"Viperdoc" wrote in message
...
The Pitts series suffer from short legs, poor visibility, and can be a
challenge to land. A 180 Decathlon is a great plane, comfortable, good
visibility, longer legs, and much more suitable for cross countries, but
not as good as a Pitts for acro.

The Extras take the comfort levels even a step further- many have
autopilots, moving maps, etc, and even with all of this gear are still
capable of unlimited level aerobatics.

In an Extra you sit in a carbon fiber molded seat, while in a Pitts it's a
plywood board.

I had about 350 hours in a Super Decathlon prior to getting into an Extra
300L. Both are great planes, not only for acro but also for going cross
country.

The Decathlon is less expensive to run by a lot, has better visibility,
and is easier to land. On the other hand, the Extra has a lot more power,
longer legs, and is much more capable of high level acro, although most
owners buy them like they would a Ferrari, never using them to the max.
Also, they can be a handful to land. There are quite a few low time
Extra's out there that were purchased by owners who could afford them, but
didn't realize how much of a challenge they can be to land (although still
a lot easier than a Pitts).

The Extra cruises at around 165k, and can go nearly four hours at that
speed- you're talking Bonanza level performance in terms of speed. The fit
and finish of an Extra are extraordinary, both inside and out. Maintenance
is stone simple, since the whole airplane can be opened into six big
pieces with just a bunch of screws. Annuals run $800-$1,000, and parts
generally easily available, like brakes, engine parts, etc. Support is
superb from Southeast Aero.

Any questions- ask me off line.

Good luck.

What makes the Extra so difficult to land? I would have thought it would
have a LOT of control authority... Is it twitchy? High (relative) stall
speed?

KB