# Great Planes Extra 300sp



## justinspeed79 (Mar 9, 2006)

She flew! Not for very long though. My radio was glitching, it was glitching full right aileron for a split second. I made two flights, it did it both times, and both times I landed as quickly as possible. The landings were a little hairy because I was coming in so fast, but the plane handled it fine. After the first flight I tried re-routing the antenna a little, but that didn't help. When it did it on the second flight I decided it was time to call it a day until I get it figured out. I think it may be because I don't have the end of the antenna exiting the plane. This is one area where I feel that GP dropped the ball. There is no antenna tube in the plane, and the instructions say nothing about how to run the antenna. The instructions say very little about the radio install at all for that matter. Right now I have the antenna in one of the unused push rod tubes, but I think I am going to have to install an actual antenna tube, hopefully that will take care of it. I don't think there is anything wrong with my radio, It was working fine in the Funtana. I did a range test before I flew. With the antenna all the way down, I was about 100 yards away before it started glitching. I here most people say 100 feet with the antenna down, so I would think that means mine passes with flying colors at 100 yards. The plane wasn't particularly far away when it glitched either. There was also a storm on the horizon, with a fair amount of visible lightning, I'm sure that could have been contributing to the interference too. 

I will say this, it's amazing that in that split second that a glitch happens, your brain instantly plays out the whole scenario from that second, up to the point where your plane is splattered on the ground in a million peices.

I was surprised at how well the little OS .55ax pulled this plane into the air! I am running a MAS-K 12x4 prop, and it had no problem going vertical right at take off, and accelerating on the way up. This engine didn't even fly that good in my SSE, and the SSE is quite a bit smaller than this plane. This plane is light though. I haven't weighed it yet, but it can't be anymore than 5lbs. all-up. This plane is begging for more engine though. With the .55 I had to mount a 5 cell 2500mah NIMH battery pack inside the motor box right beside the fuel tank, and move the receiver as far forward as I could jut to get the CG far enough forward to start at the recommended 3-3/4". I will probably want the CG back further eventually, so I can add quite a bit of weight to the nose and still get my CG right without any extra ballast. 

After the first landing I was taxiing back to my field box, and the last blip of throttle I gave it blew the canopy off. Lucky that happened on the ground. I don't think I got the magnets just right when I glued them, I guess I will have to re-glue them. I do like the canopy/hatch design though, I think it will be good when I get the magnets right. I just wrapped a rubber band around it as a temporary fix for the second flight. 

There was some wind when I was flying, and the plane seemed to handle it good.

All and all, even though I only have a few minutes of actual flying time with it, my over-all impression of this plane so far is very good. I can't wait until I get the bugs worked out, and can spend some time tearing up the sky with it.

I also flew the Typhoon for about an hour today. I flew it earlier before the weather started acting up, it was perfectly still. When you get a still day like that, it is amazing what you can to with that Typhoon. In those conditions, I can fly the Typhoon almost as good as I can fly the bad *** 150cc's on Realflight. That's saying something! Hovers, harriers, torque rolls, Knife edge, waterfalls, I was doing it all today with the Typhoon!


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## justinspeed79 (Mar 9, 2006)

Pics. some are before flight, and thankfully, some are after flight.


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## Gary (May 21, 2004)

If your antenna is anyway near metal objects you can be getting some glitches. Funny how you mentioned about the routing, my 4* doesnt say what to do either. I think they inluded an antennea tube but Im not sure Ill be using it. Id rather route it outside the plane but I havent figgered out how to do that yet. This is my first low winger and the wing sits right where Id normally rout the antennea.


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## physhstyx (May 22, 2004)

*antenna routing.*

Gary 
on thet four star, run the antenna out of the top of the turtle deck just behind the canopy. Put a T pin in the vertical stab and attach a rubber band to the antenna. The just loop it over the T pin. This works very well and the rubber band lets the antenna give a little. They make fancy plastic part for the exit area and the attach poirs but this system works great and doesn't cost anything.

Justinspeed,
Range check your radio with antenna down and with the motor running and then with the motor off. This will tell you if the interferince is from high frequency vibration or an outside source. Also check your batteries under a load. you need to have a voltage checker that puts a 1 to 1.5 mah load on the battery. If you have a weak cell and you are flying it could be right on the edge. I would not rule out a goofy receiver even if it is new, and if you are flying 72MHZ on FM you could pick up stray signals from a lot of different things. We had a drilling rig behind our field that when in operation the high frequency from the metal parts working together would cause annomalies in some of the aircraft flown there.

Hope this helps

Larry


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## Gary (May 21, 2004)

Good idea Larry. Thanks


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## Gary (May 21, 2004)

Hey Larry. Sorry my post was short earlier today. I was at work and pretty tied up. Dude lets hook up and do some flying soon! TX-Fisherdude PMed me the other day and said he met ya and yall got to talking about 2Cool.

Remember the drum beat to Cow Patty?


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## justinspeed79 (Mar 9, 2006)

I guess I should have stayed home today. I think what happened was the landing gear caught a root or something in the grass, but either way, right as it was about to lift off, it yawed right violently, the right wing dipped into the ground, dug in, and she went cartwheeling across the field. Fuse broke in half, totally smashed, no hope of rebuilding. One wing is crushed on the end, probably fixable. The cowl is cracked, fixable. Motor mounts broke. I haven't really checked it out yet, so there may be more damage than that, not that it really makes a difference at this point. It could be rebuilt with a new fuse, but by the time you consider time and cost of materials to fix it, it's pretty much totaled. I really liked this plane, so I may get another one eventually, but for now I think I am going to get back to work on the SSE and the Funtana.hwell: 

Silver lining you say? No, none at all. But, I think the tail feathers from this Extra might work pretty good on the Funtana.


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## justinspeed79 (Mar 9, 2006)

I just checked Tower for parts, they are a lot cheaper than I expected. Looks like I can get everything I need to re-build for about $100. I guess that's one more point for Great planes. Hangar 9 parts are very expensive, a fuse is usually more than half the cost of a new plane.


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## justinspeed79 (Mar 9, 2006)

R.I.P.

For now anyway......


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## Gary (May 21, 2004)

Dude, sorry to hear about the crash. There was an Extra 300 like yours at Scobee today and thats one sweet looking plane!


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## justinspeed79 (Mar 9, 2006)

The rudder hit hard enough to bend the control rod, but I don't see any structural damage to the tail.


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## Gary (May 21, 2004)

justinspeed79 said:


> The rudder hit hard enough to bend the control rod, but I don't see any structural damage to the tail.


DANG! Thats pretty bad!


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## justinspeed79 (Mar 9, 2006)

Gary said:


> Dude, sorry to hear about the crash. There was an Extra 300 like yours at Scobee today and thats one sweet looking plane!


Thanks bro, but if there's one thing I have learned about RC flying, it's that you are going to crash!  I'm really bummed about it, but I am trying to just shrug it off, what's done is done!

It is a sweet plane, I don't think I am done with it yet, but it is definitely going on the back burner. The SSE and the Funtan have already been on the back burner long enough.


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## Brassnadz (Jun 18, 2007)

I love watching those things fly, but the pics of the crash are what keeps me from diving in. I couldnt imagine the feeling one must get after spending countless hours building a plane, just to see it end up in pieces like that. There used to be a flying field in Pearland where I would go and watch the RC planes fly. One time a guy was there that had a very large model of a B17 complete with four radial engines on it. It almost sounded real as it took to the sky and made some fly by runs. Something went bad during the flight, and the pilot lost control, and the model crashed. It was heartbreaking to see. I have a little helicopter I paid 200 bucks for, and its pretty simple to fly due to having two rotors and no tail rotor to mess with, and it has taken a few crashes, but its pretty cheap to get replacement parts for it, and best of all, I dont have any time invested in building it. I have to say I admire you guys that put in all the time and craftsmanship building them and it must be a real sense of accomplishment to see them fly for the first time. Dont think I would have the nerve to try it myself, but I would like to build one to hang from the ceiling.


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## Gary (May 21, 2004)

Brassnadz said:


> I love watching those things fly, but the pics of the crash are what keeps me from diving in. I couldnt imagine the feeling one must get after spending countless hours building a plane, just to see it end up in pieces like that. There used to be a flying field in Pearland where I would go and watch the RC planes fly. One time a guy was there that had a very large model of a B17 complete with four radial engines on it. It almost sounded real as it took to the sky and made some fly by runs. Something went bad during the flight, and the pilot lost control, and the model crashed. It was heartbreaking to see. I have a little helicopter I paid 200 bucks for, and its pretty simple to fly due to having two rotors and no tail rotor to mess with, and it has taken a few crashes, but its pretty cheap to get replacement parts for it, and best of all, I dont have any time invested in building it. I have to say I admire you guys that put in all the time and craftsmanship building them and it must be a real sense of accomplishment to see them fly for the first time. Dont think I would have the nerve to try it myself, but I would like to build one to hang from the ceiling.


It's the thrill bro. There are those who are spectators and there are those who are participants. The good thing about RC is, you don't die while living life on the edge.


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## justinspeed79 (Mar 9, 2006)

Brassnadz, it is a terrible feeling watching your plane crash, but it is something you just have to except if you want to fly RC's. In a strange way, the crashes are what really make this hobby so much fun. It's like Gary said, being right on the edge, you know what's going to happen if things go wrong, and that is were the adrenalin comes from. When things go right, which they do most of the time, it is a great feeling! 

You can also get airplanes like your helicopter, that can take a pretty good beating and bounce back, or need only minor repairs. My Parkzone Typhoon is a perfect example. The last Typhoon I had I crashed at least 25 times. After most of those crashes all I had to do was use some CA to glue it back together and I was flying again in a couple of minutes. Occasionally you will have to buy some parts, but they are inexpensive, $8 for a new gearbox, $2 for a new cowl, $3 for a prop, etc. I finally broke down and bought a new Typhoon recently, because mine was more glue than foam at that point lol...


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## Arlon (Feb 8, 2005)

Brassnadz said:


> I love watching those things fly, but the pics of the crash are what keeps me from diving in....


Hmmm, where are those "Brassnadz"? LOL, sorry I couldn't resist.. (-:}


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