HERR ENGINEERING: LITTLE EXTRA
Abbe, Peter
Extreme aerobatics in a compact package
“The Little Extra is a ball to fly and is capable of very EXTREME PERFORMANCE.”
High-quality construction and an impressive level of engineering have long been trademarks of Herr Engineering, and the new Little Extra ARF lives up to those standards. Everything-from its lightweight construction and detailed assembly manual to its packaging-reveals Herr’s attention to detail and pride in workmanship. With an assembly time of only a few hours, this performance-packed ARF is sure to appeal to any VaA enthusiast who wants extreme aerobatics in a compact package. This delightful plane is distributed by Sig Mfg.
LET’S GET STARTED
The Little Extra comes in white-and-violet and cream-and-turquoise trim schemes. My plane arrived very nicely packed and undamaged. All of the built-up components are light and true, and they come expertly covered and trimmed with wrinkle-free AeroKote. The hardware includes pushrods and keepers, control horns, Sig micro EasyHinges, a fuel tank, aluminum landing gear and wheels, painted plastic wheel pants, a spinner and prop-shaft adapter and all required nuts, bolts and screws. The 15-page instruction manual is very comprehensive and details assembly with many clear photos and diagrams; a decal sheet is provided for finishing the model. Also provided is a one-page instruction sheet that explains how to convert the Little Extra to brushless electric power.
To get your Little Extra ready for flight, you’ll need only glue, a 4-channel radio with 4 microservos and a .061 to .074 2-stroke engine
Wing The one-piece wing takes little more than an hour to complete. After you’ve hinged the ailerons, glue the supplied micro control horns into laser-cut holes in the control surfaces. The ailerons are actuated by independent servos that are mounted on plastic plates and screwed into the bottom of the wing. Threads are provided to route the servo wires to the center of the wing. The pushrods are Imm prebent wires, and you can easily adjust them by opening or closing a small V-bend. You use a small plywood aileron-position guide to set the proper angle of each aileron relative to the top of the wing.
Tail feathers The fin keys into the stabilizer to ensure accurate alignment. After you’ve epoxied both pieces into the tail of the fuselage, hinge the elevator into place. The next step is to notch and drill the rudder to accept the tailwheel assembly; then hinge the rudder to the fin. The tailwheel wire is retained by a small brass plate that’s screwed into the base of the fuselage. The rudder and elevator control horns are mounted on their respective surfaces in the same manner as the aileron horns.
Fuselage To start, install the supplied fuel tank and your microservos. The tank fits snugly into position and is held in place by a small balsa stick. Keep the metal fuel lines fairly short to provide ample clearance between them and the rear of the engine. My HS-55 servos dropped perfectly into the laser-cut servo trays. They’re attached to the control surfaces with prebent pushrod wires that ride in preinstalled Nyrods. For control, I chose Hitec’s compact, dual-conversion Electron receiver. This light unit fits easily inside the Little Extra’s fuselage. Using the supplied bobbin, I shortened the Electron’s antenna to a manageable length without compromising its range.
All exposed wood from the firewall forward, including the laser-cut plywood engine mount that is predrilled to match a Norvel .O74’s bolt pattern, has been fuelproofed at the factory. If you use this engine, you can just drop it into place and screw it down with the supplied screws. The landing gear is bolted to the base of the fuselage with two bolts, and the wheels, axles and wheel pants are attached to the gear in a matter of minutes. The canopy is factory installed, and I mated the wing to the fuselage without any adjustments; it fit perfectly.
FINISHING UP
After I added ½ ounce of lead to its nose, the model balanced according to the specifications. Following the “wet application” method recommended in the manual, I applied and positioned the decals without any problem. If you choose to apply them dry, I must warn you: when they’re stuck, they’re stuck!
CONCLUSION
Herr Engineering’s Little Extra is an outstanding example of fine model engineering. It is complete, well built and superfast to assemble. If you’re looking for a compact, glow-powered ARF that can tear up the sky, be sure to check this one out. I think you’ll be impressed!
Copyright Air Age Publishing Nov 2005
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved
