Obviously you either havent flown aerobatics much or you have never taken the time to set them up correctly. A properly set up Extra is one of the easiest airplanes to fly. If you doubt that then I suggest you download the current IMAC unlimited sequence and imagine trying to fly it with an airplane that is difficult to fly. The only difference between a trainer and this sort of airplane is that an Extra has no self righting tendencies, it will go where pointed but is very predictable and forgiving. The fact that an airplane will fly 3D at all is proof positive that it is no harder to fly then your average aileron trainer as long as it is correctly set up. As far as you wanting to make an airplane heavier, that is just plain rediculous except in the case of a sailplane where ballast is used for windy days for better penetration ( Higher potential energy equalls more kinetic energy ) but this is onlt because it dosent have an engine in front.


Ok weight REDUCTION............... From the nose back. Tade the MA prop for a Vess prop. Not only lighter but better thrust to boot. The engine mounting screws are excessive. Not only too long but can be reduced to 3mm. The mount to firewall screws are most likely the same. The end of the mount could be trimmed 6-8 mm. Sand the inside of the cowl with 150 grit paper, a good 15 grams could be taken out. If you want to use a spinner, us a Dubro unit with the lightened backplate. You cut a hole in the firewall between the mounting holes. It offers no strength and is dead weight. The engine will have better air available to it and will run better anyways. Replace the trottle linkage with a smaller tube and a 1.5mm CF rod. A mini servo for throttle would cut a good 20 grams too. Move the rudder servo as far back as you can get it. It can be mounted on a couple 6mm rails. Replace the steel pull pull cables with nylon coated kevlar. Move the fuel tank to where your rudder servo is now. This will give you the CG shift you need. Get rid of the foam around the tank, it's dead weight. Gas engines run at a lower frequency and you will not have a fuel foaming issue. Use a peice of 3mm ply and make lots of cut outs for a tank mount. A single peice of velcro slightly smaller then the tank and a couple velcro straps with secure the tank. If the tank is bigger then 500ml then replace it to a smaller one. That 20 dosen't need alot of fuel. Moving the fuel tank will require you to cut out the canopy floor, more weight savings. Replacing the landing gear and wing tube with CF units will be a big drop but also the most expensive. The stock gear can be lightened. Drill 18mm holes between the mounting screws and yes the mounting screws are too big, replace them with 3mm hardware. The end of the gear where the axles are can be rounded off. If you have 2 wheel collars on each axle replace the inside one with a nylon spacer and the outter one with an aluminum collar. World models have the aluminum collars in 4mm. A few of the screws in the tail look a bit long, replace them with shorter ones. The rudder horn is heavy, get a pair of nylon control horns and replace. Forget the LIFE batteries, get lipo. A 1300 mah for RX and 900mah for ignition. That should be plenty for your 5 flights. You don't have digital servos so power draw is down. No need for big servos. Team Losi makes a great little 6V regulator the weighs next to nothing and is rated at 10 amps. You could easily drop 20-30 grams out of the fuse by sanding excess material. The inside edge of formers for example. If any of the servo or power wires are longer then they need to be, shorten them. I'm sure there is more but this is what I get out of the pics. Hopefully some of these suggestions will help you find even more.