Question for Excelleron 90 owners
 

Hi,
I'm finally finishing up my Excelleron. I know some of the Excelleron 90 owners have removed the counter balances from the elevators. My question is, what throws are you using on the elevator with this mod done?

Thanks,

Dave

RE: Question for Excelleron 90 owners
 

Dave
I flew a JR Explorer V90 , the precurser to the Excelleron. It did not have the counterbalanced elevators and the recomended throw was 10mm each way. I added more over time and ended up around 15mm if memory serves. I know this is not exactly the answer to your question but I hope the info helps.

Oh and aileron was around 10mm also.

Eddie

RE: Question for Excelleron 90 owners
 

Hi,

It depends on what type of flying you will be doing. I have found that the throws listed in the manual for the elevators are very close to the 3D portion, but if you flying pattern like I am, and have reduced the throws greatly to keep it smooth. Rudder it to the max, and ailerons are like the elevators they can be toned down.

Hope this helps.


Wayne

RE: Question for Excelleron 90 owners
 

Thanks much guys, it does indeed help. At least now I have a good idea where to start.

Wayne, the Excelleron will be used for getting me started in Sportsman next year.


Dave.

RE: Question for Excelleron 90 owners
 

e-dave, did you cut the counter balances off? if so, any chance you have any photos of your work? Curious because I will begin assembling my Exceleron 90 soon and I'm not sure if I want to do this or not. If no photos, any comments on how you did it?

I don't think I'll fly in compitition, but I compete with my self all the time.
thanks

Mike R

RE: Question for Excelleron 90 owners
 

Yup, I cut them off. Actually, I cut them off after the elevators were already hinged, a last minute decision. Pretty simple, just marked off a line parallel to the hinge line top and bottom and used a Zona saw, cutting about halfway through on each side. I beveled the elevators with a hobby knife and a bit of sanding, cut another hinge slot on each side, and glued the counter balances to the horizontal stab. I probably should have added a 1/32" piece of balsa to the rear edges of the counter balances at the hinge line, but the gaps will be sealed on both sides with Ultracote for appearance purposes so I'm not too worried about it. I plan to fill in the seams where the counter balances are glued on with a bit of balsa filler and cover the seam with a strip of Ultracote.

The pics aren't the best, but should give you the idea.

Hope this helps.

Dave

RE: Question for Excelleron 90 owners
 

Thank you e-dave for the comments and the photo's. One would presume you did the same to the rudder.

I'll let you and anyone else know once I decide.

right now I'm in the middle of having my house and garage fumigated, so all work is at a stand still.

Mike r

RE: Question for Excelleron 90 owners
 

Actually, I left the rudder as is for now. If I don't like how it flies, I can always hack it off later. Doesn't take long at all.:D

Good luck with the build when the time comes. Believe me, I know how things can get in the way. I've been working on this one since June.[:@]

RE: Question for Excelleron 90 owners
 

Hi Dave,

I do not know if you went back to a year ago where all the issues of the excelleron 90 were discussed, but make sure you go in and
reinforce the landing gear, or it will pop off the first landing you make. (unless the mfg addressed this already, but be safe and do it)
also the aluminum landing gear is soft, change it out to a larger one to give you more prop clearance.

I am running an OS120AX on mine and it is a perfect set up. vertical for ever, however you will need to change the landing gear to allow for a bigger prop. I am running a 15-12 APC and it is perfect. The OS is so easy to use right out of the box.

Glad you are doing sportsman, the new 07 sequence is nice ( this will be my last year in sportsman and it has been fun).

Wayne

RE: Question for Excelleron 90 owners
 

Can anyone say where I can put my hands on an Excelleron kit as they seem to be out of production?

Mark

RE: Question for Excelleron 90 owners
 

Thanks Wayne. The gear mounting plate in mine was pretty well reinforced with triangle stock as it came, but I coated the area with finishing resin to make sure all was glued in well. I had forgotten about the short/weak aluminum gear. I'll need to do something about that too. I'm using a YS 110 for power, my first YS. We'll see how that works out.

I've been to a couple of pattern contests as an observer this year and can't wait to get flying in the coming season. Now if I can just get that straight line thing down---

Mark, I wish I did know where to find another Excelleron. I had to order a replacement canopy ( cracked mine in a hangar rash incident) and from what Hobby People said, even spare parts are getting scarce fast. Any of you that have an Excelleron and want to keep it flying might want to get in touch with them pretty soon.

RE: Question for Excelleron 90 owners
 

Mark
Send me an e-mail. I can point you towards a NIB Excellron and a NIB YS110
but the shipping might be somnewhat pricey, I just saw where you're located.

Eddie
DeQuincy, La.

RE: Question for Excelleron 90 owners
 

e-dave

I know you think the gear plate is strong enough with just the triangle braces but I can
assure you after a couple of years of flying one it's not. It will be easier to reinforce it now
than later so do it before it comes loose then you won't have to repair the damage it will
do and then reinforce it anyway.

You can get a replacement canopy from Precision Aero Composites that will work well on
your Excelleron. I had a Hyde-Out canopy on mine which in my opinion looked better than the
original and was a little longer so I could install it a little further forward to get a little more
side area. Ultra RC sells Icepoint replacement canopies that fit well also.

tommy s

RE: Question for Excelleron 90 owners
 

Thanks Tommy. Some plywood bracing on that gear plate sure won't hurt. Like you said, better now than later. I'll take at the canopy too since I really don't like the looks of the stock one anyway. If I remember correctly Precision Aero also sells a carbon gear that will work on this plane.

Man, this is turning into one of those never ending projects.

RE: Question for Excelleron 90 owners
 

e-dave,

The landing gear I used is from Bolly, and it works much better than the stock landing gear. See the below link for more information and photos.

[link=http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_3699639/anchors_3703474/mpage_1/key_/anchor/tm.htm#3703474]Landing gear model and photos[/link]

Kevin

RE: Question for Excelleron 90 owners
 

Thanks Kevin. I wasn't familiar with [link=http://www.aeroproduct.net/]Aero Products[/link]. Nice having a source relatively nearby.

RE: Question for Excelleron 90 owners
 

Tommy S,

I see that you are in Houston (I fly in NW Houston at SPARKS RC) and I also saw from another thread that you've had an Excelleron 90 for a long time and were very pleased with it. I'm wanting to buy my first pattern plane and I've heard a lot of good things about this one - except that they are difficult to find. Would you still recommend this 2 yr old plane for a lower-cost first pattern plane or is there another one you'd recommend?

Thanks,

Alan

RE: Question for Excelleron 90 owners
 

Alan,

It would be hard to find a better flying pattern ship than the Excelleron for the money. It has
no bad habits and is very easy to fly. The only problem is they are out of production now and it
will probably be difficult to locate one. If I were looking for something in the same size and price
range I would probably go with the Venus II, looks pretty good to me.

tommy s

RE: Question for Excelleron 90 owners
 

Tommy,

Thanks for the info. Since I really don't have lots of time to build, I'm hoping I may be able to find a used model that's in good shape. Do you know anyone in Houston that may be ready to upgrade from their Excelleron 90?

Alan

RE: Question for Excelleron 90 owners
 

Alan,

No I don't know of any used ones, I sold mine and it's still flying out at Scobee field most weekends.
Check with Eddie B ( swlarcham ) about a NIB Excelleron 90 and a YS 110 that he knew about,
maybe it's still available.

tommy s

RE: Question for Excelleron 90 owners
 

Alan
GlowPlugBoy had a used Explorer ( same as Excelleron) available last year. I don't know if he sold it or not, but he's in Houston so you might want to check with him. I have his contact info if you don't know him. I think he flys at Jetero.

Also, as Tommy S stated <I can point you to a NIB Excelleron & a NIB YS110

Eddie

RE: Question for Excelleron 90 owners
 

Thanks! I'll try to PM GlowPlugBoy.

RE: Question for Excelleron 90 owners
 

Just for the record, I have sent a message to the product manager of Global hobbies and asked if the manufacture (Model tech) is still producing the Exceleron under another name.

I'll post up any news once aquired.

Mike R

RE: Question for Excelleron 90 owners
 

I've also heard rumors of a 120 size Excelleron on the way, but so far they are just rumors with no details. . Anyone heard anything solid on this?

RE: Question for Excelleron 90 owners
 

Ahh e-dave, your rumors are true, I have known about it since Januarary. Response from the Global product Mgr today.

We still have 19 in various HP stores if you want another one.
In Australia, the Excelleron is sold by Tates Hobbies.
This plane, with some slightly different accy's, is also sold in Japan by JR. Other than that, I am not sure if anyone is buying it.

Remedy 120 is still being test flown. One of the Model Tech Agents is a national pattern champion in his country. I felt that it was worth the delay to have this guy give a thorough workout. It delayed the project a little but it will ensure it's really "right".



Well there you have it.
I may just take him up pn locating one of those 19 for a spare.
I have been bugging them on the Remedy for quite some time, but I am assured that there were changes they wanted made to make this another "Exceleron" quality flier. which has delayed it's release quite a bit. Frankly, I'm ok with that, I would prefer the bugs be worked out before I get one.

Mike R