Skywing 48" Extra NG Receiver ready

 

As much as I love Extras, I couldn't wait to get my hands on the new Skywing 48" NG. I was so pleased with my Skywing 48" Slick PNP that I've really been looking forward to this plane. Extras suit my style (or lack thereof) really well. I've never had an Extra that I didn't like. Extras have always been my go-to plane, the one I use to open up with when I go to events, the ones I use to test new equipment, or use to experiment with set ups. They are what I fly when I can't afford to for anything to go wrong. I've always said that whatever an Extra does, that's how a plane is supposed to do it.

What I am not going to do here is compare this plane to the Extreme Flight Extra EXP. I've been flying the EXP for 12 years, so that really wouldn't be fair to either plane. What I am going to do is fly the crap out of this one it and tell you what I like about it, which is considerable.

Having looked the photos and the kit over carefully, there's much different in assembly from the 48" Slick PNP. You can read about that here:  Skywing 48" Slick Receiver Ready

Right click to enlarge any photo:

The Kit

This was already going to be a no-brainer project, but making it even easier is our friend Skywing Jinwei has photographed every detail of the plane and published it on the Skywing website. His photos are really good, so I suggest you give it a look: PNP-48"Extra NG 1.2M - RC SKYWING MODEL (skywing-rc.com) Specs are on this page also, including the power system and servos.

Starting at the front, the power system is installed, ESC, cowling, spinner and prop are already mounted. The spinner gap is nice and tight. I usually take pride in getting a perfect spinner gap, but this is as perfect as I could have done it anyway, so was pleased enough to just fly it. A really nice surprise is the prop (13/6.5) came out balanced even better than I could do it. I hate balancing props, so this was a really nice feature.

One thing I really appreciate about the power system is that all the wires are the perfect length. You don't have to zip tie the wires to keep them from rubbing the cowling, or worse, getting rubbed by the motor. You can see what a ridiculously clean installation this is, and you know how I like clean installations. The ESC (listed as a Skywing/52A/7.4V/5A) is roughly the size of your pinkie finger, or about 1/3 the size and weight of what we were using before. I was skeptical when I saw how small it was, but it does the job perfectly.

The motor is the Skywing/Dualsky 3548-KV535, which is a really nice little piece. It runs cool and smooth, and the ESC assures a nice, progressive power delivery. I've been flying TMotors in my Extreme Flight planes, but this Skywing system, as far as I can see, is the equal by any metric. The only way I can tell them apart is the Skywing seems to sound a little angrier when you punch out of a harrier of hover and the TMotor runs like a stick of butter, with a beautiful turbine like whine to it. The TMotor is now my new standard, but the Skywing system is right there in performance. A little early to comment on reliability and durability, but beautifully made things are usually stone cold reliable.

The ESC comes preprogrammed, so all you do is set your throttle range and fly it. It's already set up to deliver 7.4 volts to the servos. I like how tidy the installation is.

Generally, I would recommend the TMotor, partially because most 48" pilots already have 4s packs, but batteries are cheap right now and these small packs charge so fast you only need a couple. At the time, the 6s was the only one available in the PNP, and I wanted the plane so bad the price of the batteries didn't dissuade me. Neither power system seems to have an advantage over the other except they sound different.

Airframe

Moving on to the airframe, one really nice feature is the male connector from the ESC is mounted inside the fuselage on the battery tray (see Jinwei 's photos). There's no more fishing around for the ESC plug. This is an extremely nice feature, though I still use deans and have to do it the old-fashioned way. Actually, changing out the deans' plug was the hardest part of the whole build, but most of you won't have to do that.

Moving back into the radio compartment, Skywing's exclusive hands free aileron lead connectors are pre-mounted in both the wings and the fuselage. You just slide the wing on, flip the retention latch and forget about it. On my 48" Slick I was a bit skeptical they could have such a tight tolerance that it might take a little fiddling, but the wing slipped on first time with no hassle and works beautifully. Since I generally leave the wings on my 48s, I was not expecting to really appreciate this feature until I had to used it a few times, and then I found it very useful and convenient. My arthritis also appreciates that I won't have to twist wing bolts anymore.

Another convenient feature is the wing quick latches. Slide the wing on, push the latch down and forget about it. There are little blocks of wood on the bottom of the canopy that will not allow the latch to open, or to even put the canopy on if the latches are not engaged. It's a very, very simple and elegant solution.

Moving to the wings, they are totally finished, except maybe some decals if you like. They are pre-hinged, glued and sealed, and as crazy as this sounds, adjusted.  I've been sealing my control surfaces all along and it's kind of a pain, so I was glad to be relieved of that job and their work is better than I could do anyway.  The servos are in, the pushrods are already bolted to the control horns on one end and the arm on the other. All you have to do is center the control surface with a little sub trim, and the same on the tail. 

The hardest and most terrifying job we used to have was getting the tail on straight. Now you simply slide the stab as far forward as it can go, and the whole thing self aligns. I measured mine anyway, just to satisfy my OCD. From there you hinge the rudder, and with the hinges already glued into the rudder, half that job is done. The tailwheel bracket is already mounted, and right about now I am feeling guilty that it was too easy. 

Finally, the plane comes with quick install SFGs that take about 30 seconds to slide on and a really nice wing bag with SFG pockets. Skywing really went all out on these 48s.

There's a hell of a lot to this plane, but as far as assembly, there ain't much. Part of me is going to miss building arfs, while the rest me appreciates how easy it will be to replace one of these when it hits it's expiration date.

 There's a ton of extra value in these SW 48s. We're dealing with an extremely serious company here. I've watched the Skywing planes improve and improve, and these receiver ready models compare quite nicely with the Extreme Flights planes. As each company improves their planes, the other usually follows suit, so we're seeing the benefits of competition.

A few other thoughts here. Everything on the plane that was unnecessary weight got the axe. The ESC weighs next to nothing, the servo screws are no longer than they have to be and are about half the length of what we have been using. The servo arm bolts are about half the size of what we were using before. It gets even crazier when you get to the spinner and see how tiny the cone retention bolts are. The entire plane is built so lightly that Skywing is looking to trim grams because there are no more ounce savings to be had. A gram here or there is nothing, but if you have enough small weight savings it adds up and this package is pretty light.

A lot of this report could have just as easily been copy/paste from my Slick article because they go together virtually identically.  I have not flown the NG yet (flight report next clear day), but I would say it's going to make a great 3D and precision plane, but also a killer sport plane for new guys stepping up from a T28 or any other small, dedicated sport plane.

Set Up

There's really not much to it. The pushrods are already preadjusted. Just slap the servo arms onto the servos and center with sub trim. Here's what the elevator linkage looks like.

It was the same sort of thing with the rudder. Slap the arm on, sub trim and you're done. One thing worth noting is after a few flights you may want to check the cinch bolt on the arm. My Slick got a little sloppy after a few flights, and I fixed that by cranking the cinch bolt down until the arm was locked on solid.

We did something a little different on the ailerons. On my 48" Slick PNP, the ailerons were a little faster than I liked. I'm trying to get smoother and can deal better with a little less. 

Here I used the plastic arms that come with the power system/servo package. Instead of 1", they are 7/8", which just so happens to be what I use on my 48" EXPs. With this arm I can crank my end points and get 31 degrees, which is exactly what I like. Since the Slick and NG use the same wings, I expect the same result.

Flying

Stay tuned. We'll get to that in a few days.

Update:  The weather has resolutely not cooperated, but I was so anxious to fly it we went anyway. The wind was ripping so hard I didn't figure it would make interesting video, and then when it died down for the second flight we just forgot. 

First impression is it's not as violent as the 48" Slick, but it grooves better. I was cranking off nice slow and point rolls on my first wide open passes. Nothing out of the ordinary except it shares the great harrier behavior of the Slick and it's easy to fly and confidence inspiring. We called it quits after two packs so I can go back over the plane, tighten things up and come back in better conditions.

As far as CG, mine came out smack dead neutral, but I like them a little ahead of that. I moved the battery 1/2' forward and for the second flight she was much better, more stable and more precise, while not giving up anything in 3D or XA. Just a small adjustment and the only one I made all day.

Two flights in bad conditions is not a fair test, though admittedly even at that the plane was still really, really solid. We'll know more when we get video this week, followed by a full report.