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This completes the assembly of the 50cc Extra 300. As a final step clean
the entire aircraft with glass cleaner, then apply a coat of spray-on wax
and buff the finish to a high gloss. My favorite product for this is Eagle
One Wet Wax AS-U-DRY, available in the automotive section of most
Wal-Marts, K-marts, Sears, Targets, etc.
People often ask me at trade shows how I get the planes to look so shiny-
this is my secret. You may wish to apply all of your graphics before
applying the coat of wax. The wax helps to protect the covering and
paint and makes clean up easy, as oil residue can simply be wiped away.
Set-up and trimming
Besides basic assembly, this is the most important part of preparing your
airplane for flight. It can also be the most time consuming, but once your
plane is properly dialed in you will agree it was time well spent.
The
center of gravity
range for the 50cc Extra 300 begins at 6” from the
leading edge of the wing measured at the root and extends back ¾” from this
point. CG is determined with the Extra in the upright position. One of the
best ways to dial in the proper CG for your aircraft is the 45 degree line test.
Fly the aircraft in front of you from left to right (or right to left if you prefer)
at full throttle. Pull the aircraft into a 45 degree up line and establish this
line. Roll the aircraft inverted, neutralize the elevator and pay close
attention to what the plane does. Ideally the plane will continue on this line
for several hundred feet before it starts to slowly level off. If the airplane
immediately drops the nose and dives toward the ground it is nose heavy. If
it begins to climb inverted toward the gear it is tail heavy. There is no need
to have the Extra excessively tail heavy to perform 3D maneuvers. At this
time you will also want to balance your plane laterally. Add a small amount
of weight to the wingtip to achieve proper lateral balance.
