Eflite Cherokee

[BRGT350]

I see a paved runway as a double edge sword, while wonderful for the planes I do have, the paved runway would remove limitations on the planes I can buy. Having a grass runway helps keep me from buying EDF's or a lot of other planes.

The picture of the Cherokee touching down on the mains with the flaps down is just outstanding!

[Hoomi]

Granted, during the summer in the Valley of the Sun, that asphalt will get hot enough to melt your wheels, but no potholes! :Sweating:

[F22trainer]

You guys with paved runways are so lucky (and spoiled). Throw in a few potholes and now you're doing the slam dance.

You are absolutely correct, sirs! We used to have a grass infield - now it is just hard dirt and rocks. Kinda fun with the right airplane like a Carbon Cub or Timber. I actually have more landings in the dirt with the Ryan than on pavement.
Anyone visiting Phoenix will be welcome to fly with an AMA card, c’mon down!

[Alpha]

Slick landing shot!

Not a pothole or gopher hole in sight, lucky goose.

[xviper]

What are these nose gear issues of which you speak... :)

You guys with paved runways are so lucky (and spoiled). Throw in a few potholes and now you're doing the slam dance.

[F22trainer]

What are these nose gear issues of which you speak... :)

[xviper]

I maidened my Cherokee a couple evenings ago. I fly alone as there are few fliers in my rural location. Finding a place to fly is tough. I have some friends that fly ultra-lights and I used their field. The ruts and high grass busted the collar loose on the front gear. It was the upper most collar that broke and I'm a little puzzled if I should repair/replace collar or just try to deal with it. I'd ask HH for help but my blood pressure is lower than normal so I I'm asking you all if your collar broke, where to get a "servo saver" and if it isn't too late for that.?....:Confused:

I had the Eflite Cirrus, not quite the same as your Cherokee, but I also flew it off very rough, mowed prairie grass with lots of gopher holes and gopher mounds. A good flying buddy had the Cirrus as well. His nose gear slammed hard into a hole and tore up all kinds of things in the mounting area, including what happened to yours. He fixed it with great effort, only to do the same thing again. The design of the front gear mounting and steering on both of these planes is similar and tend to be very susceptible to rough ground. Seeing what happened to his, I reinforced that area around the upper collar where the leverage of the tire hitting a hole or bump can put the greatest stress on the upper mount. I epoxied balsa plywood plates that formed around that collar area to give it some support but still allowed the steering to work. This helped greatly for all those nasty lumps and bumps.
Both these planes could have benefited from some sort of suspension (trailing link perhaps) at the expense of "scaleness".

[Bill Wakeley Jr.]

(Sometimes I really need to read THE WHOLE post) Cant wait for the pics.....:Ligthbulb::Loser:

[Bill Wakeley Jr.]

That is the same servo saver I have on both of my Cherokees.

I worked with Callie Graphics to make a nomenclature and vent decal sheet for the Cherokee. I hope to get some pictures shortly. I was hoping for this weekend, but yesterday was raining with 40+mph winds, so not the best for pictures outside.

Hey I'd love to see those when you get them. Any chance you'll post pics?

[BRGT350]

That is the same servo saver I have on both of my Cherokees.

I worked with Callie Graphics to make a nomenclature and vent decal sheet for the Cherokee. I hope to get some pictures shortly. I was hoping for this weekend, but yesterday was raining with 40+mph winds, so not the best for pictures outside.

[Bill Wakeley Jr.]

Hey thanks a million for the links! When I bought my Roc Hobby Cobra 2 I bought two extra front gear sets and a set of rears just to be sure I could fly it if I wanted to. I've had that plane for 2 years and haven't flown it yet. She runs hot, a pnp, and I'm not all that steady on my feet yet. I do love this Cherokee though.

[Hoomi]

The steering linkage for the Cherokee is notoriously weak. When I busted mine, I ordered two replacements, just so I would have one on hand for when it broke again. This should be the link, though it might be worth contacting Horizon first and making sure before you order:

https://www.horizonhobby.com/steering-mount%3A-cherokee-13m-p-efl5463

You can get the servo saver from Horizon as well. I put one on both my Cherokee and my Sensei.

https://www.horizonhobby.com/control-over-ride-servo-saver-dub120

[Bill Wakeley Jr.]

I maidened my Cherokee a couple evenings ago. I fly alone as there are few fliers in my rural location. Finding a place to fly is tough. I have some friends that fly ultra-lights and I used their field. The ruts and high grass busted the collar loose on the front gear. It was the upper most collar that broke and I'm a little puzzled if I should repair/replace collar or just try to deal with it. I'd ask HH for help but my blood pressure is lower than normal so I I'm asking you all if your collar broke, where to get a "servo saver" and if it isn't too late for that.?....:Confused:

[Hoomi]

Okay; good to know. I still need to work on repairing mine, and seeing which parts are going to be salvageable, and which will need to be replaced. I know of at least a couple that are beyond repair, so I should go ahead and order the ones that Motion has, while they still have them.

As far as local shops, all we have left here in Tucson is a hobby section attached to one of the local Ace Hardware stores. Our local Hobbytown closed down a few months ago. I'm not sure if they weren't doing enough business, or if the owners wanted to retire and just couldn't find anyone to take over the shop. Either way, the nearest dedicated hobby shops are now in Phoenix, around 125 miles/200Km away.

[xviper]

I saw on the MRC website that the Cherokee is listed as "Discontinued." Has e Flite stopped production of this model already? Or is it just discontinued in Motion's inventory?

If the former, then I'd better order a few replacement parts while they're still available.

There was a post a short time ago that talked about how MRC was going to stop selling many, if not all, of the Horizon products. Horizon still sells the Cherokee. It's not discontinued and if you have a local hobby shop close by, they can likely bring you whatever Horizon sells at more or less the same price that you see on the Horizon site. With my LHS, they don't charge me extra for shipping since that's worked into their wholesale cost.

[Hoomi]

I saw on the MRC website that the Cherokee is listed as "Discontinued." Has e Flite stopped production of this model already? Or is it just discontinued in Motion's inventory?

If the former, then I'd better order a few replacement parts while they're still available.

[Bellairvideo]

A great 2nd flight at a nearby beach in Australia....

https://youtu.be/siER8_SbiZk

[Bellairvideo]

A great 2nd flight at a nearby beach in Australia....

https://youtu.be/siER8_SbiZk

[F22trainer]

Finally got to fly mine. It was chilly and dreary, but at least it wasn't pouring rain and the wind wasn't blowing at 20mph. Maiden +2 went well, it is a nice flying little plane. It wants to float on final, went right past the runway;-) Reduced throttle much earlier on second try and managed a nice soft touchdown.

Congrats on successful maiden and you did a real nice job on the color scheme. I got mine trimmed out to do a nearly hands off approach and land, when the AS3X is turned SAFE Mode. Still tweaking the rudder and nose gear center. Low rates give me pretty much the same feel on the controls as the SAFE mode. Most of the time I only use it with the dreaded crosswinds from behind me, but I have to switch it off quickly after TD or I don’t have enough ruder to avoid the fence on rollout.

[wvrailfan]

Finally got to fly mine. It was chilly and dreary, but at least it wasn't pouring rain and the wind wasn't blowing at 20mph. Maiden +2 went well, it is a nice flying little plane. It wants to float on final, went right past the runway;-) Reduced throttle much earlier on second try and managed a nice soft touchdown.