Tuesday Huckin'

Today we went out the the field and got some video of my Extreme Flight Extra 300 EXP. This is such a sweet flying airplane! It does awesome precision and flies on rails, then crank the throws (81 degrees of elevator to be exact) and it turns into a 3D monster. Check out today's video! Enjoy!



--Tom K.

Extreme Flight Extra 300 EXP

Well today the dark clouds finally subsided so we had some decent lighting to shoot some video in... if only the camera quality was better. Don't worry, we're working on it! Anyway, here's the video. Enjoy!



--Tom K.

Huckin' Before a Storm

I went out to the the field and met Shawn (GravityCheat) at the gate just as he was leaving... last one out. I took out my 48" EF Extra EXP to fly, plugged in the battery, then looked up at the rapidly darkening sky and discovered the reason why my dad and I were the only ones at the field. So, we packed up the balsa plane and equipment so if the storm rolled in too quickly we wouldn't be scrambling in the rain and wind to pack everything into the car... I've had more than my fair share of those. I wasn't too pleased with not being able to fly, but the storm seemed far enough away that I could get a flight in on the foamie before leaving... and if I was wrong, packing up the small plane and battery would be childs' play and could be done in about a minute.

I pulled the radio back out of the car, grabbed a 2S 450, plugged it in and flew as my dad filmed. I wasn't halfway done with the flight when my dad shut the camera off yelling "Okay, let's go". I was about done having fun anyway because the plane wasn't going anywhere... forward at least. I plopped it onto the ground and held full down to hold it there as the wind picked up to gale force. I proceeded to run to the pits and car to pack up the batteries and plane. The winds continued to pick up and while running to the car, cautious not to let the foamie fly from my grasp, my hat blew off! I quickly started packing everything up as my dad ran after my hat. Once everything was put away, we grabbed the camera once again to shoot some B-Roll of the approaching squall.

And now, your featured presentation:


--Tom K.

Extreme Flight Extra 300 EXP

Since I've been flying the Edge a lot recently, I felt like I was somewhat neglecting my Extra... so today I brought it out to the field and grabbed a few flights. It took a little getting used to as the Extra and Edge are completely different flying airplanes. The Extra is much faster than my Edge and likes to harrier at higher speeds. It also snaps faster than the Edge, so getting used to the faster reflexes required behind the sticks was a bit of a wake up call. After one flight, however, I felt right at home with my trusty Extra.

Here is today's Extra EXP video. Dim the lights please...



--Tom K.

Quick Edge Video

Here's today's Edge video. I'm really starting to get comfortable with this plane... but it's hard not to because it's so stable. The camera quality isn't the best on this flight, however, but it came out OK. Hope you like the Beatles!



--Tom K.

THUNDER HUCKIN'

As we sat around at the flying field examining the quick moving squall to the East, of all things to do, we decided to fly. Maybe not the smartest idea... but made for some decent video! Enjoy!



--Tom K.

Extreme Flight Edge 540T__First Official Beatdown!

So now that the first few flights on the Edge are done we took it out to the flying field today to get some flight video... and that's just what we did. I experimented with removing the SFG's and I kind of like it. Here are my reasons for experimentation and my findings:

First off, the Motrolfly 2820-750 with that 14x7 prop lacked the forward speed I was looking for. Since the SFG's are so huge, I figured they were creating drag whenever the tail wiggled and waggled adding up to un-needed drag that slowed the airplane down. Also, I was curious to see how the rudder authority decreased without them. I mean, the SFG's are so huge, they had to be doing a lot of work... no? And finally, I heard on one of the online forums that one person took off his SFG's and wing rock decreased... which is hard to believe when you think of the aerodynamics aspect of things, and also the fact that there is no wing rock when the SFG's are on... so technically there can't be less than nothing, right?

So the first flight I took off, went vertical, and decided to do some vertical point rolls. The first thing I noticed was that it was rocketing upwards faster than it was with the SFG's installed, so that was step one in proving my drag theory. Also, when I gave the aileron inputs for the vertical point rolls, they seemed much more crisp, clean, and precise than with the SFG's on. Then I nosed over to pick up speed and decided to do a high speed racetrack pattern around the field to continue to experiment with the forward speed. I found that the speed did significantly increase making part-one of my experiment a success.

Next, I decided to try out some high speed Knife Edge (KE) passes. So I built up a head of steam at full throttle, put it on its edge (no pun intended) and gave my normal rudder input. Of course, without the SFG's and with an almost un-noticeable amount of rudder input, it started to sink. Not wanting to try anything weird as it sank towards the ground in the hot, humid, and thin air of Florida in mid July, I leveled the wings and flew out to the East. Next time around I gave more rudder input and managed to keep the aircraft from sinking... and I still had less than half rudder input applied. Apparently, the SFG's just add so much side area and lift when on KE, that it makes for a nearly un-realistically easy flying airplane... not particularly a bad thing, however. But even with the SFG's off, the Edge still performed Knife Edges almost flawlessly. The only flaw is when a lot of rudder is given, the aileron coupling does some weird stuff... but nothing a few percent of rudder to aileron mix can't fix.

Last on the list was the harrier test. This was to test two things: One, to prove or disprove the phenomena brought up on the forum. Two, to see if removing the SFG's will increase the forward speed of the aircraft to keep up with the pace of the music I intend to use in my videos.

So I brought it down from high altitude on the East side of the runway in an elevator and gently transitioned into a harrier. First thing I noticed was that there was a slight hint of wing rock; this immediately countering the event brought up on the forum. This was as I expected because the aerodynamics of it didn't add up logically, even in theory. As I continued to harrier around, I found that wing rock was not a constant problem, but mostly came into play when changing directions or decent rates (like during an elevator to harrier transition).

Last but not least was the harrier speed test. Upon pulling up to my 45 degree AOA ideal for my harriers, I almost immediately noticed that the plane was moving faster than with the SFG's installed. I was pleased with this outcome.

In conclusion, I am pleased with the flight performance of the Edge without the SFG's. I will continue to experiment with KE mixing and maybe some alternative SFG designs... but for now, it flies great!

Dim the lights please...



--Tom K.

Edge 540T SH-0255MG Servo Review

As a follow up to my Unboxing review of my New Extreme Flight Edge 540T EXP, I only see it fit to write a flight review on this amazing aircraft and its setup.

Set-up:

After getting a few flights in on the new Edge, I realized that the set-up I am using has got to be one of the best setups for this plane. For a motor I'm using the Motrolfly 2820-750 with their FM-80 Amp ESC and U-BEC. This power combo provides enough power for 3D, and an extreme amount of torque and vectored thrust thanks to the big 14x7E APC propeller. For servos of course I am using a Savox SH-0255MG servo on all surfaces. These are outstanding little powerhouses with 54 oz/in of torque on 6 volts. Not to mention they provide the torque and speed needed to adequately swing the huge elevator around without having to modify the servo hole for a larger servo.

 

The Servos:

I'm using Savox SH-0255MG Digital micro servos on all control surfaces on the Edge. They run cool, provide insane torque, are quick, and the ones in my other planes are lasting a long time. Again, like with the Extra 300 EXP, people have been experiencing Blow-back (which is when the servo gets "blown back" by the air pushing the big elevator) with the Hitec HS-65MG and are replacing the 65MG with the larger, more powerful HS-85MG. The only problem is since the HS-85MG is a physically bigger servo, you would need to open up the servo hole to get it to fit in the airframe.  However, with the SH-0255MG you don't have that issue because it is just about the same size as the HS-65MG, mounts in the same mounting holes, provides 23 more ounces of torque than the 65MG and five more ounces of torque than the 85MG, is .01 seconds faster than the 85MG, and is digital making every movement the servo makes extremely precise.

Some people have tried the Hitec HS-5065MG, which is the digital equivalent to the HS-65MG. However, it still does not provide the torque needed to swing the big elevator, and is more expensive than the Savox SH-0255MG.

Based on these facts, it was a no-brainer for me to go with the SH-0255MG's once again.

The Airframe:

The Edge was astonishing from the get-go. Beautiful red, white, and blue color scheme, big control surfaces, and an easy build. The build probably took under five hours, and the setup took a couple of hours and it was ready to go.

On the maiden flight I took off and had it trimmed in about 30 seconds. A few clicks of elevator and aileron and it was flying true.  I landed and moved the battery around to adjust the CG to my liking and took off again. Knife Edge (KE) mixing was minimal, and almost unnecessary. The Edge flies straight and true.

The Edge is incredibly solid in the air, yet extremely maneuverable and nimble. It spins itself into a knot and stops on a dime. The big stable Edge wing design allows it to land at next to no airspeed. Also, there was no wing rock whatsoever with the big SFG's (Side Force Generators) installed. I have not flown the Edge without them.

To sum it all up I couldn't be happier with the way the Edge came out. Extreme Flight did an excellent job designing and manufacturing the aircraft, Motrolfly makes an excellent motor, and Savox provided the most precise and strongest servos on the market for this size range and price.  I highly recommend this setup for anyone purchasing one of these magnificent airframes!

Dim the lights please...

--Tom K.

Huckin' at the Park

Okay, we'll be back to flying balsa stuff as soon as the flying field becomes... un-flooded.  But for now, we're huckin' around at the local park. Enjoy!





--Tom K.

Slickinsaneness II

It was so much fun last week that my dad and I had to get one. We had Gravitycheat put it together and help up set it up and it flies AWESOME! I highly recommend it for anyone looking to home in on their 3D skills. Here's the video from today! Enjoy!



--Tom K.

Slickinsaneness!

Hey Everyone! For some reason I did not upload last week's video of the Twisted Hobbies Xtra Slicks that "Doc" Austin and Shawn (Gravitycheat) were flying. I was manning the camera and apparently it was "Kill the Cameraman" day... so here is the video form last week!



--Tom K.