H9/Carden or PAU Extra

[HRRC Flyer]

OK Fella's,

It's time for the one thing I like most about this site, which is entertaining and insightful discussion without all the negativity and name bashing of that "other" site. I'm REALLY having a hard time making up my mind which one I like more. I know the obvious answer is to get both and one day I will, but unfortunately that's not in the cards right now.......

As far as my flying style at this point, I only fly aerobatics, but I'm certainly not opposed to learning a little 3D. I know either of them will perform both, far above my current skill level. At this point, I'm leaning towards the PAU because of the awesome quality of the PAU and all the good things I've read about the plane and how it flies and the great customer service everyone gets from Herve. Plus, it is a drop dead gorgeous airplane.

On the other hand, I've heard and read almost as many good things about the H9/Carden Extra. As allot of you can attest, nothing else flies quite like a Carden. Obviously the H9/Carden ARF and a kit built Carden aren't in the same league but IMHO if the ARF flies ANYTHING like a "real" Carden, it has to fly well. Another point I keep reminding myself of is the fact that my best friend has a 35% Carden Extra 330 and it is a truly incredible airplane. Again, I realize there is a huge difference between a 35% class of plane and a 50cc class of plane, plus the fact that my friend has probably forgotten more about flying than I will ever know.

So, let the discussion begin.

TIA Fellas,
David

 

[stangflyer]

OK Fella's,

It's time for the one thing I like most about this site, which is entertaining and insightful discussion without all the negativity and name bashing of that "other" site. I'm REALLY having a hard time making up my mind which one I like more. I know the obvious answer is to get both and one day I will, but unfortunately that's not in the cards right now.......

As far as my flying style at this point, I only fly aerobatics, but I'm certainly not opposed to learning a little 3D. I know either of them will perform both, far above my current skill level. At this point, I'm leaning towards the PAU because of the awesome quality of the PAU and all the good things I've read about the plane and how it flies and the great customer service everyone gets from Herve. Plus, it is a drop dead gorgeous airplane.

On the other hand, I've heard and read almost as many good things about the H9/Carden Extra. As allot of you can attest, nothing else flies quite like a Carden. Obviously the H9/Carden ARF and a kit built Carden aren't in the same league but IMHO if the ARF flies ANYTHING like a "real" Carden, it has to fly well. Another point I keep reminding myself of is the fact that my best friend has a 35% Carden Extra 330 and it is a truly incredible airplane. Again, I realize there is a huge difference between a 35% class of plane and a 50cc class of plane, plus the fact that my friend has probably forgotten more about flying than I will ever know.

So, let the discussion begin.

TIA Fellas,
David

Left you a P.M.

 

[jhelber08]

I can give you my .02 about the H9 extra. High energy type flying was great, plane flew on rails and was very sturdy as well with the foam wings/stabs. As for the slow stuff, it was very unstable in upright harrier but did a little better inverted. To me I wouldn't really call it a good 3d plane but still very fun to fly. The only other 50cc plane I have alot of time with is a EF 88 edge so I can't really comment on the PAU extra's performance.

 

[Terryscustom]

I can give you my .02 about the H9 extra. High energy type flying was great, plane flew on rails and was very sturdy as well with the foam wings/stabs. As for the slow stuff, it was very unstable in upright harrier but did a little better inverted. To me I wouldn't really call it a good 3d plane but still very fun to fly. The only other 50cc plane I have alot of time with is a EF 88 edge so I can't really comment on the PAU extra's performance.

What he said, I had the H9 and they do build fantastic planes but there was a lit of loose joints in mine, no big deal easy to fix. It flew great IMAC bit slow it liked to drop a wing, it did inverted harriers all day long and did nice tumbles. There were a few other minor quirks but in the 50cc size there are only a handful of planes on the market that really have it nailed.

I have not flown the PAU in that size but after watching a couple at Nall last week they look very capable at pretty much any flight envelope. I have the 123" PAU and it's like a flying catillac, super smooth and clean.

 

[Lojik]

Have personally flown neither, have seen the H9 fly and can +1 on what Terry said, great IMAC plane, does not like being flown slow, I cannot comment on the PAU as I have not flown one nor have I seen one fly personally only on YT. I plan to get a PAU for my first 100cc.

If you want to learn 3D maybe the PAU would be a more suitable option, if your keen to advance your imac style flying then the H9 is a good choice, either option will be a great plane for any fleet

 

[3D-Joy]

Humm interesting, I'll have to disagree with the crowd again LOL.
I flew a friends H9 Carden Extra and I was AMAZED at how good it flew. If I was still competing IMAC I think I would win more contests with this than the 100cc Aeroworks I have. Simply put, this little plane really feels like its MUCH bigger. It really does have that amazing Carden feel.

As for 3D honnestly its fine, or even more than fine. It torque rolls like my 40% (pretty much hands off) and harriers with the best of them. Upright harrier was simply a matter of holding full elevator and the occasional input to keep it there. Very very easy. Inverted was even better like almost all the planes I flew/tried. It pop tops quite well, knife edge spins and the rolling harriers are super easy.

Of course there are better 3D planes out there but the package this little plane has to offer is great. I would seriously consider it if I was going back to the 50-60cc range.

We started the plane with some nose weight so its at least in the front half of the recommended CG range. We then removed some nose weight and we got close to the rear end of the CG range. This is where the plane became awesome. I think their CG range is simply wrong as I typically don't like tail heavy planes. Their mid range should be the nose heavy limit. The back limit is fine IMO.

Its quite light with simple equipment. 2 A123 2500 batteries that drive everything. DLE55RA with stock muffler and powersafe receiver. Probably under 19 pounds but I can't say for sure.

 

[jhelber08]

Humm interesting, I'll have to disagree with the crowd again LOL.
I flew a friends H9 Carden Extra and I was AMAZED at how good it flew. If I was still competing IMAC I think I would win more contests with this than the 100cc Aeroworks I have. Simply put, this little plane really feels like its MUCH bigger. It really does have that amazing Carden feel.

As for 3D honnestly its fine, or even more than fine. It torque rolls like my 40% (pretty much hands off) and harriers with the best of them. Upright harrier was simply a matter of holding full elevator and the occasional input to keep it there. Very very easy. Inverted was even better like almost all the planes I flew/tried. It pop tops quite well, knife edge spins and the rolling harriers are super easy.

Of course there are better 3D planes out there but the package this little plane has to offer is great. I would seriously consider it if I was going back to the 50-60cc range.

We started the plane with some nose weight so its at least in the front half of the recommended CG range. We then removed some nose weight and we got close to the rear end of the CG range. This is where the plane became awesome. I think their CG range is simply wrong as I typically don't like tail heavy planes. Their mid range should be the nose heavy limit. The back limit is fine IMO.

Its quite light with simple equipment. 2 A123 2500 batteries that drive everything. DLE55RA with stock muffler and powersafe receiver. Probably under 19 pounds but I can't say for sure.

Don't get me wrong, the H9 flies awesome and is very 3d capable in the right hands just don't think it is good for learning 3d and more suited towards sports/imac. The nice thing about it though is it is probably the easiest plane there is to put together other than the elevator servo pockets being a little shallow.

 

[3D-Joy]

Now that you mention it yes my friend needed some help about these elevator servo pockets.
I suppose I got you wrong LOL. What I really wanted to say is its really a good plane even for 3D but of course the flying surfaces are quite small so it can't be thrown around like an EF of the EXP series...

 

[Dan767]

I had the 300SP Extra From PAU for almost 4 years, and I recently sold it to make room for a 43% PAU Extra. I used the model for practicing IMAC and to learn what little 3D I know. It was a difficult decision to sell, such an easy airplane to fly and land. It has great all around manners. I had mine set up as close to stock as possible, and then later used it as a test airplane for Futaba sBus setups. My plane had a DLE 55 with a Mezjlik 23X8 and a MTW75TDK can. I had the recommended throws and expo set as shown in the manual, so others that flew the model knew exactly what I had and could repeat the setup easily. I let quite few friends fly the model, most handing me back my transmitter with a big smile. Two pilots later bought planes from PAU based on how this model flew. It handles wind well and is very stout I'm ashamed to admit, after a few less than graceful landings, including one in Wenatchee at the 2014 Huckfest half on the grass half on the runway.
The model can be put together easily with out any mods needed with either a DA50/60 or DLE55/61.

 

[HRRC Flyer]

Thanks for the input Fella's,

Keep it coming............