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.
