GREAT PLANES EXTRA 300S, 60 SIZE, ELECTRIC CONVERSION, 2019 BUILD ALONG

[TooJung2Die]

Thanks, almost done.

I am awed by the photos of your airplane's finish. It looks glass smooth. I watched a friend fly an Extra today. Looked about the same size but his was two stroked. What a beautiful flying airplane in the hands of a skilled pilot. I had trouble keeping the orientation and I wasn't flying!

 

[nhk750]

I finished it! Started on Oct 1rst, 2018 and finished Sept 8th, 2019, so about 11 months, but I moved in the middle of all this so that really slowed things down. I just need to do some motor testing and measure the Watts with a watt meter, then set up control surface throws and trims, set up weight and balance, ect, ect...The AUP (all up weight, flight ready with battery) is 4,100 grams (9.039 lbs). So, that is a little on the heavy side, but this is a conversion and many reinforcement mods were made to accomidate the extra weight. You may see some white around the canopy as the glue is still curing. Were probably looking at a maiden flight in a few weeks as I now have many other projects for the house in progress.

I also change the Red Bull color scheme a bit...artist's license.

 

[bracesport]

@nhk750 - really impressive - something to be proud off for sure - I am hoping for a safe maiden!

 

[Joker 53150]

Very nice looking plane, great job!

 

[rockyboy]

Very nicely done!!

 

[nhk750]

Thanks everyone, been a long project.

 

[OliverW]

Congrats!

 

[TooJung2Die]

It looks Great!

 

[Jackson T]

That is one slick looking plane! Well done on the build and finish. Can't wait for the maiden!

 

[AkimboGlueGuns]

I finished it! Started on Oct 1rst, 2018 and finished Sept 8th, 2019, so about 11 months, but I moved in the middle of all this so that really slowed things down. I just need to do some motor testing and measure the Watts with a watt meter, then set up control surface throws and trims, set up weight and balance, ect, ect...The AUP (all up weight, flight ready with battery) is 4,100 grams (9.039 lbs). So, that is a little on the heavy side, but this is a conversion and many reinforcement mods were made to accomidate the extra weight. You may see some white around the canopy as the glue is still curing. Were probably looking at a maiden flight in a few weeks as I now have many other projects for the house in progress.

I also change the Red Bull color scheme a bit...artist's license.

That is looking amazing! Can't wait for flight video!

 

[Mr. Gandalf]

Sweet looking plane!

 

[Captain Video]

Great Looking plane! I have the same kit waiting to be built this winter. I hope mine looks that good!

 

[nhk750]

Oh man, you got a rare kit then as they were hard to get while even in production. It produces a really nice plane, but a pain in the a## to build at times and it is really fragile to handle when done as the sheeting is thin and the covering is applied in a different way on the fuse in spots...you will see when building. If you go with an electric conversion, you may learn some tricks from this thread.

 

[nhk750]

Update, I performed the weight and balance/cg testing and found it to be tail heavy. I have read this is common for this model and I thought I addressed this while building, but I still needed to add 70 grams of lead to the cowl. I wish I could have done it differently, like add a bigger motor, but it is what it is and in a 9lb + plane that weight wont matter much especially when I should be pushing around 1,800 watts of power. Motor and Watt testing are up next on the list.

 

[Joker 53150]

Adding dead weight is no fun, but part of the hobby. I've got a couple planes that each have between 2 and 3 POUNDS of weight added to the firewall.

 

[nhk750]

I was going to add the weight to the firewall, but I wanted to get it as far forward as possible to reduce the weight needed, so added it as far forward in the cowl as I could. The cowl is fiberglass so I epoxied the weights inside and it should be ok as the glass is pretty durable. I added 4 7 gram weights to each side of the cowl and two 7 gram weights to the firewall.

 

[rockyboy]

Yeah, adding weight isn't a great feeling at the end of a build - but that shouldn't be enough to cause any significant impact on a 9 pound plane. I just added 3.5 ounces on a 50ish ounce plane (the NuBee) and while I really didn't like adding that much weight, she flys great with it!

 

[Jackson T]

I've got a couple planes that each have between 2 and 3 POUNDS of weight added to the firewall.

That's a LOT of lead! What planes were that on?

 

[Joker 53150]

Both 1/3 scale, a Cessna 152 and a Sopwith Pup. 3 pounds isn’t that much when the entire plane is over 20 (I keep telling myself that).

 

[nhk750]

The directions want the cg at 4 1/8" from the wing leading edge and I'm at around 4 1/4" with the cg machine, so I will fly it at this and see how how it goes. I like my planes a little tail heavy anyway and when I use my fingers to check the cg it is right on the marks I made at 4 1/8", so I'm confident it's good to go at this point.