Lynn S

I will have to call this plane the Extra II because I crashed my original Simple Extra plane at the Cloverport fun fly last Feb. The only part used from the original kit is the canopy, this plane was built from the plans.
I used an Ace constant chord wing and added a 1/4 x 1/2 trailing edge and used 1 inch ailerons. This made a 6 1/2 x 35 inch wing with aprox. 227 sq inches of area. If you build a Simple Series plane I recommend that you add more wing area by using a trailing edge and 1 inch ailerons.
It seemed lighter than the P-51 but came out the same 20 ozs.
The engine is combination of a Cox TD crankcase and Black Widow top end. Many thanks to AJ for the TD crankcase and Dickeybird for parting with a venturi and needle.
I like the "Simple" idea, so it has a Futaba SS2, two channel radio, with two Hobbico CS-12 servos.
The launch went well on the first flight but it needed lots of Right and Up trim. Other than the trim adjustment the flight was fine. It really wants to drop when the engines dies so I think it may be a bit nose heavy. I'm going to try a smaller battery pack the next time out.
On the third flight I used one of Dickeybird's 5x3 Cox "Rubber Duckie" props. That really made the engine come alive. I didn't check the rpm, but it really added rpms and made the plane faster.
I thought it would be a floater with the larger wing, but that is not the case. It really likes to go fast! I learned from my mistakes on the first one, and this one is a much better flyer.
It's not hard to fly at all. I can tell it's going to get a lot of flying time, and I need the practice.

Larry Driskill

Lynn,

Where is it balancing?

Let's see, 1.6" back from the LE would be about 25%. So an inch and a half, or so, should be close to nice.

Lynn S

Larry,
I made a mark at 25% and it balanced about 1/8 inch behind that mark. It needed a lot of UP during the test glides. It seemed nose heavy then, but I was afraid what would happen with the engine running if I moved it back any more. I think I can move the CG back a little more.
The CG shown on the plan sheet is way too forward. I don't think it would fly if balanced at that point.

Edit: I think the problem is the Horizontal Stab. It has some up tilt in it which would cause the plane to nose down. It's not a big problem. The elevator is now in the level position after adjusting more up trim.
The aileron trim was corrected and was due to the right aileron being set too low.

Lynn S

I noticed the tank was still half full of fuel when I got back to my shop.
....looks like I may have to try an engine with tank pressure. I won't mention the name at this point.

flyinrog

My Feedback: (1)

Nice looking plane Lynn, would the tank thing help if you routed the fuel line under the motor instead of over?....Rog

Lynn S

Rog, I'll check


EDIT:
Well....I had to try out the new .049 Norvel to see what it was like. I did a 20 min break-in last night and it sure ran nice.
It is super smooth running. It may not have ripped like the TD but was a lot more consistant and didn't go dead until it was almost out of fuel. The engine is happy to run in any position the plane was in. I had the 2 oz. tank full on the third and last flight (just before dark)and it ran for over 15 minutes with about a 1/4 oz left in the tank when it died.
I moved the elevator clevis in one notch and that helped the response a lot.
The plane seemed to go faster with the 6x3 MAS prop with the Norvel. It ran strong with the 5x3 rubber ducky too, but started to slow down after a few minutes I'll have to try to find out what happend.
(edit) I think the fuel flow was restricted some and hope I have that problem solved with a larger fuel line.
I like this engine.... plenty of power for unlimited loops, rolls, flying inverted, just easy fun flying.

Edit: I added more castor oil to the fuel to make it 20% and the 5x3 prop, and the engines runs perfect now! The problem was not fuel flow, it was overheating, now it runs cool. Also I'm using the 5x3 cox prop. it hauls!!!