| HOME |
|
Dave Patrick Extra 330L | HOME | |
|
|
April 2002 This is the Dave Patrick Extra 330L. I bought the cover it yourself version after looking at this ARC and a covered one in my LHS, Venture Hobbies. I completed the plane late November so it has NOT seen much air yet. I'm in suburban Chicago. The Extra is a 78" airplane approximately 27% scale. Length is 74" and it has over 1200 square inches of wing area. The Dave Patrick 27% Extra (SOLD 3/2003, the notes below are from 2002) I have had the plane out for only four outings since it was finished in November. The first was a test flight, only to find out that 1)it flies fine and 2)it NEEDED a PCM receiver. It was servo-jittery in the air even though it range tested well on the ground, both running and off. On the maiden flight the stock landing gear snapped like a cracker as soon as the plane touched down. It was not at all a bumpy, rough or hurried landing. Look at the close-up photo of that broken gear After I got some aftermarket gear from TnT I went flying again. The second outing was a short one where I learned nothing new about the plane. I got in a single flight, now with PCM receiver, on a short windy afternoon. The third outing I got in some flying. I flew it a few times. It flies good and seems "big". The engine could have put out more power that cool day, but it was still plenty. The engine is the BME 2.7 (44) and the prop is a 20x10 Mezjlik. Pulls great. Knife edge is pretty true, but I will mix in a little elevator when I know more. Rolls are pretty axial. The IMAC pilots that flew it like the airplane even though it's a ton smaller than the planes they had there that day. In this last flight this past weekend I had a VERY good experience. I have replaced the aftermarket TnT aluminum gear with a carbon fiber gear set from Troy Built Models. This was a measured weight savings of six full ounces. Money well spent, because my plane had tipped the scale at right at 16 lbs before this change. The power comes from a BME 44 and from the performance I experienced last Sunday, it is PERFECT. Last November I was a little unimpressed with the 44 in the pane. It was very good, but seemed to puke out on the vertical. Not so on Sunday. I guess it was a weather difference making the fuel mix more effective. I now LIKE the BME 44 in there. I have ALOT to learn about this plane and not much to report until I really get used to it and get some flying time. Winter is for other planes here, not good enough days and long enough daylight to make bringing this one out worthwhile.
I have been asked about the weight of the plane many time. I finally got a good 40lb digital scale and now i have weighed it. . My DP Extra is a a bit of a pig, I guess. It weighs just under 15.5 lbs, all up ready to fly. It was 16 lbs before the switch to CF landing gear. Mine has nothing extraordinarily heavy
added to it, except for heavier than needed batteries. Right now I DO have a 4 oz hunk
of lead in the nose to achieve conservative CG. That lead that can come out later.
I have seen lower numbers posted, but without extreme lightening measures, like some guys have taken, I cannot believe a gas
powered DP could come in in the 13-14 lb range. Here is my equipment list:
Now for the photo's. Except for the picture above, I only have the pics I took here INSIDE the house after finishing this in the early winter.
Couple of notes. For starters, do NOT try to dye the canopy. I did and I trashed it. Using a RIT liquid dye dye bath I tried to darken the DP canopy. The bath was around 130 degrees. I had other canopies to dye also. Anyway, the |DP canopy did NOT accepta any dye but instead fogged up and the plastic became distorted.
Secondly, come up with a decent way to mount the canopy. It comes on and off for airplane assembly and putting it in wth screws won't work long term. I ended up putting in some tiny 4-40 inserts and now secure the canopy with 4-40 nylon cap screws. MUCH better setup.
Thanks for looking! © 2004-2004 Mark Devino. All rights reserved.
|
