Eflite Diamante 25e

| Print |

The Eflite Diamante 25e is an electric aerobatic model designed by TOC pilot Peter Goldsmith. It is a "normal" sized low wing aeroplane, with 48" Wingspan and required a 4s Lipo Setup. I'm also using Eflite's Power32 motor and Castle Creations 60amp ESC, couple this Spektrum's new Mini Servos, 2048 Resolution Receiver AR7600 and DX7SE, it should make for a fast, agile and precision aeroplane. This is another great aeroplane supplied by Horizon Hobby UK, all the equipment is available from any good model shop. Below is a quick building & flying review.

Here is what eflite say about their model:

The E-flite® Diamante 25e ARF was designed by champion pilot Peter Goldsmith to provide intermediate to experienced pilots a precision aerobatics platform with excellent stability and benign stall characteristics. At the heart of this design is the SD8020 airfoil that provides excellent tracking and crisp response in any axis. It is also extremely resistant to accelerated stalls so you’ll feel like you’re on rails in any attitude. Machined aluminum control horns let you use high-torque mini servos and fly aggressive aerobatics with confidence.

As always, E-flite has gone the extra mile to make your flight experience as convenient as possible with this highly prefabricated ARF design.  Getting to the battery and electronics is a breeze with the easy-access magnetic hatch. And the large battery compartment can accommodate a wide range of Li-Po packs. The balsa and light ply construction is complemented nicely by the custom Peter Goldsmith Ultracote® trim scheme. The fiberglass cowl and wheel pants even come painted from the factory.  The bolt-on spinner is also colored to match the cowl.  All you have left to do is a few hours of assembly and you’re flying.

Product Specifications
Wingspan: 48 in (1200mm)
Overall Length: 50 in (1250mm)
Wing Area: 485 sq in (31.3 sq dm)
Flying Weight: 3.6-4.2 lb (1.6-1.9 kg)
Motor Size: E-flite Power 25 BL Outrunner Motor,870Kv (EFLM4025A) or E-flite Power 32 BL Outrunner Motor, 770Kv (EFLM4032A) Required
Radio: Spektrum DX7 7-Channel DSM2™ airplane system (SPM2710) Required
Servos: Four mini servos (required)
Prop Size: APC 12 x 8E prop (APC12080E) with Lightweight Setup or APC 13 x 6.5E prop (APC13065E) for High Power Precision Setup (Required)
Speed Control : 60A Brushless ESC (EFLA1060) Required
Recommended Battery:  3S 4200mAh Li-Po pack for Lightweight Setup or 4S 4200mAh Li-Po pack for High Power Percision Aerobatic Setup (Required)

This should give you an idea of what we the model is about. I will write a few words about the various stages of construction and then the fun bit the flying. It is also a chance to use my DX7SE in the 2048 resolution its designed for, it should the model faster in the air and react quicker, I'll report on that, once I have the aeroplane trimmed and setup I will fly it back to back with my regular DX7 then with DX7SE and report my findings.

Building

The build was a routine affair, as all Eflite models I have built have been, simple and clear instructions, quality and well finished parts all housed in a safe colourful box all make for a quick and easy build. My apologies for the quality of the photos, but it was easier with my phone that uploading to the camera.

The Underside of the Wing as it comes out of the kit, well almost, I added the Spektrum Sticker, a chance to use my vinyl cutter.

Hinging the Ailerons is simple. The kit comes with "Hairy" Hinges, as you can see I put a pin through the centre of the hinge, to keep it in place whilst I offered it up to the precut slots in the wing trailing edge. Ensure the aileron was installed nice and square, I applied thin cyano to the Bob Smith Industries Insta Cure, this is a great glue and all the BSI products I have used are top quaity.

After the cyano in the hinges had set, I had a free moving hinge and lots of throw is available.

Next thing to do was install the aileron servos. I choose the New Spektrum H5000 servos, strictly these are helicopter servos but it was the specs that attracted me. This also some in a great little plastic box that is very useful for keeping nuts/bolts and misc bits in your flightbox!

H5000 - Mini Digital Heli Servo

A high value coreless motor servo with great speed and torque in this category.
 
Features:

•0.11 sec/60° @ 6v—Fast response

•64 oz-in torque @ 6v—Lots of torque in a small package

•Digital—More precise control

•11 inch 24 gauge wire—Long wire for most applications

•Coreless Motor—Quicker response and smoother operation

•Dual ball bearings—Less resistance for higher performance and
longer life

•.6µs—Transmitter input quickly translates into servo movement

•Plastic gears—Affordable and durable

•Z Connector—Standard connector type is compatible with Spektrum
and JR receivers
 
Class : Mini 
Applications:  Helis - 500 Size 
Spektrum Description:  Mini Digital Heli Servo 
Category:  Heli 
Type:  Digital 
Rated Torque (oz-in @ 6v):  64 
Speed (sec/60°@ 6v): 0.11 
Gears: Plastic 
Dimensions (in):  1.4x.6x1.1" 
Dimensions (mm):  35x15x29 
Weight (oz):  0.9 
Weight (g):  26.0 
Motor : Coreless 
Bearing:  Dual

Spektrum enscribed heat sink on the servos, they are fast digital servos so a heat sink is a great feature as these things do warm up.

Once the servo was installed in the pre cut hole with a 300mm extension lead (I use the Flightline ones, they are Heavy Duty and work really well), the last thing to do was to fit the pushrod, all the fittings are supplied in the kit and once you've centred the servo, a few minutes measures and bends the rod to the exact length. This setup gives a very rigid and most importantly slop free linkage. Thats the wing finished, probably took less than an hour.

Now we went to the Fuselage, first job was installed the two piece aluminium Undercarriage, complete with spats, the paint job on these parts are top quality and really finish the model, the spats mightn't last two long at our muddy field but none of them do! You can see from the picture the quality of the CNC cut kit in the motor box, it is very strong and lightweight, this continues throughout the model.

Installing the stab and fin is the next task, before you start that process you must install the two wing locating pegs, I used BSI 5min Exopy for that job.

I hinged the elevator to the stab, using the hairy hinges again, this gives plenty of throw as with the ailerons.

Ensuring everything was lined up and square, the stab and rudder were glued in with BSI Medium Cyano. Just be careful when removing the wedge of covering were the stab meets the fuse, the wood is soft and under normal flying loads will pose no problem, but if you are a bit heavy handed with your knife blade you could weaken the structure.

Underneath of the stab, you can also see the rudder hinged and the tailwheel installed.

Once the stab was glued in, the elevator servo and linkage was to be installed. Again I choose the H5000 servo and the linkage in the kit, as expected a strong linkage.

Rudder servo was next, you have the option of using closed loop and mounting the servo up front, if you are using a lightweight motor setup & a 3s lipo you might want to consider this, as I'm going for power not weight and a 4s lipo, an extra servo at the back won't make the plane unbalanceable.

The receiver of choice for this plane was spektrum new AR7600. It is a high speed 7ch receiver that can be used with the DX7SE and its 2048 resolution, this will get the most out of your aeroplane and transmitter, I'm excited to try it.

I installed the receiver in the plane at a slight angle as we have found is the best for a faultless link, I've been doing it this way on all my large models and never had a problem in over 2 years and many many 1000's of flights.

I installed the Satilette Rx under the canopy and in a different plane to the main Rx. It also allows my to see bind light on the receiver, so I can ensure its bound correctly before I fly. I use velcro to mount my receivers, it holds them securely but allows some movement against vibration killing it.

The motor was mounted next, the Eflite Power 32 comes with all you need to mount it, the eflite motors are amongst the best, quietest and most powerful I have used and this power 32 is a monster of a motor, it delivers up to 700watts of power and would more than a match for any 32-40 sized glow engine, without the mess of fuel and hassle of mixtures and plugs. I'll totally converted to electric on my smaller models, the glow engines get very little use now!!

The Castle Creations 60 amp controller is ideal for the 4s Power 32 setup. I mounted it within the fuse, I hope it won't overheat in here, I don't think it will, but I can move it later if it causes a problem, there is a good flow of air within this fuse. I used the Castle Link to program the controller, this makes it so simple and allows you to change any settings you like, a worthwhile tool for any electric user.

The final bit of building was to install the cowl and fix the canopy to the hatch. The Cowl is always a job I dislike, but this one fitted like a glove and with Eflite Aluminum spinner the model is finished off, making it look very grown up. These spinners are great, highly polished finished and the quality is the best I've seen in a spinner of this size well worth a look. The prop is an APC 13x6.5 for any of the tech buffs out there.

The Canopy Hat, with a nice Eflite Pilot Head, just finishes it off in my opinion

Over Fuselage from the front

Fuselage from the Rear, I still have some vinyl to add, just to set it of a little.

Flying

Test before christmas I got a chance to test fly the Diamante. The conditions were perfect and it gave me a chance to really see what this model was capable of. Using the Eflite 4s 3200mah battery, the power was very good, unlimited vertical and with the power32 motor and APC13x6.5 prop, the model has a great turn of speed.

After an easy flight, just trimming the model out I was happy and confident enough to install a new battery and go for another harder flight. The precision elements with this model are very good, crisp, clean rolls, snaps and on the recommended C of G a positive feel to the elevator made loops, rollers and point rolls nice. Snaps are particularly fast with this model and it carries the speed though them really well, i wish some of my bigger IMAC models snapped as well.

The combination of the new DX7Se, the AR7600 fast Rx and the Spektrum H5000 servo makes the model very accurate and you can be very aggressive in the point rolls but still smooth when required. I can feel the model faster around centre stick on the inputs, which is good. I wanted this aeroplane to speed me up during the winter and it is serving it's purpose very well. There is a little mixing required in Knife Edge, but I expected this as the model is a low winger, but it's a few percent and I don't know of too many aeroplanes out there which are perfectly neutral, big or small. I was very surprised how well the airplane 3D as well, a pleasent surprise.

Here are some pictures, I'll try and video uploaded at some stage.

My good friend Kees' helping me after the 2nd flight, thanks Kees.

Matthew