Skywing 48" Extra NG__The ARF

 

I've had a blast with my 48" Skywing Extra NG PNP, so when the new color scheme came out, I had to have one. The PNP went together super easy, so I figured the Skywing 48" Extra NG ARF shouldn't take much more work, and it didn't. As it turns out, it was even easier than I thought.

The ARF

Having had the PNP, nothing in the box gave me a nasty surprise. Like all Skywing planes, this one was packaged to withstand a lot of mishandling. I seriously doubt any of these are ever going to be damaged in shipping short of backing over it with a UPS truck. My original PNP was packaged so well it was actually annoying that unpacking took nearly as much time as assembly! The worst part of the whole project was unpacking it because it took so long!

The power system came from my beloved Slick PNP. It dropped right in no problem The only tricky part of the build was mounting the cowling, but this was greatly simplified by the holes pre-drilled in the cowl itself. You simply line up the cowl to the spinner, drill through those holes and you're done. Generally, I like to mount my own cowls, and like this I got a perfect result.

The servos also came from my Slick PNP, so they dropped right in and there were no issues there either. I did make one set up change by using the servo arms from the power systems/servo package. The ailerons were just a touch too fast, and using a shorter arm allowed me to max my end points, gut full resolution, and the 31 degrees I like. As far as set up deviation, that's all we did.

The most stressful part of the whole build was putting the tail on, but this is made easy with the self aligning stab. You slide it all the way forward and it goes in straight. It was an astonishingly perfect fit. It fit in so snug there was no danger of moving it while measuring. While you do not have to measure it, I always recommend that. I've build probably 25-30 planes with this feature and only once did it require a small adjustment.

                          Click to enlarge

With hinging being one of those jobs I hate, I was happy enough that the elevator and ailerons were not only hinged but sealed. The hinges are already glued into the rudder, so after that stab is in you simply slide it on and run a bead of thin CA on the joint.

The wheel pants were a little tricky to line up and drill, but all it took was a little patience. It would be a nice upgrade if they were pre-drilled. The way it is you have to eyeball it and drill, and not everyone has an eye for that. If you screw it up, just plug the hole with a toothpick and CA, then drill again.

The tailwheel is what gives a lot of guys problems, but the hole for the pin in the rudder is already drilled and threaded. You simply test fit, glue and forget about it. The mounting holes for the tailwheel bracket were also pre-drilled, which is nice because tailwheel assemblies are one of the things that give new guys a little trouble. The tailwheel assembly itself is already finished, complete with a flat spot on the wire there the grub nut sits, and ready to simply bolt on.

Skywing left next to nothing for us to get wrong, though I always encourage new guys to get some good help from one of the 3D fliers in their club. In general, another satisfying Skywing project. It went together really fast and looks terrific. 

Flying

We'll be back soon with more video. If you can't wait, here's flight reports on my original NG, complete with video.

I don't expect this plane to fly any different from my other Extra because it's just a color scheme, but for those who can't wait we've got plenty of video of the old one. I'm try to get out tomorrow and either tag new video on to this report or just do a separate report.

Extreme Aviation: Skywing 48" Extra NG__Flight Testing

Skywing 48" Extra NG__More Flying

Skywing 48" Extra NG Receiver ready

60" MXS V2__Three Year Endurance Test

I've written a lot about the 60 MXS over the past 10 years but every time I fly it, the plane still surprises me. I have a special attachment to the MXS for both practical and personal reasons.  First, it's one of the coolest and best flying planes ever, and secondly it has always suited me, especially the 60".  I had so many flights on my original V1 that the checkerboard covering started to blow off the tail! 

My dirty little secret is that my first 60" V2 had a short life. I forgot to rough up that battery tray and use alcohol to remove the mold release. On the second flight the Aura popped off the tray and it just went bonkers and strung itself through a chain link fence. It's mistakes like these that hurt the most because it was a stupid error you don't learn anything from. I can take biffing one on my own (which I do enough off), but to wreck a beautiful plane being so stupid was a waste at best.

Great. We got half a video of it. 

The problem was that these articles are time sensitive, and I had to get another one built and videoed in just another few days. I got another kit in two days, pulled a red eye and got it ready for the third day. We shot the video wrote the text and knocked the report out four days after the original crash. The V2 goes together so quickly that it wasn't a panic job or anything.  I enjoyed both builds, though admittedly I was extremely careful of every little detail when building the second.

 

MXS V2__Bad Attitude 03.mp4 from Doc Austin on Vimeo.

I took a lot of pictures simply because this is such a beautiful plane. I used Ben's recommendations from his build video, especially the part about the iron temperature when tightening covering. I stopped using paper towel to clean the plane and switched to micro fiber cloth. I use this for removing CA smears with debond or just cleaning the plane off with Windex. as you can see, this preserved the shine and after three years it still looks like it just came off the bench.

Here's Ben's excellent build guide.

    

FLYING

Nothing has changed here except the V2 is stiffer and more lively with the added benefit of being more precise. These were the first videos we could get with the second V2. I was still a little shook up from the crash and was determined to have a clean day, but once I got her in the air that disappeared and I could just get on with it. I'm very familiar with the MXS V1, so there were no surprised other than how much better locked in and lively the plane is.

The odd thing about the 60" MXS is it flies exactly like what you would expect from a scaled up 48" Extra EXP. That plane is my baseline and the one I compare all the other to, so not only was this a surprise, but it was a really good one. The plane flies exactly like what I have always been used to only bigger, better, more floaty and more precise. While the little MXS is a plane you have better know what you are doing with, the 60 V2 is more calm and composed, those it still winds itself up when you ask that from it.

In post stall it's very similar to the Extra, though a little livelier due to it's shorter moment. You also have more rudder authority, which helps in smoothing out a hover and also give you more authority in KE death slides and such,

As far as wing rock, forget about it. You have to get really sloppy to make this plane rock much. There's a very tiny rhythm in the way an MXS will rock, and it looks more like a deliberate little dance, with the plane not going off heading or dropping a wing too much.

Much like the Extra, the big MXS does such solid precision it's more like a pattern plane. Nice, long five second slow rolls are easy, with next to no coupling. It's not quite a graceful here as the Extra (but nothing is), but it's up to the pilot to bridge that gap and you can see for yourself in the videos just how well this plane tracks. Most pilots won't even notice the difference unless they work a lot of precision. 

For more detail, you can check our original Extreme Flight 64" MXS V2__Flight Report Extreme Aviation: Extreme Flight 64" MXS V2__Flight Report (docaustinextreme.blogspot.com)

Durability

There's not much to talk about here because the plane has survived three years of hard use without showing a mark of any kind. Part of this is I am so careful loading and unloading the plane, avoiding hangar rash, and finally, not ramming it through a chain link fence, and part of this is the V2 material is so tough. All my V1s flew and flew and flew with no failures of any kind, so I still expect the same sort of thing from the V2 only even better. They are strong, stiffer and lighter, and so far any V2 I have had in any size has been nearly bullet proof.

Three years is a long time for any aircraft, especially when they live on the deck. The fact this one is still like new points to the engineering and quality that goes into these planes.

MXS EXP Bad Attitude 2024 from Doc Austin on Vimeo.

Finally I usually send my V1s off into the sunset for one last video. This was the best sunset video I could find, though I have to admit the sky and the music really helped this one. The was shot using 6 volt servos, the standard Torque 4016 V2/Airboss 80 ESC, and no gyro. 

Finally, (last time) I put the MXS V2 into RealFlight, and these color schemes work with 3.5 to present.

MXS V2_Red_CS | RealFlight Forums

MXS V2__Green_CS | RealFlight Forums

Basic Set Up Tricks

Doc's note: This is not as comprehensive as Peter Goldsmith's excellent write up, but more a basic primer to help the new guys get the most out of their planes without overwhelming them. I'm a big believer in keeping things simple, and that's what I tried to do here.  I hope this gets you started well.

There's always a lot of confusion about set up. Your best friend is going to be experience, but if you get a decent basic knowledge that will take a lot of the fear, loathing and mystery out of what might seem like a black art. I know it's overwhelming because I went through it too, but hitting my set ups really helped me raise my game, and it didn't take that long for me to come to grips with it and get the most out of my planes.

Let's get the disclaimers  out of the way first. Set up can be an extremely personal thing, so there are no hard and fast absolutes. However, you'll get there faster if you start with a good baseline. The manual provides this. One exception for me was Extreme Flight's "insane rate." The new planes are so much livelier and more advanced they simply don't need it, and all that throw made the planes jumpier that I was after. So, now I just never put it on the plane, again a personal preference. If you want to spin the thing into orbit, have at it, but using just the low and 3D rates from modern manuals not only suits the new planes better, but they are easier to fly, more composed and make your flying smoother and more precise. 

When I started 3D the big throws scared me, so I tried to sneak up on it a little at a time. This blew up in my face with a plane that was too much for sport and not enough for 3D, essentially giving me a very badly set up plane. At Ben Fisher's urging I went back to the manual and got good results instantly. Remember, there is no such thing as "mild 3D." You either have enough throw for 3D, or you don't. You have a good flying plane or you have a pig, so don't discount the set up knowledge of the people who design and manufacture these planes.

Virtually every 3D plane I have flown that didn't fly right had a basic set up issue, so this article is meant to steer you away from that. I always tell my students that "Set Up is everything." 

I thought I would write up a little piece and outline how I do it. What's here is simply how I do it on my 48 and 60" planes, but it's very close to what is in the manual. I've adjusted a few things to suit how I like the plane to behave, but if you stick to the original Extreme Flight manual or 3DHS manuals, you can't go wrong.

Worth pointing out is the Extreme Flight set up is almost identical to the old pre-merger 3DHS manual. My guess is this is because it's what both companies found works best. Granted that's what I learned on and what I got used to, but the set up works on every 48-60" plane I have owned or set up for friends and customers.

Let's start with the set up from the 3DHS 47" Extra SHP. Most of us learned on this plane and are comfortable with it. It's capable but not overbearing.

Here's the numbers, and we will follow by breaking it down:

High/3D Rates (in degrees) and Corresponding Exponential

Aileron 28 degrees   75% Expo

Elevator 45 degrees   75% Expo

Rudder 45 degrees   75% Expo

Low/Precision Rates (in degrees and inches) and Corresponding Exponential

Aileron 15 degrees   30% Expo

Elevator 13 degrees   30% Expo

Rudder 45 degrees   75% Expo

Granted, this is just a starting point because you may like something different. Its a nice, safe set up that won't surprise or jump out from under you, but as you get experience you will learn to tailor it to make the plane suit you. 

I deviated a little here and there because the planes have become more capable, and on the low rate I deviate just a degree or two to give me a really good, smooth precision rate that suits me.

Worth noting here is expo values differ a bit from radio to radio. 75% on Futaba is roughly equivalent to 65% on Spectrum and Hitec, so if you fly those adjust accordingly.

You will notice I deviate from the manual just a little, but I will explain why I do this as we go along.

 

52 Slick EXP__Between The Stars from Doc Austin on Vimeo.

The 3D is the rate I use for everything except precision maneuvers. Expos values are different from radio to radio. I fly 75% on all channels, though for Spectrum that would be more like 65%.

3D Rate

ELEVATOR
I've found 45-50 degrees to be bang on perfect. The way most Extreme Flight and 3DHS planes are set up mechanically, you can get that 45-50 with your end points cranked and get the most resolution out of your servos. I don't understand this well enough to put it in writing other than you get a finer and less jumpy feel . It's sort of like a high resolution TV vrs a low resolution, The high res is a lot smoother, and finer. 

I like 75% expo, maybe because that's how I learned, but it still works. Remember, Spectrum would be about 65%.

AILERONS

Here I deviate from the manual just a bit because I believe I have improved my skills a bit since the SHP days. I usually go for 31-33 degrees because even that is barely enough to correct torque in a hover, but it's not so lively I can't keep up with it. Personally, much more feels jumpy, and I find myself overcorrecting, but 31-33 is what feels best to me.

RUDDER

Again, on most planes the elevator halves get in the way and won't allow much more than 45 degrees, and that seems about right. On some planes like the MXS, you can get a lot more, but I discovered that much rudder acted more like an airbrake and won't let the plane yaw correctly. Again 75 for Futaba and 65% for Spectrum users.

Low Rate

The low rate is a rate for precision flying, flying, but it is very, very similar to a sport plane. In fact, you can set the plane up with the low rate from the manual and you'll have a cracking good sport plane, maybe even better than the best sport planes.

Ailerons
Start with the low rate from the manual. From there I like to set my aileron rate to deliver three rolls in five seconds at full speed. The three in five used to be a maneuver from the old AMA pattern and it is just the right speed to roll the plane fast enough that all it takes to keep the plane level is a little elevator correction while not being so fast it's a struggle to keep up with and not so slow you get behind. You just bury the aileron stick and give it a gentle down elevator when it is inverted and a gently up when it's upright.

Elevator

Like the manual says, 15-20 degrees is nice and smooth. I've played with the expo a bit and discovered the manual seems to always be right.

RUDDER

You may notice the low and high rates are identical for the rudder. This works well because you have full throw for snaps and spins, while the big expo keeps things smooth for precision maneuvers.

So that was a lot of writing when all I really did was validate the manual. Worth noting is the 3DHS and Extreme Flight manuals are extremely similar, and my best guess this is because the set up works.

CG

Well, here's the source of a lot of unnecessary butthurt, but it's a lot simpler than all the talk would have you believe. Here's the secret: start at the front of the CG range specified by the manual, and this will be different from one airframe to the next. That's simply a starting point, but most people will be happy enough with that. I generally like to balance my planes a tiny bit nose heavy because that doesn't really sacrifice much 3D performance but does enhance high speed tracking and precision.

It is crucial to trim the plane first, and then follow the tests below I copy/pasted from the 3DHS 47" Extra SHP manual:

For this type of aircraft where I am going to predominantly fly aggressive 3D. I typically set the airplane up with a neutral CG, meaning that when the aircraft is flown inverted straight and level it requires no down elevator to maintain altitude. If your flying style leans more toward precision aerobatics then I recommend setting your CG using the 45 degree line test. Fly the aircraft from left to right or right to left, whichever direction you are more comfortable with at 3/4 to full throttle. Pull the aircraft to a 45 degree up line and establish this line and immediately roll the aircraft inverted. Establish this line and let go of the elevator stick. Ideally the aircraft will continue to track on that 45 degree line for several hundred feet before slowly starting to level off. Adjust the position of your battery to achieve this flight condition.

Plagiarism aside, I am aware I made this as simple as possible, but that is the point. I can't cite you all the aerodynamic theory that goes into it, I just know the manual works, I follow that and setting up CG is so simple it's been reduced to merely time consuming instead of black magic.

I like to mix a lot of precision in with my 3D to get a well-rounded presentation, so I like the roll over and 45 degree tests. If the plane flies upright and inverted trimmed, to me that's a little tail-heavy for what I am doing. Being just a tiny bit nose heavy locks the plane in and makes it track better, and if that sacrifices a little 3D it's not enough to notice.

Also my personal observation is every time I have not been happy with a plane, it was tail heavy, so I suggest starting at the front of the suggested range and slowly working back 1/4" at a time. Generally, the more you go back, the plane gets better, until it gets worse. I go for worse and then put the pack where I had it the last time I was happy with it.

Things I look for to avoid is a plane that won't trim on the elevator or won't do the same thing from one test to the next. That's usually an indication you are tail heavy. Conversely a nose heavy plane always flies nose heavy. Roll it over and if it drops like a pig you know you are nose heavy.

Eventually you will learn just how fast you want the plane to drop and how much you have to move the pack to make corrections, There is no easy path to this knowledge except lots and lots of stick time and experience. You not only have to learn to tune the plane, but also to get it to where you like it personally. This is why I tried to simplify the tests as much as possible.

A Set Up Snafu Of My Own Making
Below is an illustration of how much set up plays it's part in pilot confidence. My radio only has two rates, so I opted for low/insane. It's a Velox and it's supposed to be wild, right? The plane scared me a bit and I was not comfortable with it. The stability was there and the plane's most notable attribute, so I knew that, like everything else, that set up was the answer. I was going to get it right or bring it back in a bucket, and since I was uncomfortable, there was nothing to lose and everything to gain. I went back to the 3D rates, and this was the very first flight, in bad conditions no less, with the revised set up. This turned the Velox from a plane I was ready to give up on into one of the best planes I've ever had my hands on.

3DHS Velox__Doc Austin's Day Off from Doc Austin on Vimeo.

Mixes

Knife Edge Mix

For more advanced flying you need a plane that tracks like an arrow, even when it is on it's side. For example, in knife edge a plane can tuck toward or away from the canopy, so the best answer is to use a rudder (master) to elevator (slave) mix. For my style (or lack of), I start with a mix of 5% up elevator to left rudder and 3% to right rudder. That usually gets them really dialed in, but it is just a starting point because different CGs will react differently.

Look at it this way, when the plane is on it's side, the elevator, in relation to the ground, the elevator is acting more like a rudder because now that controls your yaw, and the rudder controls your pitch, in relation to the ground, that is. The ground is what you don't want to hit so it simplifies things to look at it that way.

If you are carrying any elevator trim, that will make the plane tuck either way. This is why you need to get the plane trimmed and balanced dead on before you get your mix set.

Other Mixes (In Progress)

There are also some other mixes I use to aid landing, but you can read about that here: Smoothing Out The 3D Landing

Once you get your plane died in, you might find a spolieron mix improves your harrier and elevator performance. Once you lean how to use it, it's quite  helpful, and you can read bout it here: Laser EXP__The Spoileron Files

For now I just wanted a basic primer to aid the new guys.  I'll add more stuff as I think about it some more, but hopefully you will find it helpful.

Skywing 48" Extra NG__More Flying

As you may have seen in Skywing 48" Extra NG__Flight Testing, I was pretty pleased with this plane. I knew I was going to like it because it's an Extra, and I knew it would be light and tough because of my experiences with the Skywing Slick. Like the Slick, the NG surpassed my expectations, and I can't wait to see what I can discover about her next.

I've already laid out the plane's basic character in the pervious article, so here I will be going into specifics.

There was so much to go into with this plane the article ended up a little long, so if you're after the video scroll to the bottom.

Stall Turns
Some might wonder why I talk about a basic maneuver that's not spectacular or hard to do, but there's more to it when you try to work them. With this plane you can put an interesting twist into the move that's so much fun you'll start doing lots of them.

 I carried a bit more momentum into it and yawed the plane early, so it was still climbing while rotating on the yaw axis, sort of sliding a little sideways on the way up. The nose comes around and you dive out and fly away. It's kind of hard to describe it, but that's why we have video. Oddly the plane is going one way and pointed another through the turn, but it doesn't look sloppy. It looks controlled, but loose and free. It's actually delightful to fly it through the turn, sliding and all, and reveals the plane's lively but stable nature.

This was just something cool I discovered by accident. I've done it before with the Velox, but on this NG I could repeat the maneuver and hit it every single time, like that's almost how the plane wanted to do it anyway. You're sliding the plane through a stall but it never goes off line or acts weird. I can hit it 10 out of 10 times no sweat just because it does that so easily. It's just a demonstration of how willing the plane is when you chuck it into a maneuver.  

Stall turns teach you how to fly into a stall, maneuver through it and recover, all essential sport skills that translates into post stall, and something a good sport pilot has already mastered. New guys however, would be well advised to embrace this and work it to improve those skills. Having a good stall turn down gives you the skills to start working harrier, and we all know that's the key to this 3D thing.

The NG is also sweet in a conventional stall turn, and this plane is so much fun this way that I'll probably try a few more variations.

Slow Rolls

Now we're in the Extra's back yard. The absolute gold standard for this in 4 footers has always been the Extra EXP, and while I did not expect this, the NG is it's match here. At speed the NG locks in hard and little gusts or turbulence don't seem to bother it because it just plows through. This is a fast plane and remember speed is stability.

You've got three controls all going at once in a slow roll, and if the plane goes a little off line on any of them it throws the whole control sequence off. It's your job to keep the plane straight, but having one that tracks takes so much load off the pilot. Tracking is so important, and even with it's shorter moment the NG slow rolls as perfectly as any of them. It's not fun to fly a plane that doesn't track, but that's no issue with this baby. 

This tracking also comes into play during point rolls, which is why I include them here. The important thing here is tracking, yet again. If the plane doesn't track straight, you'll be fighting it at every point in the roll, so you can see the importance of having a straight flying plane.

Comparing to the Extra EXP, the NG doesn't give up anything here. Certainly the plane is different, but Extras have always been the benchmark for this and the NG is no different. It took a few tries to dial in the range and start hitting it, but it was really pretty effortless. 

Harrier Performance

While I don't have a scale, I'm pretty sure the NG is the lightest plane I own, and this shows up in really nice harrier performance. The little things Skywing has done to cut weight might seem ridiculous, but every little bit adds up. A gram or two is nothing until you shave that off a few times, but if you save that seemingly insignificant amount enough times the scale never lies.

This and the NG can fly ridiculously slowly, and even if you get it wrong the stall recovery is blindingly fast. Part of this is surely design, aided by light weight, gonzo power and that big 13" prop. You get a huge blast of air over the plane, so whatever lift and control you lost can be regained with the hammer.

There's enough post stall control authority that you can get fearless pretty quickly. That and it's got really great confidence inspiring harrier manners. It's not quite as good here as the Slick, but it's still shockingly good. I still get a little rock when I am pushing hard and maybe getting a little sloppy, but I don't feel anything is lacking. I just think the Slick's harrier is irreproachable.

Hard rotations

This plane has superb pitch authority. The importance is in the balance. It's enough to make the plane do anything you ask, but not so much the plane comes close to getting away from you or being jumpy. The pitch authority is very controllable and even in something as violent as a wall or parachute the plane will rotate straight and come out straight. More throw (and there is plenty of room for that if you turn up the end points) might make it pitch harder, but the way it is I'm happy enough.

In something like a parachute you have to be careful not to peg the elevator too long because at full rotation you can stall the plane so completely it might get scary. Best bet is to pop to flat, but lead with a blast of throttle and ease off the stick a little. This is not a scary behavior, but more part of what you have to do to keep air going over the plane and some lift going on.  As I am moving the CG forwards this characteristic is more manageable, so I may have been flying it tail heavy the first few flights.

Having spent the last 15 years flying long, sleek EXPs, things changed when I moved to these short coupled Skywings. Rotation maneuvers are now so hard you have to be more careful how much you demand. This is not a hard thing because the pilot's job is to adapt, and it's not a problem anyway. You just learn the plane's behavior and fly accordingly. What's nice is unless you go in with the wings not level the plane will pop flat and stay level, while tracking straight ahead.  This takes a lot of the scare factor out of it because you aren't going to lose control or even go offline unless you let it completely stall. This is not a problem at all if you have a little altitude, simply because the plane recovers from the stall so instantly, but if you are on the deck, you just have to be careful not to blow all the lift completely off.

Also I did a wall maneuver that pitched so hard the plane fell on it's back and for an instant it was travelling backward inverted. It was a real Rooster Bradshaw "what the *** was that" moment! I do a lot of high rotation stuff, but that one really surprised me. I've tried to repeat that, but I'm going to have to work it for a while to get it right. It certainly showed the plane is a lot more capable than I was expecting.

Stall Recovery

The NG is so comfortable in post stall partially because it's stall recovery is nearly instant. Part of this is the airfoil (which I don't fully understand) and part is certainly that big 13" fan on the nose with all that 6s grunt.

One of the first things I learned about 3D is you have to be lightning fast on the throttle, and sometimes anticipate it. Here the modern power systems not only provide more grunt, but it's instant, and can be more easily modulated than older systems. I can't say enough for how much extra control afforded by that extra inch of prop. 

Knowing you can recover from a stall so quickly allows you to fly deeper into it and get yourself out of it if you got it wrong. It makes the plane more fun to fly knowing you can thrash it like that and it won't bite you.

Snap Manners And Timing

I struggled with the snap timing on my Slick and finally figured it out, but that wasn't necessary with the Extra. Right off the bat I was hitting my snaps the same way I am used to with an EXP, so in this respect snapping and spinning is instinctual.

One area the plane is exceptionally strong is in power spins. You do these with full elevator and rudder, with a little opposite aileron to keep the wings level, and give it a little power. This speeds up the spin and if you hit it right slows the descent. I tried a few throttle settings, including wide open, and she spun around like a big frisbee.

Most 3D planes on high rate don't do a conventional spins (up and full right everything) very well, but I discovered if you go right, right, down the plane does a super tight spin, maybe a little fast, and when you release the controls it stops all on it's own instantly. This is a good one to teach the new guys simply because the plane recovers so fast it's not scary. You can pinpoint your exit with dead on precision, and of course that simply gives you confidence.

 

Skywing 48__Extra NG Sport Hucking 2023 002 from Doc Austin on Vimeo.

Skywing 48__Extra NG Sport Hucking 2023 001 from Doc Austin on Vimeo.

Knife Edge Performance

Here it's very much like the Slick. Again tracking is important, with the benefit of authority. 

Few things are as unsettling than trying to KE a poorly tracking plane, especially down low, but the NG is so locked in I'll really be working on improving my game with this plane.

Additionally, nothing is more horrifying than KEing down low with a mushy rudder response, and that's not a worry with this plane. The fat fuselage sides provide lifting surface as do the nice SFGs and even flying it down in a death slide doesn't require full deflection until you get pretty slow. KE is still a little scary for me, so this solid tracking and control authority is just what I needed.

General

Like all Extras, the NG has that overall feel of smoothness, gracefulness and solid locked in control. Where the NG differs from previous Extras is the short coupling makes the plane more lively, all while giving up nothing in smoothness. The EXP still has the edge in being smooth, but with a longer tail you would expect this and it is not a day and night thing.

 As much as I have loved the Extra EXP for the last 15 years, it was a little surprising I compare the two so favorably. Admittedly the two are both similar and different at the same time. It's also really not fair to compare a plane I have thousands of flights on to one with only a handful, but still the NG comes out looking really good.

The plane is solid and reassuring, and there is nothing to be afraid of once you adjust to this new level of agility. Any good intermediate sport pilot can fly this thing around on low rates with more confidence than even something like a T28, which makes the plane absolutely idea for sport flying. No matter what level you are with your aerobatics, you can handle this plane no problem, with room to use it to improve your game.

Past all the specific qualities, the plane is just fun to fly, which is probably it's most endearing quality. I'm betting most of you will know what you have after a lap or two and you'll be pushing the plane in no time.

Overall, an easy project that yielded big results.

Set Up

Well, it was already done when you got it, right? I used the arms the way they came on the elevator and rudder with my end points at 100. Where I deviated was running a little less aileron because that's what I am used to. I used a shorter 7/8" Skywing plastic arm and regained my resolution by cranking the end points. I'm right at 31-32 degrees, which is exactly what I have been using on my other 48s. I did this with my Slick and continued that with the NG, and for me it was a very positive change. The plane gives up nothing other that it won't do blinding rifle rolls that I can't keep up with  anyway. Most people will be happy with the set up the way it comes out of the box. This was a change simply to suit my personal preference.

You can read about this here:  Skywing 48" Extra NG Receiver ready.

And don't forget about that low rate because that makes precision much easier and cleaner.

As far as CG, mine came out on the tube, though I moved the pack forward 1/2 so the nose would hang a little. This is just the way I prefer them because a little ahead of neutral doesn't compromise 3D, but it makes the plane track much better. It's an Extra, so there's the one attribute you need to play to.

Best bet is to set it up the way it comes out of the box and fly it, kind of like we do with all new planes.

Skywing 48" Extra NG__Flight Testing

Day One
All we wanted to do was check the trims and get a good general feel for the plane. That lasted about 30 seconds and I simply forgot the game plan and just started flying it hard. It is so similar to the Slick I knew what I had pretty quickly.

This is a very stable plane, but it's also pretty lively. It snaps and tumbles really well, slows down into a beautiful harrier, and does beautiful slow and point rolls. There's nothing it doesn't do well.

So far, I'm really liking the plane. The plane was dead neutral on the check flight, and I like them a little ahead of that. I moved the pack 1/2" forward and now it's exactly the way I like it. It's kind of amazing the plane comes out of the box nearly tweaked out like that. 30 minutes to assemble, one simple adjustment and it's perfection. Absolutely remarkable.

 I was comfortable with the NG very quickly, and at the end of the second flight I was fearless with it. 

Click to enlarge, then right click and "save as."

Day Two 

After two quick flights on day one I was already comfortable with the plane. I just couldn't lean on it too much until we got some decent weather and video in the can. Once that was accomplished, it was just a matter of flying the plane and testing the limits.

We only had enough time to shoot one video, but hopefully you can see how much potential the plane has. This was only the third flight and I was still tweaking the CG and still not sure how much I could push the plane. Right now my flying is looking a little ragged because I am pushing the plane so hard, and this was also the first time I've flown her in decent conditions. The first day was so rough that this was more like the plane's real maiden, but it is so smooth, stable and confidence inspiring that I just gave it the hammer. 

Right away the plane was so much fun I kind of forgot about video and started to look for the limits. You can see a couple of pretty good saves in the video, but it was more like I bailed before I got in too deep. Here I noted that the plane has so much power and so much control that I wasn't afraid to get into trouble. The plane has the tools you need to fight your way out.

Toward the end it became easier and easier to fly the plane more smoothly, which was due to burning off the excitement as much as anything else. 

Mostly it's just easy to fly and pinpoint precise, which is what you expect and demand from an Extra. Now we see the differences to the Slick a little better. The Slick has slightly better harrier manners, though the Extra is still really strong here. The flip side is the Extra has a more predictable and repeatable snap timing. The Slick scared me a little at first in snap rolls because I had to learn how to make it come out where I wanted it, but with the Extra my snaps were dead on right out of the box. That's really about all the differences I have found so far. They have the same wing and tail, and roughly the same moment, so they were always going to be similar. I think most guys won't care about the differences, or maybe not even notice at all because they are so subtle, and they never come into play unless you are really pushing the plane hard. 

No report on an Extra is complete without talking about the plane's precision manners. Big sky stuff is easy for a few reasons. First this plane really hauls the mail, and speed is stability. For example, my 48" EXP was always superb here, but when I switched to TMotor and about 20mph more top speed, the difference in how the plane locked int was mind-blowing. The NG already has a nuclear reactor in the nose, so it hauls too, and this shows up in the field length slow rolls and huge cuban 8s. The plane simply tracks to the point looking good in precision is simply easy. I said I would not compare this with the 48" EXP, but here I just have to note both of those planes are the benchmarks in precision in this size, with the Slick not far behind.

One thing that caught me by surprise is this plane has insane pitch authority. You can see in a lot of hard pull outs the tail actually drops below the plane. Other planes will sink, but the Extra pops a little past flat and stops losing any altitude because stall recovery is so instant. Maybe this is due to the design, or maybe it's all the grunt behind a 13" propeller blowing air over the plane, but once you get used to it this is a pretty handy tool to have for on-the-deck shenanigans.  I have not figured that out yet because this plane is so much fun that I paid more attention to that than analytics.

A quick word about the power system: it's super bad ass. More power than a reasonable person would need and runs as smooth as a stick of butter. I rate it an equal in every metric with the TMotor. They have the same power, same smoothness and same perfectly linear throttle response. All that's different is the sound.

Overall, and I know I also said this about the Slick, it's hard to be more pleased with a project. The assembly was next to nothing, I only had to make one set up change to suit my preference and she flew of the bench very close to perfectly dialed in. A couple of clicks of up trim and so far that's been all she took.

Before my camera guy got there I did a warm up flight on low rates, which simulates a sport set up, and she's as easy and capable as any sport plane I've ever flown, This makes such a perfect sport plane I think the new guys will eat it up. Perfect size, cheap batteries, tough and docile makes this plane almost mandatory for all of us.

Here's something few consider: The best kept secret in the sport community is that any good 3D plane on low rates makes an excellent sport plane, and any many, many cases it makes a better sport plane than the best sport planes. 

On low rates the Extra is much like the EXP lineup in that it's delightful in conventional aerobatics. I try to bring a lot of guys into 3D, and I usually take them from something like a T28, and put them straight into a 48" 3D plane and make them keep it on low rates. First they tell me it flies better than their T28 because they are not always fighting it, and once I can show them a few tricks they can't believe how easy it is. Generally 3D manufacturers don't cater to the sport crowd and pitch their stuff to us hammerheads, but the best way for a sport pilot to get good enough to transition into 3D, now all it takes is a flip of that rate switch. This Extra is light, straight, tough and super stable, which are all the things you want in a sport plane anyway.

Conclusions, sort  of

Some may notice this report is a little disjointed. I sat down right after I got home and started writing, and the more I wrote and the more I edited the video the more I realize just how much was there and how much I like it. I've had to edit about 10 times because the more I wrote the more I realized just how nice this thing is.

Four flights isn't enough time to hardly know a plane, much less pass judgement on it, but it was enough time to really fall in love with it. It generally takes about 25 flights to really know a plane, but since today was the start of flying season here, that's not going to take long. 

We'll shoot some more this week and tag it onto this article, as well as some more commentary, so stay tuned.

 

Skywing 48 NG__Unspecified Testing from Doc Austin on Vimeo.