critterhunter

Last year I got into this sport by buying a Challenger and never regreted it. This spring I picked up a Stryker and, while I still love the Challenger, the Stryker is pure sports car fun. Anyway, I wanted a third plane that I could mount my Aiptek 5100M digital camcorder on. This camera is real light (I think the two AAs it takes weighs more than it). Although it's small (about twice the size of a pack of smokes or less), I was worried about it disturbing air flow and wanted a plane that I could be confident could carry it. So, I went out and bought an Extreme a few weeks ago.

Rather than buying the complete kit, I decided to part the plane together and save money. It will work fine in both flight modes with the Challenger's TX. Since I already had a Pirahna Digital Peak Carger, I didn't need to pick up the Extreme's charger (which only goes up to 1.8 amps anyway and would take a month of Sundays to charge a pack).

So, here's the price breakdown...Body with electronics on same channel as Challenger TX $54, Wing $20, Prop $3, V Tail Bracket $3, Wing Rubberbands $1. The body already comes with the canopy, rubbernose gaurd, motor, and wing pegs so no need to buy them seperate. We make our own tails for the Challenger and Extreme using corrugated plastic (works REAL good by the way and saves you $$), so that saved me $15 for the tail. The tail horns are the same used on the Challenger so I had tons laying around. Although, I plan to replace them with aftermarket horns real soon as they are known to fold over. May even go to control rods as others have done on the Extreme to take out even more slop in the flaps. Oh, and if you want to fly and land on cement the landing gear is like $5.

Batteries...I wanted GOBS of flight time so I went to batteryspace.com and picked up two 10 cell packs of the Powerizer 3300 Sub Cs for $50 total. They already come with solder tabs and button insulators so all you have to do is solder and shrink wrap them. All said I have roughly just over $130 for a complete Extreme and 3 high performance flight packs (one 6 cell and two 7 cell packs).

Now, onto the review...I took her up for the first time yesterday. These newly made flight packs only had the first slow charge on them at .3 amps to balance the cells. Usualy a slow charge doesn't give you the horsepower of a normal 3 amp charge rate and nimhs tend to get better after the first 5 to 10 charges. Regardless, she had tons of power using either the 6 or 7 cell packs! I've read that some others think this plane is underpowered but I believe much of this is a matter of perception. If you fly a Challenger or other smaller plane it may be moving slower but it looks faster in the sky compared to something bigger like the Extreme.

This plane will loop all day long, will nose dive at full throttle at blazing speed, and handles wind with much more authority than other planes. Heck, I even had it doing inverted flight for several seconds at a time and I'm sure this will get longer as I learn to fly that way (still have trouble with it even on the Stryker). From what I've read you can also increase the tail flap size (by gluing on extensions or cutting out a bigger tail from corugated plastic) and inverted becomes much easier. You can also use a heavier rubberband on the tail or switch to control rods to eliminate slop.

I used a carbon rod (out of a Stryker) and glued it across the tail from almost tip to tip just over the flap line (tail now looks like a "V" with a line across the top open end of it). I do this with the Challenger as well and besides keeping the tail from creasing on bad landings, it also keeps it from flexing as you pull G's, making turns and tricks much more sharper.

I also did the zip tie motor mod to keep it from moving as also done on the Challenger. However, I went with two HEAVY zip ties around the back of the motor at top and bottom and through the vent hole in front of it. I also plan to zip tie the circuit board as I did with the Challenger (Search for "Bullet Proof That Bird!" in this forum for further mods that apply to both birds). The tail boom zip tie and the styraphoam battery mods come next, but I wanted to make sure she was fine in the sky before drilling into her. As do the Velcro battery mod and a heavy rubberband or two over the canopy for further protection. This plane can take as much punishment (I've seen what my buddy has done to his) as the Challenger PROVIDED you mod it out properly. And the wing? Forget about it, with the carbon rod it comes with the thing is tough as nails. Holes, rips, etc...No problem, a little clear tape over the damage and off she goes.

Anyway, back to the review. I love this plane already. It's going to make a very stable platform for my camera. It glides forever with the motor off and is much less quirky to input and wind than the Challenger. Obviously it's also much easier to see at far distances. Landing and launching, despite what others have said, is easy as pie with plenty of control so long as you have an experienced hand. In fact, on my second flight last night I landed it soft as a pillow with a gentle skid (no gear on) right to my feet. A better landing than I've ever done with the Challenger or Stryker, though they are both just as capable at this good of a landing.

These flight packs are outrageous! Though it was only on it's first flight with these packs they gave me probably 30 to 45 minutes and I was at full throttle I'd say 98% of the time doing loops and such. Best part is that the second charge I put on these packs when I got home last night added more voltage peak AND milliamps to the packs (one increased by roughly 500ma from around 3300ma to over 3800ma). This means more flight time and horsepower is yet to come! And yes, I did do a true peak of these packs as I watched them closely and at the 3m/v peak setting they stopped right on time, just as the voltage began to drop, so I know I wasn't over charging and getting a false MA number. The voltage peak on the packs also increased a bit which means more power. Can't wait to try them out again tonight.

In summary, if you want a plane that can handle wind, do some pretty good aerobatics, haul a good bit of extra weight into the sky like cameras or modules, and has the potential for very long flight times even at full throttle this is the plane for you. It even passes it's self off as a glider when you kill the throttle thanks to it's huge wing. I bet I could ride thermals all day long without landing and a little assistance from the motor here and there. As a matter of fact, the first flight times were so long with it that I found myself a good chair and relaxed while I flew it. Can't get much more lazy than that. Can't wait to take the camera up on her.