WALKERS210-RCU:

Thanks for the info. Pictures would be great! I've seen several people mention the belly pan being too short, so I made sure I checked that out on the one at the LHS and it seemed to fit perfectly. Maybe some kits are different than others. This one doesn't appear to have any clevises for the stab wires, though it does have the mounting posts and aluminum mount strap.

ckangaroo70:

Boy, you VectorFlight fans are persistant! I'm sure there's good reason for that and I appreciate the input. You make a lot of good points and I would like nothing better than to buy American. I'm still reading VF threads. One of the main things I like about the Seagull & Graupner kits is the hinging is already done. Since I've never done any hinging before, I like that idea. Which model do you have?

N1EDM:

Thanks for the reply. I think I checked them out before, but I'll look again.

I make alot of comments about various R/C Airplane products, but very seldom will I make product recommendations due to the fact that for every person that says a product is great, you can find one who thinks it is equally bad. In the case of VectorFlight, I think you will hunt pretty hard to find very many VectorFlight owners who thought their VectorFlight model was bad. Sure, everyone has comments about things they would change, or an opinion on improvements, but you won't find many who think they are terrible, except for the one guy who is unhappy about everything no matter what the product. I also did not want to insinuate that there was anything wrong with the Graupner or Seagull either. I have no experience with either of these Planes, and both may be just fantastic. I was just so impressed with my VectorFlight Edge 540, and have read many post about the VectorFlight Extra's that when I came across this post, I thought I would just pass on another option beings you are in the market for an extra. I do have an Extra 300 though. I built it from a Great Planes Kit. Its a nice Plane, I am happy with the way it turned out, but its just another GOOD Plane in my hangar. Where the VectorFlight is a GREAT Plane in my hangar. The red and white Plane below is my VF Edge 540 with Saito 100 and the other is my Red and Yellow GP Extra 300s which is waiting patiently for a new engine.

ckangaroo70:

You're so right about differing opinions. I laugh sometimes when I see one person who thinks a particular aspect of a product is the greatest thing in the world, and another person says that very same thing is the one thing they really don't like about it. Everybody likes different things. I guess it's like the old fable about the blind men describing an elephant. Each one "sees" it differently depending on what part of the elephant they are touching. I once researched an inkjet printer and one person said it was too noisy, while another said it was very quiet. I couldn't understand how this could be until I bought one of them. Both opinions were accurate. When it feeds paper it is very noisy, but when it prints it's extremely quiet. It's all a matter of what you're looking at and how you're looking at it. So, the more detailed someone's comments are, the more informative it is. Just saying it's the greatest or it's the worst could mean anything. If somebody says a plane does knife-edge very easily and it also lands like a trainer, I get a pretty good idea of it's flight characteristics. If I can see a copy of the assembly manual, I can get a very good idea of how difficult the assembly process is.

What you're telling me about the VF planes is exactly the kind of thing I come here for. I try to read as many comments on a product as I can and if I put in enough time doing that, I can usually get a pretty good idea of what might work or not work for me. It helps a great deal to make an informed decision on what to purchase and end up with something I'll be happy with.

So, if there's anything more you'd like to share about your VF Edge, like the assembly, flying characteristics or anything else, I'd sure be happy to hear it. On VF's web site, I like what they say about a wide flight envelope. I want a plane that flies well fast and slow. I know that can be hard to achieve, but I'm not looking to break any speed records, either. I also like what they say about easy assembly, but I'd like more details on exactly what that means to someone with good mechanical and troubleshooting skills, but no real building experience. If the instructions are good enough, I can assemble just about anything.

Your Edge looks really nice in the picture. Any more pictures?

I'd probably go with the 58" Extra if I chose a VF plane. I think the Extra may be the most forgiving of the 3 designs, but I'm still reading threads to try to learn more. Though I'd rather have a 66" wingspan, I have an issue with the length. My car presently holds a 46" long aircraft very well, but there's not a lot of room to spare. The 49.5" length of the 58" Extra might just fit, but the others I don't think will. At some point I will be getting a different vehicle and hopefully it won't put as much restriction on my plane choices, but for now that's what I have to live with.

Thanks again for your input.

You pretty much summed it up here! A point well made.

I have absolutely no affiliation with VF, except for the fact that I bought one of their Planes and love it. Magazine reviews, and Web Sites sponsored by R/C Manufactures can have biased reviews which is understandable seeings how the advertisers are keeping them in business. Manufacturers most surely have biased reviews of there own products for obvious reasons. Thats why there are forums like this where people can go to get reviews and opinions from people who really have no vested interest in what kind of opinions they give about about a product.

This is exactly what I like in a Plane also, and actually the VF edge is claimed to hold itself better at a little slower speeds than the VF extra. I don't own a VF extra, so I can't say that this is a fact. It is just some notes I have taken about both Planes from various post. I have had several Planes that are good at both fast and slow, but the Great Planes Super Sportster had to be the king in my hangar for this. Open the throttle and it would scoot around like a pylon racer, but slow it down, and it would put alot of Trainers to shame on how well it handled at slow speeds. Most your Sport Planes have to be flown in due to higher stall speeds, but the SS you could float it in for a greased landing everytime, which made an average pilot like me look pretty good.


Thanks for the compliment. Here are a few more photos. All these were taken indoors while I was putting it together. I need to get some of it outdoors whenever it gets descent enough for me to take it out the field. Running out of descent days though I am afraid. The decals on top of the cowl are my own in the photo above, and does not come on the stock Plane, just in case that is something you don't like about the looks.

Yea, you probally ought to make sure the Plane you get will fit in the car. Might have people asking you alot of questions seeing you driving down the road with an airplane strapped to the roof.lol Be a good way to test wing strength.

I have bought some real lemons in the past because I did not take the time to do homework. So when I buy something that is really top notch at a good price, I just like to pass the information along to others who are in the market for a similar product. This way we can all be in the happy post, and not in the sad or mad post. The best information I can give about VectorFlight is to vouch for everything they have said about their Plane on their site is true, and not just a bunch of tooting there own horn like alot of manufactures do. It was everything they said it was, and they did everything they said they would do. Good honest info goes a long way with me.

I ran across that too about the Edge being the best VF model at slow flight in reading some of the threads since my last post. Maybe I'll have to get one when I get a bigger vehicle.

Thanks for the tip on the GP SS. What were some of the other ones?

I would also like to say that the Vectorflight planes are great. I had the 66 inch extra and it was my favorite plane to fly. I flew it a couple days a week and had around 250+ flights on it when I lost it due to a bad RX battery. I have not replaced it yet as I have other projects stacked up in front of it. I will be getting another VF plane as soon as I have room for it in my hanger. This plane without a doubt was the best money I ever spent in the RC hobby. The price of this plane is way less than the quality that you get. These planes are outstanding fliers. I was using mine to practice the IMAC basic and sportsman routines and it would fly them outstanding. I had mine powered with a Thunder Tiger 91 4 stroke and it was plenty of engine for what I was doing. If you put a 91 2 stroke on it the power would be unlimited. When I build another one I will be installing a Super Tigre 90 2 stroke on it and it will have unlimited vertical performance. Don't count this plane out because of the wingloading numbers. They fly very good and handle great. They are also very easy to land and are built very solid and can take extreme flying. I was not trying to do any 3D so I cant tell you how they would do this but I can tell you that if you want to do aerobatics and just sport flying you will have to look a long time to find a plane as good as this one. The only thing that I didn't like was the wheel pants that come with it. Do yourself a favor and throw them away. Get some plastic ones from Sig and you will have some that last forever. The instructions that come with the kit are being improved so that will help in putting it together. If you have experience in putting ARF's together you will not have any problems. The hardware is all dubro and name brand stuff so you can use it all. Vectorflight has the best customer service on the planet. If you have any problems or questions at all they will take care of you. Listen to what everyone says about these planes they are not making it up. I was also a non-believer and did alot of research before I got mine. I finally said what the H*ll and took the plunge. Like I said before it was the best money I ever spent!!!! Here is a couple of pictures of my extra.

Rick

Nice plane! Thanks for the info.

I don't have any ARF building experience. That's why I'm considering the Graupner & Seagull models. They are extensively pre-built. If I could get some details on the build process of the VectorFlight models, I would consider them.

i have flown segull extra for about 10 months now on a sc61 will nearly prop hang (good enough for me) i did fit a 14 oz tank will fly for about 25 mins

the landing speeds are a little fast (short strip at my field)

it will do the book in the air

very good value for money

I just put in my order for the Seagull 300s, most likely will get a ST-90 2 stroke in it to. Been wanting an Extra for a while now..
Neil

I have an Extra 300 from Seagull as well. I had an Evolution .61 in it and it flew great, the only complaint i had was a warped elevator half other than that for the money i haven't found a better deal.

Flyboy76

I don't know if this is a problem in all these ARFs. My Seagull extra 300s had a big issue. The main wing was not balanced. I used the same servo and connecting rod setup on both sides of the main wing. The left side of the wing was heavier, could not figure out why? Checked everywhere nothing to be found in the main wing that would add weight to the left side. So sadly I was forced to add 15 grams of weight to the right side of the main wing just to balance it. I think this is why this plane likes to snap around itself when you try to use full elevator. Let me know if you guys have the same issue, do your main wings balance correct????

Thanks

Matt

I have a Graupner Extra 300 s 63" wing span and the manual that came with it is in German. Any one know where I can down load a manual that is in English?

I hope you got the manual by this time, in my the english sections is on the back