Great Planes: Extra 300S 1.60 ARF

Model Airplane News, May 2004 by Smith, Jerry

FINISHING TOUCHES

The Extra 300S really comes to life when you apply the decals, and two excellent sheets of them are included in the kit. I really appreciated that Great Planes went to the trouble of applying the large, underwing "Avemco" markings. Before I applied them, I cleaned the plane's surfaces with isopropyl alcohol, used soapy water to slide the decals into position and used a squeegee card to chase out the air. The photo on the front of the instruction manual will give you an idea about where to place the decals.

Every airplane needs a pilot, and I found a fully painted one called "Harro" from Hobby Lobby for $20 that comes ready to install. He looks great with his helmet and goggles and is about the right size; I only had to cut ¼ inch off the base for his head to clear the canopy. I painted the interior of the cockpit flat black, glued the pilot into place and attached the canopy with four small screws on each side. This way, I can easily remove the canopy.

With the Extra now complete, it was time to set up the control-surface deflections and check out the CG. Using a Great Planes AccuThrow Deflection Gauge, I set up the endpoint travels on the control surfaces in accordance with the manual and programmed my Futaba 9CAP computer radio. Next, I weighed the Extra (12.2 pounds) and balanced it to check the CG, which the manual noted should be 5 ½ inches back from the leading edge.

CONCLUSION

I've looked at many airplanes, and the Great Planes ¼-scale Gene Soucy Extra 300S ARF is one of the best I've seen. It's also an excellent airplane to fly, and its bright scheme makes it easy to see in the sky. It's very predictable in flight, has no bad characteristics and really shines when you flip the dual-rate switches and hit the throttle. This plane is rock-steady, smooth and goes wherever you point it. If a good flying, well-built, beautiful aerobatic airplane is your ambition, then you won't go wrong with this Extra 300S. Like Gene Soucy, you can enjoy one, too!

APC Props; distributed by Landing Products (530) 661-0399; apcprop.com.

Du-Bro Products Inc. (800) 848-9411 dubro.com.

FMA Direct (800) 343-2934; ftnadirect.com.

Futaba; distributed by Great Planes; futaba-rc.com.

Great Planes Model Mfg. Co.; distributed by Great Planes Model Distributors (217) 398-6300; (800) 682-8948; greatplanes.com.

Hobby Lobby Intl. (615) 373-1444; hobby-lobby.com.

Maxx Products Intl. (800) 416-6299; maxxprod.com.

PowerMaster (512) 285-9595; powermasterfuels.com.

Sullivan Products (410) 732-3500; sullivanproducts.com.

Tri-State Hobbies (All Threads) (800) 861-3737.

Tru-Turn Precision Model Products (281) 479-9600; tru-turn.com.

YS Engines; distributed by Performance Specialties (775) 265-7523; pspec.com.