This is my second Great Planes product. At first I was skeptical about its 1.71m giant scale (considerably) if it would be a nice plane to fly.
On the day of maiden, 13th January 2013 at Tuas. 2mph crosswind was the average on the runway. The 5.39kg big bird was being taxied around the runway to check for any pre-flight issues and also, of course, to gather my confidence to the maiden flight.
The wind finally subsided. I aligned her to the runway and slowly push the throttle forward. The Escapade rolled straight, with decent amount of right rudder input, while on its route to taking off. With no doubt, I lifted her off the ground when she reached a substantial take off speed.
To my surprise, she did well in the air! Very well! Only a click on the left aileron to get her trimmed was all needed. When I was cruising her in figure 8, she reminded me of my old Super Sportster. Unlike the Sportster, somehow, the Escapade flew really slow without stalling.
I thought Great Planes has done a very good job on this plane design! I wouldn’t blame the “boxy and squarish” design anymore. This plane really flew so well, you wouldn’t want to land her too soon!
When it comes to landing, the speed before stall is almost on par with a human jogging speed. Thanks to the well designed airfoil of the Escapade! This could be every beginner’s second plane! You will never crash her unless you don’t know what you are doing.