The latest addition to my hanger is the HobbyKing EPP Yak54 3d Profile. I decided to get this airplane because I wanted something to fly that I wasn’t afraid of crashing while I learned new 3D maneuvers. I really really like this plane. It flies so well and inspires a lot of confidence at the field. During the 2nd day of flying this plane I was able to perform tricks I had never been able to do before AND was able to do them much closer to the ground. The one time I hit the ground the plane just bounced and was ready to go again. The only point of weakness on this plane is the prop and they’re very cheap to replace. Below I will list all the parts I used to get this plane in the air, you can expect to pay about $90 before shipping. First, I’ll share my building tips to help you along the way:

• When installing the rudder & elevator control horns ignore the photos in the manual. Install the rudder control horn on the left and the rudder on the right. The goal is to have the shortest possible control rods for each side. I went off the pictures in the manual and ended up with a really long rudder control rod.
• Don’t use the control rod clamps included with the kit. These are designed to allow the rod to attach to the servo arms. The problem with these is that they do not allow the rod to articulate as the servo arm moves. I swapped the control rods around, putting the z-bend in the servo arm and using clevises on the end that goes into the control horns. You may have to drill out the holes on the control horns to allow them to fit but this provides a much smoother control over the surfaces for the servos. I had to do this for all four servos.
• Don’t buy 850 mha batteries for this airplane, it will not balance – you need 1300′s. I get about 8 min flights on my nano-tech 1300s.
• When you install the tail-wheel block seat it as far into the foam as possible. The wire for the tail wheel is kinda flimsy and I doubt it will last very long but so-far-so-good.
• Be sure to flex the ailerons prior to installing the servos. Articulate them as far as they can go in both directions over and over to loosen them up. Mine were SUPER tight and would have been a strain on the servos. I even had to score the foam with a knife to get one side to loosen up. You want them as free as they can get.
• Be prepared to slice off a few mms of the aileron closest to the fuselage once you glue the wings on, I had to do this in order to get the recommended deflection.
• Regarding Dual Rates & Expos, I had a profile on my DX8 setup for the e-flite carbon z yak, I simply copied that as a new model and bound it to this airplane – it works great. Here’s a link to the manual for that aircraft – the rates & expos are on page 10.
• You’ll need 2 servo extensions to hook-up the rear servos, I had them in my toolbox so I didn’t add them to the parts list.
• You’ll also need to drill out the prop using a 1/4″ drill bit, then you should slice off the front half of the hub using a hobby knife and sand down the surface. Below is a pic of my modified prop so you can see how I did it. I recommend balancing the prop as well.