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E-flite Extra 300 32e


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After having crashed my Seagul Edge 540EP I am searching for a proper replacement. And as I had a weak minute I ordered an E-flight Extra 300 32e at my favorite mainstreet shop. As it is a little bigger and a little heavier as my Edge was it should be right also for flying in light wind. Also I think I can share the batteries between the Extra and my Sebart Sukhoi 29 30 size. (4 cells 3000mAh).
 
I know that there was a review in the December 2010 magazine but I would like to have also a second opinion. Anybody out there flying this plane?
 
Thanks VA
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I have one or should I say HAD one.... in the repair shop. Brain froze at the wrong time.
 
Very nice plane to fly, handles superbly in the wind. The only thing i would say is mybe get some decal on the bottom off the plane as it is pure white and can be hard to see in distance.
 
My set up-
 
MOTOR Eflite power32E
ESC CC ice 75amp
BAT 4cell 3900's
SERVO Hitec HS225MG all round
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OK. lets start. The plane arrived yesterday, packaging is perfect.

I had a look at all parts to check for any defect or damage. Everything looks good, some of the covering has wrinkles. I will blow them out later.
 

As usual I didn't find the correct prop - I found a 13 x 8 in my own collection (actually a spare one for my Sebart Sukhoi) and I purchased a 13 x 6.5.
Engine: I chose the recomended one, the power 32 from e-flite. Servos: 3 will be the Hitec 225 MG type, for the rudder servo I will use Spektrum DS 821.
ESC: I have the choice between a 55A Jeti - which may be a little to weak - or a 80A Turnigy, I would prefer the Jeti - lets have a look at the current draw later.

Following the manual I fixed the ailerons to the wings and installed the wing servos. The 225 are a little too wide, so I had to remove about 1mm of ply to get them into their position. The hardware which came with the model looks good, the only thing I would change are the clevesis - I prefer metal ones. As the threads on the pushrods are American I leave the plastic ones.
This is the first evening progress, more to come later. Don't think I will make it in the 6h which I read in some reviews. (Have used the first 3h already....)
 
 
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Building the Extra 300 32 went pretty straight forward – and I don’t want to bother you with unnecessary details. Two things are to mention on the positive side: The wheel spats are of a quality which was not known to me before. For sure a few grams more, but much better than the eggshell spats of other ARTF companies. This includes my favourite Sebart models.

The same has to be said about the cowl. No fiddling, drilling into the structure where nothing then a 2mm balsa plank is below. All done. Just screw it on. Ready. I love that.
Ok. After the positive news let’s look at the backdraws. It is impossible to put a 4000mAh Lipo into its position as one of the cross spars is in the way. I took myself a heart and cut it out and moved it 20mm back.


To be sure not to change the mechanical strength I put in a 3mm light ply strip below the new position of the cross spar. I cut out 4 triangle s of 10 mm light ply to support the cross spar in its new position. I am pretty sure this is as strong as it was before.


All the rest went well without any problems. May be it is to mention that the push rods on the wings needed a 15 deg bend otherwise they would block (and add unnecessary force) in case the aileron goes upwards. Looking at the other hardware those pushrods with S-bend look basic to me. There are more precise solutions then those on the market.

A general comment: I don’t like the American threads – in case something is broken it will be difficult to find replacement.

Wing screws: I don’t know what was the idea behind the solution to use a standard screw in a position where you do not have access with a standard tool. So I took my lathe out and made some aluminium adapters which allow opening and closing by hand.


The original screw is just glued into the adapter with slow epoxy (UHU plus)


So the bird is ready – but I couldn’t decide yet what to do with the cockpit. I personally prefer a pilot – tinting the canopy would be the easier solution.


I have time with the canopy question - as the whole weekend is characterised by a gusty strong wind.


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Finally I had no patience to wait for less wind in the afternoon or during weekends so I packed my Extra in the car early this morning and went to the field. There was a little wind from North-West but nothing in comparison to the afternoons. O.K., the Extra flies. A little bit of up elevator trim and quite a bit of aileron trim were necessary to level it out. Even having the COG at 93mm I think it is a bit twitchy - so I will add a bit of lead into the nose.
I emptied 3 batteries, mainly testing landing approach and handling. A few loops rolls and turns have been added as well, and the plane is doing everything what it is asked for. Flying with the extra weight of Kayte and the 4000mAh battery doesn't make the plane lighter, also I don't want to test the stall behavior during the landing - so my landings were quite speedy. What I noticed is that the undercarriage is springy - means you need to touch down really smooth if you don't want the Extra to jump away a few times.
 
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  • 1 month later...
Posted by David Ashby - RCME Administrator on 14/05/2011 13:56:38:
So do you think a love affair will develop VA?
 
 
Thinking about getting one of these myself, cheapest I've found iso far is £135 from Daniel's Models in Windsor. Looks a real nice model !
 

 

Edited By Delta Whiskey on 07/07/2011 08:48:33

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I have the E-flite Extra 260 480, and saw this as a natural progression in size n power.. Would that be a correct asessment..??
 
I already have a Power32, E-flite 60A ESC and 4200 4s in a Cessna, which I dont fly, so only need some servo's to complete..
 
 
Luv
Chrisie... xx
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  • 9 months later...

I will hopefully Maiden my E-Flite extra 300 32e very soon. It feels like a big step up for me as I've only flown a Tutor 40 trainer, Black Horse Renegade and 2 flights with a Parkzone Habu. I was just wondering if anyone has any hints and tips as to recommended throws, CofG, expo etc, would it be best to fly when theres a little wind? any advice really, I'm sure you experienced fliers know the the sort of stuff I mean.

Thanks in advance, Nev.

Edited By David Ashby on 26/04/2012 13:45:25

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Hi racing snake,

This model flies well also in moderate winds. I made mine even a little heavier by adding Katie - have to look if I find a picture somewhere in my library -

Kayte

Here you can see her. She is quite a bit behind the COG - which means I have to put the battery (4 cells 4000mAh) as much in front as possible. All other equipment is exactly as described in the manual - I didn't had to add any extra weight - even I made my first flights with some temporary lead sticked to the battery to be on the save side (self adhesive Velcro - good stuff for such experiments).

The Extra doesn't like very narrow flown landing curves and she wants a little power during landing - but this is something she has in common with all aerobatic planes of similar shape. I use the control throws as on the instructions, may be with a bit more rudder in the low rates.

Have fun

VA

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  • 2 months later...

Today I gave my E-Flite Extra 300 32e it's maiden flight (at last)smiley. I've been putting it off for too long, so, as the weather was kind for once I decided it was time to take the plunge. I only had the one flight as my nerves would'nt take anotherdont know. I had to give it several clicks of up elevator but I had set it up a little nose heavy putting the battery well forward. I know I will be more relaxed next time now I've got the maiden flight out the way.

Nev.

Edited By Racing Snake on 09/07/2012 17:38:00

Edited By David Ashby - RCME on 10/07/2012 08:38:51

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Hi NigelH, It flew ok but to be fair I just wanted to get it off the ground and back again in one piece!! It is a lot more twitchy compared to what I have flown before even on lower than low rates with loads of expo. I look forward to flying it again soon so as to throw it about a bit more.

Edited By Racing Snake on 09/07/2012 18:42:48

Edited By Racing Snake on 09/07/2012 18:43:03

Edited By David Ashby - RCME on 10/07/2012 08:39:34

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I know what you mean. Just to have flown it smiley

Have your high and low rates adjusted accordingly for next time. Clear sky. Little wind. Plenty of space. It should do nicely.

 

Edited By David Ashby - RCME on 10/07/2012 08:39:49

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  • 1 month later...

I took the Extra up for only its second and last flight yesterdaysad. After performing a range check and that all control surfaces were good, I took off. After just one circuit and flying straight and level I glanced down to find my elevator trim switch, when I looked back up she appeared to have rolled to the right and gone into a nose dive. I tried everthing to save her but she didn't respond to anything I did, it all happened so quick. I don't think fail-safe kicked in as she went in under power, infact I believe she throttled up without command, can this happen with an ESC (Eflite 60amp)? or did I just imagin it !!!

Because she was so badly damaged, including battery fire, I couldn't determine what if anything had failed, but I found nothing obvious, the radio still works as does all servos, the motor looks ok but have yet to test it, the ESC is to damaged to test. I don't think I was flying slow enough for her to stall so I'm left wondering if she failed me or I failed her, any thoughs?

Nev.

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