pingber1

My Feedback: (10)

...did the same thing to mine, contacted Horizon and they weren't very uncooperative, so I did a repair ... here's how ... used clear book tape on the bottom of the wing. then used two popsicle sticks, side by side to create a new mounting area, going from each side of the fuselage to the other since there really wasn't enough wood to re-use their landing gear saddle. Redrilled the holes for the gear and its good sa new, in fact, its a stronger mount.

Good luck.

powerlines

Had one of these.. DO NOT LAND IT TALL GRASS.. Torn landing gear out.. LOL

Also wanted to Torque Roll really fast when in a hover... WEIRD!!

Park 480 is a BEAST in this plane



I went to the Sebart Katana 30.. Much nicer flying..

LATER

wedgewing

Did you guys use the nylon 4-40 bolts in the landing gear mounts? did not know if the damage was the result of you having the rough landing with steel 4-40 bolts, or if it was caused by the rather recessed nature if the landing gear mount and you were using nylon. The first assembly I did was to install the nylon bolts in the landing gear. Bummer that 3 planes racked up damage so quickly. hope all are back flying

pingber1

My Feedback: (10)

...the issue seems to be with the way the gear mount is constructed. Since my mis-hap, I was able to look at the actual construction ... there is very little wood holding this thin together ... of course for lightening the whole structure. instead of the usual landing gear "plate", there are two, approximately 1.5" half plates, one on each side of the fuselage that the gear moutns to. The rest is just a thin (1/16" or less) covering material (balsa? basswood?) that joins the two saddle pieces into one piece. SO any torgue on the gear will lift one side or the other, basically twisting it off. My popsicle stick idea actually adds a small saddle that braces the entire structure together.

My problem is balancing ... I use a MaxAmps 2100 3s and am having a problem balancing the plane. It appears balanced on the stand, but when I leave it alone for a second or two, it suddenly noses down and falls off the stand.

mflander

If you are using a cg machine, that could be caused by a draft in the room. The planes are very light compared to the surface area, so if you breathe wrong they bounce around.

I don't think a nylon bolt would have saved the landing gear on this one.... I think Pingber was right, even with nylon bolts it would have ripped those plates out.

I don't think I am going to rebuild the extra right now... All my gear except the motor itself would be a great set-up for the Katana M.D. CC Phoenix 35, 4 hs-65's, TP Pro-Lite 2100, electron 6. Just add the appropriate torque motor and I am good to go! I could probably even use the park 480 for a lighter set-up for now ... I'm this -><- close to pulling the trigger.... frustrated with these weak planes as of late.

wedgewing

Pingber1 & Trixer:

Thanks for your posts. I made the poor assumption that it would be solid across the landing gear mount area. I have not mounted my canopy so when I went to lift off the hatch now I just snapped the balsa at the top of the battery hatch at the back spine of the fuse (Dooooohhhhh). I see what you mean by the two separate mounts and the hollow area to save the weight.

Great idea for the popsicle stick for some bracing. You were also right , the nylon would have not save it. Bad advice from the uniformed in the case. I now have taken some more time to familiarize myself with plane's skeleton in there. Hope to have it flying the maiden this weekend.

pingber1

My Feedback: (10)

btw --- re the popsicle sticks ...a better solution that I've used in other planes is a doctors "ahhh" stick, you know, that stick they put in your mouth and tell you to say ahhhh ..... anyway, my doctor laughed and gave me a huge handful .... they are great spreaders for expoxy too ...I keep a few in my field box for emergencies ... just not the medical kind ....

in fact, I just measured and the ahhh stick can easily take the place of both popsicle sticks ... and much more solid.

mflander

I spent some time this evening looking at my extra, I believe that it I can carve out what is left of the existing mount and make a new one. I will use a little stiffer wood and use some very small tristock to brace it inside the fuselage. The original mount looks like it is tough enough, its just that it is only "grabbing" the fuselage at 2 points instead of across the whole area. Good luck with yours and let me know how it goes!

henson

My Feedback: (64)

I was attempting a knife edge circle and lost it when it was coming back to me.Pancaked it on the field just tore the gear off and messed up the motor box.Decided not to attempt to rebuild the motor box, so I just baught a new fuse for like $37.Got it all back together.Flies great!

mflander

When you buy a new fuse, don't you have to buy tailfeathers also?

I flew this plane about 10-12 times again this weekend, what a sweet airplane! I was flying it in between flights with me Seagull Extra 260 .90 size, and when the wind was calm, I think the mini one flew better!!!

It does the sweetest harriers.... so sweet that I couldn't help but do harrier landings with it over and over, which eventually lead to me ripping out the landing gear AGAIN. But it was so much fun !!!! I adjust the cg, put some masking tape over the holes the gear put in the covering, and flew without gear for the rest of the day, harriering it into the grass to end each flight.

What a plane.... I love it.

henson

My Feedback: (64)

I just cut my old tail feathers off and reglued them to the new fuse.I did have to cut one elevator half off so I could slide it through the new fuse.Then just rehinged it wasnt too much work at all.

straitnate14

My Feedback: (2)

i had my 260 roll of the hood of my truck the other day and crack the spinner and som of the formers inside. not much wood to make a repair so i just glued it and orderd a new fuse and tail set the old stuff got me thru the weekend...

Jimeni

Has anyone had to put the battery aft of the wing tube? I moved mine to aft end of the tray, up against the tube, and its still nose heavy. Using a long max, 2250 mah, 3 cell, 20c, weighs 5.9 oz. ($20.00 @ unitedhobbies.com). AUW is 28.1 oz. (480 outrunner - 40 amp Eflite ESC - 4 Spektrum S75's). Dont really want to add weight, but not much room to mod for batt. aft of tube. Ideas? 1 or 2 oz less in battery wont do it either, its that nose heavy. Plus these batteries rock. Thanks

aflipz

My Feedback: (10)

wierd

Jimeni

Well, maybe a 1-2 oz lighter battery might come close. Left battery back to wing tube, and added 1/2 oz weight to end of fuse, and it balanced at 3.25". Unfortunately I'm right at 29 oz now. Think I'll see how it flies before I invest in more batteries. The 2250's are what I already had though. They have 1800 mah 25c packs for $27.00, they weigh 4.5 oz. Will get those eventually anyways I guess.

aflipz

My Feedback: (10)

Rejoyce; your tail weight can get lighter; 3.25 brings it 0.125 inches too far back according to the recomended range; 3 inches (75mm) to 3 1/8 inches (79mm) 1/8th makes a HUUUUUGE difference on this plane. I prefer metric terms, an "eight of an inch" is 3.175mm takes only one of these mm forward or back to feel a difference when youre around the sweet spot.

To think, that if mount a 5oz camera in mine it will have your's auw it boggles my mind!

Jimeni

How are you 5 oz less ----- WOW! What is your battery weight?

Jimeni

HAH, I thought CG said 3 to 3 3/8, DUH. Thought that was a big range for a little bitty plane.

aflipz

My Feedback: (10)

85 grams thunder power 1320 pro lite. My setup is a little... unorthodox!

It was heavier in this video, maybe 25oz: (sorry for those that have seen it before, i don't mean to bore you all with my vids!)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4mRHSj5g6CY

To lighten the nose, you could try this: Eliminate the motor connectors, they weigh 6 grams close to the nose. eliminate unnecessary wire length on the esc. possibly revise your prop adapter/spinner with a lighter unit (some of those out on the market are needlessly heavy) And try a xoar beechwood electric prop. It weighs half the apc's at most.


my setup: (not saying anyone should do it, as i am pushing many envelopes)

kontronik maxi dancer 66 grams without x mount, connectors or prop adapter
light arse prop adapter, 11x5 xoar prop
4x bms 371 servos with custom cf arms and cf corntrol rods with dual z-bend ends. all exact length wired direct soldered extension made out of wires pulled from a usb cable (5V 2A is the normal usb load, this is fine and they are small gauge)
thunder power 1320 mah pack 85 grams
Berg 7p with micro antenna (azarr)
castle creations phoenix 35 ( i could save about 1/3 oz simply by switching to a 25A which would be suitable for my loads)
No spinner, no wheelpants, decals peeled, tail checkeres peeled... there is not much less that does not need to be there. I want a lighter LG though, that would definitely pay off. (again for you that'd be good cuz it's weight that comes down the nose)

auw; 681 grams/24.02 ounces, 9.25oz/ sq feet! "quoting myself" from the other forum, i have not weighed it in months and it is considerably drier here now, must have shed a few grams since then! :P

aflipz

My Feedback: (10)

Here it is in higher res, needs divx. So much more pleasant in full screen without crazy pixelization!

http://stage6.divx.com/user/Aflipz/v...-extra-260-480

Jimeni

Dont think I would get much flight time with a 1320 mah with the 480 outrunner and Spektrum S75 servos. If its like a lead sled I'll probably try 1600 mah. I like the looks as its suppose to be, dont want to strip it down. The wires and connectors are a real good option, thanks. Didnt use white spinner, just prop adaptor that came with the 480. Hell, gonna lose .5 oz with correct CG thanks for the info aflipz.

Andrew86

Hey guys, i've been flying for 6 months or so and i've had 2, 3 channel trainers and a 4 channel GWS formosa - I haven't crashed in over 30 flights so i consider myself beyond beginner stage. Would you recommend this plane as a next step up? I've been doing aerobatics with my formosa and it's been alot of fun, I don't want to do 3D so much, just some nice scale maneuvers that the real Extra 260 would be able to do, and maybe learn 3D later.

I have a DX6 with expo and dual rates so that would help me out i'm sure, in terms of stall speed, ease of landing and general difficulty, is this an appropriate plane for an intermediate pilot?

Thanks

mflander

Andrew, I think this plane would be great for you!!!! It fly's well in all aspects.. and at its price.. you could afford to crash it if that should happen Good luck and happy flying, welcome to the hobby!

Thanks,
Mike

aflipz

My Feedback: (10)

Yes, if you have the formosa on high rates and are used to recovering from it tip stalling you can pretty much get yourself any 3D capable plane you want. Just start somewhere in the middle of the recomended cg range and have fun.

That being said, if your landings are still a little rough the seagull extra300s might be a better choice and since all out 3D is not a priority i think you will be thrilled with it. even easier on the wallet too!

What power setup (motor, esc, pack and servos) do you have in the formosa? Maybe theres something you could use that in.

Andrew86

Thanks alot for the encouraging advice guys! As for the power set-up in the formosa, i've got a 1000kv outrunner, 30A ESC, 9x6 slowfly prop and 2200mah FP LiPo, also 9gram ESky servos. I went cheapo components (United Hobbies) on this one as it was my airleron trainer. It's far from fast, but it'll climb and do anything i want it to (apart from 3D) with little effort, it's great fun!

My landings are on fairly short grass at an oval near my house, most of the time I land on all 3 wheels and ROG nicely, I do still have the odd rough landing but who doesn't

Thanks again, i'll also look into the SeaGull Extra