BantamTJ

I've just purchased a new Extra 300S -60 "Nitro Planes" It looks like a very nice ARF kit but the assembly intructions look to be a bit vague. I've only designed & have build SPAD's and this is my first venture into the world of balsa. Has anyone every owned/built one of these, as I'm trying to locate a build thread or better assembly intsructions, due to the fact that the original's that came with it are not very descriptive.
Thanks!

opjose

Yup, have one myself...

I purchased it as a "beater" plane, and it's held up very well...

Hint: Top Flight clear coat is a -MUST- with this plane.

I put a Supertiger .60 on mine with the default muffler, engine mounted at an angle so as to permit the muffler to sit in the wooden cutout...

While I'm very please with the ST .60 in this plane, and the plane flies with plenty of authority, if I did it over again, I would install a .75 instead.

I've got: [link=http://www.nitroplanes.com/ex306054niga.html]This one, click me![/link]

I've been flying it for close to two seasons now, with well over 120 flights on it.

I put CHEAP ( 9.00 EA ) SG 5010 servos on it, which are overkill for this plane.

The biggest modification I made, was that I put in a CF support strut on the elevator for regidity.

I've never had the gear rip out and I've had some VERY bad landings with this plane... even a deadstick into a field outside of my visual range ( I could not see it at ALL as it went down into a valley...). The resulting crash SOUNDED horrific...

I found the plane upside down, with the gear splayed out a touch... and a small puncture in one wing from a heavy branch...

I taped the wing, bent the gear, and it was back in the air 5 minutes later...

Fun inexpensive plane...

opjose

Pros and cons:

Pro:

PRICE!
Sturdy
Lots of room for electronics.
Easy to build.
Great flyer.

Cons:

Manual bad for a newbie... experienced people need nooo stinkin' manuals!
Mounting an engine at an angle could prove difficult for the inexperienced.
Plastic body form on the wing can wear covering if not properly trimmed.


Caveats:

Top Flight Clear Coating is a MUST to keep covering from coming off. See many of my other posts for directions.
Pilot needed! Get the NP pilot figure, it matches the plane well.

BantamTJ

opjose,
That's the same one I just got. I have a new Magnum XL.91 four stroke I plan on installing on it. I also have some buddies that can give a "new to balsa" guy a hand on assembly if I can't find a desent manual.

opjose

You will not find a "decent" manual for the plane, but the included on is servicable for anyone who has built several ARFs.

Almost everything is straight forward.

I'll bet you'll hear a bit of worry about the long elevator pushrod. I have NOT had any problems with it though, it's quite sturdy.

Note: To fish the ends of it out the fuselage...

Construct the pushrod to size... measure, measure and measure!

Once done, fish two thin wires from the tail through the fuse.

Affix these to the pushrod.

Place a bit of tape around the pushrod to hold the two sides together... Make the tape easy to break.

Pull the pushrod into place. Once it's almost in position, break the tape and fish the ends out by pulling on the wires affixed to the rod ends.

This seems obvious to me, but many complain about not being able to get the pushrods out... I've never had a problem.

The magnum will do fine, and should mount great inverted or side mount.

Make sure you break it in with an APC prop ( heavier so it idles better at first with one... ).

Alex JUST put up the G3/G4 colorscheme for this plane on the Knifeedge/Realflight web site... I already have a variant for the Nitroplanes version too... flies just like mine...

BantamTJ

opjose, thanks for the tips!!![8D]

opjose

No problem...

I just finished enhancing my plane a bit while performing maintenance.

I sanded the canopy plasitc edges a bit to get a much nicer finish, then installed trim tape at the edges... it makes it look sharp.

Now my pilot is looking at instruments. I've added additional trim, etc.

For the number of flights this airframe has on it, it's looking pretty good.

Note: Did I mention "Top Flight Clear Coat"?

After over 150 flights I had to seal a few trim spots with CA, but this was due to wearing at the point where the plasitc belly pan meets the fuselage, and on back.

The CF support strut has done a fabulous job stiffening the tail...

BantamTJ

Any chance you might have a pic?
Also, 1 more thing.... What exactly IS the "plastic dish pad" you make mention of?
I did read your earlier post on the pro's & con's of covering the plane with TF clear coat, Lots of great info there, what I did locate was Top Flite Lustrecoat flat clear, will this suffice?
Many thanks again!!!
Tim

BantamTJ

Opjose,
I have 1 question regarding this plane since you indicated that you have the same one. I can account for all the parts with the exception of 1 balsa piece, it's about as long as the fuse is wide, triangular (with the top being flat) maybe 3/4" tall by 1/2 wide & has been covered with black vinyl or mono, I can't seem to locate just where this piece goes or what it is, & was wondering if you recall when you built your's.
Thanks again!
Tim

opjose

That piece is hardwood right?

It's a re-inforcement for the wing attachment slat, that has the blind nuts in it.

If you play with the piece you'll find that it fits PERFECTLY just aft and above ( closest to YOU as you look into the fuse) the piece of wood, that the blind nuts for the wing hold downs, are drilled into.

Mine had no covering though.

The triangular block slides right into place with a slight forward cant, that lets the screws move into place.

Try fitting the block in, mark where the screws go, and I'd suggest opening up a bit of a channel in the wood to make inserting the screws a bit easier.

I wish I had done so before epoxying that piece into place.

It strengthens the area and prevents the wooden retention area from bowing forward over time.

It's a good idea, I wish some of the other ARFs also included this piece.

opjose

Re: Pics

I'll take some when I have a chance.

My engine quit at the most inopportune time the other day, and I ended up bring the plane down HARD.

The gear caught on the grass and the plane flipped over very hard.

Everyone who heard this thought the plane had augured in...

The only damange was that the gear splayed out ( which I just bent back ) and the top part of the tail was cracked.

I'm in the process of repairing this... gotta pull the tank out too, to find out why this has happened to me twice while in flight... the engine runs fine otherwise so I suspect something within the tank... e.g. a split line.

I'll take some pics after I finish the repair.

BTW:

I used some Dubro Pushrod Exit, plastic pieces for the pull-pull on the tail and for the pushrods. I also used the super cheap ( $2.00!!! for everything including an aluminum wheel!!! ) tailwheel assembly from Tower, that is sold as a replacement for the Skybolt and a few other planes.

I'll post pics of this too... much better than what is provided...

BantamTJ

Yikes! Sorry to hear about your plane poopin' out & going down. I'm also having a tough time trying to get the reinforcement plate to corospond with the belly pan. It claims to leave 5mm from TE before epoxying down, my trouble is that the rear of the belly pan cross section still sits on the reenforcement plate regardless & not allowing it to sit flush to the TE of the wing. I might have to make some slight alterations to one or the other, if not both.

opjose

Thanks.

I should have my plane repaired tonight... as I want to fly it this weekend.

I have a "honkin" 3200mAh NiMH battery pack in it, so the thing can fly all weekend on a charge!


I pulled it off two days ago, and I straightened it, and epoxied in hardwood supports next to the bent/cracked ones.

Yesterday I filled in the broken balsa formers with balsa dust and applied CA to harden.

I sanded the area flat using a bench sander with a very fine grain sanding wheel.

I'm ready to recover the rudder and re-attach it tonight. I'll cut out new CA hinge slots using a slotting tool.

It should look as good as new, and be much stronger too.



Re: Belly pan.


I never paid attention to the manual ( it slows me down too much! ) as I've done so many of these...

I glued the wing hold down re-inforcement plate in...

I put the wing on once it was dry to check fit, then I removed the bolts.

I cut out the belly pan so that the LE and the TE of the belly pan was longer than the wing cutout of the fuselage.

I made the belly pan's LE and TE sit ON the fuselage with the wing installed.

I adjusted the sides of the LE and TE a bit so that it would be easier to install the wings, by putting a angled cut on the section which turns upright on the fuse.

Once I was satisfied that it sat level and flush OVER the fuse, I marked the area I would remove the covering from to affix the belly pan.

I then remove the two thin covering strips.

Next I buffed the contact side of the belly pan with a steel wool pad, to provide grip for the expoxy.

I then built a small rectangular block of hardwood that would sit between the belly pan and the wing. This block is set to hold the belly pan from "collapsing" and runs down the center chord of the wing.

I removed some covering to adhere this too.

I epoxied the center block in place, let it dry then epoxied the belly pan in.... all of this done with the wing still attached to the fuse.... but not screwed in. The wing resting/taped in it's final "flight" position...

I taped the belly pan in place so that it dried w/o moving.

I then used a long bit to mark where the screw holes should be in the belly pan.

I used a dremel tool pointed grinding bit to put a large round hole into the plastic.

I removed the wing and passed the bolts through the plastic. I placed a fender washer between the belly pan and the wing hold down bolt reinforcement plate, passing the wing bolts through the washer and out the "top" of the wing.

Finally I put a bit of fuel tubing on the bolts, to retain them in place, so as not to loose them after removing the wing.

Done. Easier than it sounds.

BantamTJ

Holy cow! quite a memory you have there, (2yrs back,)? The belly pan on this one is balsa, skinned with covering, it's coming together as we speak, right now I'm aligning the wing for the wing hold-down bolts, more to follow. Thanks for the tips on what you've done on your Extra. Good luck with the covering tonight, hopefully I'll be close to being finished tomorrow'ish.
Thanks again for the replies/tips.
Tim

opjose

Re: 2 Years...

Hmmm that's why yours is different than mine. I must have an older design.

I never liked the plastic pan. Good to hear they changed it to a balsa pan.

opjose

Ok some pictures...

Here is the tail section showing the CF strut in place.

You also see the GP Tail Wheel Assembly ( available via this link: [link=http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXLLB9&P=7]Tail Wheel Link![/link]



I used Dubro Pushrod Exits to clean up the holes for the Pull-Pulls.

opjose

Here is a picture showing the placement of that mysterious triangular block... just above the blind nuts...

opjose

Cockpit with canopy trimmed with trim tape...

BantamTJ

Excellent pics, they're a great help!!! Lol "mysterious triangular block" that's funny, I did try to position the block several ways in that general area, but I couldn't come to any conclusion as to just where & how, so thanks for that particular pic, as far as my "MTB" goes if I lay it on it's side at the same location in your pic it still sits to tall in relation to the wing saddle & will hold the wing away from the saddle on the fuse, guess I need to modify it a tad too. I had to remove material from the support structure on the belly pan to accomodate the reinforcment plate, which turned out pretty good, instructions indicate to CA the pan to the wing, not sure if I'll use CA or epoxy, or maybe "Goop" but I'm sure I'll need to remove thin strips of covering for a good bond there too?

BantamTJ

Here's a pic of my latest scratch built self designed plane from coroplast.

BantamTJ

opjose,
How's the weekend flying going? Good & safe I hope!
So,... I have the plane finished ('cept for radio gear), I fuel proofed the firwall & ca'd some of the internal structure for added security. Now comes my delehma, I've mounted the engine 120mm as per instructions which to me translates out to being 4.72" so I put it @ 4 3/4 " from the firewall to the rear of the prop. Now, I almost need a deadblow hammer to get the cowling on far enough in order to get the aluminum prop spacer out far enough so the the spinner backplate won't rub the cowling. I'm tellin' ya' this thing is tight tight tight! Do you recall having to jam that cowling as far as this one appears to be needing? [] [:@]
Tim,

opjose

If I recall correctly I ran into the same thing.

I believe I just moved the engine a little further forward.

Some variance will not affect the flight characteristics as long as the C.G. remains about the same.

In this case moving the engine forward a bit, translates into the equivalent of a little more nose weight, so the effect is not adverse.

I mounted a SuperTigre in it at a 45 degree angle so that the muffler fit in the slot at the bottom.

I had to cut the bottom cowl out a bit to make room for the muffler tube, but the whole thing looks pretty good.

The biggest mistake I made was with the cylinder head hole. I made it WAAY too large, so much so that I covered a piece of ply and trimmed it just like the original covering to make a removable "panel" to cover over the hole.

To remove the cowl I have to first remove this panel, as it then permits the cowl to slide forward.

opjose

BTW: Beautiful flying weather today...

I had my Extra 300S back in the air and looking as good as ever.

I did not have an exact match for the color of the tail covering, so in cases like this I've learned to make things less conspicuous by making them more obvious...

Where I had a mis-matched area I trimmed the junctions between the old and new with black tape. This makes it look like it was meant to be that way.

BantamTJ

Great! Glad it was a good day of flying for you, & good job on being "inventive" with the color descepancy!
I now have the cowling ready to be drilled into place for the screws, it was a bit of a pita, but eventually it succumbed . I mounted the .91 4 stroke I have on it inverted, ergo the exhaust exits at the bottom r/h corner near the firewall (looking at the nose), all looks to be pretty good as I needed to hog out the cowling in that area as well as the rocker cover/pushrod tubes, now I need to figure out how to extend the H/S needle out & through the cowling, I have'nt really looked at it real well yet, but I believe an extention could be purchased or made that basically looks like the lever for the choke, I did go ahead & remove the choke assy as it hindered the correct location for the engine/engine mount bolts. I've had enough for tonight, maybe I'll hit it again tomorrow. Oh yeh, almost forgot, I think I've also have fallen for the "cowling lines don't match up to the fuse lines anymore", syndrome, seems like I've read where that happens quite often.
I took you up on your advise on the pilot figure too, & also printed out an instrument panel display.
I'd like to see your plane in full if you have a pic, if not, then that cool!
Thanks for all the help with this thing & all the corospondance, you've been a great help.
More to come as it progresses
Later!
Tim

opjose

What engine are you using?

For the HS needle what I typically do is use a small piece of wire.

I put a loop at one end of the wire then cut it to length so that the wire loop would extend about 1/4" or less beyond the cowl but nor more than this.

This is affixed to the existing knurled knob using the included grub screws on the knob itself.

I cut a hole larger than the loop into the cowl.

To get the cowl on I push it on over the loop. There is normally just enough give, that it slides right on.

Any old pushrod wire should do.

Any pics of what you've done?