please ensure that the pushrod from the servo is in line with the plywood plates in the elevators which are there to make a secure fix for the control horns.
Do not mount the horns through the balsa part of the elevators.
If you find that the pushrods do not line up with the plywood insets in the elevators, contact myself at [email protected] or Patricia at [email protected] and we will send you a pair of the correct servo mounts.
Apologies to those Elan buyers who have come across this problem. First run of a new kit, factory error!
Alan Cardash
We have been getting feedback from several Elan builders that the two servo mounts for the elevator are apparently being put in some kits in the wrong hand. This is due to some of the elevators being made in the wrong hand regarding pushrod position. With the correct servo mounts for these kits, there is no problem. We have the correct mounts now, so check your kit and if it appears wrong in this respect, just contact us for replacement tail servo mounts.
The drawing on page 8, section 14 of the manual shows these mounts in the wrong hand [u](for those kits only). It is correct for all the kits with the regular elevators.
If you look carefully at the elevators you will see the inset ply top and bottom, about 1" square, close to the end where the elevators meet in the centre of the tailplane (Stab) Have a look at post 152 by rcguy in this thread.
Please ensure that the pushrod from the servo is in line with the plywood plates in the elevators which are there to make a secure fix for the control horns.
Do not mount the horns through the balsa part of the elevators.
If you find that the pushrods do not line up with the plywood insets in the elevators, contact myself at [email protected] or Patricia at [email protected] and we will send you a pair of the correct servo mounts.
Apologies to those Elan buyers who have come across this problem. First run of a new kit, factory error!
Alan Cardash
11-02-2007, 07:24 PM
#289
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RE: Elan Has Arrived!
Alan,
I received the missing flap control horn and I have now received the missing hinges but I still don't have the servo mounts. Any idea when they'll be shipped out?
Thanks,
Don
I received the missing flap control horn and I have now received the missing hinges but I still don't have the servo mounts. Any idea when they'll be shipped out?
Thanks,
Don
11-03-2007, 05:51 AM
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RE: Elan Has Arrived!
Patricia will be ready to send out the white ones within a couple of days and the grey ones will follow as soon as they are painted very soon after.
Alan
Alan
11-03-2007, 10:37 AM
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RE: Elan Has Arrived!
Hello Patricia,
Thank you very much for the email.
I have received my bird yesterday in Riyadh and I am waiting for its feet.
I agree that she is an asset for all the US customers including myself
Thank you very much for the email.
I have received my bird yesterday in Riyadh and I am waiting for its feet.
I agree that she is an asset for all the US customers including myself
11-03-2007, 01:16 PM
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RE: Elan Has Arrived!
I received my Behotec retracts yesterday from Altecare RC. As Peter said, they fit perfectly without having to modify the flange mount area.
Very high quality gear. I also like the larger 3" main wheels compared to the Robart set...
The nose gear requires two 1/4" ply blocks to lift the retract up high enough to clear the steering arms when retracted. The nosewheel clears the steering servo mount fine. I think this may be the closest to a "drop-in fit" set that I've seen...
Very high quality gear. I also like the larger 3" main wheels compared to the Robart set...
The nose gear requires two 1/4" ply blocks to lift the retract up high enough to clear the steering arms when retracted. The nosewheel clears the steering servo mount fine. I think this may be the closest to a "drop-in fit" set that I've seen...
11-03-2007, 01:28 PM
#296
RE: Elan Has Arrived!
ORIGINAL: JustABigKid
I received my Behotec retracts yesterday from Altecare RC. As Peter said, they fit perfectly without having to modify the flange mount area.
Very high quality gear. I also like the larger 3" main wheels compared to the Robart set...
The nose gear requires two 1/4" ply blocks to lift the retract up high enough to clear the steering arms when retracted. The nosewheel clears the steering servo mount fine. I think this may be the closest to a "drop-in fit" set that I've seen...
I received my Behotec retracts yesterday from Altecare RC. As Peter said, they fit perfectly without having to modify the flange mount area.
Very high quality gear. I also like the larger 3" main wheels compared to the Robart set...
The nose gear requires two 1/4" ply blocks to lift the retract up high enough to clear the steering arms when retracted. The nosewheel clears the steering servo mount fine. I think this may be the closest to a "drop-in fit" set that I've seen...
Dave
11-03-2007, 01:41 PM
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RE: Elan Has Arrived!
The bottom of the retract cylinders just touch the bottom of the fiberglass troughs, and I removed a strip along the middle. Bit I don't think you'd need to even do that if you didn't want to modify them (but the retract cylinders might put a little pressure on the fiberglass if you didn't trim at least the first 1/4" of the trough). You still need to open up holes for the air lines to go into, so there's no way to avoid some cutting...
ORIGINAL: rcguy!
Did you have to grind out the fiberglass troughs to get the retract units in?
Did you have to grind out the fiberglass troughs to get the retract units in?
11-03-2007, 02:36 PM
#298
RE: Elan Has Arrived!
I've noticed that the epoxy glue used to secure the plywood formers inside the fuselage never cured completely, and is relatively soft.....i test it for hardness by using my thumbnail and seeing how difficult it is to leave an impression in it.....either some bad epoxy glue was used here, or it wasn't mixed thoroughly.....and it doesn't take much effort to knock the formers loose....so now i'm trying to psych myself up and dig out all of the formers and roughen up all of the glue areas and re-install them with aeropoxy.....i now suspect that the plywood structure for the landing gear mounts might be compromised also with poor glue joints.....i haven't figured a way to get a look at them though.....so, you guys out there might want to take a good look at the glue joints in your Elans.....
Richard
Richard