Seth Arnold on Taking 1st Place at the XFC with the 35% Extra 300

For those wondering whether the Hangar 9^® 35% Extra 300 truly is competition quality, Seth Arnold removed all doubt by taking top honors with his at the 2011 Extreme Flight Championships (XFC) in Muncie, IN. The XFC event is invitation-only and brings together the best giant-scale 3D pilots in the world. As you might imagine, all that talent in one spot makes for some fierce competition.

To shed a little light on just how fierce the competition was, and how the Extra helped him best it, we asked Seth a few questions.

H9: A lot of people know you as a regular eTOC competitor, as well as a former champion. How long have you been competing in giant-scale events like the XFC?

SA: I've competed with giant scale aerobatic models for quite some time; about six or seven years. This was actually my third appearance at XFC. I placed 2nd and 4th in my first two appearances.

H9: What was the competition like this year?

SA: As usual, the competition was tough. Being an invite-only, international competition, the best of the best from all around the world were there. Honestly, no one really had any idea who would be winning. When it was all said and done, everyone in the top five on the last day of competition had a shot at first.

H9: With the competition that tight, what edge do you feel the Hangar 9 35% Extra 300 gave you?

SA: The Hangar 9 35% Extra 300 is one of the best flying airplanes I've flown. From the box, there's not a lot to be done as far as fine tuning goes. Competitively speaking, you first build a model, fly it, and tweak and change all sorts of different things to make it fly as perfect as possible. This can take months and you still might not ever get the plane exactly the way you want it. Setup stock out of the box, the Extra was one of the fastest airplanes to get flying the way I wanted it to. Because the adjustments were finished so quickly, it gave me extra time to get out and practice for the contest rather than spending countless hours fine tuning the model.

H9: What setup tips would you have for Extra owners who might want to compete?

SA: Set the model up as suggested in the manual. CG and everything can be adjusted from there to your personal tastes, but the manual gets you extremely close. In fact, everything suggested in the manual is spot on, from servos, to receivers, etc. It all just works!

H9: Any plans to compete with the Extra in other events this year?

SA: I don't believe I will be competing with the Extra anywhere else this year, but I will be attending several events where I'll be performing demos and just having a good time enjoying how it flies!

Want to learn more about the 35% Extra 300 and its world champion performance? Get to your favorite Hangar 9 retailer or check out the product page here on hangar-9.com. There you'll find specs, features and video of this gorgeous 3D aircraft in action.

Inside Seth's Hangar 9 35% Extra 300

Engine: Desert Aircraft DA 120 (regular mufflers)

Propeller: Air Models 28x10 (Carbon Fiber)

Receiver: Spektrum™ AR9110 9-Channel DSMX^® Receiver

Servos: Eight JR^® DS8911HV High-Voltage Ultra Torque Servos

Batteries: Two Spektrum 4000mAh 2S Li-Po Packs (Receiver), One Spektrum 2000mAh Li-Po Pack (Ignition)

Smoke Pump: TME Smart Smoker Pro