Hello:

For about five years now, I have had a Magnum .40 laying around in my parts bin. Recently I 've been looking for something inexpensive to put it in. I looked at the Model tech Extra .36. Does anyone know if that would be too much engine for that plane, and if the engine is too large to fit in the cowl? Also, can someone tell me the weight of that model? Also, can you use standard servos in it?

Thanks,
Garret H

Are you talking about the Model Tech Extra 330 .30 sized plane?

If so it will do fine.

I put an OS .46 LA engine into my Model Tech Extra 330 and it does just fine.

It's fairly good with a 10x6 or 10x7 prop.

The thing is a speedster though...

The cowl is quite large and you should have no problems, especially if you mount the engine at the 45 degree head down configuration they use as a default.

If I recall correctly the plane weights about 3.5 lbs and I used standard servos in it, but I MAY have used mini servos for the wings... It's been a while since I put mine together... it's still flying though...

Remember to re-inforce the gear blocks... and go for larger ( much larger ) wheels if you plan on flying off/onto grass.

Great, thanks for the info. My club's field has a 250 ft. asphalt runway, so that's no problem!

Global actually calls the one I'm looking at an Extra "300" not 330.

Here's the stock photo. Is that the same one you have?

Garret

Sorry... yes that's the one I have....

Putting together the pilot head was the hardest part...

Forgo this and cut off the head of some other figure and expoxy it in place instead.

It will save you a lot of grief... the plastic head tends to break off in hard flight.

There is only one aileron servo, correct?

Yeah...

If I recall correctly I did use a high torque mini servo for the ailerons.

The standard servo was too tall for the well.

So far, how do you rate the quality?

Well...

I disliked the plastic wheel pants, pilot, area under the canopy, oversized ( almost to the point of not fitting! ) plastic cowl, and wing roots.

These look a bit cheesy and cost more work than they needed to.

Once it's together it flies well.

In retrospect I wonder if I would have been better off with one of these... all would accept your engine.


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Do you think the CMP cap would be fine with a .40?

I've seen little good written on that one. It's supposed to be snappy and not too fun.
No experience with that one.

Haven't seen that one either.

Looks interesting, but haven't seen one up close and personal.

I've got the MT Extra. It's been a good plane. I've flown it with an OS .25F ABC and a Webra .32. Both did quite well although with the Webra it's significantly faster and has much more vertical. Hits are that it flies well, although with the thin wing, landing speed needs to be high, and it looks pretty good. Misses are that the covering tends to lift at the seams, the landing gear blocks are weak, and the plastic filler under the wing was a pain in the butt to fasten right.

If I did it over again... ( who knows after a Crash? )...

I'd do the Dazzler...

I've flown it in the sim and it's a lot of fun.

Okay, thanks. I've decided against the MT extra.

Now I'm looking at another one: http://www.nitroplanes.com/newyak543dfu.html Do you think my .40 two-stroke would be too much for this little guy? Also, does this one look a little squirrelly?: http://www.nitroplanes.com/newcmpla3650.html I used to have the GP Super Sportster, and I loved it. I would like to have another one, but don't feel like spending $150 on it.

Garret H

The magnum will do OK in the Lancair. That plane is pretty smooth skinned so the .40 should pull it w/o problems.

The Yak on the other hand is too lightly built as it was designed for smaller electrics and small glows.

Of the alternate models that you offered, I liked the Nitro Models CAP-232/25 the best. Then again, I always prefer CAP planes to Extras.

That Global Tequila 25 model has the ugliest trim scheme I've ever seen. That alone would prevent me from owning one.


Ed Cregger

Okay, how 'bout this one: http://www.nitroplanes.com/yak523d5056n.html This is the next setp up for the YAK. Would my .40 not be enough for this one? Remember: I'm in Colorado -- high altitude!

I'd not do that...

There is a minor ( but correctable ) problem with the tail on that model... and it is more highly loaded.

A larger engine would be in order for that plane, since it's specifically a 3D machine.

So what you're saying is, that yak needs a little more power, correct? Also, what exactly is the "tail issue?"

Thanks,
Garret

Okay, so I don't understand something here: the extra that nitroplanes.com sells has the same wingspan as the yak, but weighs 6.2 lbs. They recommend a .40 - .46 though???? Is it because of the blunt nose on the yak???

Garret

Re: Blunt nose...

Yeah the Yak slows pretty quickly and as a 3D plane you usually want more power than say the Lancair.

Re: Tail issue.

The tail planes will rip off in high speed flight at high deflection when you abruptly change the stab angle.

If you see the advertizement they even state that they have reinforced the tail...

However you'll find a couple of posts about this in the NP support forum.... they didn't strengthen the stabilizer cross member by switching to hardwood.

This can be fixed by opening the stab before installing it, and replacing the cross member ( where the CA hinges go into ) with hard wood.

I had a 3D Passion with exactly the same problem.

I don't know if you can solve this by poking a bunch of pin holes on the cross member, top and bottom then wicking in thin CA.

This may work as well.


I've often done this on planes to harden certain areas.

Okay, I do not fly 3d, I generally fly pattern, more of IMAC maneuvers. Would the .40 still not be sufficient? Also, would not flying hard 3d solve the tail issue?

Thanks for all your help.

If you fly pattern then why get a Yak?

The Yak is really oriented towards 3D...

But given what you said it should do fine.

Re: Tail issue

There is one post on the NP forum where the pilot states that he was flying very conservatively when this happened.



I saw EXACTLY the same thing with my 3D Passion so I assume that he is correct...

I was doing a gentle loop when I saw my elevator turn into a ship's rudder...

I thought I was going to loose the plane... but I was able to get it down, since the other stab was still attached correctly.

I fixed this, went out the following week and had exactly the same problem on the other side!

I got it down again, and this time pulled off the stab covering and replaced the cross member with a hardwood one I made up myself.

I recovered the stab and haven't had a problem since.


I don't have that particular Yak ( I have the Fiberglass CMP 1.40 sized one instead... ).

The 3D Passion and the Yak 50 seem to be the only two planes with this problem so far.


If you do purchase the Yak I'd recommend that you at least use the pinhole/ca fix.

You could also make a few small holes along the hinge line and wick CA into them, avoiding the areas where you will put on the CA hinges.

Or you could put the holes in, put the hinges in, install the stab on the plane, and wick CA in all along the hinge area to strengthen it...

What I saw in the Passion and echoed by the guy with the Yak 50, is that the hinges rip out OUTSIDE of the area where the CA wicked into.

E.G. there is a lot of stress on the hinges, and not enough support...



Another solution of course is just to add more hinges!

I believe only two are used. If you cut down some CA hinge material you can probably fit 4 or 5 small ones along the stab.

That too will solve the problem.

I have a GP U-can-do .46. Great Planes does not recommend putting anything bigger than a .72 four-stroke on it. When I bought mine, there was a tech notice that said not to fly the U-Can-Do at over (something like half-throttle) up at more than a 10 degree angle if you have more than a .72. They claimed that the tail would ALSO break. Well......I have a .91 4-stroke in mine, and 200 flights later, it's stil in one piece, and I always fly full-throttle straight up. I added "fly wires" between my horizontal stab and the fuse using some 4-40 rod. Do you think that would be enough support the yak's stab.


Thanks,
Garret

p.s. To tell you the truth, I like that yak because my brother has the Aeroworks 50cc in that same paint scheme. My club has a big event coming up on the 4th of July at a closed/soon-to-be-demolished full-scale airport. We're looking to do a demo with the big version and small version.

Re: Stab

The problem is not so much the stiffness of the stab ( I do this as well with all of my planes too... ) but rather the material into which the CA hinges goes into is too soft. The CA hinge holds just fine, but the surrounding ( unwicked ) material tends to pull out.

I'd suggest that you just add another smaller CA hinge or two to solve the problem.

Adding the support would be a nice option too.

Thanks for your help and advice, I appreciate it very much. I will definitely reinforce that.

Garret