Northeast Sailplane Products: Vermont Belle 1300

Model Airplane News, Dec 2003 by Bogenschild, Norm

Electric aerobat with performance to spare!

Do you think an electric sport plane can perform as well as a gas-powered sport plane? Until I flew the Vermont Belle 1300 (manufactured by LN Models and distributed by Northeast Sailplane Products), my answer to that would have been "no," but this sport plane performs better than most planes-gas and electric. Its 3-foot takeoffs, power to hover and then climb vertically and control surfaces large enough for 3D maneuvers make the Vermont Belle a real blast to fly! If I could have only one sport plane, this ARF would be my pick.

THE KIT

All of the pieces of the Vermont Belle 1300 almost-ready-fly (ARF) are covered with transparent yellow and red film. The ailerons, elevator and rudder are installed at the factory with tape hinges. Hardware, wire landing gear, a canopy and self-adhesive decals complete the kit.

ASSEMBLY

The Belle requires very little assembly to get it into the air; you need only align the wing with the fuselage, glue on the tail feathers and install the power system and radio gear. I assembled it in three leisurely evenings; the process requires a relatively large work surface because of the one-piece wing. The instructions are very clear and straightforward, so you don't have to spend time deciphering them.

First, I mounted the wing on the fuselage with a dowel in the front and a single wing bolt in the rear. A blind nut (for the wing bolt) must be fitted into the plywood mounting plate before the plate can be installed in the rear wing saddle. I then measured an equal distance from each wingtip to the rear of the fuselage to align the wing; I drilled one hole in the rear of the wing for the wing bolt.

After I attached the wing, I removed the covering from the slots to prepare the fuselage for the tail surfaces. The slot for the horizontal stabilizer was too short, so I had to lengthen it with a hobby knife-an easy fix. Because the rudder and elevator arrive hinged, I installed their control horns before I glued them to the fuselage (with 5-minute epoxy). The control horns for the ailerons came next. Unfortunately, the supplied screws were too short to secure the ailerons. A quick trip to the hobby store for some 1-inch screws solved the problem. I trimmed the canopy to shape and used transparent tape to install it. The landing-gear installation required only a couple of nylon straps and four screws. The hardest part of the assembly was applying the long, thin decals to the wings; that job became a little easier after I had sprayed window cleaner on the wings. I positioned the decals and carefully squeezed out the air bubbles.

RADIO INSTALLATION

Because there isn't any oily mess to contend with, all of the servos are mounted externally near the control surfaces. The elevator and rudder servos are mounted in the rear of the fuselage and require servo extensions to reach the receiver. The ailerons require one servo each and are connected to the receiver using a Y-harness. I used Hitec HS-85BB microservos throughout. The Hitec Electron 6 receiver is attached to the fuselage with self-adhesive hook-and-loop fastener. The speed controller is equipped with a battery-eliminator circuit, so a flight-pack battery isn't required. Using my Hitec Flash 5 computer radio, I set up all of the control surfaces with the recommended deflection and set the high rates with 45 degrees of deflection.

POWER SYSTEM

Several options are available to power the Vermont Belle; I purchased the direct-drive Mega brushless motor combination from Northeast Sailplanes. It included the Mega 22/30/3 motor, a TMM 40 speed control, an APC 12x6 prop, an aluminum prop adapter and a 1700mAh NiMH flight battery pack. Unfor-tunately, the prop adapter was slightly too small for the motor shaft (back to the hobby store I went!). The 5mm Graupner prop adapter that I picked up allowed me to use a spinner, which isn't included (or required), but it looks good! The holes in the firewall are properly spaced to accommodate the mounting screws. The instructions recommend that you check the airframe for poor glue joints when you assemble the plane. The 1/8-inch plywood firewall broke free of the fuselage sides while I was installing the motor, so I reinforced it with an additional piece of 1/8-inch plywood, which I epoxied into place. A fillet of epoxy and microballoons completed the firewall reinforcement.

I installed the speed control on the side of the fuselage with self-adhesive hook-and-loop fastener; I soldered the speed-control wires directly to the motor because this motor draws up to 45 amps when you use a 12x6 prop. This high amp draw prompted me to use Deans Ultra Connectors between the controller and the battery. Because the battery is the heaviest part of the aircraft, I positioned it to balance the Belle at the the center of gravity (CG) specified in the manual. I installed 1/8-inch, hard-balsa bulkheads in front of and behind the battery. The bulkheads strengthen the 11-ounce airframe to prevent your hand from crushing the plane when you pick it up, and the bulkheads ensure that the battery doesn't move if the hook-and-loop fasteners that secure it come loose. This power combination allows 6 minutes of flight at full throttle and nearly twice that at a lower power setting.