I'm wrapping up a Wendell Holstetler 33% Extra. No were on the drawings are the requirements for control throws. I would like some input from the group who have built this aircraft and what is the suggested settings. I do not expect to do 3 D only basic aerobatics.
Thanks in Advance
Sliderule

sliderule228

I have one a bit smaller about 1/4 and I don't fly 3 D I have mine set up as follows rudder 40 deg's both ways, elevators about 25 both ways, with 30 % expo, ailerons at 20 both ways, with 15% expo, this set up was achieved after a bunch of shout flights, and for me I now have a nice smooth flying 300 and I can still slam and bang, in most normal aerobatics, except an inverted flat spin

Hope this helps

Cheers Bob T
AMA13377

Extra's are a mixed breed if you will? Different manufacturer's models of the same airframe perform differently and that applies to the control deflections as well as the fact that how much expo is a personal preference so for that I would use what you have, or maybe a bit more, on other models.

You will find almost without exception that the Extra will be more sensitive to the elevator inputs that almost anything out there and as such do not require much deflection and I prefer a chunk of expo e.g. my Extra's run about 10 degrees on the low rates, 12 degrees on the "high" rates and whatever I can get out of them for what I call "3D" rates. IMHO too much expo initially is much easier to deal with that too little which could make the thing a beast to get back on the ground.

Rudder is a real variable between models and to some extent personal preference as well. For 3D rates I crank them up to whatever they'll do, usually that will be in the 40-45 degree range. High rates 30-35 and low rates 20-25 and that has a lot to do with how the model snaps. Too much rudder or elevator on a snap and it really bogs the model down if not actually stopping it in mid-air. Too high a deflection on those controls makes spins ugly as well.

Ailerons are really model specific. I have one model with huge ailerons and it's the least responsive to aileron input while another will do quite nicely with about half the deflection of the first model. Again I start with whatever max deflection I can get, go to about 70% of that for the high rates and 50% for the low rates. Expo is also really variable between models so you'll have to experiment there as well.

Maybe you already know all this stuff and just wanted a degrees of deflection for each control but as you can see from my preferences no two models are alike so it's hard to give a definitive answer. Also CG will make a HUGE difference in what works for you. Aft CG is normally used for 3D stuff but some guys like it so the model fly's pretty much neutral both upright and inverted. I prefer to do my initial trim flights with a slightly forward CG for stability and predictability and then adjust to my preference for the flight characteristics I like.

So there is my preferred method for setting stuff up even if I have a published set of numbers, lots of times those prove to be wrong for my tastes. If I was to try and boil it down to one thing I'd say that you have to remember that too much elevator deflection on an Extra will bite you in the butt on a Maiden flight.

Hope that helps....

Oh, I have not built the specific model you refer too, but the Extra airframes are my overall favorite for a prop driven model.

I have the throws for the Hangar 9 Extra 300 in the garage 102 in wing span. If you like I can post those but it's storming here now so I can't get them at this time, let me know if you'd like them.