Originally Posted by wyncee

Hi Guys,

The first kit has arrived just yesterday from the 2. After the first quick check overall the kit made a good impression on me, however I found some of the factory solutions less reliable. By this I am asking what is your experience, mainly those owners who made enough starts which after the regular week points could come out.

One is the fixation of the canopy.
Somehow I could stay at the one screw on top solution howeverI found that the canopy frame could move a lot in sideways which after a point in my eyes could results that fixation screw get loose even at worst case. Here I am thinking of to rework the front flaps of the canopy frame into a screw lock version, by that at 3 points the canopy would be fixed with screws.

The other is that the mounting point of the rear landing gear is located on the removable door of the fuselage. I cannot imagine this can withstand example harrier landings. I am thinking of to glue a wooden inlay a bit more forward which can be used to mount the rear landing gear.

What is your opinion, or what do you see to make differently if you could build once again this kit?

Cheers,
Vince

Vince , I haven't seen any real issues with the canopy but I do run a piece of tape over the screw just to make sure , super handy with 1 screw my krill has 7 screws and it is a pita .
The rear mount for the wheel has come loose at the fuse block as it was poorly epoxied from the factory and cracked out , noticed it on a check over and have since put a large fillet on the inside with Westsystems and micro ballons to secure it will never have issues around this again .
I would just fly it and address any issues as they come up

Put my instrument panel in today, looking forward to final touches before maiden day.

Hi Guys,

Thanks from each of you for the inputs, I'll take them into consideration.

Meanwhile I started to measure out how long stand offs will be needed to install the Zdz 195 and I realized that the drilling template is marked already on the firewall for the Zdz, similar to the naca ducts on the top of the motor cowl.
I was expected that I'll have to stand up the plane to its tail and measure out with the good old method the position of the engine so it was a pleasent suprise for me. Thumbs up for CARF.

By the way how did you find the recommended trust angles? 3.5 right and 0 horizontal is ok, or meanwhile based on several flights something different works better?

Regards,
Vince

Meanwhile the question answered itself regarding the thrust angle. I designed a motormount with 3.5 deg right and 0 deg down thrust which has been 3D printed, before CNC milling the final version.

Attached you can find the photo about the results.

By re-measuring the front face of the motorcowl relatively to the
front of the dome the right thrust values are rather somewhere inbetween 4.5 - 5 deg, the up thrust probably going to be ok at 0.5 deg because at 0 deg it is not parallel to the cowl.

Manual shall be corrected by giving the right values, or these values shall be deleted completely and just refer only that the spinner plate has to be completely parallel with the front of the cowl from any direction. Otherwise it can be misleading....

Nothing in the preliminary instructions regarding the C of G position or forward or aft limits.
Can anyone who has flown theirs advise on this. Thanks

I was flying mine at front of wing tube. I started at center tube and ended up moving forward

Originally Posted by Geebeeman

I've just about convinced myself to install a Jetcat turboprop into my Extra. It weighs only 4.9 ponds and produces 55 pounds of thrust. Looks like a pretty straight forward installation. Thoughts?

Did you managed to install the turboprop? I want to do the same... some photos would be great!!

Regards,

Madinpensacola, curious where you found your silicone hold-down for your exhaust ?

Originally Posted by madinpensacola

New aircraft maiden day. CARF Extra330LX 3.0m; GP178; JMB TRA70L canisters; MTW knuckle headers; 6” TruTurn; Falcon 31x12; 5” White Rose mains; White Rose/J&J tail wheel hybrid; Hitec 9380 flight controls.
New engine ran nice and cool and was left a bit rich on both needles as I break it in,

Madinpensacola, curious where you found your silicone hold-down for your exhaust ?

I would love to speak with someone who has flown this aircraft more than a few dozen times and can relay some information as to its reliability and if any modifications need to be done.

Please PM me !
Gabriel

Curious about this model as well because Gabe touched bases with me regarding servos because he's thinking of getting one of these models. Anyway, as I told him, we only offer one servo, which in my opinion, is suitable. It's my DS1155BLHV (1155oz-in).

Reason for this is entirely due to our dogleg gear design. I believe we're unique in this development (but I expect everybody else will copy us soon enough). Why is this important? Simple; it's because you get significantly larger gears and bearings. If you're wondering how you benefit, the benefit is chiefly due to reduced working pressure at the gear face. As nobody reading this needs reminding, just as a larger wing area reduces wing-loading, larger gears reduces the working pressure at the gear face. Naturally, all things being equal, e.g. steel vs. steel, then lower working pressure reduces wear and the chance of breaking them (breakage isn't a concern for my pilots but it's a huge area of concern for folks driving fast heavy trucks)

Anyway, even my own inline single-stack gear designs (like DS555/630/930 series), or similar servos like a Savox 2290SG, MKS HBL599 (and pretty much everything going back to a Kraft KPS-14) are now obsolete.

Sharing photos will help you learn more.

Right on, thanks for the explanation John. I have my airframe on order, which should arrive within a week or so, and i'm planning on using your 1155 servos. Given the unique (for a 3D plane) arrangement that CARF has done with dual-ganged servos, to one pushrod, it's not so much about torque anymore as it is the support that the servo gears offer to keep up with the forces from these massive, stiff, control surfaces....your larger gears, all metal cases and brass bushings should be the ticket to longevity.

GM

Hi

I would like to ask the experience those who build this plane regarding rudder how did you manage the pull pull cables and find the tension of the cables all over the entire travel of the rudder.

My cables are getting lose getting closer to the 2 ends, but what even I found weird is that the cables rubbing the rear rib as it can be seen on the photo.

The cables are crossed.

Regards,
Vince

something tells me you're going to have to drill a "guide hole" thru that rib. Long drill bits can be found at McMasters.

Yes, I exactly did this.