This pictorial document contains assembly recommendations including some fit and finish details that will be helpful when building this airplane

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2 This pictorial document contains assembly recommendations including some fit and finish details that will be helpful when building this airplane Problems found with this kit and a flight performance review are listed on the last page of this document.

3 The fuselage is set into a foam bench stand for assembly. Note: Following the instruction manual, prior beginning assembly, all accessible factory joints on the airframe and motor box were re-glued with CA. After installing the aileron servos in the wings, the wings and tail are temporarily installed on the fuselage to check for proper fit and alignment. TIP: The wings must be installed and bolted up tight before gluing up the horizontal stabilizer to obtain tipto-tip measurements to get the stabilizer square and parallel. After the stabilizer is glued up and dry, remove the wings and set aside. This makes access to the fuselage much easier for installing the servos, rudder cables, receiver and associated wiring. Re-install the wings after everything else in the fuselage canopy area has been completed.

4 The horizontal stabilizer is installed into a cutout in the fuselage and aligned by a wood dowel in the front and secured by gluing with CA. During the installation it was observed that the fit was not very precise and there was not a full contact between the joining surfaces of the stab and the cutout. Tremendous stresses are transferred to this point of contact during extreme fight maneuvers, so this joint must be very strong.

5 To properly secure the joint and close the gap, it was filled with a clear-drying, water-based hobby adhesive. First, both top and bottom sides of the joint on both sides of the fuselage were masked off to prevent smearing of any excess adhesive onto the finish surfaces.

6 A bead of the adhesive is applied to the open joint, being careful to avoid getting any of it in the elevator relief slot. The adhesive is applied liberally, pushing it deeply into the open joint.

7 Smooth off the excess adhesive by pulling a moistened finger firmly along the joint allowing the pressure of your finger to push the adhesive deeper into the open areas. After smoothing off the adhesive, immediately remove the tape by very gently pulling it back, over itself and in line with the joint. Important Tip: Do not let the adhesive begin to set up or the tape will not come off clean.

8 Immediately after the tape is removed, moisten a finger and gently smooth over the adhesive lightly in one pass. Do not go over the joint in a back and forth motion as this will cause it to smear. Don t worry if it does not appear perfectly even, as this will not show when the adhesive dries and goes clear. At this point, it is best to be left to dry overnight. After drying, the appearance of the visible gap is minimized and the stabilizer is firmly, securely and permanently attached to the fuselage.

9 When attaching the wings, the threaded T nut in the wing was not quite square causing the wing attachment bolt to try to cross-thread when starting. The wing had to be removed and the wing attachment bolt installed and tightened up against a steel washer to pull the T nut square. The hole through the fuselage and plywood reinforcement plate was drilled out one metric drill size larger to allow the wing attachment bolt to be installed so it would go straight into the T nut. After this correction, the wing bolts were easily installed and bolted up tightly.

10 The motor is bolted on using correct number of supplied spacers to obtain proper 2 ¾ in. length from firewall to the front face of the hub on prop adapter. Be sure to test fit cowl at this point with the spinner back plate installed on the prop adapter in case another spacer may be required. The back plate on the 2 ¼ in. spinner supplied with this model was found to distort slightly when the two spinner screws were installed and tightened, resulting in a front-end vibration. The factory spinner was replaced with a Dubro spinner and the vibration problem was solved. Due to a lip on the back plate on the Dubro spinner, the back plate came into contact with the cowl, so one additional motor mount spacer was required to move the motor forward enough to achieve the proper clearance.

11 The motor leads must be verified for proper rotation. Seldom do the motor lead colors match the color of the wires on the ESC. These connectors should be marked so they can be disconnected and hooked back up again, now or in the future, to insure that the motor rotation is always correct. This short step can save you removing the prop and cowl when you discover the motor is running backwards. A fast and easy way to mark the motor lead connectors is with a whiteout-type correction pen.

12 Put one white dot on each side of one connector, two dots on each side of another, and leave one unmarked. In the future when the motor or ESC is disconnected, it will be easy to reconnect the leads by matching up the white dots and the rotation will always be correct.

13 In the future when the motor or ESC is disconnected, it will be easy to reconnect the leads by matching up the white dots and the rotation will always be correct. The ESC is fastened to the bottom of the motor box with small cable ties and the excess wire is looped and secured at the same time. This method is preferred over the supplied hook and loop as it is a more positive method of attachment that will not come loose during the stresses of extreme flight.

14 The 260 is complete and ready for decals and some final wiring inside. Note the empty cockpit. Tip: It is much easier to install all the decals while the wings are removed.

15 Make sure that all the servo wires are kept clear of the moving parts on the rudder servo. Route and secure the elevator servo extension wire in the center of the fuselage with a wire tie to insure the wire will remain stationery and prevent if from coming into contact with the constantly-moving rudder control cables.

16 The receiver is lightly secured with a small cable tie so insure it does not vibrate and come loose from the hook and loop attachment. Servo wires are coiled for a neat appearance, and functionally they allow for easy removal and reinstallation when that becomes necessary. The spring-like coils also absorb vibration and are less likely to result in a conductor failure from being pinched or sharply bent.

17 To add a touch of realism, a pilot and a custom balsa dash with a printed paper instrument panel was installed. Circles cut from MonoKote with a hole punch were used to make the colored gauge faces. A recycled pilot was hand-painted to match the Extra 260 s color scheme. (His flight log indicates previous flight experience and proficiency at the controls of a Carbon Z YAK 54 and a Dynam Sbach 342.) Note: The pilot and instrument panel only added 30 g. of weight to the canopy, and it can be easily removed if desired at a later date.

18 The 52 in. AeroWorks Extra 260 finished with decals installed. It is powered by by a 3,000 mah, 4 cell LiPo, a 100 amp Castle Lite ESC, an 890 KV Scorpion brushless motor pushing a 13 X 6 beech wood prop. Shown here. It is sitting on the runway waiting for its maiden flight. Also note, the hand-painted, matching pin stripes on the wheel pants just to spice it up a little!

19 PROBLEMS FOUND WITH THIS KIT The pushrods for the aileron and elevator servos are too long and have to be cut down Most of the ball link connectors were extremely tight and did not allow for smooth movement of the control surfaces. Even Tri Flo lubricant did not help. They should loosen up a little after some use. They should be better quality. The T nuts for bolting up the wings were not square and do not line up with the factory holes properly causing the bolts to start cross-threaded The opening in the fuselage for the horizontal stabilizer was too big and had gaps The opening for the elevator servo was too small and required enlargement The hook and loop material supplied with the kit was dried out, not sticky and could not be used. The spinner attaches to the back plate with two pan head tapping screws that thread into molded hubs. When tightening the spinner, the back plate warped slightly causing excess vibration during spin up. The spinner was replaced with a Dubro which solved the problem. The instruction manual on p. 19, step 6, calls for the nylon spacer to be installed on the wheel bolt, but he picture shows a metal washer. The nylon spacer goes on after the hex nut and aligns with slot in the pants for proper spacing. The ¼ turn canopy latch does not turn a full 90 degrees to lock. The slot in the fuselage had to be elongated to allow full rotation. When installing the ailerons, the instructions say to use a straight edge and align the ailerons with the end of the wings. When the Side Force Generators are installed, the ailerons rub against the FSG s. A thin temporary spacer should be used between the end of the aileron and the straight edge during installation to provide adequate clearance so they do not rub. This is very difficult to correct once the CA hinges on the ailerons have been glued.

20 AeroWorks Extra 260 Flight Performance The Extra 260 performed beautifully from take-off to landing. The response to input was smooth and crisp. The airplane had adequate power for most maneuvers, but at 5,600 ft. above sea level, a prop upsize adjustment helped improve stability in the hover and holding a knife edge. When you fly an AeroWorks Extra 260, you are stepping up to a high- performance airplane. This airplane will need some differential and some other technical mixing to give you the optimal performance you are looking for, and to achieve the type of flight envelope you desire. The lipos tested were 2650 and 3000 mah, 4S. Both performed quite well with the 75 amp ESC and 890 KV brushless motor. The CG was dead-on after the stock build, and any fine tuning needed was easily accomplished with the slightest fore or aft adjustment of the battery position. Overall fit and finish was good and the final appearance of this model was really sharp and drew a lot of attention at the flying field. The AeroWorks Extra definitely gets a two props up. Now, get out there and fly something today, and remember: Keep your test flights 3 mistakes high.