flat-spin-lover

i ve seen alot of extra plane kits that have a lot of extra letters behind them ,are in front,,but when i look at the pic and the spec's they look the same.
example
ex330
300L
300LX
330x
ETC,ETC

CAN SOMEONE SHED SOME THOUGHT ON THIS

AV8TOR

My Feedback: (2)

Take a look at the latest AMA magazine. They just started a giant scale construction article and he describes the numbering and lettering definitions.

Rossan

The chronology of Walter Extras aerobatic designs went like this:-

His first own designed Mono-plane was the Extra 230, a mid wing inspired by the Laser. It had a wooden wing and a 360cu.in, 230hp engine

He next built the Extra 260 which had a composite mid wing and a 540cu. in, 260hp engine. A small number were built, and it was in this type that Patty Wagstaff won her US National Championships. (She won three)

I believe there was a one-off interim single seater that was not a big success, but his next production aircraft was the Extra 300, which was a two seat, mid-winged 300hp design. (I used to own one!)

Next came the 300S, a single seater, slightly smaller than the 300, with a low wing. These were and are highley successful in Unlimited competition, though no-one has ever won a world championship in one (Patty came close, scoreing the highest raw score in Oklahoma in 1996)

The low wing was very successful as it greatly improved the pilots visibility during landing, so was incorporated into subsequent two seat aircraft, these then designated the 300L.

There was then a small number of 300S aircraft produced and modified with larger rudder and elevators, and a strenghtened rear fuselage. These are designated as the 300SX. Some of these were fitted with Lycoming IO 580 330hp engines. These were sometime refered to as Extra 330s, but I believe that has never been a factory designation. Walter had a prototype 300L with the 330 motor, but to the best of my knowledge, this was never produced for sale.

I saw at one stage the Northern Lights aerobatic team advertising their Extra 300s for sale as they were replacing them with "The new Extra 330LX", I assume a 300L with the big tail and the 580, but I don't think this ever transpired.

The last factory produced Aerobatic model has been the Extra 200. Basically a 300s fitted with two seats and a 200hp, 360 cu.in engine, meant as a lower cost sport/aerobatic trainer aircraft.

Walter is now developing two non aerobatic aircraft, the Extra 400 and 500, both pressurised, six seaters, one with a turbo charged piston engine and one with a turbo prop.

In terms of models, if they are true to scale a 300 would be a mid-wing, a 300L a low wing, a 300S a low wing with slightly shorte coupling, and a 300SX would have larger surfaces.

For my money, the best modeling subjest would be the 260, as it would have a mid-wing and short coupling. Calling a model a 330 is a crock, as the number is refering to a larger engine in an identical airframe. As we pick our own engines, the diference beetween a model 300 and a model 330 is zilch.

If I've got any of this wrong, please fell free to let me know.

mups53

My Feedback: (41)

Wow thats pretty detailed Rossan.
The article on building a 35% Extra in MA is excellent! I'm building a 31% CA Extra 300L and its a big help at this time. Mike

Ryan Smith

My Feedback: (25)

Great explanation Rossan.

The 300L came before the S, hence the designation L (well, it was the first low wing that they made). Also, Extra made a couple 260's, but they were very limited. I agree with you also that the 260 is the best Extra for modeling. That 42% TBM 260 sure does look nice...

flat-spin-lover, I can dig up basic specs (wingspan, length, weight, and engine) on all of the Extras if you would like.

quist

My Feedback: (198)

The last time I was on the Extra web site, they made reference to a 330.

Ryan Smith

My Feedback: (25)

Quist,

I believe that they made a factory 330, it was an 'L' version and it had the larger rudder and elevators. I have a picture of it somewhere, I'll see if I can find it.

da king

My Feedback: (5)

Thanks for the info. It will help in building my new 300. What is the web address for the extra site? Thanks

v-snap

My Feedback: (18)

Nope he was right. The 300s was prior to the 300L.

Ryan Smith

My Feedback: (25)

Well now that I looked at his post, he used to own an Extra, so I guess he would know. Thanks v-snap.

Rossan

That deosn't make me ifallable Acroman!! I've been wrong before and surely will be again!!

I believe I was right about the S being first, but had to check on the Extra web site

http://www.extraflugzeugbau.com

Not much on his Aerobatic aircraft, he's more interested in the six seaters these days.

I did some web-trawling and found that the Northern Lights DID do a season in some form of 300L. I would guess that they were 300LX, having the larger controls but the 540cu.in engine. There were some reliability issues with the 580, and I think a lot of customers opted to stay with the 540. Modified by a specialist shop, the 540 puts out 330hp or more any way.

I believe Patty Wagstaffs current Aircraft, the red one World Models has an 80inch version of, is a 300SX.

Ryan Smith

My Feedback: (25)

Don't you have to take the engine out of registry or something like that and put the airplane in th Experimental category if you sent your engine to Monty Barret or Dick Demars?

Rossan

Yes you do Ryan.

Most top level Airshow and competition pilots do just that.

OUTCAST

Any modification to any aircraft that isn't factory certified or STC'd will move it to the Experimental category. It will still need to be signed off by an A&I or A&P before it can be flown, and depending on what was done it may have flight restrictions. If however you build the plane yourself YOU can sign off the work and all maintenance.

da king

My Feedback: (5)

Ok now im lost. I went to the extra site and they have a pic of a single seat low wing 300 and the tag on the pic says 300L. I though the L was a two seater and the S was a single. How do you tell all these planes apart??????????
From what i gather.....Im building a gp 300s and im putting bigger tail feathers on it and that would make it a 300sx or 300xs....right????