RE: GP extra 300s build
 

Yes, it's square with the horizontal stab but slightly angled to the left possibly causing right yaw, Im by far an expert but I think it will be ok after looking at it more, I also went and looked at my other planes to compare and they're all straight except my trainer that has been crashed (by someone else) that broke the vertical stab off and after repairs its angled about the same as the extra and it flies great.

RE: GP extra 300s build
 

It's to late for mine now but how did you get your canopy so dark? I tried dying mine in hot black rit dye but It didn't work very well, It's kind of a light amber color now which looks fine but not what I was going for.

RE: GP extra 300s build
 

i cant remember the dye name...rit? mixed 2 colors ,brown and blue into a glass meatloaf style pot and added boiling hot water. wait for it to cool and leave canopy in till happy with color darkness.i problem is i will have to cover it with a white cloth if its out in the sun on a 100 deg day.

not all plastic with tint this way. i know soda bottles won't.

RE: GP extra 300s build
 

I also Taxi test my planes in my driveway. It's a good way to get the engine idle set and check that it goes straight without wandering to one side. Fixing those things at home helps when you get to the field. A light (thin) coat of automotive bondo on the cowl seams is fine. Most modern bondo is able to flex a little and if used in small amounts won't add much weight. Don't forget to put a pilot in the cockpit, or is it too late?

RE: GP extra 300s build
 

No pilot lol, I ended up putting some grey mini cell foam in the cock pit and I think it looks pretty good, I saw a couple other planes at the club like that. I flew my super sportster today, I don't know what I was worried about, its easier to fly than my big stik I've been flying, It was also my first flight with a taildragger and I didn't have any trouble landing or taking off except the grass was too high lol, I had to dead stik land it the second time. The guy that was at the club today said he didn't think I would have any problem flying the extra, Larry, I don't remember his name but you might know who it is, he flies pattern planes with 4-strokes a lot and was flying a 50cc? size yak today that was yellow and black. The cowl is almost done and then after that its ready to go (I think) lol. Should I leave the landing gear how it is or should I paint it?

RE: GP extra 300s build
 

t-max97, Don't paint it, POLISH it with aluminum polish. It is aluminum isn't it? With a small amount of effort it can be made to shine like chrome! If a powered buffing wheel is available to you it will shine up even better than hand polishing. You can use mine if you want but I'am an hour+ away from you. I just did one on one of my biplanes and it really sets the looks off. Can you say "bling"?

RE: GP extra 300s build
 

Yes it's aluminum, I'm pretty sure we have one, but thanks for the offer. Im busy most all day today and I am busy all day Saturday and Sunday so I probably wont get much else done until Monday, Once I finish the cowl ill take some more pictures of the plane.

RE: GP extra 300s build
 

t-max97, If you're going to the TD meeting Sat @ 1:00 bring the landing gear, I'll take it home with me, polish it and get it back to you in a couple of days. I am talking about a bench mounted buffing wheel like on a grinder type motor. If that's what you have you can do it.

RE: GP extra 300s build
 

I couldn't go, I had a trap shooting competition all day, we left at 5:30 this morning and we just got home lol im tired. Thanks for the offer, I hand polished it and it turned out pretty good, better than I thought it would. Ill take some pictures next time I can.

RE: GP extra 300s build
 

Sorry for no updates in a while i just haven't felt like posting lol. I took the plane for its maiden flight today! After some tuning to get the engine to run right I took off, very little elevator and rudder trim was required, the ailerons needed a little more but not to bad, after trimming and flying it for a few minutes I decided to try a roll and when I did the engine died, It came in very hot and of course out of the whole huge field we fly at I hit one of the two posts setup near the end of the runway to start big planes right in the middle of the right wing causing it to spin around in the air and land backwards, I walked up to it expecting the wing to be totaled but to my surprise it was fine. I took the plane back to the stand fueled it up and started it again, the engine seemed to be running great to I took off again, flew around for a while and then I went straight up to do a stall turn and near the top of the climb it died again, this time it came over the runway even hotter and went past the runway, it had to be nearly 100 yards away over 3 foot tall grass when it was nearly to the ground, at that distance going straight away its very hard to tell what it's doing, It was gliding and then dun dun daaa........tip stall 4 feet off the ground in to a cartwheel, this time I was thoroughly convinced all that time spent building was turned into fire wood,I couldnt see it it that tall grass untill I walked up to it and was shocked to see it was fine again! Who ever built it must have used some strong glue! lol, I figured I had to be running out of luck and decided to quit for the day, I think the problem in the fuel tank setup, Ill have to make sure that wont happen again before I fly it. Now to get the how it flew instead of how it crashed, The thunder tiger .75 four stroke seemed to be just right for it with a good mix of speed and torque, It tracked good and was very smooth, It doesn't take much elevator at all the make it snap,I was surprised at how little it took. The stall speed seems to be kind of high and it comes it for landing very fast. Although I only have about 20 minutes of flight on it so far It seems to fly very well and I think im really going to like it if it survives until I get it running right. Landing is going to be a little harder but as far as just flying goes I was very comfortable with it.

RE: GP extra 300s build
 

I hope you didn't scratch the polished landing gear!!! ...............OK, I am glad the plane survived intact. It sorta sounds like you had the needle valve (mixture) set too lean. One of the preflight test that some folks do is to have some one turn the plane pointing straight up while the engine is running a WOT to see if it sputters, sags, or cuts completely off. If it does any of those things it's set too lean and you would go a quarter to a half turn richer with the needle valve and try it again. Pointing the plane straight up to test it is the same condition you put it in climbing for that hammerhead. Also consider the other possibilities as you mentioned, but it may be simply too lean.

RE: GP extra 300s build
 

t-max97, Move down to the "questions and answers" section and read the "tuning with your snoot up in the air" thread. The guys banter back and forth with the right way (with two people) and wrong way (with only you holding and adjusting) to set and test the mixture before takeoff. You may find it interesting. Trying to do this alone is dangerous, get help!

RE: GP extra 300s build
 

Hey T-Max97,

Your Extra looks great. I'm glad it survived your dead sticks......................:D

There is a very simple way to get rid of the bad snapping habits of your Extra if it's balanced correctly and your wing incidence is correct. All you need to do is take whichever aileron the airplane is snapping towards and add a click or two of down subtrim if the ailerons are on a separate channel. If you are using a Y-harness or your radio doesn't have subtrim, you can just turn the stalling aileron clevis to make the aileron droop down to accomplish the same thing. Try the adjustments a little at a time and test fly it between your adjustments. I have the 60 size Aeroworks Extra and it did the exact same thing.

Take care,
David

RE: GP extra 300s build
 

Lol It probably does have a scratch, I guess Ill have to buy another kit :D....I normally do point the plane straight up when I'm tuning but I guess it just slipped my mind this time, but On the first flight I know for a fact it was very rich, no chance it was lean that time, and the second time I set the needle about 500 rpm rich of peak rpm. Ill go read that thread.

RE: GP extra 300s build
 

[quote]ORIGINAL: hrrcflyer


Hey T-Max97,

Your Extra looks great. I'm glad it survived your dead sticks......................:D

There is a very simple way to get rid of the bad snapping habits of your Extra if it's balanced correctly and your wing incidence is correct. All you need to do is take whichever aileron the airplane is snapping towards and add a click or two of down subtrim if the ailerons are on a separate channel. If you are using a Y-harness or your radio doesn't have subtrim, you can just turn the stalling aileron clevis to make the aileron droop down to accomplish the same thing. Try the adjustments a little at a time and test fly it between your adjustments. I have the 60 size Aeroworks Extra and it did the exact same thing.

Take care,
David
[/quote

Ok thanks Ill try it after a little more flight time on it, I think it was the right wing but Ill have to check next time I fly it.

RE: GP extra 300s build
 

My way to stop the snaps at the top of a loop is not making tight loops. The Great Planes Extra 300S is a great flyer and doesn't need much throw to make a lot of movement in the air. The throw rates are important to set like the book states. The extra can be very snap happy.

RE: GP extra 300s build
 

I noticed the right wing (the one that hit the pole) flexes a little now and it didn't before, as in if I hold the wing tip I can twist it a little left and right, Nothing seems to be broken and I flew it since that but it was not like that before, should I worry about it? Im thinking I should strip the covering on that side and check it out to be safe but Ill have to but two more rolls of monokote lol.

RE: GP extra 300s build
 

If you really feel that one wing is more "twistable" than the other, you don't have to completely strip that wing just remove the covering on the bottom for closer inspection. It is possible that you broke a few glue joints with the impact with the pole (you were way off the runway to hit that weren't you). I have opened up some used ARF wings for recover only to find that about the only thing holding the parts in place was the covering! Yet they still "flew". So if you are sure one side of the wing is "wounded" and it concerns you, strip the bottom for inspection and access to reglue the loose joints. It won't require 2 rolls of covering. It's a judgement call whether to fly it some more as is or go in with the glue. No one likes to cut the covering back off a plane you just built, and yours looks real nice, so it's up to you...fly it some more....or open it up and do a little recovering.

RE: GP extra 300s build
 

+1 with what larry said. if it were my plane and i know somethings up after a crash i would open the covering to check. your spars could have damage and later when shes been flying for a few months....snaps during a hard g force manuver. do the work and internal inspectionnow and fly with confidence the 300 is at its best shape.

i to only just started flying my 300 last fall and my 20c 6cells caused 2 dead stick/parshal motor cut due to the batteries age and low c ratingand the most damage was a broken landing gear mount. i still have to make a hatch cover for the new battery box as my batteries are now 7cell[2pcks]4000mah 40c's!!!

i'm really glad your survival of the maiden flight went so well and am still following your effort to get the gp 300 flying. today is a perfect day for us in nj and i'll be maidening a electifly edge 540t . i used to have an ajslick but turned it into sawdust 2 weeks ago...ouch.

RE: GP extra 300s build
 

Not way off but It happened so quick I didn't think about the pole being there, I was going for the tall thick grass lol but when I saw it I tried to go to the left with rudder but on low rates at that speed it just didn't have enough effect on the plane. I think Ill try to carefully remove some of the covering and inspect it, If I mess any of it up ill have to buy more because I used all I had besides some small scrap pieces.
I made this picture real quick to show about what happened, A is where the engine died and the red dot is me.

RE: GP extra 300s build
 

t-max, What color monokote do have on the bottom of the wing? If it's "insignia blue", I've got a roll and I'll "loan" you enough to repair the wing. P.S. I don't think your drawing is to scale!!!

RE: GP extra 300s build
 

Lol to bad that one took long enough :D. Thanks for the offer but don't worry about it, If I have to get another roll it's no big deal, I mostly just didn't want to start stripping a plane I just covered lol but I guess I need to, Ill try to be careful and take as little off as I can.

RE: GP extra 300s build
 

I took some of the covering off and the sheeting that goes the length of the wing split all the way down the right wing, simple fix, I just spread some sig wood glue down it, now I just have to get another roll of monokote. There was a break in this rain a while ago so I took the plane outside and ran it, when pointed straight up it ran fine but when I held it upside down it sputters and then stops, after reading I was thinking it might be loading up from the the rich low speed but then I realized the engine is mounted on it's side so it might still be the tank, Ill do some more testing if this rain ever stops.

RE: GP extra 300s build
 

The engine "problem" was a rich low speed and I'm thinking I might have had a false tune on the high speed due to the overly rich low speed on the second dead stick, It runs in all orientations now.

RE: GP extra 300s build
 

Hey...I just found this thread and good job on your Extra!! Hope the engine problem is sorted out and you can have some fun with it... :D

I fly at T'Draggers too so I look forward to seeing you wringing this puppy out!!

Have Fun...

Chuck