Here are some photos. The offsets on both the servo horn and the tailwheel control horn are intentional, to give equal travel left and right when the control horns are oriented at 90 degrees to each other. There is no offset on the elevator horn since the servo horn is in the same rotational plane.






This is the missing LG plate, it just came right out after I unscrewed it, luckily my CA fiberglass job was worthless, probably saved the rail structure...

Here's me and my brother in law who gave me the kit with the completed plane before the first flight.

Me:



My brother-in-law Mike:

Arent you guys on MTV?  

??

Steve, nice job on the trim scheme and congrats on the maiden flights. I would suggest threading a nut on your pushrods to back up the clevises and adding a drop of loctite. Your present setup allows for slop which could induce flutter at higher speeds. I suppose it's a matter of personal preference, but, for what it's worth, I would not use Z-bends on a plane this size, for the same reasons.

Thanks Bipes.

The clevises are already loctited. I love that stuff, use it on everything (blue loctite).

There is 0 slop in the Z-bends. I drill the hole in the horn slightly undersize and then work the pushrod thru it, there is absolutely no play. The rods are 4-40 and the horns are Hitec HD's, should be OK. It's not going to be a daily flyer, it's going to be a hangar queen....

You're right about the backing nuts on the clevises, I usually use them. I'll get them on there eventually...

Ya, MTV.  Isnt that the netwrok Jersey Shore is on?</p>

Please don't associate us with those *****holes.

The show is called "Jersey Shore" because it's filmed there, however the morons on the show are from NY (Staten Island I think). Regardless, they are what locals refer to as "Bennys", folks from up north who come down, be a pain in the *****, and leave. I think that designation comes from the fact that decades ago when this area started getting innundated with summer tourists, their luggage tags from the train would say BENNY, abbreviation for (B)ayonne, (E)lizabeth, (N)ewark, (N)ew (Y)ork, which was the extention of the rail line they originated on. I call them Seagull Tourists. They show up, make a lot of noise, crap all over everything, are good for basically nothing, annoy you, and then leave.

Anyway, don't get me started... Thankfully I heard the show will be filmed in FL this year, I hope they change the name.

Haha, I'm a loctite addict too! Use it on everything, even what I shouldn't. Once I red locktited (is that a verb?) the steel bolts used to mount an engine on to an aluminum engine mount. So a couple of years later I sell the plane and who says those bolts will release. Tried heat, WD40, cursing, nothing worked. Ended up cutting off bolt heads and replacing the mount.... Lesson learned.

Red Loctite + Small Bolts = New bolts later.....




And yes Locktited is a verb I use it all the time.

So I've put a few flights on the Extra.

Takeoffs - Uneventful, and the ST140 (2300) will rip it off the ground, no problem.

Flying - Very fast, very tolerant of wind (because it weighs a ton), did I mention it is fast? Flew in a nasty crosswind yesterday, and could not even tell once I was in the air, it just tracks right through it. 1/2 throttle is fast, full throttle is ballistic. I went from a 16X8 to an 18X6 and it's still cruzing. Not that it's a problem.... Aerobatics are very straight. Does nice slow rolls. Will snap pretty bad out of a loop with too much elevator. I think it might be nose heavy also, dives a bit when inverted. Going to move the battery pack aft a bit before next flight.

Landings - It's a handful to land. Have to keep speed up or it stalls. However if you land any other way than perfect at speed it bounces so high you might as well go around. I have had about 5 landings and gone through 4 ply landing gear plates. The mounting rails and everything else in the fuselage is holding up. The problem is that the gear is 2-piece and when you come down hard it wants to pull the center of the ply plate down, and it snaps. I've added a 1/8" aluminum brace plate across the gear halves to maybe help avoid breaking it again. Then again I might just move the damage up into the rails. Which would be a pain in the ass.....

Honestly, I'm not thrilled with the way this thing flies overall. We are spoiled nowadays, any ARF you buy at this size today will likely weigh about 6 or 7 pounds and fly on a .75, this thing is over 10 pounds (probably more like 11, honestly have not weighed it yet) and calls for at least a 1.20.... The manual said that their 'prototype' came in at 10.5 pounds. For pattern aerobatics it's great, but even then it seems to be ready to snap out if you're not careful. 3D, it has the power to hover but with the tiny (scale?) ailerons and 'normal' size elevator and rudder, does not really have the throws to pull off anything interesting. Plus the landings are really a handful. I am going to see what moving the CG back slightly does for landing speed and the snapping issue, and take it from there. I'd like to just bring it home one time with the landing gear system still intact......

Attached a pic of the new brace (and LG plate #4, or #5, I lose count....)

Hey huminski,

Nice build thread and thank you.. I just got my hands on one too.. probably been in the box for a decade...

Definately using your build thread as a reference.

I'll be powering mine with a Zenoah G20, mainly because thats the only engine of that size that i have now. Alternatively it's a OS110a Four Stroke..

Cheers from sunny singapore.

We call them TOUR_ONS in Florida

Good luck Najee, and no matter how long, try to update this thread with your progress. If you looked, you know that ANY info on this plane is nonexistant. Maybe you and I can become the authorities on this one... If you make your own thread link to it here!

Mako, what's a tour_on? You lost me.


EDIT - Oh I got it your talking about your version of the Benny. Tour-ons that's great.

Sorry should have quoted your post Tour_On = Tourist Moron

Sorry should have quoted your post Tour_On = Tourist Moron

Hey guys

will start my building of the Byron exta soon.
My kit have all the hardware and fibreglass stuff and canopy but without the balsas. All the ply formers are there I hope.

Should I start a new thread or carry on this one??

You're welcome to post here, and it will keep all the info together for anyone looking to build one sometime in the future...

Thanx steve.

Well I went to some LHS just nowand bought some balsas.
Here is the list

2 x leading edge
10 x 3/32 balsa sheets because of the mod I intend to do fir the wing
4 x carbon flat rods
2 x pre cut ailerons
1 x tail wheel
and a pin hinge for the canopy.
My intended build is foe an upcming scale comp here in sg.
Good luck to me I guest.

BTW guys please feel free to give comments along the way.
Power will be a Zenoah g20 with a pitts muffler.
Servos will be 5625s and 5645s.

Dual elevator servo
pull pull rudder
and maybe a smoke system. Haha

Hey guys,

Tried posting a while back but the PC hanged on me..There's been some minor progress so far and will post later..

Just to show how old this kit is..

Hey Steve,

I know it's an old thread and that Comcast doesn't have your pics in cache anymore, but I REALLY wanted to see the photos of the Byron engine mount. Any chance you still have them and could post them here or email me at [email protected] ?

Thanks a bunch!

I had the same kit I think I still have the Byron engine mount I will post it and send it to your email.

Hi again guys,

As you know I'm trying to finish a friend's Byron Extra 300... no manual or instructions... and now I'm a bit confused as to what did the manual recommend about the elevators pushrod. Seems it's supposed to be a forked type pushrod, but I made one and it didn't work. How did you guys make yous? Any pics?

I also can't figure out the aluminum bar included with the tank package.

Thanks!

Ok here is the only pict I could find of the motor mount, also a picture of my Midwest Extra 300