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Great Planes Extra I am modeling this Extra 300 after Mike Goulian's plane. Mike flies aerobatics and races Red Bull in this plane. Go to his website at http://www.mikegoulian.com for more information Please click on the thumbnail to get a larger picture |
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Mine #1 |
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Finished #1 |
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Well, finally I got to fly her. The engine (an old but unflown Gemini OS120FT) is still a bit rough and she struggles to keep an idle even with the on-board glow driver. I am running a 13x8 3 blade prop so I might try an appropriate 2 bladed prop for comparison. Anyway. Little to no wind on a somewhat overcast day in the mid 60's. A great day for flying. Full throttle and straight up onto the mains. She tracked perfectly. After about 25 yards I pulled a little back on the elevator and she broke ground easily. With all the control surfaces set to neutral visually I need only the minutest amount of trim to get her flying straight and level. What a great feeling. She wasn't going as fast as I had expected (A different prop may change that) but she didn't slow down at all in a loop and seemed to have more vertical capability than I could fly. A few simple manuevers loops, rolls, cuban 8, Immelman and split "S", inverted flight needed little to no down elevator. All very text book. The landings were basically uneventful. In fact, the first landing was a bit bouncy 'cos I floated her in - a little bit like my J-3. So the airframe certainly wants to fly. The second landing was almost the best landing I have ever made. I think this is one of those planes that makes the pilot look better than he really is. So, yes, I'm happy. |
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