Doc Austin

It seems almost every report I do begins with the 3D Hobby Shop Aspera. There are a lot of reasons for that, but mostly because it is the finest airplane I have ever owned and it's the one I judge all the others by. It was the 3DHS Aspera that drew my attention to that company's fine line of aircraft, and influenced me to give 3D a try. That's where we are now.....trying to figure out 3D.

I really wasn't interested in 3D, but the Aspera is such a beautiful, solid, well built plane that it spoiled me, and I wanted to stay in the 3DHS lineup for my next project. Looking on the 3DHS site and seeing the kits and videos, I sort of got infected with 3D mania and initially I bought a Katana, but after a few flights I knew that to learn 3D I was going to need a little less aggressive airplane. I love the Katana, and I still fly it quite often, but it's an advanced airplane, and for learning to hover and fly in low altitude harriers, I needed something really solid and forgiving.

Everyone on the internet forums loves the 3DHS 47" Extra SHP, and since I had all the necessary stuff in the Katana, it would not be expensive at all to get the kit and use my existing gear. I love the Katana and didn't want to pull it apart, so I bought the complete airplane combo. I'm also going to get the Velox with the power and servo combo, so all my gear will be interchangeable and I'll need very few spare parts to keep the fleet going. Since they all have the same gear, all I'll need is a few basic parts, and if I need something I don't have, in a pinch I can temporarily cannibalize any one plane to get another one back in the action.

The Extra has less taper in the wing platform. This gives the plane sublime stability, but the price is that it won't snap and tumble as violently as something like the Katana. I figure what the heck, because if you watch the videos it still snaps, spins and tumbles just fine. It just won't chew it's own tail off the way a Katana will, and I don't need it to do that anyway. I need a plane that an inexperienced 3D pilot can lock into a hover or harrier solidly and then go about the business of learning the rest of the 3D stuff. From what everyone who owns one is saying, the Extra SHP is that plane.




Power System
After owning a 3DHS Aspera and Katana, I already knew that the standard power setup for these planes rock. The Katana and Extra use the same Extreme Flight 2818T-900 motor, and on 3S lipos, it's got so much punch-out power that you never have to worry about having enough to blast your way out of trouble. All my Torque motors run cool, smooth and quiet, and like I've said before, they have their own distinct, pleasing sound. I really, really like these motors.

My Extreme Flight Airboss ESCs have also performed well, so again I went with the standard 45 amp unit. One of the things I find most attractive about the Airboss is that it can handle up to seven cells without the need for a separate BEC and all the associated rat's nest of extra wiring. This keeps things extremely simple. Plug it in and it works. If you want to run four cells or five cells or six, just drop them in and change your prop to keep the amp draw at around 38 or so. That keeps the motor happy and everything running within spec.

Standard for the Extra, Katana and Aspera is the 3D Hobby Shop 3S 2200mah 20C Lipoly Battery. We used 3DHS 5s 3400 packs in the Super Ballistic Aspera project and they were terrific. They ran cool and delivered absurd power right down to when they dumped at the end of the run. As soon as I recover financially I'm going to get some 3DHS 3s 2200 packs so I can grab more flights per outing with the Katana and Extra.

On the Katana I am running the recommended APC 13/6.5E for 3 cell operation and it's all the power I need, so this is the way we decided to go on the Extra. However, during initial tests of the Extra, I didn't have enough 3 cell packs to fly both planes, so we tried the Katana on 4s with an APC 11/5.5E. Now, this is just sick and downright abusive overkill, and you don't need it. Still, after I fly the Katana on 4s I can't get the grin off face, so I'm sure we will try this on the Extra.



Servos and Such
Again, going with the standard equipment, I choose the Hi Tech HS65 servos. Where I deviated from standard is that I went with the metal gears so they would hold up should I want to use them later in something like another Ballisitc Aspera, or maybe even a ballistic Katana.


Also, this way all my servos are the same for all my 47" 3DHS planes. The HS65s drop right into, with no modification, the 47" Katana, Yak, Extra, Aspera, EBT trainer and the upcoming Velox.


Like all my other 3DS panes, the Extra SHP came triple boxed, on time, and with no damage. Also like with my other 3DHS planes, all the necessary hardware was included. Outside of the power and radio system, you won't spend a dime finishing this baby up. I really love the guys at my LHS, but it was nice for a change to open the box and finish the entire project without having to make a mad run down there for parts. You're always missing something...... a screw, a servo extension, velcro, a wire tie or even a wheel collar, but not when you get the plane and power system combo with servos. Everything I needed except for the transmitter and receiver came in the brown truck.

For this project, we decided to use all the hardware and follow the directions exactly to the letter with absolutely zero deviation. In the past I have been persnickety about control horns, push rod keepers, set up and such, but any time I have had the bright idea to do something different than what 3DHS recommends it has turned out to be a mistake. This time we went exactly the way 3DSH says to do things.

Like with all my 3DHS projects, the covering was well done.....exceptionally well done. I couldn't make up my mind which color I wanted, so I told Ben to surprise me. I got the yellow one, and boy is this thing loud. The plane looks really nice on the video and in the pictures, but in real life it's just beautiful. I hope Ben makes the yellow in 55" some day because I want one.

Including the backup Aspera (which is built, but hasn't flown yet because we are saving it), this is our fifth 3DHS project, so I think at this point I'm qualified to say something about the level of quality in these kits. These are the finest mass produced items I have yet seen. They come beautifully turned out and we've never had a quality issue of any kind. We have never had to send anything back and we've never had to fix something that wasn't done right. All we do is assemble them and fly them, and they work just like they are supposed to.

Other plane manufacturers please take note.


Uhhhhh, there ain't much to build here. Like with all my reports, you can learn more about the assembly by reading the manual than anything I can tell you. We did a few extra things, but the manual is about the best success guide you are going to find.

http://www.3dhobbyshop.com/images/3d...arf-manual.pdf


As you can see, the mechanical linkages were very simple and easy to set up. Everything is right out in the open and easy to work on. Also, note that I am almost at the extremes of what can be had mechanically....out all the way on the servos, and in the middle of the control horns. I have been running my push rods in the middle hole of the control horn for years because running them on the inside hole reduces mechanical stiffness and reduces resistance to flutter. I could get a little more by going to the inside, but instead I turned up the endpoint controls on my radio to 150%. This gives me all the control I need except I would like a little more aileron, so I'm anxiously awaiting the new 3D hobby Shop extended control arms for the HS65 servo.

Jimmy D put the tail, cowling, control horns and wheel pants on, and there wasn't even that much to it. I dropped the kit, motor and accessories off, went to lunch with my wife, and an hour later we picked it up ready to put the radio in it. Worth noting is that Jimmy has done all my important projects like this for the last couple of years, and he always looks forward to my bringing him a 3DHS kit. Jimmy is a master craftsman, and he despises ARFs, but he always enjoys working on something that's put together as nicely as the Extra, Katana and Aspera projects have been.

And, that was that. Follow the directions and you can't go wrong.



Learning 3D
Well, this is extremely interesting. We followed the 3DHS set up all the way. The Extra took three clicks of right aileron and one click of up, and after that she was right on the money. At first I thought the setup was a little twitchy, but the plane is so stable that it isn't very troublesome. This is just something I had to adapt to because I have only been flying exponential for about a month or so and 3D for about twenty minutes. I'm ok at the center, but when I make a big stick movement the airplane always surprises me how much it will jump when you get to the outer extremes. She is nice and docile when you are flying her around, but if you yank on the stick....BANG! Shocks me every time!

After a flight or so I hardly noticed anything was different except that I can get away with just about anything I care to try. On high rates she will do anything...blenders, waterfalls, walls, elevators and she will do a scary parachute. The extra is so good and so stable that I tried and learned these pretty quickly. Now, I can do a sick blender, but that's not the same kind of finesse move that a hover or harrier is, and that's the one I'm having a tizzy trying to get.

The moves I find the most fun are the ones where you violently rotate the plane on it's pitch axis. A conventional plane will either bog down and veer off course, or worse, snap roll and spin into the ground if you yank the elevator too hard. The Extra simply rotates to flat against the direction it's traveling and it stops like it's run into something. If you are traveling horizontal she will pitch her nose straight up and stop. From there you can go into a hover (provided you can do it better than I can) or any other maneuver, but it's amazing to see the plane react this way. I like to give it a notch of power, roll her over, level the nose and drive out the opposite direction I came from..... the entire maneuver taking place at almost the same altitude from start to finish. If you hit it right and hit it low enough to the ground, it makes a breathtaking landing approach.

If the Extra is pointed down and you yank the elevator, she will rotate until her belly is pointed toward the ground and fall straight down that way. If you do this low enough you can pancake it straight into the runway, but you don't want to hurt the plane. I use a few notches of power to hold the nose up and slow the descent, but I cut it really close. The plane has to move forward a bit toward the end to keep flying, but I am sure that eventually I will learn to catch her in a harrier and set her right down. The way it is now, the plane will dive straight down, parachute out and land, and move forward only about 50 feet from the beginning of the maneuver to landing her. Talk about a Kamikaze landing approach!

While I am still struggling just a bit with the elevator being a touch too sensititive for me, the Extra won't rotate as hard as the Katana, at least not the way I have it set up. I've got all the elevator I can get mechanically and with the end point controls pegged, but I'de like a little more. Maybe the new 3DHS servo arm extentions will do the trick for me, and I'll try those as soon as I can get a set.

There are a lot more moves the Extra is capable of, like hovering and harriering, (though my hover and harrier really need work), and just about anything else in the 3D playbook. We've all seen Ben's videos so we know the plane is a lot more capable than I am, but that's the point, isn't it? I'm learning 3D, so I need a capable plane that is stable and forgiving because you know I'm going to get it wrong a lot in the beginning. Still, if you watch the videos, you can see the full tilt 3D expert can get so much out of the plane that it's going to take a long time, if ever, to outgrow the Extra SHP.



At this point I need to show some discipline and burn pack after pack doing nothing but working on harriers and hovers, but this plane is so much fun that I can't stop myself from flying it hard. The hovering is getting much better, but I can't lock the plane over a spot and keep it there. She will sit there with her nose up, but I haven't figured out how to make her do that in one spot and stay there yet. I'm sure it will come because I've got the right tools, but I just have to be patient and practice.



Conventional Aerobatics
The Extra is just about as stable and easy to fly as, unbelievably, an Ultra Stick, except it is much more smooth and precise. On low rates she is almost like a low wing trainer, and she will slow down even more so that the Katana will on landing, which means that any slower and she would be going backward.

She is very stable and honest, and with a sport setup she would rival almost any other sport plane I can think of. Slow and point rolls are outstanding with almost no roll coupling and at high speed the Extra tracks nearly as well as the Katana. She snaps and she spins and she does anything else you'de do with a sport plane, and just as well.

If one were to want the Extra strictly for conventional sport flying and leaving 3D out of it, I'de say moving the CG a bit forward would help her track a little better, though she is already really good.

And that's where the lines are starting to blurr now. The 3D moves are starting to work their way into my regular routine, so what's sport and what's 3D now? From my own personal viewpoint, I think 3D moves will soon be part of the everyday sport flying routine, because it's certainly becoming that way for me. The Extra will do 3D, and she will sport fly equally well. No plane will do it all, but the Extra will do most of it, and in such an inviting and forgiving manner that it's the perfect airplane to transition back and forth from 3D to sport with. I imagine that the katana will be better suited for that once I get my 3D moves a little more polished, but while I am learning, I'm sure not wasting the Extra's additional confidence-building stability.



While I am learning 3D, the Extra fits my program perfectly. I still fly my regular routine, but now I've got some new tricks I can pull that surprise everyone, and that's a lot of fun. Doing a low level parachute into a landing draws a lot of oooohs and ahhhhs.

The 3DHS Extra SHP is one sweet little plane. In 3D trim it is amazing how much you can get away with. No matter how hard you push her, she will never do anything unexpected or vicious, and there are extremely few airplanes you can say that about. She is smooth and graceful, and she is so solid that, no matter how crazy a maneuver might seem, there is nothing you will be afraid to try with her. I like the extra so much that I just ordered another one for backup, and I'll be saving up for the 55" Extra SHP..... after I get a Velox, that is.


We did the first 25 flights with the 2200 3 cell lipo packs and I was very satisfied with the performance. Generally I am all for turning everything I own into a fire breathing monster, but I was delighted with the Extra just the way it was until I took the wrong batteries to the field. I had my 2200 4s packs from the Aspera with me instead, and not wanting to drive home and to get the right packs, I borrowed an 11.5/5 from a friend and tried the big pack in the Extra.


Now, I would have probably never thought to try the 4s pack in the Extra had it not been for this because I was so happy with the plane the way she was, but with 4s, she has absolutely become my kind of plane. In a way it's sort of a shame to spoil her good nature, but now she's a dirty little girl, and I like that.

You know, 3DHS spent all that time developing the Extra into a nice little airplane, and what do I do? I jam a big 4 cell battery in mine and turn it into a monster! Now the Extra will rocket straight up and go almost out of sight before she even slows down. Punch out from a hover (well, as close as I can get to a hover, anyway) is instantaneous and very definite. There's no waiting around for the airplane to build up speed or anything. You just goose her and she's gone.

Surprisingly, this has had no negative effect on the plane at all. The 4s pack doesn't weigh that much more, but it's enough to change the CG a bit. Previously I had the 3s pack back against the wing tube, but the 4s pack is just enough heavier that I can move it forward maybe a half inch to an inch. As it is, I just left it as far back as it would go in hopes that it would help improve my hover, and it has a bit.

Having all this extra grunt has completely transformed the Extra, but then, power always corrupts, doesn't it? At first, all that power seemed like too much, but after a flight or two to get all dialed in and used to all the power, it seems just right. It's still just a little frightening, which is good. I don't want to lose respect for her because that's generally when you make a stupid mistake and trash the plane.

With the additional grunt it's easy to make the power work for you and pull you through the maneuvers. Sure, the Extra is now really fast on top end speed, but she's still really solid there too. The extra power has had zero negative effect on how the Extra flies.

I'm sure I will try her again on 3s, but it will be really hard to go back and be satisfied with something less.

Doc's rating for 3DHS Extra SHP on 4s power: MEGA COLOSSAL



This has been a long and extremely rewarding project. It opened my eyes to a totally new style of flying, and another way of thinking. The Extra, and flying 3D, is so much fun that I'm burning 4, 5, 6 battery packs a day, so I could update my experiences every day. For now, though, I'de like to close this report with today's tests:

We ran six packs through the Extra today. It was hysterical fun. I added a washer under the lower engine mounting lug to take out some downthrust and it improved the airplane all the way around. Before she would baloon up whenever I would cut the power, which was a combination of rearward CG. and up trim to compensate for too much downthrust. Now she trims fine, and when I cut the power she will drop the nose a bit, which makes hitting a landing much easier.

Before she would baloon up and stall, and once I got behind and she crashed down and took out one of the gear legs. I found it remarkable that it didn't damage the plane because carbon is so tough I expected to pull the block out before I hurt the legs. It hit really hard and you could hear the gear snap. As I was walking out to get it I figured that I would probably have to build a new plane, because I hate it when they are all patched up and scruffy looking.

The sad part is that I have to buy replacement legs, but the good part is that I don't have to fix the plane...........or build a new one. I had a new kit in the closet so I robbed the LG out of it and I was flying again the same afternoon.

Another mega benifit of taking out the downthrust is that now she is getting closer to locking into a hover. I can hold her for 10 seconds or so, but we still have a lot of wind and it just sort of blows her away. Still, I can hold her for a few seconds, and when she falls out I can either roll or hit the power and knife edge fly her away, so it sort of looks like I meant to do it that way.

I won't even talk about how low I'm getting the rolling circles because talk is cheap, and we've got video coming anyway. Sadly, we didn't get any of today's antics, which make the previous stuff look pedestrian.

The Extra gets better and better every time out. The latest little trim adjustment completely transformed her and now she is getting closer to full tilt 3D trimmed. Since I really don't know what I'm doing, and don't have any 3D pilots locally that can help me, I think the progress we've made is remarkable......and mostly attributable to the plane being so good.

Now, it's also only fair to mention that I've got some considerable time on the Katana too, and she has taught me some really good lessons too. I've also got a Yak coming too, so pretty soon I'll have the whole 3DHS collection!

Let me take a minute, however, to thank Ben from 3D Hobby shop for his coaching. Almost everything I've learned has come from the time he's taken to explain things to me over the phone. Of course, I've had to try them for myself, but I wouldn't have even known where to start without Ben's patience and enncouragement. Thank you, Ben.

Fliprob17

Another nice write-up Doc

xsubsailor

I have the blue version and immediately became my favorite plane and a favorite plane of my fellow club members, it's the only electric the glo guys ask me if they can fly. I recommend this plane to any pilot interested in 3d this plane flies so well that it makes me look good, it will do a text book flat spin without any skill involved because of the extra people in my club think I'm a better pilot than I'm actually am.

PimPiN o3o7

Nice 25 flight report!

Shawnlh

My Feedback: (-1)

Doc, when taking out some down thrust, how thick were the washers you used on the bottom motor mounts?

Doc Austin

I never measured them, but they are the same washers that come in the kit and go on the landing gear bolts. You should have gotten some extra ones in the kit.

Shawnlh

My Feedback: (-1)

Thanks Doc

Snoopyxupery

Very nice videos Doc! You become good on 3D too.
I find the Extra 260 3D 480 E-Flite I have, very similar air plane.

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

I'm not good as this video but I keep practicing. I had crash and repair but I'm getting better now.

http://www.horizonhobby.com/Products...ProdID=EFL2475

Doc Austin

Nice flying, Cubby. You be a natural born killer if you had a Velox.

clovus

Nice story Doc (but then again would we expect anything else)

Was just trawling the forums looking for a smaller 3d plane (reviews on the PA addiction?)and saw this thread. Funnily enough I just came home from flying the 3DHS extra in a really tight space with lots of tall trees, too scary for the mini pulse but much better with the extra. I got a 3300 mah 3s for windy days but have been really surprised how the TP 2200 handles the breeze. I think I will try the washers. Thanks for a neat trick

clovus

Doc Austin

I flew a friend's addiction and it is a really, really sweet little plane. the battery was almot dead, so I didn't get to try it long, but I did fly it enough to know that I want one. It's definately park capable and I will definately have an addiction before too long.

I haven't tried anything but 2200 3s and 4s, but it's goiod to know she wikll handle the wight of a 3300. I'm only getting about 6-7 minutes out of a 2200 and I want more. In fact, once I get started with the Extra, I never ant to come dowbn.

We've done a lot more testing, and after adding some more elevator throw the plane has really come alive. Be warned, this is some pretty stupid stuff....... http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showt...46#post9019842

clovus

Doc,

What did you do to increase throws, mine is pretty topped out at the recommended settings? I tried the parachute landing as described, I think it is easier with the 3300mah. The plane feels more solid and settled and it seems to have a more 'positive' descent. 6ft before touch down a few clicks of extra throttle and it ends in a nice roll out. Sweet.

clovus

edit: I just watched the video. Man, you were pretty hard on it, huh? The 4s really changes the sound of the motor compared to 3s. When you said rainy day, I didn't think you would be flying in the rain. My favourite moment "look at this stupid sh*t, look at that"........ Gold, pure gold.

Doc Austin

I'm running my end point control on the transmitter all the way out to 140% (max on Futaba) and on the elevator I am using a 3D Hobby Shop extended control arm.


They don't look like much in that picture, but they look really cool when they are bolted on top of the arm that come on the servo.


And you can get them here...........

http://www.3dhobbyshop.com/detail.aspx?ID=2193

I'm using the middle hole, but that's one more than the longest Hi tech arm will give you.

The plane is going to want to turn, so I'm sure the extra weight helps keep it going straight.

Of course, the harder you rotate the plane, the more deeply she will stall and the straighter she will fall. With the airfoiled stab a Velox rotates so stinking hard that she is dead stalled instantly. Check out the stupid paracuhute landing on this video. Also, you can see me actually slide the plane on purpose when entering hovers and such. That's pretty sick when you can slide an airplane on purpose, but it's fun and extremely useful.

http://adchobbystore.com/pics-vids-velox-doc.htm

That airplane has had a tough life, but she's a tough old bird. this plane has been my 3D trainer, so I knew from the beginning not to fall in love with her.

I actually beat on her so hard just to show people how strong she is. Every flight is like that, but after 200 of them, the wings still fit tight on the carbon tube and they still snug up against the fuselage. I'm not getting any stress cracks and the plane is actually getting better every flight because wood is organic, and it adapts to it's new application.

This is such a well engineered and built plane that I'm not afraid of breaking it. I've got enormous confidence in this plane. I'm sure I could break it if I really tried, but that would be a waste. Instead, I fly her to the limits of what I think she can take, which, as you can see, is considerable.

Wait till you hear one on 5s!

It was my first day working with Dr. Who, and he's as nuts as I am. I almost clocked him with an inverted elevator move, but he didn't bail and got the shot. We're going to make some pretty sick video together.

It's hard to fly well and be articulate at the same time!

clovus

Thanks for the photos, guess I'll be talking to Fliprob about a OS order.....

I took mine out this morning and purposely tried to beat on it. I have to say it is nothing as wild as the video. But still fun nevertheless.

clovus

clovus

I just couldn't resist posting this. Hows the quality of this photo? I was lucky enough to fly with a mate who is pretty good photographer. Makes me wish I'd cleaned the plane before going to the field.

[img][/img]


clovus

Doc Austin

We've added some more SHP video to our UTube page.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xlr85pIsAgM