HitecMan

My Feedback: (43)

Would this be a good combo. Magnum Xls 28, HS 81 MG, electron 6. Will the 81's do it or do i need more? will the 28n carry it?

AllTheGoodNamesAreTaken

My Feedback: (180)

I think you have a good combo there for engine and reciever. Personally I used the HS225BB Mighty Mini's in mine. Although I use the HS81's in my .25 size Texan, I have some unwarranted and unsubstanciated reservations for the HS81's on a highly aerobatic plane like the Extra. I know those little guys put out some decent torque, but the gears are so small. I'm just using the better safe than sorry judgement call.
BTW, you will love the plane. It is fast and highly aerobatic with a great color scheme. I had an old OS .25 FSR ABC with a pitts muffer.
FYI
HS81MG($23.99) - Length: 29.8mm Width: 12mm Height: 29.6mm 1.17" x 0.47" x 1.16"
Transit: 0.11sec/60 deg 4.8V
Torque @ 4.8V: 2.6 kg-cm, 36.1 oz-in
Weight: 19g 0.67oz.

HS225BB ($20.99)-SPECIFICATIONS: Length- 32.4mm 1.3" Width - 16.8mm 0.7" Height- 30.8mm 1.2"
Speed - 0.14 sec/60 deg.
Torque- 3.9 kg-cm 56.4 oz-in
Weight- 27g 0.95 oz.

There is plenty of space in the Extra for Standard Servos so the only gain you are getting from the HS81MG's is 1 oz for 4 servos. at the cost of 20oz-in of torque. Plus the HS225's would be $12 cheaper.

vertigo72480

I've got the Extra with the Magnum .28 in it. It .28 pulls the plane around just fine. I use a MAS 9x8 prop on it and have great speed and climb ability. I am however considering putting an OS .32 on it just for kicks. I'll put the .28 back in my .25 Global Tequila Sunrise. It's a blast to fly.

I used full size Futaba s3004 servos in mine and have had no problems. I agree with AllTheGoodNamesAreTaken, the HS-81s seem a little conservative, if not just undersized.

Question, has anyone else had a problem with the vacuum formed parts washing out and shrinking in the sun? My bellypan, fuselage top, and canopy all have shrunk.

HitecMan

My Feedback: (43)

Well whats the weight diffrence in the mighty minis and HS 311's. The 311 are standard and only 8.99. Will this thing hove with a XLS 28?

HitecMan

My Feedback: (43)

So i just looked on tower. and the 311 are 1.5 ounces, so is this going to be a big diffrence in the air, i dont want my plane to be a dog. See hobby people sells the Plane, Prop, Fuel tubbing, Plug for $167. is this a good deal? See i just bought and flew a Mini magic extra with a OS 25 FX and love it. So i guess i migh need to add another .25 to the hanger.

SEE GUYS THIS IS WHAT HAS ME SO WORKED UP ON THIS MODEL. BOUT TO PUT ON ON ORDER.
Combo Contents

1 pc. Modeltech Extra 300 25-36 ARF w/Monokote
1 pc. Magnum XL 28A RNV Engine
1 pc. Thunderbolt Glow Plug - R/C Long Thunderbolt
1 pc. Global Fuel Tubing (3 Ft) Red Medium Silicone
1 pc. Windsor 9 x 5 Master Airscrew Propeller

Now Only: $167.33
Price if purchased separately: $179.75
(You save $12.42!)

ANY BUILDING TIPS?

ryan_m

I *just* finished mine. Finished it last night... have yet to fly it in fact. I used HS-81's in mine all around... 5 servos. 2 HS-81's will squeeze in just barely in the wing servo mount hole...which will let you do flaperons on it. Hoping this will help slow it down for landing. I should be flying it tomorrow morning or maybe sunday, not sure which just yet.

I will say one thing.... throw out the stock pushrods. They are complete crap...especially the throttle linkage, it goes through a couple of twists and is very stiff, I doubt a servo would last long pushing the stock pushrods through it. I used a cable in the throttle linkage, just soldered the ends about 2-3 inches on each side to keep the cable from flexing after exiting the guide tube. Works great now. The rudder and elevator pushrods are pretty straight runs, but were also pretty hard to slide the pushrods in, I replaced the factory inner part with a sullivan pushrod of the same size and they work great now too. No complaints with building it, goes together pretty good. Took me maybe 20 hours or so to finish. I put an OS .25 fx in mine, balanced nicely with the batter and receiver just under where the pilot is.

On mine the instructions said to mount the tank square with the former, but I couldn't do this. The motor is mounted at a -45 degree angle, and there are pieces of wood behind the firewall for motor mount reinforcement - mounted at the same -45 degree angle. This makes the tank need to be mounted the same way if you want the tank opening to snug up into the firewall. So my tank went in straight, and then sort twists into place to line up with the wood reinforcers on the firewall. (you'll see what I mean) It's easy to do, but the problem is that the tank then interferes with the wing. I had to sortof smash the rear corner of the tank down a bit with my hands to get the wing to fit nicely. No big deal now that it's in, but maybe a tank with a different shape would work a bit better? Or a softer tank like a Sullivan RST might work real nicely. Or just smash it like I did!! otherwise just follow the instructions and all is well, it's easy to build.

The metal bolts for the wing make me a bit nervous in case I manage to crash... anybody replaced these with nylon ones?
How about the landing gear? I left both of mine metal, but am thinking of changing them out very soon...

HitecMan

My Feedback: (43)

What size is the tank. Ill change mine to a sullivan flex tank. I love the flex tank.

HitecMan

My Feedback: (43)

Does anyone have a video of this plane?

ryan_m

I don't know what size the tank is... I don't think it's labeled... maybe about 8 oz would be my guess.

HitecMan

My Feedback: (43)

If im looking for about a 10 min flight what size tank should i go with for my XLS 28.

Sturtz

My Feedback: (20)

Remove all that plastic off the plane , sheet and cover. You'll reduce the weight several ounces. The plastic is all hot glued on and will come off easy with a hot knife.
Mine has the OS.25FX w/3004 Futabas except the throttle which is a Futaba Hi-torque mini.
Flys a lot better after removing all the heavy plastic .

Had one with an OS .40 in it until the vibration shook the battery compartment loose which fell down on the aileron servo during a sharp turn. Just kept turning .

HitecMan

My Feedback: (43)

I feel dumb for asking but what plastic do you speak of. Will the 311 standards be too heavy with a 81 on throttle.

ryan_m

The plastic is basically the whole top of the airplane. From the rudder forward where the fuselage is pretty rounded it is a formed plastic piece. There is another piece in the cockpit area forming the dash and pilot stuff, and that pice extends all the way forward to the firewall. On the sides the plastic stops just after the top of the plane, the sides are wood as is the bottom.

I will be maiden flighting mine today and breaking in my engine so I should have some runtime numbers for how long it will run with the stock tank on it. I'll post them back up when I get back this afternoon...

quite a few people have put standard servos in their extra, I only chose the hs-81's as I was hoping to get a little bit lighter for some better vertical performance. I have no idea how much motor it will take for unlimited vertical on this thing... my little .25 fx probably won't do it. I have an APC 9x5 prop for it, we'll see how that does today.

by the way hitecman, if you want the manual for this thing before you buy the plane you can see it here: http://media.hobbypeople.net/manual/123672.pdf
You asked about the fuel tank size, it's 190cc or just under 6.5 ounces

vertigo72480

Ok, a few things from a veteran Modeltech Extra pilot. Mine has over 100 flights on it.
1) With a Magnum .28 in the front end, I get a flight time of about a half hour, at full throttle!
2) The tank is probably 8 oz. I have yet to fly it dry.
3) This plane will slow down to just about a crawl, so flaperons aren't really necessary.
4) I fly mine with an APC 9x8 on it and it won't hover.
5) Flat spins are out of the question, just not enough weight in the rear of the plane. and really hard to squeeze the battery into the back.
6) I used 4 full size Futaba s3004 servos and the plane is not a pig. It's actually pretty fast, but not blindingly fast. You want blinding, get the Global .25 Tequila Sunrise and put the Magnum .28 in it.
7) I plan on pulling off the vacuum formed plastic at some point in time because it washes out and shrinks in the heat. I'm looking for any good suggestions from anybody who has done this.
8) The single servo for the torque rods in the wing does not allow for much throw and slow roll rates are a result. I am going to rework the wing this winter to put dual ailerons in. See above for a pictorial description of the project.
9) The steel wing bolts are fine. Get rid of the screws and replace with socket head cap screws.(Screws with the cylindrical caps that require an Allen key to drive.) You will strip out regular phillips or slotted screws. I actually dorked mine into the ground wing first and the only thing I had to do was reglue the screw plate.
10) My fuel tank is rectangular with molded in recessed bands that go all the way around it. It doesn't not actually fit into the tank housing fully. When I installed it, I used the battery and a Great Planes switch plate to wedge the fuel tank into place. The battery is held into place strictly by friction and is overlapped by the switch jack. I have had no problems with the battery moving. NONE.
11) This plane is a snap roll monster! Jam the sticks together and watch it tumble! Also, too much elevator and it will snap out. Be warned!
12) Ryan_M is correct the throttle pushrod route sucks, especially with the push rod that is supplied. I tossed the factory pushrod in favor of a lighter weight, more flexible rod. Again, no problems with that setup either.
13) I have replaced the factory motormount standoff. In the first dozen flights, mine came out of the dovetail mounts twice! I discovered that the glue joints were insignificant and the plys were actually separating.. My third, and so far final mount is covered in 1 hour epoxy, in the dovetails and the external butt joints. Not only is it epoxied, but there are one inch long socket head cap screws holding the plys together.

I love my Extra and it has made me want an even bigger one!
Enjoy the plane!

FBodyexpert

I'm building the same plane at the moment, and although the construction is relatively simple, I've run into some problems.....First of all, inorder to mount the vertical stab 90 deg to the horizontal stab it didn't line up at the bottom with the rear of the fuselage, about an 1/8 inch to the right. Will this cause a serious problem that a bit of trim can't fix? The second problem is this....I decided to push the boundries a little by fitting my new baby with an OS 40LA as opposed to the recommended .25-.36, in which the stock mounts didn't work for. So I replaced them with a Dave Brown Mount .40-.45 FS/DF that I modified to get the correct firewall to spinner distance. Everything worked out fine except that from pilots view, the engine seems to be pitched down 1.5-2 deg and to the right 1.5-2 deg. Is this intended to counter-balance the engine's torque or did I screw up? Any insight is appreciated!