E-Flite Apprentice

[roversgonemad]

So I have been getting back into the hobby, and that in turn has gotten my dad interested again. We tried all this 30 years ago and never did have much success. This time around it seems a bit easier... Maybe it's the extra 3 decades At any rate, my dad has been wanting another plane. He's been watching youtube videos and reading all sorts of stuff and decided to get an E-Flite Apprentice 15e. All I can say, what a great plane!! It was a little breezy today but we took it out to do a maiden flight anyway. On the ground it taxied well and practically jumped into the air! Once I got above the adjacent school building, the wind was a little stronger than I thought, but it still flew really well. It would really move with full throttle, but would just float with the throttle pulled back. It was really responsive, almost too much so, but still manageable. If they would sell this plane with a Dx6i it would be a complete home run! Since it was a bit breezy, I set it back down and we packed it up, but I can't wait to fly it with him again! He's getting his knee replaced next week, so I sent him home with my Phoenix 4. By the time he's healed up he'll be ready to fly and will have lots of stick time on a virtual Apprentice. We'll probably just need some bigger tires on it so it will do better on the local grass field. Sorry there are no pictures... After the Gamma crash the camera batteries were dead....

 

[Ak Flyer]

I put bigger tires on all my planes. I wouldn't if I had a nice runway but where I fly it sure makes a huge difference. I find that with taildraggers I don't break as many props due to the wheels catching and nosing it over. Glad to hear to like the apprentice. It sure is a nice looking plane.

 

[roversgonemad]

Well, I got to put a few batteries through the Apprentice this past weekend. There was a pretty steady 12-15 mph breeze, but it was not gusty at all, so it was very predictable. I buddy boxed my dad and he really enjoyed it as well. I know it's not really a great idea to train in the wind, but the Apprentice was so predictable and steady. My dad had graded a spot in one of his fields, so we had a usable runway directly in line with the wind. With the steady head wind, I was able to set it down in just a few feet. The wing shape of the Apprentice makes it really stable. The modified airfoil on the wingtips almost completely eliminates any tendency to tip stall. If you are looking for a trainer, I would highly recommend the Apprentice. The tricycle gear makes ground handling easy as well. At higher speeds, and on high rates, it was also reasonably aerobatic. It's not at nimble as my T-28, but for a larger high wing, it's pretty agile. Next time we fly I'll have to get some video.