E-flite Apprentice - DX6i setup?

[kirch]

Originally Posted by b2319

I did go to 3" foam wheels, ultra lights, the only mod was to the front wheel. I used a dremel and removed the inner two treads so the wheel would clear the vertical rod.

I upgraded to 2.5" skinny wheels. I think 3" and a little fatter would probably have been better on our slightly rutted grass field. It would have sat on the grass a little more I think. Definitely the wheels that come with the apprentice are better suited to pavement.

[xmech2k]

Bear, I'm relatively new to this whole thing, but with the electric setup in the Apprentice, especially with the ESC providing power throught the throttle plug in the rcvr, I'm not sure it would be entirely safe to use a power switch. Since you would have the batt plugged into the ESC prior to having the rcvr powered on, theoretically, the ESC has a safety so it shouldn't run like that, but I know I wouldn't want to keep testing that feature every time! I see it as a backup safety, in case you make a mistake. I was kind of suprised when I saw that place for the switch.

The key word here is, it shouldn't run like that. But having been an A&P for over 20 years, I've always read what I could about aviation accidents(Confucious say 'A wise man learns from his mistakes'. I say 'I'd rather learn from someone else's mistakes!'), and saw how bad things can go when people trust things like that. A way will be 'found' to get around the safety feature by accident and... People (In most cases, at least) weren't trying to bypass safety features, but put the links of the chain together in order to do so without realizing it. (Remember the Airbus doing the low flyby, then the plane up and decided to land itself in the forest? Pretty much caused by the crew trying to just silence the aural warnings about flying that low and slow with the gear up. Didn't realize the circuit breaker they pulled did more than that.) We have a saying that nothing is fool-proof to a talented fool. So basically, I wouldn't bother with that power switch!

[BEAR-AvHistory]

Thing is, my E-Flite T-34 Mentor has a switch built in from the factory (have two other planes without a switch) but it does not have a "knock-out" in the fuselage to mount it so you have to pull the canopy hatch to turn it on/off.

Was trying to figure out what the designed function was for the switch other then disabling the prop when the battery was connected.

[b2319]

Has anyone had trouble with the nose gear not turing correctly. On 3 planes at my local field it turns good one way and very little the other way. It also seems that if you get a rought landing the servo clip pops off for the nose gear to easy. Well, after we all got tired of the nose gear and low ground clearance we came up with an idea. We all now have tail dragger apprentices. We took the plastic battery/rear gear box, cut it away from the body, rotated 180 and glue it back in. Now the rear gear is at the front removed the steering nose wheel and place a small wheel on the rear. More ground clearance for the prop, easier landings and no more messing with the nose gear issue. I also installed a E-flite power 25 brushless outrunner and man a world of difference. My next step is to add smoke to the plane.

[xmech2k]

Originally Posted by BEAR-AvHistory

Thing is, my E-Flite T-34 Mentor has a switch built in from the factory (have two other planes without a switch) but it does not have a "knock-out" in the fuselage to mount it so you have to pull the canopy hatch to turn it on/off.

Was trying to figure out what the designed function was for the switch other then disabling the prop when the battery was connected.

Well, I'll have to watch and see what someone who really understands all this will say on the subject. Does the T-34 use a seperate BEC for rcvr power? Maybe that's the difference? Everything I have doesn't use switches, plug them in and go.

[BEAR-AvHistory]

Originally Posted by b2319

Has anyone had trouble with the nose gear not turing correctly. On 3 planes at my local field it turns good one way and very little the other way. It also seems that if you get a rought landing the servo clip pops off for the nose gear to easy. Well, after we all got tired of the nose gear and low ground clearance we came up with an idea. We all now have tail dragger apprentices. We took the plastic battery/rear gear box, cut it away from the body, rotated 180 and glue it back in. Now the rear gear is at the front removed the steering nose wheel and place a small wheel on the rear. More ground clearance for the prop, easier landings and no more messing with the nose gear issue. I also installed a E-flite power 25 brushless outrunner and man a world of difference. My next step is to add smoke to the plane.

Seems to be a random E-Flite thing. My Apprentice turns well but the T-34 has a hang up where it occasionally catches turning right.

[BEAR-AvHistory]

Originally Posted by xmech2k

Well, I'll have to watch and see what someone who really understands all this will say on the subject. Does the T-34 use a seperate BEC for rcvr power? Maybe that's the difference? Everything I have doesn't use switches, plug them in and go.

No the configuration is the same as the Apprentice, just with heavier components, 3200 mah battery etc.

[kirch]

Actually the Apprentice uses the same 3200 mAh battery in the RTF version. But the Apprentice is definitely much lighter. I get 15 minutes on my battery with 1000 mAh to spare. My friend gets maybe 8 minutes on his. And his battery is much warmer.

But the T-34 is more scale like and does penetrate the wind better. The Apprentice is all z-foam. Both are nice in their own ways.

It is nice to be able to turn off the system before fiddling with the battery. Accidentally turning on the throttle on the TX (my buddy and I are both using DX6i's) is far too easy. The Apprentice battery is on the underbelly of the plane. A bit of a hassle to access but not the end of the world. The Apprentice has no off switch so I have to flip it over and work at it to disconnect the EC3 connectors.

[BEAR-AvHistory]

Thing is the Apprentice has a cutout for the switch..just a case of finding which wire to splice into & which switch to buy.

Hate not being able to shut it down without flipping it over & pulling the plug.

[xmech2k]

I wonder if it's possible to use one of the commercially avaiabe switch harnesses between the ESC and the rcvr? Although I'm pretty sure those are meant to be between a dedicated radio battery and the rcvr(Like n gassers), with a third lead for a charging jack for the rcvr battery. My guess is it wouldn't include a signal wire, but it may be worth looking into as an easy upgrade.

[h00t]

Originally Posted by Harrow

Hi BEAR.

I have an Apprentice and DX6i. The low rates I have given below give PLENTY of control and are what I use for normal flying. I use the high rates I have given for simple acrobatic manouevres. They will roll quite quick, and loop in a 10 foot radius. I suggest you do not use anything more than the low rates for your first flight to keep things nice and easy.

Regards,
Harrow.

Low rate:
Aileron 65% + 15%
Elevator 60% + 15%
Rudder 60% INH

High rate:
Aileron 85% + 30%
Elevator 100% + 30%
Rudder 80% INH


I also have flaperons programmed with the following settings :
Differential Rate 20%
Landing Flaps 40% down flap and 8% up elevator (although I suggest you do not worry about this until you have a little more experience with the plane)

bring this thread back from the dead!

question: how did you get the flaperons to work? i tried, but i cant seem to figure it out. closest i got was one aileron going up and the other down when i hit the switch

[h00t]

Originally Posted by b2319

Has anyone had trouble with the nose gear not turing correctly. On 3 planes at my local field it turns good one way and very little the other way. It also seems that if you get a rought landing the servo clip pops off for the nose gear to easy. Well, after we all got tired of the nose gear and low ground clearance we came up with an idea. We all now have tail dragger apprentices. We took the plastic battery/rear gear box, cut it away from the body, rotated 180 and glue it back in. Now the rear gear is at the front removed the steering nose wheel and place a small wheel on the rear. More ground clearance for the prop, easier landings and no more messing with the nose gear issue. I also installed a E-flite power 25 brushless outrunner and man a world of difference. My next step is to add smoke to the plane.

+1 my clip pops out as well

[BEAR-AvHistory]

Originally Posted by h00t

bring this thread back from the dead!

question: how did you get the flaperons to work? i tried, but i cant seem to figure it out. closest i got was one aileron going up and the other down when i hit the switch

I am not using flaperons on this plane like "HARROW" but have linked the rudder to the ailerons on the right stick with MIX 1 @ 100%.

This eliminates any adverse yaw in the turns but still gives you full rudder control on the left stick.

Have only crashed once, broken motor mount, since I made this change. Pure pilot error as I got disoriented with the plane far away.

Have since airbrushed the underside wing tips in as far as the pushrods, battery door & underside horizontal stabilizer with red paint

[BEAR-AvHistory]

I fooled around with the nose gear a lot when the clevis snapped. I put in a heavier pushrod with a carbon fiber tube over it for added strength.

I also noticed it turned better in one direction & reamed out the tunnel near the clip so nothing that had to move touched the foam.

I slightly shortened the gear leg by grinding away the rough edges at the lop & lubricated the inside of the mount housing.

I noticed if you over tighten the retaining screw onto the gear shaft the whole plastic unit will bind up going left in my case.

Believe this is what cause the clevis to snap on a takeoff run causing the motor shaft to bend.

[xmech2k]

Originally Posted by h00t

bring this thread back from the dead!

question: how did you get the flaperons to work? i tried, but i cant seem to figure it out. closest i got was one aileron going up and the other down when i hit the switch

Are your ailerons still connected to the y-harness through the rcvr ail output? Then they will always operate identically, since they are getting the same signal through that y-harness. The ailerons move in opposite directions due to the way they are installed in the wing, even though if you puled the servos out and watched them, they move in the same direction. Check page 45 of your DX6i manual to see how to connect the ailerons for flaperon use. At the top of the page is the dual aileron setup, which is what you need, though I'm not sure of the rest of the programming as I haven't used flaperons mysef yet. (I did use dual aileron setup on my PZ Corsair, to get more up than down throw on the ailerons, to eliminate adverse yaw.) You may also have to get some servo lead extensions, since you can't use the y-harness fr this setup. I'd also highly recommend color coding the male and female plugs, and checking that the ailerons move the right way before taking off each time, as this adds a huge 'oops' factor into wing installation...

[Harrow]

Originally Posted by h00t

bring this thread back from the dead!

question: how did you get the flaperons to work? i tried, but i cant seem to figure it out. closest i got was one aileron going up and the other down when i hit the switch

h00t,

For flaperons work, you need to run each aileron off a different lead. (ie. do not use the Y-harness). One aileron still plugs into the "AIL" slot, but the other plugs into the "AUX" slot. Not sure if you can do it with the AR500 receiver. I use an AR6200 (6 channel).

Then you just enable it on your DX6i (which it sounds like you have, since your ailerons are moving when you hit the FLAP switch). Maybe you need to reverse the direction of the "AUX" channel within the transmitter to get the second aileron to go the right way? (I can't remember if I needed to do that or not.)

Regards,
Harrow.