Braddock, VC Posted July 3, 2009 Share Posted July 3, 2009 I was delighted with mine powered with a saito 125, same dimensions and weight as the saito 100 mentioned in the instructions until doing a gentle touch and go the front end of the plane snapped off almost immediately above the c of g. At this point the load bearing structure consists of a square tube of 2mm lite ply dovetailed together and laser fretted away until at the point of failure there were 4 rt angled corners to this tube(running fore and aft) whose cross sectional area is the sum of 10mmx2mm liteply x 8 sounds a lot til you see it in the flesh, put me off artfs for good. I have repaired and flown it but the issue remains where do you stop reinforcing the 2mm liteply? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BB Posted July 3, 2009 Share Posted July 3, 2009 Sorry to hear of your Ouch Attack ! John. I nearly bought one of those. Opted for an Acrowot in the end. And I get to use my own glue ! Theres a good article in this months RCM&e, take a look p54. I tend to check and double check all my RTF & ARTF as common practise, they are made on jigs and at speed I find countless joints with just a 'dab' of a glue type unknown, but probably a cyno of some sort. I would have thought a 'super phatic' glue on light ply and a bit more resting time in production would go a long way to stopping many a hack breaking up. UC & engine bulkheads seem to suffer the most it appears in current RTF/ARTF's. I doubt it had little to do with the saito 125 in it. BB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steveflys Posted August 10, 2009 Share Posted August 10, 2009 Sorry to read about your problem with your pulse. I've owned mine for about a year now and have flown it extensively without a single problem, in fact so many people have commented on it and have gone on to purchase one. I've got an OS 91fs in mine which provides it with more than enough power, I'd have thought that a 1.25 was a bit overpowered, in fact Hangar 9 have just announced a larger version for that very size. Just a thought. Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bladerunner Posted August 20, 2009 Share Posted August 20, 2009 Posted by Steveflys on 10/08/2009 00:18:49:Sorry to read about your problem with your pulse. I've owned mine for about a year now and have flown it extensively without a single problem, in fact so many people have commented on it and have gone on to purchase one. I've got an OS 91fs in mine which provides it with more than enough power, I'd have thought that a 1.25 was a bit overpowered, in fact Hangar 9 have just announced a larger version for that very size. Just a thought. Steve I'm still assembling mine. Went with a Saito 100 for the reason you mentioned and also to keep the prop diameter below 15 inch due to ground clearance. Also performing the usual artf mods (fuel proofing, extra glue, nuts and bolts, etc) to make its more robust. Nice looking plane this xt60. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Braddock, VC Posted December 12, 2009 Author Share Posted December 12, 2009 Mine finally bit the dust due to a damned stupid error on my part, I normally fly with lipos and a bec for the receiver, replaced the ubec with one with several bells and whistles, at the north cotswold 60th anniversary bash in august, some of the connectors for my lipos looked a little worse for wear so I substituted a 1500mAh nicad that was freshly charged, first flight ok then second flight the pulse headed for the trees not radio link failure the engine was clearly screaming away (there's a failsafe to cut the motor in the event of radiolink failure) , knowing what was coming and it hit the tops of some soft trees. It's repairable but I've replaced it with a calmato 60 sports. The reason for the crash, which I investigated thoroughly, was my totally inclusive ubec had a battery saving device on it, shut down when it sensed less than 5 volts............so even though the battery sensing leds were showing ok the gubbins inside was fighting against me and for gravity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garry Pollard Posted December 12, 2009 Share Posted December 12, 2009 Sorry to hear of that John, I have the Mini Pulse and the Pulse 40, both on electric, and have flown them both extensevly and wouldnt go to the patch without them. I think they look good on the ground and in the air and both fly great, Cant fault horizon on either models and am looking forward to the new year when I shall treat myself to the next one up Garry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeremy Scott-hake Posted December 19, 2009 Share Posted December 19, 2009 Mine flew well with a Super Tigre 61 , it bit the dust when I ran out of talent ! I miss it a lot may replace it in the new year ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Solly Posted December 19, 2009 Share Posted December 19, 2009 I'm just about to buy one for Xmas! Is it possible to strengthen the weak points before flying without pulling one apart? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Braddock, VC Posted December 26, 2009 Author Share Posted December 26, 2009 Solly, yes it is. If you're fitting a proper powerplant in there, then the tophatch is a complete waste of space, if the clearances are not just so it will come off in flight. If you plan on having an external switch, mount it first before anything else, there's very little to nail one against and access becomes difficult. Buy some 3/8 triangular stock as hard as you can get, you'll need at least two lengths. Apply it to every right angle joint both vertical and horizontal, fore and aft and athwartships with some good old pva glue, especially in the cavity round the tank bay Liberally paint the internal structure (and external at the front end) of the fus with fuel proofer. Also the wing root ribs as these collect gunge. I can't remember if mine had piano wire pushrods but early on in the build, if it has, heat these withe a hot air paintstripper gun and slide them back and forth in their tubes, it helps to set the tubes right and that reduces friction. Make up a 1/32 ply spacer to fit the front of the hatch. Prise out the magnetic retainers and glue this and the hatch in place with epoxy. I can't for the life of me remember if I added reinforcement to the fore and aft joints but the hatch remained firmly attached even after the collision with the tree. Make the tail wheel leg as long as possible, taxi-ing round with full up elevator causes the elevator balance bits to act as poo scoops and one of mine broke. I fitted 4" wheels to mine, check the u/c after each flight as it bends fairly easily and mine had a 16" prop on that was marginal on ground clearance in anything but close cropped grass. Buy some threadlock and make sure all the machine screws have a drop applied. Last but not least dribble and brush in some pva or epoxy in every visible joint on the airframe, use a cheap kiddies paint brush for this to spread the glue in fine fillets each side of the joint, it's best to do this before fuel proofing. HTH. Edited By John Gibbs on 26/12/2009 09:06:08Edited By John Gibbs on 26/12/2009 09:07:38 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Solly Posted December 26, 2009 Share Posted December 26, 2009 Thanks John, I shall follow your advice. I am indeed fitting a glo engine (RCV 90CD) so the alterations you describe are welcome. Cheers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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