Edmonds Aerospace - Ecee {Kit} (ECEE)

Edmonds Aerospace Ecee

Edmonds Aerospace - Ecee {Kit} (ECEE)

Contributed by Alan Rognlie

Construction Rating:
Flight Rating:
Overall Rating:

Published:	2010-11-13
Manufacturer:	Edmonds Aerospace
Skill Level:	1
Style:	Glider

- by Moira Jean Whitlock

[Rocket Pic] Brief description: This is an all balsa wood glider that flies up like a rocket and is recovered when it glides down like an airplane.

Pros and cons of construction: The parts are all there, secure within a plastic bag, Nothing was broken or defective. The fuselage of the model is panels of die cut plywood, as are the wings and canard. The motor tube is spiral wound paper. You also get blue modeling clay for trimming the glider. Do be careful with that stage, as I'll later tell you why. There is self-adhesive metallic tape to provide canard movement. All the moving parts in the recovery mechanism are balsa too. At apogee, the motor ejects, pushing a bulkhead forward, which locks down the canard, allowing gliding flight.

The instructions are illustrated and clear, logical in order, and the model goes together simple and precisely. Wood glue is fine for this. Sanding sealer and sanding makes the wood smooth and protects it. The model is overall sturdy and a looker.

Pros and cons about finishing: A simple paint job is enough, but I placed strips of shiny self adhesive craft paper along the wings and canard for looks, like the manufacturer picture. I chose a red, green, and metallic color scheme.

Rating for construction and finishing: 4 out of 5

[Rocket Pic] Pros and cons for flight: Recommended motors are: Apogee 1/4A2-2, 1/2A2-2, A2-5, and B2-5. I chose the B2-5. This is the truly embarrassing part. Gliders aren't like rockets. Whereas rockets become stabler when weight is added nose-ward, gliders don't. They soar down nose first in a death dive if so. I placed the clay provided in the nose. When the model flew on an Apogee B2-5, it went up, then laterally, nearly beheading a fellow rocketeer. He teased me for weeks, saying that I was out to get him. The model thudded to the ground, losing a wing and fragmenting the nose. I took the pieces home and rebuilt it.

Oddly, repair went well, and the model looks a little veteran-like, but flyable. I trimmed it with extensive tosses in my garden with tested weighting tailward and lightening the nose. I fixed it so that it flew straight without stalling or diving. So I tried again with a B2-5 in an empty park, where I could keep it to myself if it decided to act up again. This time, it flew in little circles and came to rest about a hundred feet downrange.

Pros and cons about recovery: Remember, don't weight the nose too much! When recovery goes right, the glider arcs in graceful circles on its way down. Nice.

Rating for flight and recovery: 4 out of 5(when done right)

Summary: Easy to build, rugged and easy to repair. Attractive. Pretty circular glides. Not a bad price at $12.95. Don't overweight the nose, and do test-toss it before flight. I also recommend Apogee's technical publication on glider trimming. It helped me with my repairs and reworking.

Other Reviews

Edmonds Aerospace Ecee By Hank Helmen
Brief: The Edmonds Ecee is a balsa single stage 1/2A sized rocket boosted canard glider that uses variable geometry during recovery glide. Construction: A plastic bag contains all laser cut balsa wood. The particular kit built for review had very lightweight wood. Perhaps too light. More on that later. Included in the kit are nicely laser cut parts, two sheets printed front ...
Edmonds Aerospace Ecee By Alan Rognlie
( Contributed - by Alan Rognlie) After my good experience with Edmonds Deltie , I decided to try this model from Rob Edmonds. I ordered it from Apogee Components (along with a second Deltie, a plan set for a Nike Hercules and a couple of his technical reports) and it arrived within 4-5 days. This kit builds to a nice mini-motor (13mm) rocket glider - i.e. no parts are dropped ...

Flights

Comments:

K.W. (September 1, 1999)

This rocket performed like a champ for me. I added a home-built engine lock from a piece of music wire, which worked fine for me (I really hate engines held in with tape). It did finally cato (looks like a full-immediate burn on the engine), which ate it, but I bought another one and will soon be flying again!

G.A.D. (June 25, 2002)

I really like these Edmonds kits. I built the Ecee on the morning of a launch and took it there with the glue still wet. We left it in the car to "heat-cure" and flew it at the end of the day. The 1/2A load provided a moderate boost, and the glider rounded over and appeared to be trying to glide. At that moment the taped-in motor ejected itself from the glider with a very loud "POP" and the glider shot forward and up like a scalded cat. It then settled into a flat glide that drew applause from the crowd. Obviously, I had no chance to glide-test it, and there was no clay provided in our kit, but the Ecee flew very well even without the spent engine in place. It seems that a stronger engine restraint system is in order, but even if the engine comes out, it glides well.

J.R.R. (September 23, 2002)

As the review said it is a very easy and quick build and parts are cut smooth and accurate and fit together well. I tried doing some hand tossed glide tests in a grassy area and after a few test glides I succeeded in breaking the boom as shown in the picture. I glued it back together with white glue. On it's maiden flight I think I used a C motor. (It's been awhile)It boosted straight and high and then while very high and still ascending the boom broke again in the same place. It all tumbled back down slowly in two pieces with the wing and boom section occasionally gliding a bit. I guess I should have patched it back together with CA or epoxy instead of white glue. I am not sure if the flight stress broke it or I think it might have broke from the torque from the ejection charge as it vented out the vent hole. I have not put it back together again because I am still debating on reinforcing the boom at the break with a couple of small pieces of balsa or paper or just use CA or epoxy. I am afraid if I splint it, it might make the nose to heavy for a good glide. A friend of mine gave me this kit and also got one for himself. His flew great and sustained no damage. It glided so straight though that we thought it was going to fly out of the field but it came down before reaching the trees. He tried sanding a slight bevel on one side of the vertical fins to induce a turn but on the next flight it still glided very straight. The way the boom is notched for the canard makes for a stress point at the trailing edge of the canard. I think it might would not be as easily broken if the boom was not notched for the canard and just glue the canard straight to the bottom of the boom. Of course this change would have to be done by the manufacturer as the boom comes already notched.

D.B. (February 18, 2007)

This is my favourite Edmonds kit. A refreshingly different build to your normal 3FNC rockets, but still straightforward. Be careful how you affix the canard, it must not touch the fuselage when deployed - if it does, there is a likelihood of catastrophic failure when the ejection charge forces it into place at high speed and the movable canard slaps into the rigid body. I made the mistake of placing the trimming clay at the rear of the glider. This meant that the masking tape used to retain the motor slipped off at ejection and the glider spat the engine. Despite being trimmed with a spent engine, the Ecee kept gliding for what seemed like hours. I will have to get the Thunder version as well.

Post a Comment