Pilot RC 97" Extra 260 Hacker A80-8

[bsipro]

Here is my latest project.
97" (33%) Pilot RC Extra 260
I was looking for a Extra 260 to put a Hacker A80-8 motor. I saw Pilot had a Intro price on there new planes and everyone that has orderd one of there planes has been real happy. so I thought I would get one. (BTW I sold my H9 Carden Yak and a few of my smaller planes to finance this project)
Tony at Pilot RC was great to work with he answered all of my questions and made modifcations to the plane. (they added a center servo mount for the ailerons) I had the guys at Pilot do a little custom covering on the wings. he sent pictures of the plane packed up for shipping. I have my DHL shipping # and I should have the plane on monday - tuesday next week.

The Plane:
Cost $699.00
Custom covering on wings $35.00
Shipping $170.00 (from China)

The setup:
Hacker A80-8 motor
Jeti Spin 200 ESC
Xoar 24x10 prop
5 JR DS8711 servos (out of my Yak)
Spektrum AR7000 RX
2 A123 6.6v 2300mHa RX packs
2 MaxAmps 22.2v 4200mHa 35c lipo's

this is the same setup that I use in my 33% H9 Sukhoi SU26 and I have had great luck with it.

I hope the plane will come in around 21 -22lb. with the lipo's we will see.
http://www.pilot-rc.com/ProductShow.aspx?id=68

[FlyingLakland]

my foamy is hiding under the bed!!

[jijohans]

What kind of flight times did you get with the 12S 4300mAh packs?

[Doctor Who]

Looking forward to your flight report. Pilot RC has been getting good feedback on RC Universe.

[appleflyer]

nice, i wish i could afford 2 giant electrics:)

[bsipro]

12s 4200mHa i'm getting 6min flights with throttle control. (3200mHa back in the packs) If I were doing a complete IMAC comp. I would use 12s 8400mHa

I have read a lot of good feedback about the Pilot RC planes, there are some guys over on Flying Giants that have flown there planes.

I dont keep a lot of planes so I dont have a lot of $$$$ tied up in hangar queens. 3 .60 size electric planes = 1 GS electric plane. I use the same 6s packs in all my planes
what's in my hangar:
(H9 Sukhoi SU26 hacker A80-8)
(Sebart Angel 50 Eflite power 60 on ski's)

I allways try to reuse servos / motor / ESC / RX which keeps it costs down. ;)

[bsipro]

I Recived two wooded crates direct from china today. the plane is everything I hoped it would be.
the packing is top noch everthing is coverd in bubble wrap. the crate is made out of plywood.
I looked over everything the covering is real good not one wrinkle. all of the hinges are flat hinges and they are dubbled on the edges of the ailrons. the 4" wheels with Alum rims are nice. all the hardware is pro quaity. the carbon fiber parts look good. the cowl and has a mounting ring. the wheel pants are real light. and the canopy is a one piece molded and is real light. I have not weighed anything yet but It looks promising.

[bsipro]

today I got the landing gear on (I will mount the wheel pants last). mounted the tail wheel (the plane comes with a real nice tail wheel with a carbon mounting arm.) I used the stock mounting arm and a Alum. tail wheel and Yok that I had. I also used a spring mounting system. the field that I fly at is rough. that is why im not using the stock one.
the tail wheel mounts easy there is a access hole on the side of the fus. you will need to drill 4 holes to mount the "T"nuts I used a magnet to get the "t" nuts in place to start the screws and seated them with the screws (use a washer on the screw when seating the "t" nuts) See Picture.
the Rudder is mounted using a wire though the flat Hinges. I mounted the Rudder mesured the hinge wire and trimed about 1 inch and sharpend the end. it slid into the hinges easy. (you have to articulate the rudder and rotate the wire) the wire goes into the rudder counter weight.

[bsipro]

I mounted the servos in the horizontal stabs. I used 40" JR HD servos wires and heat shrink the conections to the servo. the servo fits nicely the mounting screw holes are predrilled just add a little drop of CA to keep the screws from pulling out. I used a stiff wire with a bent end to pull the servo wire though and around the ribs. you will have to cut covering on the 2 mounting screw holes on the Horz. Stab. the H Stabs us a wooden dowel as a aint rotation pin. and 2 SAE allen head screws. also a carbon fiber H Stab. tube.
I hope to get some more done tomarrow. and I should be able to get some weights
BTW the plane does not come with a Manual That is why Im going it to detail. sofar it is straght forward.

[jfv61]

Good looking plane. Couldn't help but notice all the speakers in the background, I see what you mean by "production". Seems that a lot of us RC geeks have a hand in the music biz one way or another. Looking forward to more details on your build-

[tIANcI]

I am running 10S set ups with 5S packs. Would you say a 15S set up is too much for a plane of this size? I am not keen to invest in 6S packs. I have been thinking of doing a 100cc EP project.

[alchemique]

15s 1p would be a perfect solution for those of us who use 5s packs. I am looking for a reasonable setup for my QQ Python, it would be great if I could go with 5s packs. Maybe we should start a new thread?

Pawel

[bsipro]

jfv61, we all have to have a day job. I'm not on the road as much any more my days are spent in the office. I leave all the fun to the young guys.

tIANci. 10s with a Hacker A80-8 with a 26" prop works great for a 33% plane. with 15s you will have a hard time finding a ESC to handle the Volts. I only have 6s packs that is why i'm using 12s

[tIANcI]

Looks like I am pretty stuck with a 10S set up ... hmmmmm ... how many amp might I be pulling with the A80 and a 26" prop?

[bsipro]

the A80-8 with a 26" pro draw around 150 amps

[appleflyer]

wow! 150amps seems a little much for a plane that size.

[tIANcI]

Apple ... not really ... for EP conversion of 50cc planes you want no less than 2,500W and 3,000W would be great. At 150A its about only 5,500W for a 10S set up. That's a lot of amps, I will need to run on 10S2P... maybe best to stick to 50cc EP planes. :)

[bsipro]

here is the pull pull setup.
I used 30min epoxy for the rudder horns. I first locate the horn slots on the rudder(I used a sodering Iron to open the slots) then test fit the horns and trace around the horn mounting plate. then use a hobby knife to cut the covering (be sure not to cut in to the wood)

[bsipro]

I used the supplied servo arm for the rudder.
I used a 3/8 socket to center the servo wheel on the servo arm. (I used blue tread lock for the screws)

[bsipro]

Next is the motor box, first I made a template for the Hacker A80 bolt pattern. then I drilled out the firewall.
I test fit the firewall marked the screw holes (I used a right angle drill) drilled the holes. then I test fit the firewall to be sure everything is lined up. I used 30min epoxy and one of the supplied tri stock pices for support

[bsipro]

I test fit the motor. 1"-1/4 stand off's with 1/4 x 3" bolts gets the back of the spinner plate 3/16 from the cowl.
I glued the top of the motor box on and added some tri stock.

[bsipro]

with the motor bolted on I mounted the ESC. It is mounted under the motor box in the canister tunel.
I glued some bass wood mounting strips. them I used treaded rod and "T" nuts for the rear mounting and the supplied screws for the front. I also use fuel tubing as spacers they act as a shock mount. I cut some air vents in the fus. the canister tunel makes a good air tunel for the esc and motor

[bsipro]

I worked on venting the motor compartment. SHOW871 has a pattern on his 100cc 260 build thread for scale looking vents.http://www.flyinggiants.com/forums/fg42/36768-pilot-rc-100cc-extra-260-build-thread-18.html
I printed out the pattern cut out the vents. traced them on the bottom of the cowl. then I used a 1" drill saw bit , then I use some 1" hard card foam on the inside of the fiber glass to give it a sold backing when drilling the holes. I use sharp tin snips to ruff cut the slots. then cleaned everything up with a dremel tool. looks great.
mounted the spinner and prop.

I loaded all the lipos in the plane the wing servos switchs (everthing that is not mounted in the plane yet)
bolted the wings on and put it on the scale.
this is what I have (without wheel pants)
21.2 LB :D

[cpt micah]

looks great cant wait to see how it flies

[MarkF]

Nice, very clean build.

Mark

[bsipro]

I worked on mounting servos in the wings. the wing come with 3 servo locations per wing. you can use 2 servos with less torque. or one high torque servo in the center location. the JRDS8711 servo has 400 oz of torque so I will use the center location. I cut the covering over the servo mounting hole. they provide a tab with string at each loacation for pulling the servo wire though the wing ribs. the servo fits nicely. I use a little CA on the servo screws.
next I mounted the control horn. I cut the slots and trimed the covering I used epoxy to glue the horn in the alieron.
the plane comes with nice pro hardware. the ball links are as good as H9 stuff. I used some H9 2" Ti prolinks that I had insted of the supplied thread rod.
I also used some Alum. servo arms that I had.
I used a 12" servo extension on the wing and a 3" from the RX to make the conection.
you will have to cut the covering on the fus for the wire.

[bsipro]

BTW I have been putting this plane together on my lunch Hr. and between phone calls.
the plane goes together very fast even without a manual (they are working on one) the quality is as good as or better than any of the GS ARF's.
and customer service is great.

[lazyboyflyer]

Nice project, 21.2 pounds is very good!

[bsipro]

cut out some venting holes in the motor box to allow air flow over the batteries. I have some Ideas for venting the fus. I need to get the CG with the batteries first. I finished up running the servo wires. I installed the 2 HD JR switches. all I have left to do is CG and thows. we have 8in of white stuff on the ground so Im not in a hurry.

[bsipro]

Ok Everyone this is what's up. DO NOT cut the holes out on the sides of the Motor box. Vent the Fus From the top of the motor box using the supplied holes.
the motor box is built very solid and is designed to support a DA85 that virbrates alot so the concern is stressing the wood on the sides of the motor box. electric motors has very little vibrations if at all. so the concern is torgue. the 4 pieces that I cut out were 1/16" plywood dubbler that is part of the stucture.

Pilot RC builds strong light planes so check with them before doing any stucture mods.
they jumped in to give me the heads up. (great customer service and looking out for their customers)

[bsipro]

Check this out !
the whole Pilot RC Story On Flying Giants
http://www.flyinggiants.com/forums/fg107/38130-who-pilot-rc.html
Good Job Tony and Elvis.

[BoneDoc]

You should be fine. If you look at my Dalton thread, I have even less wood than mine, and my motor box has survived far more than simple hucking.

[twest]

tIANci. 10s with a Hacker A80-8 with a 26" prop works great for a 33% plane. with 15s you will have a hard time finding a ESC to handle the Volts. I only have 6s packs that is why i'm using 12s

Both the jeti spin 200 and the powerjazz by kontronic can handle 15s lipo.

[bsipro]

hey Bone Doc,
I think the concern is with Gas engine. the motor box should be fine for a electric setup.
The motor box in the H9 Carden YAK (sold It) had very little wood up front.
The guy's at Pilot RC are covering there backs they don't want people to chop there planes up and then fail.

I just opened the holes up that were already there.

"see pictures"

[BoneDoc]

Check Bob Sawyer's thread on Flying Giants

Extra 260 on a diet
Another Extra 260 on a diet

His has even less wood, AND he puts gas engine in his. :D.

[bsipro]

hey BoneDoc
I saw your video on his thread. how are the zippy lipo pack working out for you.
the new AJ Slick 89" looks awsome, great flying as allways

[BoneDoc]

It's working great. I have around 30-40 flights on them now, and they're holding up just fine.

[bsipro]

The plane is ready for it maiden. the CG is set on the center of the wing tube. I put the RX batterys in the motor box next to the firewall. and the Lipo's have room to move front or back to fine tune the CG. I also moved the RX closer to the wing tube. I will be heading out to the field tomarrow all the snow is melted.
also the final weight w/ li-po's is 21.5lb It should fly great at that weight. Now let see how flys.

[BoneDoc]

Awesome... get it on video :D.

[bsipro]

I got the Extra in the air it was the usual 10mph cross wind. 1st. flight was the typical a little up elevator and she was good. it felt real good in the air it slows down nice stalls are very predictable. inverted needed a little input. on the 2nd. flight I moved the batterys back about 1" it is much better very reponsive. rolls are clean snaps look good knife edges and slow rolls good it dose not need much mixing. on the 3rd. flight I pushed it a little harder. uplines are striaght . roll rate is fast . every thing is real good. I need to get some more time on it so I can fine tune it. the wind was a little to to stong to do any 3D stuff the wind would blow the plane sideways. the plane looks real good in the air and the color is real easy to see. "This is a great flying plane"


The guys at Pilot RC build a real nice plane
Thanks Tony and Elivis

[bsipro]

here is some pictures of the battery and RX location.

Hey BoneDoc
I need to find someone to run the video camera. the one nice thing about the Club field is I have it all to myself. no one is there unless it is training night and than it only 4 people. I'll get some video of the Extra and the Suhkoi when the weather gets better and I can one bud's to come up and hold the camera.

[BoneDoc]

Great to hear that. Can't wait to see the video of the beast in action :).