Great Planes NEW 38% Extra

[Mithrandir]

Yes... I said GREAT PLANES!!!
Can you imagine Great Planes has a 38% Extra ARF!??!?!
Do not for a second discount what an incredible job GP has done with this project. This is the most complete ARF this author has had the privilege to Assemble.

All you need to complete this model other then radio, batts/regs, switches and servo extensions..... is tygon fuel tubing! This plane comes with EVERYTHING! All the hardware is good stuff. It even includes the spinner and the wheels!

At the time I started this assembly thread, I had not yet acquired servos. So there may be a bit of deviating from the assembly sequence of the included instruction manual,but it goes together so easy, that won't cause any confusion. (You can assemble pretty much from the pictures! lol )

You can see the plane HERE

Download the manual HERE
and see the Great Planes Vid HERE;

[Mithrandir]

The plane shows up in two big boxes... packaged well.. even to withstand the forklift drivers at UPS! lol

Once you get the outer boxes off.. this is what you got.....

[Mithrandir]

Lets crack these boxes open and look inside now.....

[Mithrandir]

Well... there are several composite items..... Main Gear is Carbon, Cowl and Wheel Pants are composite... and the paint looks to be extremely well done!
The covering is the best I have ever seen... better then I have the patience to do myself..... applied very well... no iron scratches!!
Incredible how complete the hardware is... includes tail wheel and rudder rack!!!
Note.. everything has been prehinged at the factory! ('Cept the rudder for shipping)

[Mithrandir]

How about a preglued canopy, dash and Painted Composite Pilot in the ****pit?!?!!? COmes with Fuel Tank and DA 150 Engine stand-offs and mounting bolts!
Nice filleting on all the glue joints also....

[Mithrandir]

And the final remaining items... notice the wheel pants have the holes drilled and "T" nuts installed.... (Blind Nuts for those of you east of the Rockies lol)

Also... look how long the hardpoint is inside the wheel pant.. this wood core is within the lamination... these should not crack out and look junky like most Wheel Pants end up! Here you can see the beautiful Carbon Main Gear Strut as whell as the Fairings and Pants... real DUBRO WHEELS... not the Easy-Flat Foamie junk!

Tomorrow we get started on the build!!!

[UflyWhat]

pretty sweet!

[FlyinTiger]

So far so good! I'm watching this build thread closely. Looks like we might have a winner here, the hardware certainly looks first rate, CF gear and tubes, I'll be interested in how this baby flies!

Thanks!

[bodywerks]

The tube is a 2 pound piece of aluminum, not CF, but did you notice the CF cowl???
There is a CF tube available for it through Desert Aircraft or TBM, though that would save a pound.

[zoomer260]

I was wondering if it was carbon fiber. But he said "composite" so I eyeballed it pretty hard.

[Mithrandir]

Preview.. it flies really well!
Even with the 2 pound alu tube.

[HUNTERNFLA]

wow looks good ill be looking forward to youre updates

[krayzc]

tell me it's not so! in this day and age we want to build a kit! NOT!

[Mithrandir]

OK... 'nuff of the OOOO'ing and AWE'ing... lets Git'r'done!

If you open the instruction manual, it tells us to iron out all the wrinkles first. Well... there were no wrinkles! Really! (It actually took over a week and one flying session in the sun before any wrinkles appeared! And it only took 15 or 20 minutes to take care of those)

So, lets get started on the wings. How sweet... the ailerons are hinged and glue'd!!! Give'em a good tug to make sure the hinges are really secure...

Put some towels or other padding on your bench to lay the wings on. Grab your best X-Axcto with a #11 blade and trim the servo openings as shown in the manual. Leave about an 1/8" edge that you can iron down.
Notice the holes for the control horns are already drilled!

Might as well grab the Stabs and do those Servo Boxes as well.

[Mithrandir]

The next step would be the control horns... the wing and stab are identical process here.. so we did'em at the same time. The horns are made from long screws and a couple washers with a domed center and a dome nut... look at the diagram... the domed feature allows the washers to angle themselves flat with the aileron/elevator surface!

Now you can take the Anti-Torque dowels and epoxy them into the root rib of the wing. Sand a bit of a chamfer on the exposed end to help it fit into the holes of the fuselage.