The Full-size Extra 300S is one of the best Full-size Aerobatic aircraft in the world. a good choice then for Graupner who are producing it in this ARTF format. Designed for 60 to 90 size engines, or a 120 four-stroke if you want that little bit extra (no pun intended) it adds up to quite a considerable aeroplane. There have been 3 or 4 of these so far in Guernsey, and there are some unbuilt ones around too.
Mick hadn't had a really new plane for some time, his Tomcat being the last big one. So after thinking long and hard about it, he bought this Extra. A second-generation kit, it has some new features not included in the original batches. A weak spot on the original was the tailplane, where there had been reports of them snapping in flight. Now the kit comes with braces to support the tailplane. It also features a new undercarriage, which ironically, appears to be weaker than the original unit. But the airframe on the whole has been beefed up a bit, as it is a fair bit heavier. So, a big motor is needed. What to use? Well, Mick had a Magnum 75 2-stroke which he had just taken out of his tomcat, to make way for an Irvine 61, the 75 was bolted into the front. The standard fuel tank was replaced as it was only about 8 ounces, so a Dubro 14 oz was installed instead. The build was good aswell. All surfaces come hinged and pinned, and everything slots together as it should.
On the ground the model has a very good scale appearance, with decals designed to depict the Full-size Goodrich Extra 300S flown by Patty Wagstaff. This is a very popular scheme, and numerous amounts of pictures and information can be gathered from the internet, so you could take scale detailing even further. In the air, the aircraft has very clean lines, and really grooves through the air.
Flying characteristics are on the whole very good. Aerobatics are smooth and precise, knife edge is a doddle, although a knife-edge loop is out of the question. Inverted requires very little down elevator. The model is so good that, with a little practise, even accurate one-roll rolling circles can be completed. Landings however are a different matter. With the wing section and profile, the model is a little prone to tip stalling at slow speeds, giving you two options. You can either fly it at the ground as it is and prey, or you can mix in a little down on the ailerons on a switch to give a flap effect on landing. This enables the model to slow down much more and still be controllable to the point of touchdown...very useful on our flying site.
Overall this is a very good aeroplane, I've flown a few of them and it really is the muts nuts when being flown around in a scale manner with big open manouvres. Would I buy one? Probably under the right circumstances, unless something better comes along beforehand. But for all the guys around the world that have bought one of these, well, they've made a very good choice.
The Extra 300S is available in Guernsey from Andy Best at Sound and Vision, or by mail order from the UK.