Dave Patrick Models

Probably the most asked question is: "What engine should I use?"

The beauty of the designs that we have come out with is the fact the customer has many many options. Probably more than any other.

The Ultimate power range is quite wide due to its lightweight and inherent strength.

First, we will say what we have flown the Ultimate with. A YS .90, a YS 1.20 AC and a YS 1.40L four stroke. They all worked very well.

Expect a very good sport plane with the YS 90,with excellent aerobatics, but without the unlimited vertical. Very sweet, highly recommended. 15 X 8 APC props were used with 25% nitro fuel on 16% all synthetic oil.

With the YS 1.20, you do get unlimited vertical. More than one to one power with good 3D capability. Hovering and torque rolls at 2/3rd throttle stick position. 16 X 8 APC props were used with 25% nitro fuel on 16% all synthetic oil.

With the YS 1.40L, tremendous power is available, more than one to one power with good 3D capability. Hovering at less than 50% throttle stick position. 17 X 8 and 18 X 6 APC props with 25% nitro fuel on 16% all synthetic oil.

We have heard of various other engines including Saito 1.20, 1.50, 180, OS 1.20, ST G23, Webra 1.20 Moki 1.20, 1.35, even the Zenoah G 23 gas to name a few with very good results. The bottom line, if performance is your highest consideration, power to weight is king. Generally two strokes have a slight edge, but a 4 stroke has better torque for easier torque rolls. Gas engine of this size tend to be heavier with less power, but cheap to run. (But the costs to purchase is higher) Some modelers knowing this, go with even larger engines to get more power, but by virtue of their larger displacement, shake and weigh more risking structure and higher stall speeds. Gas is an alternative, but shop and use carefully.

We have some people look at the size of our plane and think it needs to be powered like other planes of its size, but this EXTRA 330L is different, very different. This is a very lightweight, large Extra 330L. This version weighs a lot less than comparative models of similar size. You need to power by weight, not by size.

The power requirement is a little bit higher than the Ultimate mentioned above. We would not recommend the .90, but certainly start at a 1.20 for very good aerobatics. You can do really cool things with the 1.40L! All of the other engines mentioned above would be fine.

The Extra 330L is a brand new plane that has been tested flown on only a few engines, basically the YS 1.20 and 1.40L. We will know more as customers try different engines and we will forward information as we get it.

We get asked about using gas engines many times a day. I can only guess that these engines might be too heavy, but we have not tested with gas yet. Again, as we and other modelers try these out, we will forward the information as we get it. If you choose a gas engine, read above again as a reference to help you in your selection.