Extreme Flight Extra EXP V2__How To Update Perfection

 

The Extreme Flight 48" Extra EXP is such a perfect plane in every respect that I didn't think there would ever be any improving it. Everything the Extra EXP does is the way an airplane is supposed to do things. My first Extra EXP completely changed how I thought about 3D flying, and most assuredly was instrumental in my development as a pilot. As over 10,000 sales suggests, I am far from alone. It's convenient, practical, and affordable size has kept it as my primary plane for over a decade, but time, technology, and Extreme Flight's never ending crusade for perfection means it's time to upgrade with the arrival of the new 48" Extra EXP V2.

Foundation
Before we move on to talk about the Extra EXP V2, it's worth mentioning the foundation laid by the original V1. It is so well executed that it survived and thrived in the savage 48" 3D market for over a decade, and considering the way other planes come and go, that's an extraordinary achievement. The V1 was a revolutionary plane in many respects. It was one of the first to employ the extensive use of mixed composite materials and geodetic construction. There are many things pioneered by the V1 that we simply take for granted now, but at the time this plane was a mind bending leap into the future. It was also absolutely perfect for the kind of flying we do, with the right blend of stability and agility. It was essentially perfect, but now that definition is changing.

The planes have become so much better and so much more capable that we had to change the way we flew them. 3D began with a bunch super lightweight, super fragile planes that hovered and puttered around all day. Once we started flying them fast and doing high stress maneuvers the planes didn't hold up so well, and that's why mixed composites are so valuable in keeping the planes light, and also adding the strength and stiffness needed to really hammer on them.

We are now flying the planes so hard that 3D doesn't describe it any more. The game has become so different, we had to start calling it something different,  and this is where the term 3DXA (3d Extreme Aerobatics) comes from.

The original Extra EXP was in on the ground floor of this movement, and with a few V2 tweaks here and there, plus the use of superior engineering and futuristic mixed composites, she should be set for another 10 year run at the top of the food chain.

As the V1 flies of into the final sunset, the V2 is truly the dawn of the new age of 3DXA.

 

 

 

V2 Features and Kit Build
With this kind of foundation, there really wasn't a lot that needed to be changed. Most of the updates to the V2 revolve around building it out of lighter, stiffer, and stronger composite material. A lighter plane is going to fly better, and a stiffer plane is going to be more lively and precise.

As seen on other V2 models, Extreme Flight is moving ahead with the extended use of carbon and mixed composite materials. Previous 48" Extras used carbon rods to support the motorbox, but the V2 has the newer, angled side motorbox, which is also heavily reinforced with carbon. This is not only more stiff than the previous motorbox, but also simplifies the design and gives you a lot more room to work when changing out the battery. Combined with the V2 composite top, sides and bottom of the motorbox, plus carbon formers all the way to the back of the battery compartment, this is the strongest, stiffest 48" we have ever seen. We leaned in pylon racing that a stiffer motor mounting transfers the most power to the propeller itself instead of wasting it by flexing and absorbing it. This is simply better engineering.

Generally the V2 is stronger all the way around, but it's not like the V1 needed any more of that. I never broke one in the air, and even in outright crashes the planes held up extremely well. Where the V2 treatment really comes into play is in the air, where all this strength,  and especially stiffness gives you a more precise plane. Nothing is flexing or moving, so the plane stays straight and flies straight even under the most extreme stress. This is crucial with snaps and tumbles, walls, pop tops, and other high stress maneuvers, where it helps you control the entry and exit better. Once you figure out the timing it's easier to make the plane come out pointed exactly where you want it, which becomes more of a precision thing than just mindlessly flopping around and waiting to see where it comes out.

 

I have got a lot of flights on my 52s, which feature the same mixed composite construction. I've crashed a few of them and while it hurt, all of them were easily repaired in crashes that would have cremated other planes. So, you get a stronger, better flying, more durable and longer lasting plane. I don't recommend you abuse these planes, but they don't seem to suffer a lot from it.

Again, like all the other V2s, this one features the self jigging horizontal stabilizer. You simply jam it all the way forward and it locks into place perfectly aligned. I've build 10 or 12 planes using this feature and they all came out perfect. I measure them anyway, and I recommend that, simply because I want to be sure.

Mostly this eliminates the most stressful and time consuming part of the job. I used to spend about an hour on this, but now I push the stab forward, measure it, and it's always perfect. Having a bit of OCD with these planes, I measure it over and over, and this part is probably the most time consuming part of the build. 

In general the build went so easy I can heartily recommend this plane as a first balsa build. The only part of the build that took much skill and patience was the hinging, and my secrets for that are in my Miscellaneous Build And Set Up Tricks article.

Aside from the stab and hinging, everything else on the build is a simple bolt on operation. If you are not happy with it, simply take it apart and do it over. Since once glued, you can't do that with the stab and hinging, it makes sense to do those first when you are fresh, take your time and build patiently.

As such, your best tool is going to be patience, and forget about the claims people make about building in X amount of time. It's not a macho contest. Generally it takes me seven or eight hours, but remember, I've been building planes my whole life, had good teachers and know the tricks. I also cheat and have all the sub assemblies (landing gear, pushrods, power system, etc) assembled ahead of time using spares.

Don't rush it , and it takes as long as it takes to get it right. Mostly I enjoy working with such quality equipment and I am usually disappointed it didn't take longer. I used to hate building but now it's almost like it's another hobby. Slow down and enjoy! The Extra went together so perfectly with so little effort that it was done before I was ready to stop! After being locked down for so long with nothing to do it was a real treat to have something to build, but it went too fast! I guess I had better get a yellow one right away!

Hardware
I don't like a lot of change just for the sake of change, so I'm really glad Extreme Flight has kept the same hardware package we've been using since the introduction of the EXP series. It's all tough, reliable stuff that we all know forward and backward, which makes it easy to work with. It's also nearly bullet proof, but it's nice most of us have a good supply of spares built up over the years.

There are a few changes here, but they are all good. Most of the Phillips head bolts have been replaced by Xessories titanium colored case hardened allen bolts. You can use the same allen tool to check the landing gear, and cowl screws. Not only does this simplify pre-flight inspection, but they just look really good and the titanium color goes along nicely with the composite construction's modern, hi tech look.

Equipment

Power System

Once again, it's going to be the Torque 2814/Airboss 45 ESC power system. I have been using this combination in my 48" planes, again, for over a decade. Reliability and durability has been 100% dead solid perfect. There is more power than you actually need, with enough to give unlimited vertical performance, and throttle response is perfectly linear.

 

Like all Extreme Flight power systems, once you bolt the cowling on you can forget about the motor and ESC and simply fly it. Most of my 2814s and Airboss' are years old, but I have so much faith in them I will drop an old beat up one into a brand new plane with no worries. The Torque is the Maytag of electric motors.

BEC

For 8 volt servos you either need a 2s lipo or an external BEC. I chose the BEC because they are not that hard to solder up, and once installed you simply forget about them. I have always used the Castle 10 amp BEC on all my 8 volt planes, and again, am delighted with the reliability and durability.
 

Here you can see I solder mine up a little differently. Instead of soldering both the ESC battery leads and BEC to the deans plug, I cut back the heat shrink on the wire about halfway between and solder there. It makes putting the deans plug on much easier because you don't have to hold and solder two leads to one place.

If you are running 6 volt servos, the standard Airboss will feed those just fine.

 

Set Up

 

More excellence here as nothing has changed. The V2 uses the same linkages and ball link that have served us so well s the V1, and using the same control horns means the set up doesn't change. I'm using the same size servo arms as before, with the ball links in the same holes as before. Switching to ProModeler didn't take any guesswork because the arms are identical in size to the Hitec we previously used.

Ailerons

Using the outer hole on the arm that comes with the ProModeler servo, I get the same amount of throw as before. Nothing has changed here in my set up, which is fine because it was already perfect.

 

Rudder

Nothing different here either, using the standard ProModeler arm I am on the outer hole. One thing I have changed as of late is putting the ball link on the inner side of the servo arm. This yields a straighter alignment of the pushrod.

 

Elevator

Here we are going a little different from previous Extras in that I have started to get away from the 88 degrees of travel and going more for about 70. For this I again used the standard arm, and attached the G10 extension that comes with the kit. This is a nice, neat solution.  I used this set up on my last V1 when we were first testing the DS105 servos and I didn't miss the extra throw. In fact, the plane still has great elevator authority and is smoother on the pitch axis. The 88 degrees of throw was great fun, but I don't think we really needed it.

 

I've turned my end points up to achieve this, and now I have room to turn those back and experiment with even less throw. The whole idea is to make the plane smoother without giving up pitch authority, and my best guess is we will end up somewhere around 50 or 60 degrees, and we'll cover this in subsequent articles.
 

Extreme Flight Gamebird EXP__No Quarter

Flying the new Extreme Flight Gamebird EXP made for an odd flight report. All the 3DHS and Extreme Flight planes do everything well. They all just have their own strong points and excel in different areas. For Example the Extra does the cleanest precision, the Edge harriers best and the Slick and Velox are the best snapping and tumbling planes. Each gives up a little something to the others, though admittedly those differences are becoming smaller with each new release.

Where this comes off the rails is the Gamebird. This plane does everything exceptionally well, but it doesn't give up anything to the others in any area. The Extra is still a little more graceful, but the Gamebird is as smooth and precise. I think the Gamebird harriers every bit as good as the Edge, and tumbles very much like a Velox. Essentially the Gamebird gives other planes no quarter.

 

Let's break down the areas of performance one by one:

 Stability
The Gamebird does so many things so beautifully it was difficult to know where to start talking about it, but the stability and ease of flight are what impressed me the most. It a lot of ways this plane has the happy go lucky, carefree nature of the original Extra SHP and SR. It's just one damm happy plane that you can trust on the edge and on the deck. This part of her behavior is simply remarkable.

This is where the Gamebird sets itself apart from the others. It simply never loses it's composure no matter how hard you push it and stays planted where you put it. Even the wind doesn't affect it that much and I know that because we fly in 10-15mph wind every day, and sometimes 20-25mph.

The maiden was much like I experienced with my 60" Yak.....it was so good I thought something had to be wrong. Anything that good is usually a trap and a nasty surprise ready to pounce, but as I gained confidence and pushed the plane harder and harder, I found this was no joke. The stability in the Gamebird is very much for real, to the point it's very close to being a 3D trainer.

By the end of the first day I decided to fly it just like I fly my 52" Velox because it was even a little more stable and agile, and acts kind of like a larger version. The only reason it took a few flights to have total confidence in the plane was because, again, too good to be real, but it is.

Bottom line: As Surefooted as a mountain goat.

Gamebird EXP Smooth, Sexy, Swoopy 2 from Doc Austin on Vimeo.

 

Agility

Another surprise as I started to push the plane was how lively it is. She is nice and composed, tame almost, but when you bend the sticks she becomes very, very much like the Velox and turns herself inside out. The tumbling is the best I've seen in newer planes, and rivals even the old Velox, which was a wild tumbly beast.

No doubt about it, this is a big plane. The fuselage is fat with lots of side area, the canopy is monstrous and the fin and rudder are tall and out of the downwash (part of where the stability comes from). It almost looks like a 65" or something, and big planes are usually not as lively and responsive as this plane is.

While she harriers like a plane with a gyro cranked off the scale, you can still whip her around in a harrier turn with rudder, a little opposite aileron and a sharp blast of throttle. You can almost spin her around on the inside wingtip, but right now I am being careful and the best I could manage was within half a wingspan.

I'm going to make a subjective judgement here, but it seems control authority doesn't bleed off as much when you slow her down. Sure, at the stall point you're using a lot of stick, but even here the plane us surefooted and responsive enough to get out of most mistakes. I dead stalled her right in the middle of a death slide and still got the wings level in time to turn a potential crash into an ugly touch and go. I think I would have destroyed any other plane, but the agility saved me. You can see that on video in the previous article.

You may have noticed I like to fly in close and keep the flight in tight at show center. There comes a point you just can't turn the plane any harder, especially at slow speed, but so far no worries with this plane. As long as you've got some power on her and enough combined lift to keep her in the air, the plane is secure and I would say it's never going to bite you.

Bottom line: Probably more agility than you can use, but smooth and secure the entire time.

Gamebird EXP__Smooth, Sexy, Swoopy 3 from Doc Austin on Vimeo.

Snaps and Tumbles

Yet another area where the Gamebird excels. Compared to the others (Except the Velox), she is short coupled, meaning the distance between the wing and stab is shorter. This is part of where the plane gets it's advanced agility, but that usually results in a loss of pitch stability, Not so here, and again, very much like the Velox.

Once again, the Gamebird demonstrates Velox agility by only needing medium speed to snap and tumble. I use this ability to do these moves in close and low. I can blast out of a hover and within 50 feet have enough speed to snap or pop top this plane. Another nice benefit is all of this is less stress on the plane while getting the same results. Terminal velocity tumbles are not that much more violent, and most people can control the exit better when the plane is going slower anyway.

She also comes out of tumbles much more cleanly while maintaining authority, very, very much like the Velox. Generally you are pretty close to totally stalled coming out of a big tumble, but the Gamebird stops where you tell it to and maintains control authority. This pays off big because a mindless thrash into a tumble looks just like that, but with this plane, tumbles become a precision maneuver.

I'm still working on the timing, but I hit one blender just right and it even scared the Coyotes at the field. I hammered the power going in, let her rotate a few times and them crossed over the ailerons. Carrying all this momentum in sent her whipping into a KE spin so violent I lost orientation and had to bail. It was certainly spectacular.

Pop tops are just downright silly. I'm getting a full rotation better than my other planes, though the Velox is right there. The last rotation is pretty slow as the momentum winds off and you simply hold the rudder until you want it to stop, release and add power, and fly away. If you have a little altitude you can add power, reverse the ailerons and the plane will pop top and drop into a beautiful KE spin thus combining those two moves. Looks really slick and worth working on to get the timing just right. Not hard, just practice.

Here, again, I compare the plane to the Velox, which is a pretty high bar in my book. Snapping and tumbles are pretty wild, but completely controllable. You don't just throw it in and deal with however it comes out, Now you fly the plane through the tumble and place it where you want it.

Bottom Line: Impressive wild maneuvers made easy and controllable.

Harrier

The Gamebird gives up nothing to any of the others here. In fact, it might even be better than the Edge, which has always been the harrier pinnacle. There is zero wing rock, even when you get sloppy, and I even tried. She's just remarkably (again) stable all the way around.

It's getting even better as I fly her more, but it's already effortless to drive her up and down the runway with the nose way up there. I found this out of the first flight because that's one of the things you want to know right away. I dropped her into an elevator and when she sunk to the deck I pulled the nose up and she tracked right down the centerline of the runway.

This harrier nature is very similar to the Velox and I was totally at ease with this behavior the first time I tried it, other than not believing it was real. I am almost ready to recommend this plane as a 3D trainer simply because of it's stability and especially it's harrier manners.
Bottom Line: 3D Trainer like alpha

Gamebird EXP__Smooth, Sexy, Swoopy 4 from Doc Austin on Vimeo.

Light Flying nature

Maybe almost as impressive as the plane's stability is her light flying floatyness. Again, this is a big plane and you expect those to fly heavier because big planes usually are. Here though, the Gamebird fools us again by being extremely ligtht on it's wing, and in 3D she will just hang there. This makes 3D a bunch easier and easier to control. I mean, this baby flies light and as I understand the plane a little better she's going to get even better.

Bottom Line: Goodyear Blimp Move Over.

Precision

Here was the big surprise. As much as the Gamebird has going for it in every respect, she just had to give something up, somewhere, somehow. But, no. The first slow roll I popped off was the best I've ever done, and on the return pass the 4 point roll was just as sharp. Consecutive rolls were crisp and very axial.

Big sky maneuvers are excellent too. The Gamebird is so light you don't scrub off any momentum on climbing moves or big, giant, round loops and Cuban Eights. With the extra authority, you can do your precision in tighter and closer and this makes the whole game look better

As responsive and light weight as this plane is, I was expecting the Gamebird to give up a little something in tracking, but again, no dice. This plane locks in every bit as solidly as the Extra and it's going to take a better pilot than me to tell which one is better here.

Perhaps the Extra is maybe a little more graceful, but that could be down to it's sleek lines. I love the way the Gamebird looks, but nothing is going to touch the Extras for being elegant. Still, this is the one area where the Gamebird might give a little something away to any of the the others, but it's really close and not enough difference to separate the two.

Bottom Line: Tracks like a laser beam

The Absolute Bottom Line...…. Sign here.

You have to look at the entire package here. In every area of performance, the Gamebird either excels or equals anything I've ever flown. She is light flying, extremely agile and as precise as they come. You can fly her extremely precisely, or thrash the hell out of her, or just putter around with utter confidence.

That and the intangible has to be mentioned as well. Even when I am hanging it out with this plane it's never even a second though I could get it wrong. On the deck, on the edge, and even slightly over my head, the Gamebird does what I tell it to do with smoothness and authority, and maybe most importantly, she instils a calm sense of confidence that I've got this. That, my friends, is what makes a fun tlying airplane.

Extreme Flight Gamebird EXP__Smooth, Sexy, And Most Definately Swoopy

I've always loved swoopy airplanes and the new Extreme Flight 60" Gamebird EXP has definitely got that going for it, and a lot more too. Based off the full scale Gamebird Composites GB1, the Extreme Flight is a pretty accurate representation. The Design team had access to Gamebird's drawings and that's how the shape came out so convincingly.

So, she's swoopy and a good scale representation, but that's just the beginning.

Click On All Photos To Enlarge

 

Flying

We still need some ore video, so this section of the report is going to be a little short, and we'll have a comprehensive flight report soon.

Gamebrd EXP__Sexy, Swoopy, Smooth from Doc Austin on Vimeo.

The lasting impression of this plane is that it's smooth and stable but still snaps and spins with great authority. It's a lot like the Velox, but with them both being short coupled we kind of expected this. Like the Velox, the Gamebird has ridiculously stable harrier manners, as well as flying extremely light. The plane wants to float forever, but she still slows to almost nothing for a landing. This is a very easy plane to fly that wads itself up pretty tightly when you ask that from it. The plane just responds to whatever you tell it to do.

Precision manners are most excellent, and you can see in the videos the Gamebird will do a perfectly straight slow roll for the length of the field. Consecutive rolls are arrow straight and axial, and the plane tracks dead on during big sky maneuvers like giant loops and figure 8s.

Again, there will be much more later, but for now, know the Gamebird is completely of anything you ask from it, but could almost be considered a 3D trainer. It's an extremely mild mannered plane that does it all with smoothness and grace.

Kit Features.
The Gamebird features all the latest in aero and construction thinking, including the extensive use of mixed composite construction. There's so much to go into it's better to tackle it photo by photo.

Starting with the mixed composite construction, the Gamebird is a lot like the Laser and Extra V2 models The motorbox, battery tray and all formers are mixed composite material. Not only does this make for a stiffer, better performing plane, but it also makes them extremely tough and durable airframes.

You can see the composite used in every former all the way back, and at the bottom are carbon fiber rods that stiffen the balsa sheeting and make for a very stout unit. Only a couple of short years ago we had to cut out our cooling holes, but now it's done for you and you're another step closer to getting in the air.

With a canopy this large it was a good idea to have it be more secure. The old style pin latch we've been using for years is still fine, but added to the fuselage are latches that give additional security.

                 

  The Gamebird has a very beefy composite landing gear mounting block, supported by the usual 3DHS style tube system.  

Setup

These are the same ball links and pushrods we have been using for over a decade, so they are well proven. These are as simple as can be made, which goes a long way to assuring dependability and durability, as well as smooth, drag free, slop free operation.

Ailerons

In the only nasty surprise of the whole project, it was hard to get a good picture of the aileron linkage with the black servo arm over the black strip on the wing!

I was out of Xessories arms, so I used the ProModeler PDRS101 arm on the second hole, which is 7/8" from center. This gives me the amount of throw I am used to. I'm not a young guy, so it's hard for me to keep up with a plane that rolls like a drill bit. With this setup I get about 31-33 degrees, and that's enough aileron to counter torque in a hover, plus it makes the plane rifle roll so fast, again, I can't keep up with it. This is probably enough aileron most people.

Elevator
Using the second hole on the Xessories1.25" arm, I'm getting 45 degrees of elevator travel.

 
This ends up being absolutely prefect for this plane because it's got massive pitch authority and you absolutely don't need any more. Especially on the elevator, I like the cinch bolt on the Xessories arm. Even if the center bolt that secures the arm falls completely out, the cinch bolt will probably save you and keep the arm from falling off. I certainly don't recommend you try this, but having two bolts on the arm just makes a failure that much less likely.

Rudder
Here I use the ProModeler PDRS101 arm on the outer hole, and this gives me a perfect 45 both directions.

Power System

As always, the Xpwr Torque 4016/500Mk. II is the industry standard for performance and anvil like durability. The same is true of the Airboss 80 ESC, and it's perfectly linear and flyable throttle response.

The one hallmarks of the entire Torque/Airboss lineup is that you bolt the system on and forget about it virtually forever. You may want to check the mounting bolts every so often, but outside of that there's nothing to do except run it hard.

Also unchanged is that things that are designed to work together always work together better than things that aren't, so there was not going to be any mixing and matching.  If you want the best performance and reliability from your Torque, the obvious choice is always the Airboss 80 ESC, There is not a lot of bling or adjustments, but there doesn't need to be. The less adjustments you have, the less things for you to get wrong. The 4015 runs perfectly on the Airboss just the way it comes out of the package. Again, all that matter is performance and reliability, and that's what you get with this unit. You plug it in and forget about it until you either crash or wear out the airframe.

Certainly if you already have a power system, you gotta watch the pennies and use that, but also remember you save about $50 if you buy the airframe/power system combo, which makes it price competitive with lesser units. If you don't already have a power system, anything else doesn't make nearly as much sense.

Servos

Tests with ProModeler DS100s in my 52s yielded such impressive results that I have switched to their DS110 servos in all my 60" planes. These are only $60 per, which makes them competitively priced (and sometimes even less) to comparable servos. So given how happy I am with the DS100s, this was a logical choice, and one that is quickly becoming de rigeur.

It's going to be hard to beat the servos we have been using in these 60" planes, because they have been really good, but we thought that about the 52s as well, and the difference was day and night. Most servo discussions revolve around torque and speed, but that may not be what is most critical, at least not to me. What we already have features really good torque and speed, but what surprised me with the DSS100 was their absolute dead solid perfect every single time centering, and this is even more true of the DS110s. The difference this kind of centering makes is not something you are going to believe when put into words, but you will certainly get the true picture when you fly them.

 

If you add to that the robust machined aluminum case and gear train construction, not to even mention their water resistance, this was an easy choice in spite of how much I hate to change what's working. It's not a cheap thing either considering I plan to update my other 60s, but for the best performance from planes I have already spent a bunch of money on, it certainly makes sense to spend a bit more to get the most out of my investment. My other 52s were no fun to fly once I had experienced how much better my PM equipped Extra was, so re-equipping became mandatory for me. After this, I'm simply not going to settle for anything less.

Look, you don't need to buy the absolute best servo you can find. I was using the inexpensive 5245MG in my Yak with good results, and some people have actually gotten away with really inexpensive 225mgs (not recommended). Still, at $59.99, it's still the same or less money than other premium servos. Why not spend less and get the best?

Of course, when I say "best," it's fair to note that is subjective, but if you read the reviews, I am nowhere near alone in my praise. That, and since I have been doing this for over 60 years, I might be on to something.

It would be too lengthy to go into all these servo's features, so I refer you to John Beech's excellent article outlining them on the DS110CLHV page. Even better is the article on PM's DS100DLHV page that explains the merits of construction with pictures of the insides. Different servo, but same features and rugged construction.

Having flown DS110s for over a year, it's fair to say they have earned my confidence with regards to durability and reliability.  Combined with what I have read from John Beech, and the nearly unbelievable flying results I have gotten, I'm completely confident to put these into brand new planes and never think about them again. Stuff that runs like a sewing machine and perform above expectations don't just simply fall apart. You can't get that kind of performance without putting the quality in too, or they would have already blown up.