bckyrdbshr

My Feedback: (35)

Hi im fixing to start building this plane and was wondering if can build as light as possible (core the wings,CARBON FIBER prop,spinner,wing tube, landing gear, foam hatch, foam turtledeck, glass cowl, glass pants) if a ZDZ 80 OR Brison 5.8 would fly this plane and how well you think it would fly it.?

Thanks

Erich_F

Hi,

I bought one of these planes a couple years ago from a buddy of mine, who used it for his primary contest plane. He built it very well and pretty light, shaving about two pounds of wood and plastic weight.

Essentially, he went crazy with a hole saw set on all the plywood parts, including the engine box sides and all formers. Also, he used the foam Hatch and Turtle Deck, and glass cowl and wheel pants. The plane weighs about 27 pounds with smoke. Mind you, he did not core out the wing panels. He said he cut out a peice of foam similar in size to the wing bays, and multiplied by the number of bays to core out, and found the weight reduction would be negligable and the structure would most likely be compromised.

I have flown this plane as my primary contest plane for three years now, and it's done very well. It flies straight and true, and powered with a Brison 6.4 twin, has unlimited 3D capability. Oh, BTW, the elevator and rudder hinge lines were moved forward 1.5 inches, and the elevators given balance tabs to improve 3D performance. This kit has unlimited potential, and has been around for 13 years or so. Have fun with it!

You can check mine out in my Gallery.

Erich

eness76-RCU

My Feedback: (13)

I too am looking at this kit, is it stable in harrier and elevator high alpha situations?

Silvanskii

My Feedback: (17)

Don't forget, you can EASILY shave a minimum of 2-3 pounds by using contest grade (low density) balsa for sheeting. I use the 6-8 pound density range typically.

Erich_F

Hi Eness76,

This Extra has a bit larger wingspan than typical 33% Extras at about 102", so the wing loading is about that of a 35%. If you adjust the elevator and rudder hingelines like mine, you can have a great 3D bird. Mine will do the gamut of harriers, elevators, popups, waterfalls, and tumbles. Where this Extra really shines is inverted. It does it all better inverted. Blenders into an inverted flat spin come down like a feather in a thermal. Harriers and all high alpha maneuvers are more stable with almost no wing rock when inverted. I think it has to do with the location of the horizontal stabilizer up higher than the wing...when inverted it's below the wing and out of the wings air blanket. Same with the vertical stab, inverted it's down in clean air. Only thing is remember that rudder reverses too, when inverted

One bad area of this plane is snaps. The extra wingspan translates into more rotational mass, which can make snaps unpredictable. I have figured them out, but it took a bit of practice to time elevator and aileron inputs. Spins are great, and easily timed, but you have to nurse it into the stall, making sure you have your low idle set. Otherwise she'll mush in and earn you a nice fat ZERO.

For the money, $280, you can't beat this kit. Add the extra $100 for the foam and glass parts, and you're set. Throw a DA-100 on the front, and rock n roll.

One thing I might also suggest...fully sheet the wings, rather than just capstripping. Covering will sag and wrinkle all along the span over each open bay, and is hard to keep nice looking. Just get some Contest Quality balsa sheeting as suggested, and fully sheet the wings like nearly every other kit.

Have fun!

Erich