Extra Aircraft’s recently promoted CEO Duncan Koerbel introduced the buyer of the first production Extra 330SX on Friday (July 28) at the International Aerobatics Club building during EAA AirVenture. Longtime Extra operator and Advanced/Unlimited USA Team pilot Bob Freeman sat in the front row of the press conference and later posed for photos with Marcus Extra, son of company founder Walter Extra.
The younger Extra recently flew the prototype 330SX in competition in Germany. Freeman’s aircraft is due for delivery next year. Koerbel pointed out that the first delivery position is a coveted slot, and when someone came over and spoke briefly with Freeman during the announcement, Koerbel joked, “Bob, did you just sell your airplane?”
The single-seat 330SX, which first flew in June and was publicly introduced on July 8, is designed for increased aerobatic agility and to accommodate larger pilots in greater comfort. Extra removed about 12 inches of tubing from between the firewall and the cockpit, which moves the pilot’s CG station forward, centralizing mass and enhancing agility in all axes, according to Extra. Weight saving from shortening the fuselage is minimal at about 20 pounds, Koerbel said. He added that the new configuration reduces inertia by 20 percent, “but the tail [effectiveness] remains the same. It’s a big improvement.”
The cockpit is also five centimeters wider and has five centimeters’ more headroom, he said. And the control stick is higher with less travel, but the same angle of deflection. Koerbel noted that the change is particularly advantageous for Marcus Extra, who has a large build.
The 330SX also has a 60 percent larger aileron horn and redesigned wingtips. And, he said, with the 330SX, aileron spades are back on the Extra menu—a welcome return. Other improvements include upgraded wing sealing gaskets, new Alpha gates to improve stall characteristics and a redesigned cowling that improves airflow for more efficient engine cooling.
Koerbel also summarized the Extra worldwide “Year in Review,” noting record deliveries for 2022 and to date in 2023, increased production efficiency to reduce backlog (an aircraft ordered today would be scheduled for delivery in July 2024) and a new North American factory-backed facility in DeLand, Florida. Current Extra production models include the Extra NG, 330LX, 330SC and 330SX. There are currently more than 800 Extra aircraft flying worldwide.
I spent time in various publications looking for the price including the Extra site. I guess if you have to ask you can’t afford it!
Sounds like an extra capable aircraft and I see how centralizing mass increases agility, but if the pilot is moved forward, unless you’re moving something else back, you’re moving the CG forward – doesn’t doing this reduce agility?