I WANT TO PURCHASE A MAGIC EXTRA , ALL I HAVE FOR AN ENGINE RIGHT NOW IS A TT42GP, WILL THIS WORK OK , WILL IT HOVER WITH THIS ENGINE AND WHAT PROP SHOULD I USE?ANY GOOD OR BAD POINTS I SHOULD KNOW ABOUT THIS PLANE? ANY INFO WOULD GREATLY BE APPRECIATED

It will fly the plane.Don't think it will hang on the prop! Putting a Mack's pipe on it will help.

11x4 APC fun fly. If set up right will do about anything,but unlimited vert.

I have a Magic Extra with an OS 50 SX which is a relatively new engine with the same footprint as an OS 46. It has very good vertical and will hover with the right pilot (not me). The TT will fly it fine but I don't know about hovering. But the main reason I responded to this thread is to let you know that the Magic Extra is a very poor kit in my opinion and only average or below in flight characteristics. Most of my airplanes are larger but I like to keep a 40 size plane for quick trips to the field. I have flown this one since Christmas and will be abandoning it as soon as my 40 size U-Can-Do-3D arrives.

I received one of the earlier kits and maybe that was the problem; i.e. maybe they have worked out some of the many problems I had with the kit. The major problems were: 1) instructions didn't match the pieces, 2) firewall drilled incorrectly for the engine mount, 3) wing cradle cutout didn't match contour of wing....required major rework, 4) poor elevator pushrod design, 5) all pushrod exit holes were in the wrong place, 6) severely warped ailerons, 7) covering is an unknown product and although it looks fairly good, it is coming off as the plane ages, 8) very tail heavy even with 50 size engine and battery as far forward as possible.

Bottom line is that there are plenty of 40 sized airplanes without these problems.

SpecMan is right on the money on his evaluation. I wish I'd never bought mine. I was gonna' put my 50SX on it but, decided to save it for a better plane.

I just got mine together and had none of the problems mentioned except for the engine mount holes being slightly off. I just made do and forced the bolts home. Mine didn't fly quite as expected. I thought it would snap roll and spin better than it does. It is not much of a concern, however, I bought it just to practice hovering. I need to put high torque servos on the ailerons as the huge control surface is stalling out my standards. It rolls beter at slow speed than it does high speed because of this. I'm using the new Magnum .52 2-stoke and man what a sweet engine. The Magic hovers at 3/8 throttle with a apc 12.25x3.75 and balanced perfectly. The elevator pushrods could also use a little work but all in all, I'm pleased with the plane. Climbs out like a homesick angel.

As the above threads mention the Magic Extra is a poorly built plane, anything you hear about workmanship is true. But it is the perfect windy weather plane. I have flown it in everything up to a 30 mph wind. So when everybody say's it's too windy to fly drag out the Magic Extra and have fun. It is truely a $99.00 disposible airplane.

I am using an Irvine .53 for power but have not flown it yet. The only problem I had was with the engine mount blind nuts. Could not get the cap screws to thread into the nuts. Took it back to the LHS and the owner popped the blind nuts out and replaced them with 4-40's. Took care of the problem. I am hoping to fly mine this weekend - depending on the weather (rain??).

HOOTER: Thanks for the info on the wind!! Lately we have been having 15-25mph so now maybe I have a bird that I don't have to fight so much on these days.


Dan

dant, I've flown HOOTER's M-E. It flys fine in the wind. That is the plus. It's just a bad quality ARF. Disposable. HOOTER and I have even thought of doing combat with 'em! That might be fun...

Looking for feedback from anyone with experience with the V-MAR arf's which are built in Viet Nam. The price seems great but if the quality is poor, it's no bargain. I want to buy a Discovery 40 for a club trainer to introduce prospective members to R/C. Are these arfs a good value.
Help me if you can.
Thanks,
RP

The quality varies. If you buy it at LHS, you can spec it out a little better before shelling out your cash. I got mine at LHS, and it was pretty good overall. A few minor correction needed, but no trainwrecks.

AMEN

did any of you try calling the manufacturer about your problems, or did you live with them? A friend of mine just got an early one, according to Magic. He had problems and they are sending him a new kit. sounds like a good kit to me, if not just for the service.

Msphon, I apparently got an early version too, and had problems, and bashed them on the product review at the end of the manual......although I did receive a letter back within a week, all that it said was "we're sorry you had problems..........all of the issues have been worked out in later production runs".....no freebie though!!

I think the build quality of the plane is very nice.....I basically had the same problems as others have mentioned, but it's built solid. I don't regret getting it at all....it's a lot of fun. As Sawyer said, I thought mine would snap better......but after about 8 flights I increased the rudder throw about 1/2" inch more than the manual recommends for the high rate, and it helped the snaps and spins. I didn't have any problems with mine being tail heavy.....I suspected it would be, so I mounted the engine slightly forward of where they recommended. It balanced right at the rear of the recommended CG range with no additonal weight.

Mike

NOW you tell me the magic extra is a bum! Just got one and so far have had no problems with construction. BTW, how did you guys fasten the rear (servo) hatch? I can't find any info int he instructyion manual, and thought I'd "glue" it on with clear MK.
howell

gwinhh....don't worry, you love it! I put my rear hatch on with 2 screws....one in the front and one in the back.

Hi guys,

I just got me one of these planes. I do not know the CG location. I would also like to know if somebody has been experimenting on how far back the CG can go and the results.

Any input will be greatly appreciated.



Thanks

I now own two Magic extra 300's. The first one I have worn the covering off of it by flying it so much!!!!

The second one came on a trade that involved Spad's
(I am sure we do not want to open that can of worms here)

Needless to say neither one is flying right now, other planes in front of it!!

But back to your question, to have the most fun with a Magic extra 300 it needs to be a little bit tail heavy, the more the better but not until you get used to it.

I actually flew a Magic extra 300 this afternoon, with one of my fellow club members that was bad nose heavy (in my opinion) but was perfect on CG. So if this is your first Magic extra 300 set it up according to the CG, and when you feel more comfortable start taking weight off the nose, and enjoy the snaps, inverted flight, slow fly, fast fly, harriers, hovering, and generally doing any kind of crazy sh** you can think of!!!!!

I started out with two ounces of weight (OS 46 FX engine), reduced to one ounce, then to nothing. I never had any trouble with snap's on takeoff or in loops. But I also take long takeoff runs.

Just some food for thought!!

For my first flights with the Magic Extra, I set the CG at the most aft position recommended in the manual, 3.75". I'm planning on slowly moving it back a bit......I agree with the other guys, it needs to be more tail heavy....I think the recommended numbers are very conservative.....just take it a little at a time.

Mike

Contrary to some statements above, this is a super flying plane and one of my 2 or 3 favorites to fly everyday. And yes, it is a blast to fly in the wind!

However, I do totally agree that the covering is a weak point. It has poor adhesion, and once lifted, does not stay down when you try to re-iron it.

CG
If people would simply put the CG at 4" where it belongs, they would see a world of difference. The CG in the manual is completely way off target. Global really needs to fix this!

With an XLS-46 Magnum turning a 12x4 APC (not the 12.25x3.75) my M.E. will easily hover, torque roll, pull out vertically, and do repetitive vertical snaps, not to mention very easy waterfalls.

I would like to back up RCAddiction, it is a wonderful plane to fly. In the wind (Ihave flown mine in a 30 MPH wind and it survived)
I do not see how anything could be better!! When everbody is on the ground saying OH NO!!!! it's too windy to fly drag out the Magic Extra and show them!!

But after pratically wearing one out I must say you need plenty of CA, and keep your iron ready to keep it flying!!!!

Mine is still in the box, had it for about a month. All these comment are making me wonder whether I should assemble it or not.
I've got an Irvine 39 going spare which I might use. Generally, do you use standard or mini servos in this plane?

Tiggerinva, build it...I don't think you'll be sorry.......The Irvine 39 might be a bit light for it....I'd hate for you to have to add weight......I used standard servos in mine.

Thanks, I'm sure I'll get around to it sooner or later. I originally bought an OS46FX for it, but that went into the LT-40 to break it in, in place of the Irvine. There's only a couple of ounces of weight difference, so maybe an alu spinner and mini servos will balance it out. If not, I can always swap engines around...