E-Flite: Odyssey

Model Airplane News, Jul 2002 by Loud, Richard

Simple-to-assemble sailplane

I wish I had a dollar for every time someone told me that they really wanted to learn to fly RC airplanes, but they just didn't have the time to build one. This usually leads to a discussion about almost-ready-to-fly (ARF) aircraft and the misconception that you have to spend months building a model before you ever get a chance to fly. With Its new Odyssey EP sallplane, E-Flite puts that argument to rest For someone who has moderate RC experience, the Odyssey EP can go from the box to the flying field in about an hour. Even those with no experience whatsoever with radio control can have the Odyssey ready in an evening or two-most of which would be spent becoming familiar with the components.

WHAT'S IN THE BOX?

With the exception of the radio and batteries, everything you'll need is inside the colorful box. All told, there are seven parts (or assemblies), a decal sheet and a bag of hardware goodies. The built-up wings, fin and stabilizer are expertly covered with yellow, blue and white Solarfilm. The polypropylene fuselage comes with wing dowels, servo and battery trays and pushrods installed. The Speed 550 electric motor is prewired with a fuse, on/off microswitch, arming switch and battery connector. Of course, the motor is already installed along with the folding prop and spinner. After looking through the superbly documented manual, I realized this was going to be much easier than assembling most of my son's toys on Christmas morning.

ASSEMBLY

The word "construction" doesn't quite fit the Odyssey EP-"assembly" is more like it! Before you begin, it's a good idea to closely inspect all of the film-covered surfaces for wrinkles and warps. I found all items to be warp free, but there were quite a few wrinkles, especially on the tailpieces. I spent about 30 minutes ironing them out and was very pleased with the results.

After realizing that the first section in the manual essentially describes how to assemble the wings as I would at the flying field, I moved on to the second section, which covers the installation of the rudder- and elevator-control horns. It's pretty simple stuff, but I do have a few words of caution. The instructions don't explicitly state where to install the rudder-control horn. To avoid its binding with the elevator, you should mount the rudder-control horn as close to the bottom edge of the rudder as you possibly can.

Assemble the tailpieces by running threaded metal rods from the fin through the stabilizer and then through holes in the fuselage. Two nuts hold the whole thing together. To spread the load a little bit, I added a washer between each nut and the fuselage.

RADIO AND MOTOR INSTALLATION

The next step is to install the radio. I don't think I've ever reached this point in a model's assembly so quickly. If you've installed a radio in an airplane before, you will have no problem; in fact, it shouldn't even be a problem for a first-timer. Any basic 3- or 4-channel radio with standardsize servos and receiver will work fine. I installed Futaba S3003 servos for the rudder and elevator in the preinstalled servo tray. A plywood adapter plate is provided for microservos, if you wish to use them.

There are two choices for the motor control. The kit includes an on/off microswitch prewired to the motor, but an electronic speed control (ESC) is available separately. For the initial test flights, I went with the microswitch, but I later chose to add the E-Flite Maxx 25 speed control. (See the sidebar, "Adding throttle control," for more information on how I did this.) Attach the microswitch to a servo with double-sided tape so that the servo arm activates the switch at full throttle. I chose to use a Hitec HS-81 microservo for the motor control, although the fuselage is roomy enough for a standard servo.

If you use the microswitch for motor control, you will need a receiver battery. I chose a 600mAh flat pack, but a comparable square receiver battery will also work. If you want to save weight on the receiver battery, you should install the ESC.

I used hook-and-loop fastener to hold the receiver, receiver battery and power battery in place. I mounted the throttle servo on the floor of the fuselage with double-sided tape.

CONCLUSION

Except for checking the Odyssey's balance and setting its control throws, the assembly was complete at this point. A quick look through the manual's last five pages gives a newcomer to the hobby a lot of good advice on learning to fly. There is also a very good explanation of thermals, including how they're formed, how to find them and how to fly in them.

The E-Flite Odyssey EP has the makings of a model that can introduce a lot of people to the thrill of radio control. With the Odyssey's good performance and an assembly time that can be measured in minutes, we may soon see more newcomers at the field looking for someone to help launch them on an RC odyssey of their own.

E-Flite distributed by Horizon Hobby Inc. (800) 338-4639; horizonhobby.com.

Futaba distributed by Great Planes Model Distributors (800) 637-7660; futaba-rc.com.