Is there a difference in flying characteristics between a Cap 232, an Extra, and a Giles? Are any known to be inherently better or worse at anything, like stability or certain maneuvers? Or are they all just aerobatic planes, with flying characteristics dictated by differences in the manufacturer's design of the model?

the diference with my giles is on knife edge i need about 10% positive elevator whereas my 3 extras need negative el on knife edge

the best plane out of that bunch is depending on what extras (300s,300l,330,330l,260, etc) if its a 330s or 330l, the extra is better but if you are going with the 300 or 260 i would say the Cap 232. Giles...i just do not like

the way as it was explaned to me in another thread,

Giles is a high speed plane, it realy excels in higher speed manuvers, like barrel rolls.

the edge tends to excels more so in slow speed manuavers, like pulling into a hover.

the cap has a higher stall tendendcy than most other planes on avrage, earning the nickname nap cap to some.

the extra is kinda in the middle. a all around stable aircraft.

theres alot more factors involved, weight, power, and different brands of plane are going to fly different.

i bought a quarter scale extra and i love it. no complaints so far.

I have had a Sukhoi, Extra, and Giles and while the Sukhoi seamed to fly better, low speed handling is better with the Extra. The Giles flew good but it had a lot of bad habits that I really didn't notice until I flew my Extra.

Caps, Sukois and Katanas are good tumblers for guys that like to 3D more than fly precision

Edges and Giles are better for precision and are not as good at 3D

Extras are a good balance of everything.

I high level contests Edges and Giles are very rare. You can fly precision with a 3D machine but not vice versa.

I have to disagree with you Adrian. The Edge is probably the best pure 3D aircraft out there. And I'll never understand why people feel it won't fly precision maneuvers. Bill Hemple won the IMAC NATS unlimited class several years in a row with an Edge 540. I agree with you on the Extra, I feel it is the best all around. Set up properly it will 3D as well as anything out there and is unmatched in precision flying. I honestly feel the Yak-54 is going to be the next big thing. It is a very neutral aircraft, requiring little if any corrective mixes, beautiful axial rolls, and it is a complete 3D animal.

What are some of the differences between the YAK and the Sukhoi.

I can't comment on flight differences, but assuming the differences in configuration have some sort of effect, then there should be some fligth characteristics that are different.

The Yak has a mid-mounted wing whereas the Sukhoi has a low mounted wing.

The horizontal stab on the Yak seems to be inline with the wing, whereas on the Sukhoi the horizontal stab is higher than the wing.

The fuse on the Yak seems to have more side area than the Sukhoi too, so you would expect knife edge to be better.

Also I think the Sukhoi has a slight taper on the leading edge of the wing whereas I think the Yak has a straight leading edge. This observation is incorrect. See post directly below.

Certainly would be interesting to hear from somebody that has flown both.

Mine was just an eyeball comparison of the two airframes!

Maverick, you are correct in your observations, except the Yak does have a tapered leading edge.

OK. I couldn't really tell about the taper on the Yak from the angle I was at.

Have you flown both airframes?

Any comments on flight characteristics?

I would assume from my observations that the Yak would be more neutral and have less 'bad' characteristics that would need to be dialed out.

One more thing. To me eye the Yak is much prettier!

I have flown both, though different sizes. 10 years or so ago I had a Goldberg Sukhoi and I absolutley loved it. More recently I got to fly Wayne Voyle's 37% Sukhoi and it was awesome. I didn't ask about his pitch mixes but the airplane didn't seem to have any bad tendencies. Of course it is hard to judge from just a few minutes on the sticks. I have several hundred flights on my prototype Yak-54 so I feel more qualified to speak on its characteristics. I'll try to do so without making any commercial plugs and getting in trouble with the moderators. When designing the 87" Yak-54 it was very easy to get the wing, stab and thrustline in line while staying within the 10% deviation parameters. I have no mixes whatsoever on this airplane. It is the closest I've seen to a "pure" aerobatic design. It also rolls incredibly axially and has incredible knife edge capabilities. I feel these are its advantages over the Sukhoi.

You sounds as someone who designs or sells the YAK. If so, can you tell me where I can see one?

This is a full scale example, but it will show you what it looks like:

http://www.yakuk.com/YAK54.htm

Sample Image from that site:

Here is a pic of the full scale prototype that Extreme Flight seems to have copied:

A few years back there was an air show (full scale), at our little airport, if you were a pitts fan you would have been in heaven there were 14 of them there and 1 christen eagle mixed in, 2 decathlons a giles and a yak 54. While all of the planes put on a heck of a show the young man came bopping out to the flight line with head phones on kinda dancing, made a couple of moves with his hands did a preflight and took the yak up and just put on the show of the weekend and won it. It seemed strange to me how natural the yak looked doing the routine, it didn't seem like he had to make the plane perform and was just along for the ride.

The colors are wild and I have been itching to get another Sukhoi looking plane since my CGB Sukhoi went in.