Sharp exacto knife. Stick the knife tip in and cut by pulling on the spline. it will rotate a little but that is ok. To secure in place just drip a little thin CA around the inside.

Hi,

I'm looking for a set of Carbon Fiber landing gear for the new Extra, any idea where I can get one?

Thanks

Chuck

Actually we are selling a glass filled nylon gear that is super rugged. The only thing is it is straight legged gear so the looks change a bit, but it's very functional.

You will need to drill it and paint it yourself. $45 and I have them in stock. I'm not sure of the weight, I think it's about the same as the aluminum gear but it's much more durable.

TF

Tom,

THanks for the quick response, I appreciate it.

My first gasser is the WH YAK and I learned a lot assemblying the YAK.


Since this is my second gasser, I'm really going to take a long time to assemble and and while doing so, I'm looking to reduce weight as much as possbile. I would prefer to buy carbon landing gear due to the weight savings. It sounds like the nylon gear is about the same weight as the metal gear. I was hoping to save 4 or more ounces on the gear. Next is the wing tubes and whatever else I can can do to reduce weight.

If you have any other recommendations for weight reduction, please let me know.

Regards

Chuck

Hey Mate, there are heaps of things you can do to make you plane lighter. Here are some ideas:
Carbon Wing Tube
Carbon Elevator Stab Tube
Carbon Fiber Main Landing Gear
Carbon Fiber Tail Wheel
Lightened backplate on the spinner / or get a carbon one
Li-Ion Batterys all around
Smaller tank, try a 20oz
Light weight wheels and axles help allot. Try Karvan Wheels with PSP Manufacturing Titanium Axles
I dont know if a CF Prop is lighter than a woody? help me out here guys. I know PT Carbon is light
Take out any unessacary items that are not needed inside the plane.

I have worked out , i can save anywhere inbetween 400-500 grams in my upcoming plane. Thats HALF A KG.

RCFREAK,

Thanks for the information.

I've ordered Karvan Wheels with PSP Manufacturing Titanium Axles

Li-Ion Batterys

Carbon spinner and lighten backplate

Wooden Prop

I've been looking at Carbon-titanium pushrods.

Regards,

Chuck

fly with the aluminum gear and save some $$ I had CF gear on ny extra special and 260, No matter how gentle you land it will eventually delaminate..I switched back to aluminum gear and could not tell the difference

Just a thought but if I wanted to be really really light I would get the Yak...lol. You can easily spend a lot to save weight on a plane. There comes a point when you realize its not worth it. With this thing around 16lbs with a DA 50 I think it is plenty light. I think the farthest I would go would be a wing tube not so much for the light factor but for strength. Kavan's are another cool way to save weight but they sure do get eaten up fast if you fly on a paved runway.

Again I think at an honest 16lbs with no mods this thing is going to be amazing. The newer designs rival that of some of the most trick custom built kits. Lotsa lightening holes and yet re-enforcement where you need it.

Since were on a weight savings plan let me ask this question then. Would a Lithium Ion 7.4v pack that is built with 18 awg leads and Deans connectors to a power expander power 5 flight surfaces on digitals (rudder on a 5995 tg pull pull)? Use a Lion on regulator for the ignition as well.
This would drop your weight down as well as simplify setup, would not have to have but 1 pack, one regulator, power expander has a switch already. Thoughts????
If this would work then I think one could keep the weight under 16 fairly easily.

NO in extreme manuevers your voltage would drop from the regulator a second pack regulator and switch is 4oz more, but it i functional weight. at 16 pounds stock this plane will be a rocked. I spent $300 on CF items for my 260 and it i had it to do over I would have kept everything stock except the wing tube!

NO in extreme manuevers your voltage would drop from the regulator a second pack regulator and switch is 4oz more, but it i functional weight. at 16 pounds stock this plane will be a rocket. I spent $300 on CF items for my 260 and it i had it to do over I would have kept everything stock except the wing tube! Use CF to make a heavy plane light. If you already have a light plane don't waste your money. Build it stock and fly it. Then deside if its worth all the $$$ to make it even lighter.

Spoken like a true pro. I guess I shouldnt talk though, I spent a bunch of money to have my plane pimped out by Tony. Well it will sure look nice though.

I would think one 4 cell lion would be fine for hard 3D. I only say this as I have flown dozens of flights on 28% planes using one 4 Cell lion pack and 6 digi servos with no problems. I am talking about from take off until landing nothing but rollers, walls, slow knife edge flight. Oh yeah that was also with no power expander and a really small PCM RX.

If you wanna save weight with the ignition setup get that trick built in reg switch from Duralite. I just wonder if it will put a load on the battery when off.

AirborneSGT, so how many flights with 1 - 4 cell Lion pack could you get in a day? I completely understand the benefits of a second redundant pack etc, just would like to simplify things if it will work correctly.
I was looking at the new Smart-Fly ignition regulator, it is pretty small and effective.

I was doing like 6 or more. Depending on how many planes I would bring out. When it was just the 28% then yes it was easily 6 or more. There is no perfect setup no matter how you look at it. There will always be a compromise somewhere or at the very least one weak link in the chain.

Most 4 cell lion packs are redundant within themselves; if a set of cells fails the other 2 should take over. I guess if you wanted to get a 4 cell pack with two sets of leads..ect.

If you setup your plane correctly and have your RX isolated from vibration I dont see what the problem could be. Get a good reg or a setup where if the switch fails it does so in the on position. The 4 cell Lions will put out more amps then a 2 cell pack and more than likely you wont fully drain a 4 cell pack.

Lions like to only be discharged about 75% of their full charge regardless of setup. Keep this in mind and your battery will have a long life.

Tom designed this plane to be light and fly light. If you add a lot of things which are not needed you will take away from its design.
The same can be said with most planes.

greg,
It really depends on what batteries and regulators you are using. It is excelent that you plan to use 18g wire and deans. If using a single Li pack use a 4 cell series paraell and a good regulator. Check your voltage under load after each and every flight. The rule of thumb is no more than 4 high torque digitals per regulator. It also depends on the type of flying you do.

1 4 cell 4800mha series paraell lithium cylindrical pack is 6.2 oz, 1 regulator is 1.5 oz, 1 switche 1 oz. total 8.7 oz
2 2 cell 2400mha series lithium cylindrical packs 6.2 oz , 2 regulators 3oz, 2 switches 2 oz total 11.2 oz

weight savings 2.5oz...peace of mind..pricless

Are the landing gear dimensions the same as the older Extra? ie. width/height/mounting holes ?

No they are not the same. The new plane's fuse is wider.

TF

Regarding the capacity of the 4 cell Lithion batteries. With my old style 300 I was using a single 4,400mAh and Fromeco Super Regulated Reliaswitch for the flight system and a single 2,200mAh lithion and regulator for the ignition. I was getting an easy 10 flights before a recharge was needed. It made for a nice couple of days of flying without the need to recharge at an event. All the servos except the throttle were 8611's. BTW, all my Lithion batteries are wired up with larger gauge wire leads for minimal resistance. They can be ordered that way direct from Fromeco.

I'm not saying that it would always be that way, but the lithions will always outlast nicads and nimh batteries of the same capacity and they don't develop a memory. I have not found any need for a redundant battery system in planes under 35% as long as I used quality equipment and paid the normally required attention and checked the voltages once in awhile. IMO, any type of power box in planes under 40% is a waste of money and a lot of extra weight unless you're planning to do some pretty exotic servo installations.

With the new 300 coming in somewhere in the area of 16 pounds the only places that I would use carbon fiber products would be the main wing tube for certain due to higher strength, possibly the tailwheel if it was a good one (rcblimp), and the spinner if I had a balance issue. Like others I found C/F main gear to be a bit weak where the stock gear would take a lot of abuse. With the wing areas most of Tom's planes have the 300 will fly featherlight at 16 pounds with a 50cc gasser.

For the most part I guess I'm in the same category as Dntmn on this one. Save the money from the c/f products and use some of it to obtain a high end battery and regulator. system.

Couple of frontal PICs of the MVVS 45 mounted. I still have to finish opening up cooling exit holes when I decide which muffler I am running LoL.

Use the cooling holes in the bottom of the fuse just behind the gear. That way you don't need to cut the cowl and you will get plenty of airflow. The air will flow through the canister box and out the bottom.

TF

Tom, appreciate the tip, was thinking about doing that to preserve the rest of the cowling. Had a choice to cut a hole in the side for the plug if I mounted horizontally. The MVVS 45 would fit horizontally with only the plug and cap needing clearance. Decided to go with the inverted mounting not sure really other than for cooling.

FYI the info about this new plane is now up on our web site at

http://www.wildharerc.com/Products/extra84/extra84.html

Thank you.

TF

My building assistant checking for quality assembly.

LOL......That's a good one Greg, But don't you thing he will mess up you cg? You'll have to find a pair of goggles and a flight jacket that will fit him.... LOL.......
Shaun

LoL, he is strictly on the ground crew!