Air-to-Air Xtreme Decathlon

Lowflynjack

Lowflynjack

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Jack Fleetwood
I've got a lot of time in a Decathlon, some time in a Super Decathlon, but I've never flown an Xtreme Decathlon. The best part of this photo shoot may have been meeting the owner having him tell me I can come back out and fly his plane any time!

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Sierra_Hotel said:
Me too. Really want to get up in one of these newer ones.
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I remember diving to get 140mph to do a loop or roll. Watching him roll yesterday, he barely dropped the nose since he already had the speed. I can't wait to try it out.
 
One of my favorite planes! AC also knows how to make a pretty paint job!
 
Great pics, much nicer than my Super D. Gives me something to shoot for in the restoration.

I like that ACA has simplified their graphics. A lot of traditionalists still insist on starbursts and invasion stripes. I think this Extreme D shows you can do less with more. Keep the tail and wings clean, which greatly simplifies the painting process, and use a single starburst on the cowl for pizazz. Attached is a picture of my Super D for comparison.

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The biggest change to the Extreme D are the ailerons. Wood wing Super D's are dogs in the roll. Heavy stick forces and very slow rates. Not a big deal for gentleman's acro, but a big disadvantage when competing. The early metal wing Super D's were better because they had spades, but still slow.

redesigned the Extreme D ailerons with an offset that functions like a power assist. Significantly faster roll rate, and way less stick force required. I spoke to Greg Koontz at SnF last year and he said it is a whole different plane. The ailerons are available as a retrofit for Super D's with metal wings, so that is in my future.
 
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Ed Haywood said:
The biggest change to the Extreme D are the ailerons. Wood wing Super D's are dogs in the roll. Heavy stick forces and very slow rates. Not a big deal for gentleman's acro, but a big disadvantage when competing. The early metal wing Super D's were better because they had spades, but still slow.
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I've flown the Xtreme Decathlon, but haven't gotten around to flying a classic SD yet. What seemed a bit funny to me flying mostly Pitts and mid- or low wing monoplanes was the roll felt quick when initiating the roll, but not that fast when the roll was established. I loved the paddle like prop on the Xtreme. Works quite well at low speeds.
Spades don't increase the roll rate, but the stick forces are reduced. Makes life easier at high speeds.
The Xtreme was one of the easiest to land taildraggers I've flown too.
 
i love that shot with the boat wake glowing around the tail. awesome work as alwas!
 
Spinka said:
Spades don't increase the roll rate, but the stick forces are reduced./QUOTE]
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True, but the added stick force makes it hard to maintain full deflection when transitioning thru the knife edges. Real hard not to come off the aileron a bit when feeding elevator in and out. Ease off the aileron and there goes your roll rate. I am a fairly fit guy and it took a lot of practice for me not to do that. Am installing a Hooker ratchet harness during restoration, which should help. But the real fix will be extreme wings and ailerons, hopefully next year.
 
BTW it is a HUGE help to have your aircraft type and variant still in production. Parts, tech support, upgrades, documentation ... everything is easier when the factory is still cranking them out.
 
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