Power System Theory And Execution

 Not to harp on power ratings and such, but it is worth talking about balancing the power system to the airfame. Again, I am more and more seeing the benifits of not grossly overpowering a 3D plane. Sure, gut busting grunt is a lot of fun to fly, but it is harder work than flying a plane that is better balanced to it's power system. The Mini Slick with the 72 gram motor, for example, is the perfect package this way. There is enough power to punch respectfully out of a hover, but it is not so much that the throttle makes the plane jumpy or difficult to place where you want it.

The most common misconception is that you need unlimited power to get yourself out of bad situations. This is something I used to subscribe to religeously. At least in the beginning of learning 3D, you are going to fall out of hovers and harriers simply due to bad form. After you have saved yourself a time or two by hammnering the go stick, the habit of relying too much on the throttle is reinforced, especially if you are starting with too much power to begin with. I believe this actually hampered my progress, because I was flying overpowered planes that were difficult to master, not to mention trying to learn a whole new style of flying.

Here is one of my last flights with my 5s overpowered 55" Extra SHP. If you listen to the throttle applications, you can see the bursts of power are when I get wobbly and lose smoothness. At the time I was pretty proud of this video, but considering what I have learned since, it now is a tool to show others what not to do.

What I learned from the Mini Slick is that is it better to have a balanced power package that flies better. You get into less trouble to begin with like this, but it is still hard for many to believe you can actually fly better with less.

The magic number seems to be between 130 to 180 watts Per pound (WPP). Being the lazy type, I don't often weigh the plane or check my wattage. It is too easy to rely on 3DHS' recommendations, simply because the planes are so well developed that all you need to do is buy what they say and go fly it. Not having done the math I can't swear to anything, but I'm guessing that 3DHS' low power set up for any particular plane falls within the 130-180WPP range.

We did figure out the Mini Slick with a 72G motor and 3s packs is right around 180WPP. While this is still a little more than pros like Andrew Jesky seem to like, it is not so overbearing that the power system overwhelms the airplane. I draw the comparison to driving a dragster in the rain, or driving something like a Nissan Altima. For those conditions, the Altima is obviously going to be the easier package to drive smoothly and precisely, while the dragster is going to spin it's tires alot, slide around and scare the crap out of it driver.

In this video, you can easily see how much less difficult it is to fly something as finely balanced and a 180WPP Mini Slick.

What hammered all of this home was that after the Mini Slick, I carried this knowledge over into setting up my 55" planes. On 5s the big jobs were so seriously, and stupidly overpowered that they were a definate handful to fly. As an experiment, I dropped a 4s pack into my 55" Edge. I didn't have the right prop, so I just used what was already on the plane. It was underpowered for sure, but it was definately easier to control, though it was scarey to get into trouble and not have enough grunt to get out as easily as before. This led me to later correctly prop the plane for 4s and give it another try. Now with a better balanced power system, the Edge was perfect all the way around. It was still a little too much, but so much easier to control the throttle that it was a completely new plane.

This also led to using the 4s system on my new 57" Extra SC. Now I was truely learning how to fly the airplane rather than yank it around with the throttle. What was different now was that balancing the power to the airframe created a better package that is easier and smoother to fly.

Certainly power is still important, especially in alpha flight, because that's where your vectored thrust comes from. Remember though, that dropping down in power allows you to use a bigger prop, which blows a bigger cone of aiflow over the plane. This bigger cone is very useful to vector over the control surfaces and gain more control authority, especially at sub stall speeds.

The 55" Extra SHP and the 57" Extra SC are so similar that it is valid to use them comparing power systems. Remembering how ragged the previous 5s 55" SHP video looked, now see how much better and smoother the more reasonably powered 4s Extra SC is.

I know that power addicts are going to find all of this difficult to believe, just like, in the beginning, I did. However, video is a good illustration of the difference, and people have noticed my flying style and technique have improved since I have cut my power back to a more reasonable and controllable level.

All I know is that since I have cut my power back to the 130-180WPP range, I am working much less hard, feel much more in control, and at last to me, the videos look smoother.

Finally, here is an instant contrast, with the same plane, same pilot, on the same day. First is my 55" Edge on 5s, followed by dropping down to the more reasonably powered 4s with a bigger propeller and corresponding increase in vectored thrust. To me the diffrerence is rather stark hopefully this will be a good way to illustrate my point.

Special thanks to Andrew Jesky for sharing with me his sage insight into balancing the power system to the airframe.

The Vyper Strikes

Report Overview
This report is going to be a little different, if not completely backwards. See, I've already had a 47" Vyper. It was a great little plane, and I loved it right up until I got stupid and wrecked it.

This report was being and published before my new Vyper had flown, but now that it has, you can read the flight report at   The Vyper Strikes, Part II

The Tragedy Of Vyper #1

I was really excited about my Vyper. My background includes lots of competition precision aerobatics. This is what attracted me to 3DHS to begin with when I had my Aspera pattern plane. I loved that plane so much that I wanted more 3DHS planes, and that led me right into buying their 3D style planes, and learning 3D.

I have always loved graceful precision, and have learned to love 3D, so, I was pretty amped about the prospect of having a precision plane that flew like the Aspera, and with the flip of the rate switch could go right into crazed 3D antics. Best of both worlds, really, and what I have been looking for since I came back to the sport.

And....... the Vyper and I got along just fine. It did everything I wanted it to do and more. The only thing it didn't do was fly itself out of my stupid mistake. It wasn't the plane's fault. I simply pushed too hard when the wind conditions were really too rough to even be out there. It was stupid, and it cost me what was maybe the best plane I had ever had for my hybred style of precision, crazed sport and 3D flying.

When I wrecked my first Vyper, I was so angry with myself that I threw the wreckage in the attic and moved on to the 42" Slick and 57" SC. Too many other nice planes to build and fly, but I have always known I would have another Vyper. I was just so angy with myself that I wanted to forget the whole mess.

This changed pretty quickly when my friend Steve got a Vyper and we set it up for sport. You can read about that here:
http://docaustinsfreakshow.blogspot.com/2010/01/sport-flying-3d-hobby-shop-vyper.html

Flying Steve's Vyper reminded me why I loved mine so much, and I ordered a new one as soon as I could get home that day.

Vyper #2 Strikes

Power Theory And management
My first Vyper was powered by the awesome Torque 2814 motor and Thunder Power 4s 2600 Pro Lite batteries. Like this it was an blindingly fast rocket, absolutely brutal, something which, at the time, impressed me greatly.

Lately, though, I've been cutting back on the power on all my planes, in exchange for lighter weight and a bigger prop. The benifits of lighter weight are obvious, though you have to fly the bigger prop to understand how that translates into more vectored thrust (and more control authority) in post stall Alpha flight. As long as you have a little power on, you maintain air, and control authority, flowing over the control surfaces.

Of course, dropping the voltage means you give up some power, but with 4s and the big motor the Vyper was seriously, wastefully, overpowered anyway. That and with less weight, you don't need all that extra power to haul it around. You simply don't need that much power for flying around at sub stall speeds. With big power, it might go 100mph, but that isn't what 3D is all about.

With lower power, throttle management is much, much easier. Before I was constantly working the throttle in a hover or harrier, and most of the time giving it too much and blasting out, but with the new set up, now I just set the throttle, leave it alone and fly the plane. The plane flies better and I fly better.

How this translates into the new Vyper set up is moving to the smaller and lighter Torque 2818 motor and Thunder Power 3s 2250 Pro Power batteries. This is much lighter than the big 2814 and bulkier 4s 2600 Pro Lite batteries. Also, by moving from an 11/5.5 prop to a 13/6.5, that's a full two extra inches of prop blast going over the control surfaces. In post stall flight, this is the holy grail.

CONTROL SET UP

I've noticed there is a formula to the set up of 3DHS planes. It's 27-30 degrees on aileron, and 45 degrees on elevator and rudder, with 75% exponential all the way around. On dedicated 3D planes, experienced 3D pilots run as much as 45 degrees on the ailerons, but the Vyper is a precision plane with a more efficent precision wing platform. It needs less aileron throw for roll control than a conventional 3D plane, so we are sticking to the 35 degree formula. The rest remains the same, including the low rates specified in the manual.

Ailerons
Here you can see we used the 3DHS phenolic servo arm extentions on the second hole out. With the end points maxxed we can get as much as 50 degrees of throw, but we backed it down to 35 degrees, at least until we fly it and figure out how much we really want. I'm pretty sure this will be about right because the first Vyper was perfect here. Still, tastes change when you grow as a pilot, and I might want more. That's why I left myself some room to crank the end points.

This is a very simple arrangement, made even easier now that I am using a seperate channel for each aileron. It's just a matter of using the sub trims to get the servos perfectly centered and avoiding unwanted differental. If I eventually want some differental, I can dial it in with the end point control. These new computer radios have made set up a little more complex to understand, but much more simple to execute.

Elevator
Again sticking to the formula, we shot for 45 degrees. The Vyper has a long tail movement, which makes it very pitch stable, but unfortuantely compromises pitch authority when compared to a short coupled dedicated 3D plane. To get around this we hinged this Vyper a little looser so we can get as much a 60 degrees of travel. We're starting with 45 degrees, but I am sure we will end up with a little more just to get the plane to rotate harder.

Again, we have 3DHS phenolic servo arm extentions on the second hole out, and end points dialed back to 125% to get the 45 degrees of travel. One departure here is the carbon rod glued over the metal pushrod. While not necessary, this stiffens up the whole assembly so much that there is no chance of any flexing at all, which is going to make the plane fly more precisely. The carbon tube costs next to nothing, and weights next to nothing, so if there is any improvement at all it will be more than worth it.

Besides, it looks cool.

Rudder
With the lighter batteries and motor we went with a rudder pull-pull cable set up to get the rudder servo out of the tail and closer to the CG. This not only makes balancing the plane easier, but moving the mass closer to the center makes the plane more agile. There is less mass to move on the ends, so the plane becomes much more responsive.

Again, 3DHS phenolic arms, only this time on the inner hole.

We could have gotten away using a stock Hi tech arm, but this one was already made up from the last Vyper. Using the sub trims to perfectly center the servo, with 140% end point control the throw is perfect both directions.

Center Of Gravity
Each individual plane is a little different, but I ended up with the CG right in the middle of the wing tube on my last Vyper. I was slowly moving the battery back, and never got it perfect before I wrecked it. With the new rudder set up, I've got plenty of room to move the battery back. Where it sits now, the CG is right on the wing tube, and since this worked so well on the first Vyper, this is where we will start.

EQUIPMENT INSTALLATION

Extreme Flight Torque 2818 Motor
The teriffic little Extreme Flight Torque 2818 has served me extremely (no pun) well in my 47" SHPs, Edge 540s, Yaks and Katanas. Most of that time has been howling on 4s, and even at that these motors have been impossible to kill. Most 3DHS planes are designed to accept Torque motors with no modifications needed. The blind nuts are pre installed, so all you do is simply bolt the motor on.

On 3s the 2818 was plenty of power on Steve's Vyper. Since I'll be using higher discharge Thunder Power 2250 30C Pro Power packs, I can expect a little more, so there won't be any shortage of grunt.

Extreme Flight Airboss Elite 45 Electronic Speed Controller
As always, we use nothing but Extreme Flight Airboss Elite speed controllers (ESC). For this plane we merely transferred over an Airboss 45 we had sitting on the shelf. This is a bit of a rarity because I always seem to be at least one Airboss 45 short. Of course, this year's unprecedented carnage has made some previously allocated equipment available, but that's not the best way to do it. I need to pick up a few more Airboss 45s so I'm not always robbing one plane to set another up..

I am especially fond of the Airboss 45 because it gives me the flexibility to run 3, 4 or 5s batteries. It also requires nothing more than simply plugging it in, and I like safe, bulletproof things that are easy to use. The Airboss 45 is just that. All you really need to do is check your amp draw and make sure you prop the motor to pull less than 45 amps, and you're good to go.

I've used the Airboss Elite 45 ESCs in all my 47" airplanes, and they have provided hours and hours of perfect reliability and smooth, consistent performance. I won't use anything else.

On my first Vyper I mounted the ESC on the side of the motorbox. This is the way I always do it, but the Vyper is a little different. The cowling fits much closer to the motorbox, so with the ESC wedged between them, there isn't a lot of room for cooling air to flow around the critical electrics. I didn't have any problems, even in the blistering Florida summer, but this time we went with mounting the ESC on the bottom of the motorbox.

This achieves a few things. First, the ESC is now mounted directly on the centerline of the plane. Before both the ESC and the elevator servo were on the left side of the plane, and that couldn't be very good for laterally balancing the plane. This way, it's in the middle, which just happens to put the ESC right behind the onrushing air coming through the immense cooling hole in the front of the cowling. In this location, it's going to get a heck of a lot more cooling air going over it, but I would have already known that if I had read the instructions the first time around.

Receiver Installation
By now most readers already know I am extremely obesessive about radio installation. Like on the first Vyper, I mounted the receiver below and to the rear or the battery tray. This not only puts the receiver right on the CG, but it is easy to work on without the battery, ESC wires, or rudder servo and pull cables getting in the way. With 3" extensions on the aileron servo wires, the ailerons plug straight into the receiver with very little slack. This keeps the wires from flopping over on top of the rudder servo where the arm could grab and unplug them. With the receiver mounted nice and low, it stays out of the way, and so does the antenna installation. In this picture there are a few loose wires, most notably the rudder servo wire, but I am still piddling and I'll wire tie off the slack when I am satisfied everything is as neat as I can make it.

Part of this is pride, but mostly it is because things that are done sloppy, fly sloppy...when they don't fail altogether, that is.

Battery Compartment

As you can see, by placing the ESC below the motorbox, all the wiring is outside the battery compartment.  This allows you to slide the battery in and out without snagging it on any wayward spaghetti and maybe ripping out something unimportant like the switch wires or something. This is just another way you can avoid potential ptroblems later by making things as neat and tidy as possible now.

NEW TRICKS

Something I have never tried before has been running the ailerons on seperate channels. Not only is this useful for centering the servos with sub trim independantly, but it also opens up mixing in flaperons and spoilerons.

For now we are just experimenting with the flaperons which operate in the opposite direction of the elevator, expecting this to greatly increase pitch authority and decrease the amount of space you can turn the plane around it. For the first flight I will have it disabled, but subsequently I will have it on a switch so I can turn it on and off. We will see how this works out, but if it gives the plane more extreme capabilities....well, 3D is all about the extreme, isn't it?

NAIL

I think that pretty mucn covers putting the plane together. With this out of the way it's just a matter of dialing it all in and shooting some video. Of course there will be a flight report, and I have learned so much about alpha technique since my first Vyper that I think I can much better take advantage of the Vyper's hybrid abilities to go back and forth from precision to 3D Alpha flight.

While the first Vyper was fascinating, the first of any new airplane is always the most difficult, though few end so tragically, so soon. Having learned alot about the Vyper and it's set up the first time around, I expect this one will be much better sorted out from the first take off. All we have to worry about now is the pilot going stupid again.

SPORT FLYING THE 3D HOBBY SHOP VYPER

The Extra SHP Sport report was very successful in helping sport pilots move into a better and more capable class of plane without requiring them to fly something any more difficult than they already owned. Lots of guys who jumped from planes like the Mini Ultra Stick and Mini Pulse found themselves to be much more comfortable and confident literally the very moment they took the sticks.

We recently set a 46" Vyper up my friend Steve, who has only been flying for a few months. The plane was so sweet and easy to fly, and Steve's flying progressed so quickly that it was obvious the vyper would be just as good for aerobatic training and sport flying as the SHP is, and that's why we did this report.

Just so there is no confusion, we are not flying this plane with a 3D set up. We have custom developed a control and CG set up that turns the Vyper into a very docile, yet extremely capable sport plane. While the Vyper set up this way is not a basic trainer, anyone who can handle something like a Mini Pulse will find the Vyper to be very gentle and friendly, yet capable of all conventional aerobatics.

If you are sport flying now, the Vyper is perfect like this, and perfect for learning precision aerobatics. If you choose later to go into 3D, with a simple set up change the Vyper is also extremely capable of going there too.

As a 3D/Precision Hybrid, the 3DHS Vyper is a child of two worlds. She excels in the world of smooth high speed precision aerobatics, and with the flip of the rate switch is ready for the rough and tumble world of high intensity 3D. What I found most appealing about the Vyper is it's ability to deliver a shockingly well rounded flight featuring both worlds of precision and 3D.

But, what about the middle world, the one in between, the world of sport flying?

THE VYPER AS A SPORT PLANE

Good airplanes, no matter what type of flying they are intended for, share many of the same characteristics. Stability, of course, is essential for just about any kind of flying, and as a precision plane, the Vyper has plenty of that. Agility is another crucial trait, and as a 3D plane, the Vyper is definitely agile.

A good sport plane has to be rugged, and the Vyper features a very generous amount of carbon fiber in the landing gear area and fuselage sides, plus it's carbon wing tube and landing gear. 3DHS planes are well known for being exceptionally strong birds that can absorb a lot of abuse, and the Vyper is no different here.

As you can see, the Vyper has all the essential qualities for a great sport plane. The average sport pilot can very easily handle this plane, but it is more likely when he sees how capable the Vyper is, he will want to try some precision and 3D with it too.

Steve is a relatively new pilot. He's only been at it for 6 months or so, and has been flying foam planes and an Ultra Stick 25E. This is his first very serious airplane, and he was a bit nervous because it was his very first flight with it. It was also his first time on camera, and his wife was there watching too, so it would be hard to put a guy under more pressure. Still, he flew very well and liked the vyper right away. After Ken went home I had Steve doing stall turns almost on the deck with it, and it's a shame we didn't get that on video.

Here's Steve's first flight with his new Vyper:

SET UP

Control Movement
The sport setup was not that hard to figure out. It's a simple formula that we have used before on the Extra SHP Sport, Extra SR Sport and 40" Edge 540 Sport. Generally Scott likes to use precision throws for low rates, and that's what's in the manual. We use that for a high rate, and then dial the low rate back to something that's pretty gentle, which is usually 80-85% of high rate.

Aileron:
15 degrees .75”
30% Expo

Elevator:
13 degrees 1.25”
30% Expo

Rudder:
45 degrees 3.5”
75% Expo

This gives you a nice, gentle sport plane that will do all the conventional precision and sport aerobatics. Roll rate is about three rolls in five seconds, which is what used to be the standard for the old AMA pattern, and also very easy to keep up with when doing multiple rolls.

The best bet is to fly the plane a bit on high and low rates, leave the high rate alone, and dial the low rate into what you feel really comfortable with. That way the thing will be a dream on low rates, and you'll have high rates when you want to go a little crazy.

Center Of Gravity
The manual calls for the CG to be at 4.75" behind the leading edge of the wing, measured at the root, where the wing meets the fuselage. For sport and precision flying that's a bit too tail heavy. Moving the CG a bit forward makes the plane more stable, gentle, groovy, and precise. It just locks in better, especially at high speed.
We flew our Vyper at 4.5". This turned out to be just right, assuring rock solid tracking without compromising the plane's agility for maneuvers such as snaps and spins.

Mechanics

As far as how this translates out mechanically, we use 100% on the end point controls. Then, we use the standard arms that come with the Hi Tech HS65MG servos.

Aileron Set Up: We again use the inside hole, but instead use the double armed servo arms. Since a lot of new guys will be using this set up, we don't want to make radio programming any more complex than it has to be, so we use a y harness and run both servos off the aileron channel. If the servo arms don't center perfectly, generally you can flip them over 180 degrees and that takes care of it.

Elevator Set Up: We use the inside hole of the single arm servo arm, and if it doesn't center perfectly we use the sub trims.

Rudder Set Up: You can use either the double or single servo arms, but generally it is the outermost hole in the arm, and then get max deflection with the end point controls. Just make sure the rudder doesn't hit the elevator halves.

Since Steve will be flying this plane on Thunder Power 3s 2250 Pro Power batteries, we went with the pull-pull set up to help get the CG a bit forward for sport flying. You can see here how a little bit of heat shrink tubing hides those ugly crimp pieces and cleans up the look of the plane considerably.

Nail

The Vyper is a remarkable plane on many levels. For the experienced 3D pilot, the Vyper does everything his other 3D plane do, but also allows him to explore the world of precision aerobatics. The reverse is true of the precision pilot who would like to try 3D.

Somewhere in the middle of this is the sport pilot who wants an agile but easy plane to learn or practice aerobatics, or to just plain have fun with. The big bonus is that should he choose to move to another level, he can pursue either the 3D or precision disciplines...... or both.

While the Vyper is a child of two worlds, and excels in both so well, she has almost melded those into another, brave new world.

Steve admires his new Vyper

Thanks to my friend Steve for lending us his brand new Vyper for this project. Steve got this plane for Christmas from his wife, and if he wrecked it he'de be in big trouble, Worse still, if I wrecked it we'de all be dead, so it was a big leap of faith to let me fly it.

Thanks again, Steve!

3D Hobby Shop Extra SC

The big 55" SHP by 3D Hobby Shop has always been a special plane for me. 55" is right in the middle of what used to be the 40 or 60 sized nitro planes I grew up flying, what I considered to be a "real airplane." Sure, the smaller planes are great fun, and convenient too, but a big plane has it's own kind of special aura and presence.  55" is about as big of a plane as would fit my lifestyle and budget, and that made the big SHP perfect.

The 55" SHP took me back to my old nitro days, only cleaner, quieter and much more conveniently. I would have been happy flying the big SHP forever, so initially I wasn't sure how to feel about it being replaced by the 57" Extra SC.

FLYING

First, it's worth noting that all the good things about how the SHP flies have carried over into the SC. The SC is very honest, stable, forgiving, and absolutely confidence inspiring. Sounds just like an SHP, doesn't it?

In fact, the SC flies very much like an SHP, only lighter. While they are very similar, without a doubt the biggest difference between the SHP and the lightweight SC is the performance gain losing that weight afforded. The SC is much floatier, and also more agile at slower speeds. The SC is almost like a smaller plane in this respect because you can toss it around pretty carelessly, but it still flies very big, and very, very smooth.

Obviously harrier, hover and other alpha flight is going to be improved because of the lighter wing loading. Overall, the SC just feels lighter, can fly slower and be much more responsive at those speeds. The SC just 3Ds better.

On the other end, high speed precision is very good. In fact, my SC seems to KE better than my 55" SHPs. This translates into beautiful slow and point rolls, which were already really nice with the SHP.  The SC seems to be a little more reassuring in KE flight and I really can't find a reason for that. It might just be an illusion, or it might be the lighter weight comes into play during all aspects of flight.

Outside of handling much more lightly on the sticks, the SC flies so much like the SHP that my comments on the 55" SHP apply to the 57" SC as well:

http://docaustinsfreakshow.blogspot.com/2009/02/25-flights-3d-hobby-shop-55-extra-shp.html

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AIRFRAME OVERVIEW

The most important improvement on the Extra SC is it's new, much lighter weight. On a plane this size an ouch or two isn't all that crucial, but when you add in more wing to drop the wing loading, and then go with a lighter power system,  now you've got a completely different animal.

The 57" Extra SC is essentially a slightly larger, lighter SHP, but it's also better flying plane. The wingspan grows from 55" to 57". When you compare it to an SHP wing you'de think this wasn't worth the effort, but combined with the SC's lower weight, the wing loading drops considerably and the SC is a noticably floatier flying plane.

3DHS saved the weight in a few areas that are obvious. First, the SC can be built with either single or dual elevator servos. Single works best for me because I prefer to keep things simple and reliable. The loss of one servo and pushrod in the tail saves weight, and also moves the mass of the airplane closer to the center, which improves the plane's agility.

It now takes less weight in the nose to balance the plane properly, and the preferred power set up drops from the SHP's heavier 5 cell arrangement to 4 cells. Lately I'm preferring the lower power of the 4s setup anyway, because it makes the power delivery much easier to control. For me, the SHP was a little difficult to keep in a harrier or hover on 5s because one or two notches of power was all it took for the plane to blast off. Now with the SC on 4s, managing the power is much easier.

While we are on the business end of the airplane, the SC's motorbox has been stiffened up and strenghtened quite a bit. The sides, top and bottom pieces are cut so the inside edges at the corners are pre-gusseted. This is hard to explain in writing, so please check out the motorbox photos.

Another place 3DHS saved weight was moving from opaque covering to translucent on the bottom of the wings and stab. This saved an estimated one ounce, but another big gain here is that the translucent covering seems to stay tighter and stick to the wood better. It just seems to stay nicer.  The whole covering job is probably the best one I've gotten yet, and along with superb build quality this is probably the nicest plane overall I've ever owned.

The most important part of the asthetics for me is the SC's new tinted canopy. It is lightly smoked, but dark enough to much more easilly discern the canopy outline, and makes orientation better. It's still light enough that you could put a pilot in there and he would still be visible. I was tinting my own canopies and it was a colossal pain, so I hope this feature will make it's way into all future 3DHS releases. A righteous upgrade.

All the SHP's hardware was carried forward to the SC. That whole package is top drawer quality, and it's nice to use equipment you are already familar with. The sideforce generators appear to be the same ones used on the last generation SHP, and those worked so well it's not surprising they were retained.

The SHP's optional carbon fiber landing gear is now standard equipment for the Extra SC. I much prefer this to the previous aluminum gear which bent up so easilly. The carbon gear is stiffer, yet will still take a pretty good shot. It also looks teriffic.

One last upgrade is that the SC comes with 3DHS's custom fitted wing bags. These are complete with an internal pouchs for the carbon wing tube and also the SFGs. A very nice, quality touch that protects you quality investment.

EQUIPMENT

Power System
We weren't going to stray from what we know works. The obvious choice for our power system was always going to be Extreme Flight, with the motor being the Torque Revolution 4014, and the Airboss 80 speed controller (ESC). If the motor in the photo looks a little ragged out, that's with good reason. This motor has been around and around the block in all my 55" SHPs, and it still runs smoothly and powerfully.

Again, the simplicity of the Airboss 80 ESC makes it a no-brainer choice. Plug it in and go fly it. You don't need a seperate BEC, and you don't need to program anything. Just put the deans plug on it, stick it in the plane and forget about it. This is one less thing to maintain and worry about. It makes it easier to push the plane hard when you have equipment like this that just works.

Power and reliability is what the Torque and Airboss are all about. As much money as you will be spending on a large plane like the Extra SC, it's hard to imagine settling for anything less.

Later down the road I'm planning on going ultra lightweight and trying a Torque 2812 motor. This was originally designed especially for the 51" AJ Slick, but the Extra SC is so light that this could be a very viable power package for it. On 4s it's just a bit too much motor for the Slick, so it ought to be pretty close on the SC.

Batteries
On previous 55" SHPs (and Edge 55" 540s) I used Thunder Power Extreme Series 5S 3850 batteries. These served me really well and after hundreds of flights still perform beautifully. However, lately I've been flying my 55" Edge 540 on 4s, and I like the less explosive power delivery much better. 5S was just too stupid much power, but 4s seems just right.

For the SC I ordered some  Thunder Power 4s 3850 Pro Power packs. I tried these first in my 55" Edge and they have much more punch than the 4s Extremes I was running. They also run considerably cooler, so this is a win/win combination all the way around. The Pro Power packs have so much more grunt that I will probably turn my end point control back a bit on my throttle. That will make the power more manageable, and it will also take a lot of stress off the power system.

Funny how we drop down a cell to get rid of power and Thunder Power just gives it right back to us with better batteries!  It's a bit petty to complain that the batteries are too good, but that's the case here. I think next time I'll go for the lower discharge and slightly lower weight Pro Power packs. Those have been utterly awesome in my 47" planes, and I can save about another ounce or so by using them on the SC, as if it's not already light enough.

Servos
From the beginning, I've always flown my 55" planes on Hi Tech HS225MG servos. I recently converted my 55” Edge from dual elevator to single, and even in full speed walls and terminal velocity parachutes, a single HS225MG servo still has enough torque to get the job done. I used these same servos in my three previous SHPs, and they still work smoothly and center perfectly. Even though they have hundreds of flights on them, I had no reservation using them in a brand new plane.

SET UP

Funny thing is, I took the servos out of my 55" SHP and put them in the SC using the same holes in the same servo arms. I didn't even change my 55" Extra SHP transmitter program other than to center the trims and rename it "Extra SC." Well, that and I turned off the dual elevator mixing feature because the SC only uses one.

Once you've had an SHP, you'll find nothing here you haven't seen before.  Very straight forward and simple.

Elevator set up is very basic.  I used the longest arm from the Dubro pack and set my endpoints at 130% (with 140% available on Futaba radios). I may dial in the last 10% later, but for now the plane is quite agile enough.

I used the aileron servos and arms exactly the way they came out of my 55" SHP. I may move the pushrod out one more hole on the arm because I'de like a little more travel to counteract torque when hovering, but for now I think my bad form is more of a problem than setup. The thing rolls like a banshee the way it is.

The rudder setup was more of the same....right out of the SHP with no changes.  About the only thing I can do differently here is post a more fun view of the cables.

As you can see, I use wire ties to snug the servo wires up so the won't get into the rudder servo arm. I had a throttle linkage snag an aileron extension once, and it unplugged it, so I've been pretty careful since. I've seen other installations with the wires going everywhere, and fouling everything, and it just makes me crazy. I am probably a bit obsessive about getting the installation just so, but it gives me a lot of confidence to know the plane is as right as I know how to make it.

Something really nice about the SC is that the bevels on the control surfaces have more angle, so you can run a really tight gap and still get massive control surface travel. This is such a simple solution that works so well you have to wonder why no other manufacturer has thought of doing it before.

I can get about 70 degrees on my elevator, and that's with such a tight gap you would have a hard time squeezing a business card through it. With a tight gap the plane is going to fly better, smoother, and with more control. This shows up especially well at slower speeds where the tighter gap will help by considerably aiding control authority.

Personally I always seal my hinge lines with clear monokote, but it's a pain. With the SC's tighter gap, that's not at all necessary. The SC's gap is really, really close, and allows a bunch of throw.

THE NAIL

In a way, the SC is nothing more than an SHP with a few tweeks, but this is a very simplistic view. Digging a bit deeper, by losing a bit of weight and adding a bit of wing, the SC comes in with a lighter wing loading. Weight and wing loading is always the enemy in 3D, and any attempt to shed some is a righteous upgrade.

3DHS didn't stop at merely shaving weight off the plane itself, though. They went after even more by dropping down to a much lighter power system. At the lighter overall weight, the 4S power system is still more than good enough to blast out of a hover, or blast out of trouble. It's not as stupid wasteful as 5s power was, but it's much more than good enough, and still maybe just a little too much for those who need to work on their throttle management.

With the lighter power system and the weight of one less servo and linkage in the tail,  the weight of the plane becomes much more centralized, and this makes the plane even more agile.

So, you give up next to nothing in the power department, or at the worst you give up power you didn't need and can't use anyway, and in return you get a lighter and floatier flying plane that is more responsive and more agile.

So, while the SC retains all the sweet flying characteristics that made the SHP such a solid favorite, it also breaks into new ground....almost to the point it flies like a completely different plane.

Here's a little bonus for all of you who made it this far..................