elan120

My Feedback: (1)

Finally complete assembled my Excelleron. Hopefully get to test fly it tomorrow.

Here are some photos I just took showing the completed plane and the short pipe set up.

Kevin

CGRetired

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Just as an update for you guys. I ordered the YS 110 based on what Gordie has to say and that the plane seemed to be based on th at engine. I have an Evo 100 I was going to use, but decided this past week to go ahead with the YS 110.

As I said, I ordered it. the LHS owner talked to me about it, said he has had one on back order for some time now, YS promissed it to him by the end of December and if I wanted it, it was mine.

Sooo... YS-110 for my Excelleron.

DS.

GM1

Y'all need to finish these models so I can get some feedback on performance. Living in Florida 50 feet above sea level, we get some major thick air and great performance from our motors, so the models fly really well. I went to a big helicopter fun fly this weekend so didn't fly the Excelleron at all. May sneak out later this week and get in some time.
As an aside, I flew (??) one of our club members Showtime. I have flown it before but it has some problems with the Saito 100 being consistent. He has worked on the tank and made every change we have suggested. We ran the motor on the ground and held the model vertical for ten seconds (or a little more) so I thought we had the problem solved. I took off out over the pond at the end of our field and when the model was about 30 feet in the air, the motor stopped pulling, I could not hear what it was doing as we had a guy test running a BIG 4 stroke behind me. I throttled back to half and pulled the nose up and stall turned the model to get going the other way, back toward the field. I ran out of airspeed, altitude and luck all at the same time. The motor quit in the middle of the stall turn, I let the model fall to build airspeed as long as I thought I could and still pull out but when I pulled, the model was too slow and just didn't want to fly. I yanked it flat as it hit the ground and pancaked it in. I was just sick.
When we went over to the model, the carbon landing gear was broken on both sides of the model but there was NO other damage. I was thrilled and the owner was also very happy. He was not happy that the model was damaged but was very happy that the model survived a bad situation intact and placed no blame on me. I did everything I could do to save the model but not being able to hear the motor sag left me with not many options. I usually don't mind test flying models but I would have really felt bad about this one as the model flies really well when the motor runs. Fortunately, a new landing gear and it will be ready to fly.
Gordie

elan120

My Feedback: (1)

Hi Gordie,

Sorry to hear about the problem with your friend's plane, hopefully it will be back in the air soon.

I finally got my Excelleron in the air over the weekend. At first, I was having problem to get the pipe holder to stay in tack, but after getting that problem worked out, and the engine running correctly, I started having problem to get the idle to stay consistent for the first two flights. Further checking show two of the engine bolts came completed off, which is a surprise to me, since I used loc-tite on them. Finally, after getting all of the bugs worked out, the plane flew the third time, and this time, everything worked the way it should. The vertical is great, and it will go out of sight if I let it. The inverted with CG at a hair behind 7-1/4", worked out just right; there is only a little pressure needed on the stick is needed to hold it level. The up line and down line also look good, and the down line will go a very long distance before it will pull slightly to the canopy. The only thing I still need to adjust is the aileron travel. After reduced to 1/2�, it is still a little sensitive. The overall feel of the plane is very positive, and I am very much looking forward to this weekend for more flights.

I am using Magnum #2 fuel, which is about 30% of nitro, with 15-10 APC, I am turning about 9200 to 9300 rpm on the ground with plenty of smoke. What is yours running at?

Regards,

Kevin

Walfam

My Feedback: (1)

Gentlemen,

I am on my second excelleron 90 using a ys-110 engine. My first one has a YS91 in it and if flys real nice. However, since I am flying pattern I wanted that little extra ooomph if you know what I mean.

first unit uses standard stock equipment that came with the unit, with the following mods:

a. dubro fuel tank mounted at cg
b. micro servo mounted in engine compartment
c. external glow plug socket ( this is a must and makes starting so easy)
d. used great planes med grade pin hinges and recommend them highly
e. used Dubro locking clevis ( std on all my planes).

this plane has about 30-40 flights on it and a few landing oops...... but when balanced it flys great. I am using a 13-13 on my YS-91 and it works great. Helps with clearance also. I am flying sportsman at this time, but I have had my mentor fly it and it will fly the masters program ( power is just on the edge on a couple of the manuevers). With a YS-110 forget about it!. Please note in balancing it if had to put a lot of weight up front because it was so tail heavy. I hope the 110 will solve that problem as I dont like adding weight.

The wheel pants are pretty but do not really hold up well. I removed them because they became a pain in the tail feathers, if you know what I mean.

My second plane will be set up the same way except I will probably go to dubro control arms on the pull pull systems. Please note earlier models ( my first ex 90) the hardware control arms are 1/2 as thick as the base as the one I just purchased, so they have
had some breakage problem in this area. The new ones look fine so I am putting them on my old unit and putting durbros on my new unit.

CGRetired

My Feedback: (1)

It's getting there, guys!! Last night I installed the fuel tank (in the location recommended in the plans). The other night (Sunday I believe), I got all the pull-pull systems completed. They came out nice. It was my first attempt and after doing the elevators first, I got the hang of it and the rudder went much smoother. The cowl is installed but I still have to cut out vent holes and access to the glow plug, but that's minor. With this installation, removal of the cowl is painless... 6 screws and it's off.. I don't have to remove the muffler as I do on the Venus.

What's left? Well, the canope, securing the battery... I am going to put it under the fuel tank for now, it's an 1100mah 5 cell (6 volt) so it matters where it goes for CG. I would prefer nose heavy for now, will adjust as necessary. Then the muffler and it's ready to test fly.

I am going to have our club Pattern Pro go over it with a magnifying glass to make sure all is ship-shape and airworthy before even starting the engine. I want that green light before putting this baby in the air.

Attached are a few pix I took last night. They show the tail with the pull-pull system, the servo tray, and the fuel tank. Note I put a piece 3/8 x 3/8 x fuselage width hardwood under the tank (over the tank when right side up) and secured that with two servo screws. That way I can remove the tank at will, and if ever necessary. Now that I've done that I'll probably never have to remove the tank... ha.. but it holds the tank in nicely. I used clear RTV Silicon calking on the front of the tank where it protrudes through the firewall to seal and secure the front of the tank.

Ok.. here we go!

DS.

stek79

Hello CG,
do you have enough rudder throw with that control linkages?

CGRetired

My Feedback: (1)

Hey Stek. Well, the measured throw slightly exceeds what is recommended in the manual for the first time flight, and I have room both on the rudder end and the servo end to accomodate more. There is a LOT more throw available for the elevators, but I also set those for the recommended throws in the build manual. I am NOT going to use this plane for 3D so I don't much care if I can't add much more than I need for pattern. Considering I am at the beginning of the sportsman class..

DS.

stek79

Ok CG, actually you have a fairly big control horn on rudder!

When the maiden? I've read you bought an YS, are you waiting for it?

Contratulations, the excelleron is a very nice plane!

CGRetired

My Feedback: (1)

Hi.

Thanks for the kudo's. It's a real nice plane and I expect great things out of it.. ha.. maybe I can finally learn to fly??? haha.. just kidding.

Yeah, the control horn is large, it's the heavy duty Dubro. The next size down was flimsy and a tad bit small for what I expected of a control horn on this size model. You see, I somehow lost one of the two original parts so I had to opt for a replacement and the Dubro ended up being the one. This one has holes for adjustments as I need them, so I hope to keep it simple and fly it the way it is. One never knows.

Regarding the YS, I had ordered one from the LHS. The owner is a good friend of mine. He said that he has been in touch with the distributor and they don't expect to even begin deliveries until some time between January and March of next year. Everyone I talked to said that I should just stick with the Evolution 100 I had originally planned on putting on the Excelleron. I have it, it has been run through a couple tanks of fuel, and seems to run just fine. So, I'm going with that. We'll see I guess.

I was hoping to fly it this weekend, but I have to head north to Massachusetts to spend the weekend with my Mom (89) and my younger brother. But, the return flight arrives at about 9 am at Philadelphia..perhaps if I get home and the weather is flyable... I may just get it out and up in the air. We will see!!! If not, then it will be as soon as weather permits. I will post a report, for sure!!

DS.

CGRetired

My Feedback: (1)

Progress report.

I finished the build on Sunday morning and headed out to the field to, hopefully, maiden the Excelleron.

Well, things didn't work out so well. There were a few very minor issues that I was able to clear up on the spot. However, the engine would not cooperate. I ended up changing out the glow plug, someone had recommended that I use an OS-F so I took out the original plug ( this is a new engine, an EVO-100, with two full tanks run through it) and put in the OS-F. Then we had problems with our field equipment. I had forgotten my electrical starter, I had it on the charger and simply forgot to grab it before heading out. Consequently, I ended up borrowing one from one of my buddies at the field. But, he had been flying all day and the battery on HIS starter was just about drained. Then my glow driver would not drive.. dead battery on that too. Something told me to quit and go home and wait, but I continued on .

We finally got things straightened out, and got the enigne started, however, it would only run with the plane inverted... engine upright. And, at full throttle, there was a lot of air in the fuel line. We suspected maybe a pin-hole in the fuel line.. so I took the wing off and removed the fuel tank to take a close look at everything. Well, no hole in the fuel line. So, the 'club pro', Ron, suggested that vibration was causin foaming in the tank which is a possibility. The tank is as it comes from the factory, and is mounted in the fuselage in such a position that the rear of the tank is direct contact with the fuselage former and may be transmitting vibration to the tank at high speeds. I pressure tested the tank to make sure that there was no leaks anywhere, and there were not. I thought maybe there was a pin hole in the fuel line inside the tank, but the tank was full, or as full as I could get it, and the clunk tube was submerged so there was no possibility of air getting sucked into the fuel line that way.

So, the other club pro suggested that I grind out some of the former to make room for some foam tape to insulate the tank from the fuselage at both ends (where it goes through the firewall as well as where it meets the former at the rear of the tank) and also switch over to a different kind of clunk, one that inhibits fuel bubbling due to vibration.

Sooo... no maiden fly yesterday.

Perhaps next week, if the weather holds.

DS.

snap_roll

keep me posted on te flight characteristics !!!!

CGRetired

My Feedback: (1)

Will do.

Everyone that saw it yesterday said it looked pretty air-worthy and should be a lot of fun to fly. We'll see!!

snap_roll

thx in advanced...tinking of getting a 90 practice plane for the advanced shedule

Ripon

Has anyone flown the plane yet with an OS90 - seems that everybody is going for larger engines

snap_roll

the os91fx will do a good job (with a tuned pipe)

rcpaulrc

Ripon, What class do you fly, Excelleron 90 would be great in Sportsman with a os 90

CGRetired

My Feedback: (1)

Why a tuned pipe? The rated horsepower is 2.8 as it is which should be more than enough to pull the Excelleron 90 around. Please tel me if I'm wrong.. I am thinking of putting one on in place of the EVO 100 should I continue to have problems with it.

DS.

NJRCFLYER2

My Feedback: (42)

It's much quieter & also lighter if you go with a CF pipe, plus the extra power is always good to have on tap, even if the power is adequate with a stock muffler. You might get away using less nitro too. For example, I have an ES pipe on my OS 91 FX and it turns an APC 15x10 8800 to 8900 with just 15% fuel. It seems like someone is always selling off used pipes these days as more & more guys go electric, so you should not have to dump a pile of money into a CF pipe.

GM1

I did manage to get in some more flights on my Excelleron with the YS 110. Vertical with a 15-10 APC and Wildcat 30% heli fuel is truly unlimited. I went straight off the runway, pulled vertical, and climbed straight up until I could no longer see the model to make corrections and then spun the model back down with a pretty slow turn and no tendency to tighten up. Amazing! The model seems to have no particular bad habits but has a couple of "quirks" like if you do a square pull from vertical at VERY low airspeed, the model changes heading about 20 degrees. It never tries to drop a wing or anything, it just moves a little. I suspect I may need to change the thrust line just a fuzz and I also had a motor mount bolt come out so the motor may have been moving around just a touch from normal also.
Overall I am VERY pleased with the model. It flies straight, has excellent roll characteristics, snap breaks are well defined and predictable, it knife edges very well, better on the left side than the right currently, and lands like a feather. There probably are better models around but, for the money, this one is awfully good.
Gordie

stek79

Gordie,

do you mean that the airplane experiences a yaw when you pull a corner at low speed WITH throttle? If so, this is perfectly normal.

I bet you have to enter right rudder. Am I right?

stek79

Sorry... You have to enter left rudder, the yaw is towards the right...

GM1

Yep, I have experienced this with other models as well but my G-Trick was the less prone to this than the Excelleron. Realize I flew the G-Trick for 5 years and knew it really well so I was correctling for stuff out of habit. The Excelleron is new and I am just beginning to learn it so anything that's different than the G-Trick stands out right now. 6 months from now, I probably won't even notice <g>, that is, if it lives that long.
Gordie

snap_roll

hey gordie, which one u think is better for pattern, the g-trick or the excelleron?

GM1

Oh, WOW! Tough one. Understand I had YEARS on the G-Trick and have only a few flights on the Excelleron, but right this second, I like the Excelleron's flight charcteristics better. The G-Trick was an outstanding kit and a terrific model but it was also pretty expensive for its day. Excelleron does some things MUCH better and it's faults (remember, limited flight time) don't seem too bad so it will become second nature to autocorrect pretty quickly. I like the Excelleron's looks in the air and low speed handling much better.
Gordie