For the IMAC NW 2009 season I flew the Hangar 9 Sukhoi electric in the Basic class. For 2010 I will give it a try in Sportsman.

My Sukhoi was equippend with the Turnigy 80-100 motor, Turnigy K-Force 120 Amp speed controller and 4 Zippy 6S 4000 mAh batteries. This Hobby City power source worked extremely well but I would like a little bigger plane to complete against all the 40%ers in Sportsman. For those who missed it, here is the thread on my Sukhoi.
http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=933906

Several pilots successfully flew the Hangar 9 35% Extra 260 in Sportsman last year including John Eells who not only managed to be first overall in Sportsman but also flew very successfully at the Tucson Shootout.
In October the Canadian Dollar was hovering near par so I ordered the Hangar 9 Extra through my local Hobby shop. The price was back down to the original $900.00 US Good thing I ordered it when I did as Horizan has had none in stock since then.

The plane arrived and looks good and straight. The only issue was a broken windscreen. Since then it has been a real comedy trying to get a new one. So far Horizon has sent me three windscreens from what I think is the 46% Ultimate. Similar Color and shape but is does not fit! Nearly two months later I am still waiting. Other than that the plane seems to be in good shape. I did find a couple of questionable glue joints in the fuselage.

What To Power With?

If Hobby City made a larger motor than the 80-100 then I would likely give it a try but I am afraid that I have sized myself out of the inexpensive category. Given that I ran the Sukhoi on about 5000 Watts for 40 lbs of thrust (26 lb plane) then I estimate that I will need between 6000 and 7000 watts to achieve about 50 lbs of thrust.

At the last IMAC contest of the season I brought my digital fish scale and tested the static thrust of a couple of planes equipped with DA100 gas motors. One was about 40 lbs and the other was about 43 lbs of thrust. The pilots did not know the total weight of their planes but assume that they are well under 30 lbs.

After some motor research I came up with only a few electric motor candidates that would be equivalent to a 100cc gas motor:

- Plettenberg Predator 30-8, 55 oz, (1550g), $1050.00 (They also sell integrated spinners and propellers for this motor)
- Neu 2230 series (geared motor) 55 oz, (1550g) estimated with gear box , $1060.00.
- Hacker A100, 67 oz, (1900g), $700.00

The choice for Speed controllers rated at at least 150 Amp continuous and 12 cells or greater:

- Turnigy Monster-2000 200A $190.00. This is brand new at Hobby City.
- Jeti SPIN 200 $550.00.
- Shulze Future 40.160 $509.00
- Hyperion (cominig soon)

Batteries:

I had great success with the Zippy 6S-4000s from Hobby City in my Sukhoi. After an entire season of IMAC these batteries are still going strong!
For the Extra I decided to go with the Zippy Flightmax 6S 5800 mAh 30C packs. Also Hobby King / Hobby City has graciously decided to sponsor me for the 2010 IMAC season. Even if I was not sponsored I would still buy their batteries as in my opinion they give you the giggest bang for your buck!

Based on the 2010 IMAC Sportsman sequence, and some calculations, I was not sure if the 5000 mAh batteries would give me enough time to complete the sequence. I have noticed that contests in windy conditions really suck back the power. The 5800s are only 1.9 oz (54g) heavier per battery for a total of 7.5 oz (216g) more for the 4 batteries.


Stuff Bought So Far

I managed to find a used Jeti 200 ESC from a friend on RCGroups. I also found a slightly used Hacker A100-8 motor. In the end I paid $950.00 for the motor and speed contoller.

My list of items purchased so far are:

Hangar 9 Extra 260 35%
http://www.horizonhobby.com/Products...ProdID=HAN1000

Hacker A100-8 motor
Jeti Spin 200 speed controller
Jeti Spin Box
4'5" MPI aluminum spinner
Xoar 27x12 propeller
4 x ZIPPY Flightmax 5800 mAh 6S 30C (12S2P)
Turnigy 10 gauge wire
Deans connectors (lots)

7 x Hitec 7955TG servos
Hitec heavy duty twisted extensions (4x36" 3x24" 7x12"
7 x MPI 1.5" aluminum server arms
Smart-Fly Power Expander Pro
2 x Smart-Fly Equalizer 3D
2 x Duralite Plus A123 batteriers (2300 mAh)
JR 790 PCM Receiver

5" aluminum hub wheels
Du-bro 3/16" axles
2" tail wheel, custom arm and heavier springs
Carbon fiber wing tube
Hobby-Pak wing bag
1/2" plywood (motor box
1/8" plywood (battery tray)

This should be a fun one!

Looks great geoff. I've had thoughts about going with electric for a 20%-25%. But my new place can only house a 47-50" plane. I see that you have some micros in the back ground are you going to any chilliwack indoors?

Good luck on your new plane.

did you consider the new castel ice 160amp HV esc?

Originally Posted by paintball_kidz

Looks great geoff. I've had thoughts about going with electric for a 20%-25%. But my new place can only house a 47-50" plane. I see that you have some micros in the back ground are you going to any chilliwack indoors?
Good luck on your new plane.

I have not had time to attend any of the indoor events yet this season but I certainly would like to. I really enjoy the Parkzone Sukhoi.

Originally Posted by rcbirk21

did you consider the new castle ice 160amp HV esc?

I have had very little luck with the Castle Speed Controllers. I guess I should have included in my list of ESCs that would run 150 Amps continuous but I have not heard about anyone running at its rated power.

completely understandable

Hey Geoff,
I looks like it is all coming together, you will not be disapointed with this setup
keep in touch

Originally Posted by bsipro

Hey Geoff,
I looks like it is all coming together, you will not be disapointed with this setup
keep in touch

Hey BSIPRO. Care to do do a quick review of your setup of this plane?

Tail Wheel Assembly

I am not sure why Hangar 9 does not fix this but the tail wheel assembly that comes with the Extra (and the Sukhoi) is kind of poor (in my opinion). The springs are so light that that will not pull the wheel around and the arm is so thin that it bends the first hard landing.

My upgrade involves some heavier springs that I found at Home Depot and a custom arm that I cut out of a piece of aluminum. The arm is also longer (2" from hole to hole). I also upgraded the wheel to one that is 2" in diameter.

I applied the same upgrade to my Sukhoi and It worked just fine.

Hi Geoff, A good friend of mine is running just about the same set-up as yours ( power ), accept he uses TP pro lite batteries and a 27x12th Mejzlik prop. He flew in the Int. class ( EMAC ) but was not able to complete 2 sequences ( almost could but ) using the 12s2p 10,000 mah set-up. I'm sure 11,600 mah will be plenty for Sportsman. Subscribed

whoo thats a lot of batteries! almost 12ah!

Originally Posted by lazyboyflyer

Hi Geoff, A good friend of mine is running just about the same set-up as yours ( power ), accept he uses TP pro lite batteries and a 27x12th Mejzlik prop. He flew in the Int. class ( EMAC ) but was not able to complete 2 sequences ( almost could but ) using the 12s2p 10,000 mah set-up. I'm sure 11,600 mah will be plenty for Sportsman. Subscribed

The math said that the 5000s would be enough assuming that that the conditions were calm but I certainly saw last year that fighting the wind takes a lot more juice. Thanks for the real world example.

Canopy Latch

Rather than undoing bolts to take the canopy on and off I decided to use the same canopy latch and magnet arrangement that I used on the Sukhoi.

I could not find a suitable ready made latch so I built one using wire, plywood, and a spring. I also added rare earth magnets on both side about half way down the canopy. The magnets stop the canopy from vibrating.

Awesome idea, I think I will do that with my Extra 260 as well so I do not have to unscrew 4 screws every time!