All sounds VERY Good, Ric. Congrats!!

Tell us about trim... did you have to do anything? How's the inverted handling? Loop tracking? Snaps and spins stop where you want 'em to?

VERY happy for you!
Guess it has about all the "vertical" a guy would need??

Hi Ric,
That is great news! I guess that I am going to have to start assembling a little faster. The weather here cleared this weekend and I wished that the Excelleron was ready to go. I have to fly though. Got out one of my other planes and got in a few flights. There was a little rust to polish off.
Congratulation on the maiden flight. Wish that I had been there to see it.

Sweet news Ric,

Glad to hear what I have to look forward to. I went up to my bonus/airplane room this morning, the Excelleron box was calling my name! I guess it's time!! I was going to have my builder do the assembly, but, I think I will do this one.

I luv a good maiden story!!!

Ken

Just posted an ad in Pattern Airplanes for my NIB, unopened Excelleron. I'm keeping my current one, just won't need two... check it out, if interested!

Thanks!

AEROBOB, the plane tracked very well. Initially, I had the throws too high and the expo too low but I corrected that after the first flight. Balanced at 7.25", it took just a touch of down during inverted flight. I'm going to add some aileron differential to get the rolls exactly axial. The plane stops spins and snaps exactly when you do. It is a pleasure to fly.

Hello everyone - I've been following this thread since it's inception and have found a tremendous amount of information. Thanks to everyone who posted. As you can see, I rarely post myself, more of a sideline type of person. But due to the tremendous praise this aircraft has received, I went and purchased one myself.

I went with the Excelleron .50 as I already had an engine NIB laying around the house. I found that many of the tips you guys mentioned in this thread followed over to the .50 very well. I powered mine with a Thunder Tiger .61, and a month after completion I finally got to maiden the bird yesterday. She flew like she was on rails. Only 2 clicks down elevator and one click right aileron. She's a super looking and flying aircraft.

This is my first venture into the pattern style of airplanes and I hope to get the feel for it with this plane. I hope you guys won't mind if I follow this thread on the sidelines. As I stated earlier, I have found it most informative and enjoyable.

Thanks.

I'll try to post a couple pics of my venture into this arena.

Hi dubit,
Welcome. Thanks for the report on the 50. It makes me look forward to flying my 90 even more.

Hi guy's

Been flying the Explorer 90 FAI all last (2004) season here in the UK. Check www.gbrcaa.org Interesting that the manufacturers have re-named this airframe for marketing around the world!
I've installed the YS 110 and JR radio through out, Ailerons, Rudder, Stabs - DS811, Throttle NEJ 591, PCM 649S receiver. Model performs well on Wildcat 3DLV 30% fuel and Hattori pipe. Verticals straight as you like, stalls 'n' spins a dream.........

Hatta shure got this one in the bag!!!!!!!!!!!!

Andy.

Andy, I was thinking about using DS811 servos as well, but I wasn't sure if they have enough power for rudder and elevator, plus I generally don't like using servos with only 1 ball bearing for pull-pull surfaces. How happy are you with the DS811 on all surfaces?

Next step up from 811 might be an 8231 for rudder and elevator, next up would be the 8411SA.

The 811s are probably a little weak for rudder and elevator. Make sure the the arm ratios are correct to get maxim mechanical advantage (MA) for stability.

The 8231s are a little slower but have more torque. That's what I'm using for rudder and elevator and 811s in the wings.

mike

My plan is to use 8411SA's on all surfaces, Hitec 425BB on the throttle. I know it's a little overkill, but so is my ST2300 on the nose.

My first flights won't be until March or April, so I have time to get it right.

Ken

Hello Men,
It's great to hear the flight reports, I'm ready to get mine in the air. Thought I would post some pics of the control horn I used. They did a great job of getting the clevis pin over the hinge line. Also, how are you guys cutting the bottom of your cowls for air on 2 cycle angines?
Greg

I figured the DS811 would be good for ailerons, but rudder and elevator........I'm not so sure. This is a surprising big plane. And again, I don't like a direct pull-pull on a servo with only the top BB.

Anyone consider using Robart control horns? For those of you that have yours done, what is the measurement of the control horn from the mounting surface to the clevis? Robart makes them all the way up to 1 1/4", but I don't use anything taller than their 3/4" horns, because they have the plastic ball instead of the steel, which require special clevises and wear out faster.

where'd you get those black horns from????

Bodyworks,
I got the control horns at Tower Hobbies. The aileron horns are Great Planes, Tower #LXEVC9 and the elevators are Dubro are Tower # LXEMF9. I did have to cut length, sand and drill holes in the elevator horns to get them to line up over the hinge line. I other words they were about 4mm too long. The only drawback is you can't get them individually, you have to purchase them with all the hardware. I thought it was worth it because of the clean application, and I got the plane on sale. If I were to build another one I would consider the Great Planes for all control surfaces. They are less expensive and though they might not get clevis pin directly over hinge line it would probably be enough to achieve Ackerman effect.
Greg

My friend and I ordered two excellerons together, and I built mine first, when he was building his I noticed the control horn hardware of his plane was slightly different than mine, actually when we were testing the surface we noticed a bit of 'give' of the elevator under load. On closer inspection I saw that there was a lot less plastic material holding the screw of the control horn on all his hardware than in mine. The base of the plastic thingy on mine had a lot of more material holding the screw and was a lot stiffer than his. GDAVIS on your 3rd picture I noticed that you used the stock hardware for the elevator surfaces, and it is the same as my friend's, the skinny ones, try pulling the screw with your finger and see how much force it needs before the plastic starts to flex, I bet that it will flex with relatively small force.
I am not close to my plane or his to get some comparison pictures, but I'll try to get them so you can see the difference.
My friend has flown his plane like that a couple of times, so maybe it is no big deal, but just wanted everyone to know.


Gabriel

Gabriel,
Thanks for the info! I'll check mine and let you know.
Greg

GDAVIS,
The stock control horns on my Excelleron are the same as yours and I've been flying
mine , with YS 1.10, since last September and it's been through lots of flights and
some pretty severe maneuvers, high speed snaps etc, with no problems. I wouldn't
worry.

tommy s

Thanks Tommy!
I just checked mine and IMHO they are more than adequate especially given the throw rates I'll be using.
Greg

For those of you using the 110, are you using the stock tank?
I just opened the box on mine and, besides being fairly impressed, I noticed the tank is pretty stout, and I am considering sticking with it. All I will do is secure the rubber plug with strapping tape. I also noticed that the tank should fit on the CG pretty easily. I won't remove the former that's in the way, but I will trim it down so the tank slides through it. I will start building mine this weekend, and will likely start with the "diet" part of it. I bet I can drop 4-6 ounces off this baby without depreciating its structural integrity or removing any covering to do it.

I have put about 7 flights on my excelleron with the stock tank and a ys 110 no problems so far and I don't expect there to be any.
the tank did seem to be beefy enough.

Same here, stock tank, no problems.
It's pretty lightweight already, mine is under 8 lbs with YS 1.10 ready to fly.

tommy s

PS: My tank is in the stock position and I notice hardly any difference in the
flying as fuel is used. I personally don't think it's worth the trouble to move
the tank.

Weighed all the parts today:
STAB & ELEVATORS-7.66 OUNCES
FIN & RUDDER-3.05
LEFT WING-14.0
RIGHT WING-14.0
FUSE-22.0
BELLY PAN-3.4
COWL-3.8
CANOPY-2.5
LANDING GEAR-3.51
ALL HARDWARE-14.3

TOTAL KIT WEIGHT= 5LBS, 8OZ

I also started on the LG diet. Didn't really lose too much (0.4 ounces), but they look better. I just drilled some holes and beveled the edges and polished it a bit...

Bodyworks,
Most of us are using Radiosouth 1/4 scale hinges or something equivalent. Much better hinges, alot less weight!