I can't decide which plane to get. I'm not really interested in 3d capability, I just want a plane that looks and flys good. I have got it narrowed down to the DP edge and the GP wagstaff extra. Any advice would be appreciated. thanks

Owning both a GP Patty and a DP Ultimate, I'll give you my two cents worth.

Both airplanes cost the same (although the DP wound up costing over $800.00 after shipping and customs and I carried Patty on the airplane for free on Thanksgiving Day).

The Patty looks like a really quickly thrown together airplane with covering put into the right places and ironed on with little skill or attention to detail. I hope that it's flying characteristics will negate it's looks. I'm sure at 20', though, it will look great. Structurally, it seems strong (I had to re-glue a few places, but OK, not a big deal), but again, just sloppy building and ragged wood edges and seams on the inside. The overall fit of parts is OK. The hardware is all usable. Now, that said, Great Planes makes blue ribbons in customer service, so if that is important to you, factor that in. The best part is the cowl. Nicely finished and properly clearcoated. Bottom line thoughts: It is a Patty Extra just about 2 meters. At $400.00, I am not going to expect perfection. I hope it flies nicely. A plus (maybe, it must affect the quality) is that these are made in quantity, so everybody can get one.

The DP Ultimate (I am thinking the Edge is made in the same factory, that is why I am bothering to make this comparison) looks more like I would want my frame to look like. The wood joints are clean, well glued, good quality materials, and the Oracover finish beats the poo out of the Monokote finish on the Patty. I have not yet begun to assemble it, but I am not forseeing any difficulties. In short, it is the kind of work that I would claim had I built it. As far as customer service goes...well...pretty much a disappointment. Another negative (again, maybe, as it probably helps the quality) is the limited availability.

That's my opinion.

Mark

The Dave Patrick 330l is by far a better looking plane than the both of them and it flies great.

i have the DP Bipe and Extra and both of those are some outstanding flying birds....

www.krayzc.netfirms.com

dp bipe OS-160
extra brison 3.2

Are the GP's really that bad? What about all those posts on here from people who love them and say they are gorgeous? I was actually thinking about getting one. BTW.. I have a DP Ulty/Saito 180 and dearly love it.

i've seen the dp edge and extra in person and it looked very well built and had an excellent covering job and painted cowl, I think the dp extra and edge would both outfly the wagstaff.

Take this for what it's worth...Since I don't have the PW Extra.

I own the 60" Ultimate
Last year I bought the Extra 300L..

And both of these make me look like a much better flyer than I really am.....These are just awesome flying planes in my opinion. My comparison is the H9 Edge and a few smaller planes. The H9 and smaller planes are gooood flyers and probably a bit more solid and a bit more heavy but I prefer the DP. One caveat, the H9 edge does the best flat spin and blender I've been able to do.

Bottom line I think the construction, documentation, and flyability is very high and the construction continues to get better.

I just received my DP Edge 540 yesterday and can tell you that it appears lighter, better constructed (laser cutting), and just better than the past great models.

I certainly wouldn't continue to buy these planes if I didn't fully believe they are on there game.

so for what it's worth. Mike

Thanks for the info guys. It sounds like maybe the DP is a better plane. I've seen alot of complaints on here about the DP extra having a problem with aileron flutter. Is this really a problem or did those guys just overpower their plane and fly too fast? I like the looks of the Dp extra but I wasn't considering it because of the problems I've read about. What is the best engine for the extra? Is it really any lighter than the GP extra?

the dp extra has gone through about 2-4 revisions to fix some of that flutter, the newer ones come with the option for 2 aileron servos, but basically, dont fly at full throttle on downlines or even straight!

btw, check these videos out..
http://www.3dbatix.com/videos/dp330lfull.wmv
http://www.3dbatix.com/videos/dp330lfull2.wmv

dp extra with a moki i believe..

If you don't mind building a really nice kit you might also look at the 27% CA Extra 300L or for a little more money get the ARC. If you ask me it'll out fly both those planes and the DP Extra.

Kit.....$329
ARC.....$599

http://www.planesplus.com

I have owned a DP Ultimate and presently own a GP Extra. You couldn't give me anything DP for double the cost of my GP Extra. Very solidly built, flys like a dream with my MDS 2.18. I think all of the GP Extra guys are out flying their planes and might be a little busy having a blast. The Oracover on my Ultimate was just awful and loose. The monocote on my Extra was nowhere near as bad.

I have one of the first Extras and have not had flutter problems. I'm using metal geared Futaba s9303 servos on 6v NiCd. The Edge comes with Hinge points which is an improvement IMHO from the Ca type hinges on the Extra!

Just for fun look at the wing area of DP planes compaired to others. 1220 on the Extra and 1200 on the Edge at 12 -15 lbs. Should have a pretty wide flying envelope, don't ja think? Mike

I think the GP Extra has come a long way over the previous big ARFs that they have made to the point where it is a very good flyer. They have learned some lessons in the airfoil design that make it a more stable flyer at slower speeds.

I think it is a more solidly built plane for a gasser over the DP Extra, but is also heavier and the wing loading is higher as mrc100 mentioned.

I also think that although a great flyer, the GP Extra is not the 3D plane that the DP Extra is. In the right hands, just about any plane can hover and torque roll, but the DP Large planes redefine 3D for the average RC pilot. They fly bigger and perform better in this arena.

IMHO, if you want a plane to practice basic IMAC, or kick around with some great sport aerobatics the GP Extra is a nice plane to do it with. I think the DP Extra take you to another level without much effort.

As far as the covering, there's a million stories about loose covering, missed glue joints, etc for just about every plane out there. My DP Extra is flawless, but then again, so was my Modeltech Magic and I don't necessarly put them in the same league as DP and GP. I think you have to balance out the overall comments about the finish of the planes and think you will find that most owners of both really love their planes for what they give them.

Believe it or not.......everybody is not into 3D. I prefer big graceful aerobatics and planes that groove. The DP Extra hunts like a fun fly...it does not groove. The GP grooves....it definately is better set up for a gas engine....who wants to run glow at this size? I chose the GP.....I do love my DP Ultimate....it definately grooves!!

The DP Extra hunts like a fun fly...it does not groove. The GP grooves....

What are you talking about?


I think what you're trying to say is that you like a heavy plane.

can't wait to see these planes released, specs look good.

i have the 1st batch and no flutter problems and i have seen this plane fly full bore with no hint of this (ps this was from a flyer who had the 1st batch when there was never a talk of flutter...)

I think that would be a fair assesment of the GP Extra. It might even be a tiny bit better for basic IMAC as it is heavier with higher wing loading but still flys very well.

Although I enjoy 3D, my IMAC plane will probably not be a DP, I will go with another type for that.

havent made up my mind yet. I'l give the DP a chance though.

Hey now the DP Extra would make a perfect IMAC plane... Mine would do sweet rolling circles and roll as slow as you wanted it too. The big fat fuse is what helps the KE and rudder authority because when on it's side the fuse acts as the wing.

Another great IMAC plane is the Great Planes 33% 330L. It too is great for precision aerobatics and if you don't believe me come to the 2nd Internet Fly-In to witness it with your own eyes.

I haven't flown the DP but am thinking of puchasing one. I do, however, have the GP extra and it is truly a great IMAC plane for this size.

i have the DP Extra and a AeroWorks Edge. That DP Extra can do it all with that huge fuse i can fly a slower rolling circle/knife edge compared to the Edge. Both planes fly very well but i have flown them back to back lately because i am wanting to get into IMAC. I have over 270+ flights on the edge so i feel very confortable with that bird; however, with less that 30 flights on my xtra i will be using this bird as my primary bird if i do work it out that i can enter a contest this year....

That is one very strong bird!!!!!!! taking nothing away from the Edge.....

Both of them 3d very well the xtra excels in the rolling elevator, and rolling harrier, the edge will not drop a wing in any of the 3d as its not an easy plane to stall.

wreck man, went to that site...................I guess you are WRECKMAN! What happened?

LOL... you mean my DP Extra? I lost it on the 5th flight when a Hitec 5625 decided to hold position off center holding my left aileron up.

Actually I came up with the name WreckRman2 about 7-8 years ago when I was driving a tow truck. WreckRman was taken so I just added a 2 behind it and have stuck with it all these years.

What was the date on the Hitec 5625?

The dates were August 2001, I was using Futaba T6XAS radio with ATV set at 100% and the servos worked fine the first 4 flights. The only thing I did before the 5th flight was have the servos reset on the programmer like Hitec recommended. I was able to duplicate the problem 4-5 times on my bench but amazingly Hitec said they were unable to get it to fail therefor they seen nothing wrong with the servo. Due to my own findings and the lack of on Hitec's part I have decided not to use their servos until the real problem has been found. As you may know there are many cases out there just like my own with this servo.

I wish I would have video taped my own findings on the bench and sent that to Hitec also but I didn't think of it. Needless to say Hitec replaced the servos per my request and I sold them. It was the first and last time I used Hitec's.

Now I test fly all my new servos, regardless of brand, on a cheap airplane that I'm not afriad to loose. I recently showed up to fly a UCANDO with JR8411's and some guys thought I was nuts until I explained why I had those servos on it. The servos are for my 27% CA Extra 300L that I'm working on.