3W 40% Extra 330 Pro's and Con's

[DKY]

Guy's for those of you that have flown this airplane can you provide some feedback on the pro's and con's of the flight performance and durability?

I am only concerned with IMAC at this point and how it might compare to more current airframes. I have not been able to find much through a search.

Thanks

[DKY]

Pretty quiet, I would really appreciate some honest feedback from those who have flown this plane. I am really only interested in sequence (IMAC) Performance.

Thanks again

DKY

[MODE 1]

wish I could help ya......I'm sure someone will give you the answers soon. I think for what it's worth Daniel Brussow has one or is a test pilot for 3W (not certain here) but if thats the case then it pretty much speaks for itself.
I have a friend that had a 40 Votec from 3 dub and it looked well made. Could do anything the pilot could do. He never had any probs with it if thats of any use to you.

[Bunky F. Knuckle]

They fly great!!! I've flown the 40% a couple of times. They track nice, present well. If you set it up right, and get the CG right, it will treat you well!!!

[Showtime]

I have owned one. they fly good. It was many years ago and my flight skills were not that great at the time. Not that i am great now but better then 5 years ago. The plane has some really good 3d capability. watch this vid.

Click the play button to start.
Right click here to save the video

[Showtime]

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[gforce]

DKY,
I have owned 2 of these back in the day,1 std version an 1 comp version. The comp version was a little lighter by 1.5lbs as the cores were cut out and lightend,really did not notice that much difference in flight.The planes did fly very true and predictable.Getting the CG right was a lil issues but came around on both of mine.(WARNING)-very fragile in the landing gear mounting area,one mishap and glass work for sure.Check and reinforce in that area.They came out at about 43lbs on the comp and about 44.5lbs on the std version.All in all a good solid performer,lil heavy for my taste,but solid.(THIS IS JUST MY OPINION AND WHAT I FOUND)

Good Luck!

Dave

[DKY]

thanks for the replies guy's.

When you say the CofG is critical at what point where you guy's finding the sweet spot?

How did the CofG affect snaps and spins and mixing?

DKY

[wmat7039]

	Quote: Originally Posted by DKY
	Pretty quiet, I would really appreciate some honest feedback from those who have flown this plane. I am really only interested in sequence (IMAC) Performance. Thanks again DKY

Hi there DKY... I flew two of these in IMAC 7 years ago. As mentioned by another poster, the landing gear area is very weak and will definitely need some beefing up. The two that I had were the competition versions & were lighter, but the L/Gear area was still compromised. The vertical longeron is just too weak to transfer any load with a less than stellar landing. What I did was to line both sides of each longeron with carbon fiber cloth & tied them to the floor. I also placed C/F cloth on top of the L/Gear plate & extended it upwards on the side of the fuselage to dissipate the landing loads.

Flying: The airplane flew better than my previous contest aircraft (40% Edge 540) so, at the time I was satisfied. I did find that I had to have more rudder/elevator & rudder/ailerons mix than I had in my previous airplane...but once it was mixed out, the airplane did it's job. The aircraft performed the maneuvers with grace and would handle 3D fine...although I was not a big 3D pilot at all. The aircraft has built in dihedral in the wings & unless you get the newer set of wings that does not have dihedral, you will be flying with more down push when inverted than it feels comfortable with. I also did not like the size of the counter-balance of the rudder. I had to repair the spot where the counterbalance meets the rudder post on several occasions on both aircraft.

I did not like the fuel tray because it did not give an option of centering the fuel tank...it was on one side of the fuse & the other side had a tray for a smoke tank. What I did was to place one of my batteries there to offset the weight of the fuel when full.

The cannister mounts that I had bought for the "then" PEFA muffler system worked quite well & held up even after my crash of the first one...

Hope that helps somewhat.
Wayne

[DKY]

I really appreciate your feedback guy's. What does worry me the most is the statements of" back in day" which leads me to believe it would not be competitive against today's airframes.

I have the opportunity to maybe purchase a really beautiful example of the airframe however this purchase would have to last me a few years of contests unless "Murrphy" comes to town. I will use it to solely fly IMAC with no 3D so I want a airframe that work well.

I have a 35% extra I want to retire to backup and put through a 3D school.

DKY

[hovermaster]

Hey, thats me in that video ^

I flew the one in that video for about a year off and on and really liked it. It was my back up plane for the 2006 Don Lowe Masters. The competition airframe is a little lighter. My buddy Trent flew one in IMAC for a season or two and my friend Allan Cook is currently flying one in Advanced. It is definately a great airframe and has a very large flight envelope. It tracks very well and snaps great for IMAC stuff.

Hope this helps.

Chris

[DKY]

Thanks for all the good feedback. The structural issues have been taken care of in this airframe and the owner has it right at 39lbs with DA150 & RE3's. I have decided to purchase the plane.