Bill,

You are right. The rudder or elevator must be flexed about halfway before applying the tape. This will prevent binding and let the control surfaces move freely. What I do is lay the strip of tape on one flat surface and smooth all the way down, then at a little bit at a time move forward into the crease. Smooth the tape down full length as you proceed so there are no wrinkles. Keep going until you get to the other side.

I use this tape on flying wings. You could use clear hinge tape, it's smoother, but this fiber tape is super tough. I have plenty onhand.

I like to dab 3m77 on with a q-tip then the tape really goes on tight.

The first pic is of the rudder flexed over like you indicated.

The second picture is a birds eye view of the rudder. You can see that I now have the throw in the inner most hole now and the rudder can travel out real far. The EZ turns on the dime.

I've noticed that some EZ folks have issues with their control rods not being smooth to the rudder. I think that the control rods provided with the EZ are some of the best I've seen with a stock plane. Even the Terry Graupner only comes with a wire and one tube. The EZ is a "triple" control rod system; an inner wire, inner sheath, and outer sheath. Holly smokes! The wire can move in the inner sheath and the inner sheath can move in the outer sheath for a super smooth operation. If this system is binding or sticking a good look needs to be taken on how it was installed.

Here is a picture. The rudder control rod goes straight back. I put a "Z" bend in the wire in front of the horn. This eliminates the down pressure on the horn which could lead to binding and twist. The bend won't flex the wire is very stiff.

Also note that I used a micro park flyer quick connect on the horn. I broke the one that came with the EZ by over tightening. The connect I replaced it with is smaller, lighter, and you only need a screw driver to make an adjustment not the allen key that you can find when you arrive at the flying field.

Don't forget to put loctite on the screws so they don't vibrate loose.

Added 4/2/06: I use loctite or Permatex Threadlocker blue (medium strength) on the EZ rudder/elevator connectors. Here is a picture of a Du-Bro Mini E/Z Connector. Putting loctite on is a good extra measure. Fact: Screws can vibrate loose in time, especially without a lock washer. Keep in mind that these screw types of connectors are for "slow flying aircraft". Many clubs will not let you fly at their fields with these sscrew post types E/Z connectors; "Z" bends and clevice connectors only please.

I have included other types of horn connectors used on faster flying and more acrobatic models.

Happy flying.

Sarge

Sarge, did that micro park flyer quick connect fit perfectly in the hole...or was the hole larger than the OD of the quick connect? I bought a few of these for eventual replacement, but my EZ RTF seems to have slightly larger holes in the horn. Any thoughts?

Wouldn't installing the quick connect on the underside of the horn make for a cleaner path of the rod?

park-n-fly,

I think the hole was slightly larger. They come in different sizes. If the connect is too big (like on a GWS Slow Stick horn) you drill it out.

rutat,

Sure you could put it underneath the horn. The bend will work fine in that position too. The replacement micro connect has a slotted screw head so it's easier to make adjustments approaching from the top.

Sarge

Hey sargent, I'm currently following your rudder mod. Thanks for the tips. I extended the joint all the way to the top of the vert stab and used the extra foam to patch up the old groove. I left my tape at work, so I'll have to wait until tonight to finish it up. Tonight I'll post some pics of the finished rudder and maybe get a critique of how I did.

Oh, I accidentally cut too deep, so now the "joint" in the upper part of the rudder is just an open slit. Nothing a little EXTREME packing tape can't fix though.

Bill I cut mine too deep too, the bottom section holds it in place for the tape . Make sure it's beveled.

Post some pics too.

Here's the pic of my rudder w/ taped hinge. Also, looks like I goofed and glued the vert stab to the horiz stab a bit crooked. It isn't off by much, but you can tell. Oh well.

This is a fantastic site to visit to get "real" USPS stamps made of your favorite AP photo. Come to think of it, I just may get some stamps made of my favorite EZ star build photo in the thread.

http://www.pictureitpostage.com/

For the Canucks or collectors... http://www.canadapost.ca/personal/co...?stamp=postage

An unsettling thing happened a while back. I was flying my Easy Star in the evening at my local flying field down the street doing some stunts not suitable for the field. My am rec/radio glitched out and down she went in a death spiral right in the very top of a 100' plus stand of Oaks. It was getting dark so I left a card with the home owner living next to the trees. Two days later a storm blew it down. I was lucky and there was no damage... pretty cool.

The town is just too darn crowded, too many radios, electronic gizmos and gadgets. No more am radio for me in this crowded area. So I went to the local Hobby Town store and picked up another old "faithful" Hitec 555 rec and programmed the Easy Star into my HiTec Optic 6. The AM gear should work ok, however, if you get glitches or are affected by interference you might consider changing radio gear.

I also replaced the E-Flite Esc 40 with an E-Flite 20. I move my E-Flite 40 over to my Combat Wings XE2 to replace a phx-35 that stopped working after trying the PHX-link ver1.14 upgrade (the PHX upgrade thing is another story). These E-Flite Esc's are really nice, very smooth, and except for prop braking, totally automatic.

Here is where I fly near my house. I have marked the Easy crash site. The picture was taken with an Pentax Optio s5i mounted on a GWS Slow Stik.


2.4 Update 1/6/2008!!!

I've converted my EZ and other planes over to the newer 2.4 ghz technology. I urge anyone starting out that's thinking of an entry level computer radio go with the Futaba or other brand 2.4 ghz.

Here is a short posting about what's going on in my hangar with 2.4

Futaba 6EX 2.4 GHZ

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I've had a chance to try out my Futaba 6EX 2.4 GHZ and it works great. I like the balance and feel in the hands without the bulky heavy antenna sticking out the top. The signal seems so clean; no servo hum, chatter or other minor noises. I'm replacing my Hitec Flash 5 and Optic 6 applications with the Futaba 6EX 2.4 GHZ as time and $ permit.

So far I've changed over my AP Multiplex EZ star and Electron 400 A sailplane. My EZ* only requires 4 channels; 3 to fly with and 1 for the camera shutter control. The Electron 400A sailplane requires 5 channels to fly. I've got the throttle, rudder, ailerons, aileron diff, aileron rudder %, spoilerons, and spoiler elev mix configered.

I have subtrims on my Hitec Optic 6 and lever type flap controls. These features are not on the Futaba. I can make due without; with the Futaba 6EX 2.4 GHZ it's easy enough to physically "0" servo control surfaces on my entire hangar. The flap lever was really only used on my Omega 1.8 sail plane. I mostly use spoileron settings programmed on an off/on switch with my sailplanes. I don't have any full house planes so I don't need anything more than the Futaba 6EX 2.4 GHZ.

This radio is real easy to program. There is no flight timer, not a big deal to me because I use my watch and bring the planes in when the motor power starts to roll off.

As expected, there are new 2.4 radios on the way. I wanted a full range, more reliable, and carefree radio/receiver link for my AP EZ* to use where I've been flying over the Ocean in noisy marine communications environments to use this fall. Seems like the Futaba 6EX 2.4 GHZ has been a great start for me into the 2.4 radio world.

The Futaba 6EX receivers are pricey ($75-$80 a pop). I would imagine a factor is winning the 2.4 radio race will the vendor that can support 2.4 receivers at $20-$40 a pop.

Sarge

Here is a picture of my Easy Star cockpit. You can see the nice new Hitec "555" and E-flite 20 amp esc. What a snap to change out the 40, Three gold connectors and that's it.

Update: 11/17/06

Receivers that have worked for me.

1. Hitec 555 - Been around for awhile - very reliable, glitch free, long range
2. Berg 5 Very reliable, long range http://www.rc-direct.com/Berg_5_micro.htm
3. FMA M5-v2 - Very small, durable, works as well as a Hitec 555. Has fail safe technology. http://www.fmadirect.com/Detail.htm?item=2098&section=1
4. Hitec Feather - do not use, do not buy off ebay at any price. http://www.servocity.com/html/feather_fm_rx.html
5. Hitec Electron 6 - Works well - durability is questionable; a crash caused rattling inside and glitch problems. http://www.servocity.com/html/electron_fm_rx.html
6. Hitec HFS-05S - have not tried but many in EZ forum have reported very reliable, long range. http://www.servocity.com/html/hfs-05s_fm_rx.html

Here is a modification I highly reccomend. First apply some 77 adhesive with a Q-tip and put a piece of strapping right where I have it. Under stress the elevator horn will crack right out of the foam taking foam with it from the joint. Mine happened when changing Radios over to the Optic 6. It was a weak joint and better it cracked out on the ground than at a 1000 feet.

I had a chance to test fly the EZ after the new rec/esc. Much smoother, very responsive, confidence level way back up. The 555 are nice rec. I like the Berg 5's too.

That's it for the moment. Keep on flying.

Tad

sargentw

Greatly admire your detailed mods. However, have to wonder why you put up with the original eplar "hinges", as they introduce resistance that requires greater current to servos decreasing available amps to motor...plus gear stress.