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Mini Pulse XT Review

E-Flite Mini Pulse XT

Manufacturer: E-Flite   Product Construction Type: Balsa/Light Ply wood

Aircraft Type: ARF Parkflyer - Sport/Aerobatic   Pilot Experience Level: Beginner to Intermediate   Controls: Full 4 channel

Dimensions: 42.5inch Wingspan - 37.5inches Long - Flying weight 27-29oz

The Build

The Manual was very straight forward, and pretty well put together, no real issues at all.  First step was the Landing gear - We eventually went with larger 2-1/4" dia. foam fatty wheels for more control and clearance in thicker grass, thus the wheel pants were eliminated.  If you will be taking off and landing on pavement of any kind the stock wheels and wheel pants work fine.  The typical E-Flite landing gear has been carried on to the Mini Pulse XT.  Raising concerns on how well the fuselage will take a rougher landing without ripping the gear out of the bottom of the fuselage.  There is only a single 1/2" wide piece of 1/16" thick light ply supporting the gear, something with a little more "meat" to it would work wonders.  So not wanting to really build anything, and keep to the stock setup, we installed 4-40 3/4" long nylon button head bolts, so that the bolt will shear off in the event of a hard impact and protect the fuselage.  We also added a compressed rubber pad on the fuse, where the gear mounts for extra cushion, then added rubber washers on the nylon bolts.  So you have the nylon bolt head, stock metal washer, rubber washer, then landing gear.  This setup held up to even the biggest of bouncer landings........by intent of course. 

Motor installation - We went with the more powerful E-Flite Park 480, so a little modification was needed to allow room to access the mounting bolts.  Washers were placed between the motor X-mount and the motor itself to provide a slight gap, and allow for access with an allen wrench.  Be sure to use the motor X-mount that came with the Plane and not the one that came with the Motor.  No modifications are necessary if the recommended Park 450 is used. 

Cowl installation - This was a little tricky, if you have experience with similar styles, no worries here.  Just be sure that you completely install the propeller, spinner and prop adapter and completely tighten to ensure proper clearance from the back of the spinner to the nose opening of the cowl, prior to drilling the holes for the mounting screws.  The stock spinner was replaced with a Du-Bro, that worked MUCH MUCH better.  The Stock spinner would not tighten down properly without completely warping, thus preventing the cap to snap on properly.  Please be aware, the Du-Bro spinner will NOT work with the stock prop. adapter if you are using an APC electric prop, it just is not quite long enough to allow the prop. nut to tighten down.  It works with the APC Slow-Fly propellers and some other brands of electric propellers.

The Tailwheel was next, and is completely in-adequate.  We went with a larger 1" dia. fat foam wheel that tracked much better and stayed steady without wobbling like the stock wheel did.  It is a must for grass and frankly for any surface.  The tail/rudder bolt-on assembly was the next step, and went together flawlessly.  Be sure to check the alignment with the wing, if the tail appears out of alignment, loosen the bolts and re-position, then tighten the bolts back up.  We actually had to re-warp the horiz. and vert. stab to align with the wing and have the vert. stab. 90 deg. to the fuselage.

Servo installation - The HS-55's went in as instructed, without trimming.  We would recommend going with a longer 3D type of control horn on the ailerons to maximize the throw potential.  We used the single arm 3D Servo Horns on both ailerons, the stock 4 arm Servo Horn on the Elevator & Rudder.  All necessary Servo Horns are supplied with the Servos.  On the Ailerons, the control linkage is attached to the last hole on the Servo Horn, and the middle hole on the Aileron Control Horn.  This setup on the ailerons provides the maximum amount of travel, so please.......go a little easy at first.  On the Elevator and Rudder, there is only one hole to attach the linkage to on the Servo Horn, and the linkage is in the middle hole on Control Horns for both.  As for Control Surface Throws, for the first few flights we would recommend to stick to the manual specs.  They are perfect until you get use to the plane.  We ran the low rates at 70% for the ailerons, 75% for the elevator and 80% for the rudder.  The high rates were all set at 100%.  After a couple of flights, we increased the end point adjustment to the full potential on all channels except the throttle of course.  We were using the Futaba 6EX Radio, and the EPA maxed out at 140%.  With this large amount of throw, we dialed in -25% expo to soften the initial control of all servos.  Otherwise the plane is a bit jittery.  Some radios may be different with this setting.  Futaba uses a negative number to soften, other radios use a positive number, so check your manual.

Canopy installation - We went with tiny brass button head screws as opposed to the glue and sand method.  Allows for removal if necessary and provides a nice addition to the looks. 

ESC and Receiver - We built a shelf out of light ply underneath the battery compartment, just above the landing gear blind nut locations, for the ESC to sit.  Seemed to be the best available option, and keeps the battery and ESC separated and not located in the same compartment, to allow for ample cooling of both pieces.  This setup also allows for an easy connection between the ESC and the Motor.  The wires on both are relatively short, so you don't have a whole lot of choices as to were to place things.

NOTE: be sure to apply thin CA to all drilled holes and allow them to dry before installing any screws.  This will keep the screws from vibrating loose during flight.  Also make sure you have the proper servo extensions, nothing is worse than sitting down to build a plane and not having what you need.  You will need (4) 6" extensions and (1) 12" Y-harness.  Or you can go with (2) 12" extensions and (2) 6" extensions per the manual, but you really only need 6".

Setup Used

Motor: E-Flite Park 480 BL 1020kv Outrunner w/ APC 10x7 SlowFly Propeller   ESC: E-Flite 40 amp V2

Servos: HiTec HS-55   Battery: Thunder Power Pro-Lite Series 2100mah 3 cell 11.1volt LiPo

Receiver: HiTec Electron 6

With the Heavier Park 480, the battery placement needs to slide slightly further back to achieve an appropriate center of gravity.

Flight - Video Example - Video Example#2

We must say that when all put together this was one sharp looking bird.  Very sleek and full of character.  The first couple of flights were a bit of a challenge.  The wing wound up being slightly warped on one side, causing the plane to continuously dive to the right unless an excessive amount of trim was applied.  However, once this was resolved,  the Mini Pulse XT was an extremely docile natured fun to fly airplane.  No real bad habits or issues to report.  With the Park 480 1020kv motor (or equivalent) the plane was a MONSTER.  Unlimited vertical testing your eyesight was not a problem with this setup and take-offs took all of about 6 feet.  The APC 10x7 SlowFly prop provided excellent acceleration at all speeds, but the instant power upon slamming the throttle was completely impressive.  Overall a very nice flying plane, good for all levels of pilot ability.  She was very forgiving and docile when you wanted her to be, but again with the setup we used the plane turned into a monster that was a blast to fly.  Landings can be a bit of a challenge until you get a feel for her.  She will tend to glide a bit on you if you do not properly slow her down on approach.  Definitely have enough room to give it a couple of passes your first couple of times out.

Overall

A great second plane for the beginner looking to step it up, or a great addition to anyone's existing hangar.  The coating scheme is sharp and the stripes on the underside of the wing allow for easy recognition when searching for what is up and what is down.  The magnetic battery hatch, bolt-on wing, and bolt-on tail assembly are some big pluses.  This is truly a nice plane that has great performance with the proper setup.  Like a lot of ARF's out there, there are some small hurdles to jump to get the plane completely dialed in. 

Negatives,  the typical mass produced issues are present when you pay close attention to the construction details.  Several areas of the plane needed a little love from the heat gun to warp the shape back to true.  Including the wing and horiz. and vert. stabilizers.  There was a good amount of Ultracote wrinkles throughout that also needed the heat gun to fix.  Also, we applied a foaming acrylic wood glue to most of the fuselage epoxy locations for extra strength.  Several joints looked slightly weak in terms of the amount of epoxy applied. 

All in all a nice ARF kit for the price point.  We strongly advise to stay away from the PNP version.  The motor and electrical gear that it comes with does not do this beautiful plane justice.  Something equivalent to the Park 480 1020 kv such as the HiMax HC3510-1100 or RimFire 35-30-1250 is a must to really push the plane to it's full potential and get the most out of the flying experience.  The plane is just so much fun to fly with an enormous amount of power under the hatch and handles it extremely well.  We would highly recommend this plane to anyone at just about any experience level.

4.5 out of 5.0 Fireballs

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Last modified: 12/23/08