E-flite Apprentice S 15e RTF Airplane

Read Reviews
Write a Review
E-flite Apprentice S 15e RTF Airplane
Price: $279.99
Discontinued Online
This item is discontinued and no longer available for purchase. You may want to search our site for a similar item.
Note: Manufacturer does not allow coupons

This is the E-flite Apprentice S 15e Ready-to-Fly Airplane. The Apprentice S 15e is the most intelligent RC airplane ever offered by Horizon Hobby. At its heart is groundbreaking SAFE™ (Sensor Assisted Flight Envelope) technology that makes RC flight incredibly easy, even for the least experienced user. Its combination of spatial awareness provides flight envelope protection which adds a degree of security never before available, while its smooth flight capability battles windy conditions so that all you feel is control that’s crisp and responsive. Multiple levels of flight envelope protection are provided that can be reduced or removed as your skills progress, yet the “panic” feature is always there to instantly return the model to level flight if you ever lose orientation.

Requiring just minutes to assemble, you’ll appreciate how its quiet brushless power system delivers outstanding performance with long, enjoyable flights. Plus it’s built to last from lightweight Z-Foam™ material that’s tough enough to handle everyday flying punishment without getting bent out of shape. After you’ve mastered the basics of flight, the Apprentice S is capable of performing a complement of aerobatic maneuvers such as loops, rolls, and even inverted flight. You can also turn the Apprentice S into a great floatplane by simply adding the specially designed E-flite Apprentice S Floats (EFLA550)—sold separately.

 

Features:

  • SAFE™ technology provides spatial awareness and flight envelope protection
  • The ideal beginner’s choice when learning to fly with an instructor
  • Quick, easy assembly
  • Lightweight and durable Z-Foam™ construction
  • Powerful 15-size, 840Kv brushless outrunner motor installed
  • E-flite® 30A Pro Switch-Mode BEC Brushless ESC installed
  • Large, easy-access battery compartment
  • Wide-stance tricycle landing gear
  • Nose wheel steering for better ground handling
  • Powerful 3S 3200mAh 20C Li-Po battery included
  • Li-Po balancing DC charger included
  • Optional E-flite Apprentice® S Floats (EFLA550), available
Specifications:
Wingspan: 59.0 in (1500mm)
Overall Length: 42.5 in (1080mm)
Wing Area: 515 sq. in. (33.2 sq. dm.)
Flying Weight: 49.0 oz (1390 g)
Motor Size: 15-size brushless outrunner
Radio: Spektrum DX5e transmitter (included)
CG (center of gravity): 3-1/8 in (79.0mm) back from the leading edge of wing
Prop Size: 11 x 8
Speed Control : 30-amp brushless (installed)
Recommended Battery: 11.1V 3S 3200mAh LiPo (included)
Flaps: No
Retracts: No
Control Throw (Ailerons): Low: 0.71 in (18mm); High: 0.91 in (23mm)
Control Throw (Elevator): Low: 0.71 in (18mm); High: 0.91 in (23mm)
Control Throw (Rudder): Low: 1.10 in (28mm); High: 1.35 in (35mm)
Charger: 2–3S LiPo balancing charger, 0.5–3.0A (included)
Minimum Age Recommendation: 14 years
Experience Level: Beginner
Recommended Environment: Outdoor
Assembly Time: Less than 1 Hour
Is Assembly Required: Yes

Needed To Complete:

  • Nothing! Everything you need to get flying is included in the box.

This product was added to our catalog on June 3, 2013

Eric Carlsen
Wednesday, Oct 9 2013 (about 10 years ago)
E-flite Apprentice S 15e RTF Airplane
One word for this plane "Awesome". Flys great, glides in on landings. Oh $&%# switch is just nice to have just in case. Will save your plane to fly another day.
chris madsen
Thursday, Jun 26 2014 (about 9 years ago)
E-flite Apprentice S 15e RTF Airplane
The glue holding the cowl/prop/motor just wont hold up. Mine barely had any glue. The lhs owner's fell off in the box. I bought extra rubber bands to hold the cowl on. Allows some flex but still holds tight. Got it stuck 50ft up in a tree and could only get 30 ft up, so I spent 20 minutes beating it with a 20ft pole since small branches had wrapped around the prop. Broke 1 servo horn and 1 clevis, that's it. This thing is tough. Fun to fly, and can adjust the throws and use the dual rate for landing. Check the battery before you charge it. My pack was at 3.8, 1.1, 3.6 out of the box. Yikes. Overall, I'm glad I bought this even with these issues.
julian naylor
Thursday, Mar 24 2016 (about 8 years ago)
E-flite Apprentice S 15e RTF Airplane
Ive had this plane for 2yrs now. I tried for months on other peoples trainers and learnt nothing. Once on this beauty I learned everything. The fact you can switch off the anti roll setting and then do loos & rolls then switch bach to stable modes is amazing and lets you learn manoeuvres at a great pace. I would recommend this as a first plane and the fact it loops and rolls very well is a bonus. The one switch panic function is great. Just ensure tail is glued well to the plastic support and keep checking it. Ive seen two people at our club lose tails mid flight, so I used epoxy on mine to ensure it stays. I would highly recommend this to anyone wanting relaxed flying to mild aerobatics.
paul fowler
Verified Owner
Monday, Jul 6 2015 (about 8 years ago)
E-flite Apprentice S 15e RTF Airplane
This plane was great for me ,as I had never flown before, lots of off road and street RC's . I crashed it the first time I flew. Fell in small trees and high grass, broke ailerons sevo arm and tip of wing. repaired it and I was off leaning again. I would take it up high, and switch to intermediate mode and advance and get the feel of no assist, aside from the panic switch. Well went into a dive , pulled the panic switch and it leveled out, and busted the horizontal tail in the process, where it was attached to the wing. Was able to bring plane back and land Ok, so I replaced the tail section 17 bucks ahh. so this Friday it's great conditions , no wind. so I am flying quite well in advanced mode , doing rolls , flying upside down, and loops. and controlling pretty good, then at the bottom of a loop , the main wing snapped, sending the plane spiraling to the ground , unfortunately it came down on a side walk ,....and yes, was destroyed on impact. good plane for beginners but plane not designed for much stress, even the stress of the panic switch, is too much for the rear flaps. liked the plane a lot until structural integrity was lost, right at the end of rod inside wing. SNAP!!! so all in all give it a B-, good at first but unable to advance , as plane could not handle structural stress. Contacted the horizon hobby people, and there reply was that because it had already been crashed , damage could of effected future of part (wing). So all in all, they gave me 25% off a new bind and fly apprentice so the crash cost me 190. No history of this happening to any other Apprentice, they say so we shall see , I hope there right. it is fun to fly. made modifications to the new plane, added clear packing tape to underside of main wing, body, also used some lexon taped to rear flaps to add safety . i have been flying it since and it is a blast, handles everything i can though at it.
Max Lucas
Verified Owner
Wednesday, Oct 7 2015 (about 8 years ago)
E-flite Apprentice S 15e RTF Airplane
How wide is the feuselage, I am trying to make a rack to hang this thing on the wall.
Anonymous
Tuesday, Apr 28 2015 (about 8 years ago)
E-flite Apprentice S 15e RTF Airplane
The best trainer plane out there. Absolutely the best with no competition. You can fly this plane with little flying experience and if you don't have any experience you'll crash it only once. fortunately, repair is extremely easy, parts are cheap and the plane is very durable.

Best choice without a doubt
Anonymous
Verified Owner
Thursday, Apr 2 2015 (about 9 years ago)
E-flite Apprentice S 15e RTF Airplane
Oustanding best buy for the money. Never flown anything but a 3channel trainer with the safe technology 5min into flight worked my way to the advanced mode. Now able to fly anything.
larry vincent
Thursday, Jan 15 2015 (about 9 years ago)
E-flite Apprentice S 15e RTF Airplane
I think this is one of the best trainer plane ever built.I train with this plane every weeking .I love it never get board flying it . it s a blast i would recommend it to any body. I would give it a 10 rating
Rick Swift
Wednesday, Aug 27 2014 (about 9 years ago)
E-flite Apprentice S 15e RTF Airplane
Instructor took it off, trimmed it out, handed me the TX and I've been having a ball ever since. You need to input rudder to get her to turn at a decent rate in "beginner" mode and it seems to want to climb away a bit so I only use "intermediate" mode. The plane flies so stable and intermediate stops you from too crazy an input so the last 4 batteries have been in "intermediate" mode. First landing was in the tall grass but the rest have been right on the runway and upgrading to 3" wheels is the only hop up I put on. Just line it up and cut power EARLY because she floats like a feather. I trimmed it out to stay level at 60% throttle (gives it a little more authority in the turns)and I get 12 minute runs with power left over. If you are a total novice you may also want to put some dual rate and expo in the TX until you learn smooth, small stick movements. 75% DR and 30% EX is what I run to smooth her out.
Ivan Shulgin
Saturday, Aug 16 2014 (about 9 years ago)
E-flite Apprentice S 15e RTF Airplane
Bought this trainer as my first plane about a month ago, all I can really say about - it's just an ideal beginner plane.
Propeller, motor and esc combo is pretty strong - it has guts to quickly get you out of trouble and you can do hand launch. It stays level with about 25-30% throttle.
Servos are a bit noisy, but I can't complain about their torque/speed.
Transmitter - no range issues at all, takes only 4 AA's that last forever, being a full size radio it sits nicely in hands of an adult, but can be tricky to use with smaller hands.
Aerodynamically I have no complaints either - If you want it can glide super slowly, if you want you can mash throttle and it still maintains stability at speed.
Landing gear is plenty strong and wheels are big enough for plane to land and take-off on short grass.
And most importantly:
SAFE system - it basically does what is says on the box. Before my maiden flight I had only about 1 hour of flight time in simulator on my iPad(using touch controls, but I was able to successfully take-off, fly for couple of minutes to adjust trims and landed it on a narrow piece of tarmac(1-lane wide). It was like point and shoot - just what I needed.
Yesterday during flight I handed TX to my buddy who has Zero experience with flying RC's and he was able to fly it no problem at all in beginner mode. Than I switched him to Expert mode - he panicked, rolled it and plane started to go 2/3 throttle straight to the ground - I just used panic switch and planed leveled itself out and everything was good again.
BUT I have to warn you - to fly in beginner mode you will need A LOT of space, both for flight and landing, in beginner mode plane won't let bank too much, so turning radius is big - keep that in mind. Other than that, as I said - it's an ideal beginner plane. 10/10