Topic: Great Planes 1/3rd Extra 330L build

Just taken delivery of this bad boy. Plan is to document the build over the coming months or more likely year!!



Just as an idea of size, the work bench the hardware is sitting on is 6ft long. The canopy is 29in long. I'm not sure whether to fit that cowl or live in it!!

Back soon....

Made a start over the last few evenings, begining with the 3/32 balsa skins for the stab.


The plan for the right and left stabilizers were  taped to the building board and covered in polythene sheet.


Next job was to press out and tidy up the die/laser cut parts for the stab


And finally for tonight, begin to frame up


Thats it for now.....

More progress. Stab fully framed up with spars added



Cardboard tubes for aluminium joining tube added with blocks for securing bolts.



Is anyone actually watching this build apart from me?

Is anyone actually watching this build apart from me?

Quietly in the back ground yes 

Me too. I always like to see a nice build, irrespective of the subject.......

Actually building a model is something we don't see enough of these days. In fact I know of a Club where not a single member can build, finish and trim out a model aircraft. That unfortunately is the difference between an aeromodeller and a model flyer.......

Yep, subscribed and watching with interest, just didn't have anything to add is all!!

Keep up the good work 

Greg.

Yep.

Not my usual fayre, but a build blog is always of interest.

Kev.

By the way where did you manage to pick the kit up from? Been on the Great Planes site and they reckon it's discontinued

Greg.

Greg

I'd hazard a guess and say it's one a shop had in stock for a while. After all, kits for 1/3rd scale jobs aren't exactly going to fly (pun intended) off the shelf.

P.S. Greg, Great Planes have been known to discontinue kits/artf's and then reintroduce them some time later!

Thanks Brian I imagine you're spot on,

I quite fancy the idea of building a large aerobat but kits are thin on the ground, especially with built up tail surfaces and so on like this one. I'm not so desperate to have one that I'd go out and buy an RTF, but a proper kit like this makes the old mouth water!!

I'll keep an eye on the great planes site

Cheers,

Greg.

By the way where did you manage to pick the kit up from? Been on the Great Planes site and they reckon it's discontinued

Greg.

I picked the kit up off good old flea bay. The seller had bought it a number of years ago but never got round to building it. I found a Visa receipt in the bottom of the box dated 2002 for the original purchase price of £300.

Ooooh you lucky beggar!! Nice one though, really looking forward to seeing it come together.

Cheers,

Greg

I think I actually remember that kit hitting the market, but Great Planes didn't keep it in production all that long. Would have been a big seller in the US I'd have thought.

I always had a hankering for the Sig 1/3rd scale Morrisey Bravo kit but just as I'd hyped myself up to buy it (it cost £400-ish), it vanished from the market! 

A bit more done tonight..........stab 3/32nd balsa sheeting attached



Back soon.......

Another few hours in the workshop tonight. Stab top sheeting trimmed to shape.


Stab flipped over and servo mounts, rear spar and hinge blocks added (yellow arrows). Each elevator requres a 6kg/cm servo.


Final job tonight was to pilot drill the spar tube and the bolt mounting block. This model uses the technique of tapping the hardwood mounting blocks to take the bolt which is common on American kits. I've come across this before and I wasn't over keen on the idea but once you have tapped the hole, you wick some thin CA down the threads and they set like iron.


Tomorrow I will skin the bottom of the stab. TTFN.....

Watching with interest

Out of interest what glue are you using to stick parts together. Epoxy or super glue?

Out of interest what glue are you using to stick parts together. Epoxy or super glue?

The main glue I use is CA (super glue). I discovered the technique of fitting all the interlocking parts together dry and then "wicking" thin CA into the joints....works a treat. The rest so far has been done using medium CA or white wood glue (stab sheeting). I've not used epoxy yet but I will use it high stress areas such as U/C mounts etc.

More progress tonight........

Stab lower skins trimmed , servo holes cut out and elevator horn plates fixed.



Frame for elevator balance horn added.


and finally elevator lower skins attached and weighed down to dry.



Back soon......

niiiiiiiice............

The only Great Planes kit I've built is the Ultimate (40/50 size).  It wasn't CNC cut but the die cutting was excellent and the model went together very well indeed.  The only things I didn't like was the plastic cowl and those accessories with 'funny' American threads instead of metric.  I fitted a Carbon Copy glass fibre cowl and replaced the nuts and bolts etc.  However the overall quality was first class.  I'm sure this will be similar.

The only reason I didn't start following this from the beginning was because I assumed it was an ARTF and the subject isn't one the appeals all that much.  But as it's a 'proper' build I'll continue to watch with interest

Geoff

What geoff said re artf, built a couple of GP kits, always had the impression that they wouldn't use one piece of wood when several would do, great quality though.
What you gonna power it with, mister?

What you gonna power it with, mister?

The recommnded engine is 50cc gas upwards depending on what type of flying you plan to do. For the normal scale type aerobatics I would do I would fit a ZG62 or possibly an 80 twin but at £650 they are a liitle rich for me.............

To be honest the long term future of the model is not decided as I may build it and then sell it as I don't fly very often these days. However, early on in the fuselage construction I have to decide on engine offsets and firewall postions, so we'll see...

Try http://www.puffinmodels.com/category.php?dept=192  Scroll down Puffin models have the MVVS 80 cc for £399 at the moment. I bought one the other week.

MVVS = excellent engines. In production almost as long as OS, and very underrated in my opinion......

It was a sad day when JE decided to stop selling MVVS, but Puffin Models soon took on the UK MVVS agency. And John at Puffin doesn't stock junk.........

A few more hours today. Elevator inner end ribs added and lower sheeting trimmed to shape. Hinge blocks added and trailing edge chamfered to accept upper sheeting.



Back soon

Waiting patiently.........

The wood quality looks good in this kit. I haven't had the pleasure of building from a Great Planes kit, but I have built several kits from Sig, one of the other "big" US kit producers. Again, I can't comment on current Great Planes kit offerings, but I do have a couple of recent Sig kits and the lazer cutting is quite superb. I like the plans in US kits too, as they generally show everything. This makes repairs etc much easier a few years down the line.

Waiting patiently.........

Well if he has any sense he will be out flying on a day like this!

And so will I in about 30 minutes Bob! 

Right in the heart of the Lake District..... 

And so will I in about 30 minutes Bob! 

Right in the heart of the Lake District..... 

All right for some! Be afternoon for me, sun is right in the eyes in the morning at our site. Still, be there until 6 or so.....

Waiting patiently.........

The wood quality looks good in this kit. I haven't had the pleasure of building from a Great Planes kit, but I have built several kits from Sig, one of the other "big" US kit producers. Again, I can't comment on current Great Planes kit offerings, but I do have a couple of recent Sig kits and the lazer cutting is quite superb. I like the plans in US kits too, as they generally show everything. This makes repairs etc much easier a few years down the line.

Sorry Brian, I didn't realise you were wanting a reply.

Yes, you're right, the wood quality so far is spot on on. There is a mixture of laser and die cutting in the kit and the parts just fall out. I have built a lot of American kits and they generally very good quality.....that said, there is precious little about these days to compare them with. Who said ARTF is a swear word!!!  

I have just come across my first blunder in the build......

The next stage of the build is to hinge the elevators. I have given some thought as to whether to follow the instuctions or go for a more scale like version. The version on the plans is shown here:


The scale version with the hinge line further back as shown on the 3 view drawing below:


It was whilst studying some photos of the tailplane I have that I noticed my error. The model is based on an Extra 330L which according to the designers preamble in the instructions, the full size was at the protoype stage when the model was designed. According to my research this full size version never flew; I stand to be corrected by aircraft buffs out there, but I can't find any reference to it...plenty of model versions, but no full size. I decided to model a 300L which is almost identical in outline, specifically this one:


It is G-IIDI (giddy...get it!!) as operated by the Ultimate High team and I just love that colour scheme!!    The pictures below show the tail area from the model and full size. Spot the deliberate error!!


Answers on a postcard to the usual address......

Balanced elevators out of fashion now?

Well after a lot of head scratching and deliberation over re-shaping the elevators and altering the hinge line, I have decided to stick to the plan version. There are several reasons:

1.  The model was only ever intended to be semi scale with a few extra scale details added to enhance the looks and only an aircraft enthusiast would know that the elevators are the wrong shape.
2.  To alter the hinge line would have required major surgery on the elevators to reshape the leading edge. The whole tailplane is much thicker than scale, possibly for aerodynamic reasons or to allow a full size servo to sit inside. Whatever the reason, it would have made the conversion difficult.

To that end the tailplane, elevator and balance tab LE's were glued and taped in place to dry.


Then the elevators were shaped.


Along with the leading edge.


Next job is fitting the end caps and hinges........

So far so good. 

P.S. Is that a Compton garage Brookes? The profile of those concrete panels looks familiar.......

Well, I'm not sure how to take that.....is more build so boring that people are more interested in my garage!!

To answer your question Brian, it was made by a local company called Dencroft....decent quality but built by chimps

No, not boring at all Brookes! For many years I was involved in quality control, and I guess I occasionally still examine every little detail in front of me.......

The profile of the concrete panels in your garage match mine almost exactly, although mine was built/assembled by a different company.

P.S. I also use a (3 metre) length of kitchen worktop on which to build. 

After a hectic Easter weekend, I managed a couple more hours this evening...

Next job was to tackle the hinges. These are the hinges I like to use. They come in various sizes, are top quality and dead easy to fit.


The stab trailing edges were drilled and the hinges inserted. Nothing glued at this stage, not until after covering/glassing.


The elevators were then drilled and offered up. Another good thing about these hinges is a nice tight hinge line but with no restriction in range of movement.


So that's pretty much the tailplane finshed as far as I want to go for now. Final filling and sanding will be done prior to applying the covering.


Next job is the fin and rudder....back soon

Top notch build so far, she's sure gonna be a beast!!

Keep it coming!!

Greg

Agreed on the hinges Brookes!

Robart do them right down to about a 10mm version, which I've used in the past for hinging access hatches etc. Superb they are.