The V2 reboot continues to reinvent the Extreme Flight ands 3DHS lineups, and this time one of the most beloved EXPs is being swept up and redefined. Edges have long been just about everyone's favorite for their gentle near and post stall manners. The Edge is widely renowned for being an excellent 3D trainer, as well as an all out 3DXA beast. The Edge is often called the unfair advantage because it's stability, mild manners and extreme capability is, well...….the unfair advantage.
Most people view it as the best of all worlds, and I think that's a fair characterization. There's a lot more to the Edge than just being a nice, smooth, stable, easy airplane that will ease the new pilot's path into 3D, but let's start with that. The Edge is universally accepted to be the best plane to start 3D with because of it's inherent near and post stall stability. When it comes to harrier flight, the Edge is the standard which the others are judged by. With harrier being the building block of all 3D flight, this makes the Edge the obvious choice for newer pilots.
Where the Edge differs from other sorts of 3D "trainers" is that this stability hardly compromises it's aerobatic ability. The Edge can do conventional and precision maneuvers with the near grace of the Extra, which is the queen of precision and grace, all while being able to smoothly fly around post stall or otherwise wrap itself up in snaps and tumbles. The performance is very well rounded with the bias a little more toward 3D than precision. While nothing is going to challenge the Extra in precision flight, the Edge doesn't really give up a lot here and does big sky stuff really well. The Edge does everything well and performs post stall flight exceptionally well. This makes the Edge the kind of plane everyone needs in their arsenal.
The Edge EXP is a lot like the 48" Extra EXP in that it was so close to perfect to begin with that all that was really required was updating it to the latest construction techniques and materials. Liberal use of carbon and mixed composites makes the Edge lighter, stronger, stiffer and better flying than ever before.
V2 Advances
The original Edge EXP was one of the first planes to feature mixed composite construction with extensive use of Carbon and G10 composite materials. At the time this was very advanced thinking. Now, at least for Extreme Flight planes, it's just part of the package and how things are done.
You find pictures of the kit entire kit in Extreme Flight Edge EXP V2__First Look .
You can see the motorbox uses G10 composite and wood laminate construction on top, bottom, firewall and sides. This is much stronger and somewhat lighter than mere wood construction. From there, the formers all the way to the tail use the same composite laminate.
All Pictures Click To Enlarge
G10 composite reinforces to top, bottom, an sides of the motorbox, as well as the firewall and it's mountings. The top piece run all the way back to the end of the canopy. This stiffens the entire structure considerably.
While this makes the plane much stronger, just as critically, it also makes the fuselage extremely stiff, which carries it's own advantages. A stiffer motorbox transfers more of the energy to the propeller instead of wasting it by flexing. It might seem like you are getting more power, but it is more like all of it is put to better effect.
There are also carbon rods running the full length along the bottom and side of the fuselage that add to strength and stiffness. The stiffer fuselage also allows less flexing and twisting of the wing and stabilizer mounts, and this keeps the plane in better alignment during high G maneuvers like snaps and tumbles. This allows better control entering and pinpoint accuracy exiting these maneuvers. Also enhanced are the plane's precision manners because a plane that stays in alignment tracks much better.
There are some lightness benefits to using this construction, but the real pay off is you get a stronger, stiffer, better flying, longer lasting airframe. G10 and carbon composite materials are also used around the high stress wing tube mounts, as well as the anti rotation pin holes. Anywhere there is high stress or high wear, it's reinforced with these materials. The top rails of the battery compartment are an extension of the top motorbox piece, and that runs all the way back to the rear of the compartment. As well as adding stiffness, you're less likely to bust those rails out (and we've all done it) changing out the battery.
It's hard to get a decent picture of the landing gear block because the battery tray always gets in the way. The landing gear block and surrounding formers use carbon material extensively, and are even supported by carbon tubes. You might be able to pull the landing gear block out, but you'de have to destroy the entire airplane to do it.
Additional reinforcement can be found in high stress areas like the wing's anti-rotation pins and servo mounts.
The Edge also features Extreme Flight's new quick wing attachment mechanism as first seem on the Gamebird. With the simple flip of a lever the wings either lock on, or flipped the other way, release to allow it to slide off. It's an ingenious and simple little device that works beautifully well. Sometimes in Florida the weather rolls in so fast you don't have time to get all the gear apart and loaded before you get soaked, but with this system you can have the wings off and it's all ready to jam into the car in about 10 seconds.
The previous version of this wing mounting system (as seen on the Gamebird) worked beautifully. It used a nylon bolt where you now see the metal. It worked fine but there was always that fear the bolt could back out. Of course it could not, but Extreme Flight eliminated that fear with a steel bolt and (for lack of a better term) a jam nut. You tighten the bolt until the wing is snug against the fuselage, remove, and then turn the nut down onto the wing and this locks it in place.
You can set in the left photo the latch is open, and on the right, all you do is flip the lever down and the wing is locked on.
You may have to tinker with the adjustment a but to get the wing snug, but not so tight that the latch is hard to close, but it only takes minutes and then it's done forever. On the Gamebird we were using white glue to secure the nylon bolt, but then you gave up adjustability. With the new steel bolt, it's secure and with the twist of a wrench it's ready to adjust.
A relatively new feature to the EXP lineup is the self aligning horizontal stabilizer. This works so extremely well that we are already taking it for granted, as if the planes should have always been made like this anyway. Installing and aligning the stabilizer used to be the most high stress part of the build, as well as the most critical, but now that has been reduced to making sure you slide the stab as far forward as you can get it, and then gluing it. The flat LE of the stab at the center seats against the flat face of the stab saddle and perfect alignment is assured. I still like to measure the alignment, strictly to appease my own OCD, but now I spend about a half hour less tinkering with things to get it right.
You can see the leading edge of the stabilizer is flat. This flat from butts up against the little alignment piece you see at the front of the stabilizer saddle. The trick is to get the stabilizer slid all the way forward and perfect alignment is assured.
I measure mine simply to satisfy my OCD.
Next are the old school 3DHS wheel pants with a notched recess on the inside to align it with the gear leg. Looking inside the pant, you can see the plywood reinforcement around the mounting. I usually run a little CA around that block to make sure it's in there solid.
Another nice touch is the landing gear cover. This looks a lot nicer than having the exposed gear and mounting bolts hanging out in the breeze.
One really nice feature is the extra long receiver mount plate. This not only allows a place to mount your receiver, but also your gyro. It's a nice rigid plate and saves me from having to add a tray myself. This is better than I could do it anyway, so for me this works really well.
Hardware
Continuity is key, especially when you are starting with good equipment to begin with. This is basically the same hardware package we've been using since the original 60" Edge EXP. A few pieces like the tailwheel assembly have been refined, but mostly it's the same stuff we have trusted for a decade.
The main thing (and only thing) you want hardware to do is work so well that you forget about it. It works, so there's not much to say, and that's exactly the way I like it. The most important thing here for me is this stuff never fails, so I never have to think about it.
Oh, it's solid, beautifully turned out stuff. The best part is it's probably the most bulletproof stuff on the plane. We've been using these ball links for over a decade too, and the wheels and axles about the same amount of time. We've been using the same carbon landing gear sets for so long that we almost never talk about them. They work so well that there's not much to say except they are made so nicely and work so well.
While lengths vary from one design to the other, Extreme Flight has been providing the same simple steel pushrods since the early EXPs ...… simply because they work.
I especially like the tailwheel assembly because those always take a beating if you do harrier landings, or worse, bad landings. Extreme Flight's tight little unit uses a one piece machined aluminum tiller arm, and carbon frame. It's lightweight and strong. If you do manage to tear one up, you can replace the entire thing in about a minute. It's mounted with three screws, and if you have a problem you just bolt on a new one. The only trick to using this unit is to make sure you grind some flat spots on the tailwheel wire where the tiller arm seats. This will keep the wire from turning in the arm. Same thing with the wheel collars too.
The latest kits come with allen bolts and aircraft locking nuts to secure the ball links, so that's one less thing you have to buy Generally everything you need is there and it all fits right, works right, and lasts so long that I have a big stash of spares.
Generally hardware doesn't get a lot of love, simply because they are the least glamorous parts on the plane. The most important thing hardware can feature is it's easy to use and adjust, it's as reliable as a concrete block, and once you install it, that's about the last time you have to deal with it. It's not very interesting, but it does the job, which is exactly what it's supposed to do.
Nothing fancy...… it just works.
SET UP
Control linkages are one of the things that were not chanced from the V1, simply because it all worked so well before. We've been using these pushrods and ball links for over a decade. It's all nice and simple to assemble.....just nuts and bolts.
It's always best to work with familiar equipment, and if you've ever built an Extreme Flight 60" plane you'll be glad this equipment has been carried over.
Ailerons
Here I use the 1" ProModeler PDSR101 arm, though the ball link is in the second hole from the outside, which is 7/8" from center. This gives me roughly 31-33 degrees of travel, which is what I've been using on my 60s all along. Any more and I have trouble flying smoothly, but there is sure a lot more throw available.
Elevator
I like the Xessories 1.25 anodized aluminum arm because it has a cinch bolt. The arm can't worm around on the output shaft and give you a sloppy set up and is also locked on there pretty solidly. You could almost get away with not using the center bolt, but that's certainly not recommended. I like the security of having two bolts securing the arm, especially on the elevator.
Rudder
Again, it's the PDSR101 arm, also in the 7/8s hole. This gives a near perfect elevator half to elevator half amount of travel.
FLYING
This is going to be a small departure from our normal format. While it's important to get all the information out as quickly as possible, the newest planes fly so well they deserve a more concise, better thought out, and better presented flight review. This takes more time, so for this article we are going to break down the kit review and flying into separate reports.
That and we've also got a hurricane coming in two days, so flying weather might not be so good for awhile.
This won't take too much longer than before. The moment we publish this we're off to fly the plane, get some video ands start writing the analysis.
EQUIPMENT
Motor
There's a little bit of change here from what we've done in the past. Extreme Flight is upgrading their entire product lineup, so why not include the power systems? Extreme Flight's Xpwr division has recently released it's new Xpwr 22 out runner motor. As of this writing we haven't flown it yet, but the numbers look promising and excellent experience with Xpwr's 3910 leaves no room for anything but confidence.
We'll have to get some numbers on it once we have it in the plane, but it uses the same propeller selection and pulls roughly the same maximum amperage as the time proven 4016. Then we'll have a little better handle on knowing it's performance, but it's probably going to be smoother, and run cooler and quieter like the 3910 does. I don't think we really necessarily need any more power because the 4016 has more than enough, but the latest in design philosophy and advanced construction techniques is always a welcome plus.
That, and it's a really nice looking motor.....
Specifications
Weight: 334 grams (including radial mount and prop adapter)
Length: 65mm (from rear of radial mount to front face of prop adapter)Diameter: 49mm
KV: 500
Max Current: 80 Amp
Prop Shaft: 6mm
Pole Count: 14
Recommended Props: 16x7, 16x8, 17x6 wood or lightweight carbon electric props. We highly recommend the Xoar PJN series. Please avoid the heavier APC props in this size.
Speed Controller
No need to change anything here. The Airboss 80 has served us so well for over a decade that I count on it's simplicity and reliability. It comes pre-wired with a deans plug (which is what I use) and preprogrammed, so all you do is plug it in and go. One of the things I do as a preventative measure is to program every new Airboss to default. This almost always solves any rare problem you could have with an Airboss, so I just do it right out of the gate.
The big plus of the Airboss is it's smooth, linear throttle response. It gives you exactly what you ask from it, and this makes throttle control much easier, and also easier to balance the plane in a maneuver with the power. Like the 3910, I am sure the X22 is designed to work with the Airboss, so that's one less thing to worry about.
Unchanged here is Airboss reliability. It's almost like hardware in the once you bolt the cowling on that's the last time you think about it. It does it's job with so little fuss you forget about it.
