Willy Nillies "Eaglet 250" Beta Kit Build and Flight

TooJung2Die

Master member
I've decided which Willy Nillies kit to build next. I really like the tricycle landing gear on the Eaglet. Everything I ever built before was a tail dragger or belly flopper. I don't have a low wing airplane either. Never flew one. The only airplane that fits the bill is... The Jr. Skylark 250!
 

Willy Nillies

Elite member
Hey Jon,

Curious as to what receiver you used? Did it fit well? Trying to build a database of what receivers will fit.

Sincerely
Doug and Becky
WillyNillies.com
 

TooJung2Die

Master member
YAY! You will love it! Thank you again for doing this build log and sharing pictures and video!
Curious as to what receiver you used? Did it fit well? Trying to build a database of what receivers will fit.

I wanted to avoid comparison with Joe's airplanes but the Eaglet and Jr. Skylark are the airplanes that have the features I like. It'll be nice to have high-wing and low-wing tricycle landing gear airplanes. I see why they were Joe's first choices!
I have a Flysky FS-i6 transmitter (10ch firmware) so I used a Flysky FS-R6B receiver in the Eaglet. You can also use the FS-iA6 receiver. It is the same size but has diversity antennas and telemetry.

IMG_1862.JPG


Because the servo connectors are at a right angle to the receiver board I couldn't put the receiver all the way forward and under the front hatch. It barely fit in front of the repositioned servos. There is plenty of room behind the main landing gear and under the tray for a receiver.

The ESC fits behind the battery box and under the servos leaving lots of room for the battery.

IMG_1864.JPG


Jon
 
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TooJung2Die

Master member
Thank you for the info Jon!

Sincerely,
Doug and Becky
WillyNillies.com
Hey guys,
I have a suggestion. Please eliminate the lightening holes in the wing leading edge. I understand the purpose of the holes but it makes the wing leading edge very fragile. I have had to repair the leading edge twice from light bumps that shouldn't have caused the balsa to break. When I build the Skylark I'm going to replace the leading edge with harder, solid balsa.
In the meantime, I'm having fun flying the Eaglet. It gets compliments from the other guys, even the ones flying giant gassers.
Thanks,
Jon
 
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Michael9865

Elite member
Hey guys,
I have a suggestion. Please eliminate the lightening holes in the wing leading edge. I understand the purpose of the holes but it makes the wing leading edge very fragile. I have had to repair the leading edge twice from light bumps that shouldn't have caused the balsa to break. When I build the Skylark I'm going to replace the leading edge with harder, solid balsa.
In the meantime, I'm having fun flying the Eaglet. It gets compliments from the other guys, even the ones flying giant gassers.
Thanks,
Jon

What about cutting the leading edge back to allow for a wooden (poplar) dowel rod to be installed as a pre-rounded leading edge? Wouldn't that add strength with a minimum of weight cost?
 

Joker 53150

Mmmmmmm, balsa.
Mentor
What about cutting the leading edge back to allow for a wooden (poplar) dowel rod to be installed as a pre-rounded leading edge? Wouldn't that add strength with a minimum of weight cost?

Along that same line of thought, if it were cut for a dowel that means you could potentially use a lightweight (and stronger) carbon fiber tube. I've used this on a few park fliers in the past and find it much better than sanding a stick or even using a hardwood dowel.
 

TooJung2Die

Master member
All those ideas are good. I don’t have any dowels or CF on hand. I have enough hard balsa though. 😊 I was mostly thinking about what would be the simplest solution for Willy Nillies to fix the issue. It always breaks at the holes so eliminating them solves the problem without changing the kit.
 
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TooJung2Die

Master member
I found the perfect size receiver for Willy Nillies airplanes. These are 4 channel and TINY! Look for FS2A-4CH. I've seen them for FlySky and FrSky transmitters. The receiver in the Eaglet 250 is finally up under the front hatch where it belongs. I lost the flaperons but I didn't need them anyway. Here's the FS2A receiver next to the receiver I was using.

IMG_2326resize.jpg


It is stuck to the balsa with a drop of low-temp hot glue. I made a 3" long Y-cable for the aileron servos. Fits perfect!

IMG_2329resize.jpg


I like it so much I ordered three more. They're $6.99 on Banggood right now. One tiny issue; to use the servo connectors you have to solder the pins to the receiver. If you want to get super ultra-light you can solder the servo wires directly to the receiver board. It can even be used with 1s batteries. The operating voltage range is 3-10V.

IMG_2330resize.jpg

Jon
 
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TooJung2Die

Master member
Well, they don't have them in DSM2/X so I guess that's me out. I wouldn't be able to use it anyway. I have too many servos in mine :ROFLMAO:
How many servos do you have? Did you add flaps and 6 servos? Wow. I don't know why they're only making them for FlySky AFHDS-2A and FrSky D8 Mode (so far). Those are not the most common transmitters but I can't complain since I have FlySky.
 
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TooJung2Die

Master member
How many servos do you have? Did you add flaps and 6 servos?
I found your Eaglet build thread from March, 2020. I saw how you made the flaps work. Every available servo connector was used on the receiver. I'm surprised you got everything inside!
 

speedbirdted

Legendary member
I'm surprised I got everything in too, honestly. I had to mod the ESC to make it smaller. Initially I had everything in the bottom where the battery is supposed to go but when I figured out that 99% of my batteries wouldn't fit with it like that i had to change it, and somehow everything STILL fits :ROFLMAO: