The RC Geek

I DESTROYED My Brand-New RC F9F Panther… On Purpose!

thercgeek1@gmail.com (Chris Wolfe) — Thu, 17 Apr 2025 18:15:33 GMT

I DESTROYED My Brand-New RC F9F Panther… On Purpose!

Every so often, a model crosses your bench that asks for more. Not because it’s lacking, but because it has so much untapped potential. That was the case with the Freewing RC F9F Panther. Right out of the box, it’s a solid, great-flying EDF jet with clean lines and a strong silhouette—but as a scale builder, I saw it as a canvas. One that deserved to be pushed beyond stock into something that could truly stand out on the tarmac. I envisioned gear doors that hinted at internal complexity, body flaps and speed brakes poised for that ever so scale approach, and a full cockpit makeover. This wouldn’t be a quick refinish, but it would be a satisfying one.

In this first chapter of the build series, I’m taking you through the airframe transformation: from surface prep to custom modifications, and all the steps to lay the foundation for a crazy cool 70mm EDF jet.

Cockpit and Canopy Refinement

The canopy on the stock Panther is decent, but its shape and interior were simplified for production. Thankfully, a friend of mine wanted to create a more scale-accurate canopy, and in exchange for some 3D-printed goodies for his own Panther, he sent me a newly shaped canopy to use on this kit bash. With that in hand, I completely reworked the cockpit. The stock tub was built up primarily from 3D printed parts, supplemented with hand-cut components where necessary. I pulled in details like the instrument coaming and side consoles from a set of T-33 cockpit files I had on hand. To give it a more authentic presence, I added an era-appropriate pilot bust—the 1/11 scale 'Sabre Jock' bust —to tie it all together.

The ejection seat was another fun detail. I started with a 1/72 scale Panther seat file I found online, then scaled it up to roughly 1/11 scale. Rear cockpit framing was also added to create visual depth through the canopy, making it feel more like a real aircraft when viewed from above or the side.

All of the printed parts were created using a resin printer, which produces parts with plastic-model-level detail—ideal for this kind of application. I used Tamiya spray paints for the base colors and brushed in detail work with Testors enamel paints.

Once everything was painted and secured in place, I trimmed the custom canopy to fit, glued it on using Formula 560 canopy glue , and masked the framing with vinyl fine line tape to finish it off. I personally love building and painting cockpits, and this was easily one of the most satisfying parts of the kit bash. The new interior gives the model a far more realistic silhouette and brings it to life even when it's just sitting on the bench.

Auxiliary Intake Plug

One area of the stock Panther that’s bothered me is the auxiliary air intake on the underside of the fuselage. It’s molded open, presumably to suggest functionality or aid airflow, but in reality, it’s not aerodynamic nor even necessary the feed the 70mm fan (the inlets themselves provide sufficient area).

To clean it up, I built a custom intake plug using Depron foam. It was shaped to fit snugly into the opening, following the contours of the fuselage while sitting just slightly proud of the surface to be able to sand it flush to blend in more naturally with the surrounding profile. After rough-cutting the plug to size, I built an internal structure to help match the internal inlet shape for a smooth transition to the fan and then glued the enture assembly into the openeing (after removing the plastic grate of course).

The result is subtle, but effective. With the plug in place, the underside of the jet looks far more refined and cohesive, and the entire airframe reads more like a purpose-built aircraft than a molded foam model. It’s a small change, but one that really improves looks and should help clean up the entire inlet system as a whole.

Main and Nose Gear Doors

The stock Panther doesn’t include functional gear doors, which is typical for this size of model. On the full-scale aircraft, they’re a prominent and defining feature. So from the start, I knew I had to bring them back.

For the mains, I started by fabricating full-size strut doors from sheet styrene, cutting them to match the correct shape and proportions. Rather than rebuild the stock doors entirely, I glued these new scale-sized panels directly onto the existing, undersized ones. It was a simple solution that delivered a big visual payoff. To support the overall look, I also replaced the stock tires with properly scaled 50mm wheels and swapped out the stiff stock springs in the struts with softer ones so the landing gear would fully compress under the model’s weight—much more like the real thing.

This combo made a surprising difference. It transformed the Panther’s posture on the ground, giving it that nose-up, ready-to-launch attitude that matches the full-scale jet.

The nose gear required a bit more engineering. I found a free set of 3D printable files specifically designed for the Freewing Panther that matched the door shapes and hinge lines almost perfectly. After printing and cleanup, I glued the cover panel in place permanently and rigged the two doors together using a spring linkage as intended by the designer. This setup allows the doors to be pulled closed automatically as the nose gear retracts—no servos required, just simple mechanical action. In the process, I also shimmed the nose gear down and angled it further forward as much as feasible using some washers all in the hopes of getting the angles to appear more visually correct. It was a small tweak, but one that really helped with the looks greatly.

Landing gear might not be the flashiest part of a build, but they can absolutely make or break the realism of a model. In this case, the combined changes to tires, stance, and gear doors made a huge impact. The Panther just looks right now—whether it’s sitting on the tarmac or rolling out after touchdown.

Speed Brake Detailing

One of the more interesting design features of the full-scale F9F Panther was its reliance on deployable speed brakes to help manage throttle lag on final approach. The early jet engines had noticeable spool-up time, so Navy pilots needed to fly their approaches with higher throttle settings to ensure they had the necessary response if a go-around—or bolter—was required. To allow this without over-speeding, the aircraft used large belly-mounted speed brakes just behind the nose gear with the sole purpose to generate drag and keep the approach speed under control.

For this kit bash, I wanted to replicate not just the look, but also the function of those speed brakes. I found a set of existing 3D printable speed brake files originally intended for the Freewing 80mm EDF Cougar. While they are actually too small for the Cougar, they captured the full geometry for this 70mm EDF Panther just about right and were even a very close match to the contour. The parts were printed in PETG for heat resilience and lightweight strength, and mounted into the fuselage by simply cutting out the existing fuselage and dropping in the build speed brake assembly in its place. Each brake is operated by a single servo and are deployed via a separate channel as desired for landing or slow dirty passes for that big dose of scale realism.

Scratch-Built Body Flaps

Body flaps are one of the signature features of the F9F Panther—they're positioned across the fuselage, roughly in line with the wing flaps, and give the jet a distinctive, unmistakable look when deployed. On the full-scale aircraft, they served as aerodynamic control surfaces to enhance low-speed handling during carrier landings. For this model, they were the perfect opportunity to bring in functional realism.

Unlike most of the other modifications on this build, the body flaps were scratch-built from fiberglass. To create them, I first laid packing tape over the fuselage where the flaps would be, applied mold release, and then laminated a couple of layers of fiberglass directly over the surface. Before the layup, I placed vinyl templates to define the final flap shapes. Once cured, the fiberglass came off cleanly and was easy to cut to shape using the predefined outlines.

Each flap was hinged using two small hinge points with steel pins for durability and smooth motion. To avoid the need for additional servos, I devised a simple mechanical solution. A 1/16" plywood spar was embedded into the root of each wing flap and extended inward through the fuselage. Behind the body flaps, a plywood capture bracket guided the spar and allowed it to slide as the wing flaps moved. This setup meant the body flaps would open automatically with the wing flaps and return cleanly when retracted.

The design ended up working even better than expected. It’s a simple, effective, and lightweight way to incorporate functional body flaps without adding complexity—and it adds a ton of visual impact, especially on approach with everything deployed.

Surface Prep: Smoothing the Canvas

The airframe comes molded with soft, but oversized panel lines which are fine for most flyers—but for a scale finish, they had to go. I started by filling every panel line and molded surface detail using lightweight spackle. The spackle was applied with a putty knife and placed to ensure no gap was left behind. Once fully cured, I block sanded the entire airframe by hand to achieve a smooth, even surface and eliminate the telltale texture that often gives away a foam model. Cleaning and sealing the foam ensured a clean base for the later sealing and primer process. This process turned the stock foam surface into a blank canvas, allowing me to later apply my own custom panel lines and other detail in a more controlled and realistic way.

In Part 2 of the series, I’ll walk through the process of sealing, priming, painting, and weathering the model using SMS acrylic lacquers and custom vinyl graphics. Stay tuned!

The B-58 Hustler Saga - An Epic Journey of Hard Lessons

thercgeek1@gmail.com (Chris Wolfe) — Tue, 19 Sep 2023 00:09:18 GMT

The B-58 Hustler Saga - From Triumph to Tragedy

In the RC world there are projects, and then there are projects that push you to your limits of creativity, engineering, and perseverance. My RC B-58 Hustler project was undoubtedly one of the latter...especially in the realm of perseverance. This was going to be my next competition scale model and well, let's just say that didn't quite work out because of a mistake I made. Join me in a story of meticulous construction resulting in a single and unfortunate flight...with many lessons learned.

Building the RC B-58 Hustler

Truth be told, this project started about 8 years ago. A good friend of mine Dorian Anderson from Jet Hangar Hobbies had developed and tooled an all composite B-58 Hustler for 4x EDFs. He had built and flown a couple prototypes through the last number of years and about 2 years ago, the opportunity came up to be able to build one of his limited edition kits with the newly developed RC Crafters scale landing gear for myself. And with that, the wheels began turning and the research began for the project. The B-58, with its sleek lines and futuristic design, was a marvel of its time, capable of reaching Mach 2 and serving as a strategic bomber during the Cold War and I was excited to recreate this beast in RC form.

Shortly before our move to Tennessee, I took possession of the airframe and after getting settled from our move, it was time to start the build. Which went as follows (fully documented on my YouTube Channel ):

Setting up Flight Controls and a Building Drag Chute System

The build began with setting up some of the simpler items. The elevons were pre-hinged by Dorian and so the elevon servos were installed and from there the rudder surface was hinged and the servo installed and setup. There were no external control horns anywhere on the model, so care was taken to ensure that everything was tight and strong. To finish up this step, drag chute doors were built and a spring loaded pin mechanism built and tested with the RC Jet Chutes drag chute.

EQUIPMENT USED

Elevons ► Hitec DB961WP

Rudder ► Hitec D89MW

Drag Chute ► RC Jet Chutes (26" diameter)

REPLICATING the B-58 Hustler's INSANELY COMPLEX Retract System

Through the build, the landing gear and gear doors were probably about the biggest challenge in the process. Being a critical part of the build the whole system needed to function smoothly and reliably. Each landing gear door was meticulously hinged and setup to resemble the full-scale version while also remain reliably actuated in the process. The main gear doors were actuated by a single servo each while the nose gear doors were able to be actuated by the nose landing gear itself. Without a doubt, the RC Crafters landing gear were absolutely incredible!

EQUIPMENT USED

Landing Gear ► RCCrafters.com

Gear Doors ► https://bit.ly/HTHS70

Springs ► https://amzn.to/3z8Ilx9

Braided Fishing Line ► https://amzn.to/3FOWzqE (amazon)

StarBond CA Glue ► https://bit.ly/StarBondCA (Use Code "Geek10" to get 10% OFF)

POWER UNLEASHED! B-58 Hustler Propulsion Install and Taxi Testing

The final steps in at least getting the model to a flyable state was the propulsion installation. 4x Schubeler ds-30 EDF units were installed along with castle creations speed controllers. In addition, I had installed four of my MiniBurner simulated afterburners since it won't go Mach 2 without afterburner after all! With everything in the model, it was time for a bit of taxi testing to check all of the systems and see how it would ultimately track on the runway. The mistake made here was that I didn't spend additional time testing the propulsion systems installed in the model. While I did check the amp draw of the fans statically many times which showed sufficient headroom. In retrospect, performing a simulated flight on the ground and checking the data loggers on the ESC's would likely have shown that the speed controllers were too small for the amp draw of the fans based on the heat build up.

EQUIPMENT USED

Simulated Afterburners ► 28mm inrunner MiniBurner

ESC's ► Castle Creations

Batteries ► Spektrum 7000mah

EDFs ► Schubeler DS-30

Aircraft Alchemy: Creating the Ultimate RC B-58 Hustler Metallic Finish

In the research I did on the aircraft, I fell in love with the prototype paint scheme with its red nose and tail and white chevrons. To achieve the iconic polished aluminum finish of the B-58, multiple shades of ALCLAD2 paints were used to paint the airframe. The challenge here was not just in painting but in creating the subtle variations in color to mimic the real aircraft's appearance. The whole airframe was airbrushed in this manner using a fan tip on the airbrush to help cover a larger area. From there, all of the markings were painted using various types of paint and masks from Callie-Graphics and the finish was wrapped up with a full weathering wash.

EQUIPMENT USED

Nav Lights► https://amzn.to/44uUzOt (amazon)

Grex Airbrush► https://amzn.to/3NXReR1 (amazon)

Airbrush Fan Tip► https://amzn.to/3QbFtsS (amazon)

ALCLAD2 Paint► https://bit.ly/AlcladAL ("regular" finishes used, airbrush only)

LVP Paint (trim markings)► https://bit.ly/LVPpnt (beware, doesn't dry super hard, so sprayed rustoleum 2x matte clear over it as a barrier)

Mr Paint► https://bit.ly/MRPpnt (Airbrush Only)

Frog Tape► https://amzn.to/3rBXruJ (amazon)

3M Fineline Tape► https://amzn.to/3XV65Ax (amazon)

Paint Masks► https://callie-graphics.com/

Folk Art Raw Umber► https://amzn.to/3O2PJku (amazon, acrylic used for weathering wash)

Tamiya Acrylic Thinner► https://bit.ly/TamiyaThinner (cleans up acrylic wash)

The Maiden Flight: Triumph and Tragedy

While we did skim a bit through the build details above, every video shows in detail the full process mentioned. It represented about 8 months worth of work in the end bringing the model to completion. In the middle of this too was a failed first flight attempt where, similar to the full scale airplane, the model was having difficulty keeping tires in place and causing all sorts of rolling friction. The end result on that day was that the model wouldn't rotate. With lessons learned and a new wheel and tire design, the model was seemingly ready to go again a few weeks later.

With the maiden flight day here at last, the B-58 was ready to take to the skies (and really looking good if I dare say so). There was much anticipation and with the model gleaming on the runway, it was a moment of triumph and a testament to the dedication that went into the project. In the process, I had also upgraded to high voltage lipo batteries (a second mistake) to help with the low end acceleration for takeoff. They charge to 4.35v/cell and provided a noticable increase in RPM...but at the expense of additional current draw.

Advancing the throttles after taxiing onto the runway, the model accelerated quickly, and the model rotated beautifully (though throwing one of the main tires off the axle). At last, the B-58 was airborne and she was quickly accelerating in the climb out as the gear were retracted. After multiple passes and trimming the model, it was time to bring her in for landing. However, as they say, the best-laid plans often go awry as you'll see in the video...I began to battle asymmetric thrust, and then...

A Journey Worth Embarking on

At the end of the day, the airplane was lost due to a mistake I made. I had been so concerned with the weight of the model that I ended up choosing smaller ESCs than I normally would. While I thought I had sufficient headroom...I did not. The ESC's got too hot in the flight and started shutting down one by one resulting in asymmetric thrust making the model almost impossible to maneuver the direction I needed.

Needless to say, this was a disappointing and discouraging result to say the least and it was completely avoidable had I opted for larger ESCs. However, sometimes, it's those tough lessons that are what push us to rediscover our passion for the hobby through perseverance. I've always believed that it’s not just about the flights, but the entire journey that makes a project special and this was quite the journey. Regardless the conclusion, it was a journey worth embarking on, for it's in those challenges that we find the most valuable lessons and the true spirit of perseverance. Plus, it gave a chance to share so many different building techniques and there's so much more to come! So, no matter where you are on your RC journey, just keep going. Mistakes happen to all of us, the important part is that we learn from them and apply it in the next build/flight/outing.

Until next time, I'll see you at the field!

Preparing for Battle: The ULTIMATE Guide to Scale Documentation

thercgeek1@gmail.com (Chris Wolfe) — Mon, 13 Mar 2023 14:32:08 GMT

Preparing for Battle: The ULTIMATE Guide to Scale Documentation

Maybe you've heard about RC Scale Aircraft competitions, but the thought it sounded intimidating, or the process of it all seemed daunting and discouraging. Well, fear not! I am here to encourage you and dispel any myths you may have heard if any. Scale competition is a fun and challenging segment of the hobby that will undoubtedly make you a better pilot! So, in light of this, I've started a new "Preparing for Battle" live series and in my first episode, "Preparing for Battle: The ULTIMATE Guide to Scale Documentation," we talk about the AMA Scale Nats with special guest Joe Vermilion from Balsa USA and peel back the layers of scale competition and provide information on what it's all about! As an experienced RC Scale Aircraft competitor and two time US Scale Masters National Champion, my hope is to share whatever knowledge and practical advice I can for newcomers and seasoned competitors alike.

One of the great things about RC Scale Aircraft competitions is that there are multiple classes to choose from which means that there is something for everyone! So, in this first episode, we cover a range of topics, from the basics of RC Scale Aircraft competitions to the specifics of static judging and documentation requirements necessary for some of the competition classes. Additionally, we go into detail about the different classes and what they entail, helping would be competitors find a class that's right for them.

So, whether you're a seasoned competitor or a newcomer to the hobby, my hope is that this series will be helpful and inspirational. Don't let the thought of scale competition or static judging hold you back - I'm here to help you prepare for battle with confidence! I've used the term many times, but I can only explain the competitors I fly with as being like a family. Everyone is there to help everyone. Oh, and if you're curious about the AMA Nats rules, you can get them here ! (In order to do well, it's essential to know the guidelines of the competition.)

So with all that said, let's drill down a little deeper specifically related to the B-58 Hustler project. The following is a brief overview of the process I take when researching and documenting a scale project.

B-58 Hustler Documentation

For those interested in competing in classes that require static judging, the live stream includes a comprehensive guide to the documentation requirements and my process for pulling documentation together. I'm currently in the process of pulling documentation together for the B-58 Hustler project and at the end of the day it's about building a model that matches the provided documentation. One can build the most scale model out there, but if it's not proven in the documentation, it's difficult to score well. Here's a quick rundown of my approach.

Research

First things first, it all starts with researching your selected subject. For me, I love the research and will typically buy whatever books I can find (it’s kind of a sickness that my wife gives me a hard time for) and spend numerous hours scouring the internet for pictures and drawings. For the B-58 Hustler, the best book I found was a Koku-fan book entitled "Famous Airplanes of the World No. 64: Convair B-58 Hustler" (being out of print, I spent way too much money on it on Ebay). Additionally, I found a book on Amazon that is part of a "Legends of Warfare" series entitled " B-58 Hustler: Convair’s Cold War Mach 2 Bomber " that provided some great detail reference photos. Lastly, a must is a plastic kit (if available) as it helps to visualize shapes three dimensionally and help with some of the details you may not be able to find otherwise. In this case, I picked up the Italeri 1/72 scale model kit .

Accuracy of Outline

The B-58 Hustler model I'm building originated from the drawings within the aforementioned Koku-fan book. So, to prove the accuracy of outline, I will be using a composited multi-view drawing from unaltered scanned images of the drawings in the book (providing a reference as well). Being the basis for the design of the model this is ideal for competition since the model needs to match the documentation to score well. No one knows the airplane better than you and so if there are inaccuracies on the drawings, you can provide corrections with image references, or altering the shape of the model itself. It ultimately comes down to the shapes that are documented in the documentation book (not necessarily the full size airplane in some cases unfortunately). Here's the start of the multi-view drawing from the koku fan book. I will highlight corrections areas if needed once I have the final documentation package complete.

Color & Markings

For paint schemes, I start out with a google image search (along with searching the pictures in the books) for the subject aircraft as well as search out plastic model decals. Having multiple pictures along with a sheet of plastic model decals of the desired paint scheme is ideal. The key is to be able to show every aspect of the color and markings sufficiently through pictures and decal placement drawings. I can easily spend hours and hours in this stage because it’s fascinating to me what can be found and sometimes you find that one picture hoping to find decals or vice versa. The deeper you dig, the more you can find in many cases. Also, once I've found something I like, I start narrowing down the search by searching the squadron, the bureau number, etc. It really is amazing what you can find these days online!

For the B-58 Hustler, I have decided on the first prototype aircraft, tail number 5660. It is natural metal with some really nice red and white accents that really help it to pop. I have found numerous pictures of it online and in books and also a full coloring diagram that came from Caracal Models which will be the basis for my color and markings documentation.

Cra ftsmanship

Craftsmanship is where you want to highlight those details you have built on the model and in many cases, less may be more. In other words, if you can't prove it, then lose it! When looking for aircraft details, it is hard to beat a simple google search for the subject aircraft. Also, adding “walkarounds” to the search string can usually land a decent selection of detail shots of the aircraft (assuming there are some in existence). There are a few websites around that feature these types of walkaround pictures which are great. Also, if you can find an airplane in a museum close by, then take a trip and take a complete photo profile of the airplane top to bottom. The closest Hustler to me is at the USAF Musem in Dayton Ohio. I'm hopeful to make a trip up there to take a full photo dossier on the airplane, but I'm not sure that will happen before the competition. In the meantime, some of the items I know that I will highlight are the landing gear and the exhaust nozzles to start. As the model comes together, so will the craftsmanship side of the documentation. The goal will be to draw the judges eyes to the things I want him to see.

Give it a Try!

The above is intended to be an overview of what I go through at the start of a competition project and there's much more detail and discussion provided in the live stream video. There are significant amounts of hours spent in just the research alone, but as I mentioned that's one aspect that I personally enjoy. Also, it's important to note that the research is ongoing throughout the build with references continually checked along the way. So, pick an airplane and research away, you might be surprised at what you find! And remember, not all classes at the Nats or other competitions require this level of detail or any documentation at all for that matter. So, if you ever are unsure about any of it, I'm here to help.

FREE RC Airplane GIVEAWAY and the Next BIG Project!!

thercgeek1@gmail.com (Chris Wolfe) — Tue, 14 Feb 2023 21:15:38 GMT

Are You Ready to Take Your RC Flying to the Next Level??

Then you’re in luck, because we’re giving away an FMS 1400mm F4U Corsair and an FMS 1100mm PC-21 ! But first, let's address the elephant in the room...it's been quite a while since my last blog post. With the move to TN and everything going on trying to get The RC Geek up and running full time, it's been difficult to sit down and set aside time to write. My goal is to change that going forward, so here's hoping! (check the vid below for even more details about everything mentioned here!)

In ligh t of that, I have been gearing up for a new competition build for a while in the form of a quad 70mm EDF B-58 Hustler! The B-58 Hustler is a legendary bomber from the Cold War era. With it's sleek design and Mach 2 flight capabilities, it really was a step ahead of its time. Regarding the model itself, it is a Jet Hangar Hobbies limited edition all composite airframe designed by my good friend Dorian Anderson and the landing gear came from RC Crafters and are absolutely incredible! The end goal is to compete with the finished model at the AMA RC Scale Nationals (100th Anniversary!) and so, I'm excited the share my journey with all of you.

And so, as we enter into this new season of building 2023, to celebrate, in combination with FMS Hobby , I’m giving away an FMS 1400mm F4U Corsair and an FMS 1100mm PC-21 . So if you’ve been looking for a chance to take your RC flying to the next level, then this is the perfect opportunity.Afterall, who doesn't want some fresh new gear for their RC hangar?? Enter by the form below and be sure to take advantage of as many entries as you can! In the meantime, be on the look out for my progress B-58 Hustler build updates here and on the Channel ! Good luck!

Refinish a Foam Jet Ep5 - Freewing F-14 Final Mods, Custom Programming & Flights

thercgeek1@gmail.com (Chris Wolfe) — Tue, 25 Jan 2022 05:30:36 GMT

Flight of the Flir Cat…The Sequel!!

I tell you what, it has been quite the journey getting here! As a project, this Freewing F-14 Tomcat refinish took much longer than I had originally planned based on all of the other distractions that have come through the shop, but I'm so happy with how this model turned out in the end. It did take a few flights to get tuned and I have made a few small modifications in the process since our last installment, but otherwise I'm happy to report that the Tomcat is flying quite well. The F-14 Tomcat has such a great look and presence in the air, you just can't beat it!

Oh, and I love the looks of the low viz Navy camouflage by the way, especially with the Flir Cat nose art. The low viz gray is not the greatest color against a blue sky, but a dirtied up Tomcat flying around just presents so authentically! I may have to consider this or a similar paint scheme when it comes time to build my 1/10 scale DCU F-14. All in due time of course… :)

Well, in wrapping up this series, I thought I'd touch on some of the final F-14 modifications I made in finishing the airframe up, talk through the programming in more detail since I've had a number of questions about that, and then talk through how she flies in her refinished state.

SOME FINISHING TOUCHES

One thing I was never fully happy with upon finishing the F-14 in our last installment was the look of the nose gear. While it was perfectly functional and didn't look bad, it lacked the scale look I wanted. Well, at the recommendation of one of The RC Geek community members, I took a look at the Freewing 90mm T-45 nose strut which turned out to be an absolutely perfect and more scale fit to the airframe. One thing I did discover from a not so perfect landing was that the plunger shaft is pretty soft for the weight of the Tomcat. So, to rectify this, I took the strut apart, heated up the plunger shaft with a butane torch until it started to change to a more golden color and then dropped it in water to harden it up. So far this seems to be holding up quite well even against an off field roll out or two. Additionally, tcat.rc.creations on Instagram sent me a file for a more scale looking F-14 landing light. So, to finish up the look with the more scale looking strut, I printed this up and installed it onto the nose strut.

One additional item that I wanted to have on the airframe were scale glove pylons with the primary purpose of hiding the main tires when they are retracted. Originally, my friend and I developed and 3d printed a design that mimicked the freewing provided shape. In flying that design, I found that they really impacted the flight characteristics in a negative way and made the airplane never really feel locked in where as it felt solid with them off. Upon further investigation, we found that the shape was actually not very scale to the F-14 having the upper angled part too long and the lower vertical part too short. So a new, more scale pylon design was made and 3d printed which not only looked better but also didn't change the flight characteristics at all. So, it was definitely a win, win! :)

AIRCRAFT SETUP

AS3X GYRO SETUP

Related to the Freewing F-14 setup, I ultimately installed an AR10360T 10 channel AS3X receiver into the airplane. The primary reason was to have the benefits of the gryo with the wings swept since the airplane can tend to wiggle in atmospheric disturbances in that configuration. Tuning the gyro accordingly, it helped tame this wings swept characteristic which was quite nice, but I did find that I needed to increase my roll throw with the wings swept since I had the roll gain tuned pretty high. Otherwise, with the wings extended, there wasn't a huge difference since the airplane already flew rock solid in that configuration. I set the gains up on a switch so that they could be turned off if ever needed. However, I fly with the gyro active most all the time currently. The gains I settled on work well for both the wings extended and the wings swept configurations and are as follows:

AS3X GAINS

Pitch – 55%
Roll – 50%
Yaw – 40%

AIRCRAFT SETUP

I knew from the get go that I wanted to setup the F-14 with the full span flaps and the functional spoilerons that I had setup in my original review a few years ago which has worked well. Interestingly however, the airplane required a considerable amount of left roll trim indicating an asymmetry somewhere in the wing potentially. So, to resolve that and avoid holding significant left roll trim at the tails, the left aileron was deflected upwards a touch to help offset. Additionally, independent trims were setup for the wings extended and the wings swept configurations through flight modes which made the transitions between the two a little easier. My only complaint is that there's no flight mode delay in the Spektrum programming, so the trims change immediately while the wings transition slowly. A flight mode delay would help the trims transition at a slower rate similar to the wings.

Related to the F-14 programming specifically, to work the above mentioned control scheme with Spektrum requires 9 channels and starts with an aircraft configuration set to elevon wings and normal for the tails. The rudder, tail, and flap functions were setup and then from there, each of the aileron functions were setup individually through mixes in the radio. Note, for this model, I setup the Tomcat on my ix20 radio (I really like the ix20!), but this can be performed on an NX10 or DX9 just as well.

AIRCRAFT TYPE

Wings – Elevon-A
Tails - Normal

Tails plugged directly into receiver (channels 2 & 3)

Ailerons plugged into Aux2 & Aux3 channels

Ailerons as Flaps

In setting up the ailerons as spoilerons and flaps, it requires multiple mixes. First an aileron to flap mix was setup for each individual aileron channel. The offset function was adjusted to get the proper movement for each aileron. Note that I setup the ailerons with slightly less cambering deflection than the flaps to help reduce the aerodynamic load at the wing tip some. One does have to be a bit careful with the elevator with the cambered ailerons as the airplane can be prone to tip stall with large and quick elevator deflections. The best approach is to fly the airplane to the ground in more or less the same pitch attitude and use the throttle to control the descent.

Ailerons as Turning Spoilers

To actuate the ailerons as a turning spoiler, a mix was setup for each aileron servo channel, to the standard aileron channel. Within the channel mix is where the deflections of the aileron servos are set and adjusted. Since I'm using them acting trailing edge up only, it required adjusting only the trailing edge up rate function only. Lastly, this channel mix was then assigned to my swing wing switch such that the channel mix is active with the wings extended and then inactive when switched to the wings swept position. This disables the ailerons in the swept wing configuration.

Taileron/Roll Rates with Wing Position

In addition to the above, I assigned my aileron dual rates to the swing wing switch so that with the wings swept, the tailerons automatically reduce to low rates. This is quite important as the airplane will otherwise be extremely touchy in roll with the wings swept if the tailerons remain at high rate. I should note however that while the wings transition slowly, the rates instantaneously change. So, it's important to keep this in mind and be prepared for that immediate rate change. For example, when the wings are swept back, the roll will immediately be sluggish at first and increase in effectiveness until the wings are fully swept. The reverse is true for wings extended where upon flipping the switch, the roll becomes immediately sensitive and becomes less sensitive and the wings extend. Understanding that, you can perform rolling maneuvers while sweeping the wings and all kinds of fun stuff. My preference is to roll the airplane while extending the wings since this gives me more responsive roll through the maneuver. I do this by first hitting the wing sweep switch and then initiating the roll. It requires a continuous increase in roll command as the wings extend to maintain a constant roll rate and when executed right, is pretty darn cool!

FLYING THE FREEWING F-14 "FLIR CAT"

It is always interesting to see how a refinish project like this flies and this F-14 Tomcat really does fly well. The cleaner and stiffer airframe you get from the refinish really helps the airplane to cut through the air and the look of the model in the air is exceptional being able to almost pass as the full scale at some angles. The twin 9-blade outrunner fans from the Freewing A-10 which provides good power through the entire flight envelope (more on that below) and actually sounds quite authentic on the landings having a high pitched whine to them. The model flies rock solid all around and with the wings swept, the gyro locks the model in making it less susceptible to atmospheric disturbances.

Where I had my biggest challenges with this airplane were the landings actually. The model did increase in weight from the refinish and so it took me some time to find the right balance of airspeed and attitude on the landing approaches compared to the previous stock model I flew a few years ago. The key is to set the model into a slight nose up attitude and keep more or less constant elevator input to the touchdown using the throttle to control the descent. While that's not necessarily new for this airplane, it just took some time to find that right combination. Once I sorted that out, the landings became much more consistent and were better overall. It is important to note that with the full span flaps, excessive and rapid elevator deflection can initiate a tip stall, so keeping that constant elevator input all the way to the ground with only a mild flare really works the best and will avoid scraped wing tips.

At the time I started this project, the 9-blade outrunner fans from the Freewing A-10 seemed the best option. However, if I were to do this again, I would use the 9-blade inrunner fans that are now the standard in the 80mm Freewing kits. This is a sizable model and the refinish did add some weight to the airframe that you do feel in the takeoff and landing speeds and so the extra punch from the inrunners vs the outrunners would be beneficial. So…I think I see a fan swap in my future… ;) But until then, here's a flight video with the 9-blade outrunner fans captured out at the Riverside RC club field in Perris, CA.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Well, it took quite a bit longer to get here with the F-14 than I had hoped, but alas we have reached the conclusion of our Freewing F-14 Tomcat refinish journey. I'm so happy with how the model turned out and I'm glad to have a flyable tomcat in my hangar again. The tomcat is one of the most iconic jets ever built and having a nice representation of one to fly is about as cool as it gets! I do plan to swap the fans with the 80mm inrunner systems but that will come another day. Until then, I'll see you at the field!

Spektrum AR10360T Receiver Review, E-flite F-16 Custom Programming, & AS3X Setup

Mon, 10 Jan 2022 04:34:32 GMT

10 channels of power…and 1 receiver to rule them all!

I personally love having the option for more channels, especially when building my own scale aircraft. While not always necessary, having channel options available is almost always helpful and it opens up opportunities to add scale functions and/or customize the controls more to your liking. And that's not to mention having individual servo setup across the same functions. So, I was excited to finally see the AR103060T and AR10100T 10 channel receivers released from Spektrum. It opens of channel options in a lighter weight package while also supports all of their new technology. Having been flying the NX10 for some time it is nice to finally be able to utilize all of those 10 radio channels.

My goal in putting together this review is to introduce the receiver and some of its key features and then from there run through some programming and then talk through setting up AS3X. The subject for all of this is the E-flite F-16 80mm EDF as I had been wanting to try out a more scale flaperon type control setup that included tailerons to help recover the loss in roll authority when the ailerons are deflected as flaps. Spoiler alert, I really like the result with that airplane!

A QUICK RUNDOWN OF THE AR103060T RECEIVER

In short, the Spektrum AR10360T receiver is a full range 10 Channel AS3X/SAFE Telemetry Receiver compatible with a DSM2® and DSMX® (note that the AR10100T is the same, but does not have AS3X/SAFE). While many of the standard features of the receiver is similar to the current Smart/SAFE 6 channel and 8 channel receivers, the 10 channel receivers feature integrated barometer and vario telemetry data as standard. Additionally featured is an SRXL2 port for an SRXL2 Remote Receiver ( SPM9747 or SPM4751T ) to add additional RF path redundancy. Lastly, a Micro USB port is built into the receiver that can be used for firmware updates and model setup sharing, etc. (USB programmer required).

When these Smart/SAFE receivers are used in conjunction with a Spektrum Avian ESC , it opens up all sorts of telemetry data from the electric power system that is displayed on the transmitter. Additionally, warnings can be setup for any number of things that can be helpful in monitoring the health of the battery and power system. This is a very nice feature that I have discussed previously which is shown below.

A LITTLE PROGRAMMING WITH THE E-FLITE F-16

In putting this together, I thought a good use case for the receiver would be to setup combination flaperons and tailerons on the E-flite F-16 80mm EDF . I had experimented with flaperons in my review, and while I generally liked the results for helping with landings, they could only be deflected so much without affecting the roll control too much. In order to maximize the flap deflection on the flaperons, additional roll control can be gained through the use of tailerons on the full flying stabilizers. Since the BNF comes with only a 6 channel receiver, the only way to achieve this is through a higher channel receiver. Note that in order to make this work, the two elevator servo wires are harnessed together into a single plug. So, that connection needs to be split. I highly recommend getting some servo crimpers for making your own plugs, works great for stuff like this!

Spektrum programming is generally quite intuitive for standard type of configurations which is great as a whole. However, when it comes to more advanced programming, it can require generating some workaround mixes to get the desired functions for the desired surfaces. In the case for the F-16, it starts with assigning the correct “Aircraft Type” in the extended menus. As as shown below, the wing type was set to flaperon and the tail was set to dual elevator.

Wing: Flaperon
Tail: Dual Elevator

By selecting flaperon, that easily provides the flaperon function as desired and also opens up the “Flap System” menu. The positions were set to provide a mid flap setting and a maximum full trailing edge down flap setting. In addition, through flying the airplane, I discovered that the model needed an 8% up elevator mix at the max flap setting. In addition, aileron differential was set for each of the flaperon settings as the more cambered the flaperons become, the less effective they are when deflected downward. The flap deflections and associate differential is listed below:

Mid Flap – 5mm, no elevator mix, 60% differential
Full Flap – 17mm, ~2mm up elevator (8%), 100% differential

With the flaperons set, it was a matter of obtaining the taileron function at the elevators when the flaperons were extended. This was obtained through a simple Aileron to Left Elevator mix. This mix provides the full roll function to the tails with 100% rate. In addition, having liked how the airplane flew with standard aileron/elevator in flight, the mix was assigned to the flap switch and set active only when the flaperons were extended.

AIL>LEL Mix (Assigned to flap switch and active (100% rate) only when flaperons are down)

Lastly, through testing, it was found that the 100% taileron rate was too sensitive. So, the Aileron rate was adjusted to 85% for when the flaperons were down. This was accomplished by assigning the aileron rate switch to the flap switch so that the roll rate was reduced to 85% with the flaperons down.

Neutral Aileron Rate 100%
Flaperon Down Aileron Rate 85% (rate assigned to flap switch)

SETTING UP AS3X

Having really liked how the E-flite F-16 flew with AS3X, the last item of business was to setup AS3X for this new control configuration. The nice thing is that with these newer radios (and software updates for the older radios) utilize the “Forward Programming” in the radio to recognize the aircraft configuration in the AS3X setup. Additionally, there’s an initial setup option that simplifies the receiver setup as well and applies some gain defaults. So, in setting this up, I went through the initial AS3X setup to set the receiver orientation and assigned some initial gains.

From there, I wanted to be able to turn the gyro on and off and so assigned F-Mode within the AS3X setup to Aux 7 and switch D (assigned in channel assign menu also) and then set the Fixed/Adjustable gains to “Fixed” for all switch positions. Lastly, I set the gains in the AS3X Settings menu set to 0 for switch position 1 (AS3X off) and then set to the F-16 gains that I noted from the previous receiver in the other switch positions (2&3). That was more or less it, but it does take a little patience to get the switch setup working as desired. Also, it’s important to verify that the gyro is working properly, so check and double check once it’s all setup.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Well, I think that about covers it. As I mentioned at the beginning, having more channels available when programming a model is always a nice thing to have and when you start getting into more advanced programming, it’s a necessity. I’ve really been liking these new Smart receivers and now having a readily available 10 channel receiver means that will likely be my go-to receiver going forward. Until next time, I’ll see you at the field!

Scale Squadron Warbirds & Classics 2021

Mon, 10 Jan 2022 04:00:57 GMT

Good times and Warbird Flying are back!

Needless to say, the last year and a half plus has been hard on all of us. With so many of our normal routines and activities disrupted, it has only brought that many more challenges it seems. This hobby is not just about the airplanes and flying, it is about the friends and comradery that can be enjoyed together with others as well. So, when the Scale Squadron's Warbirds & Classics came up again this year after being cancelled in 2020, I was beyond excited to go; it had been almost 2 years since the last event I went to!

If you're unaware, the event takes place at the OCMA field near Irvine Lake. The backdrop at the location is fantastic making for great pictures and video and the runway is 600 ft of pure paved goodness. While the event has taken place in early June in years past, this year came up in mid July based on the timing of when events were allowed again. This provided us a nice and sunny weekend that did get a bit hot in the afternoons. Regardless, the heat didn't preclude anyone from getting all the flying in that they could handle!

There's always a really great collection of airplanes at the event and this year was no exception. There was a great showing as a whole with nearly 70 registered pilots and easily over 100+ aircraft. Here's a collection of pictures from the event.

Leading up to the event, I was eagerly working to get the r efinished Freewing Flir Cat all weathered up and finished to take out there (mission accomplished!). Additionally, I couldn't wait to get more flights in with the Legend Hobby Skyraider and dust off my Jet Hangar A-7 Corsair II as well! The heat was pretty harsh on the Tomcat and so I only got about 4 flights on it through the weekend and kept it covered and in the shade otherwise. However, the Skyraider was on ready alert for many a Sandy mission throughout the weekend along with the A-7 as well.

I love to feature the creativity of other scale modelers and there's always some wonderful models to be able to feature at the event. So, to finish up, here's selection of the videos from the event from my YouTube channel .

Giant Scale 'Lady Alice' P-51 Mustang (CARF-Model) - Built and flown by Tim Cardin, this beautiful P-51 Mustang was built from a CARF-Models kit and painted up as Dr. Ken Wagner's 'Lady Alice'. The model is powered by a DA 100i inline twin swinging a Mejzlik 26x14 propeller.

New Paragraph

Giant 122" Scale P-47 Razorback (Don Smith Plans) - The shear size of this P-47 doesn't come through in pictures, it was massive! The model was nicely built and detailed by Brian Young from enlarged Don Smith plans (122" wingspan). It was powered with a 3W 220cc 4-cylinder engine which had had a pleasant sound that suited the model well.

Giant Scale Nakajima Ki-43 Oscar (Hangar 9) with Saito Radial Engine - Flow by Ken McSpadden this was the first time I'd seen one of these fly and it was a really sweet flying and looking ARF warbird. Ken had the Saito FG-90 3-cylinder radial powering the airplane and it really sounded and performed great!

Giant 1/3 Scale N2S-3 Stearman Biplane (Balsa USA) - This 1/3 scale N2S-3 was gorgeous! The model was built from a Balsa USA kit and was wonderfully detailed (including rib stitching). The more you looked at the model, the more detail you saw on it. To top it off, the model was powered by a Moki 250cc 5-cylinder radial engine which sounded incredible!

Large Scale F8F Bearcat (Bates Plans) with Saito Radial Engine - This was a really nicely built F8F Bearcat. Built by David Zagnoli, the model was built from Nick Ziroli plans and was nicely finished with panel lines and rivets (about 20,000 of them!). The model was powered by a Saito FA-450R3 3-cylinder radial engine which flew it well and sounded great! Oh, and the model featured the scale folding gear just like the full size (made by sierra giant) which were sweet!

Refinish a Foam Jet Ep 4 – Freewing F-14 Tomcat Low-Viz Navy Weathering

Wed, 24 Nov 2021 21:55:57 GMT

Refinish a Foam Jet Ep 4 – Freewing F-14 Tomcat Low-Viz Navy Weathering

How low can you go?…a little low-viz Tomcat weathering.

Finishing up the refinish work on the Freewing F-14 Tomcat, it’s time to apply some characteristic low-viz Navy weathering. The Flir Cat paint scheme is from the mid 90’s at a time when the Tomcats in service were painted primarily in Dark Ghost Grey (FS36320) with variations thereof. They were high maintenance workhorses at this time and the aircraft got extremely dirty during operation. This opens up lots of opportunities to apply different weathering techniques on the airplane to simulate those years of service on the carrier.

While I have done a few videos on weathering, it’s such an important step in the completion of a scale model in what ultimately gives it that realism you otherwise wouldn’t get. That being said, there is always a balance because too much weathering and the model will look toy-ish just the same without it. So, my MO for weathering is “less is more.” To understand how aircraft dirty up in operation, it’s best to look at pictures of the full size and see where the dirt and grime accumulates most. In the case of the late operation F-14 Tomcats, they were quite a mess. They faded dramatically and had regular touchups on the ship. So, as a result you ended up with mottled paint in addition to a significant amount of dirt, oil, and grime that collected everywhere. This actually quite difficult to simulate effectively, and while I don’t plan to go excessive with it, we can still get something that looks right and not overdone.

TOOLS OF THE TRADE

As we approach weathering, my goal is to “simulate, not replicate.” That’s the best we can do since we’re not going to operate our models in the salty sea air for years on end. Ultimately, the best weathering process is the one that provides you with the results you’re looking for and there’s no one way to simulate weathering. It’s a process of employing different techniques and tools and there can be different ways to accomplish the same result even. For me, I like to use a selection of acrylic pigments along with Tamiya Acrylic thinner for washes and oil streaks (you could conceivably use tamiya acrylic paint too) and a Grex airbrush for fading and shading, and a fine Scotch-Brite pad for blending it all together.

I regularly leverage plastic model paints and the like in this process as well, but it’s important first to have a good solid paint foundation for the application of the weathering. This is why I like to use a lacquer clear coat generally as most any type of paint will go over it in the weathering process and protect the underlying paint job underneath.

STEP 1: WASHES AND OIL STAINS

The weathering process starts with the application of oil stains and streaks across the entire airframe. The Tomcats of the late 90’s were extremely weathered and worn resulting from their long career and the continuous maintenance required to keep them operating. To apply oil streaks/stains, I use a combination of FolkArt Raw Umber and Black acrylic pigments. The Raw Umber being a nice dark brown was the primary color leveraged with the black used for accents, etc. (the black can be a bit overpowering on its own) To make the stains/streaks, some pigment was applied to the surface in a desired location along a panel line using a paint brush and a paper towel was used to lightly streak/rub the applied pigment back in the direction of the airflow (vertically for fuselage surfaces). This was repeated as necessary to get the desired look with different applications of paint put down. With the F-14 Tomcat, pictures revealed a good assortment of streaking along the underside of the engine nacelles. Additionally, there was quite a bit of collection along the wings and even the upper fuselage. Using a little artistic license, the streaks were applied until achieving the desired overall look. The nice thing with the acrylics is that, if the desired look isn’t attained the first time, simply soak a paper towel with Tamiya Acrylic thinner and wipe it over the area and it will clean it right up. When going through this process, having some reference pictures is quite helpful as that reveals the typical collection areas along the aircraft where you can focus heavier and/or lighter as needed.

STEP 2: PANEL LINE SHADING

With all of the oil stains and streaks applied, using some very thinned down Enamel “Flat Black,” a quick airbrush shading was applied over all of the panel lines on the model. A light shading is applied and once dry burnished down with a fine Scotch-Brite pad . Burnishing the model down is critical to help even out and blend the layers together because otherwise the black shading will likely come across too harsh. The end result provides the illusion of accumulated grime along the panels and adds some color variation as well.

Also through the process, some long strokes were made in the direction of the airflow along the wings and fuselage to help in creating the mottled appearance the low viz Navy Tomcats had. It’s important to note that this technique as a whole should be applied very lightly and subtly as it is very easy to overdo and apply the black shading too heavily. That said, the scotch-brite process can solve most of that if it occurs if you choose to burnish it long enough.

While spraying the black, the wing glove interfacing areas along the wing were shaded. The wings were inserted onto the fuselage and with the top wing glove hatch in place, the wings were swept and taped off along the wing glove interface. From there, the area was lightly shaded to create the grease area that collected from the wing sweep. Once shaded, the tape was removed and the wing glove was pressed down onto the wing and the wing was rotated in and out to create streaks that occur from the seals rubbing along the wings while they sweep.

STEP 3: PANEL FADING

In researching Tomcat pictures, it’s apparent that there was quite a bit of surface fading that occurred along the Tomcat as a whole. The salt air environment is quite harsh and panels were also regularly touched up as well. The result is color variation along panels as well as mottling (uneven fading) along the aircraft as a whole. To simulate this, the Dark Ghost Gray base color was lightened with white and thinned way down and the centers of the panels were airbrushed with that in a couple different ways. First off, the centers of most of the panels were lightly faded using the airbrush. Not all panels had this applied just to provide a little more color variation.

From there, various spots were randomly airbrushed around the airframe within the centers of the panels (especially within the larger panels) to create a mottled type of look as well. Lastly, to finish it off, for some of the larger panels (wings and tails mostly), long strokes were randomly applied in the direction of the airflow for the wings and vertically for the tails to provide additional color variation. There is a considerable amount of artistic license taken in this process, but the effect when done right can be extremely convincing. Once all applied, the airframe was burnished down once again with the fine Scotch-Brite pad for a final blending of all of the layers and that finished up the weathering application.

STEP 4: BLENDING IT ALL TOGETHER

Once happy with it all, a final flat clear coat was sprayed over the entire airframe using Rustoleum 2x matte clear and she was done! Stepping back and looking at the finished Tomcat, I’m super stoked with the result. All of the work put in really pays off in the finish and the combination of the washes and the shading really portray a realistic finish. You’d never know the airplane was foam to look at it.

FINAL THOUGHTS

At last, this F-14 Tomcat project is completed, now all that’s left is to get her flown in her final colors. The weathering process really is what brings a scale project to life and is a process that I thoroughly enjoy. This Tomcat project took a bit longer than anticipated, but life happens as they say. No matter how long a project though, they’re always completed with a sigh of relief and satisfaction. Now that the airplane is done, to finish up this series, we’ll give a flight and talk through the final setup and tweaks that were made in the programing since my review of a few years ago. So, until then, I’ll see you at the field!

Refinish a Foam Jet Ep 3 – Freewing F-14 Tomcat Paint, Markings, & Panel Lines

Wed, 24 Nov 2021 21:36:42 GMT

Refinish a Foam Jet Ep 3 – Freewing F-14 Tomcat Paint, Markings, & Panel Lines

Making the Flir Cat…Tomcat nose art FTW!

In my previous articles, we talked about the refinish process and making a highly detailed cockpit for the Freewing F-14. Now, it’s time for paint! I will say, I have a love/hate relationship with painting models. Most of the time, I love it, but when there are issues that arise, that’s when I hate it, haha! However, being patient, having the right materials and ensuring the proper preparation is done can usually keep those issues to a minimum, but sometimes you just have to improvise. In this case, the vinyl markings I had made decided to curl up and not want to stick to the airframe which had me thinking all of the markings would need to be completely replaced. As it turned out, at the suggestion of a friend, a little low temp heat with an iron cured the issue (saving huge time and aggravation) and all was right with the world again!

In painting a model, one must first choose a paint scheme of course and this not something I take lightly. :p I knew that I wanted to do something different and rarely modeled and that I also wanted to do a later low viz Navy scheme because it would be fun to weather (they got crazy dirty). In my research, I found a scheme from VF-103 dawning a unique and rare nose art carrying the moniker of “Flir Cat.” As it turned out, this aircraft was used in 1995 to prove out the LANTIRN pod integration and was the first to drop bombs from the Tomcat platform which paved the way for the F-14 “BombCat” which proved quite effective. That’s not to mention too that the aircraft was flown in part by Capt. Dale “Snort” Snodgrass (highest flight time Tomcat pilot ever) as a part of the testing which provided additional appeal. So, it was decided, Flir Cat she will be!

A quick note regarding the Flir Cat nose art. While nose art was a regular occurrence on bombers in WWII, it’s since become a rare thing to see, especially on the more modern fighter jets. The Flir Cat artwork itself was designed and painted by artist PEL during his service in the Navy in the mid 90’s. He chose the artwork color scheme from each side based off of graffiti color palettes of the day and had to use different colors on each side for the lettering due to having an insufficient quantity of paint for both sides (hence the two different colors of font left to right).

THE PAINT PROCESS

A good paint job starts with a good foundation which is what is done during the refinish and primer process . Once the desired smoothness and finish was achieved through the primer/sand/primer process, the model was wet sanded with 600 grit sand paper in preparation for the first paint color. (note, when wet sanding be careful not to create too much friction/heat to avoid light gatoring). In the case of the Flir Cat, it is all Dark Ghost Grey (FS36320) with some Engine Grey (FS36076) trim and markings. While this made painting fairly easy, getting markings the exact color were going to be a challenge, but I had a solution for that which is discussed further down.

To paint the model, Tamiya AS spray paints were used all around. I love to leverage spray paints as it’s just generally easier to deal with having little to no clean up. Tamiya AS-28 “medium grey” was used for the Dark Ghost Grey base color and was applied over the entire airframe. This color was used as I’ve found it’s a more accurate representation of the Dark Ghost Grey color than the Tamiya AS-25 “dark ghost grey” paint actually is.

From there, the Engine Grey colors along the canopy trim and tail were masked and painted. Tamiya AS-4 Grey Violet was used in the absence of the availability of a dedicated “Engine Grey” in the brand which proved to be a good representation of the FS36076 color. To mask the lines along the canopy, strips of green Frog Tape were cut at about 1/2″ width and applied along the canopy and fuselage in the desired shape from the nose tip to behind the canopy.

In painting the tail flash, a paper template was made from a scaled up decal sheet to use as a guide for taping. It was lightly taped in place and 1/8″ strips of Frog Tape were cut using a straight edge and Xacto knife and applied along the paper template to match the shape. By cutting the frog tape into smaller strips, it allows bending and curving the tape much easier. The border was taped in the same manner, however 1/16″ strips of tape were cut and applied all around the 1/8″ tape border to use as a guide and 1/8″ stripes were taped around it. Once in place, the 1/16″ strip was removed so that area could receive paint. The frog tape creates a nice clean line, but it is important to ensure that it’s pressed down well. Running your finger along the tape line usually works sufficiently, but areas where there are 3d features (light fairings, etc) require a bit more care.

To finish off the look, the exhaust nozzles were masked in the same manner as mentioned previously airbrushed using ALCLAD II aluminum and dark aluminum . Additionally, very thin black paint was used to darken the base and add some shading to get the more characteristic F-14B nozzle look based on pictures

MAKING & APPLYING MARKINGS

I knew from the get go that in order for this scheme to work, the markings had to match the Engine Grey color painted on the airframe. However, knowing that paint adhesion can be an issue with EPO foam, I didn’t want to go the full vinyl cut paint mask route for fear of pulling up the undersurface when peeling the masks off. So, the solution was to design and cut the markings out of vinyl and paint them with the AS-4 Grey Violet before applying them onto the model. The challenge came in how to accomplish the small white lettering to which I used a new to me silk-screen paint mask process which worked out perfectly.

DESIGNING & CUTTING

While a bit antiquated software, CorelDraw was used to design the markings. Being primarily lettering and basic shapes, it was a fairly quick process. Plus, I had a plastic model set of Flir Cat decals, so the markings were essentially traced and scaled to the size of the Freewing F-14. All of the markings were printed to check the size against the model and then individually scaled as needed to get the right look. Once ready (and the small letter details removed that couldn’t be cut), the markings were cut on a PrizmCut vinyl cutter using standard white vinyl. The cut markings were then painted with Tamiya AS-4 in preparation for application on the model. Note that the nose art itself was commissioned to a friend’s sister who does graphic art on the side and then sent to Callie-Graphics to be print and cut. Given the intricacy of that type of art, having it commissioned saved a ton of time and allowed focusing on the other markings. Please note that I’ve actually done a previous discussion on making your own markings which is here (video below).

SILK-SCREEN SMALL LETTER PAINT MASKS

The one drawback with vinyl cutters is that they can only cut so small. This can usually be worked around by printing decals…except when we’re talking light colored lettering applied over a dark background which we have here. In that case, a self printed decal doesn’t work. Well, I had discovered a silk-screen paint mask making process that would allow painting the white lettering and so this was the perfect place to give it a try.

To make the silk-screen paint masks, the hi-def starter kit from ezscreenprint.com was utilized. Following the directions, the lettering was printed onto a transparency slide in black, placed over the screen print material with an exposure board behind it and then exposed to the sun for the recommended time. From there, the screen material was placed in water and the areas behind lettering dissolve away leaving behind a very fine flow through mesh of just the lettering that can be used as a paint mask. The material was allowed to dry fully and cut down into separate pieces and subsequently used to paint the appropriate lettering over the necessary markings using an airbrush spraying flat white paint. The result couldn’t have worked out better! The nice thing is that it gives a very authentic uneven look which I just how it would appear on the full sized aircraft. I’ll ultimately need to do a full video on this as I see it being a process that I’ll use quite a bit in the future.

Once all of the markings were ready, they were applied onto the airframe. Transfer tape was used to keep them in place as they were transferred onto the model. Once on, the model was actually assembled and flown for an event (it looks great in the air! video below). The color scheme really came together in the end. Interestingly, following the flights the edges of the vinyl markings started curling up for some unknown reason. Not fully knowing what I would do to resolve it (was thinking I’d have to re-do all of the markings), a friend of mine mentioned applying low heat to try and activate the glue underneath. This ended up working out beautifully and solved the issue. I simply used a monokote iron with the heat turned as low as it could go and applied the iron over each for a few seconds to avoid overheating the foam. That’s all it took and the markings tacked down and haven’t curled up since.

ADDING PANEL LINES

To apply panel lines to the surface, they were simply applied using a mechanical pencil. This works excellent in this case because the pencil lines when applied, are darker than the colors on the airplane. So, as a result, you can get a really fine and convincing looking panel line on the surface. A mechanical pencil with a 0.5mm diameter lead was used with a medium-hard lead to avoid smears as you handle the airplane and avoid applying panel lines too heavily.

A mechanical pencil with a 0.5mm diameter lead was used with a medium-hard lead to avoid smears as you handle the airplane and avoid applying panel lines too heavily. In applying the pencil lines, a selection of various sizes of straight edges, flexible rulers, and Frog Tape were used as needed to lay the panel lines down across the Flir Cat airframe. A 3-view drawing (a diagram from a plastic model works well) was used as a guide so that the essence of what’s shown on the drawing could be transferred onto the Freewing airframe. As needed to be able to apply lines around some of the complex curves, smaller strips of Frog Tape were cut and applied as needed and used as a guide for drawing panel lines. Being of smaller width, the Frog Tape can be stretched and curved much more easily for complex shapes and curves (the same as was done for painting). Lastly, a selection of circle and square templates were used in drawing out some of the access panels and the like.

To help with some of the unique and more complex shapes along the wings (and save time), templates were made and used to lay out the panel lines in those areas. Using a multi-view drawing, the areas of interest were enlarged in powerpoint, printed, taped together, spray glued onto some thin card stock, and then cut out with an Xacto knife and a straight edge. From there, they were laid over the surface and simply traced using the pencil. This saved a great deal of time and simplified things quite a bit left to right as well. Templates were used for the upper wing spoiler lines, lower leading edge detail panels, and the upper fuselage speed brake.

To protect the applied panel lines during the weathering process, a light clear coat was applied over the model using Rustoleum 2x Matte Clear . It’s a light dusting and was applied to protect the pencil lines during the weathering process. Otherwise, the panel lines would smear and fade away during weathering. Note that any clear coat should work, but I recommend a non-yellowing one (which the Rustoleum is) to avoid the color yellowing over time from sun exposure.

FINAL THOUGHTS

At last, the Flir Cat is painted and ready for the weathering process! I’m quite ecstatic at how the model has come out and it should really come together when it’s all weathered up. In painting the airplane, the use of spray cans sure makes cleanup an easy prospect which I like and with the single color over the airframe, sure makes things simple too. About 6 cans of the AS-28 medium grey were used total. On the markings, having the complete control over all of it is certainly nice, but it does take a bit of work. However, to get the right colors, that’s what was needed here and I’m excited about the new silk-screen paint mask option. That opens all sorts of possibilities in the future. Until next time when we dirty up this Tomcat, I’ll see you at the field!

Refinish A Foam Jet Ep 2 - Freewing F-14 Tomcat Cockpit 3D Printing, Painting and Moving Pilots

Mon, 27 Sep 2021 16:37:37 GMT

Refinish A Foam Jet Ep 2 - Freewing F-14 Tomcat Cockpit 3D Printing, Painting and Moving Pilots

Are you looking at me?!

In the process of getting the Freewing F-14 ready for paint , a full cockpit had to be built. I had peeled off the canopy while working on the preparation and realized that it was the primary structural member for the hatch. So, since the canopy was off, it was the perfect time to build a nice cockpit for this refinished Tomcat. I designed up a few parts in CAD, 3d printed and painted them and then installed it all into the stock cockpit tub. The result completely changed the look of the cockpit and once painted really added to the realism considerably. Oh, and I figured it would be a good chance to show making pilots with movable heads also. :)

A nice cockpit is something that really changes the looks of a scale model. For me, it's part of the build process I've always enjoyed, though I don't always go to the extent of completely redoing a cockpit. Even just some simple additions and a little painting is all that is needed. But, if there's nothing out there available for the subject you're working on, then it's time to scratch build it. I've been leveraging 3D printing more and more for that which is the process I took for the F-14 cockpit including the pilots.

A LITTLE CAD DESIGN & 3D PRINTING

Generally, the cockpit is an area that tends to get glossed over on most foam aircraft and the Freewing F-14 is no exception. Mostly, it's a lack of detail and the tendency to reuse the same pilots that may or may not be the correct scale to the airplane. So, to rectify that, I designed in CAD some detailed instrument panels and seats more representative of the full scale airplane and downloaded a new pilot model from CG Trader to use as well.

CAD design is most definitely a process and sometimes, just physically crafting/scratch-building something is easier. However, in the case of the F-14, I had already outlined some cockpit profiles resulting from the Jet Hangar twin 70mm F-14 I helped with which helped shortcut the design process. This gave me the basic 2D profiles to then create the 3D models from. I like to use Rhino 3D and so I used a series of extrusion and sweep functions to create each of the objects as necessary to create the final assemblies for the seat and instrument panels.

The final CAD models were 3D Printed on an Anycubic Mono X SLA printer which uses a liquid resin that is cured by UV light. This type of printer is capable of extremely fine resolution prints that result in high detail parts that look on the order of a plastic model. It is a messy and smelly process compared to the typical FDM type prints, but the results are quite incredible when it's all setup correctly. So, two seats, the forward and aft clusters as well as two pilots were printed out of SLA resin.

MAKING A MOVING PILOT

Going through the effort, I thought it would be fun to add moving heads to the 3D printed pilots. The pilot design had a parachute on the back, so it was first required to dremel that off just to get the pilot to fit into the stock cockpit. This worked out well because having the back open allowed for ease of access to install a micro servo that would actuate the head. After clearing additional space within the pilot body to fit the servo (used a dremel here also), an HS-40 micro servo was tack glued into place into the pilot body with medium CA. A servo arm was glued onto the end of a carbon arrow shaft which was used to align the servo in the body such that the arrow shaft was centered within the pilots neck. Once aligned, hot glue was used to fill in any space around the servo to ensure it is secured in place. To finish it all up, the arrow shaft was trimmed as needed and the pilot head was glued onto the arrow shaft allowing just a small gap between the head and the body so that the head can freely rotate with the servo. It's not a hard process, but allow time to ensure everything is in good alignment so that there's no binding anywhere. Once pilots were all painted, the heads were placed onto the bodies and then placed into the cockpit.

COCKPIT DETAIL PAINTING

PILOT PAINTING

The final step of course is painting (my favorite part!). Being the lazy painter that I am, I like to leverage spray paints whenever I can and so the base colors on all of the parts were spray painted first. The instrument panels were spray painted AS-11 medium sea gray , the seats were spray painted flat black, the pilot bodies AS-14 Olive Green , and the helmets AS-20, insignia white . From there, all of the detail colors were brush painted. On the pilot, the details were painted with a combination of Olive Drab for the g-suit and dark gray for the straps.

Once all of the primary painting is done some dry brushing was done on the pilot suit and details which really helped add a some extra dimension and realism to the pilot. If you're not familiar with dry brushing as a technique, it is the act of taking a brush that has had most of the paint wiped off of it with a paper towel and then brushing it over a model. What it does is leave a small amount of residual paint over highlighted areas and gives the illusion of added depth to details. For pilot painting, I like to use a little bit of the base color that was used for painting onto the back of a paper cup, mix in a little white, and then use that lightened color to dry brush over that base color that I used on the pilot. That lightens all of the highlights on the pilot and really makes it look notably better. Experiment with different colors and/or mix ratios to get the desired look. Dry brushing is a very handy technique to have in your arsenal and is something you can use quite a bit. There are additional things you can do to add even more realism to pilots like oil paint washes and such, but that's not something I've played with much. There are some good tutorials on that over at Aces of Iron .

EJECTION SEATS & INSTRUMENT PANELS

The ejections seats were painted much the same as the pilots spraying a base color of black and then brush painting all of the remaining colors. The seat cushions were painted olive drab and strips of yellow were painted on the ejection pull handles to get the barber pole stripe look. To finish it up, dry brushing was used to bring out the printed details.

The instrument panels were spray painted a base gray color and then all of the instrument bezels and such were brush painted flat black per reference pictures. To make the instruments, a drawing found on the web was used and scaled to the size of the model and printed onto some laser printable white vinyl . Each of the instruments were individually cut out using sharpened brass tubes or a sharp Xacto knife and straight edge as necessary. Once cut, the backing was peeled off and the instruments were carefully placed one at a time. Placing them on the tip of an Xacto knife allowed minimal contact for placement versus trying to use just your fingers. The drawing used was full color which add some nice dimension to the look though I can't attest to the accuracy of some of it.

PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER

With all of the individual parts painted, it's a matter of putting it all together into the cockpit tub. The tub was first painted and dry brushed and then some Gaffer's tape was cut, painted Olive Drab and placed over the instrument panel hoods to simulate the canvas coverings in the full scale airplane. From there, each of the pieces were glued into place with CA starting with the instrument panels and seat backs and finishing up with the pilots. For added assurance, a screw was used to help hold each of the pilots firmly in place through the seat bottom. Note that slots were necessary to feed the servo wires through and then a Random Servo Motion Generator was used to move each of the pilot heads randomly. The final touch was to add clear HUD glass on the front panel using some clear sheet styrene.

FINAL THOUGHTS

The nice thing about this hobby is that it can be as much or as little as we want it to be. For me, I love modeling all of the intricate details and making things look as real as I can. However, it doesn't require going to the extent here to get good results for a cockpit refresh. A little paint work and maybe a pilot upgrade can do wonders and doesn’t require all that much work. However far you decide to go, have fun and enjoy the process as the work is always worth the end result. Until next time when we paint, I'll see you at the field!

The post Refinish A Foam Jet Ep 1 – Freewing F-14 Tomcat Assembly Mods & Paint Prep appeared first on The RC Geek .

Refinish A Foam Jet Ep 1 - Freewing F-14 Tomcat Assembly Mods & Paint Prep

Mon, 27 Sep 2021 16:37:10 GMT

Fill…sand…poly…sand…primer…sand…aaaannnnddd repeat…

You've probably figured out by now, I have many favorite aircraft. ;) However, if I was to put together my top 5 favorite aircraft of all time, the F-14 Tomcat would probably be at or near the top of that list. The airplane was one of brute force, but packaged in an elegant and distinct looking airframe that truly personified its name, Tomcat. And that's not to mention, it was an extremely capable fighter that filled many roles through the years that operated from the early/mid 70's into the mid 2000s.

So, after putting together my Freewing twin 80mm F-14 Tomcat review a few years ago, I always wanted to come back to that airframe and give it a good refinish. To date, it is still one of my favorite Freewing aircraft and I regretted letting the one go that I had. So I decided it was time to revisit this model and picked up an ARF plus along with some Freewing 9-blade fan systems for a special refinish. This really has been a few years in the making.

The end goal with this refinish is to build the airplane into a low vis Navy camouflage. Though, I do like the more colorful schemes of the 70s and early 80s, there's just something about a dirtied up ghost gray painted cat from their later years of service to me.

Seeing as though I've already reviewed the model (albeit a few years old now, but still valid!), let's jump right into it! The first item of business in the refinish is filler. The process I employ hasn't changed much since my foam warbird refinish series from a few years ago. However, in recent years, I've strayed away from stripping the paint like I had showed. I've found that the stock paints tend to provide a nice base to work over and take the filler well after a light sanding with some 180 grit sand paper . Also, it saves time and mess which are both wins! Please note that I'm currently using Sherwin Williams Light Weight Spackle for filler. I've found that it's a really smooth spackle that sands quite nicely. As I understand, the previous balsa filler I had used before is now no longer being made.

With the filler, all of the panel lines and other imperfections were filled with a squeegee and/or putty knife and subsequently sanded smooth with a small sanding block with 180 grit sand paper on it. The primary purpose of the filler here is to fill in all of the panel lines and any other imperfections. One question I get regularly is why fill in the panel lines? The reason is to smooth out the airframe as the panel lines are just too large for scale. So, by filling and smoothing them out and then adding them back later after paint, you get a much more realistic looking finish. I will say that many of the newer foam aircraft designs are coming with generally thinner panel lines which is nice to see, so in those cases filling may not be necessary, so it's kind of a case by case depending on the model. Please note that for the servo wire troughs in the wings, I simply just filled them in. I figure I can always splice in a new servo if necessary at a later date without having to remove the wires completely. Another option is to tape over them with aluminum tape and/or vinyl too should once choose.

A LITTLE POLYCRYLIC…

With all of the filling and sanding completed, the entire airframe was sealed with 3-4 coats of minwax polycrylic which serves multiple purposes. First of all, since the filler is porous, the polycrylic seals all of the porosity and provides a great base for applying primer and paint. In addition, the polycrylic dries hard and so creates a hardened surface that allows for all of the final prep work to be applied to which also stiffens the airframe. The stiffening of the airframe really helps in flight actually as the airframe will be less susceptible to atmospheric disturbances.

PRIMER, SAND, REPEAT

The final step in the process is to apply multiple coats of primer, sanding in between coats with 180 grit sandpaper. This process is what ultimately smooths and evens out the airframe surface and provides the fiberglass like finish. The primer serves to fill the micro voids created by the foam and so by building up and sanding multiple layers of primer, the primer is able to build up in low spots as the surfaces as sanded. There is no shortcut to this process (i.e. spraying all the primer coats at once and then sanding that once) and the smoothness is ultimately a function of how many layers of primer are applied and sanded. In this case, I used Dupli-Color Filler primer (good stuff!!) and applied and sanded 4 coats of primer with the final coat being wet sanded with 600 grit sand paper in preparation for paint.

It's important to note that for larger voids that the primer wasn't filling sufficiently, 3m glazing putty was used to fill them. Since the glazing putty is harder than the underlying surface, it's important to be careful not to generate too much heat while sanding as this can cause the foam to swell. So, when sanding the glazing putty (if applied), lightly sand it and alternate areas so as you go is my recommendation.

A FEW MODIFICATIONS & IMPROVEMENTS

The nice thing with a refinish is that you can fix things that you aren't happy with out of the box. In the case of the F-14, there were a couple of things I was never happy with on the stock airframe. Most notably, the canopy hatch fit and the over wing hatch fairing fit. Here's a rundown on the modifications that were made in the process of this refinish.

MOVEABLE TAILHOOK

I was able to locate a 10ch Spektrum receiver for this refinish which meant that I had an extra channel available. So, I figured a moveable tail hook would be a good option and something easy to do since nary a channel can be left unused! It's important for something like a tail hook that could strike the ground on landing for it to be spring loaded to save the servo. To actuate the stock hook, a pushrod was made with a solder clevis on one end (the hook itself is easily made movable once the glue joint is popped free at the fuselage near the hook end). A control horn was made out of 1/32" plywood and glued to the base of the hook on the upper surface which the clevis was then connected to. For the servo, a Hitec Hs-82 servo was used with a Dubro EZ-Connector installed on the servo arm (was installed into the foam at the aft of the belly hatch area). A 1/16" wheel collar was installed onto the pushrod followed by a ball point pen spring and then the pushrod was pushed through the EZ connector. To capture it in place, a wheel collar was installed on the exposed push rod end on the other side of the EZ connector. Adjustment of the tension of the spring, is achieved by simply adjusting the location of the wheel collar keeping the spring in place.

ESC AREA COVER AND COOLING

I was never happy with the stock perforated cover in the area between the engine nacelles/inlets where the ESCs resided. So, to rectify that, I laid up a piece of fiberglass sheet (showed that in a live stream when I first started the project) and inserted a pair of NACA inlets. Additionally, heat sinks were placed on each of the ESCs with a small hole cut into the inlet near the fan face to help draw air over the cooling fins. The fiberglass cover itself was simply tack glued in place to allow easy enough access when needed (the receiver resides in the forward section of the area).

CANOPY HATCH CLEANUP AND RECONFIGURING

Another area I was never keen on was the forward canopy/battery hatch and the associated fit. While it provided a good amount of access for the dual 6s batteries, the fit was pretty poor. So, to solve that, the large rear section of the hatch was glued in place with CA and a new hatch line was cut in with an Xacto knife. The canopy lines were followed to keep a consistent look and the vertical cut was placed along a panel line in the fuselage. Filler was used to blend any unsightly seams and it was then sanded smooth. The result is a significantly better fitting and looking hatch that still provides plenty of access. Please note that the battery fit was checked prior to making this mod. I'm using Roaring Top 6250 mah packs which require being pushed as far back as feasible. Foam was cleared as necessary to be able to push the packs all the way to the carry through spar.

OVERWING HATCH & WING GLOVE FIT

On the subject of fit, since we're cleaning things up, it was work cleaning up the overwing hatch and wing interfaces for a cleaner fit. To accomplish this, frog tape was place at the interfacing locations between the fuselage fairings and the wings (extended position) and the filler was placed to fill the gaps and then sanded smooth once dry. The filler won't stick to the frog tape, so you can lift up the hatch and the wings after it's dry. The result really cleans up the wing glove area around the wings with the wings extended.

MAIN WHEEL COVERS

I was really avoiding doing a full reconfiguring of the landing gear to rotating mains with gear doors (more work than I wanted to spend), so I covered the opening where the main gear tuck up into the fuselage with a piece of 1/16" balsa wood and smoothed out the intersections with filler. While it doesn't cover the gear completely, it does help hide a portion of the tire. The hope is that this combined with the wing glove pylons will help hide the tires in most angles.

LANDING GEAR REINFORCEMENTS

The final item of business was to beef up the landing gear a bit. There's not much structure around the main landing gear mounts and so over time, the foam can start go get soft which results in free play on the gear. So, I embedded a 3/8" diameter carbon tube above and behind the main gear mounts. A trough was cut into the foam and the tubes were then epoxied into place with 5 minute epoxy and micro-balloons. Note that the upper tube was placed from the rear of the wing carry through spar to a about 4 inches past the gear mounts while the lower tube was placed at the aft edge of the mount to about 4-6 inches aft. This was easy to do and really increase the structural rigidity of the gear.

FINAL THOUGHTS

The beauty in something like this as it allows you to fix things you may not otherwise be happy with. Plus, the refinish process completely changes a model giving it a more realistic look which really makes it worth it. In the process of all of this, I actually built a whole new cockpit, so in our next refinish installment, we'll talk about that including making 3d printed pilots with moveable heads. Until then, I'll see you at the field!

E-flite Viper 90mm EDF Jet Assembly & Flight Review

Tue, 31 Aug 2021 17:08:00 GMT

If the E-flite Viper 70mm EDF is great, then the E-flite Viper 90mm EDF is even greater-er!

The Viper Jet as a design is about as a perfectly proportioned jet for a model as one can get. It flies well on the wing giving it a really wide speed envelope while also having a nicely sized empennage that helps keep it stable and responsive on the controls. So, it's no surprise that it's been a popular subject within the jet community for a while as they are great flying models and the E-flite Viper 90mm EDF is no exception! I can only imagine how nicely the full scale Viper Jet flies!

The E-flite Viper 90mm EDF stems from the lineage of the E-flite Viper 70mm EDF which has been my go to recommendation as a first jet since first flying it a few years ago. The primary differences are of course size, but also some additional accoutrements in the form of lights, shock absorbing landing gear, gear doors, and full Smart telemetry. In terms of performance, they both offer a similar flight envelope while the 90mm flies bigger and heavier having overall more speed and vertical performance.

AIRCRAFT ASSEMBLY NOTES

The E-Flite Viper 90mm is a good sized model that comes well packed and assembles quickly. Assembly begins with installation of the horizontal tail which is held in place by two screws. From there, the wings slide into place over two carbon spars and are held with two screws in each wing. The ventral fins are clipped into place, the model rolled over and the vertical tail installed being held with three screws. Once together, the winglets are clipped onto the wing tips which completes the assembly. The fit of all of the parts was great and the assembly was a breeze.

With the airplane together on the bench, it is a very nice looking model and the size of it really becomes apparent once together. The paint scheme is a red version of the 70mm which looks good and is well executed as well. There is a nice large canopy hatch with significant space for an assortment of batteries. With the size of the aircraft and the battery space available, Spektrum 6s 7000mah Smart batteries are a no brainer for flight time and performance. :) Lastly, yhe design features a nice clean inlet system which means no auxiliary air grates in the fuselage and translates into greater efficiency in flight.

AIRCRAFT SETUP & CG

For the aircraft setup, this is the bind and fly version of which means that it includes SAFE select as well as the full Smart telemetry. If you’re using some of the newer NX radios , setting up SAFE can be simplified through assigning it in the forward programming menus. It requires selecting the desired channel to SAFE and then going into the channel assign menus and assigning that channel to your desired switch for SAFE. This really makes things easy and also allows you to turn on and off AS3X even should you choose.

For the control surface setup, I found that I preferred my mid rates all around which equate to the following deflections:

As previously mentioned, E-flite Viper 90mm EDF has a nice large battery area in the forward fuselage which allows for higher capacity batteries to be used for good flight times. While smaller capacity packs can be used, I prefer to fly the model with Spektrum Smart 6s 7000 mah batteries . This easily provides 4+ minute flight times and the model handles the weight easily.

In terms of the CG, I started with the recommended location is a good place to start. I ultimately moved the CG back a touch which equates to 115mm as measured from the wing root leading edge aft. At this location, the 7000mah battery resides about 1.5″ forward of the receiver mounting plate in the battery area. Note that I’m just CGing the airplane with my fingertips right side up with the gear down and it works easily.

A LITTLE REVERSE THRUST

The Spektrum Smart Avian ESCs have the option to set reverse thrust within them if using a Spektrum radio. This is a fun feature on the Viper 90mm and also helps shorten the landings when you need in the place of wheel brakes. To set reverse thrust within the ESC, with the model powered up, scroll the telemetry screens all the way to the right and follow the instructions to enter the ESC menu. Once in the ESC menu, set the brake type to “reverse” and brake force to “7” and set the thrust rev channel accordingly. See image below for the full procedure:

Once the ESC settings have been updated, enter into the digital switch assignments and set the desired thrust reversing switch for the appropriate channel assigned to the ESC and the throttle parameters to -100% (forward side) and 100% (reverse side).

FLYING THE E-FLITE Viper 90mm EDF

It’s really no surprise that the E-flite Viper 90mm EDF is an incredible flying jet! The performance envelope is very wide having good speed at full throttle while also slowing down wonderfully with the flaps down. The vertical performance is excellent and the model will even pull straight up basically directly from takeoff. Add to that, the model is nicely responsive on the controls, maneuvers extremely easily and locks in very true through all maneuvers. If you’re up for it, the model will even do a very quick and almost violent snap roll, it’s quite fun! Note that the model has a really wide gear stance too which helps the ground handling on takeoff and also has a slotted flap which really helps in the landings (oh, and the reverse thrust is a fun touch!).

In comparison to the E-flite Viper 70mm ED F, the Viper 90mm flies quite similarly and has much the same overall performance and flight characteristics. It’s a larger and heavier model which means that it’s faster, flies bigger (larger verticals and feels like a larger model in flight) and also handles atmospherics better as well. The one difference that I did notice was that the Viper 90mm tended to land a bit nicer and could give some quite short landing ground rolls which comes from the larger size mostly. Do keep the speed up a touch in the flare as you will otherwise scrape a wing tipe getting it too slow in the flare (don’t ask how I know! :p). Based on these similarities, if one were proficient with the Viper 70mm, I’d expect they would be able to jump into the Viper 90mm and handle it well with minimal issues.

FINAL THOUGHTS

There we have the E-flite Viper 90mm EDF . This is an extremely impressive flying EDF that has great performance, maneuvers well, and with the Smart 6s 7000mah battery , provides good flight times. You also have the options for SAFE as well as the Smart telemetry as well if those are things you're looking for. For me, I want a great flying airplane and this truly is. Until next time, I'll see you at the field!

The post E-flite Viper 90mm EDF Jet Assembly & Flight Review appeared first on The RC Geek .

E-flite F-16 Falcon 80mm EDF Assembly & Flight Review

Tue, 01 Jun 2021 16:58:00 GMT

The 80mm Falcon Cometh!

There’s something about F-16’s and how they fly that I really like. To me it blends the traditional flying on the wing type jet with the more flying on the thrust type delta wing configuration. To me, it means you get something that flies quickly, maneuvers really well yet has the slow speed characteristics of the delta being able to hit the high alpha.

So, when I learned about the E-Flite F-16 Falcon 80mm EDF I was quite excited, especially seeing all of the added details in the design. I knew that if it flew anything like the E-flite 70mm Thunderbird , it would be a blast…and I think it's safe to say that it has exceeded my expectations!

AIRCRAFT ASSEMBLY NOTES

The E-Flite F-16 80mm is a very complete kit that includes all metal scale landing gear, full lights, and external weapons/stores and assembles very quickly. Also, all of the servo attachments have hard mounted connectors, so there's no loose wires to have to contend with either. The assembly process starts with installing the horizontal tails. They have a pre-installed shaft that slides into the fuselage and is then held in place by a screw on each side (servo attachment is a traditional pushrod with all attachment). From there, the wings slide into place over two carbon spars and are held with two screws each. Next, the vertical tail drops into place and is held by two screws at the base of the tail at the fuselage. To finish it off, the ventral fins clip into place underneath as well as the wing tip missile rails and weapons as desired. Note that the missile rails have hardened plastic on one side and the plastic is intended to be on the lower side for those inevitable wing scrapes.

The model includes an assortment of 4 different markings which are placed by the modeler. The color match is quite good on the gray as it’s hard to tell there’s a sticker there once on. To place the stickers, I recommend spraying Windex onto the surface first then placing the sticker onto the surface. The Windex allows you to slide the sticker around giving you time placing the sticker where desired. Once in place, simply squeegee the excess Windex out (a used gift card works great for this) and clean up with a paper towel. As the Windex evaporates, the sticker will adhere to the surface.

With the airplane together on the bench, it is a great looking representation of the F-16 Falcon and is a nicely sized 80mm airframe. The paint is well done and the colors look good and the finish is extremely smooth. The landing gear really set the model apart as they look fantastic and give the model the look of the full scale airplane on the ground. Additionally, having the weapons included is extremely nice and the model really looks awesome loaded for bear! It is worth noting that the nose landing gear design is a pretty high profile which restricts the air coming in from the inlet. As a result, there are a number of inlet vents on the aft fuselage which provide the primary air for the fan which are actually hidden decently well.

Now, the one necessary modification was adding a centerburner simulated afterburner into the airplane (a necessity for an F-16! ;) ). This is the 32mm inrunner design which fits directly onto the back of the motor and simply clamps into place via three set screws. The instructions show an optional afterburner ring that is coming and so as a result, there's a pre-installed servo extension wire which simplified the install (no routing wires!). The burner was setup via the spare channel 6 as the smart telemetry can interfere with the operation of the controller (a smart ESC with a smart receiver switches from a PWM signal to an SRXL2 signal which can interfere with the controller operation). Note that the channel 6 has the aux power from the ESC plugged into it. So, when setting this up, using a y-harness with the aux power plug will maintain the redundant power from the ESC.

AIRCRAFT SETUP & CG

For the aircraft setup, this is the bind and fly version of which means that it includes SAFE select as well as the full Smart telemetry . If you're using some of the newer NX radios, setting up SAFE can be simplified through assigning it in the forward programming menus. It requires selecting the desired channel to SAFE and then going into the channel assign menus and assigning that channel to your desired switch for SAFE. This really makes things easy and also allows you to turn on and off AS3X even should you choose.

For the control surface setup, the E-Flite control recommendations were a great start. Through flying the airplane I found that I preferred my high rate settings all around. This equates to the following rates:

Elevator - 30mm up/25mm down (measured at the trailing edge) with 10% expo (note that the neutral position for the elevator is set at about 23mm as measured from the top of the fuselage to the tail leading edge)
Aileron - 15mm up/down with 10% expo
Rudder - 23mm left/right with 15% expo

The nice thing with the E-flite F-16 is that it has quite a bit of battery space in the forward fuselage which opens up all sorts of options for battery capacities and as a result, flight times. I've flown the model with Spektrum Smart 6s 5000mah , Roaring Top 35c 6s 6250mah , and Spektrum Smart 6s 7000 mah batteries and they all work great. The 5000mah provides great vertical performance being able to got vertical from takeoff (similar to the 70mm Thunderbird) while the 7000 mah has the edge on straight line speed and of course, flight times. As you would expect, the 6250mah provides the best compromise between the two. With the 5000 mah pack , 3.5 minutes is about the max flight time to expect and with the 7000mah pack , 4-5 minute flights are about the norm. Of course this will vary depending on how the airplane is being flown (lots of full throttle = shorter flights).

In terms of the CG, I started with the recommended location and found it a bit nose heavy. So, I ultimately moved the CG back to where I was more happy with the characteristics and the CG is placed at about 105mm as measured from the wing root leading edge aft. I'm just CGing the airplane with my fingertips upside down with the gear down and it works easily. Note that to get this CG with the 7000mah battery , I need to add 1ounce of weight into the exhaust tailcone and place the battery as far back as it could go in the battery area.

ADVENTURES IN FLAPERONS

One additional thing I tried on the model was flaperons. For the review, I was flying the airplane from about a 320ft runway and so I wanted to try it to see how the model would respond on the landings. One concern is that you can lose roll effectiveness on landings, but as a whole, I was quite happy with how they worked and I found the roll response sufficient for most conditions (except for when it was turbulent and windy). To set them up, simply unplug one of the aileron servos from the y-harness and plug it into the spare 6 channel. Then, set flaperons in the aircraft configuration and then setup your flap switch and that's about all there is to it. In addition, I setup 60% differential so that the surfaces would travel more trailing edge up than down. My final setup is as follows:

Flaperons - 4mm mid, 9mm full (no elevator mix required) with 60% aileron differential

FLYING THE E-FLITE F-16 FALCON 80mm EDF

In terms of flying the F-16, it is a great flying jet that displays some excellent performance. It's impressively quick when you want it to be but slows down for those awesome slow, high alpha passes. The model maneuvers much like it's full scale counterpart providing nice large verticals and nimble rolls just like an F-16 should. It's nice and responsive and really quite fun to fly like the fighter jet it is while mimicking your favorite F-16 airshow routine. Landing the airplane, it's important to approach with a nose up attitude and use the power to control the rate of descent much like the full scale airplane. If you don't see the bottom of the airplane on the approach, you're going to be too hot. The flaperons do help a touch in slowing the airplane down a little more while also help push the nose down a little too. I did find however that when windy and turbulent, the model landed better without flaperons maintaining better roll authority. Oh, and with the stores on, it looks great, but it does lose some top end speed. The rest of the maneuvering seemed unaffected otherwise. Interestingly enough, I found that the model tended to land a little slower with the stores on vs clean.

The E-flite F-16 Falcon 80mm EDF is just a shade under 1/10 scale and compared to the Freewing 90mm, it is very close to the same size being within 1-2 inches in length. Based on the Freewing F-16s I've seen fly with the original outrunner power system, the performance of the E-flite is night and day better having quite impressive performance. I can't say how it compares to the Freewing with any of the upgraded power systems however. Below is my first flights video of the E-flite F-16 in action with and without stores flying with a Spektrum Smart 6s 7000 mah battery .

FINAL THOUGHTS

There we have the E-flite F-16 Falcon 80mm EDF . This is a great flying EDF that looks and flies excellent, assembles easily and has some really nice features (mmmmm, scale landing gear). It is worth noting that the tires are pretty small, so grass operations could pose a challenge depending on how thick the grass field is. I can only speak to the pavement operations since that's all we have here in Cali, but if grass is the only option, I would think the jet would do better on shorter, more manicured grass fields. Also, based on what I've seen, the flaperons do seem help the model to takeoff on grass, so that is something to keep in ming. Now, where's my F-16XL plastic kit?? ;) Until next time, I'll see you at the field!

E-flite DRACO 2.0m Smart BNF Assembly & Flight Review

Fri, 07 May 2021 22:52:00 GMT

Mike Patey's Monster Wilga…DRACO! Fly it like you STOL it!

The E-flite DRACO 2.0m is probably one of the most anticipated models to come to market in recent time. Announced in 2019, there have been many a rumbling of its pending release since then. Well, E-flite's DRACO is here and it is one of the nicest executed models E-flite has made to date…it is incredible! Every detail is characterized, the shape is perfect (Horizon Hobby actually 3D scanned DRACO to make the model from), and this big red beast makes for some fun STOL operations, especially with a bit of head wind.

If you're unfamiliar with DRACO as an airplane, it literally was one of a kind. It was the master mind of Mikey Patey who took a Wilga 2000 and completely modified and rebuilt the airframe to the extent that very little of the original Wilga remained. He added wing area, modified the airfoil while also adding a fixed slat, installed a full glass cockpit, and at the front installed a PT6A 680Hp turbo-prop engine with full reverse thrust (I believe he also added chord to the control surfaces). In short, the airplane was a beast of a STOL aircraft and in fact, Mike Patey won the 2018 High Sierra STOL Drag competition with it. Unfortunately, the aircraft was totaled in Sept 2019 in a high crosswind takeoff incident. Be sure to check out Mike's YouTube channel as he documented the build there and is currently building a highly modified carbon cub called Scrappy!

The E-flite DRACO 2.0m is an impressively large airplane that is been broken down into only just a few large components which means that despite the large size, assembly is quick and easy. Assembly starts with installation of the shock absorbing landing gear via 4 screws which have plastic fairings over a carbon strut and feature the dual shocks of the full size. From there, the tail wheel is fastened into place via 2 screws and 2 lock nuts and is shock absorbing as well. From there, the horizontal tail is slid into place. It's important here that the tail be pressed fully forward with a notable click in place to ensure it is fully locked in place. Once in, then the tail braces are clipped into place as well. Next, the slats were glued to the wing leading edges with medium CA and then placed onto the fuselage over the carbon spar. There are two plastic quick releases that hold the wing in place with make it an easy prospect to take the wings on and off. To finish it all up, all of the many scale details in the form of antennas and foot braces, etc. were glued and/or screwed into place.

Once the airplane is together, it really is quite the model to behold being truly the full scale airplane in miniature. The shape is spot on, every detail has been included and characterized and that's not to mention that it's a nice large airframe. It's also worth noting that the aileron and flap linkages are fully internal, there are programmable lights all throughout the airplane (including cockpit lights), and it includes full thrust reversing as well.

One final item to mention is that while the stock foam tires work great and will handle any bush operations you see fit, I did ultimately swap them out with 5.5" diameter DuBro inflatable balloon tires . They are quite a bit heavier than stock (add about 14 ounces total), but work great at softening the landings quite a bit and they also look pretty awesome too. No modifications were necessary to fit them other than drilling out the hub for the axle diameter. When installing, use two washers at the base of the axle and then tighten the lock nut sufficiently to keep the tire in place but not to where it causes significant friction. The width of the tire hub is just a touch wider than the axle length, so overtightening the nut will lock the tire in place. Note that Kavan from Sig makes a 5" inflatable tire that's quite a bit lighter than the DuBro's if weight is a concern.

AIRCRAFT SETUP & CG

The subject model was the bind and fly version which means that it takes full advantage of the Spektrum Smart technology s it comes with a Smart ESC and Receiver. Also, the airplane does feature SAFE as well. If you're using some of the newer NX radios , setting up SAFE can be simplified through assigning it in the forward programming menus. It requires selecting the desired channel to SAFE and then going into the channel assign menus and assigning that channel to your desired switch for SAFE. This really makes things easy and also allows you to turn on and off AS3X even should you choose.

For the control surface setup through flying the airplane I found that I preferred my high rate settings (100%) all around. This equates to the following rates:

Elevator - 32mm with 15% expo
Aileron - 50mm up/22mm down with 15% Expo (The differential is how it is out of the box. Also, the model has a built in rudder/aileron mix to help with the adverse yaw)
Rudder - 35mm with 20% expo
Flaps - 20mm half and 40mm full with 3mm (13%) and 8mm (25%) down elevator mix respectively

The CG location recommended in the manual is 95mm-105mm as measured from the slat leading edge at the root aft. I would say there is likely room to move the CG further aft, but as a whole the CG felt good for most flying at the 100mm mark.

For the battery, I'm using a Spektrum Smart 6s 5000mah pack which provides excellent power and flight times. This also means that the battery talks directly with the Smart ESC and receiver so that full battery voltage, current, temperature, etc. is downlinked to the transmitter via telemetry. The whole upper front cowl lifts up allowing access to the battery area. In terms of placement, the battery was pushed all the way to the back of the battery tray which provided the perfect CG.

FLYING THE E-FLITE DRACO 2.0m WITH SMART TECHNOLOGY

The E-flite DRACO 2.0m is truly one of a kind and it looks pretty incredible in flight. The model has extreme power on 6 cells, will do basic aerobatics decently, but really is best suited for some casual STOL operations. The airplane easily takes off in a few feet being able to hammer to full throttle with no nose over tendencies at all. In turn, it really slows down nicely on landings and with the touch of reverse thrust, will easily land in the same few feet it took off from! That said, the model does a pretty incredible knife edge, snap rolls well and breezes through inverted flight as well. On 4 cells, the model will cruise around well and is fun to shoot touch and goes with, just don't look to do any extreme climbs or aerobatics.

One thing worth mentioning, the model has a nice long wing that generates a lot of lift. As a result, I found myself kicking around the rudder more than I typically would on other models. That's not bad, just different and worth noting. Also, when performing rolls, the use of rudder will help increase the roll rate quite a bit. Otherwise without it, the roll rate can be a bit sluggish when doing a full 360 degree roll. So my recommendation would be to plan ahead and give yourself plenty of altitude entering into the maneuver performing more on the order of a barrel roll than a straight axial roll. With practice, you can get the desired look and rate you want through different rudder inputs, etc. Oh, and one last note! In the process of making the below video, I might have put the airplane into a bush…doh! As a result, I found the perfect 2-blade prop option. So, if you're in the market there, the APC 16x10 2-blade prop is the perfect replacement.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Well, there we have the E-Flite DRACO 2.0m . This is one of the nicest made foam aircraft I have come across to date, the shape and the details are incredible! The flying experience is fun, but you may find different than on other more aerobatic STOL aircraft, so just something to be aware of. I have enjoyed flying it, especially challenging myself to see how short of a landing I could get with it! Until next time, I'll see you at the field!

E-flite Focke-Wulf Fw-190A 1.5m Smart Assembly & Flight Review

Tue, 13 Apr 2021 17:03:00 GMT

E-flite's Extra Smart Butcherbird!

When I think of the axis aircraft from WWII, Kurt Tank's FW-190 designs are the first that always come to mind. The iconic airplane was the backbone of the Luftwaffe (alongside the Bf-109) and the number of variants that existed really spawn the imagination of what was and what might have been. Performance with the twin row BMW radial engine powered FW-190A tended to suffer at higher altitudes, so follow-on variants featuring a longer nose housing a turbosupercharged V12 filled that gap and are the designs that I personally find especially intriguing.

So, seeing E-flite's FW-190A 1.5m announcement, I was very excited to see the model come to market as the shape combined with beautiful scale landing gear looked to be spot on! That's not to mention that the 1.5m wingspan really makes for a good sized, yet still manageable for transport kind of model. Though the paint scheme out of the box is representative of the replica operated by the Planes of Fame museum in Chino, CA, it's ripe for a repaint as I can imagine what it would look like with a wartime scheme all dirtied up like a warfighter!

AIRCRAFT ASSEMBLY NOTES

The E-flite FW-190A 1.5m is a nice large airframe that is been broken down into only just a few large components which means that assembly is quick and easy. Assembly starts with the horizontal tail which is a left and a right piece that slips over a carbon spar and each are held in place with a machine screw each underneath. The wing center section is held in place (features hard mounted connectors for the flaps/ailerons/retracts) with 4 screws and the outer wing panels are split at the flap/aileron intersection and slide on with a carbon tube and snap into place using some plastic snap-in keepers. With the outer panels removable in this way, the landing gear remain attached to the airframe which really simplifies the transport while also making assembly at the field extremely quick.

With the airplane assembled and on the bench, it really looks awesome! The unmistakable shape of Kurt Tank's FW-190A has been characterized perfectly and the fit and finish of everything is quite fantastic. The finish is nicely done as well, representing what's worn on the FW-190A replica at the Planes of Fame museum, but I do wish the colors were a touch darker to match the full scale a little closer and the mottling applied in a little more feathered way. Nothing a little paint can fix though! ;)

In addition to the nice fit and finish, the airplane also includes some beautiful landing gear details including full shock absorbing struts (at the scale angle) and nice big (and scale) tires. Additionally, the outer wing panel interfaces and hatch borders are all lined with hard plastic which will ensure they all hold up over time and avoid paint chipping as well. Lastly, the airplane features a 3-blade prop (albeit a little small), scale shaped spinner and scale cooling fan which are details that are always really nice to see.

One final item to mention is that the stock tires are extremely hard out of the box. E-flite does offer a softer tire option for the airframe which I would recommend if you're flying from a hard packed surface. The springs in the landing gear themselves are quite stiff, so anything to help cushion the touchdown does help. I even explored some softer 3d printed tires as well to provide even more cushion on touchdown which worked similarly to the soft E-flite tires.

AIRCRAFT SETUP & CG

The subject model was the bind and fly version which means that it takes full advantage of the Spektrum SMART technology (discussed a little more further down) as it comes with a SMART ESC and Receiver. Also, the airplane does feature SAFE as well. If you're using some of the newer NX radios , setting up SAFE can be simplified through assigning it in the forward programming menus. It requires selecting the desired channel to SAFE and then going into the channel assign menus and assigning that channel to your desired switch for SAFE. This really makes things easy and also allows you to turn on and off AS3X even should you choose.

For the control surface setup, the E-Flite control recommendations were a great start. Through flying the airplane I found that I preferred my mid rate settings for elevator and rudder while keeping the rudder at full deflection. This equates to the following rates:

Elevator - 8mm up/down, No Expo
Aileron - 10mm up/down, No Expo
Rudder - 25mm left/right, 20% Expo
Flaps - 20mm mid, 35mm full (6% and 18% down elevator mix respectively)

The CG location recommended in the manual is 105mm-120mm as measured from the inboard gun location aft (location of the leading edge wing break). For the first flight, I shot for the CG in the middle of that range and that's where it stayed as it felt great there. This equates to 110-115mm as measured from the inboard gun location leading edge aft.

For the battery, I'm using a Spektrum SMART 6s 5000mah pack which provides excellent power and flight times. This also means that the battery talks directly with the Smart ESC and receiver so that full battery voltage, current, temperature, etc. is downlinked to the transmitter via telemetry. The model features a sliding tray for the battery (Similar to the E-flite P-51 1.5m ), so the battery is placed such that the back of the battery aligns with the forward edge of the tray which provided the perfect CG.

BEING SMART WITH SMART TECHNOLOGY

As noted, the airplane features Smart technology which provides all sorts of telemetry and data monitoring. I especially like the batteries as they perform well and have protection circuitry that will auto storage discharge the packs (and monitor the health) which is extremely nice. In setting up the telemetry screens and alarms, it's good to have some discretion. On this model, I'm primarily using the defaults actually which have been working well. I did put together a video discussion with tips for using Smart a while back which is below should you like to know more on how I like to use the technology.

FLYING THE E-FLITE FW-190A 1.5m WITH SMART TECHNOLOGY

As a whole, the 1.5m sized models present extremely well and the E-flite FW-190A 1.5m is no exception. Interestingly, based on the airplane scale, I find that the FW-190A tends to appear larger compared to the P-51 even though they are the same wingspan. I think it's due to the FW being a slightly larger scale in comparison, so it presents bigger. In flight, the FW-190A locks in extremely true, maneuvers exceptionally well and is a great overall performer. The airplane has good speed and scale power for nice fast passes and large verticals and even cruising around primarily at full power, the power system is quite efficient and provides nice 5+ minute flight times. The model handles any scale maneuvers with ease and really looks good in the process. Comparing to the P-51 1.5m, I would say that the P-51 does have the edge in terms of speed and vertical performance, but I think I actually like the FW-190 a touch better. There's just something about the FW-190A that looks so menacing!

Just like the P-51, there are a couple things to be aware of related to ground handling with the FW-190. It is a warbird, so it's important to anticipate the necessity for right rudder on takeoff. Generally, I've found the FW-190 easily manageable on the takeoffs over the multiple surfaces I've flow it from (dirt and pavement) reading and reacting to the model as necessary. The airplane really slows down nicely on the approach, but on the landings, it can be difficult to get a nice smooth touchdown. Targeting one wheel first on the touchdown is recommended as well as keeping a touch of speed in the flare. Slowing the airplane too quickly in the flare is likely to cause some bouncing as the mains will touchdown first followed by the tail which will then bounce the mains back into the air. Additionally, as mentioned, softer tires do help and there's an option available from E-flite there. Be sure that both wheels spin nice and free to avoid the model pulling hard one way or the other and on the landing rollout, try to keep it as straight as possible. Don't be surprised to touch a wingtip or two on the landing with that narrow gear track though! ;)

FINAL THOUGHTS

Well, there we have the E-Flite FW-190A 1.5m with SMART technology . E-flite has really put together a wonderful model here that assembles easily, fits together extremely well and flies awesome! I love the scale details as well and they really help the model the shine at the field as it's really impressive looking. Now, where's my primer and paint? I think it's time for a quick repaint! ;) Until next time, I'll see you at the field!

30k Subs Giant Scale Giveaway and New Projects Updates!

Tue, 23 Feb 2021 17:40:00 GMT

What a wild ride!

Here we are at the start of 2021 and we have hit an incredible milestone on this blog and YouTube channel …we have hit 30,000 subscriptions on YouTube! There was incredible growth on the channel in 2020 and to start of 2021 with this milestone, I really can't thank you enough! It is all a result of your support in following along on these misguided adventures and I think you dearly! The RC community is such a wonderful group of folks, I liken it to having a large extended family.

So, a big milestone should have a big giveaway and as a thank you, in conjunction with Legend Hobby , we are giving away a new in box SEAGULL MODELS CURTISS P-40N WARHAWK 33cc-50cc 80″ with scale electric rotating retracts ! The model features an 80" wingspan and can be powered with a 33cc-55cc gas engine or electric power system. It comes in scale green covering and is ready for markings to be applied be it the kit supplied markings or full custom set.

HOW TO ENTER

Please use the form below to enter. The contest starts today and ends at 7:30 PM April 5. The winner will be announced on my YouTube channel on 9:45am Tuesday April 6 It is completely free to enter and there are multiple ways to enter as well…More entries means more chances to win! Also, a customized link is provided to send to your friends that provides even more entries if they enter using that link. So, good luck to all of you and thank you for entering! A huge thank you to Legend Hobby for this amazing donation. Be sure to check out their website and Facebook page for more info on the kit and to see the great assortment of models that they offer.

Seagull Models Giant Scale P-40 Warhawk From Legend Hobby with Retracts

WHAT'S ON THE BENCH?

In terms of what's currently on the bench, I've been working away on a new Freewing F-14 Tomcat doing a full refinish on the airframe. This is something I've been wanting to do for a long time and that I actually started some time ago. It's nice to get back at it and finally get her finished up! I have a whole series planned on the refinish, so be on the lookout there. Currently, she's sitting in primer awaiting paint.

One of my big goals for 2021 is to get a new competition scale model built and so following completion of the F-14, I plan to transition onto that. The subject model is a 1/6 scale FJ-4 Fury and is the second prototype for a potential kit from my folks ( jethangar.com ) that has been in development by a friend of mine and my dad. If you're unfamiliar with the FJ-4 Fury, it was the final evolution of the Navy/Marine's Fury series of aircraft. While the airplane featured a similar layout to its predecessors, it was very much a new design and had a significantly larger wing and tails, deeper fuselage, more powerful engine and significantly more fuel capacity. This is a project that has been a long time coming and I can't wait to finally start it! I have most everything to get started now and the intention will be to do a full series showing all of the steps along the way through completion.

So, there's lots in the works and that's not to mention the reviews that will be happening as well. I'm hoping that 2021 will be a good building year! :)

Flight Review — Legend Hobby 86″ A-1 Skyraider S.E.A. Camo

Tue, 09 Feb 2021 18:05:00 GMT

Droppin' off a load and watching it explode…in my Spad…

Well, we've talked through the assembly and painting and weathering , at last, it's time to talk through flying the Legend Hobby A-1 Skyraider . You've probably figured out by now that I love how this beast flies! It has incredible presence and with the new paint and bomb drops, it presents much like the real thing in the air. It has been extremely fun and frankly I would fly the airplane every weekend if I could and I can't wait to get it out to some events (if they happen this year).

A LITTLE HISTORY

The A-1 Skyraider was first conceived in June 1944 to meet a US Navy request for a new carrier-based, single-seat, long-range, high performance dive/torpedo bomber. Designed around the Wright R-3350 Duplex-Cyclone engine used in the B-29 Superfortress, the result was one of the world’s largest and most powerful single-engine/single-seat combat aircraft capable of carrying weapon loads greater than that of the Boeing B-17. Coming too late for WWII, the Skyraider served from the late 1940s into the early 1980’s worldwide proving instrumental in both the Korean and Vietnam conflicts. Being among the first aircraft to perform strikes in North Vietnam in 1964, Skyraiders proved essential in close-support missions over South Vietnam due to their long loiter times, large bomb load capability and ability to perform accurate strikes when needed. Being a piston driven attack aircraft in the jet age, the A-1 Skyraider became a flying anachronism and was affectionately nicknamed the “Spad” after the WWI French biplane.

One quick note about the model itself if you've not seen my Assembly Review or my Painting & Weathering tutorial . This particular model started as a Legend Hobby Southeast Asia camouflage A-1 Skyraider ARF . Coming in at 86" wingspan, the airplane has great presence both on the ground and in the air. I opted for a large 12s electric setup to keep the scale integrity of the cowl which flies the airplane fantastically. The model was dressed in the kit supplied markings for the initial flights, but being the scale perfectionist that I am, I had to do a full paint work up on it and I love it! Here's the full run down on equipment used in the model.

A-1 Skyraider 86" ► https://bit.ly/A1Skyraider
Retracts ► https://bit.ly/SkrdrGear
Motor ► https://bit.ly/Scr5535-160
ESC ► https://bit.ly/CC160HV
Flt Battery ► https://bit.ly/Smt6s7000
Prop ► https://bit.ly/Biela20x14
Receiver ► https://bit.ly/SpkAR20310
Rx Batteries ► https://bit.ly/Life3000
Transmitter ► https://bit.ly/SpktmiX20
Servos ► https://bit.ly/HtcD645
E-flite Payload Release ► http://bit.ly/Efl405
Pilot Head Controller ► https://thercgeek.com/RSMG

AIRCRAFT SETUP & CG

In flying this airplane, I found that the recommended CG and control throws in the manual were about right for the model. The instructions provide a high and a low rate and sow I setup their recommended high rate as my high, their low rate as my mid and then gave myself an additional lower rate on the triple rates. Ultimately I settled on my mid rate aileron and low rate elevator settings which provided a great feel for the airplane in flight. Interestingly, no elevator mix with the flaps was required which certainly simplified things in the setup.

Elevator - 12mm with 6% expo
Aileron - 15mm with 5% Expo
Rudder - 30mm with 25% expo (the airplane does a beautiful knife edge)
Flaps - 30mm half and 60mm full with no elevator mix

The CG location recommended in the manual is 125-145mm as measured from the wing leading edge root aft. I found the 125mm setting to feel about perfect for the airplane from day 1 and never looked at changing it further. There may be some room to move the CG aft should you choose, but for my style of flying I was happy with the feel of the airplane with that CG location. Note that there is a carry through on one of the forward bulkheads that is very close to this location. So, to CG the airplane, I simply picked up the airplane from this carry through and looked for the airplane to be level.

The Legend Hobby Skyraider has really large hatch in the fuselage which provides great access to the internals. I'm using 2x Spektrum Smart 6s 7000mah batteries wired together in series to create 12s. Additionally, I have 2x 2s 3000 mah Life receiver packs used in conjunction with a Spektrum Power Safe Receiver to power the onboard systems. The flight batteries are pushed all the way forward in the fuselage with the receiver batteries velcroed on top of each. This gave the CG perfectly.

FLYING THE LEGEND HOBBY A-1 SKYRAIDER

From the very first flight of the Legend Hobby A-1 Skyraider, I fell in love with it. In fact, this Skyraider is one of the best flying warbirds that I have flown to date! The combination of the large size, the proportions of the airplane itself and the nice wide gear stance, makes it extremely user friendly to fly. The Scorpion 5535 motor with the Biela propeller provides perfect scale power enabling nice large verticals combined with 100+ mph flat and level speeds, yet allows great cruise efficiency at partial throttle with easily manageable 5+ minute flight times with the 7000mah packs . It really is the perfect blend of speed and vertical performance and that's not to mention that it sounds great even without the sound system operating. In flight, the model maneuvers with ease and tracks almost effortlessly. Loops, rolls and any other military type maneuvers and variations of the sort that are scale to the airplane really present much like its full scale counterpart. The airplane will even lock into a sweet knife edge the full length of your field with minimal coupling!

It is worth noting that with the wide landing gear stance and long tail of the A-1, takeoffs are a surprisingly easy prospect. Slowly advancing the throttle while reacting to rudder as required, the model tracks extremely straight down the runway. In the approach configuration with flaps down, the airplane flies just as predictably as it does up and away. It settles into a nice descent requiring a little over 1/3 throttle and likes just a touch of speed in the flare to touchdown which helps grease the landings. During landing roll out, the model tracks very straight and remains responsive on the rudder with no indication of ground looping at all which is excellent!

Though the airplane looked and flew great clean, the addition of the full stores loadout completely changed how the airplane looked in the air; it became the warfighter that it is. Interestingly, the addition of the stores didn't change the flight performance all that much. The top end speed didn't even seem to change appreciably. So, there is no question that the model will be flown in a full loadout every flight! :) Plus, the M117 bomb drop is an extremely fun option to have on hand and the TPU printed bombs have worked great and been extremely robust.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Well, it has been a fun journey getting here and I really can't say enough good things about the Legend Hobby A-1 Skyraider . It really is an incredible RC warbird that flies exceptionally well! It has great presence both on the ground and in the air and has all of the kit has all of the scale details you could hope for in a subject like this. The model is well built and straight forward to assemble and lends itself well to further detailing and painting as we've covered previously. This really is a model that is sure to turn heads at the field. Until next time, I'll see you at the field!

Warbird Painting & Weathering — Making a Warfighter out of the Legend Hobby A-1 Skyraider 86″

Tue, 02 Feb 2021 18:01:00 GMT

Sock it to…me?

I knew at the moment I received the Legend Hobby A-1 Skyraider 86" , that it needed the full treatment. It's such an impressive looking and good flying model and there's just something about the A-1 Skyraider that I love. That's not to mention that the model is actually a fairly scale representation of the airplane as well! So, in my research of the A-1 Skyraider and collecting of books and plastic kits, I came across a specific scheme I liked and so it was off to the races to repaint and weather the airplane!

During the Vietnam conflict, the A-1 Skyraider proved essential in close-support missions over South Vietnam due to their long loiter times, large bomb load capability and ability to perform accurate strikes when needed. For the repaint, the scheme chosen was George J. Marrett's personal aircraft in Vietnam from 1968-1969 which carried the moniker of "Sock it to Em," a tag line from the 1960's comedy show "Laugh-In." The aircraft operated with the 602nd Special Operations Squadron (SOS) from Nakhon Phanom Royal Thai Air Force Base and George completed 188 missions with over 600 combat hours in the aircraft. He even wrote about the aircraft and his missions in his book "Cheating Death."

ABOUT THE MODEL

One quick note about the model itself if you've not seen my Assembly Review . This particular model started as a Legend Hobby Southeast Asia camouflage A-1 Skyraider ARF and was dressed in the kit supplied markings for the initial flights. Though the colors are good for an ARF, they weren't correct to the Federal Standard colors of the full size. So, being the scale perfectionist that I am, I had to do a full paint work up on it! It's important to note that what makes a repaint like this possible on this mylar covered ARF is that the airframe comes from the factory with a flat clear coat sprayed over the glossy mylar/monokote. As a result, it takes paint exceptionally well with very minimal prep work. Without that clear coat, considerable prep would be required to ensure paint adhesion on the covering material.

Here's the full run down on equipment used in the model.

A-1 Skyraider 86" ► https://bit.ly/A1Skyraider
Retracts ► https://bit.ly/SkrdrGear
Motor ► https://bit.ly/Scr5535-160
ESC ► https://bit.ly/CC160HV
Flt Battery ► https://bit.ly/Smt6s7000
Prop ► https://bit.ly/Biela20x14
Receiver ► https://bit.ly/SpkAR20310
Rx Batteries ► https://bit.ly/Life3000
Transmitter ► https://bit.ly/SpktmiX20
Servos ► https://bit.ly/HtcD645
E-flite Payload Release ► http://bit.ly/Efl405
Pilot Head Controller ► https://thercgeek.com/RSMG

THE PAINTING PROCESS

With a paint scheme chosen, it's on to painting the airframe. As noted above, the Legend Hobby airframe comes with a flat clear coat applied over the mylar iron on covering which results in a surface that takes paint extremely well. In fact, the paint was applied directly to the surface without any primer at all. Also, since I like a quick and easy solution, I leverage spray cans whenever possible. Tamiya makes an incredible line of aircraft spray paints that are some of the best spray paints out there that are quite accurate to the Federal Standard colors. So, in painting the airplane, I used the following Tamiya Aircraft Spray colors:

AS-16 Light Grey ("Camouflage Gray" FS 36622, Underside color)
AS-15 Tan ("Dark Tan" FS 30219)
AS-14 Olive Green ("Medium Green" FS 34102)
AS-6 Olive Drab ("Dark Green" FS34079)

The painting process consisted of applying colors from lightest to darkest, so with this in mind, the underside color ( AS-16 ) was sprayed first. Using 3M Soft Edge masking tape , the underside separation line was masked off. Note that the soft edge tape is designed for just that, to mask an area and create a soft feathered edge. This makes painting feathered camouflage an easier prospect with spray cans, though the lines were still touched up with an airbrush (explained below).

With the grey down and masked, the tan color ( AS-15 ) was sprayed over the brown covered areas on the model. Once down and dry, the soft edge masking tape was used to mask off for the light green ( AS-14 ) and then once dry, the dark green ( AS-6 ) areas were masked and painted to finish it up. In the masking process, paper towels and Frog Tape were used to protect from undesirable overspray that can occur. The nice thing is that with this being the A-1 Skyraider SEA Camo ARF , the paint separation lines are already defined. In looking at pictures and coloring diagrams of the airplane though, I did notice some differences and so did make some corrections in the painting process.

While the soft edge tape does provide a decent feathered edge with the spray cans, it can be difficult to get a consistent feather from it when using spray cans. Also, the tape can unknowingly lift and/or stretch which can add to that as well. So, to get a better look from each of the separation lines, each color was sprayed into a paper cup as needed. A little lacquer thinner was used to thin it and then the mixture was sprayed through a Grex airbrush (I love these airbrushes!) over all of the separation lines for the appropriate colors. This provided a consistent and scale feathering across the entire A-1 Skyraider model and also allowed for fixing problem areas that popped up as well.

APPLYING MARKINGS

The markings used on the model were a printed and cut vinyl that were made by a fellow A-1 Skyraider driver (thanks Mike!), similar to what you would get from Callie-Graphics . In applying the vinyl markings, I like to peel back a small amount of the backing which allows the marking to slide on the surface as needed while it's being placed. Then once the placement is satisfactory, the exposed area is tacked down and then the rest of the backing removed while the marking is pressed onto the model surface. Note that windex can be used as well if pulling the backing off completely, but that wasn't done in this case.

ADDING PANEL LINES

With the airframe painted and the markings placed, next up is adding panel lines. It's amazing how even just simple pencil panel lines completely change the looks of a scale model. So, to apply panel lines down a 0.5mm lead mechanical pencil was used to draw them onto the surface. I recommend a medium hardness lead as it is less prone to smudging while handling the airframe. In applying the pencil lines, a selection of various sizes of straight edges and Frog Tape were used as needed to lay them down across the airframe. Additionally, smaller strips of Frog Tape were cut as needed to place around some of the more complex curves to use as a guide for drawing panel lines as well. Being of smaller width, the Frog Tape can be stretched and curved much more easily for complex shapes and curves. Lastly, a selection of circle and square templates were used in drawing out some of the access panels and the like. Note that a diagram included in a 1/48 scale plastic kit was used as a guide for the line placement. To protect the applied panel lines during the weathering process, a light clear coat was applied over the model using Rustoleum 2x Matte Clear . Without this, the panel lines would fade away and smidge during the weathering application.

CHARACTERISTIC A-1 SKYRAIDER WEATHERING

The last item of business which really brings the airplane to life is weathering (my favorite part!). The whole goal here is to simulate (not replicate!) the years of service these aircraft suffered through and A-1 Skyraiders in Vietnam were especially haggard and dirty. We will never be able to replicate this process, so it's about applying layers of different techniques to simulate the aging process. Note that the it is recommended applying the weathering process indoors under artificial light. Applying the weathering outside in broad daylight, will almost certainly result in over done weathering as the sun tends to wash the colors out.

WASHES AND OIL STAINS

The weathering process starts with the application of oil stains and streaks across the airframe. On the A-1 Skyraider, I used a combination of FolkArt Raw Umber and Black acrylic pigments. The black can be a bit overpowering on its own when applied heavily, so the Raw Umber being a nice dark brown was the primary color leveraged with the black used for accents, etc. To make the stains/streaks, some pigment was applied to the surface in a desired location along a panel line using a paint brush (sometimes it helps to apply pigment along the panel line with a stroke aft as well). From there, a paper towel was used to lightly streak/rub the applied pigment back in the direction of the airflow (vertically for fuselage surfaces). This was repeated as necessary to get the desired look with different applications of paint put down. The A-1 Skyraider was an extremely dirty aircraft and so the stains on the underside was applied quite heavily. Application of the pigments across the remainder of the airplane were quite a bit lighter and more sporadic as a whole. Having some pictures for reference really helps, but ultimately it's about artistic license and getting the desired look from the finish. Note that since this is all being done with acrylic pigments, the beauty is that if the desired look isn't attained the first time, simply soak a paper towel with Tamiya Acrylic thinner and wipe it over the area and it will clean it right up. Additionally, for the flying surfaces (wings/tails) and fuselage underside, the streaks were applied in the direction of the airflow. However, for the fuselage and vertical tail, the streaks were applied vertically. The fuselage stains are typically the result of the aircraft sitting in the elements as any leaks, etc. tend to run vertically to the bottom of the aircraft where they then streak backwards on the underside.

PANEL LINE SHADING

Once all of the oil stains and streaks were applied, a quick shading was done over all of the panel lines on the model using very thinned down Enamel "Flat Black." This helps provide variation within each of the panels giving the illusion of accumulated grime while also providing a slightly faded center look along each of the panels. Once all of the shading was applied over all of the panel lines, the whole thing was burnished down with a fine Scotch-Brite pad to even and blend the layers (very important!). This was also used to help reduce any of the too heavy applications that can occur as well. Blending with a scotch-brite is essential as the shading otherwise comes across too abruptly. It's important to note that this technique should be applied very lightly and subtly as it is very easy to overdo and apply the shading too heavily. So, use discretion in the shading process and of course have fun with it!

EXHAUST STAINS

While applying the shading over the panel lines, the black was used to apply the characteristic A-1 Skyraider exhaust staining along the fuselage. The full scale airplane had very dark staining from the exhausts in a very characteristic shape. So, the thinned black paint was applied a little at a time to build up to the desired look and darkness of the exhaust. Note that some light gun powder stains were applied with the black paint at this time as well. Once the black application was completed, some thinned down "Flat Gull Gray" wad airbrushed near the exhausts to shade the center to simulate the heat and light colored staining. This was applied very lightly and only at the exhaust exit location only as the A-1 Skyraider didn't have much heat fading typically based on reference pictures.

A FINAL CLEAR COAT

To finish the model after all of the weathering work was completed, the model was sprayed with a final matte clear coat to protect the finish. Rustoelum 2x matte clear was used and that finished up the paint work.

To finish up the model, a selection of bombs were 3D printed and installed. Afterall, it's not an A-1 Skyraider without bombs! First of all, the kit provided centerline tank was painted and installed on the aircraft centerline. A pair of 750lb M117 bombs were designed and printed with flexible TPU material allowing them to be droppable. Lastly, ten Mk82 500 lb bombs were designed with integrated sway brace assemblies to interface with the kit provided outboard pylons and be held in place with magnets. To prep these parts, a primer coat was applied, sanded with 180-grit sand paper and primered again. Then, to finish it up, the parts were wet sanded with 600-grit sand paper and painted. AS-6 Olive drab was used for the green and Rustoleum 2x Yellow was used for the yellow bands. A selection of neodymium magnets were used to hold the parts in place which have worked fantastically in flight. Note that a pair of LAU-68 rocket pods were printed and installed as well (files downloaded from cults3d).

FINAL THOUGHTS

You've probably noticed by now, whether a large or small model, I use many of the same techniques when painting and weathering them. That's the beauty of the techniques as they are extensible to all sizes. I absolutely love the results on this A-1 Skyraider , the model has been completely transformed! While it looked good in the stock colors, it's hard to beat having FS accurate colors on a model; accurate colors completely change the realism. So, from here I'll be putting together my flight review for the airplane and then we'll be moving on to some fresh projects. I've got a few fun things planned for this year, so hopefully we can get them all done. Until next time I'll see you at the field!

Assembly Review – Legend Hobby 86″ A-1 Skyraider S.E.A. Camo ARF

Tue, 05 Jan 2021 18:05:00 GMT

Cruisin' into town and looking all around…in my Spad…

Having grown up in the hobby, there are certain models that I recall seeing as a kid that have inspired a fascination for that aircraft well into adulthood. One such aircraft for me is the A-1 Skyraider. Having seen two immaculate representations with folding wings at the US Scale Masters in the late 80s/early 90s (built by Diego Lopez & Gene Barton), it started a long fascination with the Skyraider for me. There was something about the airplane that I just liked and having since seen the full scale Skyraider fly, they are an impressive beast! Being a piston driven attack aircraft in the jet age, the Skyraider was a flying anachronism and was affectionately nicknamed the “Spad” after the WWI French biplane.

So, needless to say I was very excited to see the Legend Hobby A-1 Skyraider came to market! At 1/7 scale sporting an 86” wingspan, it offers a very nice sized ARF with an accurate scale outline. It also includes some really nice details through a fully detailed cockpit and an assortment of external tanks and rockets. A Skyraider isn’t a Skyraider without external stores afterall! Additionally, each of the three external tanks pylons come setup to accept E-flite payload releases which means the external tanks can be made droppable very simply. So, with a little 3D printing the sky’s the limit as to what this model can and will carry! More on that to come as for this article, we're talking through the assembly of the model. I have a full repaint planned which we'll talk through next where I'll touch on the stores mods I made and then we'll finish it up with a full flight review…but, spoiler alert, this model flies incredible! (see my first flights video at the bottom of this article)

ABOUT THE MODEL

The Legend Hobby Skyraider kit comes available in multiple color schemes (US Navy Gray/White, US Navy Blue, AF Camo) without any markings applied or as an ARC. Of course, markings are included, but coming as a blank canvas, this also allows for full customization and there are so many great color schemes for the Skyraider to choose from! This particular model is the Southeast Asia camouflage ARF and was dressed in the kit supplied markings for the initial flights. Having a very unique and characteristic shark mouth, the model represents Skyraider BuNo 137628 which was assigned to the 22nd Special Operations Squadron (SOS), 56th Special Operations Wing (SOW) that flew from Operating Location Alpha-Alpha (OL-AA) at Da Nang, South Vietnam.

In the process of assembling the Skyraider, I decided to go with Hitec digital D645 servos for all of the primary surfaces and analog HS-645MGs for the remainder. The HS-645MG servos are plenty sufficient for the entire model, but I wanted to higher resolution and programmability for the primary controls. Additionally, instead of the kit supplied hardware, Du-Bro 4-40 hardware was purchased and used throughout. Here's the full run down on equipment used in the model.

86" A-1 Skyraider ► https://bit.ly/A1Skyraider
Retracts ► https://bit.ly/SkrdrGear
Motor ► https://bit.ly/Scr5535-160
ESC ► https://bit.ly/CC160HV
Flt Battery ► https://bit.ly/Smt6s7000
Prop ► https://bit.ly/Biela20x14
Receiver ► https://bit.ly/SpkAR20310
Rx Batteries ► https://bit.ly/Life3000
Transmitter ► https://bit.ly/SpktmiX20
Servos ► https://bit.ly/HtcD645
E-flite Payload Release ► http://bit.ly/Efl405
Pilot Head Controller ► https://thercgeek.com/RSMG
Markings ► 22nd Special Operations Squadron, 56th Special Operations Wing (kit supplied)

CONTROL SURFACE HINGING

Assembly begins with gluing hinges into all of the control surfaces. The kit comes with Robart style hinge points and to glue these, I like to use a good quality wood glue (eg. Titebond alphatic resin) . This allows a ton of working time to get the hinges set as desired. This is especially helpful when you're doing scale centerpoint hinging. In gluing the hinges, the hinge points were first oiled with 3 in 1 oil and then glued into each of the control surface first. Glue was squeezed into each of the hinge holes in the surface and on the hinges as well and the hinges were placed. Holding the hinges with a sanding block against the edge of my work bench, the alignment of each hinge was checked by moving the surface up and down. When satisfied, the surfaces were set aside to dry hinge side down to ensure the glue runs towards the glue interface. Once dried, everything was checked and then the surfaces were glued into the main flying surfaces (wings & tails) in the same manner.

WING ASSEMBLY

Assembly of the Skyraider starts with the wings and there's definitely a bit of work there. The wing center-section was tackled first (flaps, retracts, pylons) followed by the outboard wing sections (ailerons and pylons). The model features droppable wing tanks and rockets on the outboard pylons. For assembly, the tanks were setup, but when the repaint comes, the intention is to also 3D print a full weapons load as well that's representative of the subject model. As a result, the rockets weren't installed.

FLAPS AND AILERONS

The flaps feature an internal linkage which is a nice touch. A Hitec HS-645MG was installed which fit perfectly into the mount in combination with a Du-Bro 4-40 pushrod . The pushrod was connected to the servo and the servo inserted into the wing and then the clevis was connected to the flap. Note that I found in the process of setting up the wing, removing the flap servo hatch provided great access for routing wires and air line tubing.

For the ailerons, a Hitec D645 servo was used in combination with a Du-Bro 4-40 pushrod. The nice thing is that once the outoard pylons are installed, the external linkage is hidden pretty well.

AIR RETRACTS

For a project of this size, reliable gear are essential and I can say that I've had greater reliability with air retracts than electric, so I went for the Robart Air Retracts on this project. Installation starts with installing the air line onto the barbs of the retract cylinders. To do so, 3 in 1 oil is used at each connection to lubricate and seal the system as it goes together. The retracts themselves drop right into place and are held with 6 kit supplied bolts.

Additionally, the retracts come with some really nice scale tires. There are scale brake rotors machined into the inner wheel and there is an anti-rotation pin that needs to be installed which was lightly hammered into place. Note that the anti-rotation pin should be flush to the inside of the wheel cover, otherwise it will bind. Lastly, the tire was placed onto the strut and the axle pin was cut to length. Note that it's important to put a flat spot onto the axle for the retaining set screw so that it has a nice tight grip.

LANDING GEAR DOORS

The Skyraider kit comes with a full complement of landing gear doors which is a welcome addition to the kit. The first step is to get the forward strut door installed. This was done by using a Du-Bro flat hinge once the door location is sorted out (spend time sorting the placement before gluing and cutting anything). The hinge was CA'd to the door itself (be sure to oil the hinge point first!) and using an Xacto knife, a slot was cut into the wing leading edge to receive the other hinge half. Lastly, the hinge was glued into the wing with 5-minute epoxy which completed the front door installation. To pull the door closed, two small hooks were glued to the back of the door and a rubber band was looped around the strut. This made it really simple to pull the door closed and provides solid closing force on the door.

For the main doors, there are four slots in the wing for each door hinge. Similarly to the strut door, Du-Bro flat hinges were glued to the doors with CA once the placement of the doors was sorted (again, spend time working out the placement before gluing and cutting. Also, some sanding and custom fitting may be required). From there, the door hinges were inserted into the slots and a 1/16" hole was drilled through each and wood screws were used to hold the door hinges into the wing making the doors removable if ever necessary.

The doors are actuated via a single servo which drives a carbon torque rod that has two bellcranks glued to each end. Ensure when gluing the bellcranks that they are symmetrical left to right. I did modify the placement of the torque rod placing it to the floor of the wheel well compared to the instructions because if you are using the electric retracts, the placement shown results in an interference. The kit supplied wood parts were used to hold the torque rod in place and balsa wood parts were glued at each end to act as stoppers to keep the torque rod from sliding left to right. Lastly, door push rods and control horns were installed. There are ball-links at each end and it is best to ensure that everything is aligned well vertically when installing. It's important to spend time getting the push rod lengths set and work out the geometry for best leverage. Once everything was hooked up and working, a heat gun was used to heat the fiberglass up to be able to form it for a better fit as necessary. Additionally, two small magnets were installed at the leading edge of each door to help hold it closed in flight.

For the gear door sequencing, the built in landing gear sequencer was used in the ix20 radio. This provides full programmability which is extremely nice. Each gear door was plugged into a separate channel in the receiver (mostly so that one side can be reversed) and the timing was adjusted within the radio. Upon retraction the retract valve actuates immediately and the gear doors close after a 7 second delay. Upon extension, the doors open immediately upon with a 2 second delay for when the retract valve actuates.

FINAL RETRACT SETUP

During the fuselage assembly, to finish off the retract installation, the tail wheel was installed along with the air valve and all of the final connections in the fuselage. The tail wheel is a vertical wall mount type of setup and drops right into place being held in place via 4 bolts.

Lastly, the air valve was installed and the final timing of the gear doors was set. A Hitec HS-485HB servo was installed in an open servo slot in the fuselage in the area of the elevator and rudder servos. From there, the kit supplied wood mount was used to mount the valve and was glued in place. The servo requires very little travel to actuate the valve, so keep that in mind when setting it up. Additionally, the air fill valve along with a pressure gauge were installed for ease of access in the hatch area. Note that 3 in 1 oil was used to lubricate and seal every barb connection in the air system. This is extremely important as once the system was complete, it holds air literally for weeks if not longer!

PYLONS & EXTERNAL TANKS

To finish off the wing assembly, the kit provided external pylons and external fuel tanks were installed. The wing center section pylons are glued to the wing and are rigid mounted by a pair of 1/4" dowels which were first glued into the pylons with slow CA. Additionally, E-flite payload releases were installed into each (they're setup for this out of the box). The pylons out of the box didn't completely match the underside wing contour and so that was remedied using some light weight bondo material ( USC Icing ). The preparation started by placing some green Frog Tape on the wing underside surface at the pylon locations. On top of that, some clear packing tape was applied as bondo doesn't stick to packing tape. The pylons were set in place and aligned as desired and bondo was squished into all of the open gaps between the wing and the pylon intersection. Once the bondo was cured, the pylons were lifted up, the bondo was sanded flush all around with 180 grit sand paper and then the paint was touched up using Tamiya fine surface primer. Once completed, the pylons were glued in place with 5 minute epoxy.

With the wing center section pylons in place, the sway braces were installed per the instructions and then bent to an angle quasi matching the tank contour. The are threaded for 4mm button head bolts which are used to lock the tanks in place to keep them from swaying in flight. A 4mm lock nut is threaded to the back side which keeps the bolt in place and also helps avoid over tightening. It's important not to impart too much force into the payload release to avoid undue stress that could cause it to fail. The preload on the tanks should be just enough to keep the tank secure, but not so much that it interferes with the payload release. So, adjust the lock nuts accordingly to avoid this from happening.

To finish it all up, the outboard wing pylons were installed. The wing was masked off with Frog Tape to protect the finish and the pylons were all glued in with 5 minute epoxy installing them 2-3 at a time. They are setup for rockets which were provided, but I didn't install them with the intention of adding some 3d printed bombs during the repaint process.

FUSELAGE ASSEMBLY

The Skyraider fuselage assembly went quite a bit quicker than the wing as there's generally less tedious work to be completed. The rudder and elevator servos were installed first followed by completion of the air system and retract installation (discussed above) and finished up with the propulsion and final installation of the radio and power system.

ELEVATOR & RUDDER

The first item of business here is to glue on the horizontal stabilizers. With the wing center section in place and the airplane on it's gear on the work bench, the tails were glued on with 30 minute epoxy and microballoons to thicken it. As the epoxy cured, boxes were used to prop the tails so that they were square to the wing and vertical tail as it set (recommended to allow this to set overnight).

As mentioned, Hitec D645 servos were used on the primary flight controls of the Skyraider and there are two elevator servos and a single rudder servo that are installed into the airplane. For the elevator, Du-Bro 4-40 pushrods were used with a 4-40 ball link at the elevator and a solder link at the servo (there is sleeving in the fuselage, which makes running the pushrods easy). The rudder and steering were setup using Du-Bro 4-40 pull-pull hardware. A 4-40 ball link was used at the rudder control horn and a 4-40 adjustable quick link at the servo. For the steering, the cable was simply looped around the steering arm and crimped in place. Note that the pull-pull hardware is designed to loop around the connection and then is run through a crimping tube. It's important not to cut through the tubing when crimping the wire. It should be crimped tightly and then thin CA can be wicked into the tube for added assurance.

MOTOR & SOUND SYSTEM

To keep the scale integrity of the Skyraider cowl and avoid having to cut into it for an engine cylinder, I decided to go electric on the airplane. To install the scorpion 5535-160kv motor , 90mm standoffs available from Mikado USA were used which provided almost the perfect spacing when using the supplied motor prop plate insert (if placing prop up against the motor itself, the 100mm standoffs may be a better option). A drilling template was drawn ( download here ), lightly spray glued onto the firewall and the four mounting holes were drilled. The standoffs were fastened to the firewall (only hand tight), the motor was the installed at the end and then all of the fasteners were tightened fully in place. With those standoffs, the installation ended up being extremely quick and simple.

The finish of the look, a double row radial engine was 3d printed (found on thingiverse and scaled to 187mm diameter). The center cover was removed and clearanced so that the motor could fit through. Once the fit was satisfactory, the model was painted (and the motor front painted to match) and was glued to the motor standoffs using hot glue. The radial came out fantastic and when combined with the 20x14 4-blade Biela propeller , really completes the look of the front end of this Skyraider model. A big thank you to Corsair Nut for his help in getting the engine painted and installed.

A Model Sounds Inc. sound system was installed into the model to add that extra cool factor. The system was hooked up and the speakers were installed inside the cowl. A couple half bulkheads were made that tied into the motor standoffs which provided mounting tabs for the speakers to be installed onto. The initial configuration had the speakers installed at the top and bottom but were later reconfigured pointing outwards. The system is quite loud, but interestingly once things are closed up, it muffles the sound notably, so there may be some additional work to do here in the future. According to Model Sounds Inc, the best installation is having the speakers installed in the wings pointing downward being hidden only by screen door mesh with no obstructions. This would provide the loudest sound from the speakers.

COCKPIT

The kit comes with a prepainted and partially assembled cockpit that really looks quite nice when all finished and installed. The parts are vacuum formed and require some trimming, but all of the parts are included and the instructions show the assembly well. Combined with a 1/7 scale pilot from warbirdpilots.com , it really adds so much to the Skyraider model! Note that the pilot used included a servo actuated head which was paired with one of my Random Servo Motion Generators which provides random head movement. Again, a big thank you to Corsair Nut for his help in getting the cockpit built and installed.

PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER

That completed the assembly of the A-1 Skyraider and on the bench it is big and impressive! The shape is great and there's certainly no mistaking what this airplane is. For the initial flights, the kit supplied markings were applied which are simply peel and sticks and lay down really well onto the model. Note, to get the sharkmouth over the curvature of the cowl, a heat gun was used to heat up the sticker and help stretch and form it around the forward radius.

In setting up the airplane, the two Spektrum Smart 6s 7000 mah batteries were placed all the way forward in the hatch area up against the firewall. Additionally, the two Spektrum 2s 3000 mah Life packs were then placed on top of the flight packs forward to back. This put the CG at the forward location which was used for the first flight and felt great. Additionally, there are multiple control rates provided in the instructions. I setup the model with their high rates as my high rates, their low rates as my middle rates and I setup a third lower rate. I ultimately landed on using low rate elevator and mid rate aileron on the first flights.

FINAL THOUGHTS

The Legend Hobby A-1 Skyraider is an extremely impressive airplane that is straight forward to assemble and assembles well in the process. Take your time and you'll be rewarded with a fantastic looking (and flying! See my Skyraider first flights video below) warbird that is sure to turn heads at the field. Also, the Skyraider kit includes some really nice details through a fully detailed cockpit and an assortment of external tanks and rockets. This attention to detail really adds so much to the kit and opens all kinds of detailing opportunities. I see much 3d printing in my future! Next time, we'll talk through an entire repaint of the airframe along with panel lines and weathering. See you at the field!

Freewing MiG-29 Twin 80mm EDF Assembly & Flight Review

Tue, 17 Nov 2020 18:07:00 GMT

Greetings Comrades, We're Gettin' Miggy with it!

When one thinks of the late generation Russian fighters, the SU-27 is at the top of many lists. However, for me, the MiG-29 is the one that has fascinated me more. I think because it was a relatively new fighter in Russian service when I was a kid which created a certain ere of mystery surrounding it. Plus, as a design, it has a nice look that I've also kind of liked.

So, seeing the new Freewing MiG-29 come to market in its ever so unique Slovak digital camouflage trim scheme, I was very intrigued. Given the large size and the scale features, it looked like an extremely nice airplane and I'm happy to report it lives up the expectations! The airplane looks and flies great and has a great scale presence in the air that's so distinctive.

AIRCRAFT ASSEMBLY NOTES

Not surprisingly, the Freewing MiG-29 came in quite a large box which was packed well and efficiently. Unboxing the model, you truly start to get a sense of the size as well as the quality of the finish (it's quite smooth). Everything is broken down into the major components, so assembly was quick and painless. Note that for receiver, I'm using a Spektrum AR8010T 8 channel receiver .

The assembly of the MiG-29 starts with gluing the separate nose piece in place along with the 4 plastic clips along the seam. I used foam tac to do that which worked great. There is also a forward wood plate that gets screwed into place that provides a forward battery tray along with some additional strength along the nose seam. From there, the horizontal stabilizers are placed by first installing the aluminum pivot rod and the tails over it. The tails are held onto the rod with a collar, so it's important to ensure that the collar is tight. To finish it up, the vertical stabilizers are screwed into place followed by the wings.

On the bench, the airplane is quite impressive. It's a large airframe and the finish on it is quite nice. The digital camouflage is executed well and looks good on the airframe. Also, the model features nice scale landing gear as well as gear doors. Additionally, the cockpit area is cover is plastic which will help save it from texturing in the sun, so that is very nice! This airplane would really take some weathering nicely. There is a big tiger decal provided that can be placed on the vertical tail which I would have placed, but unfortunately the artwork was pretty pixelated, so I decided to pass.

One additional note on the Freewing MiG-29 is that the wing tips have quite a bit of camber to them. So, to reduce some of that, I split the difference on the aileron trailing edges to add a slight amount of reflex into the wing. The middle of the aileron trailing edge is set to the top of the wing tip for trim as shown below.

ELEVATOR SERVO REPLACEMENT & SETUP

As a whole, I've found the Freewing elevator servos on their jets marginal at best. This model was in the first batch of pre-orders which had a recall on the initial elevator servos. Replacements were sent out to everyone (and are being included in the subsequent batches) and the servos were replaced and they worked well enough. That being said, I still wasn't happy with the performance and so ultimately replaced both servos with Hitec D85mg servos . This is a large high performance jet, and so this gave me the most peace of mind in flying the airplane and they are a drop in fit.

In addition, I wasn't happy with the servo matching of the replacement stock servos as they did not operate symmetrically left to right. To rectify this, I setup the tail servos on separate channels which allowed me to program each to match each other perfectly. This does require bypassing the blue box inside the airplane and plugging those two servos directly into the receiver so keep that in mind. In the case of the D85 servos, they are programmable, so could be programmed to match via the programmer also.

TWIN CENTERBURNERS

The full scale MiG-29 was a full afterburning jet, so adding CenterBurners was a must! :) All of the newer 80mm Freewing EDFs are coming with 36mm diameter inrunner motors, so this is my twin 36mm inrunner setup. The inrunner designs simply use 4 set screws to clamp the tailcone in place onto the back of the motor which makes it pretty easy. The look is great in the airplane and is especially great in the air!

AIRCRAFT SETUP & CG

On the control surface setup, I prefer to setup individual elevator and aileron triple rates so I have options for the maiden flight. Through flying the MiG-29 I ultimately converged on my high rates for elevator and low rates for ailerons as that provided the best feel in the air. My final recommended control throws are as follows:

Elevator - 37mm with 10% expo
Aileron - 25mm with 10% Expo
Rudder - 45mm with 25% expo to desensitize the steering
Flaps - 22mm mid, 40mm full and no elevator mix is required

For the CG, the model has molded in CG marks which I found to feel about perfect in the air. Simply pick up the airplane with your finger tips at the rear edge of the mark and look for the aircraft to be level. I'm using a two Roaring Top 35c 6s 6250 mah batteries which are place as far back as they can realistically go inside the hatch area. My timer is set to 4:00 minutes as the airplane flies quite efficiently compared to other EDFs.

Note that the airplane flying at this CG location does require a good amount of up elevator trim for flying. The leading edge is set to about 3mm below the lower fuselage line as shown below. This is noted in the instructions as well and is something to be aware of.

FLYING THE FREEWING MiG-29 TWIN 80mm EDF

With an impressive looking model like this, the hope is that it flies equally as impressive and I'm happy to say that it holds up to expectations! The MiG-29 is quick at full throttle has great vertical performance and really looks and maneuvers extremely scale in the air. Rolls and verticals are all very nice and the model responds well. It has a really large flight envelope and so slows down on landings really nicely almost being too floaty at times in fact. That said, it sets into a nice nose up attitude and controlling the descent with power, the model will really get those greasers if you get it right. The scale landing gear work well and the model has nice large tires, so I would expect grass operations shouldn't be an issue.

The MiG-29 does include ordnance with the kit as well which is nice to have. I haven't flown the model with them yet to date however as they mostly just slow the airplanes down. Also, the fins are a bit flimsy, so you may noticed some buffeting from them in bumpy conditions. Hard to beat how the airplane looks and flies clean! :)

FINAL THOUGHTS

The Freewing MiG-29 really is an impressive beast of a jet. The model has a great finish, flies great and has some really nice features included with it. I also love the size of the model and the way that it looks and maneuvers in the air is awesome. I really hope that we will see more twin 80mm EDFs in this size because these larger airframes present and fly so nicely. Until next time comrades, I'll see you at the field!

Flightline RC Ta 152H 1300mm Wingspan Assembly & Flight Review (w/Weathering Tips!)

Tue, 20 Oct 2020 16:55:00 GMT

The Ta 152H, Kurt Tank's high-altitude fighter-interceptor!

The Ta 152H as a design is an extremely unique looking aircraft and is one that I have always been fascinated with. So, when I saw the FlightLineRC Ta152H 1300mm , I was excited to see it! So, I finally picked one up late last year for a rainy day and the model really captures the unique lines of the airplane well with accurate colors and paint in a really nice flying airframe.

Of the German Focke-Wulf designs from WWII, I have always liked the looks of the long nose 190s, especially the D9. There were so many evolutions of the design including the very capable high altitude Ta 152H , which featured a lengthened fuselage and rudder, high aspect ratio wing and pressurized cockpit. Being one of the fastest propeller driven aircraft of the war and capable of intercepting the high altitude B-29 bomber, it ultimately came too late to make an appreciable impact as only about 25 or so were built.

AIRCRAFT ASSEMBLY NOTES

The FlightLineRC Ta 152H was well packed and assembled quite simply only requiring just a few steps and a few fasteners. The long wing comes in two pieces, which is glued together first over the wing spar. Once joined, the plastic mounting joiners were glued as well and the wing was then mounted to the fuselage. From there the tails were installed and fastened into place and those were the primary assembly steps. The kit does include a number of detail parts which are a nice touch and include the wing pitot tube and guns along with the lower wing antenna and fuselage foot step.

With the airplane assembled, it really looks fantastic and characterizes the shape of the Ta 152H beautifully. The finish is quite smooth and the stock paint work is really nice having seemingly accurate colors as well. The kit includes a huge assortment of markings, so you can customize and make the model whatever you choose which is really nice. I did do some additional modifications (paint and landing gear) along with some weathering which really transformed the model even more!

SCALE LANDING GEAR MOD

I knew from the onset when I bought the Ta 152H that I wanted to look at modifying the landing gear to make them appear more scale. Out of the box, the landing gear hang over 90 degrees in the down position which isn't right for any warbird quite frankly. The full scale Focke-Wulf's had a very distinctive inward cant angle on the gear in the down position and so to achieve that look, it ended up being rather simple. Instead of angling the gear mounts or bending the strut wire, I simply glued a 1/32" plywood shim to the landing gear frame positioned such that when the gear extends, it limits the travel of the pivot block forcing them to stop at the desired angle (this also got rid of any slop in the retract with the gear down). With the angle sorted, I then I removed the tires and bent the axles with some plyers to get the correct tire angle. To finish off the look, my friend gifted me a set of ParkZone FW 190 tires which provided the perfect icing on the cake as they have a scale hub and are a more accurate (larger) diameter.

LATE WAR PAINT AND WEATHERING

In the process of assembly, I couldn't help but add a few late war paint modifications. As the war was coming to a close, aircraft were being pushed off the assembly line with mixed and unpainted parts. I wanted to model "Green 9" which, in all of the profiles I've seen of the airplane, has a solid colored engine cowl and in some cases has a large unpainted panels on the underside.

First things first, I masked off the cowl area with frog tape and spray painted it with Tamiya AS-14 Olive Green . The unpainted panel on the wing underside was masked and painted with Tamiya AS-12 Bare Metal Silver . In addition, the mottling of the paint wasn't as pronounced as I would have liked (especially on the dorsal), so I used Tamiya AS-23 Light Green and Tamiya AS-24 Dark Green to add some additional mottling (note Tamiya AS-5 Light Blue is a good match to the underside color also). This was done by spraying an amount of the individual colors into a paper cup and then spraying it through an airbrush onto the model. It was only just a light amount, but it was an improvement. Lastly, the red and yellow tail band was masked and painted using 2x Rustoleum Yellow and 2x Rustoleum Red .New Paragraph

With the paint work done, the markings on, and the airplane all together, it was time for some weathering. The finish is quite smooth on the airplane and although the panel lines are a bit on the large side, the model takes weathering very well. I followed the steps presented in my warbird weathering video (below) applying streaks and stains, shading, and paint chipping with one addition: since the panel lines weren't filled in on this model, I started out the process applying a thin acrylic wash over the entire model to dirty all of the panel lines. FolkArt Raw Umber was thinned with a combination of Windex and water to a very thin consistency. This was then sprayed over the entire model (attacking sections at a time) and then wiped off in the direction of the airflow on the flying surfaces and vertically on the fuselage. Tamiya Acrylic thinner was soaked into the paper towel as needed to clean any undesired excess on the surface. The result was dirty panel lines over the entire model providing the base for the rest of the process. Once that was done, the Raw Umber acrylic was applied in specific areas with a paint brush and wiped off with my finger in the direction of the airflow to simulate oil stains and streaks. For larger streaks, more acrylic was applied and it was streaked back with the use of a paper towel. To finish it all up, very thin black paint (consistency of dirty thinner) was used to lightly shade over all of the panel lines and apply exhaust stains. To blend all of the work together, then model was burnished down with a scotchbrite pad and paint chipping was added to complete the look. Lastly, the protect and blend the finish, a matte clear coat was applied over the entire model (clear canopy was masked off first) using the 2x Rustoleum Matte Clear and violas, a late war fighter is born! ;)

AIRCRAFT SETUP & CG

The aircraft setup was straight forward, but there are a couple notes to mention before talking through the controls. First of all, a Spektrum AR620 receiver was used in the airframe and it was programed on a Dx8 Gen2 . The model includes a "blue box" controller for the wing functions, but seeing as that is another potential failure point, I bypassed that and used y-harnesses to tie each of the individual functions together which then went to the receiver. The airplane is pretty light and does get bumped around a bit in winds, so I could see some slight gyro stabilization could be beneficial.

Also, in the process of the radio setup, I burned up the flap servos and so replaced them with Hitec HS-5070s which fit perfectly. The stock flap servos aren't the strongest, so even just light pressure in the up flap position will eventually burn them out which was the issue here.

For the control surface setup, I found the recommended high rates were quite sensitive and ultimately landed on lower rates than recommended. Through flying the airplane I landed on a mid rate elevator (with expo) and low rate aileron. This equates to the following rates:

Elevator - 8mm with 10% Expo
Aileron - 7mm with 5% Expo
Rudder - 15mm with No Expo
Flaps - 10mm half and 25 full with no elevator mix at all

The CG location recommended in the manual is 72mm as measured from the wing leading edge root aft and that CG felt about perfect from the get go. I recommend when CG'ing the airframe, pick up the airplane at the location (upside down is the easiest way, with gear down) and the airplane should be about level or slightly nose down.

For the battery, I'm using an Spektrum Smart 4s 3200 mah pack which provides excellent power and flight times. With the battery installed, the forward edge of the battery is aligned with the forward edge of the plywood battery tray. The transmitter timer is set for 5 minutes and the airplane could easily fly longer as it's quite an efficient flyer.

FLYING THE FLIGHTLINERC TA 152H

Having had some previous flying experience with a similar sized composite Ta 152H, I knew that the configuration flies great, but the long high aspect ratio wing design can have some unique characteristics at slow speeds. Well, I'm happy to report that FlightLineRC Ta 152H is extremely forgiving and hasn't exhibited in any bad habits in the air and tracks beautifully and true. With the paint and weathering, I love the looks of it in the air! The model has great overall performance on 4 cells which provides nice large verticals and good speed at full throttle. With the flaps down, the airplane slows wonderfully for landings and is quite forgiving on the touchdown usually sticking even those not so perfect landings. It is worth noting that during the landing ground roll, to be prepared to input up elevator as the airplane rolls to a stop as the tail does reaming flying at quite low speeds and so holding up elevator will avoid a potential nose over.

One thing to be aware of on the takeoffs is to avoid holding excess elevator during the acceleration to liftoff. The airplane is quite light and can become airborne sooner than expected which will cause it to tip stall. So, my recommendation is to keep the elevator at neutral, slowly apply the throttle and read and react to the airplane as needed. The tail will lift off quite early which looks awesome on those long scale main gear. Also, the airplane will pull to the left, so anticipating with some right rudder doesn't hurt.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Well, there we have the FlightLineRC Ta 152H . This is a great flying little airplane that looks great out of the box and even better with some simple weathering and paint touches. The airplane loves 4s for flight time and performance and is extremely fun with that power. The shape of the Ta 152H really is a sight to see in the air, the silhouette is quite unique! Now, if we can just get a nice sized FW 190 D9. ;) Until next time, I'll see you at the field!

E-flite F-18 Blue Angels 80mm EDF Assembly & Flight Review

Tue, 22 Sep 2020 16:50:00 GMT

Blue Angels FTW!

One of my favorite jets from last year was the E-flite F-18 Hornet . The way that airplane flies I just fell in love with (that's not to mention the gorgeously scale landing gear ;) ). At the time, I even considered repainting it into a Blue Angel color scheme, so you can imagine my excitement when I found out about the E-flite F-18 Blue Angels !

Please note that I did a full review of the original E-flite F-18 Hornet offering last year. We will cover some of the same items here that we did in the previous review, but this being a Blue Angels, I did some small modifications here that are worth talking through. Those include some paint work on the exhaust nozzles along with the removal of any weapons on the airframe. It's a Blue Angel which means, she should be as slick as possible!

This incarnation of the E-flite F-18 features the same components and assembly as its previous counterpart. It's a very easy assembly starting with the installation of the vertical tails followed by the horizontal tails and finished up with the installation of the wings. The kit features a selection of tail numbers (I chose #7 of course!) and so I cut a couple blue pieces from the spares to cover up any screw holes along the airframe. All together, the airplane looks fantastic and I love the Blue Angels colors personally. Oh, and I would be remiss not to mention my favorite feature of the scale landing gear, they're sick!

One thing to note regarding the horizontal tail installation, the control horn in the stabilizer engages a nub on the servo arm which is what actuates the tails. It's important to ensure that the tails are pushed on fully so that the control horn fully engages the nub on the servo arm. I've not had any issues to date with the servo arms on the two F-18s I've flown to date.

MISSILE REMOVAL

The model comes with pre-installed missiles on the body and the wingtip rails. So, in the process of assembly, I removed them and touches up the paint.

The body missiles were first cut off of the body using a sharp Xacto knife. The area was lightly sanded square and then the area was filled in with Sherwinn Williams Shrink Free Spackle . Once dry, the spackle was sanded square with a sanding block and the area was coated with a couple light coats of Minwax Polycrilic to seal it. To finish it up, the area was masked off and painted with Testors Model Masters Blue Angel Blue spray paint. It's not quite an exact match, but it was close enough.

The wing tip rail missiles were removed in a similar fashion, except in this case, a dremel was used to cut a slot into the wing tip rail for a carbon rod to be embedded into it. The carbon rod was glued in with CA, and then the same fill, sand, seal and paint process was applied as mentioned above. In the process, the plastic mounting tabs were cut free and swapped left to right. The rails as is don't align properly onto the wing tips, so swapping them pushes the missile rails forward giving the proper look at the wing tip.

EXHAUST NOZZLE PAINT

To finish it all off, the plastic exhaust nozzles were masked with Frog Tape and painted with some ALCLAD II Aluminum and Dark Aluminum paints. Some grime was added using a Raw Umber FolkArt acrylic paint wash. This gave a much more scale and Blue Angels characteristic look to the airframe.

AIRCRAFT SETUP & CG

For the aircraft setup, this is the bind and fly version of which means that it includes SAFE select. I have a previous discussion on setting that up here should you want to know more about that. The thing to keep in mind is that there are two bind procedures. In my case here, I didn't want SAFE on, so I simply bound it normally for SAFE off.

In setting up the model, I simply used my previously setup Dx file which made things quite easy. I'm flying with a high rate elevator and a mid/low rate aileron and I love the responsiveness there. The airplane does rotate easiest with partial flaps, so I recommend that only after you've gotten the airplane trim and the mix worked out in flight first.

Elevator - 22mm with 8% expo
Aileron - 10mm with 5% Expo
Rudder - 10mm with 20% expo to desensitize the steering
Flaps - 30mm half and 45mm full with a 1mm and 3mm up elevator mix respectively

In terms of the CG, I'm flying the airplane closer to the aft CG recommendation in the manual. This equates to 75mm as measured from the wing leading edge root aft right at the leading edge extension. This coincides with the corner of the angle cut of the wing as it interfaces with the fuselage. If you pick up the airplane with your finger tips at that location and look for the airplane to be level, that should get you the right CG. The airplane flies great there and lands nicely.

E-flite recommends the Spektrum 35c 6s 5000 mah SMART pack which works great, but expect about a 3 minute timer there. So, in addition, I'm using a Roaring Top 6s 6250 mah pack which fit perfectly into the battery area without any modification and a closer to 3.5 minutes which gives plenty of reserve flying the airplane hard (in air time is about 4 minutes).

FLYING THE E-FLITE F-18 BLUE ANGELS

As I mentioned at the beginning of this article, the E-flite F-18 was one of my favorites from last year. Well, with this release, it's quickly become my favorite for this year as well! The aircraft looks and performance are just so scale in appearance and the way that the airplane feels to fly, I just really enjoy flying it greatly. Especially now with the Blue Angels paint scheme, it's fun to shoot dirty rolls on takeoff, point rolls, and other prototypical Blue Angel airshow maneuvers and the model displays them wonderfully. The airplane will even knife edge quite well! The only maneuver I haven't tried yet though is the dirty loop…all in due time. ;)

This has been touched on a little previously, but it should be noted that F-18s as a whole have a fairly unique ground handling during takeoff. Large rudder inputs will result in the airplane rocking left to right on its gear, so be aware of that and tune your rates and expo accordingly. Also, the airplane lands really nicely with flaps. I found that keeping some power all the way to the ground really helps the airplane land and settle nicely. Cutting the throttle in the flare would otherwise tend to cause the airplane to drop in harder.

Though the Blue Angels model does come with external stores, I didn't fly this one with it…and as you noticed, I removed them all together in true Blue Angels fashion. That said, here's a full stores video from my previous review. The airplane does look good with the stores on, but they do increase the drag which means less top speed and shorter flight times. Also, flying with full stores required about 12 clicks of additional up elevator trim in flight.

FINAL THOUGHTS

The E-flite F-18 Blue Angels is a really good looking and great flying EDF…and let's not forget those landing gear are sick! There are a couple things to keep in mind on this airplane when it comes to takeoff, but as long as you are aware, then you can be prepared and you're rewarded with a great flyer. Now that I have a #7 Blue Angels in the hangar, I can now pretend that I'm on that Blue Angels media ride that I'll never get! ;) Until next time, I'll see you at the field!

E-flite EC-1500 Twin 1.5m Cargo Assembly & Flight Review

Tue, 01 Sep 2020 16:58:00 GMT

EC-1500 OPERATION TANK DROP!

The aerobatic cargo plane has been kind of a thing lately and upon seeing the E-flite EC-1500 twin 1.5m Cargo , it most definitely looked like a fun airplane. Being fully aerobatic with reconfigurable ailerons and flaps to suit the desired performance and aircraft response along with an operational cargo door, there was no question I would have fun with one in the hangar! And, I KNEW that I had to drop something…the only question was what would it be?! ;)

Though the model isn't painted in a scale paint scheme out of the box, the model itself is actually inspired by the C-27 Spartan which has served in the US military and Coast Guard as well as many other forces around the world. Truth be told, I wasn't too aware of the C-27 Spartan as an aircraft, but I quickly learned through watching videos of the full scale online that it was an impressive beast. It's is the only cargo aircraft I've actually seen execute a legitimate knife edge and it's pretty awesome to behold! So, as it turns out, those epic knife edge passes with this airplane are indeed scale! ;) Oh, and you've probably noticed the C-27 Spartan livery on the model…I couldn't handle it, I had to make it a true C-27 and I love it!

AIRCRAFT ASSEMBLY NOTES

The EC-1500 assembly was a very simple process as the parts count is very low being broken down into only the large components. The vertical tail is attached first and is held in place by two screws. From there, the horizontal tails slide into place over a carbon tube spar and snap into place. I found the snap lock on the tails a really unique features as I'd not seen this before on previous models. Also, there is an elevator torque rod with plastic paddles which slip into each base of the elevators resulting in a hidden elevator pushrod setup. Next, the wings are placed onto the fuselage over the main wing spar and held in place via four nylon bolts. The wing features hard mounted connectors, so no need to keep track of servo connectors or wires at all. Lastly, to wrap it all up, the props are placed on each of the motors.

With the airplane together and on the bench, it's a pretty cool model to behold. It's a good size and the cargo bay door is awesome! I can't say I'm a fan of the stock paint scheme (hence the repaint), but there's no question as to whether or not the airplane is easy to see in the air. ;) It's a faux Coast Guard scheme which definitely works though as the C-27 is currently being operated by the USCG.

There are a couple things to note related to the assembly. First of all, the ailerons and flaps are reconfigurable on the wings to tune your desired style of flying. For me, I wanted the large flaps and so I configured small ailerons and large flaps. There are two plastic joiners to choose from which are held in place with tape. The model came with the large aileron setup, so removing the tape and swapping the joiners was required and an easy prospect.

Secondly, I noticed that the propeller collets when pushed all the way onto the motor shaft actually bottomed out against the motor can. So, when tightening the props down, I recommend sliding the collet all the way on and then slightly backing it away from the motor can so that the collet has room to really synch down hard. Otherwise, there's a possibility that the collet won't tighten fully and could result in the prop flying off.

A QUICK REPAINT

The truth is, the airplane didn't stay in the stock paint scheme for too long. Being inspired by the C-27 Spartan, I really wanted to paint the airplane up as one. So, with the help of my son, we peeled the stickers off, applied a couple coats of minwax polycrylic, applied a couple coats of Rustoleum 2x primer and painted away. I used Rustoleum 2x Granite for the gray and 2x Black for the leading edges and then did a little weathering to finish it up. The markings I made myself out of clear water slide decal paper for the black markings and a laser printable white vinyl for the color markings. The window graphics came from Callie-Graphics . I absolutely love the end result as it really transformed the airplane for me! Here's a quick video on the process we used.

AIRCRAFT SETUP & CG

Once the airplane was assembled (and subsequently repainted ;) ), it's all about the radio setup. This is the bind and fly version of the EC-1500 which means that it includes SAFE Select (see my discussion on SAFE here ). I originally bound the airplane with SAFE off and found that the rudder throw wasn't where I wanted it and I couldn't effectively get more from it. I found that binding the aircraft with SAFE on and then assigning SAFE to a switch and turning SAFE off there, resulted in considerably more rudder throw available (the viperjet has the same issue). This worked out too as I had the intention of using the model as a trainer for my son anyhow, so it gives that extra layer or protection.

Through flying the airplane I honed in on the following rates. Please note, as mentioned, I have the airplane configured for large flaps and small ailerons, so if you have it configured for the large ailerons, you may need to reduce the aileron rate.

Elevator - 15mm up and down, 15% expo
Aileron - 27mm up and down, No Expo (small aileron configuration)
Rudder - 38mm left and right, 25% expo to desensitize the steering
Flaps - 28mm mid, 44mm full with about a 5% and a 9% down elevator mix respectively which is only about 1mm in physical down elevator travel

I'm flying the airplane with a Roaring Top 35c 4s 6250 mah battery which provides some really awesome flight times and makes obtaining CG fairly simple. I have the battery pushed forward in the battery area up against the steering servo. This equates to a CG location of 70mm as measured from the wing leading edge aft. This feels great and provides some great maneuverability from the airplane.

FLYING THE E-FLITE EC-1500 TWIN 1.5M

It took me a couple flights to get used to the airplane and truth be told, it wasn't until after the repaint that I truly fell in love with the model. It's such a fun and unique flying airplane that provides some exciting aerobatics but also has the cargo drop capability. It has great power on 4s and will perform most any scale type maneuver you want to try with it (loops, rolls, etc.)…including a knife edge just like the real one! ;) As mentioned previously, I do have the airplane configured with the large flaps and small ailerons. I chose this because I wanted to have the ability to really slow the airplane down on approach and landings. I will say that the roll rate isn't extremely quick, but it's certainly quick enough for performing any of the maneuvers I want to perform. I have not flown the airplane with the large ailerons, but if you are wanting more roll rate from the model, that would certainly be the way to go.

One of the real draws of the EC-1500 is the cargo door. I picked up a mini tank off of Amazon which has been a blast to drop out of the cargo door of the airplane. I like to place it at the base of the door, and then shoot a touch and go and drop the door during the roll out (dropping in flight didn't quite work, it needs a parachute). The tank driver drives the tank out the back onto the runway and hilarity ensues as the tank bounces to a stop and lands upright (most of the time). It's always a good time and the kids especially love it! I think that includes the 12 year old adults too (myself included)…

Oh, and here's a bonus flight video of the airplane in her C-27 colors. It really transformed the airplane for me and completely changed the look.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Well, there we have the E-Flite EC-1500 Twin 1.5m cargo plane . This has been such a fun airplane to have in the hangar and I find myself taking it with me to the field pretty often. It's also going to be a great next step trainer for my son if he hopefully has the interest to get to that point. Now I need to find some additional goodies to drop out of the cargo door. I'm thinking some paratroopers may be in order. Until next time, I'll see you at the field!

E-flite Sukhoi SU-30 twin 70mm EDF Assembly & Flight Review

Tue, 18 Aug 2020 16:56:00 GMT

The Iconic SU-30...It's a Flanker-C, see?!

When talking about modern Russian fighter jets, the Sukhoi SU-27 Flanker family of aircraft are truly unmistakable. Designed as an air superiority multi-role fighter, it is an extremely capable jet with extremely impressive maneuverability (especially when paired with multi-axis thrust vectoring). The SU-30 represents a powerful evolution within the Flanker family adding further capability into the design including the addition of a second crew member for multi-mission capability, upgraded avionics and additional operational endurance and range.

So, after seeing the E-flite SU-30 twin 70mm EDF at the last AMA West trade show, it was only a matter of time before one would enter the hangar as it was undoubtedly a sweet ride! The SU-30 kit itself is one of the nicest EDF foam jets that I have seen to date being of a great size and featuring robust scale landing gear, a scale speed brake and a finish that could make most modelers drool. Flying the airplane further confirmed just how nice this airplane truly is as it looks incredible in the air and flies extremely well.

AIRCRAFT ASSEMBLY NOTES

Immediately upon arrival, you start to get a sense of the size of E-flite SU-30 and it's packaged in quite a large box. The model is broken down into all of the major assemblies and so assembly itself is quite simple (the airframe is assembled with only 10 screws!). Once unpacked, assembly begins with attachment of the vertical tails followed by the horizontal tail pivot rods and tails. From there the wings are installed followed by the ventral fins and then it's on to the radio setup. In short, assembly was quick and simple!

With the airplane assembled and on its gear, you are struck with the unmistakable Sukhoi shape of the SU-30 . The outline of the model looks great and the paint, fit, and finish is excellent…not to mention that it is a nice large airframe taking up a good portion of the workbench. There's a full complement of missiles as well should you choose to fly with them (ultimately, they add flight time robbing drag, so I never did fly with them on). Additionally, the scale landing gear look incredible and there are a full complement gear doors as well. It had been a while since I'd seen one of these jets assembled and having it setting on my bench, I was reminded at just how nice of a model it is. If I had one wish, the white areas are bare foam, so I do wish they were painted white. That said, it's an easy prospect to paint those areas using frog tape and a replacement set of markings.

The one modification I had to make was to add twin MiniBurners into the airplane. This is my newer design for the smaller fans and it really adds a whole other dimension to this airplane in flight. Installation consists of removing the fans and unplugging the ESC wires. From there, the wires are fed through a slot in the tailcone and then the tailcone placed onto the back of the motor. 3 set screws hold the tailcone in place. From there, the fan wires are reconnected to the ESCs and the fans installed back into the airframe. The controller wires were then routed forward into the canopy hatch area (for this install, some 12" servo extensions were necessary to get the right wire length) and the controller connected via a y-harness with the throttle channel. I originally had lined the exhausts with aluminum tape, but the tape began peeling up on the first few flights, so I removed it. I didn't notice any difference in brightness.

AIRCRAFT SETUP & CG

For the aircraft setup, this is the bind and fly version of which means that it includes SAFE select . I have a previous discussion on setting that up here should you want to know more about that. The thing to keep in mind is that there are two bind procedures whether SAFE on or off is desired. In my case here, I wanted SAFE off, so I simply bound the airplane normally for SAFE off. This is a high performance scale jet, so you'll certainly have more fun without safe than with. :)

On the control surface setup, I prefer to setup individual elevator and aileron triple rates so I have options for the maiden flight. Through flying the airplane I ultimately converged on my high rates all around as that provided the best feel in the air. My final recommended control throws are as follows:

Elevator - 52mm up/40mm down with 5% expo (note the elevator should be centered carrying a slight up elevator per the instructions. Also, when setting the pushrods, be sure to sight the elevators so they are set symmetrically to each other)
Aileron - 18mm with 10% Expo
Rudder - 20mm with 15% expo to desensitize the steering

Note that there are no flaps as the airplane has a scale single aileron control surface on each wing. Ultimately, it would be nice to play with flaperons and tailerons, but that would also require replacing the receiver that comes in the BnF in favor of one with more channels. Additionally, some modifications to the existing plug configuration would be required to split out the two aileron and tail servos as currently, the two sets of servo wires are each are y-harnessed together, but in a semi permanent way with the two wires combined into a single plug at the receiver for each.

For the CG, the airplane is being flown at around the mid location of the CG noted in the manual. This equates to approximately 125-130mm as measured from the wing leading edge root aft. I'm using a Spektrum 30c 6s 7000 mah SMART battery pushed as far back in the battery area as possible and this was where the CG fell out. The airplane may be a touch nose heavy, but as a whole it feels good in the air and lands quite nicely. The timer is set to 3:30 minutes is the setup for landing timer, so in air time is about 4 minutes.

FLYING THE E-FLITE SU-30 TWIN 70mm EDF

The hope with a model that looks as good as this SU-30 is that it will fly equally as well and I'm happy to report that the airplane really flies beautifully. The configuration lends itself well to a good flying model and that is certainly the case here. What really strikes you is just how nice and scale the airplane looks while flying and maneuvering around. The airplane locks in really true, is responsive on the controls, maneuvers well, and has a good speed envelope. Though, it's not the fastest EDF jet on the block, it does have good speed at full throttle, especially coming out of a shallow dive and with that speed penetrates into the vertical well. Without that speed into the vertical, expect smaller uplines.

Being as large and heavy as this airplane is, it really slows down nicely for landings. The speed brake is a nice addition and helps drag the airplane up a bit which helps and there's no discernible pitch change either, so there's really no reason not to use it. The airplane does like a nice pitch up attitude during landing using power to help manage the descent rate. Interestingly, it takes only just a little power (even with the speed brake up) to establish the right descent rate into the landing. A nice combination of flare and power can really get you some nice soft touchdowns.

FINAL THOUGHTS

The E-flite SU-30 twin 70mm EDF is such a nice airplane. The airframe quality and finish set the bar in terms of foam EDF jets in my mind, it is that nice! Add to that the airplane has great flight characteristics and good performance, so it has the entire package. I'm really looking forward to getting more flights on this one! Until next time, I'll see you at the field!

Avios Mig-17 Fresco 90mm EDF Assembly & Flight Review

Tue, 28 Jul 2020 16:45:00 GMT

Oh Avios MiG-17, mine kids hath dubbed thee "cow plane."

Truth be told, I'm normally all about US airplanes generally, especially Navy jets, but if there was one Mig that I could have in my hangar, it would be the Mig-17. I think it's the highly swept wing that strikes me most about it in addition to the lengthened fuselage…that's not to mention afterburner too! Compared to it's older brother, the Mig-15, the Mig-17 just has such nicer lines in my mind. So, after seeing the Hobbyking Avios Mig-17 , it was all I could do keep from ordering one! Hobbyking has been putting out some nice airframes and I will say up front that the Avios Mig-17 is a nice sized, well finished airplane that is an extremely forgiving flyer. There were however, some frustrations in the assembly process resulting in some rework that was required to get the airplane to where it needed to be. Bottom line, the airplane could use better servos as they are pretty marginal in my mind and not very precise.

With the NATO reporting name of "Fresco," the Mig-17 found itself in use amongst numerous countries around the world and was especially prevalent during the Vietnam War. There was in fact a secret program code named "HAVE DRILL" that took place in the late 60's where a captured Mig-17 was tested at Groom Lake to characterize the performance and combat capability against various US aircraft. Interestingly enough, in close air combat, the Mig-17 proved more maneuverable and dominant to the US fighters. However, the more powerful US fighters such as the F-4 Phantom could out accelerate the Mig-17, so as a result, the engagement tactics were revised to keep the Migs at a distance vs fully engaging at close range. This kept the US fighters out of the range of the Migs guns, while keeping it in range of the US guided missiles and having an acceleration advantage, the F-4 could be out of range of the guns in about 30 seconds. In the case of the A-4, A-6, and A-7, they were given a do not engage order against the Mig-17. A very interesting result considering that the Mig-17 was considered mostly out dated by that time!

AIRCRAFT ASSEMBLY NOTES

The Avios Mig-17 was nicely packaged and pulling the airplane from the box, you are greeted with the nice lines of the Mig-17. Parts count is low and the finish is smooth with the paint applied well. There are definitely some nice features like the split flaps and speed brakes as well as the all metal retracts which work well (albeit in a strange manner based on the gear sequencer which I ultimately tossed in the trash…but more on that later).

In terms of the assembly itself, the parts fit I found quite decent as a whole, however, as noted previously, the assembly was a bit fiddly and took quite a bit of time. First of all, the servos that are used are pretty low quality which when ultimately setup do work, but are marginal for torque on most of the surfaces, especially on the elevators and flaps. To help rectify this, I used the lower holes on the servo arms for the pushrods to help get the most torque as was feasible from the servos. Without this, most of the servos would just grind and hum struggling to hold center. The other part of this was that I don't think one servo arm was clocked the same left to right on the servos in the airframe, so as a result, extra work was required to either dig out the servo and fix the arm clocking (which I wasn't about to do for every single servo), or get the pushrod lengths proper to account for the mismatch. I chose to just deal with the mismatch mechanically where I could. The main gear doors and speed brakes were especially fun requiring quite a bit of manual adjustments to get operating symmetrically while also needing the servo arms reclocked.

Once the airplane is assembled, you are greeted with a really nice looking representation of the Mig-17 that really does have some great features. The shape of the airframe looks about spot on to me in fact! The size is especially nice being just about an even 1/8 scale and the finish really does look good. So, working through the challenges was certainly worth the end result.

CENTERBURNER FTW!

One of the draws for the Mig-17 is the fact that it has an afterburning engine. It's hard not to enjoy a picture of a Mig-17 at an airshow with flames shooting out of the tail pipe! So, to fit a CenterBurner onto the Avios fan, we designed up a new tailcone for it. The end result was a fantastic and authentic looking afterburner in the airplane. The flicker is just perfect for this one.

Also, there was a 3d printable exhaust nozzle for this airplane available for download on Thingiverse . So, I chose to print one up and install it as the foam nozzle was already creased and dinged. It's a more scale and durable replacement to what comes on the airplane.

LET'S TALK RETRACTS & GEAR DOORS

In talking about the retracts, I was quite impressed with the retract units as well as the struts. They are both fully made of metal and have worked quite reliably. That said, the retract cycle sequence was quite odd in that when the airplane was powered on, it required multiple gear switch cycles allowing the gear doors to fully cycle for the gear to finally operate. I never actually figured out what the required cycle was. Also, the inner gear doors closed when the landing gear were down which isn't actually scale to the airframe and was a product of the gear sequencer in the airplane. So, following one of the main gear door servos getting stripped when it operated out of sequence, I opted to remove the gear sequencer from the airplane entirely and to mechanically operate the doors so they functioned scale.

The first item of business was to remove the gear door sequencer and to plug the retract lead directly into the receiver. This resulted in the gear operating in a much more logical and consistent manner. When the aircraft is powered on with the gear down, the gear operate the first time straight away. When the aircraft is powered on with the gear up, the gear switch needs to be cycled twice before the gear come down and then they operate consistently following that. So much simpler!

To achieve the mechanically actuated gear doors and following the removal of the door servos, first a spring was made from 0.032" wire that pushes and keeps the inner door open when the gear are down. The wire was bent in a large "Z" with the top being approximately 1" or so long. The shorter end was embedded into the foam with the vertical part glued onto the foam in the wheel well with the longer end extending towards the gear door with a slight angled bend towards to door to apply positive force to open the door. Note that a compression spring could potentially do the same thing here. From there, a piece of 0.47" wire was bent into an "L" shape and glued to the inner door such that when the gear retracts, the wheel catches the wire and pulls the door closed. There was a bit of mechanical adjustment necessary to the wire bend to get the gear door to close fully. Lastly, a small magnet was glued to the tip of the door and the wing simply to ensure that the door fully closes tight when retracted.

AIRCRAFT SETUP & CG

On the control surface setup, I used the manual recommendations as a mid rate starting point, but did not follow the expo recommendations (I generally prefer a bit more feel around center than some folks). I then added a higher and lower rate so that they would be available on the maiden flight. Ultimately, through flying the airplane, here's what I settled on for rates.

Elevator - 13mm with 5% expo
Aileron - 15mm with 10% Expo
Rudder - 18mm with 15% Expo
Flaps - 15mm half and 33mm full with no elevator mix

In terms of the CG, I'm flying the airplane at the recommended CG location which is 300mm as measured from the leading edge root aft. This feels good in the air (albeit quite neutral), and the airplane lands really nicely as well. I should mention that the airplane is quite light on the nose based on the landing gear placement. It's a blast for shooting wheelies, but it seems that the main gear might be a little too far forward on the model. It's not a big deal at all, but if you're shooting wheelies, understand that as the airspeed decreases, you lose rudder authority before you lose elevator authority which means that there's a threshold where the airplane won't respond to rudder inputs until the nose wheel is on the ground. Also, being so light on the nose, the nose bounces around quite a bit during taxi.

In terms of the flight battery, I'm flying the airplane with a 6s Spektrum 7000mah pack. There is plenty of battery space, so fitting large packs in there is really not a problem at all which is nice. My timer is set at 3.5 minutes and that gives me plenty of reserve flying the airplane really hard. To get the CG, the battery is placed all the way to the rear on the battery area which works out perfectly.

FLYING THE AVIOS MIG-17 FRESCO

Working through the assembly difficulties, you are rewarded with a really nice flying airframe. The model itself is quite large in fact and really looks great in flight. In the air, the model has great power and an impressively large speed envelope being rather quick at full throttle and slowing down hugely on landings with the flaps and speed brakes deployed. Maneuverability is decent and the Mig-17 also has very good vertical performance as well being capable of large loops, etc. The model did require quite a bit of right aileron trim on the maiden, so I would recommend sighting down your wings prior to the maiden. It appears that the right wing may be slightly warped at the tip on this model. As good of a flying airframe as this is, the one thing that I will say is that I haven't found it to be a real precise flyer. What I mean is that the response isn't particularly crisp compared to other models that I've flown and I think that this may be an artifact of the servos. It would imagine the response would be quite a bit better with some more precise servos on the ailerons and elevators.

Here's a short flight video of the Mig-17 in action. This is the stock airframe with the Spektrum 30c 7000 mah pack . My timer is set for 3.5 minutes which is when I setup for landing which means it's over 4 minutes of in air time. I like to fly the airplane pretty hard, but that could be extended with greater throttle management.

FINAL THOUGHTS

There we have the Avios Mig-17 . This is an impressive airplane with some really cool features that is an extremely forgiving flyer. With some better quality electronics in there, this airplane would probably be amazing! I can only imagine what it would do with an 8s setup, but I wouldn't want to go there with the stock servos. Until next time, I'll see you at the field!

E-Flite P-39 Airacobra 1.2m Assembly & Flight Review

Tue, 14 Jul 2020 16:45:00 GMT

Airacobra Kai Never Dies!

The P-39 Airacobra is one of those well-proportioned and unique warbirds that, for whatever reason, you really don't see very often at the field. With the mid fuselage engine placement and long prop shaft design of the full size aircraft, the result is a nicely streamlined airplane. So, I was excited to see E-flite announce their P-39 Airacobra 1.2m as it's a great platform for a fantastic flying model and provides something you don't otherwise see very often. Plus, if you crash the airplane like we did…then hey, you get to refinish it and make it look even better! ;)

As a WWII fighter, over 9,500 Airacobras were built during its production from 1940-1944 marking it as one of the most successful aircraft built by Bell Aircraft. The unique engine configuration allowed for the integration of a 37mm cannon in the nose which shot through the center of the spinner and needless to say packed quite the punch. Though requisitioned by the US Army Air Force and operated by numerous countries, the airplane found its greatest success and use in the Soviet Red Air Force during WWII as its performance and armament suited their needs well. In fact, five of the top ten highest scoring Soviet aces logged the majority of their victories in the P-39 Airacobra.

I was excited for the E-flite P-39 Airacobra 1.2m as I really liked the looks of the airplane. It arrived well packed and was an extremely simple assembly having only the major components to put together. It starts with placing the tails and then bolting the one piece wing onto the fuselage. I did find that the wing bolts were a little stiff to screw in in some cases, so be sure to check that the wing is fully seated and secure before flying. Also, the kit includes a centerline tank which adds a little schmaltz giving it a neat look. Note that the airplane does have hard mounted connectors in the wing, so be sure to double check through the hatch area that the are all fully seated well.

With the airplane assembled and on the bench, it really looks great and represents the Airacobra really well, even having the characteristic long nose strut and wide main gear stance. Also, the airplane has scale split flaps just like the full size which is certainly a nice touch. The camouflage paint is well done and the colors appear decently accurate with some nice distinctive markings as well. There's definitely no mistaking this one!

CRASHED?? NO PROBLEM!

During the course of collecting media for this review, I had asked a friend of mine to fly the airplane so that I could take some flight pictures. He is a good pilot, but does tend to fly more neutrally setup 3d type aerobatic aircraft at a generally low airspeed. So, after a couple passes at a low airspeed (great for pics!) while I was taking pics, he decided to provide an inverted pass but didn't increase the airspeed. So, as a result, the airplane had insufficient elevator authority to maintain the inverted flight (exacerbated by a nose heavy CG) and it pancaked on its back into the brush at the field. I set the airplane a side for a while after that, but not to be deterred, I wanted to refinish the airplane utilizing the techniques that we've shown ( thercgeek.com/kitbashing ) after getting some other reviews completed first.

The refinish ended up aligning perfectly with the AMA West Expo as my friends and I used it as a subject aircraft for showing foam repair and refinishing techniques at the show. Through the course of the 3 days, we had the airplane completely smoothed out, primered and mostly paint ready by the end of the show. It's amazing how quickly things get done with a good team effort!

Once home, all of the final paint work was completed with markings, panel lines and weathering added. I put together a specific video and article on the weathering on this one as I used some additional techniques that were worth discussing including paint chipping, paint fading, and exhaust stains. Here is the video on that:

With all of the weathering done, the airplane really came alive! It really is amazing how a refinish like this completely transforms a model. The process takes some work, but what you end up with in the end is a unique and one of a kind airplane.

AIRCRAFT SETUP & CG

The subject model was the bind and fly version of the E-flite P-39 Airacobra 1.2m which means that it includes SAFE. I have a discussion posted about SAFE Select so be sure to look through that for my recommendations on effectively using SAFE. My preference always is SAFE Select off, so the airplane was simply bound normally keeping the bind plug in place the whole time. Should you choose to bind with SAFE select on, then during the bind procedure, simply remove the bind plug before selecting bind on the transmitter.

For the control surface setup, the E-Flite control recommendations were a great start. Through flying the airplane I found that I preferred the low rate ailerons and the low rate elevator recommendations based on the CG. This equates to the following rates:

Elevator - 10mm with 5% expo
Aileron - 9mm with No Expo
Rudder - 23mm with 25% expo (the airplane does a beautiful knife edge if you can keep the hatch on it!)
Flaps - 20mm half and 48mm full with no elevator mix

The CG location recommended in the manual is 45mm-55mm as measured from the wing leading edge root aft. Ultimately, I settled on 50mm as measured from the wing root leading edge aft. The CG could probably go back a little further, but I've been happy at this location.

For the battery, I'm using a Spektrum Smart 4s 3200mah pack as well as an Admiral 4s 3600 mah pack . Both provide excellent power and flight times. The battery started out pushed all the way forward which placed the CG within the recommended range. Over a few flights, I pulled the battery back about 1/2" and that's where it's stayed. Note that the model includes a removable plastic tray. To get the these packs in there, I simply removed that and velcroed the battery to the floor. The battery fits nice and snug in the available slot in the fuselage.

FLYING THE E-FLITE P-39 AIRACOBRA

This E-flite P-39 Airacobra 1.2m really flies fantastically! With 4 cells, the airplane is quick and has great vertical performance. The airplane is maneuverable yet forgiving and flies extremely true while maneuvering through the air. With the 3200 and 3600 mah packs, my timer is set for 5.5 minutes and I can easily fly longer as the airplane flies quite efficiently at partial throttle. The flaps are also quite effective and the airplane lands quite nicely as well. One thing that I did notice is that the airplane does like to pull left a slightly in the verticals. I added a touch more right thrust by adding some washers as shims behind the left motor mounts which did help straighten that out a little bit.

Here's my back from the ashes video which features a couple additional flights of the airplane in action. I thoroughly enjoy flying this airplane. And with the refinish, it really just transformed the model completely, I love it!

FINAL THOUGHTS

Well, there we have the E-flite P-39 Airacobra 1.2m at last. It was quite the journey getting here, but it was most certainly worth it! This is a great flying little airplane that looks good out of the box and even better with a refinish. The airplane really loves 4s and is extremely fun to fly with that power. I will say that I'm so glad that I went back to refinish the airplane after the crash as I absolutely love it! Hopefully you'll consider tackling a refinish for yourselves too. It's most certainly worth it! Until next time, I'll see you at the field!

VQ Warbirds B-24 Liberator 110″ ARF Flight Review

Tue, 23 Jun 2020 16:50:00 GMT

This is where the work pays off!

To close the loop on the on the VQ Warbirds B-24 Liberator , this week we're going in depth on the radio setup, CG and flying of this beautiful scale model! This is such an impressive airplane and it truly does not disappoint in the air. This is one that I've thoroughly enjoyed having it in my hangar and I'm looking forward to bringing it out to some events later this year.

Interestingly, when mentioning heavy bomber aircraft of World War II, undoubtedly, the first bomber that comes to many peoples’ minds is the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress. However, few realize that the Consolidated B-24 Liberator was built in greater numbers than any other US bomber of WWII. Given the B-24’s distinctive twin rudder design and high aspect ratio “Davis” wing, the 4-engine heavy bomber provides an unmistakable shape. The airplane was designed for a purpose and it served that purpose well throughout the war with over 18,500 total B-24s from 1940-1945. The B-24 served in every branch of the American Armed Forces during the war and in fact, offered greater range, greater speed, and greater bomb load capacity than the B-17.

WHAT'S IN THE AIRPLANE

To recap from the assembly review , this B-24 Liberator is a great sized ARF of all wood construction coming in at a 110" wingspan. At final ready to fly weight of 26.5 lb the airplane doesn't even notice it at all in the air. From day 1, this airplane flew straight as an arrow requiring only just a couple clicks of aileron trim on the maiden. The power from the 4 Himax motors and Master Airscrew props feels absolutely perfect for the airplane as it has plenty of thrust at full throttle, but still cruises around at partial throttle easily and efficiently. Here are the final specs and equipment that were used in the airplane:

RADIO - Spektrum Dx18, Spektrum AR12310T 12-Channel PowerSafe Receiver
RECEIVER BATTERY - 2x Spektrum 6.6V 2200mah 2s LiFe Battery , 1x E-flite 25c 3s 800mah Lipo Battery and Castle Creations BEC set to 9.0v for retracts
SERVOS - Hitec D-645MG (ailerons, elevator, steering) and Hitec D-85MG (flaps and rudders) servos
MOTORS - 4x Himax HC3528-1000 outrunner motor
FLIGHT BATTERY - 4x Roaring Top 35c 4s 4300mah Lipo Battery
ESC - 4x Castle Creations Talon 60
PROPELLERS - 4x Master Airscrew 10x7 3-blade
RETRACTS - Robart Electric with Scale Wheels & Struts
TURRET CONTROLLER - 2x Random Servo Motion Generator
MARKINGS - 834th Bombardment Squadron “Scorpio” (custom markings from Callie-Graphics )

AIRCRAFT SETUP & CG

In flying this airplane, I found that the recommended CG and control throws in the manual were spot on for the model and I found no reason to adjust any of them. The airplane does have a big high aspect ratio wing and you do visually see the resulting adverse yaw in flight, so I did find myself kicking the rudder around a bit more than typical in the turns on the first flight. To simplify that, I added a 25% rudder/aileron mix which helps auto coordinate the turns and make it look more correct as it maneuvers in the air with less work from me. Additionally, a 10% down elevator mix with flaps was necessary for trimming the landing configuration. Here are the control throws I'm using:

Elevator - 19mm up/down with 5% expo
Aileron - 13mm up/down with 0% Expo (25% rudder/aileron mix to auto coordinate the turns)
Rudder - 28mm left/right with 0% Expo
Flaps - 11mm half with 1mm down elevator mix and 30mm full with 3mm down elevator mix

The CG location recommended in the manual is 100mm-107mm as measured from the wing leading edge root aft. Mine came in at about 105mm and I found this to feel about perfect for the airplane from day 1. This being a heavy bomber is not one for extreme aerobatics, so you want a nice stable aircraft that is docile to fly in the air and this gives you that.

Space inside the B-24 fuselage is a bit limited, so all components that could be placed forward of the CG were. I'm using 4x 4s 4300mah batteries in the airplane which are pushed as far forward as they can go in the main fuselage area, accessed through the main over wing hatch. Additionally, the receiver and retract controller are placed as forward as they can go as well, but even so, about 1.5lb of weight was necessary to be added into the nose to attain the CG.

FLYING THE VQ WARBIRDS B-24 LIBERATOR

The reward for any project is getting it in the air and the presence that this B-24 Liberator has in the air is just fantastic! What really strikes me is how scale the airplane appears in the air. It legitimately looks like a real B-24 maneuvering in flight, especially at a bit of a distance. The airplane is responsive in the control (I've even rolled it!) and flies extremely true in the air and the power provided from the 4 Himax motors feels perfect. Point it where you want it to go and that's where this B-24 goes. My timer is set at 5 minutes, which is my indication to setup for landing and the batteries are showing over 3.8 v/cell which means that there's plenty of flight time available should I want it. All that's missing is a bomb drop which I will get to at some point. :)

The B-24 has a nice wide gear stance so tracking on the ground is rock solid making takeoffs an easy prospect. I like to use partial flap and try and execute a nice scale takeoff at partial throttle when I can. In the approach configuration with full flaps and the gear down, the B-24 flies just as predictably as it does up and away. The airplane settles into a nice descent requiring about 1/3 throttle or so and slows down beautifully in the flare to touchdown. Touch and goes are another one that I enjoy with the model as well!

FINAL THOUGHTS

The VQ Warbirds B-24 is a graceful and beautiful flying warbird. The airplane is extremely smooth and predictable and flies much like a heavy trainer in the air. The flaps work well on the landing allowing for a nice gentle approach and the Robart struts provide great shock absorption in the process. Until next time, I'll see you at the field!

Flight Review — VQ Warbirds Beechcraft Bonanza Vtail 62″ Wingspan ARF

Tue, 09 Jun 2020 16:47:00 GMT

Flight of the Bonanza Vtail…at last!

At the point I had finished the assembly of the VQ Warbirds Beechcraft Bonanza Vtail we were still on Coronavirus quarantine here in SoCal and all of our flying sites were closed. Well, when our fields opened up again I could not wait to get the airplane in the air! So, the first day out I brought her along and promptly logged 6 flights on the airplane. It took a few flights to get dialed in, and once tuned, I fell in love with the flight characteristics. It has great power and speed and looks awesome in the air with that characteristic vtail.

WHAT'S IN THE AIRPLANE

To recap from our Assembly review , the VQ Warbirds Bonanza Vtail is a nicely sized ARF of all wood construction coming in at a 62" wingspan. At final ready to fly weight of 9.75lb the airplane flies beautifully and has a really wide flight envelope. The power from the E-flite Power 52 and Master Airscrew prop is awesome as the airplane is quick and maneuvers extremely well (and is happy performing any sort of non-scale high performance aerobatics). Here are the final specs and equipment that are in the airplane:

SERVOS - Ruddervators Hitec HS5496MH , Flaps, Ailerons, Steering - Hitec HS5085MG
RECEIVER - AR9350 9-Channel AS3X
MOTOR - E-flite Power 52
ESC - Spektrum Avian 100
BATTERY - Spektrum Smart 6s 5000 mah
PROPELLER - Master Airscrew 12x8
RETRACTS - Robart Electric Retracts and Shock Absorbing Struts (used Robart 650 Robostruts for the mains and is separately powered with a 2s 1300mah lipo )

AIRCRAFT SETUP & CG

As mentioned at the beginning of the article, it took a few flights to get the Bonanza Vtail dialed in. Most notably, the airplane wanted to carry down elevator for trim and also would climb at full throttle. I adjusted the CG and thrust line to try and mitigate those characteristics and ultimately they didn't make significant enough differences to continue exploring (i.e. a much larger thrust line change would be required than I cared to explore as it would require realigning and remounting the cowl). Ultimately, I moved the CG a bit further forward than the recommendation (stock location definitely felt tail heavy) and then added an 11% throttle to down elevator mix to resolve the climb at full throttle issue. Once these items were dialed in, the airplane was an absolute joy to fly! The control throws I honed in on through flying the airplane are shown below. Please note that due to the AR9350 AS3X Receiver being used, all of the aircraft configuration information is taken care of within the receiver through the Spektrum Programming APP as opposed to the transmitter. As a result, my dx radio file won't be useful if not using the same setup, so I'm not including it as a download.

Elevator - 8mm up/down with 5% expo (11% throttle to down elevator mix to remove the tendancy to climb at full throttle)
Aileron - 9mm up/down with 15% Expo
Rudder - 9mm left/right with 25% expo
Flaps - 15mm partial and 30mm full and no elevator mix required

Regarding the CG, for the first flight, I set the CG as recommended in the instructions. I found it to feel noticeably tail heavy, so I moved the CG incrementally forward. My final CG location equates to 115mm as measured from the wing root leading edge aft which is 13mm further forward than recommended. With this location, the airplane only requires a slight amount of down elevator in the inverted and feels rock solid in flight.

There is a ton of space inside the Bonanza fuselage based on the nice large hatch that it has. I'm using a Spektrum 6s Smart 5000mah battery which is placed essentially in the middle area just behind the nose wheel opening for where the nose gear retracts. Additionally, I have a 2s 1300 mah battery placed at the rear of the hatch as a dedicated landing gear battery. I highly recommend using a separate retract battery as this way it doesn't put any additional load on the receiver power.

FLYING THE VQ WARBIRDS BEECHCRAFT BONANZA VTAIL

The reward for any project like this is finally getting it in the air and I have fallen in love with this Bonanza Vtail! The airplane is fast and maneuverable and flies like a fantastic sport airplane. Combine that with the looks of the vtail and it's truly a unique beast that looks beautiful in the air. I was pleasantly surprised at just how effortlessly the airplane performs aerobatics as it tracks on rails easily performing point rolls, cuban 8s and the like. Those aren't scale maneuvers of course, but you do learn much about a design and the aircraft characteristics by putting it through it's paces like that. Additionally, with the flaps down, the airplane slows down and lands really nicely. The airplane has a really wide gear stance and so ground handling is rock solid and easy as well. Lastly, though the Bonanza takes off easily with neutral flaps, I have found that you get a little smoother rotation with partial flaps deployed during the takeoff roll. However, you need to carry notable amount of up elevator stick during the takeoff roll to ensure that the main gear don't lift first.

With respect to the Vtail, aside from looking awesome, I found that the airplane doesn't maneuver any differently compared to a conventional tail as the airplane is extremely stable and responsive. I did notice the tail would wiggle a little bit in some wind gusts (especially noticeable with an aft CG) which is also a characteristic of the full size. Otherwise, the aircraft response and feel wasn't notably different to a conventional tail. With a little more rudder throw, I'm confident that the airplane will even do a legitimate knife edge maneuver fairly easily with minimal coupling.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Well, at long last, quarentine and all, there we have the VQ Warbirds Bonanza Vtail . Civilian airplanes aren't typically my go to, but I tell you what this is a great everyday flyer and I really love the looks of it. The maneuverability, the power, and the flight characteristics make it an airplane that is sure to provide a great long term platform for practicing much more precision scale aerobatics. Needless to say, I was pleasantly surprised by this Bonanza and am looking forward to logging many many flights with it! Until next time, I'll see you at the field!

From the Bench — Warbird Weathering Techniques with the E-flite P-39 Airacobra

Tue, 26 May 2020 16:45:00 GMT

Back from the ashes, Refinishing and Weathering the E-flite P-39 Airacobra!

To this point, I realize that many of the weathering techniques I've shown, or at least the subject aircraft, have been jets. I do love my jets and the techniques I've shown are extensible to warbirds as well, but there are a couple distinct differences that are worth talking about. Most notably, paint chipping is not something that you see often on modern jets based on their maintenance and the fact that regularly accessed panels are regularly touched up. Also, piston engine exhaust staining is another one since, obviously, jets don't have piston engines. So, when my E-flite P-39 Airacobra wound up crashed upside down in the weeds at our field, it was a great opportunity for a refinish as well as a great subject for showing some of these additional techniques.

A Quick Note about the Refinish

One thing that's worth mentioning is that a crashed airframe is sometimes the perfect opportunity for a refinish. It's a bit of a process, but using a crashed airframe is a great way to practice and learn some of these techniques if you've never tried them. In terms of the refinish itself, it was accomplished utilizing the techniques that we've shown here on this site and on my YouTube channel ( thercgeek.com/kitbashing ). Note that I did not strip the paint on this one, I simply did all of the prep work over the stock paint.

After the crash, I had put the airplane aside for a time and when the AMA West Expo came around for its final time, I thought it would be a great chance to use the model as a subject for showing foam repair and refinishing techniques at the show. With the help of my friends at the show, through the course of the 3 days, we had the airplane completely smoothed out, primered and mostly paint ready by the end of the show. It was a blast!

Following the show, I finished up the paint preparation that was needed and painted up the airframe. It takes multiple layers of primer , sanding in between coats with 180 grit sand paper , to really smooth out a foam airframe, so about 3 layers of primers were applied in the process. From there, final primer coat was wet sanded with 600 grit wet/dry sand paper and then the model was painted.

The model was painted with Tamiya AS Spray Paints utilizing AS-6 Olive Drab for the upper side and AS-7 Neutral Gray on the underside. I want to note that to get the feathered separation line between the upper and lower surfaces, I used 3M Soft Edge Masking Tape to mask the separation line and following paint, burnished the separation line lightly with a scotch brite pad . It ended up working out fantastically providing a perfect soft feathered edge without having to bust out the airbrush. This was a new process for me and really gives me an idea about doing a full camouflage scheme utilizing the soft edge tape and spray cans on another project.

Regarding markings, I had found a multi-view drawing of a 3 victory P-39 carrying the moniker of "Short Stroke" which operated from Guadalcanal from late 1942 to early 1943 that I liked. It was only a two tone color scheme which meant painting would be simple and I liked the nose art that it carried, so it was a win, win. For the markings, I employed the help of Callie-Graphics and so, following paint, they were all applied with much rejoicing! Following that, pencil panel lines were applied over the entire airframe using a 0.05mm mechanical pencil (see video below from my Kitbashing series regarding panel lines). Once applied, I sprayed a light clear coat over them to protect them from the weathering process otherwise they would fade while working on the airframe. So now, it was now on to weathering!

One quick note about the clear coat I used on this particular project. I ended up using a new lacquer clear I'd not used before on the model and made the mistake of not thinning it sufficiently. That ended up frosting and roughening the surface a bit which made discerning panel lines in the green areas pretty difficult. No amount of scotch-brite pad rubbing was cutting it down and seemed to make it worse in some cases. So, in the end, I performed a light wet sanding over the whole airframe with 600 grit wet/dry sand paper which really helped significantly. The panel lines in the green were still a little tough to discern, but it ultimately worked out. I ended up using Rustoleum Matte Clear for the final clear coat which worked great and resolved the frosting I was seeing from the other clear. It was the first time I'd used the Rustoleum clear (I did test it first) and I would definitely use it again!

A Quick Note on the Weathering Tools

The weathering process is about taking a pristine built model and simulating years of use and abuse in the field to add realism. This is important to note because we will never be able to replicate all those years of intense exposure to the elements, we can only simulate it through the use of different tools and techniques to artificially make the model look aged. In terms of the tools, I like to use a selection of acrylic pigments along with Tamiya Acrylic thinner for washes and oil streaks (you could conceivably use tamiya acrylic paint too) and a Grex airbrush (I love these airbrushes!) for fading and shading, and a fine Scotch-Brite pad for blending it all together. I regularly leverage plastic model paints such as Testors Model Master and the like in this process as well, but it's important first to have a good solid paint foundation for the application of the weathering. This is why I like to use a lacquer clear coat generally as most any type of paint will go over it in the weathering process and protect the underlying paint job underneath.

WEATHERING AT LAST!

I mentioned the Scotch-Brite pad above and I can't stress enough the value of using this during the weathering process. As weathering layers are applied to the airframe, I use the Scotch-Brite pad to burnish the finish down to blend the layers together. This can be used to tone down weathering if it's too much as well. It doesn't take much for it to make a big difference in the realism of the finish. On a final note, as you go through this process, remember that less is more when it comes to weathering!

CONTROL SURFACE FADING

When looking at pictures of P-39 Airacobras from WWII, it was pretty apparent that the canvas covered control surfaces most definitely faded over time. I wanted to simulate this on the model by airbrushing a lighter shade of color over the molded ribbing on the model. To achieve the lighter shade of "Olive Drab," I used Model Master "Armor Sand" thinned down with Enamel Thinner to the consistency of dirty thinner. From there, the control surfaces were masked off and the thinned paint was airbrushed over the control surface details. The model features some scale ribbing that would be apparent from a fabric covered surface, so the raised ribs were airbrushed over. The beauty with the thin paint is that if you want more color, then simply perform another pass and repeat until the desired shade is achieved. Only 1 to 2 passes were made in this case as I was looking for a subtle effect on the surface. From there, the tape was removed and the surfaces were burnished down with a Scotch-Brite pad until I got the look I was going for. The intention was for it to be subtle, so a good portion of the applied paint was burnished away. I was looking for a slight color change and a highlight effect on the ribs. Note that the same was done on the underside with Model Master "Flat Gull Gray" used as the lighter color.

WASHES AND OIL STAINS

With the control surface fading completed, I went on to applying some oil stains and streaks. This was primarily done using Folkart Raw Umber acrylic pigment. Some pigment was applied to the surface in a desired location along a panel line using a paint brush. From there, I used my finger to streak/rub the applied pigment back in the direction of the airflow. This was repeated as necessary to get the desired look. It's a pretty arbitrary and random process, but utilizing some reference photos, you can get an idea of where these kind of leaks occurred and how heavily along the aircraft. Note that in some cases, additional pigment was added to the same area to get the desired look if it came out too light. Also, rubbing with a paper towel lightly soaked in Tamiya Acrylic thinner can help as well. I typically will use a combination of my finger and a paper towel. Experiment with it and try different applications to get the desired results. The beauty is that if you're unhappy with it, simply use the Tamiya Acrylic thinner to clean it up and start again. One thing to note is that for the flying surfaces (wings/tails) and fuselage underside, the streaks were applied in the direction of the airflow. However, for the fuselage and vertical tail, the streaks were applied vertically. The fuselage stains are typically the result of the aircraft sitting in the elements as any leaks, etc. tend to run vertically to the bottom of the aircraft where they then streak backwards on the underside.

PANEL LINE SHADING

Similar to the control surface fading, a quick shading was done over all of the panel lines on the model using very thinned down Model Master "Flat Black." This helps break up the constant color of the airplane while also provide a faded center panel look along the model. Once all of the shading was applied over the entire model, the whole thing was burnished down with a Scotch-Brite pad to even out the layers (very important!). This was also used to help reduce some of the too heavy application I wasn't happy with. It's important to note that this technique is very easy to overdo and apply the shading too heavily, so be cognizant of that. Also, I recommend being inside and under artificial light as you do this. If applying the weathering outside in broad daylight, I guarantee that once the model is brought inside, it will be far too heavy since the sun tends to wash the colors out.

EXHAUST STAINS

While applying the shading over the panel lines, the black was used to apply some exhaust staining along the exhaust stacks on the fuselage. The shape and direction of the staining was approximated based on reference pictures. It's best to apply a little at a time and build up to the desired look in this process. When I was happy with the black application, I followed up with applying some thinned down "Flat Gull Gray" to shade the center of the black application. This was to simulate the heat and light colored staining that is so apparent on a number of the operational Airacobras during WWII. Reference pictures are huge here, as some Airacobras had a ton of exhaust staining, while others less. And, if you can find a pic of your specific aircraft, even better!

PAINT CHIPPING

Finally, to finish the process up, some simulated paint chipping was applied. On the P-39, I found that the most notable areas of worn paint were along the wing walk areas. There were also random chips along the cockpit doors as well but to a much lesser extent. So, to simulate the chipping a dry brushing technique was employed. Using a paint brush dipped in silver paint, the bristles were rubbed along a paper towel multiple times until most of the paint was out of the brush. Then the dry brush was rubbed along the desired paint chip areas. With the dry brushing, the paint will collect on the higher areas mostly and be applied in a light and streaky type manner. I focused primarily on the wing walk areas mostly here knowing that was a common area. Some random chips were applied around the door frame as well with a little bit heavier application of paint. Dry brushed paint chipping is a simple technique, but is also another one that is easy to overdo. I found myself wanting to add more and had to consciously restrain myself from doing so to other areas around the model. My recommendation is to focus primarily on the areas you know have those paint chipping and focus much less on ancillary areas.

THE FINAL RESULT

With all of the layers of weathering applied, I applied a final matte/satin clear coat. As mentioned earlier, I had issues with the original lacquer clear coat I used frosting up on me (sprayed too dry and didn't wet out on the surface), so I used Rustoleum Matte Clear in its place for the final clear which gave a great final finish. It also wetted out the surface sufficiently to resolve the frosting I had experienced with the other clear which I was really happy about and brought the panel line detail to life.

With the airplane completely finished, I am absolutely stoked with the airframe. I love the look of it on the ground, but especially in the air. The airplane really flies great and is easily transportable, so it'll be coming to the field with me regularly! :)

VQ Warbirds Beechcraft Bonanza V-tail 62″ Wingspan Assembly Review

Tue, 12 May 2020 16:46:00 GMT

Bonanza V-tail for the win!

There's something about the less traditional aircraft designs that really draw me in. Most notably they are the v-tail and the delta wing/tailless aircraft. Maybe it has to do with the less conventional nature, I'm not really sure, but when I saw the VQ Warbirds Beechcraft Bonanza Vtail , I was pretty excited about the model. The bonanza is an icon in the private aircraft world and one of the few production aircraft I'm aware of that features a vtail into its design, especially in the private aircraft industry.

Though, commercial and private aircraft aren't typically in my wheelhouse (I love my military aircraft!), the Bonanza Vtail is one that I do really like the looks of. The Vtail gives an unconventional look to an otherwise conventional airplane and the proportions of the wing and the long tail moment really should make for a really good flying model. Add to that the really nice covering and look of the VQ Warbirds Bonanza Vtail model , it was not a hard sell to get this one in my hangar.

WHAT'S IN THE BOX

This is the second VQ Warbirds airplane I've had the pleasure to assemble (first was the B-24 Liberator ) and in each case, I have been thoroughly impressed with the quality of the build of the airframes. Pulling this airplane from the box, I was reminded of this as the airplane was a beautifully built and finished representation of the Bonanza . The parts count is generally low, but there is quite a bit of hardware included for pushrods, etc. One of the nice things that became readily apparent was that all of the control surfaces were pre-glued at the factory, so that alleviated one extra step in the assembly process which was nice!

In addition to the airframe, I picked up my power system and servos of course which are listed and linked below. I love keeping the looks of a scale model intact and though a 4 stroke glow motor would have sounded awesome in the Bonanza, it would be a shame to cut up the cowl for a cylinder and muffler. So, I knew from the get go of this project that it would be electric. I generally go that way primarily to preserve the looks of a model and for simplicity as well since I don't really have any glow support equipment anymore (haven't flown glow in a really long time).

SERVOS & RECEIVER

Ruddervators - Hitec HS5496MH
Flaps, Ailerons, Steering - Hitec HS5085MG
Receiver - AR9350 9-Channel AS3X (I had intended to use an AR6610T Smart 6 channel Rx , but due to the vtail, I needed an additional channel to setup the steering)

POWER SYSTEM

Motor - E-flite Power 52
Speed Control - Spektrum Avian 100 (a bit of overkill, but it's one I already had)
Battery - Spektrum Smart 6s 5000 mah
Propeller - Master Airscrew 12x8

When I first started this, I had intended to use an AR6610T 6 channel Smart receiver . However, once I had the model together, I realized that I needed an additional channel to accommodate the steering with the v-tail setup. So, I ended up using an AR9350 9-Channel which is an AS3X receiver. Though I'm not usually a gyro guy, I thought it would be fun to play with the gyro a little bit in the airplane and it was a good learning experience in setting up AS3X on a non-conventional configuration.

Lastly, the airplane needed retracts and the best option by far are the Robart scale retracts and struts available through VQ Warbirds. They provide a scale looking and very well made solution for the model. The retract set comes with wires for the mains, so I took it one step further and ordered a pair of Robart 650 Robostruts so the mains would be shock absorbing as well. Also, I picked up a Robart 2.5" dia tire for the nose and 3" dia for the mains .

ASSEMBLY

With everything unpacked and unbagged, it's time to get right into the assembly! As a whole, the assembly was quite quick and easy based on the level of pre-fabrication and the simplicity of the model. It really builds into a great looking representation of the Bonanza Vtail once completed!

I generally like to start with the wings first when assembling an ARF (even when building from scratch), so that is where I started, followed by the fuselage work and then wrapping it all up with it together on the bench.

THE WINGS

First things first, the servos were installed into each of the Bonanza wings and the control surfaces hooked up. All of the servos are surface mounted, so installing the HS5085MG servos was easy enough to do. In the process however, it was found that there was insufficient material to hold the aileron servos in place. So, to rectify this, I cut and glued a piece of 1/8" light plywood to the underside of each end of the servo aileron mounts to harden up the area and give the mounting screws good bite to hold the servo. For the flap servo installation, this wasn't an issue.

With the servos in, the control horns were installed and the push rods setup. On the control horns, the stock hardware includes the typical two piece capture setup. I'm not a huge fan of this mostly because I want to ensure the integrity of the upper surface. So, I actually use wood screws for the control horns. Once the screws are threaded, I will back them out and wick the holes with thin CA and then put the screws back in place while the CA is still wet. This hardens the threads while also locks the screws in place. I actually do a similar process for fastening the servos as well.

For installing the pushrod hardware, I simply used what was provided in the kit. Though, I usually will go with all Dubro Products for this stuff, I'll be honest, I was a little lazy. All of the hardware provided is all metal which is what I always look for anyhow and with some proper considerations I knew that it would work just fine. The pushrods come with threaded clevis' on one end and the servo attachment is an EZ type of connector. The key is to ensure that everything is held in place well. So, the lower captures on the ez connector I placed a little glue on and then the set screws holding the pushrods I made sure were extremely tight. I plan to go through them all again before the maiden flight just to double check.

THE BONANZA VTAIL

The tail install always starts with a dry fit of the parts to check the fit and understand the installation. From there, the covering material was removed from the interfacing parts with the fuselage (during dry fitting, mark the fuselage line). I use a sharp Xacto knife and simply score the material as you want to avoid cutting into the wood to avoid weakening the structure. Once that was all done, the tails were glued in place with 30 minute epoxy. It's important to allow sufficient working time to ensure that the tails can be checked and set for symmetric alignment. I checked the span dimensions and the tail tip dimensions from the hatch rear corners to make sure the tails were properly aligned. The dihedral is set very effectively by the fuselage, so that doesn't need to be worried about as much.

With the tails in place and fully cured, the ruddervator servos were installed and setup. The control horns were installed on the ruddervators in the same manner as mentioned previously and again the kit hardware was used with the same considerations as mentioned. The HS5496 servos were installed into the servo tray and the clevis' and pushrods installed to connect each individual surface to each individual servo. The radio was setup as "V-tail," which automatically mixes the rudder and elevator channels to provide the combination "ruddervator" function. Note that the instructions show only an elevator function setup using a single servo to drive both elevator surfaces with the second servo used to drive the steering.

RETRACTS, STEERING & GEAR DOORS

The next step was to get the retracts and struts into the airplane to get it sitting on its wheels. The retracts used were the optional electric Robart retracts and scale struts which really provide a great look on the airplane. They can be powered by the receiver, or via a separate 2s lipo battery. I've opted for using a separate 2s 1300 mah battery to isolate the power draw of the retracts from the receiver power. This also provides more voltage to the gear, so they have greater retraction torque as well.

MAIN LANDING GEAR INSTALL & DOORS

The mains were installed in the process of outfitting the wing and were quite simple to get into the airplane. A slight amount of the lower wing sheeting did need to be cleared away around the gear mount to drop the retract into the mount, but that was primarily it.

Once the retract units were in, the main gear struts were fitted. The retract kit came with wire gear for the mains, so I ordered a pair of Robart 650 shock absorbing struts to use in their place. To fit the struts, the tires were installed and the tire was centered in the wheel well. The pivot block location was marked on the strut and then the struts were trimmed using a dremel and a cutoff wheel accounting for the necessary length to mount the strut within the retract pivot block (needs about 1/2" additional length).

For landing gear doors, there are some provided in the kit which were used and work well enough. They are a single piece material of about 3/32" thickness that are covered in a matching material to the model underside which when installed remain attached to the strut and simply rest against the underside of the wing. To set them to the struts, balsa standoffs were made and glued to the doors by lightly tack gluing the standoffs to the strut with the landing gear retracted (the standoffs should be flush the underside of the wing). With the gear retracted, glue was applied to each of the standoffs and the gear doors set in place. Once the glue was cured, the doors were lifted up (balsa lifts from the struts and remain perminently glued to the door). From there, two small rectangular pieces of 1/32" plywood were glued on either side of the standoffs to increase the contact area on the strut. Once made, the doors were glued onto the struts with CA. Lastly, a small channel was made with some 1/32" plywood which was glued to the door and allowed a ziptie to run through it and provide additional holding force for the door against the strut.

NOSE GEAR INSTALL & DOORS

The Robart nose gear is a vertical/firewall mount type which is held in place via 4 bolts and 4 locknuts. The hole pattern requires redrilling in the mount for the Robart retract, so to accomplish this, an extra long 1/16" drill bit was used to drill 4 pilot holes while the retract was held in place in the mount. Once set, the retract was removed and the pilot holes were drilled out to allow for the mounting bolts to slide through. Additionally, the area around the retract motor in the horizontal shelf at the top of the wheel well was dremeled away to avoid any kind of impingement being imparted into the retract (if you find the retract is locking in one position, this is the issue). To finish the installation the retract was mounted in place while double checking the retraction cycle to ensure everything works perfectly without binding as the bolts were tightened.

The Bonanza retract kit comes with a shock absorbing nose strut which is installed over a wire. The wire is preinstalled in the retract, but does need some trimming to get the strut to sit fully. Additionally, flat spots were ground at the location of the set screws to provide a solid, no rotation possible, connection.

To finish up the landing gear installation, I made some nose gear doors using balsawood and fiberglass sheet. To make the doors, I first plotted and created balsawood runners that would set the door contour shape to match the fuselage. Once made, these were glued to a fiberglass sheet that was cut to the desired width and length of both nose doors. 4 total runners were made and glued and then balsa was glued at each end to create a wood perimeter for each door. To finish making the doors, fiberglass sheet was used to cap each of the wood perimeters (significantly stiffens the doors) and then the whole assembly was cut in half longitudinally to create a left and a right door.

Once the doors were made, they were all hinged using a pair of Dubro flat hinges on each door. The hinges were glued into the doors and then were fastened into the airplane after some balsa mounting blocks were glued in place in the wheel well. From there, a small "Z" shaped spring was made for each door from 0.032" wire to spring load the doors open in the down position. Lastly, a bit of braided fishing line was used across the two doors (looped around a screw on one side for adjustment) which is used as a catch for the nose gear doors to be pulled closed by the nose strut as it retracts.

I did a live stream on the Bonanza nose gear setup which goes into greater detail on the door setup and actuation which is available below.

NOSE GEAR STEERING

The Robart nose retract comes with a slider bar steering setup which works well enough (though I generally prefer pull-pull). An HS5085MG was installed in the forward hatch area and a pushrod and sleeve fed through the structure down to the steering arm. To ensure minimal slop in the setup, it's important to support the sleeve near the retract to ensure there's no slop or movement that can occur. I accomplished this by gluing a balsa wood block in the wheel well to secure the pushrod sleeve in place.

PROPULSION SYSTEM & COWL

The final item of business to complete the basic assembly of the Bonanza was installation of the propulsion system. I opted for a 6s electric power system on this one using an E-flite Power 52 motor . The motor gets installed onto a wood plate which is in turn installed onto 4 large bolts. The plate gets captured between two nuts which allows the plate to be adjusted to suit the motor and prop adapter used to obtain the necessary spacing for the motor to mate up with the cowl properly. The intention is for the plate to be parallel to the firewall, so I cut a piece of 1/4" square balsawood at the appropriate length to check the spacing all around. One thing to note is to be aware of where the wires are exiting the motor and install the motor in an orientation that avoids these being in the way of the large motor mount bolts (I had to mount the motor twice after discovering this…).

This is another one that I did a live stream on which walks through the whole installation process which is available below.

Once the motor was permanently set, the cowl was installed ensuring the spinner was centered as necessary. The cowl was set, held in place with tape so that 4 holes could be drilled and screws placed. Note that the cowl has an LED landing light in it which I have wired through an LED light controller (also placed it into a 3d printed light bezel I had on hand). Running it straight through the receiver without any kind of resistor in the loop results in burning out the LED. The controller makes it simple. In addition, I have it wired through an electronic switch which is connected through a y-harness to my retracts. This turns the light on with the gear down and off with the gear up.

PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER

With the Bonanza Vtail completed and on the bench, it really is a great looking model. The covering looks good and it all just cleans up really sweet. To finish getting the model ready for the maiden, a final check of everything was done including all of the servo connectors. The power system was checked to ensure I was getting the expected power. Using a clamp on ammeter, I was seeing about 60-65 amps with the 12x8 prop giving about 1500 watts which was right in the target zone.

The Bonanza controls and CG were set according to the manual with options for a higher and lower rate available on elevator and aileron. Ultimately, the rates will be tuned completely once the model is flown. Interestingly, to obtain the CG, the battery required being placed about as far back in the hatch area as it could realistically go which put it just forward of the CG. A light plywood plate was glued in the appropriate area with velcro and a cable strap to hold the battery in place. Also, the retract controller and retract battery were placed as far back as was practical in the hatch area. This put the CG just forward of the recommendation in the manual, so should be a good starting point.

As previously mentioned regarding the Bonanza Vtail radio setup, the model was setup as a "v-tail" configuration in the radio to take advantage of the ruddervator function. Setting this in the radio automatically takes care of the mixing for the elevator and rudder channels. Everything else (flaps/ailerons, etc.) was set normally. Additionally, to get the steering to work, it was required to plug the steering servo into an additional channel and that channel was assigned as "rudder" in the channel assignment menu. This provided a pure steering function at the nose wheel. Otherwise, if you try and setup the steering with a y-harness to channel 4, it'll move with both rudder and elevator inputs due to the mix.

One additional note is that this particular model has an AR9350 9-Channel AS3X receiver in it. This took some additional considerations in the setup. First of all, the configuration in the physical radio required being set to a standard tail configuration. The v-tail configuration was then set in the receiver using the AS3X phone app and the Bluetooth connection device. Additionally, I thought it would be fun to play with some gyro settings, so I have setup individual gains for elevator and aileron so that I can select them individually via my flight mode switch and then tune them in flight. Once happy with those gains in flight, I will explore and tune the rudder and then setup the switch with them all together while still having the option to turn them all off (always a good thing in my mind). I'm not a huge gyro guy typically, but I thought it would be fun to play with on this one. At some point, I need to put together a discussion on gyro tuning and setup I think.

FINAL THOUGHTS

At last, there we have the VQ Warbirds Beechcraft Bonanza Vtail assembly. This is a really sweet looking model that fits together great and is a really fun and straight forward assembly. Now to get out to the field and get her flown! I've not flown too many vtails, so I'm really looking forward to it…plus, I can only make airplane noises while rolling the airplane around in my garage for so long… Until next time, I'll see you at the field!

From the Bench – Detailing the JHH A-7 Corsair II & the Road to Scale Masters

Thu, 30 Apr 2020 23:57:00 GMT

Small details create big results on the JHH A-7 Corsair II!

As mentioned in my 2019 US Scale Masters Championships write-up , scale competition is something that I really enjoy in this hobby. Like many, I grew up wanting to be a fighter pilot, but when I had to get corrective contact lenses in Jr High School to see the white board, those dreams ended and so that's when I decided to go the aero engineering route. Well, a big part of why I enjoy scale modeling so much is that it provides me the opportunity to fly and experience the airplanes I would otherwise never get to fly in full scale. So, when the Scale Masters Championships came back to California in 2019, I knew that I wanted to give it another go. In the absence of a fresh new competition airplane, I wanted to give the championships a try with my Jet Hangar Hobbies A-7 Corsair II . However, it needed a few upgrades (or should I say "SLUF-grades?") to get it to where I wanted it for the competition. Most notably, I really wanted to build a new cockpit for it with proper ejection seat, and it needed some additional details on the landing gear and around the airframe.

Truth be told, the A-7 Corsair II is really not the most ideal subject aircraft for competition. The perfect competition airplane is one that you can document well but also flies well in all weather conditions (rarely do you get perfect weather!). With the A-7 Corsair II, I absolutely love flying it, but it's no secret that it can be a pretty challenging airplane in adverse wind conditions, especially crosswinds. The high anhedral wing combined with the large dorsal really feel a crosswind and scraped wingtips are a regular occurrence even in the lightest crosswinds. So, in preparing for the competition, there were a few upgrades that the airplane needed to hopefully maximize the static score as much as I could since I really didn't know what the weather might be like. Plus, these upgrades were things that I've been wanting to do on the airplane for quite a long time anyhow, so it was a good excuse to get them done at last. You know what they say, a scale project is never done…you just stop working on it! ;)

ABOUT THE JHH A-7 CORSAIR II

Regarding the A-7 itself, the kit was originally designed by my dad ( Jet Hangar Hobbies ) in the early 80's. In fact, the original mold was taken directly off of the LTV wind tunnel model (with their permission) when my dad was tasked to do a refurbish on it under contract. The design was offered as an ARF for some time in the mid-late 2000s, but unfortunately since that time, it's the one kit that my dad now no longer has available. This particular model is one that I've been flying off and on since around 2006. Originally the model was flown with an MW-44 "Gold" 10lb thrust turbine engine in it. I did originally build it for competition and did compete at a couple Scale Masters qualifiers (never a championships). Always having the fire danger in the back of my mind (San Diego has had it's fair share of them!) plus most of the local events I frequent don't even allow turbines, so I ended up swapping the power system over to a 90mm EDF a few years later (with the help of a friend, we designed a full duct for it) and have really enjoyed the airplane so much more ever since. Originally the fan installed was a WeMoTec Midifan which worked well, but following a crash (mostly my fault) and subsequent repair, I swapped it out for a JetFan90 with Neu 1415/2y motor which has really pushed this airplane around fantastically! It's been extremely efficient in the airframe which has been ideal and that's not to mention that the airplane is quite fast at full speed. My full 5+ minute competition routine only required about 1/2 the capacity of the 12s 5800mah packs being used. This is attributed to the airplane mostly flying partial throttle except for two maneuvers (takeoff and immelmann).

The paint scheme comes from Attack Squadron 72 (VA-72) known as the "Blue Hawks" and represents what the airplane wore on its final cruise home from Desert Storm. In fact, the airplane participated in the National Victory Celebration fly over in Washington DC on June 8, 1991. At the start of the desert storm conflict, there were two remaining Navy A-7 Corsair II squadrons left which were all due to be retired and decommissioned. However, the A-7 proved to be an instrumental part of the ground strikes during the conflict taking part in most of the ground strikes that occurred.

GETTING THE SLUF READY

In getting the SLUF ready for the competition, as mentioned, there were certainly some things that needed to be added to make it championships material. They were relatively small things, but provided huge payback in the looks and realism of the model on the ground.

A New Cockpit

First off, the airplane needed a new cockpit. Though, not a part of the airplane that is static judged heavily, I was never happy with the original one that I had built. It was something that I had rushed to put together originally. Plus, with the model representing a late A-7 Corsair II from Desert Storm, the seat that I had in there was the earlier Escapac seat which was completely wrong for the airplane. Not that anyone would ever know (including a panel of judges)…but the problem is that this guy with two thumbs knew! ;)

So, to start the process, I dusted off some old silicone molds for the cockpit panels that a friend had given me many years ago (he scratch built panels using parts from an ESCI F-104 cockpit kit ) for the airplane as well as some additional molds that I had made for some of the additional detail parts. Additionally, I modeled up in Rhino 3D the correct SJU-8 ejection seat for the late Navy A-7 Corsair II and went to work on a new cockpit. I had started this process years ago and actually had a 2d drawing made of the seat in CAD already (originally intended to laser cut parts years ago). So, that saved me quite a bit of time and I was able to get a 3d representation of the seat made in about a weeks' time working in the evenings.

3D Printing and Painting an Ejection Seat

The ejection seat was printed on my Anycubic Photon Liquid Resin SLA 3D printer . The beauty of resin printing is the extreme level of detail that can be captured compared to a traditional FDM printer. It's a smelly and messy process, but the results are pretty incredible as you can get a considerably smaller layer height in the print compared to an extruded plastic print (FDM) and you also don't get the striations in the parts either so the finish is very smooth. I printed an additional seat on one of my FDM printers as a comparison which is shown in white below.

To paint the seat, it was first painted flat black using Model Masters Enamel spray paint. From there, the seat cushions were brush painted Olive Drab (again, model masters enamels) and then allowed to fully dry. To bring out the detail while also give the seat a weathered look, some flat white was mixed with some flat black to create a dark grey color. Using this color, the black areas of the seat were dry brushed all around. For the green areas, a mixture of white and olive drab was used for dry brushing. This really transformed the look of the seat considerably.

Building and Painting the Cockpit Tub and Instrument Panels

The cockpit tub was built from 1/16" balsa wood to keep it light. I had templates available already from a previous cockpit build which allowed me to engineer the tub previously, so cutting the parts was quick and easy. They were assembled and glued up and the wood was sealed simply by smearing medium CA around the exposed wood on the tub interior. It was then lightly sanded smooth with some 180 grit sand paper and then primered . The primer was sanded and reapplied a couple times to get a nice smooth finish.

With the tub built, it was a matter of painting the cockpit panels and then getting them glued in. The resin cast panels have all of the details molded in, so this simplified the work quite a bit. For painting, they were all painted a base color of black. From there, the panels were all dry brushed with the dark grey mixture mentioned previously to bring to life all of the details. In addition, specific panel details were brush painted using the appropriate colors based on some reference pictures. It's all about just spending the time get it all right. The painting alone took a few hours for everything (including the pilot).

To finish off the instrument panels, the instrument dials were added. This was accomplished by utilizing a laserjet printable white vinyl that I discovered in the process of looking for white water slide decal paper. It ended up working out great! Each of the instruments were sized in MS powerpoint, printed and then cut from the sheet utilizing various sizes of brass tubes that I sharpened on one end (used a bench disc sander to sharpen the OD and an xacto knife to sharpen the ID).

Putting it all Together

With all of the cockpit components painted and finished, it was a matter of putting it all together into the cockpit tub. The seat and panels were all glued in and then the final details were added. The seat rails were built from some strip styrene and all of the other small details were resin cast from molds that I had made many years ago and then painted. Lastly, the pilot was added ( Jet Hangar Hobbies 1/10 Scale Full Body ) following paint completion and some seat belts made. The seat belts were made from gaffers tape that was painted dark gray and cut into thin strips (the head rest cover was made from this as well). Note that the pilot was painted in the same manner as I showed in my Kfir kit bashing series (video below).

The goal in building the cockpit was to come up with something that looked better but didn't weigh appreciably more. At first glance, the weight was close between the two. However, to get the new cockpit into the fuselage properly, quite a bit of trimming to the tub and seat was necessary which ended up helping reduce the weight even further. Following this, the weight ended up virtually the same as the original which I was extremely happy about!

LANDING GEAR DETAILS

In my mind, when talking about scale models, landing gear can make or break the looks of an airplane. So much of the observation of a model is spent with it on the ground with the gear down and so if the gear don't look right, it can tend to detract from the looks of a scale subject. Plus, with scale competition, a small feature missing from the model (landing gear or elsewhere) could mean the difference between places in the final results. So, with the aft actuator strut and door missing from the main landing gear of my A-7 Corsair II, it was a must to get that added for the competition!

Actuator Strut Doors

To start the process, the aft strut door needed to be cut from the airframe. The original panel line that was on the fuselage was incorrect, so that was painted over and then using a scale drawing that was scaled up to the correct size and used as a template on the model, the correct door shape was drawn and the outline taped on the airframe. A razor saw was used to carefully cut the doors from the fuselage using the taped edges as a guide.

From there, the doors were hinged using DuBro flat pin hinges . They were glued such that the pin centerline aligned with the hinge line to help ensure minimal interference. With the hinges glued to the doors (prior to gluing into the fuselage), the interior of the doors were lined using some 3/32" thick balsa wood and some fiberglass sheet to stiffen the door while also create a more scale look as well. Note that the process described is exactly the same as for any gear door I would cut out of a fiberglass airframe. The hinge type might change (offset vs pin hinge), but otherwise no other differences typically.

Aft Actuator Strut

With the door made and installed, it was on to the actuator strut details. When originally thinking this through, I had thought about using concentric tubing where one tube slid inside of the other. However, the difficulty with this based on the geometry and available space meant two things, 1) a very long rod that would potentially stick into the exhaust ducting in the gear down position and 2) the potential for hanging up the gear if the tubing encountered dirt or debris or any kind of bias based on the geometry. So, to avoid all of this I determined that the actuator strut could remain a single piece, but could move along a slider with the landing gear.

The landing gear came stock ready to accept a rear strut which really simplified things from the get go. Based on this, the first thing made was the strut from concentric brass tubing (different sizes used for details, etc.). A ball link was glued to one end which was the attachment for the main gear strut. For the slider, the strut needed to move in two axes, so I ended up designing and 3D printing a track in which a 1/16" wire pin in the actuator strut would follow the track during the retraction cycles.

The result of the above work is something that looks accurate and functional, but is completely a façade that moves at the will of the main gear retracts with no chance of hanging up. Some fiddling was necessary to get the geometry correct, but once everything was installed, it worked flawlessly. To finish it all up, some of the placards were added to the struts and doors which were made from pictures of the full scale aircraft and printed on laserjet printable vinyl .

ANTENNAS AND PITOTS

To finish it all up, there were some antennas and pitot tubes that were added. These were made from a combination of basswood and brass tubing depending on which type and location. A couple years ago, I provided an in depth discussion on my methodology for making things like this which you can find here as well as in the below video. These kind of things aren't hard to do and add greatly to a models realism.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Well, that was a little bit of the journey in getting to the 2019 US Scale Masters Championships . The A-7 Corsair II is one that I've had for a long time and I plan to keep for many years to come. It's such a unique and fun flying model and I'm so pleased at how well it has done in competition. While, I'm most certainly done working on it, I enjoy flying the airplane now so much more than I ever have! Time to get some building done on the next scale competition projects now. :)

VQ Warbirds B-24 Liberator 110″ ARF Assembly Review

Fri, 10 Apr 2020 01:50:00 GMT

The B-24 Liberator...4 Engines = 4x the fun!

I had really hoped to get this together much sooner, but life sure had other plans I think. Anyhow, I thought it would be worthwhile to provide all of the supplemental information specific to the assembly of the VQ Warbirds B-24 Liberator especially since the Model Airplane News review article that this was assembled for has now come and gone. Disclaimer up front, this is a pretty extensive assembly write-up, but I figured it best to put it all in one place for anyone who finds this article. The goal is to provide all the information you need to get this great looking and flying airplane in the air with as much ease as possible.

Now, as ARFs go, this B-24 Liberator definitely takes some work but you are rewarded with a beautiful looking and flying warbird that's a great size at 110" wingspan. As a whole, the assembly was fun and the model went together quite well. It's a 4 engine bomber, so the joy is getting to install anything propulsion related 4 times! Oh, and if you'd like a sneak peak at the flying, then here's my initial thoughts video that I did prior to the release of the MAN article. :) I'll be doing a separate flight review article and video here soon once our fields are open again.

The airplane comes as a blank canvas without any kind of markings applied which provides some great opportunities for customization. Trying to find something out of the ordinary, I came across the B-24s from the 834th Bombardment Squadron , also known as the “Zodiacs Squadron.” The one that really drew my attention dawned the nose art of “Scorpio” having a caricature of a scorpion with an aviator helmet holding a bomb with a gun turret on its tail. CPL Phil Brinkman , a commercial artist assigned to the squadron, painted the nose art for each of the aircraft which were themed by the 12 signs of the zodiac. Interestingly, the "Scorpio" nose art was later adopted as the squadron logo.

I should note before we get started that if you've never assembled an ARF before, they are a great way to start out in getting an understanding of radio and propulsion system installation and setup if you've not done it before. The airframe is pre-built and the modeler then installs their own servos and propulsion system(s). Once you've done that once or twice, the next logical step is to just build your own model from plans or a kit of course! ;)

ASSEMBLY

The model arrives well packed in a large, yet surprisingly compact box and of course, the first item of business is to empty that all out! Upon inspection, you are met with a nicely built and covered model of the B-24 Liberator. It's apparent as you unbox the airframe that great care was taken in building the model.

With it all unpacked and thoroughly drooled over, the first thing to tackle was gluing all of the hinges for the movable surfaces. This was done using wood glue to allow plenty of time to work with the parts before the glue sets. Once everything was glued, there was no holding back and the tails were started first. I should note, that when assembling an ARF, I generally prefer to use Du-Bro pushrod and clevis hardware vs the kit supplied hardware. This is mostly a personal preference as there's nothing wrong with the kit hardware, but the Du-Bro hardware is generally of better quality.

THE TAILS

Being small and easy to manage, the tails were the first item started. This consisted of installing the servos, control horns and push-rods onto the rudders. For servos Hitec D-85MGs were installed and the mounts did require a little custom fitting since the rails are pre-installed. This was handled pretty simply by cutting away with a razor saw what was needed to get the servos to fit within the mounts and align the servo arm with the opening in the mounting plate. Du-Bro 1/2A control horns with Du-Bro pushrods and clevises were used on each. The rudders screw onto each end of the horizontal tail, so once the servos were installed, the fins were attached to the horizontal stabilizer. VQ provides some additional touchup material, so I cut a couple circles with a sharpened brass tube to hide the screw openings. This completed the infamous "Tie Fighter Tail" of the B-24 Liberator…

THE WINGS

With the tails mostly complete, the wings were started next. The first thing completed was the aileron servo install and hook up. This was done in the exact same manner as the rudders. However, in this case, Hitec D-645MG servos were used and the servo mounts needed some slight shimming to get the control horn to align within the slot of the mounting plate.

Fowler Flaps

One nice feature of this kit is that it comes with a pre-assembled scale fowler flap system. They're actuated by two servos each (in this case, Hitec D-85MGs ) and add camber and area just like the real B-24 Liberator. Vertical space is limited in the model in each of the servo areas, so once the servos were installed, I used the stock supplied pushrods and ball ends and used a Du-Bro solder link at the servo end. In this process, it is important to ensure that both servos are operating in sync and with similar geometry, so set them up congruently for each flap. Otherwise, if there's any kind of bias, the two servos will fight against each other and I can assure you there's a risk of burning up a servo (don’t' ask…I burned up 2 in the process…). The measure twice, cut once MO is best here and ensures that the flaps will work nice and smooth and reliably!

Propulsion Install

With the flaps install completed, it was on to the motor mounts and nacelles. The motor mounts come pre-assembled in the box, but they are glued into place in the wins by the modeler. It's important to note that there are left and right and inner and outer motor mounts, so take time to know where each one goes. They're not explicitly labeled, but the fit into each location is fairly unique (note the parts alignment to the wing leading edge sweep), so if you find that you're having to force the mount into place, it's likely not in the right location. Once this was all sorted, the motor mounts were epoxied into the wings using 30 minute epoxy to allow sufficient working time. A bead of epoxy was also placed along the glue joints on the firewalls as well for added assurance to the firewall glue joint integrity.

I decided straight away at the start of the project that this B-24 Liberator would be electric. This choice was for 2 reasons, 1) reliability and 2) to ensure the cowl integrity and avoid having to cut them up for engine cylinders. The motors being used are 4x HiMaxx HC3528-1000 motors and Castle Creations Talon 60 ESCs . Each of the HiMaxx motors come with their own motor mounts which were assembled first. From there, they were installed onto the kit provided firewalls.

The motor mounts are installed onto the firewalls via 4 long bolts and a selection of washers and nuts which allows the motor installation to be adjustable to suit different motors. Based on the supplied HiMaxx motor mounts, very little spacing was necessary requiring only the mounting screw nuts and a couple washers to place the motors to the correct distance specified in the instructions. Once set, everything was tightened down for final installation.

With regards to the Talon 60 ESC installation, wire extensions were soldered in using some 12-13 guage wire so that the ESCs could be routed into the wing root. This was done to keep the battery leads short which is typically the desired choice when there is one to avoid voltage ripple that can occur as the batteries age.

To finish up the propulsion installation, the B-24 Liberator cowls and nacelle covers were installed using the supplied screws. The fit on all of the parts I found to be quite good. While installing the nacelles, take time to ensure that the props are centered appropriately and provide the desired spacing. It's definitely worth measuring twice and cutting once here! Note that the retracts were installed first (discussed below) prior to the nacelle completion.

Main Gear Retracts

The recommended scale landing gear for the model are Robart electric retracts with scale wheels and struts which look great! Being electric certainly simplifies things, but the struts mimic the full scale with a 3point strut design. This looks great and is generally simple to install, but getting the geometry right is important so to ensure that, there are a couple things to keep in mind. The key to the installation I found for the main retracts is to set the folding side strut mount first in the wing using the supplied basswood blocks. These are glued centered to the retracts at the outboard most rib in the wheel well. Once in, the folding strut should be mounted in place as shown.

From there, mount the retract units themselves in the wing. When doing so, I recommend having the strut in the down and locked position and pull it inboard towards the root to set the folding brace as straight as possible to set the retract location. To finish up the install, simply mount the forward brace once the retracts are mounted. Proceeding in this manner helped things clear when retracted in the wheel well. Also note that I shimmed the retracts down 1/16" using some basswood to help clear the interfaces of everything when the gear are retracted.

To finish up the gear install, the last thing was the strut door which was simply hot glued in place. On the real airplane, the lower half is articulated to clear the tire, but I simply just scored and angled out the lower half. It sticks out when retracted, but it's not noticeable at all, especially since the gear retracts between the nacelles.

This completed the wing assembly which was a major milestone on the B-24 Liberator project as this is where a good amount of the work resides. Next up, finishing up the fuselage!

THE FUSELAGE

The first steps taken on the fuselage were to get the bomb bay doors installed. This was ultimately completed twice for a couple reasons. Initially I used the stock door slats and hinge tape to hold them together which was a mixed success. One of the difficulties was that the wood on one of the doors was warped pretty badly. However, actuation is left up to the modeler and I fully intend on actuating the bomb bay doors at some point. So, the warped slats worked for the initial flights, but long term would not work for when the B-24 Liberator bomb bay doors are eventually actuated.

So, to rectify the door situation, I drew up the door slats in CAD and had them laser cut out of 1/16" basswood. I set the door spacing with 1/16" basswood strips and used a piece of vinyl to hold them in place. The slats were then turned over and completely covered in vinyl (inside vinyl piece was then removed) and the vinyl was later airbrushed with Humbrol 127 once completed (not an exact match, but close enough). This provided a much better solution to the hinge tape I had previously used while also gave a more scale look as well since the doors are now full sealed. Additionally, the 1/16" basswood is thinner than the kit supplied balsa and so fit more flush in the grooves in the fuselage. Note that the kit supplied door slider parts were reused but in half the quantity. This did take a bit of extra time to get sorted out, but was definitely worth the result and will make actuating the doors easier when that time comes.

Turrets, turrets, and more turrets!

With the bomb bay doors in place, the 4 characteristic B-24 Liberator gun turrets were built per the instructions. They are all servo operated which is shown in the instructions and a great feature! The wood is laser cut to allow for servo actuation, so it's really quite simple. Now, to get them all working independently and randomly, with the help of a friend, I developed a Random Servo Motion Generator (RSMG) servo control board that moves two servos randomly independent of each other. It allows the option to be used passively (ideal for an articulated pilot) or actively by a switch which is ideal for the turrets since they would really only be operated in flight and not on the ground (works great operating in conjunction with the retract switch). The effect is pretty cool I have to say. Note that for the turrets where the servo arm could be accessed from inside, the servo arms were fastened to the servo and then the turret fastened from inside the model. Where there was no internal access (nose turret and belly turret), the servo arm was fastened to the turret and then a small hole was dremeled at the top of the turret. Then, once the turret was placed on the servo, the screw to hold the servo arm was tightened through the hole in the turret.

Nose Gear Retract

Next up, I turned to getting the nose gear retract installed and the nose gear doors working. The nose gear install was pretty straight forward as it fits right into the plywood mounts. It's electric, so that really simplifies the installation quite a bit. Note that I did actually shim the retract downward about 1/4" as the strut seemed a little short (even now with those shims the airplane still sits a little tail high).

With the nose gear in and working, the gear door hinges were installed into the doors and glued in place and then screwed in place in the wheel well. I used a spring and string setup to spring the doors open on the down side with the strut pulling the string on retraction to close the doors. The springs were bent out of .027 wire in the shape of an oblong "Z" and 50lb test fishing line was used for pulling the doors closed. A loop was wrapped around a screw and tightened on one end and then the other end was fed through the other door. With the gear retracted, the string was pulled tight to close the doors and then the string was glued in place on the loose end.

From there, the steering servo was installed and the steering setup. I built a tray so that the servo could be placed in the nose gear wheel well area and used a home made pull pull cable setup with some 1/16" brass tubing and some aircraft grade cable. The kit intent was to place the steering servo quite far back in the fuselage and knowing I was going to need weight up front, I chose to go this route instead.

PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER

With the turrets built and the nose retract in and setup, the elevator servos were installed in the tail ( Hitec D645's on each side). To finish up the assembly, the tail was fastened on per the instructions and the elevators were hooked up using Du-Bro 4-40 pushrods and qwick-links . The close it up, the top elevator cover fairing was fastened down.

From there, the turrets were all put in place on the fuselage. Some creativity had to be used to make the turrets removable based on how the servo arms are fastened to them. As noted previously, in some cases, I dremeled a hole in the top of the turret so that the servo arm screw could be fastened down while the turret was in place. In other cases, that wasn't necessary. Also, my RSMG board controls all of the turrets so that they function randomly in flight searching for targets! ;)

The wrap it all up, the receiver was final installed and the CG sorted out. The receiver is a 12 channel Spektrum AR12310T power safe receiver combined with 2x Spektrum 2s Life 2200mah receiver batteries . The motors are powered using 4x Roaring Top 35C 4s 4300 mah packs which when installed are all stacked in the forward fuselage area under the over-wing hatch. Lastly, the landing gear are powered with a separate 800mah 3s pack and Castle Creations BEC set at 9v. Needless to say, there's a lot that has to get packaged into the airplane and everything was placed as far forward as was practical while still accessible. This still required adding over 1lb in the nose to get the recommended CG (which ended up being perfect in flight) which was done by placing sticky back tire balance weights in the nose.

I will discuss this in full detail in my full flight review, but note that the model was completely setup per the instructions and the rates and as noted the CG felt about perfect as well. So I highly recommend starting there if you are setting up one of these awesome B-24 Liberators. I did end up adding a 25% rudder to aileron mix as the airplane does visibly show adverse yaw without it quite a bit.

EXTRA DETAILS & MARKINGS

The nice thing with this B-24 Liberator is that it comes as a blank canvas to which you can apply any type of markings. The model comes with "Witchcraft II" markings included, but I wanted something a little different and so opted for a paint scheme from the 834th Bombardment Squadron, also known as the “Zodiacs Squadron,” dawning the nose art of “Scorpio” as noted at the beginning of this article. The markings themselves came from Callie-Graphics and she did a fantastic job! I like to have her send a proof image so I can test the size of everything and she got it really close on the first shot. Just a couple small things required some scaling adjustments. Oh, and the kit Stars and Bars are a bit too royal blue in color, so I refreshed those in the process as well.

FINAL THOUGHTS

VQ Warbirds has put together a very nice representation of the B-24 Liberator. As complex as this airplane could be, they have done a great job at simplifying the assembly for the modeler keeping it straight forward and easy to manage. The parts fit is good and the scale details that are provided are really great and thought out. It is best to the take time to ensure everything is installed and operates well and reliably for best success on the maiden. As a whole, the assembly on this B-24 Liberator took me a couple months to get it fully completed working on it in the evenings a few hours at a time. I do wish that the bomb bay doors were functional out of the box, but I do understand the reasons that was left up to the modeler. I do plan to on doing a full refresh on those and making them actuate in the future and so will be putting together an article/video when I do. Soon, we'll talk through the radio setup, CG, and flying on this bird. Until then, I'll see you at the field!

E-flite A-10 Thunderbolt II Twin 64mm EDF Assembly & Flight Review

Thu, 26 Mar 2020 15:04:00 GMT

Brrrrrrrt! ...oh, excuse me…

The A-10 Thunderbolt II is one of those uniquely identifiable aircraft; it truly is unmistakable. It was built for a purpose and it has served that purpose exceptionally well for decades. Though not as prevalent now as they once were, the airplane is still due to remain in USAF service for at least a few more years it appears. Interestingly, the aircraft retirement has been announced and subsequently postponed multiple times as there just isn't a direct replacement for the airplane that's currently in service. A testament to just how good and effective the airplane is at what it does in the ground attack support role.

So, seeing the new E-flite A-10 Thunderbolt II twin 64mm EDF and the features it includes, I was excited at the opportunity to try out the airplane. The airplane is a great transportable size, but still features retracts and oleos as well as a full complement of external stores which I was really happy to see. After flying the airplane I was blown away as the airplane had incredible performance with a wide speed envelope feeling much bigger in the air than it was. It was extremely fun!

AIRCRAFT ASSEMBLY NOTES

Assembly of the "Hog" is an easy prospect as the airplane is broken down into the major tail and wing sub-assemblies. The process begins with gluing the horizontal tail in place followed by the vertical tails all using medium CA . It's important to test fit these parts first the ensure the servo wires are cleared away so the tails fully seat in place. Also, there are servo wire cover stickers included (if you can't find them, check inside the instruction manual) which can be placed after everything is in place. From there, the single piece wing is bolted on and that is the heart of it. The wing has 3 integrated connectors at the base, so be sure to ensure they line up correctly before fully pressing the wing onto the fuselage.

With the airplane assembled and on its gear, you are struck with the unmistakable shape of the A-10 Thunderbolt II . The outline of the model looks quite good and the flipper paint scheme is nicely applied and well done. A full complement of external stores are included as well which most certainly completes the look of the airplane. What really struck me though was the nice and pristine finish as the model is extremely smooth and the airplane features some crisp (and not too large) panel lines and scale raised rivet details. It is definitely one of the smoother foam jets I've come across to date.

AIRCRAFT SETUP & CG

For the aircraft setup, this is the bind and fly version of which means that it includes SAFE select . I have a previous discussion on setting that up here should you want to know more about that. The thing to keep in mind is that there are two bind procedures whether SAFE on or off is desired. In my case here, I wanted SAFE off, so I simply bound the airplane normally for SAFE off.

On the control surface tuning, I prefer to setup individual elevator and aileron triple rates so I have options for the maiden flight. Through flying the airplane I ultimately converged on my mid rates on the ailerons and low rates on the elevator. Also, the airplane wanted to climb slightly with flaps, so a down elevator mix was added with flaps as well. My final control throws are as follows:

Elevator - 7mm with 3% expo
Aileron - 12mm with 10% Expo
Rudder - 14mm with 25% expo to desensitize the steering (the airplane is quite responsive in rudder, so reducing the rate will help if it's too sensitive)
Flap - 12mm partial flap with 1mm down elevator mix and 26mm full flap with 2mm down elevator mix

With regards to the CG, I'm flying the airplane at around the mid location of the CG noted in the manual. This equates to approximately 62mm as measured from the wing leading edge root aft. I'm using a Spektrum 50c 6s 4000 mah SMART battery pushed as far back in the battery area as possible and this was where the CG fell out and the CG felt great to me there. My timer is set to 4:30 minutes giving plenty of margin to fly the A-10 as hard as I want. That said the airplane can easily fly 5+ minutes as it flies quite efficiently.

FLYING THE E-FLITE A-10 THUNDERBOLT II TWIN 64MM EDF

Truth be told, I really didn't know what to expect with this A-10 but if it flew half as good as it looked, I knew it would be a fun one. Well, I was blown away by just how well this Hog flew. The performance is fantastic as the airplane displays a huge speed envelope being quite quick at full throttle while slowing down beautifully with the flaps down; that's not to mention that the airplane will climb for days having almost unlimited vertical! The A-10 feels much bigger in the air than it is as well which provides a really unique experience in flight. The E-flite 64mm fans paired with the 6s motors and combined with the A-10 airframe have resulted in something that is quite incredible and efficient and so with a 4000 mah battery, 5+ minute flight times are virtually the norm.

The airplane was flown both clean and with the full complement of external stores and there wasn't a huge difference between the two that I found. Maneuverability and response are pretty similar as a whole. There's a small sacrifice in top speed, but the airplane being as quick as it is, it didn't appear to make much difference. I ultimately found that I preferred the stores configuration as I liked the look of it and the airplane did seem to track a little bit truer in my mind.

Seeing the airplane maneuver in the air, it looks right just like its full scale counterpart. The airplane performs rolls cleanly and axially, but truly excels in the vertical performance. Takeoffs are short using only about 60% power and in landing the airplane, I found that keeping a small touch of power through the flare to touch down really helps soften the touch down as well.

FINAL THOUGHTS

The E-flite A-10 Thunderbolt II is a rare beast I tell you what. The looks, the flight performance, the flight times, it really has the whole package. Being an easily transportable size as well, it's an easy one to throw in the car in one piece and hammer out some flights with. She is definitely a keeper! Until next time, I'll see you at the field!

E-flite F-15 Eagle 64mm EDF Assembly & Flight Review

Tue, 17 Mar 2020 16:50:00 GMT

E-flite's 64mm "SAFE" Aggressor with so much more Eagle!

The F-15 Eagle has been the example of "air superiority" for decades. Having first flown in 1972, the airplane even now is still an incredible machine with extreme capability that is still in production (due to end in 2022). Interestingly enough, the F-15 in model form is one of the most forgiving jets out there. Many an RC jet pilot have cut their teeth on various sized and powered F-15s throughout the last couple decades. So, it makes sense that E-flite would introduce an F-15 Eagle to their growing 64mm size EDF range featuring SAFE. The airplane features fixed gear even for pavement operations, but is easy enough to chuck around without the gear when desired.

AIRCRAFT ASSEMBLY NOTES

The E-flite F-15 Eagle is packed neatly and compactly in the box and is very simple to assemble. It starts with the wings being fastened in place, the optional fixed gear installed (if desired) and is finished up with the horizontal and vertical tails being glued on and the pushrods connected. The removable fixed gear are a nice to have since I fly mostly from pavement, I can avoid scraping up the airplane (and hand launching all together since I'm terrible at it).

The airplane all together on the bench really looks good in the 65th Aggressor Squadron splinter camouflage paint scheme (Blue Splinter FTW!). The paint is applied very well and cleanly and the finish provided is quite smooth. It's a small airframe, but actually struck me as being larger than I had expected once it was all together.

AIRCRAFT SETUP & CG

For the aircraft setup, this is the bind and fly version of which means it includes SAFE select. Be sure to check out my previous discussion on setting that up. The thing to keep in mind is that there are two bind procedures. In my case here, since I wanted to do some hand launching of the airplane, I decided to bind the airplane with SAFE on. This is done by starting the bind procedure normally, but before hitting bind on the transmitter, removing the bind plug from the receiver. From there, I assigned SAFE to a switch by cornering the sticks inward and flipping the desired switch 5 times. I fly the airplane without SAFE solely, but I wanted some auto leveling during some of my hand launches since I'm not very good with that and it worked great!

On the control throws, I found the recommended rates a bit hot, so here's what I'm using on the airplane.

Elevator - 15mm up and down with no Expo
Aileron - 15mm up and down with 8% Expo
Steering - 100% with no Expo

In terms of the CG, I'm flying the airplane at the recommended location which is 88mm as measured from the wing leading edge at the root aft. I'm using a Spektrum SMART 4s 2200 mah pack pushed all the way aft in the battery area and this ends up working perfectly. The airplane flies great at that CG location and lands really nicely. My timer is set at 3:00 minutes and that gives me plenty of reserve flying the airplane as hard as I want.

FLYING THE E-flite F-15 EAGLE 64mm EDF

I will say, that I was pleasantly surprised by the E-flite 64mm F-15 Eagle . I'm not typically one for the smaller airframes truthfully, but the size and performance really makes the airplane a ton of fun! It flew "bigger" than I expected feeling like a larger model than it is in the air. In terms of the performance, the airplane has great overall speed and power. Being quite quick at full throttle while pulling nice large vertical maneuvers. In short, it flies the way an F-15 should. Interestingly enough, I found that when pulling loops, the gyro setting to be a bit aggressive as I generally have to pull almost full elevator to get the airplane to pull over onto it's back. As long as you're aware of that, it's not an issue at all and is mostly just something that I was surprised by. Flying around otherwise, the gyro felt spot on.

One of the other difficulties I have with smaller airframes is hand launching…I am terrible at it! So, for this airplane, I was determined to get over my fear of that. With the help of SAFE to ensure the airplane remains level in the launch, I found the airplane to launch extremely easily. Since I was flying from pavement, I kept the fixed gear in for hand launching. In my perfect world, even these smaller models would have retracts! ;)

Here's a short flight video of the F-15 in action. This is the stock airplane with the fixed gear installed. I included a hand launch flight in my review video at the top of this article also if you'd like to see that. I found that I didn't even have to toss the airplane much based on the power that it has.

FINAL THOUGHTS

The E-flite F-15 is a bit of a beast in a compact and small package and I like it! The airplane assembles easily and quickly, flies incredibly well and with the size and removable gear, really offers options as to where it can be flown. Also, having SAFE really helped train me on the hand launching as well (hooray!). I'm looking forward to see what E-flite comes up with next this next year! Until next time, I'll see you at the field!

Freewing F-4D Phantom II 90mm EDF Assembly, Refinish, & Flight Review

Tue, 03 Mar 2020 17:50:00 GMT

Phreewing's "Rhino," TRCG Target Drone Edition...

Well, in full disclosure, this article started close to two years ago now after purchasing the Freewing F-4 Phantom in the second batch of releases. So why did take so long?...well, it's a myriad of things really. First of all, I'm a glutton for punishment. I liked the airplane so much and being unable to leave well enough alone (not to mention with some kind ribbing from my friends) I just had to do a full refinish on the airplane. Well, shortly after filling all of the panel lines, we sold our house and moved into a new one which put a halt to most modeling for a few months. After the move, I actually almost sold the airplane because after all that, I had a tough time just getting back to it. Well, not to be defeated, I decided it was necessary to finish up the project and I have since acquired a bunch of flights on the airplane with both 6s and 8s power. And so, here we are!

The funny thing is, since finishing the project (after almost selling it), I've been kind of on an F-4 Phantom kick having reviewed the E-flite F-4 and then also acquiring a mostly built Jet Hangar Hobbies 1/10 scale F-4 to accompany my other half built JHH F-4 Phantom sitting in my storage racks…what can I say, a collector never stops collecting! ;)

AIRCRAFT ASSEMBLY NOTES

The assembly of the Freewing F-4 Phantom II was quite straight forward as a whole. No major issues were noted and the fit of everything was good. The fuselage comes in two pieces, so the first step is to glue the back end onto the airplane and frrom there the tails and wings are installed. The anhedral tails slide onto knurled shafts and are held in place with a screw on each tail. So, it is recommended to ensure that the tails are aligned the same left to right before fully tightening them down. Sighting at the trailing edges from the back of the airplane can help ensure the alignment is symmetrical.

On the bench, the airplane looks very good, especially in the Southeast Asia camouflage. The colors look generally right and Freewing has done a good job on the shape as it most certainly looks the part very well. It's not 100% accurate, but they are things that only the scale purist (like myself…) would notice. I do wish that the struts were a little more scale as all of the landing gear are trailing link for grass operations. I understand the reason, but unfortunately this results in short shooter main doors that aren't quite shaped right either. So on the ground, the airplane is wearing high water Poindexter pants. ;) Just needs a pocket protector to complete the look. :p

I have found that the general quality of the components has been quite good. However, I wasn't happy with the elevator servo performance from the get go. Though it worked, it had more slop than I liked and I didn't have great confidence in the torque it provided. So, to remedy that, I replaced the servo with a Hitec HS 5245MG servo along with a Du-Bro 4-40 push rod . That most certainly put to rest any concerns. The stab pivot frame is plastic, so a periodic check on that is not a bad idea.

A "QUICK" PANEL LINE FILL AND REPAINT

This airplane was screaming for a refinish as the looks and flight characteristics were so good. Interestingly enough though, my desire to refinish the airplane almost was the end of the project, haha! Thankfully, perseverance prevailed! ;)

At the start of the refinish, my friend Corsair Nut and I had the intention of modeling similar paint schemes/squadrons so that we could fly formation at some events. He has always liked the Orange/Red QF-4s which I've never really considered much and so that is what we decided on going forward (single color, spray can paint job FTW!). During the painting process, I absolutely fell in love with the paint scheme as it looks so good on the airplane! Unfortunately, my refinish took so long that he flew and sold his airplane before mine was even in primer…

In terms of the refinish itself, I ended up not doing a full video on that unfortunately. I wish I had but given the circumstances of everything it did simplify things in getting the project done. I will say that I do have a couple refinish projects coming that I will do full dedicated discussions on when the time comes. That being said, the process I used is the same as we've talked about here many times ( thercgeek.com/kitbashing ). The primary difference was that I didn't strip the paint off the airplane first but rather just simply filled in the panel lines over the paint and did all of the surface prep over that. Additionally, I used the spray polycrylic instead of the brush on material. I will say that the brush on material is better as it creates a harder, more protective surface.

Following all of the prep and primer work, the airplane was painted in Rust-Oleum 2x white primer to provide a base coat for the characteristic QF-4 drone red. From there, the airplane was sprayed using VHT SP119 "Chevy Orange Red" spray paint which is actually an engine block enamel automotive paint. It sprayed extremely nicely and provided the perfect color for the QF-4 drone red/orange. All of the black trim was masked using frog tape and sprayed using an airbrush and model masters flat black . Once painted, the markings were applied which came from Callie-Graphics.

To finish it all up, pencil panel lines were lightly applied with a mechanical pencil and washes (oil stains/streaks) were made using Folkart "Raw Umber" acrylic paint and tamiya acrylic thinner . This was all done in the manner shown in my kfir weathering video below:

At the start of the refinish, I really wasn't sure about the paint scheme truthfully. However, seeing it on the airplane and in the air, I have absolutely fallen in love with it! I opted for a QF-4B Phantom from the Pacific Missile Test Center (PMTC) at NAS Pt Mugu that carried the moniker of "Great Pumpkin" on the nose which seemed very fitting for the paint scheme. It also carried on the nickname of "Chip's Go-Kart" on the lower fuselage side below the canopy. These two unique things were what really drew me to this particular scheme. Interestingly enough, in researching the red QF-4's, many of them carried the stars and bars on the wings in a non-standard size and location. Unfortunately, it was difficult to find much history on the airplane itself as generally speaking they didn't seem to last all that long. They were target drones afterall! Anyhow, here are a few pics of the refinished airframe. Again, be sure to check out my whole series of refinish videos at thercgeek.com/kitbashing for more information. As mentioned too, I have a couple other projects in the works that I will do videos on in the future.

One other thing to touch base on before we talk setup and flying is that in the process of the refinish I did a complete redo of the cockpit. Motion RC offers the 3D Printed cockpit set which is highly recommended if you're looking for a fun upgrade for your Phantom. Also, the pilots I used are the 1/12 scale "Castle 5" from my folks at jethangar.com . It's great that Motion RC has been offering these upgrades as well as the files for folks who want to print their own. I hope that they keep them coming on future releases!

Lastly, an F-4 Phantom has to have afterburner, so I of course added a MultiBurner into the airplane. That goes for both the 6s (90mm outrunner) and the 8s (90mm inrunner) power systems.

AIRCRAFT SETUP & CG

The one benefit to having this airplane so long now is that I've flown it on both 6s and 8s power. Between the two, nothing changed about the control throws or the CG between the two. In both cases, the airplane did want to zoom climb at full throttle. So, one unique thing that was added was an 3.5% throttle/elevator mix which provides a slight amount of down elevator at full throttle (~1mm). This removed the zoom climb tendency and removed any trim change with airspeed. In terms of the control throws, here's what I'm flying the airplane with:

Elevator - 20mm up and down with 15% Expo
Aileron - 21mm up and down with 12% Expo
Rudder - 45mm left and right with 10% Expo
Flaps - 20mm half flap with 1mm up elevator mix, 55mm full flap with a 7mm up elevator mix

For the CG, the manual recommends 190mm as measured from the wing root leading edge aft which I found was quite good and is where I've basically stayed with the airplane. This actually equates to the location of the wing pylon the rear attachment. Picking up the airplane at that location with my finger tips, the airplane is mostly level with 6cells and is slightly nose down on 8s.

IN TERMS OF BATTERIES…

For the 6s setup, I used a 35c Roaring Top 6250mah pack . It worked great, but I did find the flight times generally lacking, even at that capacity. Truth be told, that was a big motivator for going to 8s. If I were run 6s again I'd look at running a 6s Spektrum 7000 mah pack as I've been running in the Freewing Me262 . It would certainly help and there's no issue with the airplane not handing the weight.

For the 8s setup, I'm running two 35c Roaring Top 4s 5800 mah packs . The fan is a JetFan90 with Neu 1415/1.5y motor and Castle Creations Edge130 ESC from my folks at jethangar.com . The primary goal was to increase the flight time and by switching I was able to get roughly an additional minute of flight on less capacity. Score! The performance also perked up a bit too, mostly in the vertical. Double score!

FLYING THE FREEWING F-4 PHANTOM II

As noted, I've flown this airplane with both 6s and 8s power and in all cases it flies "phantastically!" The response, the power, everything just feels good. This has been one of the truer flying foam jets that I have flown to date in fact. Interestingly enough, I found the airplane to actually fly a little better following the refinish. In spite of the additional weight, it seemed more slippery which makes sense given the smooth finish. Also, I should note that the E-flite F-4 Phantom and this one fly very similarly exhibiting many of the same characteristics. The primary difference is that the Freewing is larger and so feels bigger in the air. In terms of performance, I liken the overall performance of the E-flite F-4 Phantom similar to the 8s performance of the Freewing.

On Flying with 6s

All of the initial flights both before and after the refinish were performed on the stock Freewing 6s outrunner setup. As a whole, I was very pleased and impressed with the performance from this power system. The airplane was quick and had good vertical, even after the additional weight of the refinish. My primary complaint with this setup was the flight time. Running a 6250mah pack, my timer was set at 3.5 minutes and that was the best I could do. More capacity would have helped and the airplane would have handled the weight fine, but it was definitely a good excuse to give 8s a go in the airplane. That said, had I pursued a larger pack for a longer flight time, I probably would have just stayed with this system in the airplane it flew the airplane that well. Plus, there's certainly something simple about a single battery setup to deal with!

On Flying with 8s

As noted, to get more flight time from the airplane, I ended up installing an 8s JetFan90 with Neu 1415/1.5y motor from my folks ( jethangar.com ). The goal was efficiency and flight time over speed/power and the result was an additional minute of flight time plus a performance boost. The aircraft speed didn't change hugely increasing only slightly, but the vertical up lines did get noticeably larger which I was definitely happy with. Interestingly enough, I've found that the airplane actually lands better with 8s having a little more weight and being less floaty on the approach. The airplane locks into a nice attitude and controlling the descent with throttle, it really lands beautifully. So, good landing characteristics, big verticals, and good speed, what more could you ask for?!

FINAL THOUGHTS

Well, at last, there we have my Freewing F-4 Phantom review. It only took about 1.5 years, but man what a crazy 1.5 years it's been! This airplane really looks good out of the box (even better refinished ;) ), flies awesome on both 6s and 8s and is a definitely a fun addition to have in the hangar. She is a worthy beast for refinishing no doubt so don't be afraid to give that a go ( thercgeek.com/kitbashing ). :) I have to say, after all this, I'm so glad that I stuck through with the project as I really enjoy the airplane immensely and love the looks in the QF-4B paint scheme. Great Pumpkin for the win! ;)

UMX Adventures – E-flite UMX Turbo Timber Flight Review

Wed, 19 Feb 2020 17:50:00 GMT

Fly it like you STOL it, micro bush planes FTW!

I had this E-flite UMX Turbo Timber arrive last week and I was really excited to give it a go. It's been a while since I had played with a UMX airframe and I'm always so impressed with how well they fly. In the case of this Turbo Timber , it has some additional features I'd not actually seen in a UMX thus far, most notably the airframe features full navigation lights. Also, being noted as a STOL airplane (similar to the UMX Timber ), it features some nice big "Chuck Norris tires" for those unimproved field operations which do the job of impaling the landing area into submission quite well.

The design itself is an evolution of the UMX Timber , but features an updated turbo-prop look as well as a higher power 3400kv motor paired with a 3-blade propeller. The result is a bit better vertical performance if that's something you're looking for. For me, it's a fun STOL aircraft to take on the road for those backyard flying adventures! Plus, with the included flaps and slats, the airplane slows down to a crawl which is quite fun.

WHAT'S IN THE BOX?

The beauty of these UMX airframes is that they come out of the box completely ready to fly. No assembly is required for the Turbo Timber , simply bind it to your radio, setup the programming and CG and you are off to the races! The model itself is a really fun rendition of a turbo-prop powered bush plane having optional slats and a scale looking 3-blade propeller paired with the nice big oversized tires. This provides the ability to handle all sorts of terrain otherwise unmanageable from an airplane this size.

For battery access, the top of the forward cowling is removable which provides a large area for a 2s flight battery . The airplane is very well done and the addition of the lights I will say is a nice touch. Though the airplane is very light it is surprisingly durable.

AIRCRAFT SETUP & CG

The manual recommends setting up the rates at 100% end points for high rates and 70% end points for low rate. I found through flying the airplane that the 100% rates were the best and that no expo was required. This gives you plenty of throw for aerobatics and slow speed control. The airplane wants to climb with the flaps down, so I added a 35% down elevator mix to account for that.

Elevator - 8mm up with No Expo
Aileron -18mm up, 4mm down with No Expo
Rudder - 10mm with No expo (the airplane does a beautiful knife edge!)
Flaps - 8mm half flap with 1mm down elevator mix, 18mm full flap with 4mm down elevator mix

For CG I found the manual recommendation to be great at 28mm as measured from the upper wing leading edge root aft. This corresponds to the aft edge of the plastic wing spar carry through at the wing root. I'm using a 2 cell 280 mah pack which is placed near the rear of the battery plate through the cowl hatch which provides the CG about perfectly. The pre-installed velcro was pretty fine and didn't seem to stick all that well to my industrial strength stuff, so I ended up pulling that out and replacing it to avoid accidentally ejecting a battery.

FLYING THE E-FLITE UMX TURBO TIMBER

This little airplane really is a fun one to fly! The power is fantastic, so STOL operations are fun and easy. The airplane is quite maneuverable, so anything you want to throw it's way, it'll handle easily enough. With the AS3X, the airplane handles all sorts of weather conditions well and really helps the airplane to feel bigger in the air than it is. It's hard to beat this high wing airplane configuration as it is extremely user friendly and easy to fly while still quite maneuverable when desired.

The airplane came with slats, so I had to give them a try of course! Between the two, I didn't find much difference in the performance, flight characteristics, or handling qualities. On an airplane this size, the gap between the slat cove and the wing is quite small, so I wouldn't expect there to be a huge difference in the slow flight performance. I personally do prefer the looks of the slats though. Something about high lift devices like slats that I find so cool looking. :)

FINAL THOUGHTS

I'm always amazed by how well these UMX airplanes fly and this little UMX Turbo Timber is no exception. It has great power and really flies bigger than it looks. The airplane is quite maneuverable and easy to keep in small spaces. Plus, with the power and slow flight characteristics, you can really have some fun STOL operations with it. Until next time, I'll see you at the field!

2019 US Scale Masters National Championships

Fri, 07 Feb 2020 04:31:00 GMT

Another Jet Hangar Hobbies Scale Masters Champion! I can't even believe it! :)

Scale competition has been a big part of what I enjoy in this hobby. There's just something about building and flying a model that you've created with so much effort to try and simulate and/or replicate a full scale aircraft. For me, it's so much about flying an airplane that I never in my wildest dreams will have the chance to fly in full scale. That said, competition scale modelling hasn't been a large focus for me the last couple years. Filming and writing these reviews and tutorials takes quite a bit of time, and I've been having a good time flying a number of different models in the process. However, when the Scale Masters Championships came back to California again this year (October 17-20, 2019), being hosted by the Clovis RC club , I got the bug and I knew that I wanted to give it another go. I could only hope to replicate the magic of my 2016 win with my Jet Hangar Mirage IIIRS . Truth be told, following 2016, I was inspired to get my big Mark Frankel Skyray built for the next championships. Well, strangely enough, you actually have to work on a model to get it done! Who knew?! Not to mention Elf labor has gotten so expensive in California these days. So, in the absence of a big Skyray, I wanted to give the championships a try with my Jet Hangar Hobbies A-7 Corsair II and I can't even believe that I would be reporting a second time that I came out of the event as the "Grand National Champion" finishing 1st place in Expert for 2019!

40 YEARS OF COMPETITION

Organized by the U.S. Scale Masters Association , 2019 marked the 40th annual Championships event. Though the hobby has evolved, the technology has improved and new classes have been added to the competition mix, the goal of the Scale Masters has never changed which has been to highlight the best in RC scale modeling. And those 40 years have seen so many of the best scale modelers compete from the US and around the world. In fact, my dad competed in the very first Scale Masters championships in 1980 (as well as subsequent years) held out at Mile Square park with a gorgeous DayGlo orange F9F Cougar of his own design. The truth of the matter is that a weekend at the Scale Masters Championships is such an inspiring time with a camaraderie that can only be explained as a family gathering. It is such an incredible group of talented and supportive modelers that are there to have a great time while also put their skills up against the best around.

THE COMPETITION FORMAT

It's been a few years since my last competition related article, so I thought it would be worth talking briefly about the format of the competition. The competition starts with static judging of each of the entries. The aircraft is judged to a maximum of 100 points for accuracy of outline, color and markings, and craftsmanship to a documentation book provided by the entrant. From there, 5 flight rounds are flown over the course of the weekend with each flight score out of a maximum of 100 points. Once completed, the top 3 flight scores are averaged together and then added to the static score for the final score for each entrant. There are 5 required maneuvers to be demonstrated during the flight (takeoff, landing, fly past, figure 8, realism) along with 5 optional maneuvers that are chosen by the contestant that are prototypical of the airplane. In fact, leading up to the competition, I put together a video discussion about it which is below:

Also, as noted in the video, there are a whole different array of categories to compete in, so it's really open to any number of aircraft whether foam, ARF, composite, built up, etc. Here's a quick summary of the categories to give an idea.

Pro-Am Sportsman -- Category for entry level competition pilots that focuses most of the points on the flying scores. Aircraft don't require full documentation, only proof of the aircraft for a maximum of 5 static points allowing for virtually any type of aircraft to be entered.
Pro-Am Pro -- Category for more experienced competition pilots that focuses most of the points on the flying scores. Aircraft don't require full documentation, only proof of the aircraft for a maximum of 5 static points allowing for virtually any type of aircraft to be entered.
Advanced -- Category for pilots who've not built their aircraft (ARF's or purchased, etc.) or is part of a team. The entrant provides full documentation for static judging the same as the team and expert categories.
Team -- Category for a team of builder and pilot. The builder provides full documentation for static judging and the pilot flies the aircraft in competition.
Expert -- Category for the builder and pilot who both builds and flies the aircraft in competition.

In terms of the weekend itself, it all started Thursday with static judging and flight practice. For me personally, I always bring an airplane to practice with at the field during the static judging day. My goal is to get in as many flights as I can to get my bearings on the field. Every field is different and it's important to understand the differences for maneuver placement and visual acuity, not to mention sorting out the approach to landing. I had with me my trusty Freewing F-4 Great Pumpkin and E-flite F-16 and hammered out at least half a dozen flights between the two, even in some pretty windy conditions.

As nice as Thursday was, Friday was met with some challenging wind conditions which made some of the takeoffs and landings a bit interesting for the day. Thankfully, that all settled down and Saturday and Sunday ended up being fantastic! Though, there was only one catastrophic crash that I recall, there was a considerable amount of attrition this year in the Expert category that I'd not seen the likes of before. It seemed to be mostly mechanical type of issues that unfortunately precluded some entrants from fully completing all of the flight rounds. Here's the full round up of the scores (credit: US Scale Masters Association website ).

Here are a few pictures and videos from the event. I still can't believe the end result! Once again, being able to share the experience with my parents and compete with one of my dad's designs yet again makes it all the more special to me. Now it's time to get my next competition bird built!

A FEW PICTURES...

A FEW VIDEOS...

The following videos feature some of my favorite airplanes from the event. I was stoked to be able to finally see Chris Spangenberg's masterfully crafted Hawker Typhoon fly. It is about the most perfectly built scale model I've seen!

Hawker Typhoon - This Hawker Typhoon was built by Chris Spangenberg from Vailencourt plans and is roughly 1/5 scale at 100" wingspan. It weighs 53 lb and is powered by a DA85 swinging a 26x10 prop. Paints used were Testor's enamels with a KlassKote clear over the entire model. The model finished first in team scale being flown by Bill Adams and is an incredible representation of the Typhoon.

Laird Turner Meteor - This LTR-14 was a really unique model that I'd not seen before. Flown by Robert Wagoner, he had done a complete overhaul on the stock ECOMRC ARF completely recovering the airplane and installing a Moki 150 into it. The airplane really looked good and I can imagine is a really fun airplane to fly.

A6M Zero - This Top RC A6M Zero is actually an ARF, however, the owner and pilot Adam Clement spent a year fully detailing and painting the airframe and it looked fantastic! It featured full rivet detail, nicely executed paint chipping and paint and a pretty incredible cockpit. To add to that, the model was powered by a Saito FG90 3-cylinder radial engine, so it sounded sweet!

Hawker Hunter - This Hawker Hunter was another Top RC Model airframe and it flew great! Powered by a KingTech k160-G2 turbine, it weighs 32 lb dry being able to hold up to 1 gallon of fuel and also features smoke (though not used for the competition routine). The model was an extremely nice flyer and finished up in 1st place of the Pro-Am Sportsman category flown by Jan Sundberg.

P-47 Thunderbolt - This CARF P-47 was entered in the Pro-Am Pro class by Bill Adams and it was such a great flying airplane. Combined with the Moki for power, it sounded so good! Bill finished 2nd in the class averaging 95.25 in his flight scores. The CARF P-47 Thunderbolt in any form is sweet, but add in a Moki 250 5-cylinder Radial Engine and you have something that is absolutely amazing!

A-7 Corsair II - I thought I'd go ahead and throw this in as this is a flight video of my A-7 from a couple years ago (prior to the gear mods). This is the airplane with JetFan90 installed using a 12s 5800mah battery (2x 6s packs connected in series).

E-flite P-51D Mustang 1.5m with Smart Technology Assembly & Flight Review

Tue, 21 Jan 2020 02:46:00 GMT

E-flite's Newest Warbird, the P-51D Mustang…and it's extra Smart!

Ever since taking a ride in Dr Ken Wagner's 'Lady Alice' P-51D Mustang , I've been a fan of the of the airplane. Experiencing the airplane first hand in flat is something I will never forget! As an aircraft design, the P-51D Mustang is timeless, it truly is. Being a workhorse in the air war over Europe in WWII, it has cemented itself as arguably one of the greatest fighters of all time. Interestingly, it was one of the first production aircraft to take advantage of laminar flow technology in the wing airfoil design to realize a greater drag reduction in flight. This was quite revolutionary as laminar wing design wasn't well understood at the time.

So, when the opportunity came up to experience E-flite's new P-51D Mustang 1.5m with Smart technology I was elated! Having another good sized mustang in my hangar since my Lady Alice has been long overdue I think. Plus, being packed full of scale features along with Spektrum RC's Smart technology (new offering for a BnF), I was eager to see what it was all about.

AIRCRAFT ASSEMBLY NOTES

Pulling the airframe from the box, you are met with a nice large airframe that has been broken down into only just a few large components. The result is a quick and easy assembly. Assembly starts with the horizontal tail which is a single piece that slips through a slot in the fuselage and then is held in place by three screws. From there, the wing is installed which comes as 3 pieces. The wing center section is held in place with 4 screws and the outer wing panels are split at the flap/aileron intersection and slide on with a carbon tube and snap into place using some plastic snap-in keepers. The nice thing is with the outer panels removable in this way, the landing gear remain attached to the airframe which helps with transport while also making assembly at the field extremely quick.

I should note that the wing features hard mounted connectors at the base of the wing root as well as the outer wing junctions. This really simplified the assembly alleviating the need to manually set connectors our route any wires at all.

In terms of the assembled airplane on the bench, it looks fantastic! The classic lines of the P-51D Mustang have been characterized wonderfully and the fit and finish of everything is well done. In terms of the paint scheme, it's painted up as "Lou IV" featuring a blue camouflaged top side and a yellow nose over a silver base as worn by a privately owned P-51D Mustang (the Lou IV aircraft that fought in WWII was OD green as opposed to blue) which looks good on the airplane. The blue looks especially nice in the air!

In addition to the nice fit and finish, the airplane also includes some good looking landing gear details including full shock absorbing landing gear, retractable tail wheel and full cycling gear doors. Lastly, the airplane features a nice big 4-blade prop and a scale shaped spinner. These are all the small details that I always love to see in a warbird, I can't help it! ;)

In the process of making this review, I actually had put together a full assembly review video on my channel which is below:

AIRCRAFT SETUP & CG

The subject model was the bind and fly version which means that it takes full advantage of the new Spektrum Smart technology (discussed a little more further down) as it comes with a Smart ESC and Receiver. Also, the airplane does not feature SAFE, so if that's something you're looking for, you'll want to look at the smaller 1.2m P-51 Mustang.

For the control surface setup, the E-Flite control recommendations were a great start. Through flying the airplane I found that I preferred the high rate ailerons and the low rate elevator recommendations based on the CG. This equates to the following rates:

Elevator - 10mm up, 7mm down with No Expo
Aileron -15mm with 10% Expo
Rudder - 20mm with 10% expo (the airplane does a beautiful knife edge!)
Flaps - 22mm half, 57mm full, no elevator mix at all

The CG location recommended in the manual is 124mm-137mm as measured from the wing leading edge root aft. For the first flight, I shot for the CG in the middle of that range and that's where it stayed as it felt great there. This equates to 132mm as measured from the wing root leading edge aft. In fact, there is a small rectangular plastic cover near the main gear well which if you place your fingertips at the rear edge on each side to CG the model, it ended up being about perfect.

For the battery, I'm using a Spektrum Smart 6s 5000mah pack which provides excellent power and flight times. This also means that the battery talks directly with the Smart ESC so that full battery voltage, current, temperature, etc. is downlinked to the transmitter via telemetry. Note that the model has a sliding tray for the battery, so the battery is placed such that the back of the battery aligns with the rear of the tray which provided the perfect CG.

BEING SMART WITH SMART TECHNOLOGY

One of the defining features of this particular offering is the fact that it is packaged completely with Spektrum's Smart technology . So, when combined with a Spektrum Smart battery , this allows full real-time monitoring of the power system in flight. Having that real-time data can be very useful, especially knowing when your voltage is getting low in flight. Also, it will alarm if the system starts with a low voltage (i.e. if you plug in an already flown pack) which is an excellent feature and I anticipate will help many of us who have occasionally forgotten to check the voltage before plugging a pack in for flight.

I'm currently working on an in depth discussion about the Smart Tech which will post here, but in the meantime, I wanted to mention a few takeaways in the time that I've used the tech on the Mustang. Most notably, my primary recommendation is to be smarter than the Smart technology. What I mean is that it's possible to have data overload, so setting up the telemetry alarms in a smart way is important. The screens are useful on the ground, but aren't practical to look at in flight. So, the alarms and reports are what will be leveraged in the air. Setting things up in a smart way will afford you a stress free flying experience while still having the ability to assess the flight battery condition.

For the Mustang, I took a simple approach to the reporting. I wanted the ability at any time to have a real-time report of the system. So, I setup on the I button on the top of the transmitter a report of ESC voltage, temperature, and amps so that the transmitter will read out to me the instantaneous data when the button is pressed. Additionally, I setup a low voltage alarm. I found that the defaults tended to alarm far too soon in the flight, so in the telemetry/ESC menu, I adjusted the minimum voltage to 16.8v to account for voltage sag in flight. This coincides with the packs showing 3.79v/cell on the ground after landing which is exactly where I want to be after a flight. Though, I have my timer set for 5 minutes, depending on how hard I fly the airplane, this alarm ensures that I land where I want the batteries to be every time which will help with battery longevity.

FLYING THE E-FLITE P-51D MUSTANG 1.5m WITH SMART TECHNOLOGY

From the very first flight, I fell in love with how this P-51D Mustang flies. Having flown a select few (including the FMS 1450mm ), this is by far the best flying Mustang I've flown to date. The airplane has great power which means large verticals and the straight and level speed at full throttle is quite nice while also cruising at partial throttle very efficiently. The airplane will perform aerobatics beautifully and precisely almost maneuvering like a pattern airplane in the air. The scale aerobatics look great and I didn't really experience any bad habits up and away. Oh, and the knife edge flight is killer!

There are a couple things to be aware of related to ground handling. It has the large prop on the front, so for takeoffs it's important to be active on the rudder to keep the airplane headed straight down the runway. Also, it can be a little challenging to get a smooth touchdown on pavement. The gear are pretty springy and the wheels are hard and so the airplane can get a little hoppy if touching down on two wheels and the sink rate isn't perfect. I found that keeping a little power all the way to the ground and touching down one wheel first really helps smooth out the touchdown. Also, I ultimately swapped out the stock tires with some Robart 3.5" wheels and this helped some as well since the tires are soft. Note that some fitting was required to install the Robart wheels. I used a combination of wheel collars and cut aluminum tubes to fit them. On grass, I wouldn't expect this would be an issue at all.

FINAL THOUGHTS

And there we have the E-Flite P-51D Mustang 1.5m with Smart technology . I was pleasantly surprised at just how nice this model is and especially how well it flies. It has some great scale features and the addition of the Smart tech is a nice touch. I'm thinking this could make a great base for a new Lady Alice I think…hmmmm… ;) Until next time, I'll see you at the field!

E-flite F-18 Hornet 80mm EDF Assembly & Flight Review

Wed, 08 Jan 2020 03:46:00 GMT

E-flite's Legacy Bug…Is it swarm in here?

The F-18 Hornet has been the cornerstone of the Navy fleet for decades, not to mention has been the performance aircraft for the US Navy's Blue Angels since 1986. So, as an airplane, it's always been extremely popular. I mean, what's not to like really? There have been a number of F-18 models through the years and the challenge in making it as an RC model has always been the landing gear. The main gear of the F-18 are so distinctive, it truly is one of the defining features of the airplane, but getting them made well was always a challenge in years past (n recent years there have been some absolutely incredible turbine models that have come to market). Also, if not executed well, it can make ground handling challenging.

When I saw E-flite's F-18 Hornet and the incredibly scale landing gear on it, I was excited! They got not only the look of the gear correct, but they also got the correct teeter angle which helps place the wheels a bit further away from the fuselage. If they had spent that much attention to detail on the landing gear, I could only hope that the rest of the airplane was just as well thought out. Well, I'm happy to report that this is indeed a very well-engineered and well thought out model that also flies extremely nicely! There are some things to be aware of regarding takeoff (especially on your maiden flight), but with the right setup and awareness, it's not a problem at all and you'll have a really nice flying EDF on your hands.

AIRCRAFT ASSEMBLY NOTES

The E-flite Hornet arrived nicely packed in a good sized box and includes with it a full complement of external tanks and stores which is nice. E-flite has really simplified the airplane down into the major components for assembly basically requiring only the tails and wings to be added for full assembly. As I hinted to earlier, the model is very well engineered which makes the assembly quite simple. I did have one alignment issue on one of the vertical stabs for some reason being unable to get one of the bolts to grab the threads in the fuselage. A quick run through the problematic mounting hole in the vertical stabilizer with my drill to open the hole slightly and I was able to remedy that pretty simply.

With the airplane assembled and on the bench, it really looks the part beautifully and the landing gear are really quite incredible! E-flite has characterized the shape of the airplane extremely well and I like the paint scheme that is on it personally. This F-18 really is ripe for some weathering! Also, it is worth noting that the leading edge extension has a hard plastic lining along the edge which really helps keep it from getting chewed up. The E-flite F-16 featured this as well.

And of course, the landing gear…they're sick! I'm a sucker for scale gear and E-flite nailed these. They look right and they function extremely well. The mains do bottom out on the ground which is intentional as on the F-18 if the springs aren't setup correctly, ground handling can be tricky during takeoff. This helps keep it stable on the ground. That said, it is an F-18 which means narrow gear track, so don't be surprised at scraping a wing tip or two (I've scraped three! :p ). Also, large amounts of steering inputs during takeoff will have the airplane swaying on the gear a bit…every F-18 model I've seen fly has done this, so just something to be aware of when setting your rates.

AIRCRAFT SETUP & CG

On the control surface setup, I found that most of the control recommendations were quite good, though I found the elevator to be a bit low for my taste. So, through flying the airplane here's what I honed in on for control throws. I would like to play with the control setup in the future to try something a little more scale with tailerons and full span flaps like I did with the Freewing F-14 . That will come in a separate video and article if that happens.

Elevator - 22mm up and down with 8% expo
Aileron - 10mm up and down with 5% Expo
Rudder - 10mm left and right with 20% expo to desensitize the steering
Flaps - 30mm half flap with 1mm up elevator mix and 45mm full flap with a 3mm up elevator mix

In terms of the CG, I'm flying the airplane closer to the aft CG recommendation in the manual. This equates to 75mm as measured from the wing leading edge root aft right at the leading edge extension. The airplane flies great there and lands nicely. It's important to note that the airplane does require a bit more of an elevator input for takeoff rotation than other aircraft. Taking off with flaps does help which I would recommend only after you have trimmed the airplane out in flight in that configuration. Also, I added a small 1/16" shim to the nose gear retract to raise the nose slightly too which helped a little as well. Ultimately this additional elevator input is a result of the main gear being in the scale location and the further distance between the CG and the main gear tires as a result. In the air, an elevator input essentially rotates the airplane around the CG. However, on the ground, the airplane rotates around the main gear tires, so the further away the tires are from the CG (i.e. closer to the tail), the shorter the lever arm the tail has which means the tail has a lower mechanical advantage to generate a pitch rotation. Based on that, the elevator needs to impart a greater force to counteract that shorter lever arm, hence a little more deflection. As mentioned though, lengthening the nose slightly and taking off with flaps both helped the airplane rotate a little easier.

For battery, my first few flights were with a Spektrum 35c 5000 mah SMART pack which worked great. However, the airplane chewed up that capacity rather quickly (timer was set at 3:10 minutes). In the process, I discovered that a Roaring Top 6250 mah pack fit perfectly into the battery area without any modification. With the 6250 mah pack, my timer is set at 3.5 minutes which gives plenty of reserve flying the airplane hard and actually gave it a touch more speed also.

FLYING THE E-FLITE F-18 HORNET 80mm EDF

The E-flite F-18 Hornet is a great flying airplane that feels like the scale jet that it is in the air. What I mean is that the response, the feel, everything the airplane does gives you a sense and feel of flying a larger scale jet fighter. The overall performance is quite representative of the full scale airplane as the E-flite F-18 has good overall performance (not to mention really looks the part well in the air). The airplane is quite responsive throughout its full envelope and it's really fun to put it through its paces pulling maneuvers indicative of the full scale airplane. I found that the airplane does want to cruise with some speed behind it, so that's where the larger capacity battery does help with the flight times. I was especially surprised to find that the airplane knife edges quite excellently!

This has been touched on a little previously, but it should be noted that F-18s as a whole have a fairly unique ground handling during takeoff. Large rudder inputs will result in the airplane rocking left to right on its gear, so most certainly be aware of that and tune your rates and expo accordingly. Also, flaps are definitely recommended for landings to help slow it down on the approach and touchdown. I found that keeping some power all the way to the ground really helped the airplane land and settle nicely. Cutting the throttle in the flare would otherwise tend to cause the airplane to drop in harder.

The airplane was flown both with and without the external stores and as a whole the performance was similar between the two, though the clean configuration was notably quicker. The airplane did require about a dozen clicks or so of up trim to trim the airplane with the full stores configuration. The airplane really looks good with the stores on, but truth be told, it's not likely that I'll fly the airplane with full stores regularly. Interestingly enough, they're not that noticeable as you fly the airplane nor do they help with the visual either. So, that combined with the reduced top speed means that I'll probably fly it clean most of the time.

FINAL THOUGHTS

The E-flite F-18 Hornet really is a nicely executed foam jet. It is well engineered and it flies extremely nicely…and let's not forget those landing gear are sick! A nice large battery fits in the battery bay as well, so decent enough flight times can be obtained as well. There are a couple things to keep in mind on this airplane when it comes to takeoff, but as long as you are aware, then you can be prepared for it on the maiden and be rewarded with a really fun flying airplane. Now, where's my blue angel blue paint?? ;) Until next time, I'll see you at the field!

E-Flite Pitts S-1S (850mm) Assembly & Flight Review

Wed, 04 Dec 2019 02:50:00 GMT

E-flite's 850mm Pitts, the Knife Edge Beast!

As you may recall me mentioning in my UMX Pitts review , that little Pitts just flies absolutely epicly! Well, drooling over E-Flite's 850mm Pitts Biplane I couldn't hold off any longer and I ordered one. I knew that if it flew anything like the UMX, it would be an incredible little airplane! Well, the good news is it shares much of the magic flying pretty darn close to the UMX...knife edge passes FTW!

The pitts is such an iconic aerobatic aircraft design that's unmistakable and this E-Flite airplane captures it perfectly. Plus having flown the UMX one, it's really fostered a love for the Pitts. It's such a great looking biplane design.

AIRCRAFT ASSEMBLY

Assembly of the E-flite Pitts I found pretty enjoyable. Taking the airplane out of the box, one thing became apparent to me pretty quickly and that was that the finish on the airplane was incredible! As I inspected the parts, it really was hard to tell that this was in fact a foam airplane. It was really impressive and is without a doubt the smoothest EPO foam airplane I've seen to date!

In terms of the assembly, I found it pretty straight forward with no major surprises. It starts by placing the landing gear on the fuselage which are a nice aluminum type. They are a little soft though and do bend on less than perfect landings...don't ask how I know… From there the horizontal tail is glued on which is quick and easy. I do recommend test fitting the tail first and then using a medium or slower setting CA so you don't run into problems or have to rush. The assembly is then wrapped up by installing the lower wing, pinning the wing struts in place and then adding the top wing and pinning the wing struts into the top wing. From there, the upper and lower ailerons are connected together with the supplied connecting rods. The wings are held on with cotter pins which is interesting, but certainly works well enough. It is worth mentioning that the cotter pin receiver that holds the lower wing in place can be screwed in or out to tighten or loosen up the wing fit if you find it’s not to your liking.

With the airplane completed, you're awarded with a beautiful recreation of the iconic pitts airframe. I'll be honest, the finish and smoothness of the foam is unreal. It legitimately is difficult to tell that it's a foam airplane it's that smooth. One thing to note is that there are some carbon rods supplied for optional flying wires which I would have liked to have used, but that didn't quite work out as the receivers shown in the instructions didn't seem to make it into the final production design, so there didn't seem to be an obvious place to put them. Kind of a bummer, but they're only for looks anyhow.

AIRCRAFT SETUP & CG

Setting up the airplane was pretty straight forward. Being a biplane, there's really only elevator, aileron, and rudder to setup. The rates in the manual are plenty sufficient and I'm actually flying the airplane with the recommended high rate rudder and elevator and then low rate ailerons. It can be touchy on the ailerons depending on how you set it up, so be aware of that. The Bind N Fly airplane does have SAFE, so, be aware of the two different bind procedures whether you want that on or off ( see my discussion on SAFE here ). This is an aerobatic airplane, so flying with SAFE seems to kind of defeat the purpose in my mind a bit, but having it on a switch, it can help you get out of trouble if that happens. In terms of throws, here's what I'm using:

Elevator - 19mm up and down with 15% expo
Aileron - 12mm up and down with 15% expo
Rudder - 22mm left and right with 15% expo

For the CG, I'm flying the airplane per the manual at about 86mm as measured from the top wing leading edge root aft. Interestingly this is right at about where the wing pins are, so basically you have a built in CG fixture for you. The airplane is level when I pick it up with my finger tips at this location and it feels good in the air. It's nimble but still statically stable to avoid getting into too much trouble. I'm using a 3s Roaring Top 35c 2200 mah pack and I find that this provides plenty of power. There's a removable tray for the battery and I set the battery at the rear most location on it. Personally, I really like the power of the 3s battery, but you can go up to 4s if you want and I can imagine it would have insane power! If you're wanting to 3d with the airplane, that would be the way to go.

FLYING THE E-FLITE 850mm PITTS

In terms of flying, I've really been enjoying this little airplane. It took a couple flights to get things tuned, but after that, the airplane just locked in super solid and flies great. IT's extremely nimble and aerobatic, but at the same time cruises around easily and looks great doing it. I'm not the greatest aerobatic pilot, but I had a blast doing snap rolls, knife edges and anything else I could think of to try. The airplane has fantastic scale like power on 3s which I was really happy with. It'll do big scale vertical maneuvers and nice crisp rolls easily enough and that knife edge is killer. For takeoff, I recommend bringing the power up rapidly to avoid ground looping. IT's a pitts which means a narrow gear track, so applying the power quickly will help get the tail up quicker. The most difficulty I did have initially was in sorting out the landings. If you come in flat like a typical taildragger approach for a two wheel touch down, you will end up hot in the flare. I bent the gear a couple times finding this out. I discovered that the airplane really wants to land 3 point with what is similar to a jet approach. I set the aircraft to a nose up attitude and then control the descent with the power. This really slows the airplane down and then avoids those hot touchdowns that inevitably get you hopping down the runway. Once I sorted that out, it really made things much more user friendly on landings. The airplane will really slow down well if you let it and are comfortable with that.

Below is a full flight video of the airplane in action. This is the airplane bone stock on a 3s 2200 pack . I'm sorry to say, I've not flown the airplane on 4 cells, but in my mind for my style of flying, I really don't find it necessary. Plus, I was kind of avoiding having to purchase more batteries…

FINAL THOUGHTS

There we have the E-flite 850mm Pitts for you. What a gorgeous little model that flies awesome. This thing is all about aerobatics and it will perform anything you throw at it, so most definitely have some fun with it. You know, the little UMX pitts really spawned a love for this airplane and this e-flite pitts just makes that love grow even more. It's such a cool looking airplane that is so nimble in the air that knife edges like a beast and I've been having a blast with it. Having an aerobatic airplane like this in the hangar is a much welcomed change for me since I'm usually flying warbirds or jets. I'm not the most proficient aerobatic pilot, so this'll give me a chance to work on those skills more. Until next time, I'll see you at the field!

Freewing Me 262 Schwalbe Assembly & Flight Review

Wed, 06 Nov 2019 02:46:00 GMT

Schwalbe there for you!

The Me 262 is an airplane that I have had a fascination with since I was a kid. To envision the world's first operational jet fighter and the mark that the airplane made on aviation history certainly made my mind run circles. That's not to mention, the look of design was not only appealing but also futuristic for the time that it was made! There was so much ingenuity occurring during WWII on both sides this airplane was one of many advances which changed and accelerated aviation in ways that I don't think we'll ever see again.

So, needless to say, as a fanboy of the Me 262, I had always liked the looks of the Freewing Me 262 . Frankly though, I wasn't a fan of the original pastel gray paint scheme and having flown one, the power systems worked but left room for improvement. Well, enter the Freewing Me 262 Version 2 with the correct colors and upgraded power systems and I absolutely couldn't resist picking one up…and I tell you what it was worth the wait as this V2 is a great looking and absolutely wonderful machine to fly!

AIRCRAFT ASSEMBLY NOTES

What truly struck me with this V2 airplane was the paint scheme and pulling the airplane from the box, the paint was beautifully applied and the colors were spot on. The paint job truly transforms this model. Though a little older kit, the airplane still goes together fairly easily and quickly, but it does require a bit more work than some of the newer kits now in comparison. Mostly, there's quite a bit of wire routing getting everything from the wings into the fuselage. There are no quick disconnects for any of the wing wires, so that pretty much relegates this to a one piece airplane. ;) I should note that just like the E-Flite Spitfire assembly, I had some help on this one too from my friend and his son as we had an assembly marathon the night they came to stay with me. It was awesome!

The assembly starts with the wings by joining them together and routing all of the wiring into the wing center section. There are a number of y-harnesses that are used to join the servos together as they are routed to the receiver. From there, the wing was joined to the fuselage and then the tails were installed. There was quite a bit of wire to get sorted and plugged into the receiver, but just requires a little time to make sure things are correct. From there, it was on to the radio setup.

Having the airplane assembled and on the bench, it looks absolutely fantastic. Freewing has really done a great job on the shape and especially the paint on the model. It looks the part exceptionally well. It's without a doubt one of the best looking 262 kits out there currently. I do wish that the main tire size was more scale out of the box. The main tires on the full scale airplane were quite large in fact and these are definitely on the small side. That's an easy fix though if I decide to swap them out. Also, the tires are pretty hard, so with a little side load you can get a little drift action going on the landing roll out.

One of the modifications we did make was to the flaps. The model comes with split flaps which isn't scale to the airplane. So, we simply cut the foam upper flap surface and glued it to the lower plastic split flap which then created a more scale flap setup. If I were to do it again though, I would have cut the forward flap separation line at an angle vs a straight cut to create a little cleaner and scale looking flap. One thing to note is that the inner and outer flaps are connected by a piece of wire and operated be a single servo. The wire isn't super stiff, but it certainly works well enough.

AIRCRAFT SETUP & CG

Interestingly enough, setting up the airplane, I couldn't find any control surface throw information in the manual anywhere. So, I was pretty much on my own there. I setup triple rates based on what I thought looked about right based on my experience and then gave it a go. Through flying the airplane here's what I honed in on for throws.

Elevator - 12mm up and down with no expo
Aileron - 13mm up and down with 5% Expo
Rudder - 24mm left and right with 15% expo to desensitize the steering
Flaps - 20mm half with 5% elevator mix and and 40mm full with a 10% elevator mix (equates to ~2mm up elevator at full flap)

In terms of the CG, the manual recommends 100-110mm as measured from the wing root leading edge aft. I found that the CG location was spot on and never messed with it from the first flight. In terms of batteries, I've used Roaring Top 6s 5800s and 6250s which were good, but I really fell in love with the 30c Spektrum 6s 7000mah pack in the airplane. With the battery placed all the way to the rear of the battery tray, the CG worked out perfectly and the flight times are fantastic with that pack. I can fly the airplane as hard as I want for 4+ minutes and still have enough reserve for a go around or two if I have to. The 7000 packs are about 6oz heavier than the 5800s and are highly recommended for the airplane!

FLYING THE FREEWING Me 262 SCHWALBE

The Freewing Me 262 V2 certainly delivers on looks and it absolutely delivers on flight performance as well. I could tell from liftoff on the maiden flight that it was going to be a sweetheart and it is. The airplane delivers on all levels being fast at full throttle with great big vertical capability while also being able to slow down beautifully in the landing configuration. The airplane cruises and maneuvers well at 60% throttle which can really extend the flight times while at full throttle will perform huge vertical maneuvers. Plus, at the partial throttle settings, the airplane even has a beautiful sounding growl to it which gives it a sense of realism. Interestingly enough, the airplane will even perform a beautiful knife edge the full length of the field without a problem and with minimal coupling. It's extremely fun! One thing to note is that takeoffs only take about half throttle to get in the air. Taking off at full throttle is fine, just note that the airplane likely lift off sooner than expected based on the thrust offset from the underwing nacelles.

Here's a short flight video of the airplane in action. This is the stock Me 262 with the Spektrum 30c 7000 mah pack . My timer is set for 4.5 minutes which is when I setup for landing which means it's over 5 minutes of flight time. I like to fly the airplane pretty hard, but that could be extended with greater throttle management.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Needless to say, I have been thoroughly enjoying the Freewing Me 262 V2 as it looks good and flies even better. It's been a great airplane to have in the hangar as it really feels and flies like a larger jet. The overall flight characteristics combined with the power systems really make this a fantastic model. Until next time, I'll see you at the field!

From the Bench: RealFlight 9 RC Flight Simulator — Review, Customization & Crashes!

Wed, 16 Oct 2019 02:48:00 GMT

Customization & Crashes = Good Times!

Hey guys! We have another full video post this week. My son and I have been playing with the new RealFlight 9 Horizon Hobby Edition and have been having just as much fun with it as we did with RealFlight 8 ! The nice thing is that the software comes with everything you need including a new Spektrum inspired transmitter that features much more logical and realistic switch positions which really helps in creating a more realistic simulator experience. Having a number of new aircraft including some of the new Horizon Hobby releases, the simulator is packed full of features including full customization, training tools and full multi-player that allow you to fly over the internet with others too.

The best way to show RealFlight 9 is through video, so our review video is below. A good simulator is most certainly a worthy investment, especially if you're learning. AS I always say, if you crash once in the simulator, it will have paid for itself if you compare to actually crashing an airplane. Also, if you're flying with SAFE, the sim is the place to get used to flying without it. I do find myself flying a bit less cautiously in the sim, but this is definitely the place to do that and to push your limits to improve your skills.

E-flite Spitfire MkXIV Assembly & Flight Review

Wed, 25 Sep 2019 02:48:00 GMT

E-flite's MkXIV Spitfire, a Timeless Design that Flies Great!

Though the E-Flite Spitfire MkXIV has been out for a few years now, it's one of those designs that stands the test of time. If I remember correctly, this was one of the earlier 1.2m airplanes to be released from E-flite and there's a reason why it's still offered. This comes through E-flite providing a great looking and quality built airframe with great flight characteristics packaged with a versatile power system that provides you with options!

The Griffon-Powered Spitfires such as the MkXIV were never produced in great numbers, especially compared to the Merlin powered variants, but the engine upgrade provided a significant performance increase for the Spitfire airframe. Increased vertical tail area and also a slightly more streamlined forward fuselage were necessary to suit the engine. Based on the MkXIV's performance, it was in fact the most effective Spitfire against intercepting V1 buzz bombs during the war.

AIRCRAFT ASSEMBLY NOTES

The E-Flite Spitfire is a really simple airframe to assemble. It's mostly just a matter of installing the tails and wings and then setting up the radio. I think the most difficult part assembly was routing and connecting the wires from the wing into the fuselage. I had a friend and his son over when we assembled this he and his son put it together. They had a good time and the next day his son got to fly it, so he was stoked!

In terms of the assembled airplane, it really looks great! There's no mistaking the classic lines of the Spitfire which this model captures very well. There's no mistaking that characteristic Griffon powered Spitfire look. Also, the paint scheme is really well done too and nicely characterizes the British WWII camouflage well.

The airplane also includes some nice details including a proper scale gear stance which is huge for me and the full scale dual segmented flap setup which is awesome and works excellently. Additionally, the model features a 5-bladed propeller which I was really excited to see. I'm a sucker for any multi-bladed prop! ;)

AIRCRAFT SETUP & CG

The subject model was the bind and fly version of the Spitfire which means that it includes SAFE. I have a discussion posted about SAFE Select with some suggestions on how to use it effectively if you'd like more information. In my case I wanted SAFE Select off, so the airplane was simply bound normally keeping the bind plug in place the whole time. Should you choose to bind with SAFE select on, then during the bind procedure, simply remove the bind plug before selecting bind on the transmitter.

ELEVATOR ► 9mm up and down, 5% expo
AILERON ► 18mm up and down, 20% Expo
RUDDER ► 22mm left and right, 25% expo to desensitize the steering
FLAPS ► 15mm mid, 2%up elevator mix, 40mm full 4% up elevator mix

The CG location recommended in the manual is 78mm as measured from the wing leading edge root aft and the CG felt good there. Possibly a little nose heavy, but I didn't experience any bad habits with it there so that's where I stayed with it. Interestingly, the recommended battery is a 3s 2200mah pack. There was no way to achieve that CG without adding weight to the nose. So, I just happened to have a pair of Admiral 4s 3600mah packs which fit nice and snug in the battery bay with no modification and CG'd the airplane perfectly when pushing them all the way forward. Remembering my experience flying the E-flite P-47 Thunderbolt on 4s, I figured why not give it a go and it has worked great! One thing to note is if you run 4s on the airplane, be sure to balance the propeller. On the first flights, it was quite out of balance at full throttle which caused a significant amount of vibration.

FLYING THE E-FLITE SPITFIRE MXIV

My experience with Spitfires has been that they make absolutely great flying models. Well, this E-flite MkXIV Spitfire is no exception to that as it flies absolutely beautifully! Flying the airplane on the 4s 3600mah pack , the airplane has great speed and virtually unlimited vertical while also obtaining exceptional flight times. The airplane cruises perfectly at half throttle which works for most maneuvers while full throttle is reserved for fast passes and verticals. In terms of aerobatics, the airplane will handle anything you want to throw at it and I didn't notice any bad habits in the air.

Similar to the E-flite AT-6 Texan I did notice is that the Spitfire can get a little hoppy on landings if you don't get the touch down quite right. Keeping a touch of power on in the flare all the way down to touch down helps avoid this. Also, with the narrow gear track, expect to touch wingtips periodically as well. Even the smallest side load on a straight roll out can result in a tip touch. The other thing is on takeoff, based on the gear stance and the 4s battery power, I found that it was best to apply power a little more gradually on the takeoff roll to help avoid a potential nose over. There's also no need to go completely to full throttle during takeoff when using 4s either. I found myself only applying up to about half throttle before lifting off. You can sense of that in the flight video below:

FINAL THOUGHTS

Well, there we have the E-Flite 1.2m Spitfire MkXIV . This is a great flying model that I have really been enjoying of late. It has all the right features, looks good, and has the excellent flight characteristics to match. It's truly a timeless E-flite design. Until next time, I'll see you at the field!

E-Flite F-4 Phantom II Assembly & Flight Review

Wed, 28 Aug 2019 02:48:00 GMT

E-Flite's Phabulously Phantastic Phlying Phantom...wait, was that excessive? ;)

This week we're looking at the E-Flite's F-4 Phantom II . The F-4 is an unmistakable airplane and E-flite has put together a really nicely engineered kit here that flies great! Also, it's another jet with SAFE select, so this adds to the growing number of EDFs with this as an option if that's something you're looking for.

The F-4 is an iconic airplane with a colorful history that served for quite a long time with a number of different countries. It was produced for over 20 years and the last US F-4 drone was only just retired back in 2016. Though it wasn't designed as such, the F-4 could technically be considered the first JSF since it was the first jet fighter to serve in all three branches of the military. It started out with the Navy as the F-4B. Catching the eye of the Air Force they decided to make a few mods and then started flying the F-4C and then later the F-4E of course. Well, the funny thing is, the Navy took note of some of the F-4C mods and incorporated those into what became the F-4J and later the F-4S. Obviously, this is an oversimplification…but the C and J models have a number of similarities.

AIRCRAFT ASSEMBLY NOTES

Pulling the airplane from the box, you are met with a nice smooth airframe with a nice low parts count. It's impressive in fact considering the complexity that could be with the F-4 airframe. As a whole, the is engineered extremely well. The parts count is low and everything aligns so there's not guess work on the alignment anywhere, most notably on the tails.

The assembly starts with the horizontal tail install. The mechanism is really nice and the tails are attached with two screws that screw into the pivot rods. This means, no chance for misalignment at all which is good feature to have. From there, the dorsal is installed which is also held on by two screws. The assembly is finished up by installing the wings over the carbon carry through spar with two screws fastened to hold each wing in place. From there, it was on to the radio setup.

With the airplane together on the bench, it really looks nice. There's no mistaking what this airplane is! E-Flite has gone with a VF-51 screaming eagles scheme which really looks good on the airplane. Also, the finish is nice and smooth and it's nicely painted. My only wish would be that all of the white sections were painted as they are just bare foam, so they have a more opaque look in certain lighting.

One of the features that really struck me is that the airplane has really nice looking scale shock absorbing landing gear as well as accurate looking gear door shapes. On the ground, it really looks great with those gear which I really like to see. You know me, I don't know what it is, I just have a thing about landing gear…but it does make a difference.

Lastly, the one modification that I did was adding a CenterBurner into the airplane! The airplane has a 32mm inrunner motor, so we actually developed a new tailcone design specifically for it. Something about the glow in the dual tailpipes on this this airplane, it really looks killer!

AIRCRAFT SETUP & CG

On the control surface setup, E-flite is really good about providing meaning info here, so starting with their recommendations is a good place to start. Through flying the airplane here's what I'm honed in on for control throws.

ELEVATOR - 20mm with 12% expo
AILERON - 15mm with 5% Expo
RUDDER - 19mm with 15% expo to desensitize the steering
FLAPS - 15mm half with 2mm up elevator mixand 45mm full with 4mm up elevator mix

In terms of the CG, I'm flying the airplane closer to the aft CG recommendation in the manual. This equates to 185mm as measured from the wing leading edge root aft at the fuselage. The airplane flies great there and lands really nicely. For battery, I'm alternating between flying with a Roaring Top 5800mah pack and a Spektrum 5000mah pack . The 5000 pack fits perfectly in there and the airplane CGs well with the battery pushed all the way back on the battery tray. The 5800 required hogging out a little foam to push the battery even further back to maintain the CG. My timer is set at 3.5 minutes and that gives me plenty of reserve flying the airplane really hard. I could probably bump that up the 4 minutes truthfully, especially with the 5800 packs.

FLYING THE E-Flite 80mm F-4 PHANTOM

I have to say that this F-4 is such a great flying airplane that has "phantastic" performance. I was quite surprised by the performance in fact as it'll pretty much go straight up from takeoff! The airplane is fast, but slows down beautifully on landings with the flaps down. Verticals are excellent providing large uplines at full throttle for big loops and vertical maneuvers. The thing about F-4s is that they just look so distinctive in the air and this E-flite is no exception. Especially seeing the profile from the front as it turns, it just looks mean with that anhedral tail and the dihedral wing tips! There's definitely no mistaking what it is and that Screaming Eagles scheme looks sweet in the air. It is worth noting that the airplane has an awesome sounding howl to it in the air at higher speeds. It's such a fitting sound for the airplane!

Here's a short flight video of the airplane in action. This is the F-4 stock with the 35c 5800 mah pack and CenterBurner installed. My timer is set for 3.5 minutes which is when I setup for landing which means it's about 4 minutes of in air time. That can certainly be extended with more throttle management though, but flying it hard, that seems about right.

FINAL THOUGHTS

The E-flite F-4 Phantom is another awesome flying EDF from E-flite. The airplane assembles easily and quick and flies straight as an arrow. This is another one with SAFE as an option, but as I always say, you'll have more fun flying without it if you can. This is a fully aerobatic fighter jet, and no shooting down Migs can be had with SAFE on! ;) Until next time, I'll see you at the field!

Warbirds & Classics RC Airshow 2019

Wed, 31 Jul 2019 03:26:00 GMT

Tale of the Brand New RUNWAY!

I have always loved going to the Scale Squadron's Warbirds & Classics event. Hosted at the OCMA field, it's such a good time flying at a really picturesque location to fly. I was on vacation for last year's event and wasn't able to make it, so I was excited to get back out there again this year. The big news was that a newly paved runway had been installed just in time for the event! Fresh pavement and fresh paint, it was a glorious site to behold. There had also been some recent rains which meant that the surrounding greenery was actually green! (as opposed to the typical SoCal brown that we get…)

Through the weekend, the weather couldn't have been much better with cool overcast mornings followed by warm and slightly breezy sunny afternoons. As a result there was endless flying from sun up to sun down for those in attendance. It truly doesn't get much better than that and the new runway was just the icing on the cake! In terms of airplanes at the event, there was a great assortment out there, but interestingly there didn't seem to be as many of the heavy iron warbirds that have been out there in years past. No matter though as there were still some really unique airplanes being flown which is the beauty of an event like this. So, here's a collection of pictures from the event. I had a little help this year as my friend Corsair Nut was there and we were able to team up taking pictures and video concurrently through the weekend.

Though, I can't say I had anything new and exciting to fly for the event this year, I brought along my trusty Jet Hangar A-7 Corsair II , Freewing F-4 Phantom , and E-Flite F-16 . I had just recently installed an 8s JetFan90 setup into the F-4 Phantom, so I was eager to see what it could do! I think through the course of 2 days I flew out there, I got in about 20 flights across the three airplanes with most of the flights on the A-7 and F-4. I suppose you could say, I was making up for lost time as my flying schedule has been rather spotty this year. ;)

WARBIRDS & CLASSICS VIDEOS

I generally try to get as much video as I can at an event as I love to feature the creativity of so many scale modelers. We are a unique breed as you've probably noticed. So, here's selection of some of the videos I've posted so far. I'll be adding more on my YouTube channel as I edit the footage over the next few weeks.

Giant Scale B-17 Flying Fortress -- This massive B-17G Flying Fortress from Jamie Fifles was 1/9 scale which gives it a 140" wingspan. It was scratch-built from Don Smith plans from balsa and ply wood and is powered by 4x E-flite 160 motors on 10 cells swinging 16x10 master airscrew props. The model was painted in the 909 livery, which holds the WW2 record of 140 missions with no casualties and 126 missions with no aborts. The replica is now flown by the Collins Foundation in FL.

Giant Scale FW-190A -- This was one of the largest model at the event and it was beautifully built! Built and flown by Brian Young, the model is 1/3.7 scale (113" span) and scratch built from Roy Vaillancourt plans from balsa and plywood (weighs 70 lb). Power is supplied by a DA 170 swinging a 31x11 falcon prop. The finish on it was fantastic and the weathering was spot on for a butcher bird. It was such a cool model!

Scratch-Built F4D-1 Skyray 80mm EDF -- A while back my friend Corsair Nut and I started scratch building a pair of 80mm EDF F4D Skyrays (to be fair, it was mostly CN doing the building based on my work schedule, but I did contribute a little ;) ). Well, his Skyray is done and he brought it out to the event and it looks amazing! He scratch-built the airplane from depron foam with ply for some of the structural elements and I designed up some 3D Printed intake ducting and a nose cone as well. The fan is the Freewing 9-blade EDF with centerburner for the simulated afterburner. :) I will hopefully have mine done later this year I hope!

1/5 Scale Mitsubishi J2M Raiden -- Brian Young is a pretty prolific builder and this J2M Raiden was the other model that he brought out the event. Built from a balsa and ply kit designed by John Reno it has an 85 '' inch wing span and is powered by a DA 85 swinging a 24 x 12 prop. The Raiden is a WWII design I've always thought was cool and is something you rarely see at the field! This one flew great!

E-Flite F-16 Thunderbirds 70mm EDF Assembly & Flight Review

Wed, 12 Jun 2019 02:50:00 GMT

Thunderbirds, hoooo!

This week, we're looking at the E-Flite 70mm F-16 Thunderbirds Fighting Falcon. This is a really good flying little jet that has an amazingly wide speed range which really makes it fun. E-flite has gone with the Thunderbirds livery on this one which is well represented on the airplane and makes it easy to see in flight which is nice. Also, just like the ViperJet , the airplane has SAFE select as an option if that's something you're looking for as an added layer of protection.

AIRCRAFT ASSEMBLY NOTES

The E-Flite F-16 Thunderbirds is a pretty simple assembly process. Instead of the tails being fastened on like many other airplanes, they are simply glued in place which is simple and effective. The instructions called out the use of CA for everything, so that's what I used and have had no issues at all. I did make sure to clean off overspray on the foam for the stabilizers though as the over spray does reduce the efficacy of the bond. With the tails and dorsal glued in place, the wings are bolted on over the carbon spar and it's on to the radio. The nice thing is that there's no need for running wires or anything in this airplane (unlike the viper) based on how the wings attach which really simplifies the setup.

With the airplane together on the bench, it's a really nice looking airplane and it's a nicely sized 70mm airframe being a little bit bigger than the ViperJet . The paint scheme looks good and represents the thunderbirds quite well. You do have to add all the blue stars on the tail which are simply peal and sticks you put on. Also, you get to choose which number airplane you prefer too and I of course had to go with the lead solo #5. I figure that'll help up my inverted game so I can read the number on flybys… ;) One other thing that is worth mentioning is that E-Flite has really upped their EPO game of late as these latest airplanes have been extremely smooth (the E-Flite pitts is the smoothest foam airplane I've ever seen!). The F-16 is no exception, the finish and smoothness are fantastic.

One of the nice features is the airplane comes stock with shock absorbing landing gear. It's really nice to see that vs wire gear on an airplane this size and no doubt it helps on those hard landings too. Interestingly, the dark blue thunderbird on the underside actually hides the landing gear openings (as well as the aux air vents) on the underside when the gear are retracted which is really nice and hides them well in the air. The last thing worth pointing out is that the leading edge extension is plastic which is an excellent features since this area is most likely to get chewed up in handling without that.

Now, I did do a couple small modifications. First of all, adding a centerburner into the airplane was a necessity since it is a Thunderbirds F-16 afterall! Plus, the F-16 is ideal for a fun modification like that and it looks good in the air. The other thing was, the wingtip missile rails had molded missiles on them. Since the thunderbirds have never flown with ordnance, only empty missile rails, those had to go. The missiles were simply cut off of the rails and then a small carbon rod was embedded and glued on the underside to stiffen it up. Works great and helped the Thunderbirds look.

AIRCRAFT SETUP & CG

Setting up the airplane, this was the bind and fly version of which means it includes SAFE select. Be sure to check out my discussion on that technology with some suggestions for using it if you plan to use it with this airplane. The thing to keep in mind is that there are two distinct bind procedures, so keep those in mind. In this case, I became aware of a small bug in the ViperJet which limited the rudder throw with SAFE select off. I noticed this here too, so I actually bound the airplane with SAFE select on and then assigned it to a switch to turn it off which allowed me full rudder throw without having to adjust end points in the radio. If you can get away with flying this airplane without SAFE, then I definitely recommend it as the airplane is high performance and agile so you'll have a lot more fun with it. This airplane loves those high alpha slow speed passes, and you can't do that with safe.

E-Flite is really good about providing meaningful CG and control surface recommendations which I always start with. Through flying the airplane here's what I'm using for throws which equate to my low rates on my transmitter for reference. Note that there's no expo in all axes in this case.

Elevator, 7/16" up and down
Aileron, 1/2-9/16" up and down
Rudder, 1/2" left and right

The nice thing with this airplane is that it has quite a bit of battery space compared to the ViperJet, so as long as the CG location can be maintained, larger capacities fit easily. In this case, I was simply using the same Roaring Top 4000 packs that I bought for the ViperJet which fit handily in there. The fan isn't pulling a ton of current, so you don't have to go heavy on the C rating. The 4000s I'm using are only 25c and work perfectly and are light weight.

In terms of the CG, I started on the forward side and found the airplane to be quite nose heavy. The nose would drop pretty noticeably in rolls. So, I ultimately moved the battery as far back as it would go in the battery compartment and that ended up being about perfect. This equates to about 100-105mm as measured from the wing leading edge root aft at the fuselage which is the rearward range of the recommendation in the manual. I'm just CGing the airplane with my fingertips and then looking for the aircraft to be level or slightly nose down. For battery, as mentioned, I'm using a Roaring Top 25c 4000mah pack and as mentioned is placed all the way to the rear of the battery area up against the receiver. The airplane flies great there and doesn't drop the nose at all in the roll.

FLYING THE E-FLITE F-16 THUNDERBIRD

In terms of flying the F-16, it is a great flying little jet that has an amazing speed envelope which really makes it fun. It's fast when you want it to be yet will do the slowest high alpha passes all day long. It really excels at the slow speed passes, just slow it down and hold the elevator to keep the nose up and it locks in super stable, it's pretty killer. At the same time, the airplane is quick at full throttle, has great vertical and great maneuverability just like an F-16 should which means that you can really do a lot with it. F-16s land like delta winged aircraft, so if you don't see the bottom of the airplane on the approach, you're going to be too hot. Play with that high alpha performance and learn how to utilize it on the approach and you'll be able to really slow the airplane down at landing. The goal should be to set the pitch attitude with the elevator and then use your throttle to control your rate of descent. Oh, and don't do what I did and tie the record for the worlds lowest pass…doh! She handled it like a champ though! (see the vid)

Now, I know the question that I'll get is how does this compare to the viperjet. Well, I can tell you that it flies equally as well, but in a different way. The thing with the ViperJet is that it really locks in and flies on the wing really well. Not surprising considering the wing planform and proportions of that airplane. The F-16 on the other hand is a different animal in that it's more of a brute force kind of an airplane. It flies great, but excels at different things. First of all, there's no way you could slow the Viperjet down the way you can with this F-16. It's just in the nature of the design of the F16 with that low aspect ratio wing and leading edge extension it has. The other thing is that the aircraft response and feel is different. The F16 flies and responds like a scale jet where the Viper flies more like a sport jet. Either are great first jets so depending on the flight experience you're looking for, it gives you options which is a good thing. I do feel that the Viper is a touch faster at full throttle, but the F-16 is also a little bigger. Interestingly, the F-16 and the 80mm F-4 are about the same size.

Below is the full flight video of the airplane in action. This is the aircraft bone stock with the 25c 4000 mah pack and the centerburner installed. For reference, flying the airplane hard, getting about 5 minutes of flight time (timer is set at 5 min).

FINAL THOUGHTS

There we have the E-flite 70mm F-16 Thunderbirds . This is a great flying EDF that looks good, assembles easily and has some nice features. Plus, it does have SAFE which is nice if that's something you're looking for, but you'll definitely have much more fun with it off. If you're in the market for a first jet, these E-Flite offerings are ideal for that. Then, you can go bigger and faster from there! ;) Until next time, I'll see you at the field!

From the Bench – Lipo Batteries, C Rating, and Tips for Best Battery Performance

Wed, 08 May 2019 03:30:00 GMT

Old batteries available...free of charge... ;)

One of the questions I get quite often at events is what kind of batteries do I use in my aircraft. I've been flying large EDFs and electric warbirds for a long time and good quality batteries are essential to performance. There are tons of choices out there and so I thought I'd provide a little discussion on the batteries that I currently use and what I go for in terms of C rating. There is most certainly a balance between efficiency and performance due to the extra weight of higher C rated packs and so this is worth discussing along with some of the general practices to use in maintaining battery performance because a well kept battery is a good performing battery.

As we get into this, I want to mention up front that this discussion is all based on personal experience and practical use in the field using all sorts of batteries over the last decade or more. I don't do any heavy side by side current testing or voltage testing or anything like that. I'm simply relaying what has worked for me and the batteries I'm happy with. At the end of the day, the best batteries and methods are the ones you're happy with and work for you.

WHAT BATTERIES DO I USE?

First off to answer the question of what batteries I use, for the last 2 years or so I have been exclusively using Roaring Top batteries . I'm sure you've been seeing them in some of my previous content. I started out trying a couple packs in some airplanes and I have since converted everything over to the Roaring Top packs and I have been extremely happy with them. The build quality is extremely nice and the performance is excellent. Also, for a given C rating and capacity, I have found that the batteries are actually lighter than what I had been using previously for the same capacity and C rating. So, not only was I getting good performance from the packs, I was getting a weight savings as well. So, it was a win-win in that respect.

As mentioned up front, I don't do extensive side by side testing, I simply use the packs in their intended use in my airplanes and see how they hold up as I fly and use them. Based on that, I can say that the Roaring Top packs have held up fantastically! I have found these packs to be the lightest of all of the brands I've used to date for a given C rating and I've used all sorts of brands. The packs have also held up fantastically over numerous cycles since receiving them, where I've had other packs start to get a soft over time as I use them. I've been using the same packs for the last 2 years and they all still look brand new!

HOW MUCH C RATING IS TRULY NEEDED?

One things that is really worth talking about is C rating because I think there may be some misconceptions out there. For me personally, I primarily fly 35C packs and many folks are actually surprised by that. The thing is that just because you can get a 70c pack doesn't necessarily mean that that's what is required for optimal aircraft performance. I say that because yes, higher C rating does mean lower internal resistance in the battery and cooler battery operation, but it also means higher battery weight. So, there is a balance here.

So, first off, let's talk about what C rating truly means? It's intended as a simplified metric to provide the maximum performance capability of your battery. A way to know how many amps you can pull and not completely destroy the pack. For example, let's say you have a 35C 5000 mah pack. That means that the maximum recommended amperage for the pack is 175 amps. That's 35 times the battery capacity in amp hours (5.0 aH * 35). So now, if we have a 70C 5000 mah pack, that means a capability of 350 amps. The thing to keep in mind is that most electric setups aren't pulling anywhere near 175amps let alone 350amps! Obviously, the closer you are to that maximum, then the less margin you'll have, the hotter the batteries will get and the more likely the battery won't hold up over time. So if you have a system pulling close to that max capability, then you definitely need that higher C ratings or a higher capacity battery. Again, it's all about finding that balance and knowing that the system needs and also what you're wanting for flight time too. I realize too not all manufacturers accurately label their packs too, so having margin is always good.

A big part of this equation is capacity. Let's say you have a system that pulls 100 amps, the smaller capacity pack you are using, then the higher C rating will be required. However, you can mitigate this with more capacity which also will increase your flight time (and weight). For me, my goal is to fly as high a capacity as is practical for a given airplane to maximize the flight time. I rarely fly capacities less than 5000 mah unless I'm flying smaller airplanes. So, that is another reason why I lean towards the 35c packs since I don't have any airplanes pulling anywhere near 175 or more amps and so I can save weight on these higher cap packs. In my Freewing jets, I'm using 5800s, in my larger jets, I'm using 6200s on up to 8000s depending on the size of the airframe. 8000s are ideal in a really large high powered EDF if they will fit into the airframe and it can handle the weight. For a system pulling 120 or more amps, you can get 5+ minute flight times pretty easily with those large capacity packs.

So, this is the approach I like to take. Ultimately, the best batteries are the ones that give you the power and flight experience you're looking for. I like the 35c sizes based on the setups I'm flying and they offer a great balance between battery weight, aircraft performance, and flight time. This goes all the way up to flying my high powered 120mm EDFs. It really is all about balance and finding what works best for you. One thing to keep in mind is that there is an optimal battery operating temperature which is typically between 80-140 deg Farenheit. If you are outside that range, the batteries won't put out power as well (yes you can have batteries that are too cold). I typically will preheat my packs by setting them on the dash of my car before my flights which usually warms them up to a nice operating temperature for flying. I can tell a notable difference between cold packs and pre-warmed packs in the aircraft takeoff performance.

BEST PRACTICES FOR MAINTAINING BATTERY PERFORMANCE

One of the other things that I wanted to cover are some best practices that have helped me get the most cycles from my lipo batteries. It doesn't take much truthfully, but there's definitely some care in handling to ensure the batteries hold up and stay reliable and safe. So mostly, I just have a couple recommendations I want to mention. As we go through this though, the assumption is that you know how to handle and charge lipos. However, I can't stress enough that a mistreated lipo is an unsafe lipo that can result in fire and we definitely don't want that! It's like when you're opening a can of premade biscuits...you don't know when that thing will blow!

The one big recommendation I have is to never let your batteries sit fully charged overnight. Lipo batteries do not like to sit in a fully charged state, even if it's just over night. The least amount of time they sit charged, the better they will perform and maintain balance over time. Also, they are more volatile fully charged, so it's safer too. For me when I'm heading to the field, I usually will get up early to charge batteries while I get my gear together and pack my car. I also charge at the field as well. This alone has really extended the life of my batteries. The fact is that this is especially important when you're dealing with lower cost battery brands as they usually aren't perfectly matched out of the box and they will get soft on you quicker from sitting fully charged. I've seen it happen from personal experience.'

The other recommendation is to always, always check the battery voltage after your flights to know just how low you're getting. Typically anything above 3.7v/cell is ok, above 3.75v/cell is even better. However, if you're below 3.8v/cell, then I definitely recommend doing a storage charge on the batteries before packing them up for the day. It usually doesn't take that long and it is the best thing to do to help maintain battery performance. I've gotten into the habit of doing a storage charge on the batteries after each flying session since I always bring my charge setup with me to the field.

Lastly, even though you can charge at higher rates these days, I recommend always charging at 1c. If you have a good quality charger, you should be able to do a 1c balance charge in about 30-50 minutes assuming that they are mostly balanced. The charger I have is the Revolectrix PowerLab Duo which I love. With it, I'm able to parallel charge packs, even large capacity packs, usually within 40 minutes or so. It has two sides to it too, so I will parallel charge packs on each side. On a good day, I'll usually charge up to 8 packs at once, 4 on each side. Obviously, you don't have to go overboard on the charger like I did, but I will say that one of the best investments you can make in this hobby is buying a good quality charger. I will say, it is extremely nice to be able to balance charge a bunch of packs all at once in about 40 minutes. It saves a ton of time, so the time to fun ratio is very good!

FINAL THOUGHTS

I've been wanting to talk batteries for a while, so am glad I could finally make it happen. The best batteries are the ones you're happy with and I've been really happy with the Roaring Top packs. The build quality is great, they are light weight, and they put out great power. The other part of this is battery care and handling. Treat the batteries right and they will take care of you. Also, in terms of storage, I recommend storing batteries in ammo cans with holes drilled in the top or also lipo sacks work too. It's all precautionary just to be safe. Most problems are a result of either over charging or over discharging the batteries, so always keep an eye on the cell voltages. Until next time, I'll see you at the field!

E-Flite VTOL V-22 Osprey Flight Review

Wed, 03 Apr 2019 02:48:00 GMT

Yes, I love technology...always and forever…

In this article, we've got something a little bit different we're talking about, the new E-Flite V-22 Osprey! With the advent of the quadcopter technology and the miniaturization of it all, it really opens up some great opportunities for a model like this and it's pretty awesome! A tilt rotor is an extremely difficult challenge to overcome in full scale so imagine what it would take to truly scale that down in miniature. Well, E-flite has leveraged their vast experience in VTOL aircraft and really put something together that is simple and effective right out of the box…not to mention just looks incredibly cool in the air!

The full scale V-22 is a pretty amazing aircraft that really is an incredible technological achievement to come into full scale production. The V-22 did have a few teething problems during development but the aircraft is common place now and I see them flying quite regularly around town since they operate out of Miramar. I can tell you, it's a unique looking and sounding aircraft to see in the air.

WHAT'S IN THE BOX?

This is the Bind N Fly version, so in terms of what you get in the box, it's the aircraft ready to go with the included accessories. All you need is a Spektrum transmitter and a 3s flight battery to get it flight ready. The Osprey is firmly packaged in the box and you're greeted with the unmistakable shape as you open it all up. Also in the box are a set of fixed removable landing gear, the instructions and a big assortment of markings. It's painted in a nice two tone camouflage which looks decent and the shape of it looks about spot on to me. There weren't really any recommendations in the instructions for where the markings go, so I did a little online research and put something whimsical together that I liked based on what was on the markings sheet.

With the Opsrey on the bench, it's such a cool looking little aircraft, E-flite's done a great job with it. It's setup with the two wing tip rotors with fixed pitch props along with a third fan in the tail which essentially makes it a tricopter in the hover mode, similar to the e-flite convergence designs . This really simplifies the hover mode and also allows e-flite to leverage their existing technology which is smart. It has removable fixed gear and the nose wheel is castoring. So, with the differential thrust on the ground, you can actually steer it.

In terms of the finish, it looks good and with some markings on, definitely makes it look the part well. There is some foam texture coming through, so it's not the smoothest aircraft I've played with, but it's not too bad. You really only notice it in certain lighting. In terms of the size it is of the UMX variety as it's about the same size as the UMX A-10 roughly.

One other item to note is that it has a connection for FPV if that's something you'd like to play with. I can imagine it would be pretty fun with the aircraft.

AIRCRAFT SETUP & CG

In setting up the Osprey, there's really not much to do, but there are some things that are worth discussing. First of all, for the Bind N fly, the instructions for the radio setup are on page 4 of the manual. Follow those and you'll be good to go. I set everything up per the book and didn't mess with it at all. E-Flite recommends setting the rates at 100% for high and 70% for low with 10% expo on everything. Using the triple rates on the DX18 I set a middle rate at 85% as well. My preference flying the aircraft was to fly with the mid to high rates primarily. In terms of how the rates work it is not traditional to a typical aircraft, in that the rates don't change the max travel on the servo like you would expect. Instead, the rate change changes the servo response time through a delay which I found interesting. So, the controls at 100% will get to the end points quicker than the controls at 70%. So, be aware that if you're adjusting the rates don't see and change to the surface travel, that's what is physically happening at the model. I'm sure this is all based on the configuration and keeping things such that you can't get into an out of control situation.

The other thing to talk about are the flight modes. E-Flite recommends setting this up on a 6 channel system which are necessary for the flight modes switch and throttle cut. The flight modes consist of the hover mode where the Osprey flies just like a quad copter, stability mode which will bank and pitch limit the aircraft in forward flight similar to SAFE and full acro mode which removes those angle limits allowing you to perform vertical and rolling maneuvers. This is all described in the instructions and I highly recommend just setting the vehicle up as they state, it's simple and it works.

In terms of the CG, this was again per the manual which shows 25-30mm as measured from the wing root leading edge aft. I'm flying the aircraft at about the 30mm mark. With the recommended 3s 800 mah battery it's placed about 1/4" aft of the front of the battery bay.

FLYING THE E-FLITE V-22 OSPREY

In terms of how this Osprey flies, it flies really well. E-flite has done a great job at making a challenging aircraft simple to fly. The hover is extremely stable and easy to maneuver flying basically like a quadcopter. If you have some heli or quad experience, it'll be easy to pick up. Having the Osprey shape on there really helps with the orientation for me. I did the initial hover test out in front of my house and seeing it in the air I was literally giggling like a little girl, it was so cool to see.

With regards to the transition, this is all handled automatically through the flip of the flight modes switch which is really nice and makes it simple. It's important to be patient on the switch as I recommend keeping it in stability mode until the Osprey has fully transitioned to forward flight and then going to full acro mode. This'll just help ensure things transition as smooth as possible. Also, it's best to have the Osprey stabilized straight and level with minimal tx inputs before initiating the transition. It is worth mentioning that I noticed that this one was yawing to the right in the transition (first transition actually ended rather abruptly ;) ). That was a result of the nacelles being slightly asymmetric, so definitely check that out of the box. All that was required was a quick adjustment of the pushrod length on one side to symmetrize the nacelle positions to each other.

In forward flight, you have a fully functioning airplane here. It's such a unique shape to see in the air with those dual wing tip rotors and I was really digging it. This little guy has fantastic power and good responsiveness in acro mode for basic aerobatics like rolls and verticals which is really all you need. Flying it around, I was really having a good time doing big vertical maneuvers and variations of rolls in addition to just flying it around. It is small and quick and so you do have to stay ahead of it in the air but I didn't find it hard to fly at all. That said, I do recommend some decent aircraft proficiency before going into full acro mode. That's where the option of the stability mode is really nice.

FINAL THOUGHTS

I tell you what, this E-Flite V-22 is just something else! It's such a cool piece of RC technology that looks good and flies well. It's such a fun concept to have in RC and is no doubt guaranteed a unique addition to the hangar. I do recommend having some aircraft proficiency before going into acro mode for best success, but you do have the option of the stability mode if you're not there yet. Just make sure you're using the 100% dual rates in stability mode for the most responsive setup.

If you would have asked me 5 years ago if we would have a V-22 available common place at the field, especially at this size, I probably would have doubted the feasibility. But we're there and the technology that goes into this opens up so many opportunities. So enjoy it! Until next time, I'll see you at the field!

From the Bench — AMA Expo West Pomona 2018 & Scale Weathering How-To Video

Wed, 06 Mar 2019 04:30:00 GMT

Weather me this...

During the AMA expo January 2018, it was announced that the show was being moved to the Pomona Fairplex and would also occur in November. Well, needless to say, November arrived before I could blink and it was time to start thinking about the show! This time around, kicking off the new venue, the AMA reached out asking about doing some how-to clinics throughout the weekend. The idea I had was to provide some weathering how-to's on a couple airplanes through the course of the weekend and then on Sunday afternoon, give those airplanes away. Well, thanks to the AMA and Horizon Hobby , we were able to make that happen and it was a great time. Horizon Hobby donated an E-Flite P-51 and an FMS Yak-130 for me to work on during the weekend which we gave away on Sunday afternoon.

This year, I had a full booth and through the course of the weekend, I was showing weathering techniques on the donated airplanes provided by Horizon Hobby. For one of the clinics, I was able to do a weathering session on the main stage for the purposes of recording video. Below is the end result as well as a few pictures of the finished airplanes. The techniques mentioned in the video kind of run through the gamut of what I like to employ when I'm weathering up an airplane and are applicable to any medium of aircraft foam, glass or otherwise not to mention any size. Additionally, combinations of the techniques can be used to achieve a myriad of effects including metal hot sections and such as well. The key is to experiment and to see what works best for the effect you're going for, but generally speaking the approach I take is washes first followed then by airbrush shading (of which should be done with very thin paint). Less is more, so as the shading is applied, if more is desired, simply spray another pass. It's far easier to add more color to get the effect than to take color away. Lastly, it's worth pointing out that the paint mediums can be swapped too. I was using acrylics for washes to avoid reactions to the stock paint of the foam airplanes, but oils could be used as well so long as there aren't any reactions to the base paint. Ultimately, it's all about experimentation and finding what techniques and mediums work best for what you're looking for. I'm thinking that I will most likely write an additional article to expand on the different techniques specifically to support this video in the future, so be on the look out for that at some point.

In terms of the new venue, it really seemed to lend itself well to the show. There was a ton of space in the main hall with numerous vendors on hand as well as an outdoor field for flying which was a nice change from the previous Ontario venue which offered indoor flying only. Having a booth at the show, I wasn't able to cruise as much as I would have liked and unfortunately, never got a chance to get out to the flying area. Much of my time was spent working on the airplanes and doing weathering clinics.

The Big AMA Show Score

My big score from the show was discovering the gorgeous AT-6 Texan kit from Dave Page at Scale Dynamics. Ever since having reviewed and repainted the E-Flite AT-6 Texan , I've absolutely fallen in love with the airplane and have since been looking at building a larger one. Well, seeing the Scale Dynamics design, it quickly became a must have as the shape looked right with a beautifully molded fuselage and it was a good manageable size. I have the kit on hand now (pictured below) and we will be starting the build soon once I catch up on a few other projects and videos first. She'll be a bigger, more scale, electric version of my E-Flite Dazzlin' Deb with a full sound system. :)

Otherwise, the primary "new stuff" highlight for me was seeing the new Hangar 9 20cc P-51 Mustang in person (I realized in the process of writing this that I forgot to take pics of it, doh!). It is a very nicely built covered airframe I have to say! Also, MorganTech was on hand displaying and talking about 3DPrinted airplanes. He had a great display of 3DLabPrint airplanes as well as a few others too including a large 120mm EDF L-39 . He actually printed up one of those L-39's for me a while back as it was too large to print on my printers which will be a future project we'll be talking about here once it's on the bench.

AMA Static Model Competition

The static model competition is always one that I look forward to seeing at this show as there's always some nice looking airframes there. The big scale competitor that really stood out was Dave Page's Moki powered F8F Bearcat. It was gorgeous! There were also some really incredible free flight airplanes this year that were just immaculately built. Free flight building is truly an art in itself...and a skill I've definitely not found in myself... Here are a few of the highlights.

Best in the West RC Jet Rally 2018

Sun, 17 Feb 2019 22:02:00 GMT

Sport jets, jets, JETS!

Having made it out to the Best in the West Jet Rally the year before last after not attending for a few years, it was an event that I knew I wanted to get back to again this past year. It's an RC jet pilots dream flying from the 3200+ ft long Elk Hills-Buttonwillow airstrip runway, though even now, I think I'm still cleaning that Buttonwillow dust off my airplanes! I think the airplanes come home heavier than they arrive there's so much dust that they collect… ;)

In terms of the event it was bigger than ever this year with over 150 registered pilots and the weather was almost perfect once again. Every year is different in the airplanes that you see at the event but one thing is consistent, BIG! Last year featured a good assortment of really nice scale jets which I was really excited to see. Well, 2018 I would say was the year of the sport jet as I would guess that more than two-thirds of the airplanes on the flight line were of the sport jet variety. Being the scale geek that I am, I always seek out the scale stuff and there were a few really unique scale jets there that I was quite excited to see in person and catch video of flying. CARF-Models was in full attendance this year and had their amazing A-4 Skyhawk. I tell you, if I had money, I would have one of those models in my inventory!

I was flying solo this year with my son and I cherished every moment of it (it was our dude's weekend away). I've not been able to harvest a huge interest in RC with him, but he really enjoys taking pictures and so he had a blast on the flight line manning my camera (most of the pics in this article he shot). Plus, we hit up Dewar's in Bakersfield which is the local candy & ice cream parlor one of the nights which he (or I) certainly didn't mind!

In terms of airplanes, I had my JHH A-7 Corsair II in tow which I flew a ton over the course of Friday and Saturday. I also brought along my 'Kfir 2000' ( Freewing Mirage 2000 kitbash ) and E-Flite ViperJet for some early morning flights (the smaller airplanes get harder to integrate on the flight line when it's busy). I had recently upgraded the A-7 receiver to an AR9350 AS3X and so after a couple flights spent tuning the gyro on Friday, I fell in love with how the airplane flew! It flew great before, but the gyro really helped tame some of the unique characteristics specific to the A-7 and so it really just locked the airplane in. Somehow through the process I was awarded the "Best Electric Jet Performance" award with the airplane which was really cool especially given it's a scale (i.e. more draggy) airplane. I've been flying with a 12s JetFan90 setup and I can tell you, the SLUF was really honking around over the weekend and I was having a blast with it!

Here are a number of pictures and videos from the event. As mentioned, many of these came at the hands of my son (he was excited to see them published here and on social media). I recently bought a dedicated video camera, so I'm hoping for future events, we can team up more with him taking pictures while I capture video.

GIANT CARF-Models A-4 Skyhawk -- If I had money, oh yes, she would be mine! ;)

GIANT CARF-Models B-2 Spirit -- This airplane flew amazing! Such a cool model owned and flown by Barry Hou of Kingtech turbines

GIANT AirWorld E.E. Lightning -- Definitely not a model you see everyday! Another one flown by Barry Hou, it was huge and flew beautifully on a pair of tandem installed Kingtech engines.

GIANT SkyMaster F-4 Phantom -- F-4s just look good and this one was no exception. I really dug the NMC drone livery.

F-22 Raptor -- Every turbine powered raptor I've seen fly was a rocket ship. This particular one was no exception! It was a really nicely finished model.

Giant Scale F-14 Tomcat -- Need I say more?? ;) Unfortunately, the nose gear did not retract, but that didn't stop the pilot from having a good time!

From the Bench: RealFlight 8 Horizon Hobby Edition — Review, Game Play, & Fun!

Wed, 09 Jan 2019 03:30:00 GMT

Will a Corsair fly without wings???

Hey guys! We have a complete video post this week. My son and I have been playing with the new RealFlight8 Horizon Hobby Edition and have been having so much fun with it! The software comes with everything you need including the transmitter and is packed full of features. Having over 150 aircraft to choose from and over 40 flying fields to fly from, it's pretty easy to spend hours flying anything and everything in RealFlight. Not to mention there are now multi-player features that allow you to fly over the internet too.

We figured the best way to show the RealFlight game play is through video, so our review video is below. The scenery is fully interactive and we were certainly having some fun with that. A simulator is a great tool for pushing your skills forward since you can really push the limits of your abilities and if you crash, you can simply hit the reset button. Also, if you're flying with SAFE, the sim is the place to get used to flying without it. As you'll see, in the process of making this video, we crashed far more than we landed and it was a blast!

Will a Corsair fly without wings???

We figured the best way to show the RealFlight game play is through video, so our review video is below. The scenery is fully interactive and we were certainly having some fun with that. A simulator is a great tool for pushing your skills forward since you can really push the limits of your abilities and if you crash, you can simply hit the reset button. Also, if you’re flying with SAFE, the sim is the place to get used to flying without it. As you’ll see, in the process of making this video, we crashed far more than we landed and it was a blast!

The post From the Bench: RealFlight 8 Horizon Hobby Edition — Review, Game Play, & Fun! appeared first on The RC Geek .

Force RC P-51 Mustang Assembly & Flight Review

Wed, 19 Dec 2018 03:51:00 GMT

Oh, Sonny Boy, the sky, the sky is calling...

The P-51 truly is unmistakable in it's design and, needless to say, is quite popular in the RC warbird circles. Well, this week, we're featuring the Force RC P-51 Mustang available from Horizon Hobby . This is a kit that's been available for some time and at 1100 mm wingspan, is just a cute little model. The airplane carries the moniker of "Sonny Boy" with green and yellow checkboards on the nose which is pretty unique and different compared to the typical red and yellow checkers you see represented.

Doing a little research, I found that the full sized "Sonny Boy" was actually flown by Lt. Ted E. Hoffman as a part of the 343rd Fighter Squadron, 55th Fighter Group during World War II from 1944-1945. Lt Hoffman scored four air victories in the airplane in fact, though they're not actually represented on the model. Even so, I found it a great tribute to a notable airplane and pilot from WWII!

AIRCRAFT ASSEMBLY NOTES

Tearing into the kit, there's primarily just 4 main pieces in assembling the airplane. The first item is to get the receiver installed into the fuselage and start connecting all of the servos to it. I wanted to try out one of the new antenna-less spektrum receivers, so picked up an AR620 which fit about perfectly into the cutout in the fuselage and worked fantastically! So, with everything hooked up, the wing was bolted on, the scale radiator scoop glued to the bottom and the horizontal tails added. What's interesting is that the tails are actually just held in place with tape here but it certainly works well enough (throwback to the old Parkzone T-28 tail install)! That really was the extent of the assembly, it was extremely quick and easy.

In terms of the assembled airplane, it looks good and the finish is pretty nice. It's a smaller model, but still has all those scale features that I'm looking for with the flaps and retracts. I like the paint scheme too as it looks good on the airplane and it represents a cool piece of WWII history. One of the cooler features I found was the model has a hidden hatch latch setup. No tape or magnets but rather a spring loaded latch that has a single button just in front of the canopy. Easy and effective and pretty sanitary to look at.

AIRCRAFT SETUP & CG

Setting up the airplane was quite simple. I always like to start with an existing program if I can and then go from there. So, I copied over another warbird program into a new model on the transmitter and then modified the rates as needed. The instructions recommended 100% and 70% for the dual rates which I found good with no reason to change. I had triple rates, so added an in between setting in the process. Through flying the airplane I found that the mid to max rates felt pretty good for my style of flying. Here's what I'm using for throws.

Elevator - 1/2" with 15% expo
Aileron - 3/8" with 10% Expo
Rudder - 1" with 25% expo to desensitize the steering
Flaps - 1/2"mid, 1-1/2" full with about a 6% down elevator mix which is only about 1/16" in physical elevator

The CG location recommended in the manual is 37mm as measured from one of the main wing panel lines forward. It's hard to explain which one, so please reference the picture to the left. This is about perfect, but when you CG the airplane to be level when CGing it. I had CG'd the airplane slightly nose down for the first flight and certainly felt it being nose heavy in the air. I'm using a 35c 2200 mah pack and through flying the airplane, I ended up moving the battery almost to the rearmost location possible in the battery area and found with it there the airplane was much better for flying. This ended up being right at the 37mm mark, but with the airplane perfectly level when checking the CG.

FLYING THE FORCE RC P-51 MUSTANG

Now this little P-51 is just a sweetheart in the air. It flies extremely easily and light which really makes it forgiving but still has great maneuverability making it ideal for confined airspace operations. The airplane isn't necessarily fast, but it has good power. With the right battery in there, you should be able to just climb straight up at a fairly low airspeed. I didn't notice any bad habits in the air and found that in spite of the light weight and lack of AS3X that it handled winds quite well. With the flaps, landings are super nice and the airplane settles in really well. I love the flap down slow passes too, it'll just fly so slow over the runway. On a calm day, this thing will low pass all day long at just inches from the ground, it's pretty fun.

Here's a short flight video of the airplane in action. The winds were starting to pick up at this point during the day, but the airplane really handled it like a champ! As a whole, this Mustang is extremely forgiving and user friendly to fly.

FINAL THOUGHTS

There we have the Force RC P-51 Mustang . This is a great flying little airplane that looks good. It's size and characteristics make it ideal for smaller field operations as it's pretty easy to keep within a confined space. So, if you want to get a quick couple flights in and you have a park or open space nearby, this will certainly get the job done well think. Until next time, I'll see you at the field!

E-Flite ViperJet 70mm EDF Assembly & Flight Review

Wed, 28 Nov 2018 04:00:00 GMT

E-Flite's latest jet, the 70mm EDF ViperJet!

When the opportunity came up to review E-Flite's new 70mm EDF ViperJet , I could not pass it up! This airplane is a great looking little jet that flies just incredibly well. Also, the Bind n Fly version has SAFE Select available, so if you're newer to RC and looking to jump into jets, this is a nice option to have. The truth is, this airplane makes for a wonderful first jet with or without SAFE. Obviously, without SAFE, you'll want to have some proficiency on the sticks first before jumping into a high speed jet.

Now when we talk about the ViperJet it is indeed a real airplane, so we are technically talking about a scale jet here. The full sized airplane is actually a home built aircraft . So, for a cool $500,000 and 3500+ hours for assembly, you too could have one! I kid of course, but the thing is that the proportions of the full sized airplane make for a great flying model that handles much like a purpose designed RC sport jet. So based on that, what you get is some fun aerobatic flying in a scale looking package. It's been a pretty popular design within the jet community for that reason. Obviously, what's on the model is not a scale paint scheme, but I have to say I quite like it! This guy with two thumbs is a sucker for splinter camouflage.

AIRCRAFT ASSEMBLY NOTES

The ViperJet comes nicely packaged and assembles extremely quickly. The kit has a very small parts count, which primarily just requires bolting the on the tails, the dorsal and then the wing. The most difficult part was routing and connecting all of the wires as it takes a little time to find all of the appropriate connections. It's kind of a rats nest in there to be frank with everything hooked up, but it certainly works. I would estimate about 20 minutes worth of effort getting the airplane assembled and everything hooked up. Note that for the BnF version, the unlabeled wire coming out of the receiver is the bind wire.

In the process of assembly, I couldn't help but add a CenterBurner into the airplane which looks pretty awesome in the air. Even though I realize the real airplane is non-afterburning, I just couldn't help it! Especially considering that it is kind of a military paint scheme after all…

Having the airplane together on the bench, it really does look nice and I do like the paint scheme quite a bit. It has kind of that aggressor feel to it with the Russian stars and the splinter camouflage. I am a sucker for splinter camo, so I guess it shouldn't be any surprise! One thing that I noticed was that the foam on this airframe is extremely smooth. In fact, it is one of the smoother EPO airframes that has come across my bench to date. So that was really nice to see and I hope the start of a trend for some of the future E-Flite offerings. Unfortunately, while at the field, it only took about 5 minutes for the cockpit foam to swell up. So, I may touch that up at some point, but the rest of the airplane has held up great through without any hint of swelling, even on the black anti-glare.

One important thing to note is battery selection for this model. I had hoped to use a 6s 5000 since I had a few of them, but to get those to fit would have required quite a bit of foam removal and just made the airplane nose heavy. So, I ended up picking up some 25c 4000 mah packs from Roaring Top which has worked out great! The fan is only pulling about 60 amps or so, so no issues with c rating and they're light weight and fit well in the nose too. The thing to keep in mind is that it is only a 70mm sized airframe, so space is a lot more limited compared to larger airframes. For reference, the recommended battery is about a 3200-3700 mah pack.

AIRCRAFT SETUP & CG

This was the bind and fly version which means it includes SAFE select. I won't cover that here as I have a whole separate discussion on that you can find here . The thing to keep in mind is that there are two distinct bind procedures. To bind the aircraft with SAFE Select off, simply bind the airplane normally keeping the bind plug in place the whole time. To bind with SAFE Select on, start the bind procedure normally, but prior to selecting bind on the transmitter, remove the bind plug from the receiver. The airplane will give an indication of the mode it's in during initialization by cycling the surfaces either once for SAFE Select off, or twice for SAFE Select on. If you can get away with flying this airplane without SAFE, it's recommended as the airplane is high performance and agile so you'll have a lot more fun with it. Where it may be the most helpful is in takeoff and landings to protect the airplane during the most critical phases of flight, but the airplane lands extremely easily as it is.

In setting up the controls, I actually started with the downloadable file they have on the Spektrum website for this airplane and then tweaked the settings a bit setting up triple rates and moving the flap switch around. The push rods are all set at lower holes on the servos which works for the most part. However, there wasn't enough steering or rudder throw for me, so I moved both of those to the outer most hole on the servo arm and then maxed out the end point travel. Even so, I could probably still use more rudder for better knife edge performance. Through flying the airplane here are the throws I'm using. Note that these equate to the maximum rates, so if you are looking for additional throw, it'll require moving the push rods further outboard on the servo arms.

Elevator, 1/2" with 10% expo
Aileron, 5/16" with 10% Expo
Rudder, 1/2" (could honestly use a little more for the knife edge.)
Flaps, 3/4"mid, 1-3/8" full with about a 10% down elevator mix which is only about 1/16" in physical elevator

The CG location recommended in the manual is 75-85mm as measured from the wing leading edge root aft. The CG felt a little nose heavy to me here, especially when inverted. I'm currently flying the airplane closer to 85-90mm. This based on simply lifting the airplane, gear down, with my fingertips and then looking for the aircraft to be level or slightly nose down. For battery, as mentioned, I'm using a Roaring Top 25c 4000mah pack and it's placed right up to the front of the receiver and the airplane flies great there!

FLYING THE E-FLITE 70mm EDF VIPERJET

This little ViperJet flies absolutely fantastically and really looks good doing it. It's a very forgiving design and has a nice wide speed envelope. It does aerobatics well including snap rolls should you choose and has good vertical flying just like a jet should. Rolls are nice and axial, the inverted is easy requiring just a slight amount of down elevator as the airplane tracks very true. Knife edges are no problem with enough rudder throw, but what I really love are slow speed low passes with the flaps down.

If you're new to jets, this is a great first start that will get you going and even if you’re not, this is a fun little airplane to keep your skills fresh. The form factor is really nice in that you can throw the airplane in the car on top of some of your more prized birds and then fly it in between flights of your other airplanes easily. It's extremely transportable in that sense which is great.

Below is the full flight video of the airplane in action. This is the aircraft bone stock with the 25c 4000 mah pack and the CenterBurner installed. My timer is set for 5 minutes which means after flying the airplane hard for that time, I start my landing setup which means I'm getting well over 5 minutes in the air.

FINAL THOUGHTS

There we have the E-flite 70mm ViperJet . This is a great flying little EDF that looks good, assembles and sets up quickly, and flies great. If you're looking for SAFE select in a jet, then this is it, but I can tell you it is so much fun without it. Lastly, be sure to choose your batteries wisely, otherwise you'll be carving foam to get the batteries to fit and even then, they still may not fit and even worse, you could end up excessively nose heavy. Until next time, I'll see you at the field!

UMX Adventures – E-Flite UMX Pitts Flight Review

Wed, 24 Oct 2018 04:30:00 GMT

The Ultimate in 'Mike Rowe' Aerobatics...

As I had teased in my E-flite UMX A-10 flight review video, I've been having a lot of fun with the E-Flite UMX Pitts biplane and so wanted to put together a flight review video for it. E-flite has really built up an awesome line of UMX airplanes and this Pitts is one that I'd been eying for a while. Scale aerobatics are a fun and welcome change to my otherwise scale warbird and jet flying and when they came up on sale a while back, I quickly picked one up. I'm glad I did because the airplane is an absolute blast to fly.

The full scale Pitts is a pretty iconic aerobatic airplane and what's interesting is that the aircraft that are campaigned by both Sean Tucker and Skip Stewart are based on the Pitts airframe. Highly modified of course, but still based on the Pitts. So that tells you a lot about the design as those guys do some pretty incredible flying in those airplanes. They're even approaching some of the 3D aerobatics that we've been doing in the RC world and it's pretty crazy to watch. So, trying to replicate that in small scale is always a fun challenge and this tiny Pitts does a good job of it.

WHAT'S IN THE BOX?

Just like the UMX A-10 and other E-flite UMX aircraft, the Pitts comes out of the box completely ready to go. Bind and setup your Spektrum radio and you're good to go in about 10 minutes. E-flite has done a great job with the shape of the airplane and the color scheme is a great choice. It's a pretty awesome representation of the pitts. The top of the forward cowling is removable for battery access which provides a large area for a 2s flight battery. The airplane has some rigging which is a good thing because I found that the wing strut glue joints popped free at one point and so had to be re-glued the course of flying the airplane. Otherwise, the airplane is very well done and well made. The airplane is very light, but surprisingly durable too. It'll handle any aerobatics and all sorts of terrain. I've had a few flip overs based on the different surfaces I've operated from and the airplane has handled it like a champ! One thing to check periodically is the hinge tape to make sure everything is in place. You can fix any lifted areas with some scotch tape if needed.

AIRCRAFT SETUP & CG

The manual recommends setting up the rates at 100% end points and 70% end points for low rate. I found through flying the airplane that the 100% rates were the best. This gives you plenty of throw for crisp aerobatics. I have about 10% or so expo all around on that too which they also recommend. Just like the A-10, these little servos don't handle being commanded beyond 100% end points, so just remember that to avoid burning up any servos.

For CG it is right per the manual which is 32-33mm as measured from the upper wing leading edge root aft. I'm using a 2 cell 300 mah pack which is placed in the nose through the cowl hatch and this works well. The airplane doesn't feel nose heavy to me and the flight times are pretty awesome being well over 5 minutes. The pre-installed velcro is pretty fine and doesn't seem to stick all that well to my industrial strength stuff, but I haven't ejected any batteries from the airplane yet, so it must be doing ok.

FLYING THE UMX PITTS S-1B

This little Pitts is an absolute blast to fly! The power and speed of the airplane is awesome and it maneuvers and flies magnificently! I've even been taking the airplane on trips with me for some park flying when I get the chance I enjoy it that much. The power and maneuverability is such that you can fly relatively easily in a confined space if you need, so it's really good for most flying spaces. It is a little quick at full throttle and has great vertical pull, so use each of those according to the space you have available.

In terms of aerobatics, it'll do anything the full size can do and any combination your thumbs can input. Also with the AS3X, it handles winds very well. Better than some of the other UMX airplanes I've seen. Now, my favorite maneuver though is the knife edge. The airplane will knife edge literally for days! Right or left, it doesn't matter, it'll just lock in forever and it's awesome.

One thing I did do was to tweak the prop just a touch to give it a little more pitch. I don't know if it's doing much, but the vertical performance is pretty darn good. Having this airplane really makes me want a larger Pitts in my hangar. Also, that tiny little outrunner motor is surprisingly noisy for what it is. It almost sounds like a geared motor. I only bring it up because my friends have nicknamed the airplane the "noisy cricket" because of it which is pretty fitting.

FINAL THOUGHTS

This little UMX Pitts is so much fun to fly, I've been carting it around with me quite regularly. It looks great, you can fly it pretty much anywhere, and it just flies awesome! I can't recommend it enough. It really makes me want a larger Pitts in my hangar. It's been a long time since I've actually had an aerobatic airplane like this, so it's conjured up a desire to continue and practice scale aerobatics on a larger scale. So, we'll see what we can find. Until next time, I'll see you at the field!

From the Bench – Quick and Simple Foam Warbird Painting (E-flite AT-6 Texan)

Wed, 19 Sep 2018 04:05:00 GMT

To Paint or not to Paint…

If you saw my E-Flite T-6 Texan review last time, then you saw the results of the repaint that was done on that airplane. I thought it would be worth doing a separate video and article on what was done since it was just a quick and dirty spray can paint job that I did through the course of a weekend with all of the painting done over the stock paint with minimal prep. This is worth discussing because sometimes we just don’t want to go to the extent of filling panel lines, or sealing up the airframe with polycrylic or anything like that. Sometimes, we just want to do something quickly, but still get good results. The difficulty always is, however, that stock paint just loves to lift up off of that EPO foam. Thankfully, with the right tools, we can avoid that.

It’s interesting how something like this, though not entirely difficult, is all that’s needed to really refresh a model and make it stand out. As I mentioned in my review, I have really enjoyed flying this AT-6, but following the repaint, I absolutely fell in love with the model even more!

PAINTING TOOLS & PAINT

First things first, let’s talk about what we need. What we’re doing here is literally just applying a new paint job over an existing stock paint job. There’s no paint stripping involved, so it’s important that we use very low tack tapes for masking. I had heard about frog tape for this and found that it worked fantastically! Paint lifting was not an issue having only just a few small places that lifted. In those cases, Post-it notes were used to mask off and touch up paint as needed. These were the only items used when masking and then I used paper towels taped down with frog tape to cover up areas as needed to avoid overspray.

One thing worth mentioning with the frog tape is that one can get quite good and clean paint separation lines, but it requires rubbing down the edges a little bit with your fingers. Also, when painting, avoid applying the paint too wet (especially on the first coat) as this attributes to paint bleeding as well.

Regarding paint, I used exclusively the 2x coverage rust-oleum paint which worked great. It’s inexpensive, it sprays pretty well, and dries relatively quickly. Note that you should be able to use most spray paints as EPO is extremely resilient. Obviously always test any new paint in an inconspicuous area first, but I have not found a spray paint thus far that didn’t work on EPO and I’ve used numerous types.

MINIMAL MODEL PREP

In terms of the model prep, there wasn’t much done really. The first step was to pull the stock markings off. I had heard about freezing stickers to lift them up which I tried. While the marking itself lifted up easily, it left all of the sticky residue on the aircraft surface. So, getting that off was kind of a nightmare and far more work than just dealing with lifted paint. Cleaning that up, I used some enamel thinner and adhesive remover both of which started removing paint. So, to remedy that, once the residue was cleaned up, the whole area was lightly sanded with 600 grit sand paper to blend the paint edges.

Following that experience, I simply lifted up the stickers paint and all and then sanded the areas with 600 grit sand paper, especially around the edges, to blend it all together. From there, a coat of white primer was sprayed over the model to even out the surfaces and give it a basecoat color for the silver. The silver needed this either way, otherwise it would have ended up uneven so, it worked out well in that sense. Following the primer coat, a second round of 600 grit sanding was done if there were areas that needed it prior to moving on to paint.

PAINTING THE AIRFRAME

Before we talk about painting the airframe, let’s circle back to the paint again briefly. As mentioned previously, I haven’t found any spray paints to date that haven’t worked on EPO. So, you can use any number of paints, but certainly test it first. In the case here, Rust-Oleum spray paints were used exclusively. Nothing special, but it’s inexpensive paint that actually sprays pretty decently. The specific colors used are Metallic for the silver which looks much like polished aluminum, Midnight Blue , Apple Red , and White , all in the 2x coverage variety.

In terms of painting the airplane, it first started with the prep we talked about and the white primer base coat. From there, the first color applied was the silver since as this is the base color and most other colors cover over silver without too many problems. From there, it was on to painting the red, white and blue pattern on the underside of the wings and tails, the rudder and then the cowl.

For the wings and tails, once painted silver, the bottoms of each were masked with the frog tape to receive the red, white and blue. It started by masking the required underside areas off first and spraying those areas white. From there, the wing and tails were masked for the red and then the blue independently and the paint sprayed and that was primarily it.

A couple things to note are that when applying the tape, it’s important to press the edges down well with your finger tips to help seal it up. Additionally, when spraying the paint, it’s best to avoid applying the paint super wet, especially on the first coat. It’s those wet coats that usually will result in paint bleed. Finally, be patient and avoid rushing to lift the tape up. It’s best to allow the paint to dry fully before removing the tape and then when pulling the paint up, pull the tape back over itself and that will help minimize paint pulling.

With the wings and tails done, it was on to the rudder next which was painted in exactly the same manner as the wings. The rudder was taped off first and then painted white. From there, it was masked off for the red and then lastly for the blue to finish it up. To make the tape strips, I used the frog tape and applied it to my cutting matte and cut the desired width strips using a straight edge and Xacto knife and then applied it to the surface in the necessary pattern.

The rudder hinge area gave me some fits with paint pulling and I actually had a little bleeding too on the red stripes. So to fix this, the affected areas were back masked as needed (some cases it was done one at a time) with post-it notes and the then the paint reapplied in those areas. The post-its are great for this and have the perfect level of tack. They can even be used to mask whole airplanes, but the frog tape is certainly quicker.

Lastly, it was on to the cowl which again, was painted in the same manner as described above. Painting light to dark colors is the way to attack painting most of the time, so that was the approach (especially for these type of colors). The irony is as worried as I was with pulling paint off of the EPO airframe, it was actually the cowl that caused the most problems. It was ultimately a result of what I was using for masking as I wanted to save time in making paint strips, so I decided to cut strips on my vinyl cutter for the cowl stripe masking. That was my mistake as the vinyl lifted the paint right off of the plastic cowl. And I did that twice…thinking that I didn’t prep the cowl sufficiently the first time. Well, 3rd time was the charm as once I went back to cut strips with the frog tape there were no issues at all. One thing to note, to get the radial mask around the cowl for the blue, a 1/4″ strip of frog tape was cut and applied. At that width, curve the tape around the contour was done pretty easily.

To wrap it all up, the black anti-glare and wing walks were masked with Frog Tape and painted.

APPLYING MARKINGS

With the airframe painted, it was on to applying the markings which I had made by Callie-Graphics. Callie did a fantastic job and the artwork and had the markings out to me quickly. One thing I like to do is have her send me a full size proof sheet so that I can double check the sizes against the model before cutting. The markings she provides are printed and cut vinyl, so there’s no carrier film or anything like that and they’re easy to apply…most of the time. In the case of the cowl stars, we didn’t quite get the pattern right, which meant I placed them all one at a time. So that was fun…but it was definitely worth the time spent to get it right!

THE FINAL RESULT

With the paint done and markings on, she was done! I have to say that I absolutely love how the airplane came out! The intention here was to do a quick and dirty paint job to transform the airframe, but with less time invested and it really worked out great. The silver really pops on the airframe, and those splashes of red, white and blue are awesome! The paint job was applied off and on over the course of a long weekend, so as a guess, it was maybe about 12-16 hours spent overall. Maybe longer if you count the time spent placing stars individually on the cowl…

The true reward from this process was seeing the airplane in the air, as it just looks amazing! It has such a different presence compared to the stock scheme and the colors really look great. Flying it on the same 35C 2200 mah pack I did before painting, I didn’t notice any difference in performance. The airplane actually seemed a bit faster, but we were also flying on a pretty hot day when the video was filmed. As the airplane sits, it weighs in at 57 oz. Unfortunately, I forgot to weigh the airframe before paint. However, I would guess the overall weight gain to be well within the differences you’ll find using different battery C ratings and capacities.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Filling in panels and the refinish techniques we’ve talked about previously are all great, but sometimes we just want to do something quick and simply. Sometimes that’s all that’s needed to really refresh a model and the techniques we talked about here really can be done in a short amount of time on any EPO airframe. So, don’t be afraid to give it a try! It is all about using the right tape to avert disaster here. EPO is great, but that stock paint really loves to lift up and it appears to me that Frog tape is the answer to that (always double check it on your airframe first). Until next time, Dazzlin’ Deb and I will see you at the field!

E-flite 1.5m AT-6 Texan Assembly & Flight Review

Wed, 15 Aug 2018 04:18:00 GMT

North American’s Pilot Maker, E-Flite Edition!

The AT-6 Texan is such a classic looking airplane and it’s one that I’ve always had a soft spot for. You regularly see them at airshows and the airplane sound is unmistakable as it maneuvers since the propeller quite literally beats the air into submission as it flies. So, I was excited to see the E-flite AT-6 Texan come online as it looked to be one of the nicest and scale looking Texans out there in recent memory. So, I was excited for the chance the review the airplane! In short, this is a great flying airplane that I’ve really fallen in love with I have to say.

In the process of this review, I liked the airplane so much, I decided to do a quick repaint on the airframe into something a little more colorful. I posted a complete video and article on the repaint that you can find at this location . Otherwise, here's the repaint video tutorial.

AIRCRAFT ASSEMBLY

The E-Flite AT-6 comes in a large long box and I found was nicely pacakaged. The wing is a single piece in there which is really nice and the reason for the long box. It’s almost comedic comparing how short the fuselage is compared to the wingspan. Based on the single piece wing, what you end up with then is an extremely simplified assembly that basically requires attaching the stabilizers with a couple screws and then attaching the wing. That is about the extent of the assembly; I think I had the airplane together in about 10 minutes. I also downloaded the preprogramed file from too which meant that the radio setup was only about 10 minutes too. I did a little tweaking on the radio setup though for triple rates mostly and putting switches where I want, but otherwise, in about 20 minutes, I think I was ready to go. It was extremely quick and simple!

In terms of the assembled airplane, it really looks great! It has that characteristic long AT-6 wing and the shape overall looks quite good. It’s without a doubt the best looking AT-6 in its class out there right now. The gear stance even looks right which is huge for me and they even have the full scale 3 segmented flap setup which is awesome and works excellent in flight. They only missed the shape of the cowl a bit as it’s a little bulbous on the front, but even so, I’ve seen far far worse.

The TA-902 paint scheme is one that I’d not seen before. It’s silver with some splashes of blue which looks good on the model. My only wish would be that the foam were just a little smoother. However, it’s not any different than any of the other e-flite airplanes as the carbon z foam just generally tends to have a little more texture to it. That said, the airplane still looks great and from a few feet away, you don’t see it at all and the paint they use helps smooth it out too.

AIRCRAFT SETUP & CG

The subject model was the bind and fly version of the AT-6 which means it includes SAFE. I don’t plan to get into great detail on that as, last time, I posted a discussion about SAFE Select with some suggestions on how to use it effectively. For the discussion here, the thing to keep in mind is that there are two distinct bind procedures depending on whether one wants SAFE on or off. For me, I want SAFE Select off, so to set that, the airplane is simply bound normally keeping the bind plug in place the whole time. Now, if you want the SAFE Select on, then the bind procedure is started normally. However, prior to selecting bind on the transmitter, the bind plug is removed from the receiver. Once powered on, the airplane gives an indication of the mode it’s in during initialization by cycling the surfaces either once for SAFE Select off, or twice for SAFE Select on.

For the control surface setup, the E-Flite control recommendations are usually quite good. I started with the downloadable file from the Spektrum website for this airplane and then tweaked the settings a bit. I setup triple rates, moved the flap switch around and also gave myself more max flap deflection ( DOWNLOAD MY PROGRAM FILE HERE ). Ultimately, through flying the airplane I found that the max rates felt pretty good for my style of flying. Here’s what I’m using for throws.

Elevator — 5/8″ up and down, 20% expo

Aileron — 1/2″ up and down, 20% Expo

Rudder — 1″ left and right, 25% expo to desensitize the steering

Flaps — 3/8″mid, 1-1/4″ full with about a 4% down elevator mix which is only about 1/16″ in physical elevator

The CG location recommended in the manual is 92-98mm as measured from the wing leading edge root right at that junction of the forward wheel fairing aft. The CG felt great in this range and so that’s where I stayed with it. With the repainted airplane, I have a 35c 2200 mah pack pushed all the way forward in the battery area.

A QUICK AND DIRTY REPAINT

Flying this AT-6, I just fell in love with it. So much so that I wanted to do a quick little repaint just to make the airplane more unique. In researching the Texan a bit, I found this paint scheme for ‘Dazzlin’ Deb’ which is this immaculately polished aluminum T-6 in an Americana trim. Seeing it, I wanted to give the scheme a try. Unfortunately, I forgot to weigh the airplane before the repaint, but the airplane as it sits, it weighs 57 oz without the battery.

I did a separate video and article on the paint job that's posted here , but in short, all of the paint work was done directly over the existing paint without much in the way of specific paint preparation. I didn’t want to add too much weight and honestly, didn’t want to go to the extent of work that we’ve gone on some other projects we’ve done. So, it was literally a quick and dirty Rust-Oleum spray can paint job. I love the final result!

FLYING THE E-FLITE AT-6 TEXAN

I made reference to this already, I really love flying this little airplane. It looks great in the air and just flies like the nice scale warbird that it is. The power system provides scale like power from a 3cell 2200 mah pack which provides a fun warbird experience. It forces some energy management, but still has good power for going into the vertical. In terms of aerobatics, the airplane will handle anything you want to throw at it and I didn’t notice any bad habits in the air. It’s fun to come in low and slow with the flaps down over the runway. It’s awesome just how slow the airplane will go.

The one thing that I did notice is that it can get a little hoppy on landings if you don’t get the touch down right. I find that it’s best to keep just a touch of power on in the flare all the way down to touch down to help avoid this. It takes some practice but I found cutting the throttle in the flare would cause the airplane to kind of drop in on the touch down. Additionally, touching down one wheel first helps too. The other thing is on takeoff, the airplane can be prone to ground looping if you’re slow to bring on the power. So, don’t be afraid to add power relatively quickly as it’ll help it to track in the acceleration.

Below is the full flight video of the airplane in action. This is the bone stock airframe after the repaint. Unfortunately, I didn’t get any vid of the airplane before painting but, I didn’t notice any change in performance between the two. In fact, the airplane seemed to pick up some speed (it was also a pretty hot day when we took this too though).

FINAL THOUGHTS

Well, there we have the E-Flite 1.5m T-6 Texan . This is a great flying little airplane that I have really been enjoying significantly; it looks good and flies even better! And it’s something that really lends itself well to a repaint, so don’t be afraid to give that a shot! If you’re looking for a different warbird and like the looks of the E-Flite AT-6, I think you’ll enjoy this one. Until next time, I’ll see you at the field!

From the Bench – Horizon Hobby/Spektrum SAFE Select Technology Tutorial

Wed, 11 Jul 2018 04:18:00 GMT

Fly Boldly and be SAFE!

As I mentioned in my E-Flite P-47 Razorback and Cessna 150 reviews, I’ve been wanting to provide a separate discussion on Horizon Hobbies’ SAFE Select technology that’s featured with their bind and fly aircraft. The P-47 and Cessna are both great next step type airplanes for those that may still be learning and so the technology is there to help folks learning to fly and hopefully protect them from getting into trouble. I found that there wasn’t a whole lot of documentation about SAFE Select out there, so I thought that it would be worthwhile to talk a little bit about it and give some tips for using it effectively. As we get started, note that this is a technology that’s part of Horizon’s Spektrum bind and fly setups, so if you’re using your own receiver and radio in the Horizon airplanes, then obviously, this wouldn’t apply.

WHAT IS “SAFE” AND HOW DOES IT WORK?

First of all, what is SAFE? What is it all about? SAFE is a feature that can be turned on that, when flying your aircraft, is intended to keep pilots from getting the airplane into an attitude that could spell trouble. There are multiple levels of the technology which includes SAFE Select which is what is in the Bind and Fly P-47 and Cessna that basically pitch and roll limits the airplane to keep the aircraft from going inverted but still maintains a good level of controllability. It’s intended assist intermediate flyers, so it doesn’t auto coordinate the airplane in a turn per say like some of the other versions. That’s where the SAFE and SAFE+ technologies come in which are intended more for those who are learning. These have beginner modes which auto coordinate turns, intermediate which is similar to SAFE Select, and advanced which essentially turns it all off. SAFE+ simply means the same as SAFE, but with the addition of GPS functionality. In all cases, when SAFE is on, there’s a pitch command that is tied to the throttle position. So when flying when the throttle command is in the lower 1/3 range, a slight descent is commanded, the middle 1/3 will fly straight and level, or the top 1/3 will command a slight climb.

One thing that I do want to say up front is that SAFE is a fantastic tool which really makes getting into RC more accessible for sure, but it should not be viewed as a replacement for some good old fashioned flight training. Since the technology pitch and roll limits the airplane and with some versions auto coordinates turns for you, in many cases you won’t get the same feel of the airplane as you would when flying without SAFE. The key in flying well is providing minimal inputs to the control sticks and that comes with practice. You will fly the way you train, so it’s important early on to develop good habits because you’re building muscle memory and feel as you practice. As an example, with beginner mode on, most of the time you’ll end up moving the stick the full limit of stick travel to get the airplane to do what you want it to and that’s not something you want to get used to. For typical flying, it’s about small movements and rarely do we want to command full stick throw unless we’re looking for some high rate aerobatics. The Select technology is much better in that depending on your max control surface throws, you’re less likely to hit the limits on the stick travel and so you have a more accurate feel to the aircraft. Even so, you still wind up hitting the max stick travel since you’ll get to a point that once the aircraft limits you, additional control input on the transmitter won’t provide any additional control input to the airplane.

So, if you’re wanting to get into RC, SAFE will get you going quickly and safely but I do recommend also finding a local club and getting some flight instruction in addition. The local clubs almost always have trainers and instructors available, so don’t be afraid to contact them. Then use the technology to help supplement the training that you’re getting. It’s a fantastic tool that should be used when you need it to, but the hope would be to try and avoid relying on it to teach you to fly. Otherwise you will have to retrain yourself when you start flying without it.

EFFECTIVELY SETTING UP SAFE

My primary experience in setting up SAFE is with the bind and fly P-47 Razorback and Cessna 150 . So, the focus here will be on how those particular airplanes are setup. Much of this translates to the other versions of SAFE too, but definitely check the instructions for your airplane. Also, don’t be afraid to talk with Horizon Hobby customer support too if you have questions about it. They are always willing to help.

To have SAFE Select active, the bind procedure is started normally. However, prior to selecting bind on the transmitter, the bind plug is removed from the receiver. That then activates SAFE Select making it available to use everytime the airplane is powered on. On initialization, the airplane will give an indication of the mode it’s in by cycling the surfaces either once for SAFE Select off, or twice for SAFE Select on.

To use SAFE Select, I highly recommend assigning it to a switch so that it can be turned on and off as desired. To do that, simply move the desired switch you want it assigned to 5 times right after the aircraft establishes link during the bind process. Otherwise, it can be assigned at any other time by cornering both sticks inwards to each other and then flipping the desired switch 5 times. When using this method, the dual rate switches must be selected such that they are at 100% end point travel for those channels. Otherwise it won’t work. Also, SAFE Select can be assigned to any switches that are assigned on channels 5-9. I recommend using a channel that is not assigned to any of the aircraft controls. So, ideally you have at least a 7 channel radio if you’re flying a 6 channel airplane and then can assign the 7th channel independently. Otherwise, you’ll have to look at using it in combination with landing gear, or something like that. Finally SAFE Select, or AS3X for that matter, won’t be fully activated until the throttle has been brought above 25%. So, it can’t be checked that it’s working unless that has occurred.

TIPS FOR USING “SAFE” IN FLIGHT

When we talk about using SAFE, the whole goal should be to not use SAFE. Yes, I said that right! What I mean is that it’s intended as an aid to help you become a more proficient and comfortable solo pilot. Use it as you need it, but my recommendation would be to avoid relying on the technology to teach you how to fly. That’s where you run the risk of developing habits that you will have to unlearn later on when flying without SAFE. Using SAFE in conjunction with some traditional flight training is quite valuable since you can use it to supplement what you’re learning. You can enable SAFE Select during the most critical phases of flight to keep the airplane protected, or if you get into trouble, it will right the airplane for you back to level flight. Also, the technology will help keep the airplane from getting into trouble when you’re maidening a new airplane. So that is pretty huge, especially if it’s something you’re not yet comfortable with.

As mentioned, assigning safe to a channel other than your flight controls including landing gear or flaps is recommended. The reason is that you don’t want to be tied into having SAFE on at any given moment. That’s where having a 7 or more channel radio is helpful. That said, if you only have a 6 channel radio, then a good compromise would be to assign safe to the same switch as your landing gear such that with gear down, SAFE is active and gear up it’s inactive. This way, when flying around and you want to use it, put your gear down, then if you don’t want to use it, put the gear up. You will be locked in to having SAFE on for takeoffs and landings, but that isn’t a huge deal since you don’t need large stick movements in those phases of flight typically and that’s usually when you want the most protection anyhow being the most critical phases of flight.

One thing to note that I found with SAFE Select is that the pitch and roll angle limits are a function of the amount of throw that is programmed. What this means is that the higher the rates you have selected, the higher angles that SAFE will limit you to. So, flying with higher rates will help maintain the feel of the airplane around center when you have SAFE Select enabled. So, know this and use it to your advantage to help maintain the feel of the airplane. The goal would be to have a similar feeling airplane between SAFE on and off. It’ll never be the same, especially at the more extreme deflections, but it can be close with the right rates between the two modes which is to your benefit.

Ultimately, SAFE is there to protect your investment, especially if you’re new or still learning. But, don’t be afraid to challenge yourself because that’s how we improve our flying. As you fly, try to present the airplane and center all your maneuvers on yourself and try to avoid letting the airplane get out too far from you. Remember, you are flying the airplane, the airplane is not flying you, so put the airplane where you want it to go. And no matter what happens, never stop flying the airplane. That’s key if you get into trouble. Of course accidents do happen but I’ll tell you what my dad told me after my first crash, “if you ain’t crashed, you ain’t flown…”

FINAL THOUGHTS

I tell you what, the hobby has really come a long way since I was learning to fly. This kind of technology didn’t exist at all! Buddy boxing wasn’t even available when I started. SAFE is a great tool to have and will help protect you in the air, but my challenge to you is to only use it when you need to. Supplement it during those critical phases of flight if you need and then challenge yourself to fly around without it and try different maneuvers. You can always turn it back on if you get into trouble. And, if you’re wanting to learn how to fly, this is a fantastic tool, but you can’t replace good old fashioned flight instruction. So, I encourage you to connect with a local club and get some one on one training in addition. It’s the best thing you can do to learn and it supports the clubs. If we don’t support the local clubs, then we won’t have them and that impacts where we can fly in a big way. This is a great community and there are usually always folks willing to help so don’t be concerned about seeking out help. Until next time, I’ll see you at the field!

Top Gun 2018 – 30th Annual RC Scale Model Competition

Fri, 22 Jun 2018 05:32:00 GMT

THE BEST OF THE BEST IN RC SCALE

The Top Gun Invitational scale model competition is an event that I’ve been wanting to witness for a long time. In fact, it’s an event I hope to compete in some year (once I have the right airplane!). Many of the airplanes and pilots competing there represent some of the best in the world, so it’s hard not to want to try my hand in that setting. So, every year when the event comes around, it just happens to get mentioned in my house. So, when it was mentioned this year and met with a, “do you want to go?!” I quickly responded, “YES!” It wasn’t a trip to compete, and that was completely fine with me as I just wanted to witness the competition and the caliber of airplanes that are brought. Plus, you know, it would be a scouting mission for next time…

Held at Paradise Field in Lakeland, Florida, this year was the 30th annual for the competition and some of the models there were nothing short of spectacular. Individuals and teams from all over the world came to fight for the title and represented themselves well. For me, it was a trip to capture media and understand the competition and just take it all in. To be able to witness some of the models that I’ve only really seen in magazine articles was inspiring. The atmosphere was quite friendly as well, just like I’ve experienced at Scale Masters. It’s a tough competition yes, but the atmosphere was supportive with competitors just trying to help keep their airplanes flying which is what scale competition is about.

The title of “Mr Top Gun” this year was awarded to Jack Diaz with his Avond’s Fouga Magister. I’ve seen this airplane up close before and it’s beautiful and needless to say Jack flies it flawlessly. In fact, Jack won Top Gun a couple years ago with this same airplane.

Lance Campbell finished first in the masters class with his scratch built SR-71. The airplane was absolutely massive and featured all of the details of its full scale counterpart. A nice touch was that the inside of the main hatch was autographed by all of the full scale Sled Drivers.

The Unlimted class was won by Ali Machinchy and Joe Castelao with a monstrous T-34 Mentor. The airplane had a multi-cylinder inline engine and it sounded amazing! Team scale was won by Mike Barbee (unsure of the builders name) with a big twin electric KingAir which looked like the real airplane flying around. I’m unsure the results for the Pro-Am categories and I was unable to find them posted at the time of this writing.

I only had two days to spend at the event, but that was certainly enough. I came home with over 100 gigs worth of media. Needless to say, I think I’ll be sorting through that for the rest of the year…In the meantime, I think it’s time to dust off the competition builds and get crackin’ because maybe the next trip will be to compete!

Here’s an assortment of pictures followed by videos as well. I will be posting more video on my channel ( youtube.com/thercgeek ) as I process through it.

Lance Campbell’s SR-71 Blackbird (Amazing is what comes to mind!)

Jack Diaz’s Fouga Magister (Flown perfectly by Mr Top Gun!)

Trond Hammerstad’s ME-262 flown by Ali Machinchy (Complete with animatronic pilot!)

Brett Becker’s XB-70 Valkyrie EDF (One of the coolest EDFs out there!)

F4F Wildcat with Moki Radial Engine (crank up the sound, this thing sounds amazing!)

Giant Scale Frecce Tricolori G.91 (Unique model that looked and flew great!)

From the Bench – Flyday with Bob Forbes, F7F Tigercat Fire Bomber Pilot

Wed, 02 May 2018 04:22:00 GMT

FLIGHT OF THE FIRECAT

You never know who you will meet in this hobby. Though, you’re not likely to meet a celebrity, what you do get are opportunities to meet the amazing men and women who flew the iron that we so passionately model. Model aviation truly is a gateway into full scale aviation and for many, has been a vehicle that has influenced so many careers. This was the case for me and I know has been for so many others. It’s something that is extensible to anyone willing to try and really fosters a community atmosphere for those who participate. For me, flying scale gives me a chance to fly airplanes that I would otherwise never have the opportunities to fly in some form while also allow me to appreciate fully the beauty in the design. It is also a way to celebrate the amazing aviation history and achievements of those who have risked their lives countless times throughout that history.

An Unexpected Visit

So, about two months ago, I had the pleasure of meeting a gentleman by the name of Bob Forbes as he was looking for a little help in getting an airplane flown that he had commissioned. Little did I know was that Bob was a retired Fire Bomber pilot who flew for TBM Inc. which was the company that owned and operated a fleet of F7F Tigercat Fire Bombers (along with C-2 Trackers and other aircraft). I should point out that with every Tigercat that’s careened my workbench I have long drooled over the paint schemes of these Fire Bombers countless times as I absolutely love them!

Bob arrived at my house on a Sunday afternoon for me to take a look at the airplane that he had someone build for him. As he pulled the airplane from his truck, I started to understand. Bob had a FlightLineRC F7F Tigercat refinish commissioned by Bob Vanderveen in Ramona and he was looking for some help getting it flown. As we looked over the airplane, he began to share some of his stories and mentioned that he had had the airplane commissioned in the scheme that it wore when he flew and qualified the airplane at the Reno air races. He also began to share how he had flown the Fire Bombers for many many years and that he had retired just a couple years ago (he shares some of those experiences in detail in the above video along with some C-2 fire bomber footage). So, getting the airplane flown was the least that I could do for him! Talking with and helping the pilots who flew the actual iron really brings these models to life and it’s so awesome!

PHOTOS CREDIT: Phil M. Schmidt

April 21st, Maiden Day

It was a beautiful sunny morning with a slight chill (and much anticipation) in the air as we arrived at the field and I unpacked the airplane. We took our time and made sure everything was right and ready. In the process we took a series of ground photos and then went through and did a quick range check. Everything spec’d out perfectly with the radio and talking with Bob, he was eager to see the airplane fly.

Taxiing the airplane out, she tracked perfectly straight down the runway as I set her into position. With a quick breath, I added power to the throttles and the airplane accelerated quickly. In no time, the airplane was airborne and away she went! She only needed a couple clicks of down elevator trim and she was flying straight as an arrow. Flying the airplane, it was great to hear Bob comment as he watched in excitement.

The airplane cut through the air with ease and looked beautiful doing so; it was inspiring to see fly. I performed a few rolls and vertical maneuvers trying to recreate some of the stories that Bob had shared and just had a great time with the airplane. After 5 minutes, it was time to setup for landing and so I dropped flaps and gear and brought her around. The airplane settled into a nice approach and settled beautifully in the flare to which Bob exclaimed, “awesome!” as the airplane rolled to a stop. We flew the airplane 3 times with each flight even better than the last. It couldn’t have been more perfect.

These are the days we remember most in this hobby, having a chance to live the experiences of the pilots who flew the missions and handled the hardware. It was an honor for me to be able to help out a man who has helped so many people and not to mention flown the airplane that I’ve long admired. Needless to say, this is a day I’ll not soon forget. Thanks for a great day Bob!

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Avios Grand Tundra Assembly & Flight Review

Wed, 11 Apr 2018 04:41:00 GMT

It’s Tundra my spell!

Welcome back guys! This month we’ve got an exciting sneak peek review for you guys this week. A few weeks back, I had a large white and rather unassuming box arrive on my front door step. Inside was the brand new Avios Grand Tundra from Hobbyking! Excited at the opportunity to give the airplane a try, I was blown away by just how fun this airplane is, especially with those big ballooney Chuck Norris tires. They’re so big and awesome, the earth doesn’t push up on those tires, those tires push the earth down as they impale the runway into submission!

AIRCRAFT ASSEMBLY

Opening the box, the airplane is nicely packaged and looks good as there are a number of parts and they are all packaged well. One of the things I really noticed was as a whole the foam finish is pretty smooth. I didn’t have any instructions in the box, but I was able to get the assembly completed without too much of an issue without them. This was an earlier production sample, so I’m guessing that the instructions may have still been in work or will be a digital download. That said, I think it’s worth talking through the assembly a bit in some detail.

The assembly started by first installing the landing gear onto the fuselage. The fasteners are all packaged with the gear, so that is something to be aware of. The gear cross braces for the two sets of struts were added by slipping the fastener through with the tubing spacer inside the brace and then fasten the nut down. From there, the gear were fastened onto the fuselage with some 3mm machine screws. Lastly, those awesome balloon tires were put on and the rubber bands wound around the hooks on the gear which create the tension for the shock gear. Two rubber bands were used on each side. The Chuck Norris tires are a nice soft foam rubber, and really work nicely on rough surfaces, especially adding in the suspension from the struts!

From there, it was on to the tails starting with the rudder. The surface was slippedd into place and then fastened down through the fastener hole for the hinge pivot in the fuselage. From there, the tail wheel assembly was installed using the supplied screws and then the centering springs added. Finishing up the empennage, the horizontal tails were slipped into place over the carbon spar and fastened down. There are 7 screws total for this. 2 at the root of the tail to fasten to the fuselage, 4 to fasten the support struts and then one to fasten the two elevator halves together.

The wings were installed slipping them over the carbon spars and using the supplied 3mm machine screws. The wing support struts were then added and were held in place using cotter pins. Note that you do have to screw the two wing braces together before putting them on the airplane (they come separate in the box). The cotter pins were pretty tight at the fuselage junction, so some needle nose pliers were helpful in getting everything together. Otherwise, that was the heart of the assembly.

To wrap it all up, the servos were connected and setup, the prop was installed, and the final radio install and CG performed. The tails use an ez connector type setup to connect the pushrods which is nice and then the wings use a z-bend. Also, all of the vortex generators were added as well by putting them in place and then gluing with some thin CA. These are there to intentionally turbulate the flow to avoid getting laminar separation. So what you get is an airplane with really good slow speed characteristics.

As a whole, the assembly was simple and straight forward. I did have a bunch of spare fasteners, so hopefully this thing holds up!… Actually the airplane is setup for optional floats and FPV, so I’m guessing that’s what those bits are for. The airplane is a great size and really takes up a lot of space on the bench and looks good doing so. There’s no question looking at the airplane and how it’s proportioned that it is a good flyer. It definitely has a good bush plane look to it and the color scheme is decent. Plus it has lights throughout which is a nice feature as well.

A couple things to note are that the airplane does come with two propellers, a black 17X8 for 4s and a white 16×8 for 6s (differences discussed below). I did have a little smudge on the white prop from what looks like packing it a little too soon, but that wasn’t a big deal for me. Also, I did have an issue with one of the flap servos not working properly. For whatever reason, it wouldn’t generate any torque in the mid range positions being very easily overpowered. It would operate ok at the max deflections, so I just went that direction so as to get the airplane in the air quickly for this review. It will get replaced as I do like having the option of a mid or takeoff flap position.

AIRCRAFT SETUP & CG

In terms of the control surface setup, not having any instructions, I took a notional guess from the start and actually found those rates to be about perfect for my style of flying. I always recommend setting up multiple rates which allows you options during a maiden should any control axis be too sensitive or not enough. Then, once flown you can tune the rates to the desired feel in the air. The airplane is surprisingly aerobatic and does anything you would want to do with it. Ironically enough, think 1″ for your starting rates and then tune from there. These were my mid rate settings and I didn’t find reason to change them at all following the maiden. That being said, certainly consider these as a starting point.

For elevator, 1″ each way with 5% Expo

For Aileron, 1″ each way with 5% expo

For rudder, 1″ with 15% expo to desensitize the steering

For Flaps, 1-1/2″ max with no elevator mixing. I usually like a mid setting, but I had a servo issue that kept me from doing that. I’ll eventually replace them, but I didn’t find any need for a partial flap setting really.

For the CG, I found that 60mm as measured from the wing leading edge aft was about perfect. This actually equates to where the forward wing brace pin is on the underside of the wing. So, simply lift the airplane with your finger tips on that pin and look for the aircraft to be level or have a slight nose down attitude and you’re good to go. As you fly the airplane, you can look at moving the CG back if you like as it was maybe a touch nose heavy there, but I really liked it at that location. For batteries, I’m using Roaring Top 35c 5800 mah packs both 4s and 6s. For the 4s pack, the battery ends up completely forward in the battery bay as you can see. And then the 6s pack falls in a little further aft as you can see here. With these packs, I have my timer set at 5 and 1/2 minutes and I could probably fly for another 5 minutes easily if I wanted to.

FLYING THE AVIOS GRAND TUNDRA

I wasn’t sure what to expect from this airplane when it arrived truthfully as I didn’t know much about it. I tell you what, the Grand Tundra is pretty darn awesome! As a whole, regardless of 6 cell or 4 cell, the airplane just flies great. The shock gear work great and really help on unimproved surfaces. It’s extremely aerobatic and has great power. On 6 cells, the airplane is just ballistic. It’ll get off the ground in about 2 feet (no joke!) and climb straight up with pretty much unlimited vertical. It’ll hover if you set it up right and do just about any kind of flying you can handle. It’s actually quite quick too. On 4 cells, the airplane has a much more scale like power to weight ratio and flies more like a true Alaskan bush plane. It still gets off the ground in short order and has good vertical, just not the unlimited you get on 6 cells. The top speed was maybe 80% of what you get on 6 cells as a guess which was still pretty good at full throttle. The interesting thing is, you definitely feel the weight difference between the two setups and I actually preferred flying the airplane on 4 cells a little bit more. It makes for a bit more of a challenge in the air forcing some of that energy management. Plus, at the lighter weight, it cruises around partial throttle wonderfully for those touch and goes. The one flaw we did find as we flew the airplane was that the aluminum used for the tail wheel attachment is really soft and bent pretty easily. We flew the airplane a ton while we were getting video and we were regularly bending the tail wheel back into place.

Shortly before this airplane arrived, I had discovered a new dirt field fairly close to me and I knew that this would be the perfect spot to showcase this Grand Tundra and show off those Chuck Norris tires! Below are a couple flight videos of the airplane on 4 cells followed then by 6 cells.

FINAL THOUGHTS

So, there we have the Avios Grand Tundra . This is a really fun airplane, that flies awesome! It’ll be fun to see what folks do on the FPV side too as there’s hardware and a canopy hatch that allows that to be setup. The other thing is, it’s nice to have options on the power system too as this allows you to really tailor your flying experience whether you want a more 3d kind of experience or something powered more like a scale airplane. So, at the end of the day, this airplane looks good, flies good, and I think is Chuck Norris approved! See you at the field!

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Freewing A-4 Skyhawk 80mm EDF Assembly & Flight Review

Wed, 14 Mar 2018 03:21:00 GMT

How hot is Heinemann’s Hot Rod?

If you follow this page on Facebook or Instagram , then you know how this one ends for me. For those who and for full disclosure up front, this airplane flies really well when setup right, but I actually crashed the airplane twice in the process of making this review…mostly a result of my own error. The first time was due to installing an already flown battery into the airplane. It only took a couple laps before the fan quit and of course it was too low to get back to the runway. Bummed, but not to be defeated the airplane was refinished with a few upgrades (which we’ll talk about). It came out beautiful, I loved it! Unfortunately, the CG moved further back than I anticipated and the airplane over rotated on the second takeoff and I didn’t have enough altitude to fully recover. It’s fixable, though I’ve debated just buying a replacement instead…it’s currently hanging in my shop waiting in limbo.

With that being said, I still wanted to provide this review because as I mentioned, the airplane flies really well. But, it’s an A-4 and there definitely some things to be aware of when setting it up for best success.

AIRCRAFT ASSEMBLY NOTES

The A-4 is a quick assembly requiring the aft fuselage section be glued on and then the dorsal, horizontal tails and wings bolted onto the airframe. From there, it’s just a matter of setting up the radio. I did find that the dorsal was a pretty tight fit to get onto the fuselage and that the wings were a little fiddly too. So, take your time to avoid dings and lightly clearance things if needed in the process. That said, just to give an idea, the airplane was assembled in an evening and then test flown the following day. Note that using 5 minute epoxy to attach the aft fuselage section is highly recommended. I used the supplied urethane glue (being lazy) the whole glue joint got soft and the foam beads swelled. It hardened up ok, but the texture was a little upsetting.

As a whole, the airplane is a really nice representation of the A-4 and it’s a great size for an 80mm airplane. Not exactly 100% scale, but definitely pretty close and a really nice addition to the growing freewing 80mm line. The finish is nice and quite smooth, definitely one of the smoother freewing airplanes I’ve experienced to date. External wing tanks and bullpup missiles are included which is a nice touch. I regularly flew with the tanks, but never flew with the bullpups. The avionics hump is included as well which is kind of a must for an A-4. There’s something slightly off about the canopy shape and I found that placing the avionics hump on the back actually made the nose section look more accurate, so the airplane was always flown with it on.

AIRCRAFT SETUP & CG

For the radio setup and CG, there are definitely some things to be aware of that will help keep the shiny side up. First of all, A-4s are like deltas in that they need much more elevator than aileron throw. As a whole, A-4s don’t need much aileron throw at all. Freewing’s recommendations are way too hot, so be aware of that. The airplane will roll like a drill bit with their recommended throws. So, for the maiden, I setup the recommended low rates as my high rate and then added 2 lower rates from there. Through flying the airplane, I settled on the following:

Elevator: 1/2″-9/16″ each way with 15% Expo

Aileron: 5/16″ each way with 10% expo

Rudder: 1-3/8″ with 15% expo to desensitize the steering

Flaps: 1″ mid and 2″ for full (no elevator mixing).

On the CG there are some things to be aware of here as well. First of all, starting off a bit nose heavy is definitely recommended. Once familiar with the airplane, then start looking at moving the CG back a little bit if desired, however through flying the airplane with an aft CG, the airplane would do an uncommanded pitched up when it got too slow in the flare with the power off. As a result, there were a couple tail strikes experienced on landings. Moving the CG forward alleviated the issue all together.

Based on this, I recommend setting the CG at 180-185mm as measured from the wing root gun cut out aft. The airplane is a little nose heavy there, but it flies and lands really well at this location. So consider this a starting point and then look at moving the CG back after a couple flights if desired. Just be aware of the pitch up that the airplane does with an aft CG. That’s where I got into trouble with the refinished airplane.

REFINISH AND UPGRADES

Before talking flying, let’s talk about the refinish and upgrades briefly. I was so bummed with the crash as the airplane looked so good!

The second upgrade was the upgrading all of the struts. As mentioned previously, the 90mm Eurofighter strut worked great for the mains. The wire receiver holes at the base of the stsrut do require being drilled out which should be done carefully stepping up the drill size incrementally (pretty soft aluminum). The springs are really stiff, so they were cut down such that there was no compression on the spring when the struts were fully extended. The nose was also replaced with a specially built one my friend made for me. He used the euro main strut and grafted the lower fork and tire from the Mig-21 onto it using epoxy and carbon thread. It looked really awesome on the model!

The last bit of detail added were the vortex generators. This was accomplished using some 1/4″ wide 0.020″ thick strip styrene plastic cut at 1/4″ lengths. A template was made from a CAD drawing to plot out the VG locations and used a pencil to plot it all out ( download the template here! ). From there, slots were cut in the wing at each location and the plastic pieces inserted, aligned, and glued with thin CA.

Lastly, on the refinish itself, a similar process to what has been shown in our warbird refinish and Kfir kit bashing series with the exception that neither the paint was stripped nor the panel lines filled in. The stock airframe finish was lightly sanded and then all prep was done over that. Additionally, instead of using 6 coats of minwax polycrilic applied with a foam brush, 2 coats were applied using a spray can version .

The weathering was similar to what we explained in our kit bash weathering video except that a lightened base color was used to fade the centers of the panels vs using a black shade over the panel lines themselves. The black created too harsh a look based on the depth of the panel lines. To bring out the panel lines slightly, Raw Umber acrylic thinned down with water and tamiya acrylic thinner was used as a wash and sprayed over all of the panel lines. Once sprayed, the acrylic was wiped off in the direction of the airflow on the flying surfaces and vertically on the fuselage and dorsal using a paper towel and tamiya acrylic thinner. For heavier streaking the unthinned raw umber was used in the same manner as described in the Kfir weathering video . The weathering came out really nice and looked about perfect when finished. Note that I plan to do a from the bench discussion later this year outlining all kinds of different weathering techniques and ways to use them, so just a heads up there.

One final item of business the airplane was screaming for was a centerline multiple ejector rack (MER). I started this before the “incident” and finished it up after, so I never got a chance to fly with it on, but they came out really awesome. If I do another A-4, it’ll be flying with this MER! Note that the MER kit is available on my 3D Printed Products page if you’re interested.

FLYING THE FREEWING A-4 SKYHAWK

In short, when this airplane is setup right, it flies pretty awesome! The airplane tracks well, has good authority and presence, and just looks good in the air. It’s not the fastest 80mm jet out there, but it moves out decently and pulls well into the vertical. Flying with and without the tanks, there’s a little difference in top end speed, but otherwise there’s not a huge difference in performance that was noticed. My preference was to fly the airplane with the tanks as it made the A-4 a little easier to see and seemed to help the airplane track just a little bit truer in the air.

Through flying the airplane, covering the cheater aux air grate on the underside was played with by taping it over with no discernable difference in the aircraft flight performance noted. In fact, the airplane got a little quieter in the process. The inlets themselves are at about 100% of the fan swept area, so there’s really no need to have the aux air grate underneath. So, in the refinish, it was closed up more permanently. One important thing to mention is to calibrate the speed controller before the first flight as this will ensure getting max power out of the fan at full throttle. To do that, simply plug the airplane in with the radio on and the throttle at full. Wait for the ESC to beep twice, and then bring the throttle back to idle. The ESC will then arm and it’s all calibrated and ready to go.

Here’s a short flight video of the airplane in action. This is the aircraft bone stock before the refinish with the tanks on and the cheater grate taped over.

FINAL THOUGHTS

There we have the Freewing A-4 Skyhawk . This is a good flying EDF that looks good out of the box. A-4s do take some extra attention in setup, so keep that in mind and you’ll have a lot of fun with the airplane. I do wish that gear doors would have been included, but I suppose not everyone is a staunch scale nut like myself. I’ve been on the fence of getting another one actually, so that should say something about how much I liked it!

Double check that CG and you won’t crash like me…see you at the field!

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AMA West Expo 2018 RC Trade Show

Wed, 14 Feb 2018 05:01:00 GMT

Another year, and another AMA West Expo show! Catching up with old friends and seeing what’s new is always the name of the game and there was certainly plenty of that! The big news this year was that the expo will be held in a new location next year (which will actually be this November), the Pomona Fair Grounds (promo vid at the end of this article). This should be a nice change for the show as it will allow significantly more outdoor activities including flying, racing and all that other good stuff that we can only get limited doses of in Ontario. For the show itself, there was a nice assortment of vendors as there always is, but there seems to be a bit of turnover in the hobby right now. Some of the old stand-by vendors and shops don’t seem to be standing by as much as they used to and newer vendors seem to come and go. Hopefully this new location will help re-invigorate things a bit and bring in some additional interest and vendors!

Some of the “new stuff” highlights included getting a sneak peak at Horizon Hobbies’ new Hangar 9 20cc P-47 Thunderbolt and the new UMX Aerocommander . Seeing the P-47, I really liked the looks and size of it. The market has been missing some nicely built wood ARFs in this size range, so I hope that this is the start of some additional Hangar 9 airplanes coming to market in this size range. I was also quite excited to see the new Graupner 32 channel radio which really looks promising as a system (it was shown only on request but I wasn’t allowed to take pics of it).

One of the main features of this years show was a wonderful assortment of giant scale warbrids on display. Warbirds West was on hand as one of the featured presenters on the main stage and they brought with them a fantastic display. If you’re unaware, Warbirds West has been organizing the Biggest Little Airshow in Honolulu, HI for the last few years which is done to support the Pacific Aviation Museum on Ford Island. It’s a great cause that helps preserve the diverse history surrounding Pearl Harbor and the museum (which includes some of the original Pearl Harbor hangars!). Saturday on the main stage was dedicated to Warbirds West and they had a great line up of speakers which included some well known military veterans and pilots.

In addition, there were some really great models in the static competition this year. The highlight was to see Brian Young’s giant Hawker Tempest (all the way down to the insane Moki radial). It was gorgeous and I hope to get some video of it in flight in the near-ish future. Brian is typically at the Warbirds & Classics event in June, so hopefully he’ll have it with him this year! It’s great to see this kind of stuff at the show.

As mentioned earlier, here’s a little promo video for the next show coming this fall at the new location. Should be fun!

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Family Build 4 – Lego Saturn V Rocket Build

Wed, 17 Jan 2018 05:32:00 GMT

Bang zoom…right to the moon!

Being an aerospace engineer, I’ve always had a fascination with the Saturn V . It still is the largest and heaviest rocket that has ever been launched into space and it was done in a time where the first computers were only just starting. I remember building an Estes Saturn V kit with a family friend when I was a kid. It used a single D sized motor and had so much mass behind it, it launched much like the real thing off the launch pad.

THE KIT

The Lego Saturn V kit itself comes in a big box (labeled for ages 14+…I barely made it!) that has some really nice art on it. It displays on the back all of the different modules and stages that the kit (and full sized rocket) separate into…inspiring of course our inner astronaut! There are a total of 1969 pieces noted which is just a little too perfect…(the year of the Apollo 11 moon landing in case you were wondering…)

The box content includes a total of 12 bags of Legos along with a nicely done instruction book which includes a write-up about the Saturn V and the Apollo space program (in just about any language you choose). My son and I were excited to get into building the kit, so with the box emptied and the bags inspected, it was time to get started!

3 HOURS OF BUILDING FUN WITH MY SON

The completed Lego Saturn V rocket is absolutely awesome! It comes in close to 40″ long fully assembled which makes the scale of the model about 1/109 scale (just a touch smaller than the 1/100 scale Estes). The rocket breaks down into each of the individual stages of the full sized rocket which is a really nice touch and also includes the return capsule and lunar lander with to scale micro-figure astronauts. My son could not believe that the micro-figures were to scale to the rocket. He figured that they had to be way too small!

FINAL THOUGHTS

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Best in the West RC Jet Rally 2017

Thu, 21 Dec 2017 07:30:00 GMT

5 straight days of nothing but jet time!

The Best in the West Jet Rally if I had to guess, is one of the largest RC Jet gatherings on the west coast. Held at the Elk Hills-Buttonwillow airport with regularly over 100+ registered pilots, the result is 5 straight days of non-stop jet flying from a measly 3200+ ft long runway. Plus, being held in early October in Southern California means that the weather is usually just about perfect (and it was this year!).

It had been a few years since my last visit to this event. I had actually attempted to get there last year (even paid my entry), but wasn’t able to work it out based on the proximity of the dates to the US Scale Masters Championships . So, when the event came around again this year, I knew that I wanted to get out there. The cool thing was, my dad decided to come with me and so it was a great weekend spent flying jets with my hero! That really made the weekend that much more memorable and fun.

There’s always a nice assortment of airplanes at the event ranging from sport jets to scale. And they all typically have one common theme…BIG! In years past, I remembered there being notably more sport jets than scale jets. However, my observation this year was that sport jets were far less prevalent and scale jets reigned supreme! For this scale geek, it was nice to see and there were some absolutely phenomenal scale jets out there. Between the assortment of Airworld F-104s, Composite ARF F-100s, and various F9F Cougars (these were extremely popular), there was much to geek out over and each one of those jets had an absolutely perfect finish!

My dad and I were there Friday and Saturday enjoying the phenomenal weather. I had in tow with me my trusty Jet Hangar Mirage IIIRS and A-7 Corsair II . In comparison to most of the airplanes there, they were park flyer sized! The coolest airplane at the event I thought was my friends massive 12ft long T-38 Talon EDF. He completely designed and scratch built the airplane from foam and balsa/ply wood. Weighing in at 45lbs and powered by two Jet Hangar E-Turbax EDFs, the airplane was extremely impressive and flies awesome (video further down)!

Somehow through the process with all of the immaculate jets that were out there, I was awarded the “Best Markings and Paint” award for my Mirage. Given the caliber of jets that were out there, it was a huge honor for me to even be considered for the award. The “Best EDF” and “Technical Achievement” awards went to my friend Brent Hecht for his amazing T-38 Talon. That thing is nuts!

Here are a few pictures from the event. I was focusing more on video (videos further down), but tried to get a nice assortment of pictures. In many cases, the airplanes I captured video of I saw only fly once so didn’t necessarily get pictures.

Here’s selection of some of the videos. New videos post every Tuesday on my YouTube Channel and there are more coming from the event!

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Foam Kit Bashing 101 Finale — Kfir Setup, Flight Review & Making Repairs

Wed, 29 Nov 2017 05:40:00 GMT

Fly, crash, repair…repeat…

Check out the full series of videos and articles at: thercgeek.com/kitbashing

Welcome to the final episode in our foam kit bashing series! It was quite the journey getting here and I actually didn’t intend on it taking as long as it has to document the whole series, but life has been crazy with no signs of slowing down it seems (plus, I just started a new position at work!). If you’ve just found this series, we have gone through and completely transformed a Freewing Mirage 2000 into an Isreali Kfir. As a part of that, we covered the transformation process talking through the building methods in converting the airplane using balsa wood and foam, we’ve talked about painting and finishing and we’ve also covered how to make panel lines and add realistic weathering . I hope that you guys have enjoyed the series and are geared up with some new techniques to try on your models! To finish this series up, I thought it would be best done providing a little discussion on how the airplane flies in it’s new form as well as some of the things that were done in wrapping the airplane up and getting it tuned in the air. Also, I had a little incident with the airplane at the Warbirds & Classics event which tore out the right main landing gear mount. So, I thought it would be a good opportunity, now that we have this nice new airplane, to show how to make cosmetic repairs when they are needed as well.

RADIO SETUP

In doing all of the final setup for the airplane, I didn’t want to change too many things all at once since the airplane flew well in the Mirage 2000 configuration. I knew however that I did want to change out the radio. Airtronics has been my go-to radio for quite literally, decades (even had a sponsorship with them). Though a good radio, it’s a system that’s just not supported in the US anymore and frankly, SANWA/Airtronics gave up on the airplane market years ago anyway.

THE EXTRA COOL AFTERBURNER MOD

The other thing added was an afterburner setup that a friend of mine designed. It’s a “center-burner” concept where the lights emit from a tail cone attached to the motor vs a ring around the outside of the exhaust. In the air, it is the most convincing afterburner I’ve seen to date and really adds a lot to the looks of the airplane in the air. My friend and I are in the proto-typing stage on this AB setup, so hopefully sometime in the near future they will be available through my 3d printed products page . The concept is awesome and it works great!

A DISCUSSION ON CG

With my oversight (and lesson) learned, moving the CG forward incrementally over a few flights, the CG was dialed in. Ultimately it needed to be about 1/2″ forward of the Mirage 2000 location. To achieve this, the battery capacity was upped to the Roaring Top 5800 pack in addition to adding a couple ounces of weight in the nose as well.

I want to point out that I have been using Roaring Top batteries for some time now and they are some fantastic batteries. For the same capacity and C rating, they lighter weight than the packs I’ve been using and they put out great power. Needless to say, I really like the packs!

MAKING COSMETIC REPAIRS

As mentioned earlier, I brought the airplane with me to the Scale Squadron Warbirds & Classics event which was where I was able to get the CG all dialed in. This is where I was really able to start to really enjoy the airplane. Unfortunately, I ended up dropping the airplane in on a landing which tore the right main gear mount out of the wing. So that resulted in some road rash on each of the wing tips and a couple other areas.

To fix it, it was a matter of filling in all of the affected areas with light weight spackle and then sanding it to shape as necessary. From there, it’s pretty much a repeat of the process we’ve discussed in this series. I went through and applied a couple coats of polycrylic to seal up all the filled in areas and then locally airbrushed some primer over it. I did two primer coats over the affected areas, so after the first coat I sanded it smooth with 180 grit sand paper which helped blend and fill everything and then after the second coat wet sanded it with 600 grit which made it paint ready. To airbrush the primer, I simply sprayed the rattle can primer into a paper cup and then used what was collected in the airbrush. This gave good control over where it was sprayed keeping the primer localized and controlled which you can’t do with a spray can very easily. I should point out that the primer and sand process is what blends everything to even and smooth out the surfaces, so is a very important part in getting the repairs to blend into the existing finish.

With the affected areas wet sanded, it was then a matter of touching up the paint and weathering and then locally reapplying the clear coat in those areas. The hardest part of any repair is usually matching and blending the paint (and of course not causing more rash in the repair process). So, when we have areas that just don’t blend perfectly, this is where I’ll use the weathering to try and blend things together when needed. Also, sometimes when making repairs, it makes sense to mask off specific panels instead, especially when we touchup the paint. You can play games like this because sometimes having a slightly off color panel looks nice and scale since commonly accessed panels are often touched up on full sized aircraft.

Lastly, in fixing the gear mount it had simply just pulled out of the foam. So, that was epoxied back in place. While I was at it, I stress tested the left gear mount to make sure it had solid contact in the wing. It tested out solid, so I just added an epoxy fillet around the edge for extra assurance.

FLYING THE “DESERT LION”

Since we’ve put in all this work and we have this awesome looking and very custom airplane, the real question always is “how does it fly?” The last thing we want is the worlds largest desktop model! Well, I’m happy to report that the airplane flies awesome! I did have to work through a few bugs getting the CG sorted out which is pretty normal for a new airplane, but once that was all done, the airplane really locked in solid. The whole kit bashing process added about 12 ounces to the airplane which includes the new parts we added, the finish which came out very smooth, and about 1.5 oz worth of nose weight. Not too bad all things considered and in terms of performance I don’t notice much of a difference. In the process, we added some wing area through the leading edge saw tooths and trailing pieces and now have the canards helping us as well. The pitch and roll response is pretty similar to the Mirage, but with the larger surfaces, I found I needed to add a little bit more expo to get the feel where it needed to be for all phases of flight.

FLIGHT VIDEO

In terms of how the airplane looks, it looks amazing in the air. It comes across quite scale and the afterburner is just the icing on the cake. The Warbirds & Classics event is out at the OCMA flying field which is in Black Starr canyon next to Irvine lake. That terrain was just about the perfect desert backdrop for this Israeli airplane and it looked so real flying around out there. Scott Plummer from AirShowVid was at the event and captured some amazing photos that really make the airplane look like the real thing.

ABOVE PHOTOS CREDIT: Scott Plummer, AirShowVid

One final note I’d like to make is that since the ventral tank covers about 50% of the cheater grate on the underside, I opened up some auxiliary air inlets in the main gear wheel wells. I originally flew the airplane without this, and the airplane flew well, but not quite to the same performance it was as the Mirage 2000. Opening up the gear wells helped liven the airplane performance up back to what it was before.

FINAL THOUGHTS

At last, this concludes our series on foam kit bashing! I really hope you’ve enjoyed the series and are equipped with some new techniques to try out. I really enjoyed creating this Kfir, though I probably spent way too much time on it. That’s the beauty of something like this though, we can make it as much or as little as we want. Also, all of the techniques we’ve discussed, especially the finishing techniques, translate onto all sorts of models and mediums, so I hope you’re inspired to give some of them a try and to experiment. It’s all about practice, so the more we experiment, the better the results on each model and the results are always worth it.

Now, with our kfir done it’s time to think about our next long term project. I can tell you, my competition Skyray build has been calling me for a while…it may be time to get back to it if I can avoid getting distracted by other projects! Until next time, I’ll see you at the field!

HOORAY!

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Assembly & Flight Review – E-Flite 2.1m Carbon-Z Cessna 150 Aerobat

Wed, 11 Oct 2017 03:21:00 GMT

TIME TO TAKE ON THE SNAKE!

If you’ve ever seen the movie Iron Eagle, there’s an incredible sequence in the movie where the lead character, Doug Masters, flies a Cessna 150 through this race they call “the snake.” This consists of him racing a guy (Knocher) on a motorcycle through a canyon. It’s a totally hokey scenario and it results in a kind of crash landing due to the guy Doug’s racing sabotaging the airplane (of course!). Though, I think Doug might have had a better chance if he wasn’t racing with full flaps down… That said, the whole flying sequence is a display of some pretty incredible flying by Art Scholl who was an amazing aerobatic pilot from back in the day. He flew for a number of movies throughout his carrier but unfortunately his carrier ended too soon while filming the spin scene for the movie Top Gun.

So, when I saw the E-Flite 2.1m Cessna 150 Aerobat , it took me back to when I watched Iron Eagle over and over as a kid (quite literally) and I knew that I wanted one. It captures everything great about the airplane and that sequence as the airplane looks great and flies aerobatics wonderfully. So, there just might be a repaint in this airplanes future… but before that, I wanted to give you guys a full review on this awesome Aerobat. The box is huge, and the airplane is big, and it’s awesome!

ASSEMBLY NOTES

As noted, the airplane comes in a very sizable box that took up most of my workbench. The airplane is nicely packaged and I didn’t find any damage at all through shipping. E-flite has broken the airplane down into a small number of large components. You have the fuselage, the wings and horizontal stabilizers, the rudder surface, and then the landing gear and all the necessary hardware, carbon spars and wing struts.

With the motor in and the gear installed, it’s on to the tail. The first step is gluing the rudder in place using some thin CA (foam safe CA isn’t necessary with EPO foam). There is a light in the rudder which upon test fitting I discovered to be too short. So to remedy this, I spliced in some extra wire to increase the length about 1″ (definitely test fit everything before gluing!). With the rudder glued on, the horizontal stabilizers are then fastened to the airplane using a couple screws. It was a tight fit, but with a little coaxing, everything fit together very well.

Lastly, to finish out the assembly, the wing struts are attached and the wings are placed on the airplane. The wing struts are setup such that they remain attached to the wings and rotate around a pivot which makes storage of the wings easy and reduces the parts you need to keep track of. When placed on the fuselage, they are just pinned in place at the fuselage which makes Assembling the airplane at the field simple. Also, the aileron and flap connectors are integrated into the wing root, so you don’t have to worry about loose wires or anything like that. The connectors engage when the wings are placed onto the airplane.

ALL TOGETHER ON THE BENCH

You really get a sense of the size of the airplane sitting on the bench with it all together; it’s big and it looks great! Assembly is really easy and straight forward and goes very quickly. E-flite has done a great job on the shape and the color scheme is nice and bright which really makes it stand out, especially in the air. For the size of the airplane it’s very light at only 7-3/4 lb without a battery. Overall, this is a very well done airplane. If I had one complaint, it would be the painted windows, but quite frankly that doesn’t bother me at all. The whole point of this airplane is to have a great sport flyer and E-flite has really succeeded in creating that. Not having the windows I’m sure helps keep the price down and makes it structurally a lot easier to deal with. If you are looking for something that does look a little better than the base silver windows, Callie-Graphics has a window set for the airplane I believe.

A LITTLE WORD ON SAFETY

One thing I want to reiterate is safety. This is a large airplane that’s a little awkward to maneuver around when it’s all together on the bench (even on my large 4’x8′ table). So, when you’re working on the airplane, with it powered on, or any airplane for that matter, I highly recommend removing the prop for safety because you don’t want to end up in Urgent Care like me… I had the airplane all together and powered on and was moving it around on the bench when the throttle accidentally got bumped. As a result, the prop struck my left hand as I was fumbling to turn it off. Thankfully, the power didn’t get bumped too high and it only took 3 stitches. It could have been far worse! A kill switch is good, but still not always 100% (had a friend get bit by an airframe with a kill switch setup a couple years ago). Better to be safe than sorry, so just a little recommendation from this guy with two thumbs!

AIRCRAFT SETUP & CG

To setup the radio, the recommended control throws are shown in the beginning of the manual. I always recommend setting up multiple rates which allows you options during a maiden should any control axis be too sensitive or not enough. Then, once flown the rates can be tuned to the desired feel in the air. Ultimately through flying the airplane I found that the servos all set to 100% servo travel with some exponential worked well. The max travel results in the following:

Elevator: 1-1/8″ each way with 15% Expo

Aileron: 1-1/4″ each way with 10% expo (This is my high rate setting. I tend to switch between high and mid rate here depending on how responsive I want the roll for maneuvering. Mid rate is closer to 1″ each way.)

Rudder: 1-1/8″ with 15% expo to desensitize the steering

Flaps: 1-3/8″ mid with a 12% down elevator mix and then 2-1/2″ for full with about a 35% down elevator mix. The elevator mixes equate to about 3/16″ and 1/2″ respectively.

The CG location recommended in the manual is 95-105mm as measured from the wing root leading edge aft. With a Roaring Top 35c 5800 mah pack all the way forward in the nose, the CG is falling in at about 100mm and the airplane flies perfect there. With this airplane being as large as it is, you can fly some really large packs and get some pretty killer flight times. I fly the airplane mostly full throttle as this gives good penetration for aerobatics and have my timer set at 5-1/2 minutes. This gives about 3.8v/cell on landing, which means there’s lots of reserve if it’s needed.

SOME NOTES ON ‘SAFE SELECT’ FOR THE BIND N’ FLY

In setting up the radio for the airplane, this is the bind and fly version which features Horizon Hobbies’ SAFE Select Technology. Not only is this Cessna a fun and fully aerobatic model, it’s a great airplane to learn on and so the SAFE Select is a nice feature. Based on this, there are two distinct binding procedures whether you want SAFE select available or not. If you have no intention on using SAFE, then the bind procedure is done normally. However, to engage safe select in the receiver, then the bind procedure is started normally, but prior to selecting bind on the transmitter, the bind plug is removed from the receiver. Once powered on, the airplane gives an indication of the mode it’s in during initialization by cycling the surfaces either once for SAFE Select off, or twice for SAFE Select on.

If using SAFE Select, I highly recommend assigning it to a switch so that it can be turned on and off as desired. This can be done by cornering both sticks inwards to each other and then flipping the desired switch 5 times. Note that when you use the method where you corner the sticks, you must have your dual rate switches selected such that they are at 100% end point travel for those channels. Otherwise it won’t work. Also, the switch you want to assign to can be assigned to any switch that is assigned on channels 5-9. So, if you don’t have a switch assigned to those channels, you’ll need to assign one.

My recommendation if you’re using SAFE Select is to use it to supplement your flight training and try to avoid relying on it. Flying RC is all about muscle memory and small inputs and SAFE Select can mask the feel of the airplane a bit since it roll and pitch limits you when active. I do have a discussion on just SAFE Select in the works, it’s just taken longer than I had anticipated. So, be on the lookout for that.

FLYING THE E-FLITE CARBON Z CESSNA 150

Ok, let’s talk flying! In short, this Cessna 150 is an absolute blast to fly! The airplane has great power and vertical performance and is quite maneuverable. So, what you get is an airplane that will handle any scale aerobatics you want to throw at it including snap rolls, spins, point rolls and the like. It’ll even lightly hover if you coax it right. Landings and slow flight are a breeze, especially with the flaps down. I really enjoy shooting touch and goes to see just how slow and softly I can land the airplane. In the air, the airplane looks awesome, especially with the color scheme that’s provided, it shows up beautifully. The airplane is very forgiving and has a nice speed range which makes it ideal for learning too. The nice thing is that it would be a trainer capable of full aerobatics and so is an airplane that one could progress with well and be challenged by for a while.

One thing I noticed which was almost comedic is that the hard plastic tires that come with the airplane make a huge racket when rolling on the ground. They can make the softest of landings sound like an egregious arrival. So, to remedy that, I replaced all of the kit tires with Robart ones. Doing so alleviated all of the noise the gear were making and also gave some additional shock absorption for the landings since the Robart tires are significantly softer than the stock ones. The tires used are 3-3/4″ tires for the mains and a 3-1/4″ tire for the nose.

FINAL THOUGHTS

So there we have the E-Flite Cessna 150 , what a fun airplane! I have really been enjoying the heck out of it as it’s fun to go back to a high wing airplane like this and enjoy the challenge of scale aerobatics. E-Flite has done a fantastic job on this model and has created a fun and great flying airplane that’s suitable for someone learning or even the advanced flyer. And what you get for the price is an exceptional value. You get a lot of airplane here, it’s big and it’s awesome! I really do think that this airplane will get repainted…I can’t help it, I still dig the movie Iron Eagle. I’ve had the snake Cessna 150 paint scheme in mind from the get go on this, so I think it has to happen…chapppyyyyyyy!

The post Assembly & Flight Review – E-Flite 2.1m Carbon-Z Cessna 150 Aerobat appeared first on The RC Geek .

Foam Kit Bashing 101 Ep5 — How to Add Realistic Panel Lines and Weathering

Wed, 06 Sep 2017 03:33:00 GMT

Whether or not to weather or not…?

Check out the full series of videos and articles at: thercgeek.com/kitbashing

Panel lines and weathering are something that can really make or break a scale model. When we started this Kfir kit bash, I knew that I wanted to use it as a canvas to show some simple weathering and panel lining techniques. Very often we can get too heavy with either and so my hope here is to give some pointers for adding some realistic and effective looking panel lines and weathering that’s easy to do. These are some techniques that are pretty simple to employ and that I actually use on my competition models also.

There are so many different techniques we can turn to for this stuff, so these are just a few that I regularly use. Ultimately the best techniques are the ones you like and give you the results you’re looking for so experiment and try different techniques. The only way we develop these skills is through practice and use.

THE PANEL LINE PROCESS

To apply panel lines to the surface, we are simply applying all of them using a mechanical pencil . This works excellent in this case because the pencil lines when applied, are darker than all of the colors on the airplane. So, as a result, you can get a really fine and convincing looking panel line on the surface. Any color scheme where the drawn panel line is darker than the color on the aircraft is a good candidate for pencil panel lines. I’m using a mechanical pencil with a 0.5mm diameter lead. This is so that we get consistent width lines that aren’t too wide. Also, a harder lead is preferred so as to avoid smears as you handle the airplane and avoid applying panel lines too heavily.

One thing to note is that this technique really only works when applying lines onto a hardened surface. The polycrylic hardens up the airframe well and so provides a surface that is conducive for this. This is not something you’d realistically be able to apply to a painted bare foam surface. Also, as you lay the panel lines down, press lightly while drawing, otherwise you run the risk of puncturing through the finish.

Applying the Panel Lines

In applying the panel lines themselves, I simply used a 3-view drawing and transferred the essence of what’s on the drawing to the model. What I mean is that I didn’t measure and scale things exactly from the drawing, I simply went with a looks about right approach based on the drawing. My goal is to simulate the full size, not replicate it…especially since this is a modified Mirage 2000, it wouldn’t scale quite right anyhow. If this were a competition project, then I’d spend much more time scaling to match drawings and pictures of the full sized airplane.

To draw some of the smaller detail shapes like access panels and the vents that are all around the aircraft, I used a template with squares and circles which made those items easy to make. They weren’t the exact size for scale, but were certainly close enough. For long continuous lines, I used a long ruler where I could, or I used 3m fine line tape that was applied to the surface. The tape is thick enough to create an edge that you can draw against (masking tape doesn’t have enough thickness). I also used the fine line tape for any of the radial lines too around the nose and fuselage which really simplifies drawing those line. I typically have various widths of fine line tape on hand as it’s really good stuff. Also, as needed, I used a flexible ruler to draw small lines around contours. Lastly, for the larger width lines on the rudder, I simply just applied the lines darker and wider. Basically drawing lines about 1/16″ apart and filling in in between with the pencil.

A Quick Clear to Seal it Up

To seal it all up once the panel lines were down, I applied a light clear coat over the airplane to protect the work we’ve done for the weathering process. Without a clear coat, the panel lines will smear and/or rub completely off during the weathering process. I use a non-yellowing lacquer clear coat which is the same I use on my larger competition birds too. Any clear coat should work, but I recommend a non-yellowing one to avoid the color yellowing over time from sun exposure.

I want to point out that if this were a competition model, then I would have done much the same process as outlined above, but once the panel lines were drawn out, used a double ended scribe to actually scribe the panel lines into the paint. This then creates a fine groove in the paint vs just a drawn line and adds more realism to the model. It helps create those realistic shadows you would get in the sun that you don’t get from the pencil lines and also helps the panel lines take washes really well too.

For small access panels and things like that, I like to make raised panels out of vinyl and/or aluminum tape. For a camouflage scheme like this, I would have applied those before paint. In some cases however, I like to spray the panels separately and apply them after paint as the tone of the separately painted panels vary slightly to the tone of the model and gives it a more uneven look which adds to the realism since airplanes rarely ever weather perfectly uniform and frequently accessed panels are typically touched up more regularly.

WEATHERING, WASHES, AND SHADING — LESS IS MORE

With all of our panel lines down, the final step in the finishing process is to weather the airplane and make it look like a beautifully used warfighter. As mentioned previously, especially as we talk about weathering, less is definitely more. If you step away looking at the airplane thinking it’s too dirty, then it probably is too dirty. There’s a fine line between too much and not enough but ultimately it’s all about simulating a full sized airplane. So do some research and see how dirty the full sized airplanes were.

My approach to weathering is always to simulate and not replicate because you’ll never be able to replicate the years of sun exposure and operations that these aircraft endure. Also, ALL weathering should be done inside under artificial light. If you do any of this outside in the sunlight, it may look good outside, but as soon as you bring it inside, I guarantee that the weathering will be too heavy because the sun washes out the effects of the colors being applied. On the flip side though, if it looks good inside, it will look just as good outside. It really does work that way.

Applying Washes for Oil Streaks & Stains

Now, for a fighter jet, the dirtiest part of the airplane is always the underside and these airplanes typically get dirtier as you go further back towards the tail. So, with this in mind, the first place I like to start is applying oil streaking and stains using an acrylic wash on the underside at the back of the airplane. I like to use Folk Art acrylics that you can get from Michael’s or Hobby Lobby ( or amazon ) with my primary go to color being raw umber . This is a dark redish brown color that simulates oils and hydraulic streaks and stains wonderfully. The other item I have on hand is Tamiya acrylic thinner . This is so that if at any time the acrylic wash gets applied in a way I don’t like, I can clean it completely off with the acrylic thinner and try again. Also, having a paper towel with some thinner on it helps smear the acrylic paint to create some streaking on the surface.

For the application of the acrylic washes, I like to take a flat and kind of wide paint brush and apply the acrylic paint along a panel line or any area I want a stain or a streak on the airframe. From there, I wipe the acrylic paint off in the direction of the airflow with a paper towel. Usually it has a little acrylic thinner soaked into it to help smear the paint and create a streaky kind of stain on the surface. The beauty here is that if at any time, something is applied that we don’t like, it can be completely cleaned up with the acrylic thinner without any risk of lifting up the paint. Also, there’s a certain amount of thinner soak on the paper towel that is optimal, so it usually takes a couple passes to get the desired look. Plan to use a number of paper towels in the process since as the paper towel gets dirtier, it won’t provide clean up as well.

Note that this technique works the same for scribed or molded panel lines, but in that case I brush the acrylic paint over all of the panel lines and clean it off wiping perpendicular to the panel lines (and airflow). This keeps the acrylic in the recess giving the appearance of soot and grime in the panel lines.

The acrylic wash process was continued all around the airframe, but with restraint. Heavy stains and streaking were only applied on the underside fuselage near the back primarily and wiped off in the direction of the airflow. Some streaking was also applied on the wing undersides in the process too. On the top side, I only applied a streak here and there from the smaller access panels or from hinges, things like that. Also, in some cases on the fuselage I wiped the paint off downwards towards the ground since the fuselage typically collects weathering in that direction from sitting in the elements. It’s all about small touches and subtleties on the top side. I only used the raw umber color as I’ve found this really gives the look I want as a whole, but you can experiment with different colors and see what you like.

Applying Airbrush Shading to Finish it Off

Once all of the washes were down all around the airframe, I finished it all up with some airbrush shading (I used a Grex double action pistol grip airbrush ). To do this, I used some flat black paint thinned to the consistency of dirty thinner. I keep it this thin because it is easier to add more shading than to take away. So, if you make a pass and want it a little darker, then simply make more passes until you get the desired look you want. Using the black, I shaded over all of the panel lines to darken them only slightly. Also, the small panels were shaded in the centers to darken them a little bit to get an uneven look. In some cases you can add some streaking too by airbrushing a line in the direction of the flow.

During this process, I used some post-it notes to mask around the vents that were drawn on the fuselage. From there, I masked one by one each of the individual louvers and darkened one side with the airbrush. The key is to airbrush the paper close to the masked edge rather than painting the edge itself. This helps give some control on the amount of shading applied and keeps the edge from getting too dark. Ultimately, the point here is create the illusion of depth between the louvers since we’re not physically adding vents into the surface. The same thing was done for the rudder too to give depth around the hinge line.

Once all of the shading was done, stepping back and looking at the airplane, the black shading felt too heavy. So I took a fine scotch-brite pad and burnished down all of the surfaces on the model to even it all out.

Finishing It off

Once I was happy with it all, I sprayed a final clear coat and she was done! Stepping back and looking at the finished Kfir, the airplane came out so much better than I expected. The airplane really looks the part convincingly and comes across looking very scale. All of the work put in really pays off in the finish and the combination of the washes and the shading really portray a realistic finish.

FINAL THOUGHTS

My hope with this series has been to hopefully show you guys some easy techniques for building and finishing not just foam models, but any kind of model. These techniques are some that I use on my competition airplanes which include my Jet Hangar A-7 and Mirage IIIRS. So, I hope that you are inspired to give them a try. Remember that when it comes to weathering, we’re trying to simulate, and not replicate the full sized aircraft. Don’t worry about having that perfect oil streak or shaded panel because the full size is far from perfect too. The more you practice weathering, the better and easier it becomes, so give it a shot! You’ll love the results and as mentioned, you can try this weathering on any type of aircraft medium.

Next time, in our final episode we’ll discuss flying the airplane and some of the things that were done in getting the airplane ready. I’ve gone through and swapped out a few things including the radio and the batteries and also added some extra coolness too which you’ll see in the next episode. So, until next time, go weather your airplanes and I hope to see them at the field!

Photo Credit: Scott Plummer, AirShowVid.com

The post Foam Kit Bashing 101 Ep5 — How to Add Realistic Panel Lines and Weathering appeared first on The RC Geek .

Foam Kit Bashing 101 Ep4 — Painting Camouflage and Adding Markings

Wed, 16 Aug 2017 03:21:00 GMT

Camouflage me this…

Check out the full series of videos and articles at: thercgeek.com/kitbashing

Continuing in our Kit Bashing 101 series, in this installment we are talking about painting camouflage and adding markings to our Kfir. The transformation from Mirage 2000 to Kfir has taken place and we’ve even added some nice Kfir specific cockpit details . So, there’s no more procrastinating, it’s time to prep and paint this jet! We have an awesome 4 tone Isreali camouflage scheme lined up that we’re going to paint and so we’ll talk through the process of achieving that. We’ll be utilizing an airbrush in the process along with some humbrol plastic model paints for the camouflage and then once painted, we will be applying our markings.

First things first though, the airplane was made paint ready. The process used was the same as what we did in our How to Refinish a Foam Warbird Series where we applied 6 coats of minwax polycrylic , primered and sanded a few times, and then finished it off by wet sanding with 600 grit sand paper to get it paint ready. There were a couple things done differently here though that are worth mentioning. First of all, there was quite a bit of texture coming through after the initial primer coat, so I decided to spray a some Rust Oleum gap filler primer . This helped build up the lower areas to even out the surface. After sanding it down with a sanding block, many of the imperfections disappeared. Being foam it’s difficult to get a perfectly smooth finish, but this helped really smooth it out. Also, this primer is ideal for prepping 3d printed parts and getting rid of the striations you get due to the layer build up.

The last thing was, I had a couple areas of the pink Home Depot foam react to the Evercoat primer when I applied it too heavy which melted some areas underneath the polycrylic. To fix it I just filled it back in with some spackle and sanded it flush. I’ve found this Shrink-Free spackle from Sherwin Williams and it works beautifully and has a finer granularity than the Hobby Lite spackle I’ve been using. So, I used it fill in the problem areas and basically primered back over it. For the larger repairs though, I did apply a coat of polycrylic over the repair before primering just to help seal it up.

EQUIPMENT AND THE PAINTING PROCESS

To paint the camouflage, we’re simply using an airbrush to paint each of the colors freehand. This is a smaller airframe, so an airbrush does the job well enough (If this were a larger model, I would use my Devillbiss automotive touchup gun but we’d need a lot more paint too). I have a few airbrushes that I keep on hand for painting and detailing along with a dedicated Grex airbrush compressor (it’s an awesome compressor!). I have a double action gravity feed Iwata as well as a pistol grip Grex (also gravity feed & double action), and then I have a single action syphon feed Badger . With a double action airbrush, you can control the spray size with the trigger while you’re painting whereas with the single action, you set the spray size independently of the trigger. Either airbrush type works. In the case here, I had intended to use the single action but had some problems with it. So ended up using the Grex airbrush and I’m glad I did. It’s not one I’d used a ton to that point, but I plan to use it solely going forward I liked it so much. The ergonomics are great and also there’s an adjustment screw on the back of the airbrush which limits the travel of the airbrush needle which can make it act more like a single action airbrush. This allowed for easily creating consistent feathered edges for the camouflage. Ultimately, the best airbrush is the one that works best for you and weather single or double action, it really ends up boiling down to personal preference.

For the physical paint, we’re using Humbrol paints which are plastic model paints. The coloring diagram which provides the Federal Standard paint numbers for each of the 4 colors but humbrol doesn’t list their paints by FS numbers. So, with a little research on the equivalancy of their paints to the FS numbers we come up with the following colors listed below. In applying the colors, we start by applying the bottom color and then work on the top side camo spraying the Sand color first, the dark tan and then finishing up with the sky green color. They recommend a thinning ratio of about 2 parts paint to 1 part thinner. You’re basically looking for the consistency of fat free milk from the paint for it to be sprayable. Also, you’ll know if it’s too thick if the airbrush isn’t spraying well and you get rough overspray and if it’s too thin if the color isn’t covering down at all and/or you’re getting runs.

PAINT COLORS TOP

PAINT COLORS BOTTOM

colorserver.net is a great place to look up FS colors digitally

PAINTING THE KFIR

With all of the above covered, it’s now time to do some painting. The first color applied was the Light Ghost Grey bottom ( FS 36375 ). The whole bottom is a single color, so a spray can can be made to work here should one choose. The whole bottom was airbrushed with Humbrol 127 . It did take a little while to get the coverage, but airbrushing provides a nice light weight finish and the Humbrol paints spray really well (just make sure to stir them before each use!).

With the bottom done, it was on to the top. The first color applied was “Sand” ( FS 33531 ) which is the lightest color. Humbrol 121 was used here and applied the color in just the necessary areas on the airframe using the color diagram as a guide. It’s important to overspray the areas sufficiently as we will be coming back and defining the final camouflage pattern with the other 2 colors.

Once the sand color was down, a light pencil was used to sketch out the approximate camouflage pattern onto the airframe. This helps give us a guide while we paint. We can certainly do this without the guidelines, but when we’re doing this all freehand it really helps so we know where we’re painting. The key too is to make sure to paint over the pencil lines so there’s no appearance of it coming through. This was all done freehand, but there are other options too. Ultimately, we’re looking for soft edges, so any round or raised template or masking would work too. This could be wall poster mounting putty or round foam tape, or raised templates, anything like that. I’m lazy and didn’t have any of that stuff, so just went for it freehand.

Once the pattern was laid out in pencil, the next color sprayed was Humbrol 118 “Dark Tan” ( FS 30219 ). The approach taken was to spray along the separation lines first to get that faded separation and then from there fill in the rest of the color. As we spray, applying the paint through smooth strokes of the airbrush are important. The use of two hands is beneficial too if needed to stabilize your hands. I attacked this color in sections and moved progressively along the separations to get what I was looking for. It takes practice and it’s far from perfect, but the beauty is that it doesn’t have to be perfect. It’s camouflage and the whole intention is to make the whole aircraft surfaces uneven.

Finally with the “Dark Tan” applied, the Humbrol 90 Sky Green ( FS 34424 ) was sprayed in the same manner. The green fade over the dark tan looks better than the other way around, so this is why it was sprayed in this order. This completed all of the colors making the airplane look pretty darn awesome, but there were definitely some areas needing touchup based on some stray spray lines or separations I was unhappy with.

To touchup the areas, first the grey underside separation line along the fuselage was resprayed. It’s tough to get a perfect straight line spraying multiple colors, so this cleaned this whole area up wonderfully. From there, all of the other colors were touched up as needed clean up any areas needing it. One thing to remember though as we touch up the separation lines, we’ll likely have to touch up both colors to get the correct look to the fade. What I mean is that spraying Dark Tan over the Sand has a different look along the fade than visa versa. So touching up any of the Sand color along any of the fades will require going back and retouching with the Dark Tan. Otherwise, it ends up looking uneven. Also as a side note, it helps to scotchbrite the aircraft lightly too to help even out the color separations and remove over-spray.

Now, to finish it all out, the last few details were painted starting with the turkey feathers and exhaust area. This was painted with ALCLAD dark aluminum . And then, the nose and tail tip details were painted flat black. With the black in the airbrush, some shading was done in the exhaust/turkey feathers area to simulate soot and exhaust residue.

The fully painted airplane came out looking awesome I have to say! The colors of the Israeli camouflage are unmistakable and they really bring the airplane to life. From here, it’s time for markings.

APPLYING THE MARKINGS

Well, the airplane’s painted, the next step is markings. I typically like to make my own markings ( see my discussion about how I do that ), but for this project I opted to have the graphics made by Callie Graphics . It was really about saving time as I didn’t want to go through the whole process of cutting masks and whatnot. The markings that Callie provides come as pre-cut vinyl with transfer tape applied to them. So, it’s really a matter of simply removing the vinyl from the backing, applying the vinyl marking to the model and then removing the transfer tape. The marking were placed down dry. The key is to not press the vinyl to the surface fully until it’s exactly where you want it. In the process, there were a couple of the markings that weren’t quite right that needed to be corrected. Callie would have happily fixed them, but that would have delayed me another week or so and I was getting to the point where I didn’t want to wait having a desire to get this airplane completed for the Warbirds & Classics event . So, for the items needing a little help, I simply made my own decals in the same manner as I covered in my discussion on making markings and then applied them to the model. In the process, I ended up making all of the hebrew nomenclature on the airplane too since I was looking to fill up a decal sheet anyways. I’m glad I did because it looks great with all of that extra detail on it. I didn’t put any kind of gloss clear coat down first where the decals were placed, and so going over a flat paint the decals did silver a bit. If I were to do it again, I would have locally brushed some pledge floor care finish where the decals go so they went down over a glossy surface. I didn’t think about it at the time unfortunately.

So, here’s the final airplane with all of the markings applied. The airplane pulls of a very convincing rendition of the Kfir; better than I expected truthfully.

FINAL THOUGHTS

An airbrush is a great tool to have in your arsenal, so consider getting one if you don’t have one. And know that the more you use it, the more comfortable you will be with it and the better the results you’ll get. It’s something that can be used over and over again for detailing or painting entire models like we’ve done here. Next time, we are going to cover panel lines and weathering and show how to do that. We’ll be using a pencil for panel lines and then some airbrushing and acrylic washes for the weathering which should really bring this airplane to life. Until next time, see you at the field!

The post Foam Kit Bashing 101 Ep4 — Painting Camouflage and Adding Markings appeared first on The RC Geek .

Warbirds & Classics 2017 RC Airshow

Wed, 26 Jul 2017 04:12:00 GMT

It’s hard to believe that the year is half over already! It feels like since the US Scale Master’s Championships last year until now, I haven’t done all that much flying. At least certainly not as much as I could hope for. Between my kids getting into competitive travel sports added to having limited accessibility to our flying field here where I fly my large airplanes, it’s been a little difficult just getting to the field. So when the Scale Squadron’s Warbirds & Classics event peeked around the corner, needless to say I was excited! It was going to be 2 straight days of RC airplane goodness and some much needed flying! Leading up to the event, I had been focusing my spare time in the shop trying to get our little kfir kit bash project finished up for the event and this was her debut outing!

Between the Scale Squadron’s hospitality, the picturesque back drop of OCMA’s Black Starr canyon flying site, and the incredible assortment of airplanes, this event is a must go for me. I look forward to it every year and there’s always a ton of flying to be had. Plus, it’s a chance to spend a weekend flying with my dad which I cherish deeply. The beauty of the event is that there’s a great assortment of airplanes, but there’s never an issue with the flight line backing up causing much of a line. Anytime anyone wants a flight, it usually happens straight away.

The event took place Saturday June 9 thru Sunday June 11. I was there Friday and Saturday with my A-7 Corsair II , ASM Tigercat , and newly finished Kfir . Through those two days, I racked up a bunch of flights in between capturing what video and pictures I could get. I had contemplated heading out Sunday too, but by the end of Saturday following the banquet, I was absolutely exhausted.

The weather Friday was sunny and warm with just a light touch of wind straight down the runway. It was about as perfect as you can get for a day of flying. I think I racked up close to a dozen flights between the 3 airplanes I brought with me for the day. Saturday however, was a different story; the day started out cloudy and breezy. Though not a bad wind, the conditions in the air were pretty turbulent (especially headed into the afternoon) which were bouncing all size of airplanes around a bit. It made for some interesting approaches and passes for sure! Regardless, there was a ton of flying had by all, even in the more difficult conditions on Saturday.

So, here’s a collection of pictures from the event. I only took a few as I was focusing more on video (videos further down). In many cases, the airplanes I captured video of only flew once on Saturday.

Scott Plummer from airshowvid.com was on hand with his camera and captured some incredible pictures! He captured some of the most real looking pictures of some of the aircraft you’d never even guess they were model aircraft! Here’s a collection of what he took. He is a master behind the camera both in video and still photography.

Here’s selection of some of the videos. This is just the first few, I will be adding more on my YouTube channel over the next few weeks.

CARF F4U Corsair – This airplane was just incredible. Moki 250 radial, folding wings, and a wonderfully authentic Pacific Theater paint scheme. Be sure to turn up the sound on this one! This is one of the most authentic sounding Moki installs I’ve heard!

Ziroli P-38 Lightning – This was a previously crashed airframe that had been rebuilt back to flying condition. The airplane was gas powered and featured counter rotating props.

Ziroli Dauntless – This was a really nicely sized Dauntless flown well. The airplane featured the full compliment of scale dive brakes and flaps.

Hangar 9 P-51 – Horizon Team Pilot Tony Quist was rockin’ the skies with his Hangar 9 P-51. I was playing around with some onboard video, which helps show the precision of the maneuvers. Also, the airplane featured an electric onboard starter.

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UMX Adventures – E-Flite UMX A-10 Warthog Flight Review

Wed, 14 Jun 2017 03:27:00 GMT

The UMX Warthog that will have you brrrrrt while you fly!

Ever since the UMX A-5A Vigilante scratch build project with my friend Brent, I have been playing with a few UMX aircraft of late. I have to say that there are some really great and unique UMX airplanes out there and Horizon Hobby has really been leading that charge. The technology is such that you can create some really neat projects at basically 1/32 to 1/24 scale…essentially plastic model sized! So, when the E-flite UMX A-10 arrived at my door step, needless to say, I was stoked! I had been eyeing the airplane for a while, though surprisingly hadn’t seen one fly in person to that point. I had heard that they fly great and so was excited to give the airplane a try.

WHAT’S IN THE BOX?

The cool thing with these micros is they come out of the box completely assembled and ready to go. All that is needed is a flight battery to install and a Spektrum radio (all the E-Flite UMX’s are Bind n’ Fly). Opening the box and unpacking the airplane, you are met with a wonderful 22″ wingspan rendition of the A-10 Warthog. The shape looks good and the paint is nicely done. The camouflage pattern is an interesting choice and looks good on the airframe. It wasn’t a scheme I was too familiar with and doing some research it’s based on an experimental camouflage that was tried during Desert Storm. It was named the “flipper” camouflage scheme but apparently was removed from the airplane before it was deployed to the gulf. From what I could tell though, the real one didn’t have the hog teeth on the nose that this one does. That can be overlooked, after all it’s a warthog, it has to have teeth!

In terms of the fans, the A-10 has a pair of 28mm 5-blade EDFs (the same as what come in the other UMX jets that Horizon offers). They’re about the diameter of a nickel and put out a good amount of power, pushing the airplane around very well. They’re not the most pleasant sounding, but they do work well. All of the UMX’s have a fully integrated receiver and gyro system, so you’ve got AS3X which helps the airplane handle atmospherics. The airplane has fixed removable landing gear out of the box, so if you’re a pavement ops guy like me, then you have the option to use the gear and avoid scraping up the bottom of the airplane. Obviously in the air, it looks way cooler without the chicken legs hanging down, so hand launching is a good option if you’re flying off of grass.

One thing to note about the gear is that the nose gear is pretty soft. So, if you get a side load on the strut or land hard, the strut will flex and/or bend. Also, at 100% servo travel, the steering is very sensitive which compounds the issue. Just some things to be aware of. Reducing the steering throw helps, but ultimately it needs to be stiffened up to get rid of the issue.

AIRCRAFT SETUP & CG

The radio setup quite literally took about 10 minutes. The instruction manual recommends setting up the dual rates at 100% end points (high rates) and 70% end points (low rates). I found through flying the airplane that the 100% rates felt the best. Also, they recommend 10% or so expo all around on that too which felt good in the air. It is important to note that the instructions advise not to change the end points to greater than 100%, or you run the risk of burning up the servos. So, 100% is the max throw you can get and quite frankly, those rates felt quite good to me in the air. Also, if you find yourself adjusting the centering trim significantly, use a pair of needle nose plyers and adjust the bend in the pushrod.

With regards to the CG, it is also set per the manual which states 34-36mm as measured from the wing leading edge root aft. I’m using a 2 cell 800 mah pack which is placed about mid to aft in the nose hatch area. The 800 pack offers flight times well over 5 minutes, so should one want to run a smaller pack that is a possibility. That said, the airplane handles an 800 pack without any problems. It’s worth pointing out to be careful pulling the batteries off of the velcro in the fuselage as the fuselage flexes quite a bit. It’s just something to be aware of to avoid creasing, or even worse breaking, the foam when removing the battery.

FLYING THE UMX A-10 WARTHOG

Considering how small the fans are in this A-10 , the airplane has excellent power. It’s quick yet easy to fly and has good controllability using the 100% end point travel. I was really surprised by the vertical performance as the airplane will climb quite well even directly from takeoff. It’s agile and so will handle any scale aerobatics you want to throw at it. It handles winds decently having the AS3X, but it of course still does get bumped around a bit if it’s turbulent. The airplane looks good in the air but for that extra cool factor, then definitely remove the landing gear. Just make sure you have a nice soft spot to land. The airplane is very light weight which also means there’s some fragility to it.

Regarding the fans, they work “fan”tastic…seriously, they work very well…but they are kind of loud and high pitched at full throttle. Kind of like a swarm of mosquitoes. It’s not a surprise since the fans are extremely small and are spinning at a very high RPM at full throttle. Due to those two things alone, the sound is going to be high pitched. Also, at full throttle, the fans are a little out of synch so there’s a very definitive beat oscillation which exacerbates the sound as well. I think with a little balancing on the rotors that should help smooth it all out and get the fans more in synch and a little more pleasant sounding in the air. This can be done with a very small amount of tape on the spinner that you move around radially until things clean up a bit

FINAL THOUGHTS

These umx airplanes are really a lot of fun and the E-Flite UMX A-10 is a great addition to the fleet. The airplane flies easily but maintains the speed and maneuverability you want for aerobatic flying. Take it to the park and you’ll be the stud of the neighborhood! Plus, it all sits in the box which is great for protecting the airplane during transport and storage. It is worth mentioning that there is a certain fragility to the airframe, but that’s necessary for these UMX aircraft to be light so they fly well. Now, if we could just get some UMX retracts!

The post UMX Adventures – E-Flite UMX A-10 Warthog Flight Review appeared first on The RC Geek .

UMX Adventures – The DIY UMX A-5 Vigilante Team Up

Fri, 02 Jun 2017 00:29:00 GMT

THE ONE WEEK UMX A-5 VIGILANTE BUILD

Once in a long while my good Friend Brent (Corsair Nut) gets to spend some time in San Diego. We’ve been friends since we were kids as his dad used to work for my dad at one point in the shop. I have memories of him, his brother and I running around the back of the shop just doing what kids do. We reconnected about 10 or so years ago and pretty much picked up where we left off! So when he’s in town, there’s always some RC madness going on whether sporadic fly days or projects and it’s great! We’re always encouraging and pushing each other to go for that next project or running ideas off of each other on builds, etc. One thing about Brent, he is a master when it comes to working with foam and he’s shown me a lot of the techniques that I’ve been sharing with you. So, when he mentioned he was coming to town, we talked about teaming up on a quick Ultra Micro (UMX) jet. The subject? The A-5 Vigilante.

We actually planned this project (including sizing some drawings!) over a year ago on one of his previous trips. For me, I have always had this airplane in mind for a build as the proportions are perfect for an RC subject. It has a big wing, big tails and a nice wide fuselage which means good flying characteristics. For a big bird, landing gear are kind of an issue (they always are!), but for a UMX bird like this, that’s no matter. Fixed gear chicken legs here we come!

BTW, I have included the templates for the build further down in the article (no instructions), so if you’d like to give building one a shot, do it!

SCRATCHBUILDING A UMX A-5 VIGILANTE

THE BUILDING PROCESS

First things first, we needed material and electronics. For material that meant buying some depron! I was looking to pick up some 2mm sheets but unfortunately in the process discovered that depron foam is no longer being made. That meant we were at the mercy of what was left which was some slightly warped 1mm. To make the 2mm we needed we just laminated 2 sheets of 1mm with some 3M77 spray glue (sprayed very lightly) which in turn also helped flatten out the material. Brent also brought down some spare 2mm Depron scraps he had too which we also used. For the electronics, we found some second hand E-Flite UMX F-16s and pulled all of the electronics from it. Those airplanes are setup with tailerons which is how the Vigi’s would be setup.

In terms of the design philosophy, the Vigi has a pretty boxy fuselage with quite square cross-sections which meant we could simplify the fuselage into essentially a box with rounded corners. We took a drawing and traced out some templates from it and broke the fuselage into some simplified top, bottom, and side parts. The canopy area and nose would be shaped out of some basic 2 lb density EPS foam.

DOWNLOAD THE TEMPLATES HERE (Print these on 11×17 with page scaling turned off. Also, the included drawing is of the RA-5C which has a notable hump along the spine. We flattened the spine on the templates to make an A-5A from the drawing for simplicity.)

The templates traced out onto drafting mylar, cut out, and then used to cut out the necessary parts from the depron sheets. In terms of the assembly, the fuselage is a straight box build with some extra 2mm depron in the corners for rigidity and the rounded corners (sanded once the fuselage was together). Openings are left on the top for the wing and the bottom for the fan and electronics. The dorsal and stabilizers are a single piece of 2mm depron. The wing, to keep it easy, can be a flat plate made with a single piece of 2mm depron (with a light carbon spar). In our case, Brent opted to airfoil the wings and made some ribs from 1mm depron and sparred and shear webbed it with the 2mm.

The horizontal tail pivots were made from a small carbon fiber rod and the pivots and actuator arms made from some thin sheet styrene. The fan was mounted using a 2mm depron bulkhead and the “brick” receiver mounted just forward of that. Inlet ramps were made from drafting mylar to adapt the square inlet openings to the single fan in the fuselage which helped really clean up the inlet and the ever so important exhaust duct was made from mylar as well. The taileron servos were mounted on either side of the fan inside the fuselage (internal actuation). Lastly, the canopy and nose tip were made from 2 lb density EPS foam. The shape was blocked out using the templates and then then the contours were carved by hand using a small sanding block. Once shaped and everything was together, some light spackle was applied as needed to clean everything up and then sanded smooth.

With the construction done, all of the spackled areas were sealed up with a couple light coats of minwax polycrylic and then our UMX Vigi’s were painted with an airbrush. Brent is all about the high vis dayglow orange, so he went with a bright NASA scheme. For myself, I opted for an operational unit from VAH-1. The tail flash came out way better than I expected it to. Brent even went so far to add some panel lines to the airplanes which also meant, we had to do some airbrush weathering too!

MAIDEN TIME!

Running on about 4 hours worth of sleep, it was an early adventure out to the Wingmasters RC field for the maiden flights on these new screamers. The sun gently kissed the wildflowers of the field as it rose across the hilly terrain surrounding the runway as we arrived. Not wasting any time, we promptly unpacked and started shooting photos and video of these new creations we had made! This was my first venture to the field following my hand injury and I was FAR from recuperated. That said, I was pleasantly surprised to be able to hold both my camera and transmitter well enough to operate them (not at the same time of course!). That meant, game on, I was filming and I was flying!

First up was Brent to maiden his blinding dayglow NASA A-5. He taxied the airplane out onto the runway lining it up on the center line. After quick check, he brought the throttle forward and away she flew! The airplane was off the ground in about 50ft and Brent was giggling like a school girl knowing right away that the airplane was a winner. The airplane needed very little trim and performed excellently! We couldn’t believe how well the airplane flew in fact having great speed (faster than the F-16) and good vertical. Also, the glide ratio was far better than expected too.

I was up next to hopefully repeat Brent’s success. It was a little different feel on the transmitter for me as I typically pinch the sticks, but was only able to thumb the throttle and steering based on my busted finger. That said, the airplane steered great and lifted off the ground easily! My A-5 was a little more out of rig than his and so required a bit of right trim for level flight. Also, it felt a tad nose heavy too. That said, once it was all trimmed out, the airplane flew awesome! It’s such a great shape in the air and the taileron control provides plenty of authority for aerobatics. The fan is totally a dentist drill, but no matter because it pushes these airplanes wonderfully.

A FUN WEEK

These kind of diversions are what are so great about this hobby. Having a blast with a good friend and building something new and exciting in the process. This project may have in fact inspired a couple much larger versions to be built, but that remains to be seen yet. I have always liked the looks of the Vigilante so it’s great to have such a unique specimen of one in the hangar. Good times and good memories!

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Foam Kit Bashing 101 Ep3 — Pilot Painting and Cockpit Details

Wed, 10 May 2017 03:26:00 GMT

How to Paint a Pilot Bust and Add Simple Cockpit Details

Check out the full series of videos and articles at: thercgeek.com/kitbashing

One of the features that always gets inspected on a scale model is the cockpit. There are so many gadgets in the cockpit of a full sized aircraft, it’s fun to see what was modeled. Yet, when it comes to ARFs and foamies, we’re lucky to get a decent pilot let alone a decent looking cockpit! So, in this episode of our Foam Kit Bashing Series, we’re going to talk about some quick and easy ways to dress up an otherwise minimalist cockpit. The whole idea here are simple things that can be done that add big results. We’ll cover full scratch building of a cockpit in a future episode. Oh, and in case you missed it, last time we talked about the whole construction process of converting a Freewing Mirage 2000 into an Isreali Kfir . This airplane has really transformed and looks awesome as a kfir.

Before prepping and painting the airframe (we’ll cover painting in our next episode), we really should work out the cockpit interior first since we need to pull the canopy off the airframe to work on it. It’s better to do this earlier in the process just in case we mess something up it will be an easier fix. The base cockpit provided with the Mirage 2000 is ok, but there are definitely a few issues that we’re going to fix. First off, the pilot is just too small for scale. To solve this, we’re going to replace him with a 1/12 scale Castle 5 bust which comes from my folks at JetHangar.com and show you how to paint him (this is one of the pilots I manufacture for my folks in sizes ranging from 1/18 scale all the way up to 1/6 scale). The second thing we’re going to do is show how to make the cockpit a little more “popcorn” proof and then detail it a little bit to make it a little more Kfir representative. The stock cockpit is black and inside a sealed compartment and had already “popcorned” up…so, now is our time to fix that.

HOW TO PAINT A “CASTLE 5” PILOT BUST

Painting a nice looking pilot is not a difficult thing to do and is something that can actually be done pretty quickly. We first off need a selection of paint brushes . I have a number of paint brushes that I turn to when I’m painting a pilot. I’ll use a wider, kind of square brush for the large areas and then will turn to much smaller brushes for the detail painting. Also, we need a selection of paints. The “Castle 5” instructions show all the paints needed from the Testors Model Masters brands which I usually have on hand. Now, my philosophy in painting these is to paint deep to shallow. What I mean is that I’ll paint the colors in the deeper recesses first which includes the primary flight suit and helmet, and then paint the individual details one by one finishing up with the highest protruding details last. Also, as I’m painting, it’s important to overpaint all of the areas in the corners so that there’s none of the under color showing on the finished product. That allows us to go back and touch up all of the intersecting corners and lines with the other colors wherever we need to. It’s easier to get a clean line while painting a protruding detail than it is to try and go back and clean up a line in a deep recess. Note too that if you accidentally overpaint any of the other colors, you can simply go back and touch it up. I do this a lot because rarely does it come out perfect the first time.

Once all of the primary painting is done some dry brushing was done on the pilot suit and details which really helped add a some extra dimension and realism to the pilot. If you’re not familiar with dry brushing as a technique, it is the act of taking a brush that has had most of the paint wiped off of it with a paper towel and then brushing it over a model. What it does is leave a small amount of residual paint over highlighted areas and gives the illusion of added depth to details. For pilot painting, I like to use a little bit of the base color that was used for painting onto the back of a paper cup, mix in a little white, and then use that lightened color to dry brush over that base color that I used on the pilot. That lightens all of the highlights on the pilot and really makes it look notably better. For example, I used some lightened Dark Green and dry brushed that over the flight suit, I used lightened Euro 1 Grey to dry brush over the straps, and lightened Olive Drab (you can even use the Armor Sand) to dry brush over the flotation and survival gear, etc. Experiment with different colors to get the desired look. Dry brushing is a very handy technique to have in your arsenal and is something you can use quite a bit. There are additional things you can do to add even more realism to pilots like oil paint washes and such, but that’s not something I’ve played with much. There are some good tutorials on that over at Aces of Iron .

With the dry brushing done, the last thing done was to hand paint the squadron insignia on the patch on the right shoulder (there’s a small molded detail on the pilot for this). Well, I should say that it was attempted anyways…

Before painting the visor (this is the very last thing painted), I sprayed the whole pilot with a flat clear coat ( Testors Dullcote works). This helps even everything out and give a uniform sheen. Also, by doing this all of the dry brushing and detail painting really pops. The very last thing done is painting the visor. I use a high gloss graphite metallic paint here as that gives it a nice high gloss and translucent appearance. Note that if the finish of the visor isn’t as high gloss as you’d like, you can paint Pledge Floor Care Finish (used to be Future Floor Acrylic) over it. I’ve also heard of guys applying epoxy too, just try to avoid getting air in the epoxy as you mix it.

“POPCORN” PROOFING AND COCKPIT DETAILING

Now that the pilot is painted, all he needs now is a fresh new office to work in. The stock Mirage 2000 cockpit is a decent base to start with and with a few extra goodies can be made into a nice enough looking cockpit. Unfortunately, it is painted black and so all those lovely EPO foam beads had already swelled up like balloons… That, of course, HAD to be fixed and in a way that would keep it from returning in the future.

To hide the texture, I simply covered all of the exposed areas with thin cardstock . This included all of the framing around the cockpit tub, the sides of the seat and head rest, the instrument panel hood, and the canopy rear bulkhead. I used the cockpit tub to trace and measure the areas needing to be covered and then used 3M 77 spray glue was used to tack down all of the cardstock covers. The cardstock used is about the thickness of an index card as anything thicker would be difficult to work with and form. Ultimately, what adding the cardstock does is hide all of the unsightly texture and keep it from reappearing in the future; it essentially makes the cockpit “popcorn proof.” Then, with the primary cardstock elements in place (except for those to be painted black), the tub was painted Aircraft Grey . From there, all of the black elements were painted and added separately.

To make the instrument panel, I found an image of a Kfir C7 panel and scaled that to fit the Freewing instrument panel ( download the file ). It was printed out and cut out to be spray glued on. Before placing in into the cockpit however, the center section of the panel was cut out and glued to a piece of 1/8″ balsa that was painted black. This was to give it a little dimension simulate the raised center section of the full size cockpit.

With everything in place, I finalized all of the painting of the interior painting which was primarily finishing out the ejection seat colors. The seat is a Martin Baker Mk10, so found a picture online and used that for reference as well as took some artistic license as needed. The head rest was painted Euro I Gray and the seat back painted Olive Drab . Now, to finish it all out, I did some dry brushing all around like we did with the pilot and then applied a clear coat. Lastly, a HUD glass detail was installed using some parts I had available from my A-7 cockpit kit. You can use some triangular cut pieces of sheet styrene to accomplish the sides and then of course a clear piece of styrene for the HUD glass. The pics below show the fully finished cockpit.

With the cockpit tub completed, the Castle 5 pilot was installed by gluing a balsa wood platform between the sidewalls of the cockpit tub and then gluing the pilot to it. Lastly, the canopy was glued back on to the airframe with some Formula 560 canopy glue .

Just to reiterate as we close, the whole intent here was to cover some simple things that can be done that make big differences in the looks of a model. Cockpit scratch building is one of my pleasures, so we will go into much more detail in the future when we get to that point on our competition Skyray build . For this Kfir, this cockpit is good enough and is a huge improvement to the stock setup. Next time we’ll cover painting the airplane. A kfir has to have Isreali camouflage and so we’ll show how best paint the airplane. See you next time!

The post Foam Kit Bashing 101 Ep3 — Pilot Painting and Cockpit Details appeared first on The RC Geek .

Assembly & Flight Review – E-Flite 1.2m P-47 Thunderbolt Razorback

Wed, 05 Apr 2017 04:07:00 GMT

E-Flite’s Mighty “Jug,” Razorback Edition!

When someone mentions the allied fighters from World War II, I would imagine the P-51 Mustang is usually first on people’s minds. However, the less glamorous P-47 Thunderbolt was ever so much a workhorse in the war having operated in every theater. It was a fast and heavy weight fighter built like a tank that could withstand an astounding amount of punishment! Combined with it’s eight .50 caliber machine guns while being able to carry 3,400 rounds (compared to the Mustang’s 6 guns and 1,800 rounds), it was a deadly machine. Add in the aircraft’s external stores capability and the P-47 could deliver about half the payload of a B-17 when gully loaded! If it was lacking in some way, it would have been the range which was roughly half that of the P-51. Being a large powerful fighter makes it harder to run a marathon I suppose.

Needless to say, the P47 makes for a darn cool model and has always been a popular subject. It makes sense given the wide gear stance and wonderful proportions of the design. So, when the E-Flite 1.2m P-47 Thunderbolt Razorback came to market, there was no question that it would be an awesome flying warbird. Especially given Horizon Hobby’s track record of great flying P-47’s in multiple sizes.

ASSEMBLY REVIEW

The 1.2m P-47 comes wonderfully packaged and pulling the airplane from the box, I
don’t think I noted really any shipping damage. The parts count is really low having a single piece wing and two piece stabilizer. Assembly I think only took about 5 to 10 minutes as there really are only 3 steps: 1) Install the horizontal stab with two screws, 2) install the wing with 4 screws, 3) then hook up and bind the radio. It really is that simple. There were no issues at all during assembly and I think getting the radio sorted out took longer than actually putting the airplane together.

The P-47 Thunderbolt is a classic shape of pure power and E-Flite has done a great job characterizing the airplane. They’ve engineered the dual segmented doors on the main gear which show great attention to detail. The overall finish paint scheme look quite nice (some, but generally minimal foam texture). They also include a full assortment of external stores having a set of bombs and rocket tubes as well as a centerline fuel tank which look awesome on the airplane. P-47s were work horses in world war 2, so it really gives the airplane a great look with all of that installed. The paint scheme itself represents Howard Curran’s Kansas Tornado II which looks good and is pretty unique. I especially like to angry Mr Hanky on the fuselage…ok, it’s a tornado, but there is kind of a resemblance…

I had some time while waiting to get the airplane to the field and the uniform finish I felt needed something extra. So, I decided to do a little airbrush weathering. I’m putting together a separate video and article for that but in short, I first airbrushed some ALCLAD dark aluminum on some of the different panels to get some color variation on the natural metal finish. From there, I used some thinned out flat black for the rest of the shading and stains. A warbird like this has to be dirty, but when it comes to weathering, I find that less is more! If I were to do it again, I probably would have used a light aluminum instead of the dark as those panels ended up darker than I would have liked. But, overall the weathering definitely adds to the already nice looks of the model.

AIRCRAFT CONTROL SURFACE SETUP

For the control surface setup, the control throws are shown in the beginning of the manual (It actually took me a little while to find as they’re usually listed at the end). E-Flite recommends setting up 100% and 70% dual rates which I found was a good place to start. If you’re not familiar with warbirds or warbird flying, setting up multiple rates on your radio is highly recommended. I’m using a Dx18 , so have the ability to assign triple rates and will typically start with the max throw recommended in the manual as my high rate and then reduce it from there. Also it’s worth noting that, sometimes it’s better to reduce your max travel than to add exponential. So keep that in mind too.

Ultimately through flying the airplane I found that the max rates for the elevator were good, but I found the ailerons a bit sensitive for my liking and so dropped down to my lowest rate. Here’s what I’m using for throws. Note that I regularly get questions on the device I use for the control surface measurements. I’m simply using a Great Planes Accu-Throw Deflection Meter .

Elevator – 1/2″ with 15% expo

Aileron – 7/16″ with 15% Expo

Rudder – 1″ with 15% expo to desensitize the steering

Flaps – 7/16″ mid, 1-1/2″ full with about a 10-15% down elevator mix which translates to about 3/32″ down elevator with full flaps (note that if you land with SAFE Select on, it inputs down elevator which accounts for this mix, so I recommend setting up the mix to off when SAFE Select is active)

CG LOCATION

If flying the airplane on 3 cells, adding nose weight will be necessary or flying larger capacity pack works too. With a 4s 3300-3600 pack, the airplane CG’s about right pushing the battery all the way forward. Since I was flying both 3s and 4s for this review, I taped about 3 oz to the 3s battery so that I could swap batteries without any change to the CG. I’m using an E-flite 3s 3200 and their newer Thrust 4s 3200’s . The nice thing on the thrust packs is that they have a built in LED battery charge level indicator which is a pretty darn cool feature.

BnF & “SAFE SELECT”

The P-47 Thunderbolt in this review is the “Bind and Fly” version which includes a receiver with it out of the box (the “Plug ‘n Play” version you install your own receiver). Also, as a part of that it includes a learning feature known as “SAFE Select.” What the feature does is essentially limit the aircraft from pitching over or rolling on it’s back. The intent here is to keep the aircraft from getting into an attitude that could cause you from losing the airplane. This P-47 is a great kind of next level airplane and so the “SAFE Select” is there to help those that may not be as comfortable flying warbirds yet. I should note though, that “SAFE Select” is not a replacement for good old fashioned flight instruction. If you are looking to learn and want help, I highly recommend connecting with a local club as they have flight instructors available specifically to help folks learn and become more proficient flying.

If you plan to use SAFE Select, I highly recommend assigning it to a switch so that it can be turned on and off as desired. Assigning the switch can be accomplished 2 ways: 1) move the desired switch you want it assigned to 5 times right after the aircraft establishes link during the bind process, 2) assign it any other time by cornering both sticks inwards to each other and then flipping the desired switch 5 times. Note that when you use the method where you corner the sticks, you must have your dual rate switches selected such that you are at 100% end point travel for those channels, otherwise it won’t work. SAFE Select can be assigned to any switch that is assigned on channels 5-9. So, if you don’t have a switch assigned on the channel you plan to use, you’ll need to assign one. I recommend using a channel that is not assigned to any of the aircraft controls. So, ideally you have at least a 7 channel radio and can assign the 7th channel independently. Lastly, note that neither AS3X or SAFE Select will be fully activated until the throttle has been brought above 25%. You won’t be able to check that it all works right unless you’ve done that.

FLYING THE E-FLITE P-47D THUNDERBOLT

Truth be told, I’ve never seen a P-47 Thunderbolt that didn’t fly just rock solid in the air and this E-flite P-47 is no exception. The airplane is a real honest flyer and will handle any scale aerobatics you can throw at it. It looks great in the air and really has the presence of a larger model flying around and the addition of the external stores really sets the airplane apart from other airplanes in this size range. It helps too that the P-47 has a nice and wide gear stance so ground handling is quite good.

On 3s, performance is decent having good speed and vertical but I found myself flying mostly full throttle on 3 cells as this gave the airplane good penetration for flying aerobatics. This resulted in flight times no more than about 5 minutes. On 4s however, the performance is pretty insane as the airplane basically has unlimited vertical and quite a bit more speed. I found myself flying around 50-60% throttle with 4 cells which gave the perfect maneuvering speed. It’ll do a wonderful knife edge and having the extra power on 4s helps the airplane pull through that maneuver excellently. I found that the airplane would fall out of the knife edge after a bit on 3 cells. Interestingly, since I was flying mostly full throttle on 3s and partial throttle on 4s, I was getting better flight times on 4s even though it was pulling more amps at full throttle.

Keep in mind, on 4 cells, the system is pulling more current than the 40 amp ESC is rated for. So for longevity, it’s probably worth upgrading to about a 70 amp ESC . I noted about 70 amps peak current draw from a fresh pack on 4 cells and about 43 amps on 3 cells. Note that these are peak values and will settle to lower current draws as the peak charge drops down. That said, an ESC is well worth the upgrade, because the airplane is a blast on 4 cells. I should note too that all flights thus far have been done with the stock ESC and were mostly performed on 4 cells. At the publishing of this article, the airplane has about a dozen flights on it.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Well, there we have the E-Flite 1.2m P-47 Thunderbolt Razorback , what a fun little airplane! E-flite has really put together a nicely engineered and awesome flying airplane with a ton of cool features. Plus with it comes the customer support that you would expect from Horizon Hobby, so you know you’re always covered if you have an issue. Also, if you’re still new and in the market for a next step airplane, this is an excellent option. The SAFE technology is there to help, but the goal would be not to rely on it but rather use it as an additional aid to support the flight instruction you’re receiving. Next time, I’ll hopefully have our little discussion on the weathering we did followed by a more in depth discussion on SAFE and ways to use it. See you guys at the field!

The post Assembly & Flight Review – E-Flite 1.2m P-47 Thunderbolt Razorback appeared first on The RC Geek .

Foam Kit Bashing 101 Ep 2 — The Mirage to Kfir Transformation

Wed, 08 Mar 2017 04:57:00 GMT

Birth of a “Lion Cub!”

Check out the full series of videos and articles at: thercgeek.com/kitbashing

Well, it’s been a little while since my tease at kit bashing a Freewing Mirage into an IAI Kfir (“Kfir” is Hebrew for “Lion Cub”). We started with an assembly & flight review for the Freewing Mirage 2000 which out of the box flies awesome. However, the Kfir is such an awesome looking airplane and with canards and a little extra wing area we’ll add in the bashing process, I can only imagine that the airplane will fly even better! So, in this article, we’re covering the transformation process of turning this airplane into a Kfir and we’re using 3D printed parts as a part of that as well as employing some traditional building methods. Through this whole process we will be employing the foam refinishing method I covered in our How to Refinish a Foam Warbird series . I don’t plan to get into much detail about the foam prep work itself in this series as I want to focus on the kit bashing aspect to compliment the refinishing we did previously and use the next couple articles to go into more detail on painting, simple panel lines and weathering.

Now, one of the reasons that it’s been a little while is, in addition to of course a few distractions, is that I’ve been working out the 3D printed parts with a friend of mine. CAD modeling takes time and there were a number of parts that we ended up making. These include printing a new nose, the exhaust shroud and turkey feathers, the dorsal inlet, external wing tanks, lower ventral tank, and the afterburner cooling scoops and inlets on the fuselage. As a whole, we printed a total of 23 individual pieces for the conversion (many of the parts required multiple pieces to be printed).

THE KIT BASHING PROCESS

Before getting too into this, it’s important to talk a little bit about the transformation process. To start, the airplane had to be stripped down. This was done exactly the same as was done on our Lady Alice P-51 re-finish . While we were at it, I chose to fill in all the panel lines (they’re oversized and represent a Mirage 2000 anyhow) again like what we did with “Lady Alice” (the filler simply HobbyLite Balsa Filler ). In terms of materials I’m simply using pink insulation foam (though, maybe it’s purple?) you can get at Home Depot along with balsa wood to craft the parts we’re not 3d printing. Depron is a good option too if you have it. Also, it really helps to have a decent drawing of the airplane you’re trying to model. I always start my projects with a good drawing and will usually search around in books and online to find one that I’m happy with. I will also look for a good plastic model too. This way, we have a tangible visualization of what the end result should look like. We’re turning one thing into something else so it’ll never be exact, but we can get it to look close. In this case, I made an overlay in photoshop of the Kfir and Mirage 2000 just to see where the primary variances were. Obviously, they’re different airplanes and we’ll have to make some concessions for scale, but we can get this Mirage 2000 to look like a very convincing representation of the Kfir without too much extra effort because the configurations are close to begin with. Having the drawing is helpful also in that it can be used to directly craft parts from. I like to enlarge the components needing to be crafted to the model scale so that it takes away most of the guess work on the planform shapes. This makes it a simple process of using the enlarged drawing to cut out the necessary parts and then shape them.

As mentioned, we used 3D printing for a number of parts, but I want to point out that most of the items printed can also be crafted out of foam or any other medium. To give you an idea, for the nose, it’s a matter of blocking out the basic side and top nose profiles and then sanding the nose to shape with a sanding block. For the aft exhaust shroud, that can be cut out of the existing fuselage by cutting the profile out and then clearing away a bit of foam to get the appropriate thicknesses at the back end, etc. The beauty of a kit bash like this is that we can make it whatever we want in whatever fashion! So I encourage you to experiment and have fun and don’t be afraid to fail because that’s how we learn and improve at this. The truth of the matter is too, when it comes to building, there are very few things that can’t be fixed. To give you an idea, here’s a similar conversion done by my friend where he carved the components from foam.

WINGS, CANARDS, AND DORSAL…OH MY!

That said, with the model stripped down and the panel lines all filled in, it’s time to get cracking on the conversion. In order to properly make this a Kfir, we’ve got to add all of the right features which are really what set the airplane apart from just your base mirage design. To explain it technically, we have to add pointy things and extra stuff…

Modifying the Wings

The wings were tackled first. In looking at the Kfir compared to the Mirage 2000 (and even the Mirage III), the kfir has a very distinct leading edge sawtooth at about the 2/3 span location. So to tackle that, it was a matter of blocking out that sawtooth shape with some excess so it can be embedded it into the kit wing from our Home Depot foam (using a blown up drawing of the Kfir wing as a guide) and gluing it into the kit wing. An appropriate portion of the kit wing leading edge was removed (I cut back to the first panel line on the top of the wing) and the new Kfir LE foam block was glued in its place with some 5 min epoxy . From there, a sanding block was used to sand the sawtooth LE contour to match the kit wing contour. IT’s important to use a sanding block and sand the LE as a whole so that we get a nice straight and smooth transition. Trying to hand sand will result in a wavy surface.

Also looking at the Kfir planform to the Mirage, the elevons on the Kfir have a slightly larger chord. So, to simulate this, I glued a 3/4″ wide by 1/4″ thick balsa wood strip to the trailing edge and sanded it to shape. The nice benefit of this is that it not only increases the wing area (not a bad thing for this model), but it also allows us to sand the TE down to a thinner point vs. the 1/4″ thick TE you get out of the box. One thing to note is that the full size airplane uses conical camber for vortex enhanced lift and so actually has a fairly drooped leading edge at the tip that results in a down turned trailing edge. So, while sanding the TE, I did a little treatment with filler and the balsa trailing edge to get the rounded trailing edge at the tip. I didn’t fully characterize the drooped LE based on the stock wing shape, but I wasn’t too concerned about that.

Building the Canards

The literal translation of the word “canard” is “duck” which originates in French. How it became associated with a small flying surface forward of the main wing on an airplane, I’ll never know, but the Kfir has “ducks” and we need to build them! The canard design on the Kfir is very distinctive and is one of the reasons that I like the airplane so much. It is a fixed (non-moving) lifting canard which helps the turning capability of the airplane. In fact, they realized a pretty significant turn radius improvement compared to similar airframes without them.

Making the Dorsal

For the dorsal, I went back and forth about whether to build it up from balsa, or just carve it from foam and I ultimately decided to just go with the latter. For a one off part it was the path of least resistance for me. Also, by making it from foam, it allowed me to easily custom fit the base to the fuselage and the forward area for the 3D printed dorsal inlet as I went vs having to figure it out up front. To carve the dorsal from foam, I first off blocked out the planform (gotta have that drawing!) from the foam sheet and then sanded it down into a symmetric airfoil root and tip. It’s actually not a difficult process, but it helps to have a nice coarse file for the majority of the heavy lifting and then a good quality sanding block for the final shaping. Oh, and expect to make LOTS of foam dust! In the process, it’s important to mark the center chord line at the root and tip so you have a good reference for the symmetry. Also, be sure to sand the surface with a sanding block as a whole so as to ensure you have even spanwise thickness. If you focus on the root or tip too much, you’ll end up having nice contours root and tip, but the whole center section will have a bulge to it when you look at it from the front. Placing a straight edge over the surface spanwise will give you an idea if this is an issue. To finish out the dorsal, it needs some structural reinforcement. To do that, I replaced the trailing edge with a 3/4″ wide strip of balsa wood (similar to what we did on the wing). From there I added a vertical grain shear web through the center using 3/16″ thick balsa. I then tied that to some longitudinal 1/8″ thick balsa cap spars that were embedded into the foam and glued to the back of the shear web. This was necessary for the bending and torsional strength of the whole surface.

Lastly, it was necessary to work out the trailing edge wing root fairings. The Mirage 2000 has an extended fairing which the Kfir doesn’t have, plus we’ve added a nice and sharp trailing edge, so we definitely needed an update. To make it, I simply cut the kit fairing back to where the wood trailing edge mates to the fuselage and glued a piece of foam back that was in the appropriate planform. From there, it was sanded in cross-section to create the transition and then glued into the slot in the fuselage. It was then finished off with some filler so that everything blended well and looked right.

PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER

With all of the components built, it’s time to put it all together to finish the transformation. For the large parts (dorsal and canards), epoxy is the glue of choice. When time is needed to set the parts, then 30 minute epoxy is a necessity. The last thing you want is to have the epoxy start to set before the parts are even ready!

3D Printed Nose, Exhaust Shroud and Other Details

To transform the fuselage into that of a Kfir, the first things done were to glue the 3D printed nose and exhaust shroud on. The nose was a super easy installation since it was designed to simply replace the stock nose. So, it was glued on and then filled around to flare the contour (I used my trusty balsa filler ) so we get a nice transition. Also, to finish out the chin fairing on the underside, I added a small foam block to the back of the lower chin and sanded it to shape to complete out the nose side profile.

For the exhaust shroud and turkey feathers, it was simply a matter of cutting the back part of the fuselage off at the last primary panel line and then gluing the 3D printed shroud on in its place (again, this was the design intent). The fuselage as a whole is shorter on the Kfir, so this accomplishes that. Also, when gluing, it was important to ensure it was glued on straight with the drag chute at top dead center.

From there, I worked out the 3D printed wing tank installation. I pulled the magnets from the tanks and pylons that come in the kit and then used them for the 3d printed Kfir tanks. It was all done with regular CA, nothing special really. The key was to just ensure that the magnets when both are together mate up flat and square to the top of the pylon so it sits right in the wing slot. So, when glueing them in, I glued the magnets in the tank pylons first, but with the two mating magnets together. This allowed me to set the magnets in the pylon as necessary so that the mated magnets were flat across the pylon.

With the underside work done, it was finally time to glue the dorsal. To do that, it was first necessary to fill in all of the excess space where the stock dorsal sat. That was done by tracing the base of the stock dorsal onto our Home Depot foam and then cutting out the center for the new Kfir dorsal. The contact surface is the base within the fuselage, so the additional foam around the dorsal helps give it a little more structural rigidity. Note too that I removed a portion of the dorsal trailing edge at the base for the drag chute fairing and also squared off the nose to mate up with the 3D printed dorsal inlet. It was important to ensure that the dorsal inlet and dorsal surfaces mated up well before physically gluing the dorsal on so lots of dry fitting and sanding was done until it all fit right. So, with the wings on the airplane and the airplane leveled on the bench, I used 30 minute epoxy to glue the dorsal in place. A triangle was used to align the dorsal trailing edge to make sure it was perfectly vertical.

From there, the drag chute fairing was completed using some spare foam and filler. I roughed out the contours in foam separate from the airplane with a sanding block and then did the final shape work with the parts glued on the airplane. There was a bit of filler needed to get a nice clean transition but it came out nice and looks about right. It took a couple passes of sanding and filling to get the final shape I was looking for.

For the canards, the position was determined simply by measuring 1/4″ up from the slot for the Mirage 2000 strakes and marking a line parallel to that slot. A Dremel with a 1/8″ cutter bit was used to cut a slot into the foam and then the canards were glued into the slot with about a 1/4″ material recessed into the foam. Again, this was all done with the airplane leveled on the bench so as to ensure everything was square. Also, since I was using 5 minute epoxy, I glued one canard at a time. There wouldn’t be enough time to do both at once. Once in, filler was used to clean it all up.

To finish it all off I made a quick pitot tube out of concentric brass tubing and 1/16″ diameter wire. I soldered a small wood screw in one end which serves as the attachment into the 3D Printed nose chin. It’s a 1/8″ diameter tube with smaller sizes used to create the general shape. Bevels were sounded around the edges as needed to get the correct look and shape. A “looks about right” approach was taken, so nothing too crazy.

GIVE IT A TRY!

I know it was a lot to cover, but we now have a fully assembled Kfir! In terms of time, it really wasn’t that much, maybe 20 hours at the most for the physical conversion work (the article and video took longer to put together than the actual build work). Next time we’ll cover some quick and easy cockpit detailing including painting and installing a new, more detailed pilot, which really help improve the looks while also hide the unsightly texture that is so common in an EPO airplane cockpit. See you next time!

The post Foam Kit Bashing 101 Ep 2 — The Mirage to Kfir Transformation appeared first on The RC Geek .

Family Build 3 – Bandai Star Wars X-Wing, Snowspeeder, and AT-ST

Wed, 22 Feb 2017 05:16:00 GMT

Not that long ago, in a garage fairly close by…

As far as the kits, they are made by Bandai and they have a whole series of Star Wars kits. They are of a “press fit” design which means, no glue, but they don’t snap together either, so if you happen to mess something up, you’re able to pull things apart. However, there remains sufficient friction that everything holds together tightly. In fact, the engineering behind it is excellent and the fit is pretty killer. The other thing is, everything is molded in color. So, there are multiple sprues of different colors and in building the models, the different colored parts fill out the appropriate colors on the model. They also include stickers and water transfer decals that finish out the rest of the colors, so depending on which way you want to go you can choose either one (I went for decals, my kids went for stickers). Given all of the different colored sprues, it meant that there were quite a few small parts. Also, the instructions didn’t follow too logical an order the way it was laid out, so my kids did have a little difficulty with some of that. But, being that everything pressed together, fixing any mistakes were able to be remedied easily enough. Lastly, the kits come with an awesome display stand and base, so you can create a nice little action diorama from it. As a whole, the kits are incredibly detailed, fit together beautifully, and really build into some awesome looking models.

In the process of building, we explored some weathering techniques. I busted out
my old artists charcoal and showed the kids how to use it to create the effect of dirt and grime on the models. I rubbed the charcoal on some sandpaper to create dust and then we used a short haired brush to apply it. We wiped it off as desired and the dust would remain in the details and panel lines. Once happy with the results, we clear coated the models which is a must. Also, with the bases that come with it, we explored some airbrushing and acrylic washes which I touch on individually below. A Star Wars model HAS to be dirty!

X-WING (Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope)

SNOWSPEEDER (Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back)

AT-ST (Star Wars Episode VI: The Return of the Jedi)

The post Family Build 3 – Bandai Star Wars X-Wing, Snowspeeder, and AT-ST appeared first on The RC Geek .

2017 AMA Expo West RC Airplane Trade Show

Wed, 08 Feb 2017 04:32:00 GMT

It’s always a good time at the Expo!

When January rolls around, that always means it’s AMA Expo time! It’s hard to believe that’s it’s actually been a year already since the last show . Every year the expo is held at the Ontario Convention Center and features a bunch of vendors and manufacturers in the RC industry so it’s always an interesting show to head to. It’s more than that though. The RC community is like a family, so the show feels almost like a reunion as I get a chance to catch up with friends that I don’t get to see but just once or twice a year plus meeting new friends too.

What was cool too was that as a part being a presenter, the AMA provided a booth space which gave me the opportunity to visit with so many folks, it was really awesome! I brought my trusty Robo3D printer along with as many jets as I could fit in my van for a display. I was printing some fun placards to give away and having the printer running the whole show really garnered quite a bit of interest. I brought along my kit bashed Kfir (from the Freewing Mirage 2000 ) and so it was a great way to introduce some applications for 3D printing since many of the conversion parts were printed on the Robo.

EXPO VENDORS

ASM Tigercat

One of the vendors I was very intrigued by was Graupner USA . Graupner has had a growing presence in the US and have a very nice line of telemetry radios and equipment (servos, esc’s, etc all with built in telemetry). With the absence of Airtronics now, I’ve been in the market for a good radio replacement and these certainly look good, especially for the price! I have their 12 channel MZ-24 Pro radio in my hands and so will be exploring what it can do.

STATIC MODEL COMPETITION

What I always gravitate to is of course the scale stuff. They have a static model competition, so I’ll always cruise the aisle to see what’s been entered and there’s always some nicely built aircraft. Here are just a few of the aircraft entered

Well, if you’ve never been to this show, it’s certainly one to put on the list if you’re in the Southern California area. Until next year AMA Expo West!

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FlightLine RC F7F-3 Tigercat Assembly & Flight Review

Wed, 21 Dec 2016 02:29:00 GMT

Another Grumman Cat? Heck YES!

When I learned about the new FlightLine RC F7F-3 Tigercat coming to market, I knew that it was going to be a must have for me! At 1600mm wingspan, the size is great being able to transport in one piece reasonably with a price that is pretty hard to beat for what you get. The truth is, the Tigercat has always been a favorite of mine. There’s just something about two Pratt & Whitney Double Wasp engines singing through the air while pulling around the skinniest airplane you can fit a pilot into that screams awesomeness! The cool thing with this model too is that it is in fact officially licensed by Northrop-Grumman and was designed from much of the original Grumman data. So, it doesn’t get much more scale than that; pulling the airplane from the box, there’s definitely no disputing the shape on it!

ASSEMBLY REVIEW

For the size of the airplane, the FlightLine RC F7F-3 Tigercat actually comes in a reasonably sized box. They’ve done a good job at reducing it down and getting it into a fairly compact shipping space. Pulling the airplane from the box, the parts count is nice and low. Essentially you have a two piece wing, a two-piece fuselage, two nacelles and propellers, a two piece horizontal stabilizer and all the necessary hardware to put the airframe together. All servos and landing gear (including doors) are pre-installed which is what you would expect from the FlightLine RC brand.

In putting the airplane together, it only requires a total of 16 fasteners. The first thing I did was to glue the rear vertical fin to the forward fuselage (I used 5 minute epoxy ). From there, I fastened the nacelles to the wings, then the wings to the fuselage and wrapped it up by fastening the horizontal stabilizer to the fuselage. Voilà, instant Tigercat! From there, I started the radio programming so as to drop the landing gear and I was pleasantly surprised with a nice looking set of landing gear and fully functioning landing gear doors. I do wish that the gear were shock absorbing (not a big deal) and the main gear strut covers were a little larger diameter just for scale appearance, but that is just a personal preference. As is, the gear covers on the wire struts look decent and the functioning gear doors are awesome…oh, and the tires are the correct size! With the basic programming done, I wrapped it all up by placing the markings onto the airframe. This was the first model programmed into my new Dx18 , so in terms of the full radio programming it took a little longer to program than typical as I got used to the programming. Even so, assembly only took a couple hours total including programming the radio. Note that I had to strong arm the horizontal tails a little bit to get the screw holes to line up correctly. Otherwise, assembly was very simple and straight forward. Also noteworthy is that the wing servos are all connected into an electronics board which reduces the multiple connections into a single multi-use cable on each wing. This works at really simplifying the servo setup. The only drawback is that there are 4 servos for the 4 flap segments, so you don’t have any individual adjustment of the servos. I noticed an asymmetry between the left outer flap element not deflecting as much (only 3-4mm). That said, I flew it as it was and it was no issue at all.

Now what really struck me the most about the airplane was the shape, it really is beautiful. All the right curves in all the right places and they’ve got some really nice details added in too including every exhaust pipe in the nacelles! The paint is nicely done with accurate color which really helps the looks too. Also, the kit has a nice selection of markings to choose from which is a nice touch. They are a vinyl type sticker with no carrier film that have a satin sheen to them. So, when placed on the airframe, it looks very much like paint. Plus, if you don’t like what’s provided in the box, Callie-Graphics has released some additional markings.

As I mentioned earlier, I wasn’t crazy about the main gear strut diameter. So, I designed and 3D Printing some strut covers. They definitely help reduce the chicken leg appearance. I do have them available through my 3D Printed Products page if you’d like a set!

AIRCRAFT SETUP & CG

The recommended batteries for the Tigercat are 2x 4s 3000-4000 mah packs. I went with the 3600mah Admiral packs from MotionRC which are some really good packs. I also picked up a set of nano-tech 4000s as well which fit perfectly within the airframe. I even looked at what it would take to install some 4s 5800s since I have a number of those for my ASM Tigercat but I didn’t have much luck with that install based on the size of the packs.

The CG provided in the manual is a great starting point and is stated as 73mm as measured from the wing root leading edge aft. Based on the location of the batteries having one forward and one aft on the trays in the fuselage, it provides a bit more of a forward CG which I first flew the airplane with. I moved the packs back a little bit to where I’m currently flying it which is at about 70mm as measured from the wing root leading edge aft. I didn’t bother moving the CG further back as the airplane flies great at this location with minimal down elevator needed in the inverted.

For the control throws, the setup was really easy and straight forward. For the first flight, I set up triple rates with the throws in the manual as my max rates. From there, I set two lower rates (I ALWAYS setup multiple rates, especially for a maiden). In flying the airplane, I found their max rates a bit too high for my liking and so ultimately switched down to what I had set as the mid rate elevator and low rate aileron which equates to the throws below:

Elevator – 11/16″ with 15% expo

Aileron – 5/8″ with 10% expo

Rudder – 1-1/8″ with 25% expo (expo is to tone down the nose steering since they’re tied together)

Flaps – 7/8″ mid flap, 1-3/4″ full flap with 10% down elevator mix (equates to 3/16″ at full flap)

FLYING THE FLIGHTLINE RC F7F-3 TIGERCAT

Flying the Tigercat is awesome! This airplane is super stable and rock solid in the air and really doesn’t exhibit any bad habits that I could find. The airplane has good speed and vertical performance at full throttle, but still slows down to a crawl with the flaps down. It has great presence in the air too providing a wonderful homage to the real deal as it flies. All that’s missing is the sound of those double wasp radials! I find myself flying the airplane at mostly full throttle as this gives very scale like performance and provides good penetration for aerobatics. It really maneuvers just like the real one. Flight times are easily over 6 minutes when flying at mostly full throttle, so that’s nice. One could easily extend to much longer by mixing in some slow speed passes.

Now, if I had one wish it would be that the airplane had just a little more grunt at full throttle. This would offer throttling back while still maintaining a good maneuver speed at partial throttle and then allowing a little more pull at full throttle for larger vertical maneuvers. It’s just a personal preference for my style of flying though. That said, the stock power system flies the airplane great and really is plenty of power.

Many thanks to my friend Air-Jon for helping out with the pictures and video!

FINAL THOUGHTS

As we sign off, don’t forget too, I’ll be presenting at the AMA West Expo next month! So, come on out and say hi and enjoy an awesome tradeshow! As a part of that we have a giveaway going on until Jan 10, 2017. We’re giving away the Eleven Hobby F8F Bearcat we reviewed a while back. Check out my announcement post to enter!

The post FlightLine RC F7F-3 Tigercat Assembly & Flight Review appeared first on The RC Geek .

AMA Show Announcement and Eleven Hobby F8F Bearcat Giveaway

Wed, 07 Dec 2016 06:08:00 GMT

I look forward to seeing you guys at the AMA Expo!

The RC Geek Eleven Hobby F8F Bearcat Giveaway

The post AMA Show Announcement and Eleven Hobby F8F Bearcat Giveaway appeared first on The RC Geek .

Tutorial – How to Make Detail Antennas and Pitot Tubes

Wed, 16 Nov 2016 04:57:00 GMT

The beauty is in the details…

As promised in my How to Repair Fiberglass and Fibgerglassed Parts article , here’s a little tutorial on some of the detail parts I had to re-scratch build while repairing my Mirage IIIRS earlier this year. These include some of the very distinctive pitot tubes and antennas that are exhibited on the nose section of the full-sized aircraft. In all the searching we did of the crash site when the airplane went in, the original parts were just nowhere to be found…a sacrifice to the three angry bushes that swallowed my airplane I suppose! Also, if you missed it, be sure to check out my coverage from the US Scale Masters Championships as I competed with my fully repaired Mirage and somehow in the process came out of the competition finishing 1st in Expert being named the Grand National Champion! What an amazing weekend! It was such a great event with a wonderful and very talented group of scale modelers, I can’t wait to go back!

CHOOSING THE RIGHT MATERIALS

When we talk about detail parts, we need to talk about materials selection. Obviously, any materials can be used, but when dealing with parts that are protruding from an airplane, we need parts with stiffness and resilience to repeated abuse. Let’s face it, these parts are going to get knocked and bumped repeatedly! For pitot tubes, my go-to is to use concentric brass tubes and brass planks. I use silver solder to solder everything together and I guarantee, you’ll break the airplane before you break the pitot tubes. For antennas, I turn to basswood since it’s easy enough to sand, but hard enough to withstand most bumps.

What about 3D printing you ask? For antennas, 3D printing is definitely a good way to go especially if printing from PLA since it’s extremely hard. I didn’t go that route in this case simply because it was quicker for me to simply carve out the one antenna I needed from basswood. The quicker I could repair this bird, the quicker I could get back to doing more fun stuff! For pitot tubes, it could go either way regarding 3D printing. For small and very fine detail parts, SLA would be the printer medium of choice since it is capable of very fine and incredibly high resolution prints. Unfortunately, it can be brittle, especially for really small parts (the pitot tubes are 1/16″ diameter on my airplane) so one knock and that nicely printed and painted pitot tube is most likely going to break. For larger models with larger diameter pitot tubes, it’s a little more viable option but it’s really hard to beat brass for its resilience and these pitot tubes are easy to make and can potentially be made quicker than it takes to model one for printing.

HOW TO MAKE ANTENNAS

Antennas are a simple detail that can really add a lot to a model…and they’re easy to make. It’s simply a matter of cutting out the appropriate antenna side profile from some 1/8″ thick basswood (or whatever is necessary to create the specific antenna) and then sanding an appropriate cross section profile into it. Antennas on jet aircraft rarely have a traditional airfoil cross section but rather have a more diamond type shape. It’s best to do a little research to see what it looks like, but even just a straight plank without any contours works well and is quite convincing. I’ll typically start with a drawing of the part and use that to cut out the basic shapes of the antenna. In the case here, I needed an antenna as well as a base fairing.

For preparing the basswood for paint, you can simply apply a couple coats of primer , lightly sand it and then apply a couple more coats repeating this process until the wood grain is filled in. Gluing the antenna onto the airframe is done by cutting a slot into the fuselage and the antenna glued into it with epoxy. There should be about 1/8″ material that extends into the fuselage so there won’t be any issues with it sheering off…antenna dysfunction is a serious problem, don’t let it happen to you! Once installed, and happy with the installation, the antenna was painted. On this particular airplane, it was black so nothing special was needed in terms of finish.

HOW TO MAKE PITOT TUBES

As noted above, I prefer to use brass tubes for making pitot tubes. I use concentric tubing cut to strategic lengths to make whatever radial shapes are necessary to match the scale profiles. In the case of the mirage, the pitot tube needing to be made was on the lower side. To look at it, it has two distinct diameters with the larger diameter reducing down to the smaller and is mounted to a rearward swept pylon. For the larger diameter, I used a 1/8″ diameter tube and the smaller diameter a 1/16″ diameter tube. To get the radial taper a 3/32″ diameter tube was glued with thin CA inside the larger 1/8″ diameter tube and the taper was sanded on each end using my bench sander while spinning the parts in a drill. Also, that intermediate 3/32″ tube serves to hold the smaller 1/16″ diameter tube pitot which protrudes forward. With the radial tapers sanded in place, the 1/16″ diameter tube was glued into the sanded set of tubes. From there, I soldered a 1/2″ wide by 1/16″ thick brass plank (using silver solder ) onto the pitot tube assembly.

From there, the pitot tube was prepped for painting with a little primer and then epoxied into the airplane. Just like the antennas, it’s best to grind a slot into the fuselage to receive the pitot base and then epoxy it in place with a small fillet on each side internally. All of the pitot tubes on the airplane were made how we’ve discussed. To get the metallic finish on the front, I used some ALCLAD II “Dark Aluminum” paint . If you’ve never used it, it’s awesome paint that will get you a nice and convincing metallic finish in most cases. And, it’s really durable too.

REPAIRED AT LAST…

These details were the final pieces needed in getting the mirage back in working order again. As noted in my last article, I swapped out the E-Turbax for a JetFan120 and Neu 1917/1y motor which has been an excellent combination in the airplane especially for competition. With the lower current draw from the fan (with similar performance to what I had with the E-Turbax), I was able to extend my flight times during competition without too much worry which made getting all of the maneuvers in stress free while having to make additional circles for traffic avoidance. It was a great improvement to have, especially at the USSM Championships!

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2016 Scale Masters Championships

Mon, 31 Oct 2016 00:01:00 GMT

Wait, what just happened?!

The road getting to the 2016 US Scale Masters Championships was not an easy one for me this year, that’s for sure. Ever since crashing my Jet Hangar Mirage IIIRS last year, I had been plagued with mishaps and bugs throughout the year and truth be told, it got pretty discouraging…to the point that I contemplated not going multiple times. But, the championships were at the Woodland-Davis Aeromodelers field which is where they were in 2013 and it was such a great event, I knew I had to get there in 2016. With everything leading up to the event (I even had a mishap requiring repairs two weeks before I was due to leave!), I never in my wildest dreams imagined that I would be reporting that I came out of the event as the “Grand National Champion” finishing 1st place in Expert! And to have my dad there calling for me while competing with an airframe that stemmed from the very first RC jet design he kitted back in the late ’70s was just such an honor for me.

Organized by the US Scale Masters Association , the US Scale Masters Championships have been ongoing since 1980. From the beginning, this national championship has hosted some of the best scale builders and pilots in the world and have continued to do so for more than two decades. In order to attend the national championship, a competitor must qualify at a regional qualifier event (I covered the Gilman Springs Qualifier a few months ago). The truth is, I remember attending numerous qualifiers and championships out at Mile Square Park (that flying site is sorely missed!) in Southern California as a kid with my dad and I have always remembered the caliber of the airplanes being just incredible (I tried my first qualifier at 18 with a Royal Zero kit I built). 2016 was no exception as the airplanes in attendance were beautifully crafted and masterfully flown!

Taking place at the Woodland-Davis Aeromodelers field from September 29 through October 2 there were a total of 47 entrants in attendance. The first day (Thursday) was all static judging and open flying for practice with the following 3 days the flight rounds (5 flight rounds total). For the Expert, Advanced, and Team classes, there’s a maximum possible score of 200, 100 for static and 100 for flight. For the Pro-am classes, it’s a maximum possible score of 105, 5 for static, 100 for flight. The total score is determined by taking the average of the top 3 of the 5 flight scores and adding that average to the static score.

The greatest thing about this competition is not the placement, or the end score, but the comradery and atmosphere of the weekend. It’s a competition yes, but feels so much too like a bunch of friends enjoying an awesome weekend of flying. Also, if issues arise or what have you, any number of the contestants are happy to help in any way they can just to keep you in the air and going. This is always what brings me back to these events. Also, competition scale flying is such a great challenge as it’s all about placement and precision of the maneuvers while making the airplane appear as real as possible. There’s so much skill and talent in one place, it’s hard not to geek out on the numerous gorgeous airplanes, and there were plenty!

In terms of the standings from the weekend, here’s the full round up of the scores (credit: US Scale Masters Association website). Note that if you’re confused a little bit about the scores, I described a bit the different categories and what they mean in my Gilman Springs Qualifier coverage . There are different levels for different interests. Expert is where the builder and pilot are the same person, team is one builder and one pilot, and the remaining categories are for scale ARFs and/or other pre-built aircraft where the pilot need not have built the airplane.

So, here are a few pictures and videos (vids are below the pics) from the event. I still can’t believe the end result. The coolest part was having my whole family there with me including my folks and my sister and her family. My dad was my caller on the flight line and he was about as excited as I was! The Mirage was his first ducted fan kit back in 1978 and I was excited to be able to represent him and his accomplishments with the Mirage.

VIDEOS

1st Place Expert – Chris Wolfe, Mirage IIIRS (This vid was taken at my home field. Built from a Jet Hangar Hobbies semi-kit)

2nd Place Expert – Jeff Lovitt, T-33 Shooting Star ( Jet Model Products Kit )

3rd Place Expert – Shailesh Patel, BAE Hawk (Skygate Kit)

Daryl Rolla, Hawker Sea Fury – Scratch-built from Bates plans, this airplane was GORGEOUS!

Lance Nordby, F-20 Tigershark (70mm EDF) – Completely designed and scratch-built by the pilot.

Ben Andrus, Grumman G-164A Ag-Cat – This model scored a perfect 100 in static judging! It’s not surprise as the airplane was beautifully built and finished.

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How to Repair Fiberglass & Fiberglassed Parts and Touchup the Paint

Mon, 12 Sep 2016 01:20:00 GMT

It has been said there are two types of model airplanes… those that have crashed and those that WILL crash…

Well, if you follow this site on Instagram or Facebook then you know that the inevitable happened! My competition Mirage IIIRS crashed! I was at an event back in October last year and for whatever reason, the fan wasn’t making the power it typically does during takeoff. The takeoff roll was sluggish and instead of aborting and taking home a perfectly fine airplane, I forced the airplane off the ground thinking it would be ok once airborne. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case and I couldn’t get enough altitude to get the speed up and the airplane ended up landing in a few large bushes. I walked up to the airplane expecting the worst and found it upside down but thankfully mostly in tact. I was very fortunate! The most damaged area was the nose section being broken but thankfully still connected to the airplane. I later discovered that the lack of thrust was likely due to a combination of tired batteries not holding voltage under load and a partial blockage in the exhaust duct being caused by some loose tape that I was unaware of. Thankfully it was repairable and so I thought it would be a good opportunity to discuss some basic fiberglass repair. Oh, and the lesson here??

LESSON OF THE DAY: If your airplane isn’t doing what you expect it to, abort and troubleshoot!

NOSE REPAIR

The most impacted area from the crash was the nose. Though technically still attached to the fuselage, it was pretty “crunchy” and loose. Both sides of the nose were cracked just forward of the inlets below the canopy. The right side took most of the damage which is the side I’m guessing impacted the ground first (the canard was also cracked on this side too). Also, the whole front camera screen and pitot tube were gone from the very front and nowhere to be found.

The first thing to do was to re-set the nose to get it back in place. This was done simply by piecing the bits back together on either side and using thin and medium CA to glue it all back. This was simply to hold it in place so that a more structural glass repair could be done. With it all tacked back together, some 2 oz cloth was cut and placed on the inside of the broken area through the canopy hatch area. Note that I clamped a couple hardwood rails to the nose to ensure that the nose remained straight during this process. From there, I used a laminating epoxy to wet out the cloth while it was in place in the fuselage. Since I had it available, I used the resin system that my folks use for their fuselage layups (not a readily available resin). A good and easily accessible option is West Systems 105 with 205 or 206 hardener . I know a number of folks who use this resin with excellent results. The nice thing with the West Systems is that there are different hardeners available that allow for a faster or slower cure time depending on what you need. Now, to apply the resin, I used a cheap disposable paint brush (at 50 cents, we spared no expense!) to wet out the glass cloth while the cloth sat in place over the area needing repair inside the fuselage. In applying the resin, less is more as you don’t want to apply too much. It should be applied as necessary simply to wet out the cloth…remember, more resin = more weight! The cloth should change color but not be overly glossy (glossy areas are typically resin pooling). To soak up any excess resin, I simply applied some toilet paper to the wet cloth, tapped it with the resin brush and peeled it away. From there, we let it cure and come back to start the exterior clean up work!

To do the cosmetic repairs, I used USC Icing which is a lightweight finishing putty to fill all of the affected areas from the crash. A sanding block was used to sand the contours and smooth it all out once the filler was cured. I usually have an assortment of different sized sanding blocks with different grit sand papers to do this work. There’s no one size fits all, but usually I resort to about a 6″ to a 12″ sanding block. A few passes were required to get the contours smoothed out and cleaned up. Once I was happy with that, then I locally primered all of the effected areas with Evercoat Automotive Primer .

WING REPAIR

The wing repairs were pretty simple. The leading edges were all chewed up along with a couple of the pylons. To repair the wing leading edges, I first hardened up the exposed balsa wood with some thin CA (necessary so the Icing filler will stick to it). From there, I simply filled all of the affected areas with Icing Filler and sanded it all to match the wing leading edge contours again. From there a couple light coats of primer were applied focalized in those areas and it was ready to touchup the paint.

PAINT TOUCHUP

Matching the paint can be difficult in these repairs. Since I built and painted the airplane, I have plenty of paint to spare! If you’re repairing an ARF or something someone else built, then it’s probably best to have paint matched and mixed. Even having the paint on hand, the colors do tend to change tones slightly from sun exposure and whatnot (using a non-yellowing clear coat is critical to avoid a good portion of this!). So, to blend it all, I decided to repaint the entire nose. Also, localized areas around the inlets and the wing leading edges I sprayed using a wider spray pattern to effectively create more of a ‘blend’ on the paints. Thankfully, the shades all matched up very well and any tonal differences really just look like touched up panels and areas that you would get on the full sized airplane. The most difficult to blend was the underside light color based on the weathering that had been done. So, using some creative washes, I blended the underside colors as much as possible. Though not perfect, it’s certainly good enough as the full size is never perfect either! Note that sometimes it’s better to touch up the paint by masking off areas. Since I was dealing with larger areas and solid colors, I opted to go with the wider spray to help it all blend.

With everything all touched up again (including reapplication of some dry transfers) and finalized I finished it all off by re-applying a clear coat over the entire airplane. Instead of localizing the clear to just the repaired areas, I applied it to the whole aircraft to help blend it all back together which it did. It gave the airplane again a nice uniform finish like it had before the crash. Note that I don’t apply a heavy clear coat, it’s mostly just a dusting since it’s really only applied to even out the paint finish and protect the weathering work that’s been done. For clear, I use a non-yellowing lacquer satin.

FAN TROUBLESHOOTING

Troubleshooting the fan was a must. There’s no reason to fix the airplane if we don’t understand what happened! The E-Turbax fan and Neu motor had been bullet proof for many years and so understanding what went wrong was paramount. Upon pulling the fan from the airplane, the first thing I noticed was that there was some tape hanging inside the duct. You see, for ESC cooling, I like to tape the ESCs to the top of the exhaust ducts exposed in the airflow as this helps keep them extremely cool during operation. I typically tape on the outside, but at one point I had placed a piece of tape on the inside of the duct across the ESC. Well, unknown to me, it was now hanging well into the exhaust flow. At first glance, I wasn’t too concerned. I ran the system on the bench which showed decent numbers. However, while running the fan in an instant the tape started fluttering inside the duct and I saw over a 1 lb decrease in thrust and the tone of the fan changed radically. In remembering what occurred when it crashed, the fan didn’t sound right on the roll out which must have been the tape fluttering. Very interesting! Also, the batteries were old and seemed to be struggling. So the verdict was that the combination of the tape fluttering in the duct with the tired batteries not putting out the power they should have caused enough of a performance decrease to make the airplane power marginal. Ultimately, there was nothing wrong with the fan or motor which is good!

Since I had the fan out of the airplane, I thought it would be worth installing and trying a JetFan 120 in the airframe. The motor used was a Neu 1917/1Y (590Kv) which based on the specs would give about 16 lb thrust at about 90 amps using 12 lipo cells. In bench testing these numbers proved to be about right. With the same tired batteries from the crash, I was seeing about 15.5 lb thrust at about 85 amps. This was good enough for me, so the fan was installed into the airplane and has since proven to be an awesome power system for the mirage. With the lower current draw, the flight times have significantly increased which is ideal for competition and the overall performance is actually slightly better…what really seals the deal is the sound! It’s the most turbine sounding EDF installation I’ve heard! Note that the diameter of the fan is slightly less than the E-Turbax which the inlets were designed for, so I CAD modeled an adapter ( available through my 3D Printed Products Page ) that I then 3D printed on my Robo3D . Also, the recommended exhaust for the fan is 4″. Based on the afterburner lights I have in the airframe, I was limited to 3.75″ exhaust diameter which has proven to be fine thus far. In ground testing, I didn’t see any difference in current draw running the fan without the exhaust or with the 3.75″ exhaust which told me that the it wasn’t struggling to much.

Here’s a quick flight video to give an idea of the JetFan 120 (note the sound!)

For comparison, here’s a vid with the original power system.

Next time we’ll talk about building detail parts such as pitot tubes and antennas as I lost a few in the crash and thus had to re-build them. Until next time, I’ll see you at the field!

The post How to Repair Fiberglass & Fiberglassed Parts and Touchup the Paint appeared first on The RC Geek .

Eleven Hobby F8F Bearcat Assembly & Flight Review

Wed, 10 Aug 2016 03:58:00 GMT

Grumman Iron Works For The WIN!

The Grumman Aircraft Corporation has produced some of the most iconic aircraft of our time (McDonnel-Douglas is another one that comes to mind). When you think of the numerous aircraft tied to the Grumman name, what really comes to mind are the family of incredible cats they produced starting from the Wildcat all the way through to the Tomcat! (seriously, these are the kind of cat videos you should be searching for on the internet! ;)) The F8F Bearcat is a proud member of the Grumman cat family and is no exception to greatness. Designed for pure performance (i.e. climb rate), the airplane is literally the smallest and lightest airframe you could wrap around the largest available engine. I bet the propulsion group within the company must have been ecstatic! Consider that it used the same engine as the Hellcat, but with an airframe that was 2000+ lb lighter.

As an aircraft, the Bearcat was a high performance machine having better performance even than some of the early jets. Though it didn’t quite make it to see combat in World War II, it still remained in service into the early 1960’s with over 1200 total aircraft built. Now, what you may not know is, that the Bearcat is in fact a real animal…check it out! Ferocious, isn’t it?

BUILD REVIEW

When the Eleven Hobby F8F Bearcat arrived, I couldn’t wait to tear into it. Upon opening the box, I knew that it was going to assemble extremely quickly. You are warmly greeted by a one piece fully assembled wing, a fully assembled fuselage with molded in dorsal, a pair of stabilizers and a carbon tube, a small bag of hardware and a pair of props. Truthfully, the airplane was assembled in about 20 minutes I think and was extremely straight forward. The fit of all of the parts is excellent having minimal gaps between the intersecting parts. This is probably one of the best fitting foamies that I’ve assembled truthfully. The top forward fuselage and canopy are removable (hatch line is almost invisible) which reveal a huge space for batteries, etc. inside the fuselage and the hatch is especially clean and impressive in terms of the fit. Radio programming was just about as quick as assembly since I copied the program I had already setup from my “Lady Alice” P-51 and simply adjusted the rates and servo directions accordingly for the Bearcat .

The overall finish of the Bearcat is quite nice. It has a little more foam texture than some of the other EPO airplanes I’ve handled, but it’s really not significantly different in that respect. The color and markings are well done and the shape appears to me to be quite good (tails might be a little large maybe). There’s no mistaking this one as anything other than an awesome Bearcat ! They’ve also done a good job with the landing gear stance. The main gear on the full size are quite complex (the strut actually folds as it retracts) and so the compromise they made with the standard gear and the location they chose still pulls off the looks of the ground stance very well. Also, they have appropriately sized tires! Most of the time, you get tires that are just way to small on these ARFs. Lastly, the flap design is nice and scale having an upper surface scoffer and seal as opposed to just an open notch that you get with most foam warbirds.

I did have a couple impact marks on the airframe from shipping unfortunately. Most notably, there were a couple creases at the front of the cowl top and bottom. There was a large rounded corner on the outside of the box that I noticed as I opened it up initially. My guess is it got dropped on it’s way to me, landing on the box corner and that’s what caused the small creases in the cowl. There was also an impact mark on the top left wing which I think is where the wing and fuselage actually contact in the box. Overall though, the packaging is very good and the blemishes were small.

AIRCRAFT SETUP & CG

For the control throws, I setup triple rates using the recommended high and low rates in the manual. I ultimately found that the low rates were good for my style of flying and kept them there for the duration of my flights. I don’t like to setup my airplanes super hot, but more for smooth scale type flying. Also, I added a little expo all the way around which helped tame the response around center a bit. Being such a small model, I found that adding the expo helped it feel “bigger” in the air. So, here are the final throws I have programmed on the surfaces.

Elevator – 3/16″ (15% expo)

Aileron – 7/16″ (10% expo)

Rudder – 5/8″ (I would have preferred more throw, but unable to get it based on the geometry)

Flaps – 7/8″ mid flap, 1-7/8″ full flap (no elevator mixing needed, but note that if you’re too fast when deploying the flaps, the airplane will balloon until it slows down)

FLYING THE ELEVEN HOBBY F8F BEARCAT

In short, this F8F Bearcat flies sweet! The airplane has good speed and authority in the air and can perform pretty much any maneuver you throw at the airplane. Overall performance is very nice providing plenty of power. Pulling into the vertical, it’s best to start with some speed as she will carry through the maneuver better (energy management)…Don’t expect to accelerate going straight vertical. With enough rudder, she’ll even do a gorgeous knife edge pass…but you need sufficient rudder to hold a straight line…I wasn’t able to get enough based on the linkage geometry. Landings with full flap are super easy and soft. As a good friend of mine would say, “she lands like a butterfly with sore feet!” Flight times with a 2200 mah pack are easily 5 minutes, but if you’re in the throttle a lot, then cutting it to 4.5 minutes is a good idea.

The airplane is so easy to fly as a whole, it’s a great candidate for someone still learning and looking to start getting into warbirds and is still fun for more advanced fliers too. As good as it is on 3s, I can imagine that on 4s the airplane would be a real hoot! I’m thinking I may give that a try at some point, but it will require a speed control upgrade. The power system on 3s pulls about 35 amps and the airplane comes with a 40 amp controller.

FINAL THOUGHTS

As a whole, the 11 Hobby F8F Bearcat is an awesome little airplane. She has the looks along with the excellent flight characteristics to back it up! Being so user friendly, the airplane is a good candidate for folks looking to step into warbirds yet still fun for someone with more advanced skill. 11 Hobby has done a great job on this one, I think she’s a keeper! Note that the kits do ship from China. This one took about 2.5-3 weeks to arrive and the shipping cost was about $12 I think.

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Family Build 2 – Polar Lights Superman, Captain America & Wolverine Builds

Fri, 29 Jul 2016 04:44:00 GMT

Marvel AND DC Comics together…can you even do that?

Since the first Family Build we did, my kids couldn’t wait to do another one! They kept asking (especially my daughter) to make another vid and build some models. More building with my kids? Heck yes! This time, it’s all geek as a while back, I had come across a plastic kit of one of my favorite comic book characters, Marvel Comics’ “Wolverine” made by Polar Lights/Round2 Models . Upon investigation, I learned that Polar Lights had a few different characters and so found a Marvel Comics “Captain America” for my daughter (it was fitting since she has a little crush on Cap) and DC Comics’ “Superman” for my son since, based on some of the things he attempts, he must think he’s made of steel! So, let the build begin!

The kits themselves are all produced by Polar Lights/Round2 Models . They state no glue required, but the truth is, to have any sort of longevity, glue is a good idea. In all cases, the models were snapped together and then medium CA was used along the seams which did two things, glue the models together and also fill the seams. With the glue on the seams, a little 400 grit sand paper smoothed it out and voila, no seams! Once the figures were fully assembled, they were spray painted white for a base to brush paint over (I typically do this when I paint pilot figures too). From there, we simply brush painted all of the rest of the colors using an assortment of model master paints. The skin tones were achieved by painting the skin areas with Radome Tan and then airbrushing some very thinned down Dark Tan over the skin areas until we got the shades we were looking for. The painting ended up taking much more than I expected (6-8 hours as a guess), but the end results were worth the effort and we all had a blast sitting talking and painting. We all progressed at about the same rate which was nice and a slight change from the previous DeLorean build . I have to say that for as much painting as was done, my kids really hung in great and kept working diligently through the whole process. It was a good lesson for them and they are extremely proud of their efforts (and so am I!).

Marvel Comics Wolverine

Marvel Comics Captain America

DC Comics Superman

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Warbirds & Classics 2016 Scale RC Airplane Event

Mon, 18 Jul 2016 13:14:00 GMT

Mmmmm, Warbirds…

After attending the Warbirds & Classics Scale RC Airplane event last year , I couldn’t wait to come back! Between the awesome assortment of airplanes, the fellowship with old and new friends, and the incredible backdrop you get from the flying site, it is a must attend for me. It helps that it’s local enough for me that the drive getting there isn’t too bad and I get to have a fun weekend flying with my dad. Needless to say, this year’s Warbirds & Classics did not disappoint! The Scale Squadron hosted event had even more pilots and even more airplanes and it was a blast! I was there Friday and Saturday and got my fill of all the flying I could handle and filled up my memory card with pics and videos…twice! I had my trusty A-7, Mirage , and Tigercat in tow. I was eager to get the Tigercat out to an event. It was like putting together a jigsaw puzzle to get them all packed into the back of my Sienna, but somehow it worked! If you weren’t excited enough to see what was at the event, here’s a quick compilation video of some of the action at the event (more pics and video further down).

Located at the OCMA rc airplane field in Black Starr Canyon (next to Irvine Lake in Irvine, CA), the event has open flying for any scale aircraft (warbirds, civlian, jets, etc.) which includes glow, gas and electric power, but in terms of jets, no turbines are allowed so it’s electric or glow only…and I don’t know the last time I saw glow DF anywhere. Unfortunately that’s the case for a number of fields in the Southern California area these days and the current drought situation doesn’t help things. In fact, the water level in Irvine Lake, which has been an open fishing spot for years, was extremely low and most of the facilities were closed down.

Anyhow, as mentioned, there was an awesome assortment of aircraft at the event. The weather Friday was sunny and warm, but strangely Saturday was cloudy with on and off drizzle throughout the day. Regardless of the weather, there was a ton of flying had by all and the winds couldn’t have been any more ideal being right down the runway. The beautiful thing about this event is that even with the number of pilots there, there’s usually no waiting for a space on the flight line. So here’s a collection of pictures from the event. I love photography, so I generally take far too many pictures. Here’s just a few.

Scott Plummer from airshowvid.com was on hand with his camera and captured some incredible pictures! Here’s a collection of what he took. He is a master behind the camera both in video and still photography.

For video, I took far more than I expected. Last year I had actually had some issues with my microphone which I was unaware of until I started going through the video. You can understand my frustration, so this year, I made sure that was not going to happen again! So here’s selection of some of the videos. This is just the first 6, I will be adding more on my YouTube channel over the next few weeks.

Giant 1/2 Scale SE5a Scout – This airplane was monstrous and awesome. It seriously could pass as the real deal in the air.

Giant Scale F7F Tigercat – This was one of my favorites at the event (I have a sweet spot for the Tigercat if you couldn’t tell). It was big and flew really sweet.

Giant Scale P-51 Mustang – Another monster, this flew really nicely. It had a scale working exhaust which was a nice touch

Top Flite FW-190 Refinished in Romanian Markings – The nice thing with ARFs is that they can be a great canvas for complete refinish. This one was glassed, detailed, and painted in Romanian Markings. It was beautiful!

ESM T-28 Trojan – Well, you can’t have an event without a little carnage. Unfortunately this was the end of what was otherwise an awesome flight!

HSD ViperJet – My buddy Pete doing what he does best, flying low and fast!

Freewing F-5 Tiger II – Another hot rod at the event, this F-5 was ripping up the sky!

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From the Bench — Tips for Making Your Own Aircraft Markings

Wed, 15 Jun 2016 03:44:00 GMT

Decals, Vinyl and Paint Masks…oh my!

The topic of aircraft markings and making decals was touched on a little bit in my How to Refinish a Foam Warbird series and the request to expand on it a bit has come up a few time since then. So, here’s a bit more extensive walk through of my process of making and painting markings for my airplanes.

Color and Markings are one thing that I’m very particular about on my scale models. I’m so particular in fact that I will usually make my own decals and paint masks as opposed to outsourcing. Ultimately I do this because I actually enjoy the challenge of it (when it’s going well of course) and this gives me full control of the sizes of all of the markings since it usually takes multiple iterations before having everything just the right size. Also, my preference is to paint whatever markings I can and in the case that the markings may be too small to paint, I will move to waterslide decals. In some cases, I will even use a combination of paint (or vinyl in the case of my “Lady Alice” ) and decals to create a single marking. Obviously, there are always limitations when doing your own markings and so in the case I just don’t have the capability to make what I need, then it’s time to outsource.

Since I’m a scale fanatic, my goal in making markings is always to recreate markings as exhibited on a full sized aircraft. This article is written pursuant to that, however, the techniques are extensible to any type of markings on virtually any type of model and/or surface.

First Things First — Documentation and Resources

Now, if we’re to the point of markings, then we’ve already chosen a paint scheme. Ideally, said paint scheme is accompanied by a nice set of coloring-diagrams with multi-views showing all of the paint diagrams and markings (especially if for competition). At the very least, we have a picture and an idea of what the rest of the airplane looks like. I will typically look to plastic model decals here truthfully. If I don’t have those, then I will try to find something that I can find a number of pictures of through google searches and other sources — this includes google searching squadron badges, and any other individual markings if that’s on the airplane and I can’t find a decent picture of it. I find a lot of inspiration through plastic model websites and they often have a great selection of paint schemes with sources to the decals used. The nice thing with plastic model decals is that they are a great source for scanning and drawing markings from too. A few of my go-to sites are:

www.aircraftresourcecenter.com – A great community of plastic model resources from decals reviews, to kits, etc. If you’re looking for paint schemes, look at the built model gallery and decal reviews. It also has a dedicated section to “Aircraft Walkarounds”

www.cybermodeler.com – A great community of plastic model resources from decals reviews, to kits, etc. If you’re looking for paint schemes, look at the built model gallery and decal reviews.

www.modelingmadness.com – A great community of plastic model resources from decals reviews, to kits, etc.

Creating the Artwork

In creating artwork, this is where plastic model decals really come in handy. I will often use them as a basis for making larger markings. Scanning and drawing over them works the best. Otherwise if you scan them and try to print them at a larger size, they will just be fuzzy and won’t look right. I’ve often found errors even and corrected them in this process. Also, tracing over markings found in pictures works too. The whole reason we have to do this is simply because we don’t have what we need at the right resolution.

Water Slide Decals

Printing your own water slide decals is an easy way to create markings for a project and is simply done by printing your desired artwork onto decal paper . It’s important to note that when doing this, we can realistically only apply dark colored decals over lighter colors (Black will go over any color of course). The issue is that both inkjet and laserjet printed decals are semi translucent, so when applied to a white background has the perfect color, but when applied over a dark background takes on the color of what is underneath. Now there is decal paper that has a white carrier film that is available to use that’s supposed to provide better decal color when going over a dark color. However, it still has the same issue taking on the colors underneath it. Also, it requires that the decal be cut perfectly around the artwork so you don’t see any unwanted white carrier film which is just a pain to deal with. This is why when I need to place a decal over a dark color, I will resort to paint masks and/or cutting vinyl backings (discussed further down). Note that when placing decals, the use of “ micro set ” and “ micro sol ” are highly recommended as they help the decals adhere to the surface better. The “ micro sol ” actually softens the decal so that it pulls into any recesses or details, so only apply it once the decal is set and then left to dry.

When we talk about printing decals, it is important to discuss the type of decal paper to use as there are two kinds that are readily available — inkjet printer decal paper and laserjet printer decal paper . My preferred paper is for the laserjet. The reason is that it does not require a clear coat as a carrier. As a result you get a much thinner and more robust decal. The only drawback is that it requires printing on a laser printer. If you don’t have immediate access to one, find a print shop and have them print it for you for a few bucks, it’s worth it! Here’s a quick explanation of the two types of papers.

LaserJet Decal Paper – This paper is intended for use with laserjet printers which are typically what you’d find in offices and print shops. These decals are immediately ready for application straight out of the printer (no clear coat necessary). Also, the decals once applied are robust enough to handle all types of clear coats we use on our models.

InkJet Decal Paper – This paper is intended for use with inkjet printers which are the most typical types available at home. It requires multiple coats of a clear coat over it (like this Krylon ) to seal the printed artwork and also provide a carrier film. Be careful not to apply too heavy a coat at one time as the artwork will run. Also, once applied to the model, a heavy solvent based clear coat over the artwork could also cause runs too since we can’t use a solvent based clear coat to initially seal the decals. Using Laser Decal Paper you won’t have any of these issues.

Paint Masks

Whenever possible for my scale competition airplanes, I will paint my markings. This goes so far as painting lettering, stars and bars, the whole gamut. Obviously, it’s not always practical to paint some markings, especially when we’re talking about really small details and lettering or multi-colored badges and that’s usually where the decals come in.

To cut paint masks, I use a vinyl cutter. I use a Roland SV-12 and absolutely love it! To cut a mask simply requires a CAD/vector line drawing of the object to cut. It’s sent to the cutter the same as you would printing something on a piece of paper only the machine cuts vinyl. It does have pre-packaged software which can be used to draw the markings, but in most cases I simply use Corel Draw and/or a CAD program (Rhino 3D works well for this). I generally use a lower tack vinyl with a little more thickness to it since I don’t want the vinyl permanent on the surface.

Obviously, a vinyl cutter is a nice to have and for those who don’t have one as an option, with a little extra work paint masks can be cut by hand (my dad still cuts his paint masks by hand). The same vinyl can be used as is used with a cutter though. Again, it requires having the desired artwork, but in this case a printed hard copy should be lightly spray-glued ( 3M 77 does the trick) to the paint mask material. From there, the mask is cut by hand using a sharp Xacto knife. For straight cuts, use a metal straight edge, for circular cuts, a circle template works as well as a protractor with a blade in it and for those hard to cut areas, cutting by hand is the way to go.

With the masks cut, it’s a matter of placing them onto the aircraft and painting them appropriately. In some cases where multiple colors are necessary (like stars and bars) multiple masks will need to be cut. For example, in the case of a star and bar, the whole outline would need to be cut to spray the white. Then masks are placed to protect the white (center bars and star) and then the blue would be sprayed. Lastly, the red bars would be added.

The Combo Platter

When What I’m Able to Make Won’t Work

Now, I recently became aware of a process that uses a screen printing process for making paint stencils. I will be exploring this in the future, so will definitely report the results. The opportunities from this process may finally fill the gap in creating small detail lettering at home.

WE’LL COVER THIS AGAIN…

I’m sure I forgot something, but we will visit this in more detail at a later date. I intend to make all my own markings for my Frankel F4D Skyray project and so plan to discuss the details of what I do specifically on that airplane. Until then, hopefully this provides some good details for you and you can always email me if you have questions. See you at the field!

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Family Build – Polar Lights Back to the Future Delorean

Wed, 08 Jun 2016 04:36:00 GMT

A Snap Together BTTF DeLorean? Great Scott!

I got my start in scale modeling by building plastic models as a kid. I built many a model in the back of my dad’s shop as far as I can remember. Those are some of the fondest memories I have from growing up. I guess that’s why I collect (though rarely build) so many plastic models, haha! The “Back to the Future” movies are among some of my favorites and a while back I came across the Polar Lights “Back to the Future” DeLorean and seriously, had to have it. It was a snap together kit, so figured in a few hours I could probably have a nice enough looking model…if I built it… Well, my son kept asking me to build the model while it sat on my bench and so I figured, why not grab a second one so we could build them together? I love building with him and he loves to build pretty much anything (he and my daughter are Lego masters!), so it was perfect! I figured, while we were at it, why not grab the video camera and try a “family build” segment on my YouTube channel . My kids are always wanting to bomb my videos anyhow, so figured it was time to officially feature them. Be sure to watch because there’s some pretty funny stuff in there, especially at the very end. At one point, we were laughing uncontrollably for no reason whatsoever.

The Build

The Results

The detail was decent enough for what the kit is and with some painting really pops out well. It’s a simple enough build and we had a good time putting them together. Plus, we have a couple of cool looking “Back to the Future” DeLoreans to add to our collection now! One of the nice features is that the body comes out of the box with a very convincing stainless steel finish. No rust on these puppies! The hardest part is keeping it under 88mph though…you never know what might happen if we get there!

With so many distractions these days, plastic models are a great and simple way to introduce kids to our hobby. Maybe it leads into RC airplanes or cars, or something like that? Or maybe it doesn’t? Either way it’s a great introduction to something more than just another modern day distraction. For me, I love sharing what I did as a kid with my kids. My dad did the same with me, only his love was stick and tissue airplanes. In the end, I can only hope that my kids will look back and enjoy the time we spent fondly the same I do when I think of the building I did as a kid.

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Gilman Springs US Scale Masters RC Airplane Contest Qualifier 2016

Thu, 26 May 2016 01:51:00 GMT

All Hail Scale!

April 23-24, the Gilman Springs RC flyers hosted the USSM Western Regional Qualifier. This is a new home for this event as years previously it had been hosted by the Hemet Model Masters. The Gilman Springs venue is great for flying since it’s on private land and has minimal limitations for airspace and aircraft type that can fly out there (rare for sites in SoCal these days). The runway was in pretty rough shape this year which did wreak a little havoc on some of the aircraft (mine especially), but with a nice new slurry, this venue has the potential to be one of the best available in the area. There was a nice showing of aircraft at the event with a total of 22 pilots overall.

So, here are a few pics and videos of some of the airplanes at the contest. I competed with my recently repaired Mirage IIIRS (long story short, I crashed it…so had to fix it…). In the process of the repairs, I had ended up swapping out the E-Turbax fan with a JetFan 120 with a Neu 1917/1y motor on 12 cells (both fan systems are available from jethangar.com ). I’m happy to report that the JF120 system not only provided a slight increase in performance but also increased my flight time significantly (lower current draw from the previous system) which really helps a ton in the competition realm. I had one flight requiring over 5+ minutes and only had to recharge 4500 mah into a 6000 mah pack. Overall I was very happy with my performance (finished 3rd in expert with a high static score of 99), but unfortunately the runway caused some damage to the airplane (more repairs…yay…) which made the 3rd round flight difficult. I’m happy to say though that I did qualify and will be heading to the Championships in Davis. I can’t wait!

1st Place Expert – PT-19 (This is the nicest PT-19 I’ve seen. A well deserved 1st place!)

2nd Place Expert – F6F Hellcat (My favorite airplane at the event. It was sweet!)

3rd Place Expert – Mirage IIIRS (The vid and pictures were taken at my home field shortly after I finished repairing the airplane. Turn up the sound, it’s EDF but the airplane sounds like it’s turbine powered! :))

1st Place Team – Sopwith Pup (Museum scale doesn’t event describe it. Even the prop was laminated and carved by the builder by hand!)

Pro-Am – T-6 Texan (Built from an old Midwest kit think. From what I understand the model was over 20 years old. You’d never have known to look at it, it was really nice!)

Pro-Am – Messerschmitt Bf-110 (this was a re-finished Dynam foam airplane. The repaint really made the airplane stand out and looked great!)

Fokker DR.1 Triplane (This triplane was flown after hours and was a blast to watch. We can only imagine if the Red Baron had this kind of power in WWI! I’m not sure he’d be doing 3D like this one though.)

Oh, and to kick off the event on Saturday, there we were all treated to a couple passes from a full scale Midget Mustang. The passes were insane! The pilot came in LOW and HOT!!

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Kit Bashing 101 Ep1 — Freewing Mirage 2000 Assembly & Flight Review

Wed, 20 Apr 2016 04:07:00 GMT

Mmmmm, Deltas…

See the full transformation of this Mirage into an Isreali Kfir at: thercgeek.com/kitbashing

The nice thing with these Freewing jets is that they are an all inclusive package. The full power system, retracts, and servos come fully installed and at $299 for the Mirage 2000 it’s a pretty killer deal. They’re EPO foam which I do have a love/hate relationship with, but none the less you get a pretty cool airplane and they are a great canvas to do fun things with (which we’ll start next in our next installment). They’re fully finished and assemble really quickly, so what’s not to love when you need a break from some heavy building?

ASSEBLY REVIEW

In terms of the assembly of the Freewing Mirage 2000, it’s a pretty simple model to assemble and can be done in about an hour as the parts count is really low. The aft end of the fuselage requires being glued onto the main fuselage with the wings and dorsal then screwed into place. The main gear retracts come separately so are required to be installed into the wings prior to placing the wings onto the fuselage. There are pylons that get glued into the wings and external tanks that are held by magnets which are a nice touch. In flying my own Mirage IIIRS , I’ve found that the tanks actually help make the airplane a little easier to orient in the air and I can say that flying with the tanks on this Mirage 2000 does the same and actually helps the airplane to lock in a little better in the roll axis.

All of the servos are pre-installed with the wires routed into the nose area between the inlets which is where the receiver resides. Regarding battery install, I shoe-horned (quite literally) a 6s 5800 mah pack in there (more of that install and what I did to make it work is discussed further down in the CG discussion).

During assembly, there were a couple things that I noticed. First off, the wings took a little strong arming to fully seat onto the fuselage. This wasn’t really an issue, but is something to note about the assembly. The rear plastic screw hold-downs simply created a little interference when placing the wings, nothing more.

The other issue I ran across is related to the elevon servos which I ultimately replaced all together with Airtronics 94809 digital servos . During the assembly I had an issue with one servo seemingly not as strong as the other. A quick email to MotionRC and they were cool enough to replace it…unfortunately, what they sent (and have listed under replacement parts) wasn’t the same servo that comes in the airframe. It was nylon geared vs the metal geared which come in the kit. That being the case I simply put the nylon geared servo in the rudder and placed the stock metal geared rudder servo into the problematic elevon. This in addition with clearing some material around the hinges seemed to solve the issue. One thing I noticed however in the setup was that the torque, resolution and response of the servos wasn’t great. The first 6 flights were flown with the stock servos and I found the aircraft response sufficient, but not very crisp or precise while maneuvering. That’s when I decided to replace them with the higher resolution Airtronics digital servos . Doing this gave me a MUCH more responsive airplane allowing me to place it more easily where I wanted it. When I did this, I actually had to reduce the elevator throw that I had also as the elevator response was notably different. Roll response was better and more accurate too. Note that the 94809 is a drop in replacement to the stock servo. All that is required is to grind away a small tab on the servo mount in the wing that interferes when placing the servo into the tray. With this removed, the servo drops into place perfectly.

AIRCRAFT SETUP & CG

The truth is, there’s really not a lot of room in this mirage for batteries. The recommendation is a 6s 4000 mah which fit without issues (but of course I don’t have), but frankly would probably only give about 3 or so minutes of solid flying. So, since I have a number of 6s 5800 mah packs, I opted to figure out how to make them work. It is a really tight fit (seriously, it’s tight!), but ultimately I used a dremel to clear away some of the inner walls between the inlets so that the battery could be pushed back to accommodate the CG. Also, I had to clear some material on the back of the canopy hatch to accommodate the battery thickness and to get the hatch to fit properly. Ultimately, I ended up at about 1/4″ in front of the CG noted in the manual (~20.5″ as measured from the back of the turkey feathers forward), but that ended up feeling really good in the air and not nose heavy at all.

For the control throws, the Mirage uses elevons. The elevator (pitch) throw listed in the manual I found decent, but I knew right away that the aileron (roll) throw listed was way too much. Mirages require very little aileron throw to get a decent roll rate. After a few flights, here’s what I converged on. I did find that adding just a touch of expo (I’m not an expo guy, so 8-10% was plenty for me) did help with the feel of the model around center.

FLYING THE FREEWING MIRAGE 2000

The Freewing Mirage 2000 is an absolute hot rod in the air! The stock power system pushes this airplane like crazy which makes it a lot of fun. It is important to calibrate the ESC to ensure full performance, so be sure to check that procedure here . Between the 80mm F-14 Tomcat and this Mirage, I’m really quite impressed with the Freewing 80mm fan system. It pushes both of these airframes excellently out of the box.

When properly setup, the Mirage is a blast to fly and replacing the elevon servos really improves the handling qualities. The airplane looks great in the air and is a real honest flyer. It’ll handle anything you can throw at it with out any problems and with the thrust from the 80mm fan the airplane is at home going vertical; in fact, I can go straight up from takeoff! Landings are easy enough holding the aircraft in a positive AoA and using your throttle to control the descent in typical delta fashion. I was actually surprised at how little power was required to get the right glide slope on the approach.

Just as a personal preference, I do wish that the airplane was just a touch bigger. Mostly, this is for ease of battery installation. To get any kind of decent flight time from these 80mm birds, really does require larger capacity packs. One thing to note is that if the ailerons are setup with a lot of throw, the airplane can be very sensitive, so know that up front. Deltas typically require much more elevator travel than aileron travel.

FINAL THOUGHTS

The post Kit Bashing 101 Ep1 — Freewing Mirage 2000 Assembly & Flight Review appeared first on The RC Geek .

Setting up a Multi-Engined Electric Aircraft (F7F Tigercat)

Tue, 15 Mar 2016 20:31:00 GMT

If 1 is good, then 2 or more is better…when setup right!

We as modelers are collectors. We’re always collecting something related to our awesome hobby, be it RC gear, kits, or the like (you should see my hardware stash, when I go to the hobby store, I usually buy things in multiples). And of course we always have those kits we’ve stashed away for a rainy day. A couple years ago, I received an ASM F7F Tigercat ARF kit. ASM was a line of ARFs distributed by Hobby People and they made some really awesome and unique airplanes (mostly twins). Unfortunately the company no longer exists and the kits are no longer available. But, if you find one at some point listed online, they’re definitely worth a look if the subject aircraft interests you.

POWER THE AIRPLANE APPROPRIATELY

There is a huge selection of electric motors these days but there’s really no one size fits all solution when it comes to electric power and conversions. The Hobby People , Rimfire , and E-Flite outrunner motor lines have certainly simplified things with their glow equated motors. However, the bottom line is less about an electric motor named to a glow engine equivalent and more about the motor Kv rating (rpms/volt), propeller diameter and pitch and battery cell count. It is all about managing the combination of those variables to come up with the ideal power system. I covered in detail the selection process I use in a post I made about a 5-blade prop powered Sea Fury I had. In that article (there are links to the tools in there) I covered my top 5 rules of thumb I use in selecting an electric power system which are as follows:

The ASM F7F Tigercat is an 82″ span model and I knew that it needed to fly with authority (the full sized airplane was a pretty hot performer). Also, I knew that I wanted to swing a scale-ish diameter 3-bladed propellers. So using my estimating method , I converged on the following power system for the Tigercat which has proven to be the perfect power (if maybe a touch overpowered) for the airplane and provides excellent flight times (7-8 minutes).

PIC OF MOTOR INSTALL

Motor: E-Flite Power 110 Outrunner (295 Kv)
ESC: Castle Creations Edge 100 ESC
Battery: 8s 5,800 mah Lithium Polymer (2x 4s in series)
Prop: APC 15.75×13 prop (squared off tips down to about 15″ diameter to look more scale, held on with tru-turn scale-ish prop nut )

DISABLE THE BEC’S AND PROGRAM THE CONTROLLERS

The single most important thing to consider when running multiple controllers together is to disable the BEC’s (assuming the controllers being used have integral BEC’s in them, the Edge HV controllers are Optically Isolated which means they don’t have a BEC). The reason is that if you have multiple controllers all running BEC’s, they tend to fight each other and result in overloading one controller while also causing both controllers to get hot! It’s not like running parallel receiver batteries. The BEC is disabled simply by removing the red wire from the controllers receiver connector. It’s important to do this at the controller connector especially if the controllers are connected through a y-connector into the receiver. You can get residual interference between the controllers if only removing the red wire in the y-connector (I initially had this as an issue on the Tigercat). Obviously, with the BEC’s disabled, you then must run a receiver battery which is what I recommend regardless for most electric aircraft, especially high power aircraft.

In terms of setting up the controllers with the radio, this can be done however desired either through separate channels or through a y-connector. I find the y-connector is by far the simplest, but if you want to do any kind of fancy work that requires individual control of the motors or if you have more than 2 motors and create groups of motors, etc., then that obviously requires they be setup on separate channels as desired. As an example, my dad has an ASM A-26 Invader and had a desire to run a simulated mag check on the ground where he could run up each side individually while holding the brakes prior to takeoff. This could only be done through a channel mix on separate channels.

Equally important to disabling the BEC, it’s necessary to program the controllers to suit the motors. The settings vary depending on the motor, so check the motor manufacturer recommendations. That being said, for a propeller driven aircraft it’s usually most cost effective to run an outrunner motor vs an in-runner with a gearbox. For an outrunner, the Castle Creations controllers have an “outrunner mode” in the PWM switching which should be selected and I set the motor timing to “advanced.” Otherwise, most of the other settings I leave as the defaults. In-runners require different settings, so always check beforehand (PWM switching is usually set to “12”). In programming the Castle Creations controllers, I highly recommend using the “Castle Link” which allows you to program the controller easily using a computer. Note that if you’ve disabled the BEC, you’ll need to plug in a battery to the controller to power it up to program it.

Lastly, when setting up any speed controllers, especially for a multi-engined aircraft, it’s important to calibrate the controllers to the transmitter. For the Castle Creations controllers, they have “auto-calibrate” and “fixed end points” as options for the throttle response and I highly recommend setting up fixed end points on the controller. “Auto-calibrate” though nice, conceivably requires that you power the airplane to full throttle before each flight and in cases where you don’t do that, you can get a non-linear throttle response. Whereas with “fixed endpoints” you are calibrating the controller exactly to the transmitter and it ensures that you get the exact same performance and response for every flight without any kind of run-up. This is my preference for flying all of my aircraft with Castle ESCs . The procedure is simple and is available here .

GROUND TEST

With any RC aircraft propulsion system, ground testing is essential. With an electric power system, we care about amps, watts, and voltage. There are some in-line measurement devices that certainly work (something like this ) and provide all of that information, however when you start looking at high power setups pulling over 100 amps, I highly recommend running a clamp-on meter as they will handle much higher amps without causing any kind of voltage drop. With the clamp-on meter, you’ll need to measure the voltage separately while running which is easy to do using a lipo battery cell checker . Then, to determine the watts, it can be calculated simply by multiplying the measured battery pack voltage (average voltage under load observed on the cell checker multiplied by the number of cells) by the measured amps (Watts = volts * amps).

With this information we are either validating our pre-flight predictions and/or discovering any potential issues. If the amps are low or high, then it may require a larger or smaller prop. It’s important to note the amps to avoid over-amping the motor which will ultimately destroy it. Also with the measured amps, we can get a quick idea of our run time (time (in minutes) = (battery capacity (in amphours)/amps)*60).

GO TIME!

The most important part of course is flying the airplane! With these few small pointers, you should have a reliable multi-engined aircraft that will serve you every weekend at the field. It becomes a plug and play system with no tuning required! Note that for a first flight on any electric aircraft, I recommend keeping the flight short (3 minutes or less) and then slowly working up the flight times until you reach an optimal time that lands with the battery voltages reading no less than 3.75 volts per cell when pulled from the airplane (another reason for having a lipo battery cell checker ). Have fun out there and get those multi-engined projects going! See you at the field!

The post Setting up a Multi-Engined Electric Aircraft (F7F Tigercat) appeared first on The RC Geek .

AMA Expo 2016

Mon, 01 Feb 2016 05:53:00 GMT

AMA EXPO 2016 — The place to geek out on the latest in RC!

Ah, the AMA Expo . Heralded at the Ontario Convention center, it’s a great show to geek out on everything RC while scoring deals you wouldn’t normally get on RC products. Though not always known as the AMA show, nor held at the Ontario Convention Center, this show has been ongoing in Southern California for a long time. I remember attending a different incarnation of the show as a kid with my dad. In fact, I even met my wife at this show when it was still held in Pasadena…wrap your heads around that one, haha! It’s really hard to believe just how much the hobby has changed and I’ve watched it change each year through this show! Even in just the last 10 years things have changed so much.

Now, an RC trade show means many things to many people. For most however, it means three things — scoring deals while seeing what’s new and exciting and catching up with friends you only get to see occasionally at these shows. In terms of exhibitors, there is a nice assortment of the big box hobby retailers ( Global Hobby/Hobby People , Horizon Hobby , and Hobbico ) in addition to a number of local (and sometimes not so local) hobby manufacturers and retailers. Also, there’s an indoor flying area, a make and take area for kids (this year was sponsored by Flite Test and they had a cool foam glider design they built with the kids) as well as a number of clubs and a static model competition. In the end, it’s all about one thing — promoting our awesome hobby!

I was only able to make it one day this year but I made sure I opened that place and closed it down as I always do. The floor itself had a great selection of all things RC; there truly is something for everyone. “Drone” has been the big buzzword these days in the industry, but I was surprised by the fact that the quads were much less prevalent than I expected.

Here are a few of the highlights I geeked out over walking the convention floor. I’m sure that there is much that I missed, so consider these as “post game highlights” as it were. If you’re ever in the area during the weekend of this show, it’s always worth a visit!

MOTORS AND ENGINES!

First of all, RADIAL ENGINES! These were exhibited in the Horizon Hobby booth. I was surprised by the selection available, especially in the smaller glow sizes. These engines look killer and having seen (and video’d a few) they sound awesome. One day, I will have a radial powered warbird!

Desert Aircraft was in attendance with a huge selection of gas motors. They had a new flat 6 that was pretty much insane.

Hacker Motor USA was on hand also with some fun stuff. The company is under new ownership and was showing a new all composite Spitfire kit that is beautifully made and extremely light weight. Seeing it really made me want one and the price was quite excellent for what it was. Lee Estingoy (new owner) when I saw him was beaming from a ride had taken in “Lady Alice” the day before. The trade was a ride for the composite spitfire kit Lee was showing…that was certainly a no-brainer!

OTHER RC AIRCRAFT/GEAR

Hobby People distributes the VQ Warbirds brand which have been putting out some nice looking warbird ARFs. Here are a few I noticed at the show. They also have a nice “Betty Jo” P-82 Twin Mustang which I will be reviewing here in the future once I can clear off the bench a little bit.

Horizon Hobby debuted their new EPO foam warbird at the show — the 1200mm wingspan F4U-4 Corsair . Also, they had a few Skip Stewart biplanes they were showing as well.

WarbirdPilots.com were showing their line of pilots. If you’re in the market for a 1/7 scale and larger full body pilot, these are certainly a good option. Following are a few other things that caught my eye while walking the floor.

STATIC MODEL COMPETITION

One of the highlights for me on this one is the static model competition. I’m always eager to see what is there as there’s always some nicely built stuff that is displayed. This year was no exception of course!

INDY 500 WINNERS AND PRO AEROBATIC PILOTS??

The great thing about this hobby is that it is available to anyone and everyone at all different levels. So many full size pilots of all sorts (military, aerobatic, etc.) have gotten their start here in RC aviation. This year Horizon Hobby had a couple RC Heros in their booth signing autographs and visiting with folks — Indy 500 winner Juan Pablo Montoya and professional aerobatic pilot Skip Stewart. Juan Pablo Montoya is an avid RC modeler when he’s not on the track and Skip inspired his aviation career flying RC as a kid.

I’m sure there’s much that I missed in the day that I was there. Just means, I’ll have to catch it all next year! See you at the 2017 show!

The post AMA Expo 2016 appeared first on The RC Geek .

Freewing F-14 Tomcat Setup & Flight Review

Thu, 21 Jan 2016 14:23:00 GMT

It’s time to buzz the tower…If there was one…

Freewing F-14 Tomcat Flight Review and Setup

So, how does the Freewing F-14 Tomcat fly? In short, pretty darn awesome! The distinguishable shape of the F-14 looks menacing in the air and the flight characteristics are fantastic. As discussed in my assembly review of the airplane, there are some tricks I’d highly recommend in setting the airplane up which at the end of the day, provide a great flying airplane. This comes from not just flying this particular airplane, but also flying the Freewing production prototype (stock and tailerons only) as well as the twin 70mm F-14 I helped design, test, and fly for my folks at JetHangar.com . They have all exhibited similar characteristics and fly very much the same.

AIRCRAFT SETUP & CG

For the control throws, this is where it’s interesting. The control system on the full sized Tomcat uses the tails as the primary surfaces for commanding pitch and roll. The wing has spoilers to augment the roll control with the wings extended which are then disabled with the wings swept. Lastly, there are full span leading edge slats and trailing edge flaps. Now, in the case of the Freewing F-14 in the stock configuration it’s setup a bit differently than the full sized airplane. There are outboard wing ailerons and inboard wing flaps in addition to the taileron surfaces.

All of the servos in the airplane are routed into an electronics board which automatically sets the mixing between the outboard wing ailerons and the tailerons. That’s all well and good and works well for flying with the wings extended, however in this stock configuration the wing ailerons remain active while in the swept wing position and that causes problems. Disabling the ailerons in the wing swept position is absolutely necessary for a good flying model in the swept wing position. So, to get around this, we must program the two aileron servos separately by directly plugging them into the receiver (bypassing the electronics board) and programming their function independently (more discussion on this below). Note that the airplane flies well with the wings extended in the stock configuration, but I found the high rate aileron recommendations much too hot for my liking.

Since we’re programming the wing ailerons independently, I’m using the ailerons more as the function of the turning spoiler like the full size by having them act trailing edge up only to help augment the roll control provided by the tailerons when the wings are extended. Also, since we’re playing with the ailerons in this way, the scale geek in me figured why not set the airplane with full span flaps while we’re at it for a little more scale swag?! By doing this, I was pleasantly rewarded with a beautifully landing airplane that when executed right lands extremely softly! Lastly, having two rates on the tailerons between wings extended and wings swept is an absolute must! I mitigated that through some switch assignments such that the rates change automatically depending on where my wing sweep switch (and subsequently wing position) is. I talk through the radio programming methodology a bit more below. Note that based on the Freewing wing sweep actuators used, the airplane does not have a mid sweep capability, i.e. the wings can only be commanded to fully swept or fully extended.

So, after many flights, here’s what I have converged on for control throws. They suit my style of flying and should be a good starting point to tune to your desired feel. Keep in mind these are purely linear with NO exponential (I’m not a big fan of expo typically). Also, there is plenty of authority running tailerons only, I’ve flown the airplane in that configuration and it works very well. However, the roll stick input requires just about max deflection for a decent 360 degree roll.

Wings Extended:

Roll – tailerons 1-1/4″, wing ailerons mixed with 3/16″ trailing edge up only
Pitch – elevator 1-1/4″
Full span flaps
Partial Flap – 5/8″ with a 3/16″ up elevator mix
Full Flap – 2″ with a 1/2″ up elevator mix

Wings Swept:

Roll – tailerons 1/2″ ( no wing aileron throw )
Pitch – elevator 1-1/4″

DOWNLOAD THE SPEKTRUM DX FILE HERE!

RADIO PROGRAMMING METHODOLOGY

My go to radio system is the Airtronics SD-10G which is an excellent radio at an excellent price. It’s a 10 channel radio with a ton of capability which made programming the F-14 Tomcat fairly easy. Since radio systems vary, I figure it best to talk through the methodology I used here which should work across most systems I would hope. In order to do what I’ve done exactly, a minimum of 9 channels are required so that the ailerons can be programed individually to function with the flaps as well as act like a turning spoiler. If limited on channels, then it limits the functionality of the ailerons to work only as ailerons (2 servos connected with a y-harness ) or as flaps (flying airplane tailerons only and connecting the aileron servos through a y-harness with a reverser on one side). I’ve flown the airplane tailerons only and it flies very well, so if channel limited and you want the full span flap, that is a very good option. That said, I do like the addition of the outboard aileron functionality as it adds a little more roll responsiveness with the wings extended that you don’t get flying with tailerons only.

So, utilizing the 9 channel setup (I have a 10 channel receiver in the airplane) the aileron servos were plugged directly into the receiver using 2 available auxillary channels (bypassing the stock electronics board, all other channels are plugged in and remain in the stock setup). This maintains everything essentially stock with the exception of the aileron servos only.

Ailerons as Flaps

Ailerons as Turning Spoilers

Taileron Rates with Wing Position

In addition to the above, I assigned my aileron dual rates to the swing wing switch (in addition to the normal dual rates switch) so that with the wings swept, the tailerons automatically reduce to low rates. This is important as the airplane will otherwise be extremely touchy in roll with the wings swept if the tailerons remain at high rate. The airplane will be on its back if you simply breath on the stick!

ESC Calibration

The last item of business before flight is to calibrate the speed controllers to the transmitter ( procedure is available here ). By following the procedure, the ESCs will tune themselves to the transmitter settings and ensures that each fan is producing the maximum amount of thrust each time it’s powered on. If you change the transmitter at anytime, then the ESCs should be recalibrated. I didn’t do this calibration on the production prototype but did on this airplane and this airplane has notably better performance! So, this is an important step!

FLYING THE FREEWING F-14 TOMCAT

Flying the F-14 Tomcat is an absolute blast and with the 5800 mah packs, I can get about 5 minutes of pretty hard flying if I want to push it. Currently, I keep the timer at 4 minutes and fly the airplane as hard as I like and the packs measure out at about 3.78v/cell. Every F-14 I’ve flown has been a great flyer and the Freewing F-14 is no exception. The F-14 configuration as a whole is just a great platform for an awesome flying airplane. Plus, you can’t beat the shape of the F-14 in the air. It’s one of those iconic airplanes that is unmistakable…though it always seems to conjure up quotes from the movie “Top Gun” whether you want them or not…”No my ego doesn’t write checks…I have an ATM card!” ��

Here’s a full flight video from a fun flying day at the PVMAC Prado Air Park . Thanks Brent Hecht for manning the camera for this flight.

With the wings extended, the airplane is a wonderful flying machine that flies easily and will handle most of what you throw at it (rudders are very effective though, so be aware). The airplane is plenty fast enough and the vertical is quite good. To give you an example, I’m able to perform a 1/2 cuban 8 return from takeoff just like the full size which is a great deal of fun! Recently I’ve gotten into performing a roll on takeoff followed by a 1/2 cuban 8 return and the airplane handles it like a champ! The slow speed handling is excellent as well and the airplane will visually give you an indication of the onset of stall. As you get slow, the wings will start to rock as you approach the stall speed which is your indication to apply power and increase the speed. This is another characteristic of all F-14s I’ve flown. Note that this is less prevalent when slow and with full span flaps.

The airplane flies just as easily with the wings swept too. Flying circuit after circuit in the swept wing configuration is easy with low rate taileron and the airplane carries speed well overall in that configuration. Pulling hard tight turns does bleed the speed off in this configuration, which is a characteristic of a delta type platform so keep that in mind.

Overall, the trickiest part I have found is managing the transition time from wings extended to wings swept and visa versa. Once you’re aware of it though, it’s easy enough to plan for. As noted in the radio setup, the tailerons are automatically set to switch to high and low rates during wing transition. However, this does not occur proportionally to the speed of the wing transition (I wasn’t sure I could program this into the radio). As a result upon hitting the swing wing switch, the wings transition over a second or two, but the taileron rates immediately change. So, when the wings sweep back, the taileron rate will initially start out sluggish (they switch to low rate) and become increasingly more effect as the wings transition aft. Conversely, when sweeping forward, the taileron rates are immediately high and touchy and then become less sensitive as the wings transition forward. It’s really not a big deal, but is something to keep in mind. You’ll quickly become aware of it when you experience a quick roll response as the wings sweep forward. It’s easily manageable…in fact, my favorite maneuver has become rolling while the wings transition like they used to do as part of their airshow demos.

Call the Ball!
At last, the world can rest easily as there is a nicely done F-14 Tomcat ARF that is affordable for most folks. The $580 price tag is an excellent value and you get a well engineered and great flying model. It’s foam which has it’s limitations (if you’re a builder, my folks have a kit at JetHangar.com ), but even so it’s pretty nice. I can’t help but think how awesome this airplane would be after stripping it down and refinishing it…but for now, we’ll keep it stock. Now guys, remember, as these become more prevalent and more Freewing F-14 flight videos come online, remember to post responsibly…the internet really doesn’t need another RC jet video featuring the “Top Gun Anthem” or “Danger Zone” playing underneath it…it’s hard to believe, I know! Although, if you’re up for a challenge, how about a few videos featuring “Take my Breath Away” or “Heaven in Your Eyes.” �� I mean, they are from the Top Gun soundtrack afterall!

Here are a few more videos I’ve captured of some friends flying their Freewing Tomcats. It really is a very cool foam jet and we’ve been having a lot of fun with them!

BONUS! Here’s video of the last F-14 Tomcat demo at NAS Oceana in case you’re looking for some maneuvers. �� Who doesn’t love the Tomcat?! I remember the Tomcat demos being one of my favorites when I was a kid at air shows. The full size airplane was an absolute beast!

OCEANA VIDEO

The post Freewing F-14 Tomcat Setup & Flight Review appeared first on The RC Geek .

AirHogs Star Wars Millennium Falcon — How to Replace the Battery

Tue, 05 Jan 2016 06:30:00 GMT

THE AIRHOGS MILLENNIUM FALCON BATTERY DIED, SO I MADE IT BETTER!

If your AirHogs Millennium Falcon Quadcopter battery died like mine, here’s a simple way of replacing the battery while at the same time reducing your charge times AND doubling the flight time!

I’ve been enjoying the AirHogs Millennium Falcon Quadcopter quite a bit since my review of it a couple months ago. I’ve actually taken it with me to a few RC events for fun and it’s been quite a hit. Who doesn’t love the fastest hunk of junk in the galaxy!? However, after a flight a few weeks ago, the battery just completely died. I mean, died! No power to the quad and no voltage from the battery at all! So, I had a dilemma, do I dare cut into this machine? I’d had it a while, so I’m sure it was past warranty and without a working battery, all I had was simply a foam desk model. So I figured at the very least it was worth a shot!

I promptly purchased three 1 cell 750 mah lipo batteries ($3 at Hobby King), pulled out the Xacto and soldering iron , did a little surgery and we were back in business! To top it all off, the quad now has a hatch where I’m now able to swap out batteries which means less down time between flights (more fun!) AND the flight times have more than doubled since I’m using a larger capacity battery. So, here’s a quick article and video showing what I did to make this modification work. Note that this really only works if you have a lithium polymer battery charger which is a standard item for any electric RC Flyer. However, if you don’t have one I do provide some discussion and links further down to some inexpensive AC/DC lipo chargers should you want to take the plunge.

What you need

To make this work, there just are a couple tools needed. In addition to purchasing a few 1 cell 750 mah lipo batteries of course, you need an Xacto knife with a fresh sharp blade, a small soldering iron (don’t need a real high power one since we’re using micro connectors), some electrical solder and some small battery connectors . I used micro deans connectors which are small and compact. The reason for the connector is so that the battery is removable (via a hatch which we’ll create) and can be quickly charged outside the Millennium Falcon quadcopter . Conceivably you could hardwire the battery and continue to charge it through the supplied charge lead in the transmitter, but that completely defeats the purpose. Based on the increased battery capacity, it would take even longer to charge than it does with the stock battery. If we’re going to cut into this, we might as well improve it in the process!

Millennium Falcon Surgery

First of all, we need to access the existing battery to remove it. The battery rests internally on the underside of the quad and is removed quite a bit easier than I expected. Using the square plastic quadcopter frame as a guide (the frame that positions each of the four rotors), I cut through the foam on the underside using the Xacto knife. We’re only cutting the underside, so it’s only necessary to cut half way through. Also, the cut should be made somewhat gingerly so as not to damage any wires routing to the rotors internally. It’s ok if it takes multiple passes to make the cuts. With the cuts made around the perimeter, then it’s simply a matter of lifting that center section away to expose the battery and electronics board. It will require a little force pulling the cut section free as you’ll have to break free some of the foam sections we were unable to cut from the outside. But use care as you do. Also, the battery is lightly tacked to the foam and so will likely lift out with the foam center section when you remove it. This in turn will likely dislodge the control board which is not a big deal. Once all the soldering has been done and the battery fitted then you can simply push the electronics board back into place and put a little hot glue near the base of the switch (internally) to secure it.

With the underside center removed, it’s at this point that we cut the battery free. When doing so, cut the leads close to the battery and cut them one at a time. Cutting both simultaneously may cause the battery to short out and may spark as a result.

Soldering the Leads

With the old battery removed and cut free, it’s simply a matter of soldering our micro deans connectors onto the battery leads coming from the Millennium Falcon electronics board and on the new batteries themselves. Note that the most difficult part in this is ensuring that the positive and negative leads align properly for both sides…don’t ask me why I say this, haha!

The battery leads are soldered in the same way. My recommendation is to cut and solder one lead at a time to avoid the possibility of shorting the battery. I enjoy a good fireworks display, but not from my batteries! Now, with everything soldered, we now have a removable connection between with our new batteries and the Millennium Falcon electronics board.

To close it all up now while keeping access to the battery area, we can setup the removed center section as a hatch. First off, some material needs to be removed to allow for the battery to sit in place and to also allow for running the battery wires. This can be done with an Xacto knife for any vertical cuts and a screwdriver to clear away excess foam material. Make sure you can get a nice clean fit of the center section with the battery in place before moving on.

1/8″ diameter magnets

Charging the Batteries

As best I can tell, the battery in the AirHogs Millennium Falcon is approximately 400 mah which is based on some charging tests I did a while back. So, going from 400 mah to 750 mah results in a significant increase in flight time! With these batteries I flew for a solid 11.5 minutes between me and my son without any kind of drop in power. Also, charging outside of the quad now can allow for battery charging that takes 30-45 minutes at the most. So, with multiple batteries, you can pretty much continuously fly the quad all day long. However, the only way this is viable is by using a lithium polymer specific battery charger to charge these batteries. Note that using the stock charging setup can be used but the charge time will be upwards of 2 hours or more.

One thing to note about Lipo battery care, in order to get the most from the battery, it’s best to store the battery in a “stored” voltage state which is about 3.8 volts per cell. Never store the battery fully discharged or fully charged as this over time shortens the lifespan of the battery. So, at the end of your multiple Kessel Runs for the day, place the batteries on the charger and do a “storage charge/discharge” on them. This’ll put the voltage right at about 3.8v and help keep your Kessel Runs going strong for hundreds and hundreds of cycles!

And so there’s my little battery upgrade hack for this little AirHogs Millennium Falcon Quadcopter . It was pretty frustrating having the battery die like it did, but this fix ended up an overall improvement and it certainly ups the enjoyment factor. Obviously, if you’re not having any issues with your Millennium Falcon it’s not necessary. But, if your battery died like mine did and you are willing to do a little surgery, it’s worth it!

The post AirHogs Star Wars Millennium Falcon — How to Replace the Battery appeared first on The RC Geek .

Freewing F-14 Tomcat Assembly Review

Tue, 22 Dec 2015 18:21:00 GMT

Bogey on our six, he’s got tone!…oh wait, my phone’s ringing…

Note that my Setup & Flight Review article/video that discusses in detail my control setup is available here .

The F-14 Tomcat is without a doubt one of my top 5 favorite jets. Honestly, as a kid, I dreamed of flying them. I would guess, anyone who has enjoyed the movie “Top Gun” probably had the same dream? — Fun fact: my dad and his company Jet Hangar Hobbies built the models that were used for the special effects in the movie “Top Gun” — For me, I just love the design of the Tomcat. Something about the shape combined with the variable geometry wing and sheer power of the twin turbines just bleeds awesome. So, when I caught wind of the Freewing F-14 80mm EDF foam jet I was honestly intrigued. I remained on the fence until I had the opportunity to fly the production prototype at the Big Jolt . I subsequently had the opportunity to then take that airplane with me to demo at the AZ jet rally as well. That’s what sealed it for me and so, in a moment of weakness I saw that they showed in stock at MotionRC , and I went for it! At $580, you get quite a bit of airplane (full airframe with ALL electronics, including fans, motors, and ESCs) for the money that’s overall pretty well done.

ASSEMBLY

I feel the need…to open the box!

Opening the box of the Freewing F-14 Tomcat reveals a remarkably low parts count for such a complex airplane. The nose section is separated from the main fuselage for packaging and requires the assembler to glue it together which is an easy task. The remaining bits are the wings and tails and the hardware required for putting it all together. The kit comes double boxed for shipping and as I removed the inner kit box from the outer shipping box, I noticed that the canopy hatch latch had pushed through the top of the kit box since it was unsupported by anything. Thankfully, it was no issue with no damage to the airframe. I’m guessing with future shipments, they’ll have a piece of foam over it which should solve that problem. I have to say, I thought as I opened the box that I might have even heard the distant sound of Kenny Loggins playing some “Danger Zone”…turned out it was just gas…

Assembling the F-14 is quite easy and can be done in just a few hours. They have done an excellent job of simplifying the assembly process based on the engineering of everything and the amount of pre-fabrication that is provided. Unfortunately, the instructions aren’t great. There are plenty of pretty CAD images showing pieces going together, but it’s not initially apparent what hardware is used and where. The assembly is easy, so it’s really not a big deal, but I do wish that with MotionRC having the relationship they have with Freewing that they would have more involvement in writing the instructions.

Battery Area Modifications for Larger Capacity Batteries

As mentioned, the assembly process is quite simple and it starts by first gluing the forward nose section to the main fuselage. However, before doing this, I did some modifications to the battery area to fit 2 6s 5800 mah batteries . 4000 mah packs are recommended, but I can tell you from flying the production prototype that you only get about 3 minutes of flight time from them — too short for my taste! So, having an assortment of 5800s that I use for my JetFan90 powered JHH A-7 I knew I wanted to use them and figured that they would probably increase the flight time to over 4 minutes pretty easily.

Modifying the battery area first required removing the rear wood tray that is installed and intended for the rear battery. Using this tray ends up placing the battery too high based on the size of the 5800s resulting in being unable to close the hatch — so out it goes! From there, I simply opened up the foam (a #13 excel saw blade worked great) between the inlets the appropriate size so that the battery pack could be pushed all the way back to the aluminum wing carry through spar. Once I had that sorted, I moved onto assembling the rest of the airplane.

Fuselage Assembly

Tails Installation

From there, it’s on to the tails. The vertical tails gave me some fits as there’s not a deep enough channel at the root for running servo wires. I used a dremel to hog out some of the foam to clearance it, but either way it is still a really tight fit. They are screwed in place so can be removed, but I’m not likely to be pulling them off any time soon.

From there it was on to the horizontal tails which went on easily and fit well. The pivot mechanism consists of an aluminum rod that is held onto the tail via a collar at one end and then held into the fuselage via two bolts. The control horn is of aluminum as well which is screwed into the plastic pivot receiver. When installing onto the fuselage, I recommend getting a good synch on the fuselage bolts so that there’s no lateral play in the stab mechanism. This also requires a good synch on the outer collar also.

Wings and Overwing Fairing Hatch

The last assembly item is installing the wings. There are a few shims provided and so I placed two on each of the pivot rods in the fuselage, slipped the wings in place and then added a single shim on the top side. From there, the top wing pivot plate is screwed on and the main wing hold down nut tightened down. My impressions of the wing pivot mechanism is that it’s quite well done. The strength and rigidity is certainly there. Also, the wings are actuated via two retract units which I thought was interesting.

To close it all up all of the servo wires were routed into the aft nose section where I placed the receiver. All of the servos are routed to a distribution board which are then routed towards the nose to the receiver — It’s a rats nest of wires. The fit of the over wing fairing hatch over the wings themselves could and should be better. There was a sizable gap between the top of the wing and the inside of the hatch. I think in part, it’s due to some interference, but also that the foam may not have held its shape all too well either. To clean this up, I did remove a bit of material on the inside of the hatch which helped a little bit. I will probably go back to this at some point to clean up the fit a bit more. Especially if I decide to do a refinish on the airplane.

Wrapping it Up

FIT AND FINISH

In terms of the shape, Freewing has done an excellent job of characterizing the shape of the F-14 Tomcat. It does appear to be quite scale in outline. Obviously, some compromises had to be made for simplicity, most namely the gear. The mains tuck up against the side of the fuselage, but in the air, especially if you opt for the missile pylons, you’ll never notice it. The nose strut does have the aft support attached which is a nice touch, but I’m not sure what the deal is with the non-scale trailing link strut though. There are some aux air inlets on the inner inlets near the fan which I question. I would suffice to say that they’re probably not necessary based on the available inlet area as the F-14 inlets are quite large.

Regarding the finish, the paint job is ok. It’s not the greatest I’ve seen, but is by far not the worst either. It’s EPO foam, and so the foam texture comes through and there were some blemishes but a little weathering to dirty it up and it’ll hide a lot of that. Overall though, none of it bothers me too much. It’s a foamy and so there’s only so much that can be done to get a clean finish on bare foam. Now, with a nice refinish on the airplane like we did on “Lady Alice” it would take this airplane to a whole new level! So, we’ll see if I go there…One nice thing I noticed is that they’ve gone to water slide decals on the markings versus the peel and stick stickers of some of their other birds.

RADIO AND CONTROL SURFACE SETUP RECOMMENDATIONS

As I noted at the beginning, I had the opportunity to get a bunch of flights on the production prototype of this design which was a lot of fun. Also, this is not my first venture with F-14s and so using the knowledge gained from those experiences, I’ve done some things a little differently on the control setup to how Freewing sets it up stock. The end result is a much better flying airplane (I validated this with the production prototype) with both wings extended and swept but it does require a little extra radio programming. Note that I will have more detailed control system setup with my final control throws in my flight review once I’ve fully vetted the throws in flight. However, my discussion below is my recommended methodology when setting up the airplane. I can tell you from experience that setting up the airplane per the manual works great for the wings extended, but that is not the case for wings swept.

Ailerons on an F-14, really??

Now, Freewing has taken a fairly traditional approach to the control surface setup in that the wings have inboard flaps and outboard ailerons which is certainly untraditional to the full scale F-14. The tails act as tailerons (which they should) and so there is a mix between the ailerons and the tailerons that is taken care of in the factory electronics board. The goal is to help augment the roll control which it does, similar to the purpose of the spoilers on the full size. With the electronics board taking care of this mixing, Freewing does a good job of simplifying the radio setup. However, this setup only works well for the wings extended. The issue is that Freewing does not disengage the aileron mixing with the wings swept which causes problems in that configuration. The airplane shimmy’s weirdly and is not very responsive in roll due to strange coupling that occurs since the ailerons are moving in very close proximity to the tails. The aerodynamic reason for this is that every time the aileron deflects while the wings are swept, the downwash angle (and subsequent local AoA at the tail leading edge) on the tail immediately changes and so as a result, you get a non-linear response. So, I highly recommend that if nothing else, when setting up this model, setting it up to disable the wing ailerons with the wings swept. Also, set up dual rates for ailerons…the tailerons require MUCH LESS throw in roll with the wings swept than with the wings extended. To do this properly requires bypassing the aileron servos from the factory control board.

On the production prototype when I discovered these issues, I ended up completely disabling the ailerons all together and using them in combination with the flaps for a scale full span flap. What this meant is that I flew the airplane for most of the flights with tailerons only. I can tell you that the airplane flies very well in this configuration but the maximum roll rate I did wish was a little more. So with the airplane assembled in this article, I’ve setup the ailerons to act trailing edge up only in combination with the tailerons with the wings extended. This will help augment the roll a little better wings extended to gain back that little bit more roll response I was looking for. The ailerons are then disable when the wings are swept so I will be using tailerons only in that configuration. Note that keeping the stock configuration for wings extended works very well, but again, I recommend using tailerons only for wings swept.

Full Span Flaps For The WIN!

Now, since we’re playing with the ailerons outside of the stock mixing board, one of the other things I’ve done is setup the ailerons to deflect with the flaps for a scale full span flap. This is another configuration I validated playing with the production prototype and can say that the configuration works very well and provides extremely soft landings when executed properly. It provides a nice nose up attitude and requires a bit more power on the approach compared to the stock inboard flaps only configuration. One thing to note is that deflecting the entire trailing edge results in a significant pitching moment on the aircraft and so about a 60% up elevator trim mix is required when the flaps are deflected. Again, the final settings will be provided in my flight review article. Note that the airplane will drop a wing when slow and hard elevator is pulled, which it will do in any configuration.

Final Thoughts

So, now that we’ve got this thing all together, it’s time to take it to the field and do “some of that pilot stuff !” I’ll get these settings fully dialed in and will report back with a full flight review in my next post. See you at the field!

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Arizona RC Jet Rally 2015

Wed, 16 Dec 2015 04:29:00 GMT

Jets, Jets, JETS!!

In case you couldn’t tell, I love RC jets. I suppose that comes from a combination of a secret desire I have always had to have been a military fighter pilot (my eyes went bad in Jr High, so ended that dream which led my trajectory towards engineering) and growing up watching my dad fly RC jets most every weekend. He was one of the early pioneers of RC jets helping to make common place ducted fan and later turbine powered scale jets. In fact, he was one of the first 10 to even hold a turbine waiver in the US. So I suppose it’s a family passion that runs multiple generations, haha!

The Arizona RC Jet Rally

When it comes to events, the Arizona Jet Rally is probably mine and my Dad’s favorite event of the year. My dad has not missed this event in it’s entire 27 year run thus far! Always held on the weekending before Thanksgiving and hosted at Superstition Air Park in Mesa, AZ by the Arizona Model Aviators , the event is a great time. The club is an awesome and hospitable group of folks and the field features a beautiful manicured runway nestled amidst the Superstition mountains providing a picturesque desert landscape that is just incredible. Being in the fall, the AZ sky is about the purest blue imaginable and provides sunsets of blue and red that are absolutely unreal! It gives you a new appreciation for the state flag and what inspired it.

What’s so great about this event is that it’s all about flying. There’s not an insane number of pilots and so there’s not usually a wait for the flight line. So folks can rack up flight after flight however they choose. The weather on Friday was about as perfect as perfect can get….seriously, perfect! That day alone I logged over a dozen flights between my two airplanes! Unfortunately the winds picked up on Saturday and so there was less flying to be had as a whole. One thing to note, there was a resurgence this year of some of the more high-end heavy metal RC jets (vids featured below). They were all way too nice and were scale which I always appreciate. My favorite of the event was probably the large 1/5 scale F-84F Thunderstreak (featured below). Finished completely in aluminum tape (I’m guessing Flite Metal brand) with rivets etc. it was absolutely gorgeous.

VIDEO

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Big Jolt 2015 Electric Model Airplane Event

Mon, 30 Nov 2015 00:38:00 GMT

Big Jolt 2015 Post Game Report

If you’ve never been to an all electric model airplane event, it’s an experience. These type of events bring all sorts of different kinds of modelers ranging from guys who love pure scale (like myself) to others who just love to build atypical type models that you wouldn’t even expect to see fly let alone built, but it’s awesome and always unique. Of course, you still get the range of 3D fliers too, but most importantly, you get a bunch of folks sharing what they love and having a good time which is always the sign of a good event.

Big Jolt is a Southern California event that’s been going for the last few years and has been a pretty popular electric model airplane fly-in. Though not an event I’ve been a regular attendee of the last few years, I decided to go this year and I’m glad I did. Unfortunately the numbers were down from years past but there was still plenty of fun to be had! Hosted by PVMAC in Chino, CA, it’s an immaculate field with a huge 800 ft runway (same location as Wings Over Prado from earlier this year) so it’s always worth the drive!

What struck me this year was the variety of aircraft that were there that included some really unique stuff (as featured in the videos below) with minimal 3D aircraft. Unfortunately, the wind was a little spotty on Saturday which kept a few folks from flying. I was there flying my “Lady Alice” P-51 along with my 90mm Jet Hangar A-7 Corsair II (pics in my RC Jet Gallery) and enjoyed getting as many flights in as I could while taking video of some of the unique electric model airplanes there.

One of the highlights from the event (aside from getting to hang and fly with my dad for the weekend) was getting to fly and share pit space with Dr. Ken Wagner who’s the owner and pilot of the full scale “Lady Alice” P-51 . He is an all around great guy and is passionate about all forms of aviation both full scale and miniature. Ken was excited to see my “Lady Alice” as he’d not seen it in person to that point. He was excited at how it came out overall and kept remarking at how realistic it looked in the air as I flew it. At the event, Ken was flying an E-Bandit that he also let me fly a couple laps on which was fun. There’s something to be said about a purpose built sport aircraft as they exhibit excellent flight characteristics and have a huge flight envelope.

The following is my video coverage from the event (I didn’t take too many pics between flights). Foam is the go-to material for most electric model airplanes anymore it seems and so much of what is featured is foam. However, there’s some really cool foam birds out there these days and I got to fly a few new gems that have recently become available — the Freewing F-14 and F-15. I have a sweet spot for F-14s (I have pics of a twin 70mm F-14 I built many years ago in my RC Jet Gallery ) and I was really excited to have the chance to fly it. I enjoyed the airplane so much that I ended purchasing one…so I’ll have a review coming soon.

Freewing Twin 80mm EDF F-14 Tomcat

Snoopy’s Flying Doghouse

Freewing Single 90mm EDF F-15 Eagle

Freewing Single 80mm A-6 Intruder

Superman

Skymaster Twin 100mm EDF F-4 Phantom II

Electric Ducted Fan E-Bandit

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Sphero BB8 Review – A Star Wars Treasure

Wed, 18 Nov 2015 04:50:00 GMT

THE FORCE IS STRONG WITH THIS ONE…

Star Wars Episode 7: The Force Awakens opens next month and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t excited. One of the cool things about it is that they’ve taken a more traditional approach on the effects that relies less on CGI. Keeping in the spirit of this, a new droid was developed for the movie known as BB8. If you’re unfamiliar with it, it’s a spherical gyro stabilized droid with a floating head on top of its spherical body — I anticipate it will be the new R2D2. What’s cool is that they physically built a working vehicle of BB8 for the movie which is not only awesome, but is also quite an ingenious engineering accomplishment.

So, enter the Sphero BB8 app enabled droid. This became available during “Force Friday” along with all of the new Star Wars toys and quickly sold out in the matter of hours. When I became aware of it, I knew that I wanted one and thought it would be a fun piece of hardware to provide a review of. Since “Force Friday,” it’s become more readily available and I anticipate that this will probably be one of the must have toys this holiday season. I’m reluctant to call this one a toy though as the engineering and packaging behind it is excellent. Also, it’s controlled via a phone/tablet app which adds a lot more sophistication than having a generic plastic controller. As the Sphero marketing states…”this is the droid you’re looking for.”

WHAT YOU GET

First of all, the retail cost of the Sphero BB8 is $150. I’ve looked around and that is the street price. Don’t over pay as folks have been snatching them up and trying to resell them at a profit online based on the popularity of this little droid. They are available online and in some limited stores. When they’re in stock, Brookstone online I think is the best place IMO, but you can also get it through amazon (if you have Amazon Prime then you get free 2-day shipping which is always nice).

Upon just receiving the box, you can tell that this is a quality piece of hardware; as the box is beautifully printed and robust. It is very nicely packaged and in a manner that guarantees the protection of BB-8 in transit. Opening the box you find BB8 centrally placed waiting for you take ownership along with the charging base, a charge cord and a basic guide. My one complaint would be that there’s not really any kind of written instructions as the reliance is on the tutorials in the App. That said, it’s not difficult to figure out.

HOW IT WORKS

To operate the Sphero BB8, the first necessity is to download the phone/tablet app as all controllability is provided through it. Starting up the app, you are greeted with the iconic Star Wars fanfare as the app loads. As it loads, you are prompted to place the device near BB8 to connect it. It’s at this point BB8 comes alive and begins a routine reminiscent of him becoming aware of his surroundings.

DRIVE – In this mode, you manually drive BB8. There are two touch pads in this screen; the one on the left is for physically driving BB8 and the one on the right is to calibrate his direction. When calibrating his direction, there’s a blue light that shines through BB8’s spherical body which indicates his backside. This all works great as he drives away from you, however, if you don’t recalibrate him when driving back to you, the controls are actually reversed which takes some getting used to. It’s easy enough to figure out though.

Also available in this mode are voice commands and pre-programmed interactions. The voice commands are fun and include items such as “go to sleep,” “look around,” etc. but my personal favorite “it’s a trap!” in which BB8 promptly runs away in whatever direction he’s facing. Maybe there’s a lesson there for Admiral Akbar? The pre-programmed interactions include BB8 nodding “yes” and “no” as well as some basic autonomous drive patterns you can initiate. Yes, he is your own personal performing monkey…er, droid…

MESSAGE – In this screen, you can project holographic images through BB8 (in the same manner as R2D2). There are a few pre-recorded messages while you can also record your own. When activated, you point your device towards BB8 so that you can see him via video. BB8 lights up white and the holographic image displays on the phone as though it’s projecting from BB8. It works best when the phone is at a little bit of a distance. The light is so that the app has a point of reference to project the holograph from, so if you have a shiny wood floor like I do, then in some cases you can pick up false indications that the projections display from depending on the lighting.

PATROL – This screen allows you to send BB8 out on an autonomous patrol of your house. He’ll happily patrol as long as he is able. My kids like to set BB8 on patrol and just see where he goes. I can’t say that it’s the smartest patrol routine, but it’s fun and gives BB8 some autonomy which you should expect from a droid. On the screen you have multiple feedbacks available showing BB8s status as well as a tracking map. Anytime he hits something blocking his way, you’ll see a storm trooper mask pop up on the tracker display. It’s not the droid they’re looking for…

SETTINGS – This is where you can tune the app as well as BB8, nothing too exciting really. Options include the sensitivity and max speed of BB8

Watching BB8 operate is a blast and they’ve even programmed some personality into him (watch what happens when running him into too many things!) which is a great deal of fun. Based on the limited videos of the BB8 from the movie trailers, Sphero has captured the movements of this droid perfectly and they’ve really put together a quality piece of Star Wars droidery. My kids have enjoyed playing with BB8 for hours which says a lot in this day of distractions!

FINAL THOUGHTS

This little droid is quite incredible. At $150 you are getting a pretty sophisticated little Star Wars droid that entertains like an RC vehicle, but interacts with some personality. Having the app as the lifeline opens up the possibility for continuous updates and improvements which means that it will only get better. This droid is heads above any other BB8 vehicles out there and will provide a ton of fun for the Star Wars fan of any age…the force is truly strong with this one…

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Miramar Air Show 2015

Tue, 27 Oct 2015 02:49:00 GMT

THE MIRAMAR AIR SHOW — ALWAYS A GOOD TIME!

Labeled as one of the largest air show in the country, the Miramar Air Show is a must see if you’re ever able to make a trip to San Diego and see it. It is an awesome combination of static displays and incredible flying from some of the best pilots and air show teams in the world. Also, being a military air show it always features the latest and greatest technology (the last couple years they’ve featured the F-35B). As a kid, I spent numerous weekends at this air show and so it always brings back memories. Growing up, my dad was invited to fly for many years as part of the RC demonstration — I even flew as a part of it too. In fact, I used to fly a duet formation flight with another Chris not much older than I was. Believe it or not, I can even remember attending the air show when the Blue Angels were still flying A-4s! But, I digress. The air show is something that I love not only for the aviation aspect but also for the nostalgia, the reminder of walking the same show I did as a kid while now also being able to share that experience with my own kids.

STATIC DISPLAYS & MORNING DEMO PICS

One of the main things making this the largest air show is the static displays. There are a ton of airplanes to look at including an assortment of Air Force, Navy, and Marine fighters, but also transports and bombers.

AV-8B HARRIER II DEMONSTRATION

Loud and smoking like a chimney the Harrier is sheer power in motion. Miramar is home to a number of these awesome aircraft.

MARINE AIR-GROUND TASK FORCE (MAGTF)

This demo gives a cool demonstration of how the Marines would typically infiltrate a hostile area. Loaded with jets, choppers, tanks and pyrotechnics, it’s pretty awesome.

F-35B LIGHTNING II

The Marines’ newest toy, what else can I say!? Though, if jet noise is the sound of freedom, then this one screams it even louder than the Harrier I think!

SEAN D. TUCKER ORACLE CHALLENGER

Sean D. Tucker is a magician in the cockpit of the Oracle Challenger biplane. Pulling off borderline 3D aerobatics with that airplane, it’s incredible!

BREITLING L-39 JET TEAM

The Breitling Jet Team hails from France and this was the first time the Breitling Jet Team performed at the Miramar Air Show. They flew a really majestic show with some cool formations in addition to some daring opposing passes.

U.S. NAVY BLUE ANGELS

The Blue Angels in my mind are the absolute best air show team in the world. The precision and accuracy of their performance is second to none. A simple look at their formation passes shows the minimum separation between aircraft that only the Blue Angels can achieve.

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How to Refinish a Foam Warbird – Finale FMS P-51 Flight Review

Wed, 07 Oct 2015 04:24:00 GMT

“Lady Alice” P-51 Flight Review

Finishing up our FMS P-51 “Lady Alice” transformation, it’s only fitting to provide a flight review of the model (with info on how I set it up) along with some video! In short the airplane fly’s awesome and looks incredible in the air in her “Lady Alice” coat of colors. If you’re just catching this for the first time, you can catch my previous articles and videos on the whole foam warbird re-finishing process here . Give it a shot, it’s worth the effort!

Aircraft Setup & CG

It took a couple flights to dial in so I thought I’d present what my final control throws and CG location converged to. First off, to clarify the instructions, the recommended CG is 110mm as measured from the leading edge of the wing root (NOT the leading edge of the wing saddle). This ultimately proved to be the right place, but being leery (typically the CG is always given as too far aft for these Chinese made ARFs), I Initially CG’d the airplane a little forward of the recommended location for assurance. Though the airplane flew ok straight and level, the nose wanted to drop pretty hard in the turns which is a direct indication of being nose heavy. This characteristic became less and less as I moved the CG further back.

For the control throws, I found that most of the throws provided in the manual were unattainable based on how everything is setup. However, it was no issue as most of the throws were too large to begin with (at least for my tastes). My go to radio system is the Airtronics SD-10G which is an excellent radio at an excellent price and with it comes triple rates (I always recommend setting up at least dual rates on elevator and aileron, especially for a first flight). Once dialed in however, these are the control throws I prefer. Keep in mind these are purely linear with NO exponential (I’m not a big fan of expo typically).

Elevator – 1/2″
Aileron – 1/2″
Rudder – 1/2″ (I would have preferred more throw, but unable to get it based on the geometry)
Flaps – 3/4″ mid flap, 1-3/4″ full flap (no elevator mixing needed)

Flying the FMS P-51

The P-51 has shown to be a real honest flying airplane. I currently have 13 flights on the bird and it has quickly become my every weekend flyer (this is exactly what I was looking for in the airplane). The 4258 motor combined with 5s battery really provide excellent overall performance with good speed and really nice vertical. Though not able to climb indefinitely, it certainly gets small rather quickly in a climb. The handling qualities of the airplane are really nice. With most any maneuver I’ve tried, the airplane performed easily and smoothly. Surprisingly, the airplane even knife edges well despite not getting as much rudder throw as I would have preferred. It does require a little cross-feed on the elevator to hold heading in the knife edge though.

For some reason, the most difficult regime I’ve found has been in the landing touchdown. The airplane approaches beautifully on final with the flaps down. It prefers a power on approach and locks into a nice stable descent and attitude. The difficulty I’ve had is finding the sweet spot with the flare and pulling the power. There is a tendency to float while not fully settling into the flare to touchdown. Nothing that more practice won’t solve!

One thing to note is that we put in all this effort, it’s worth trying to protect the finish as much as possible. EPO is the worst, but unfortunately we have to deal with it. So, to avoid EPO “popcorn” coming through the finished it’s advised to try to keep the airplane shaded when pitted. Direct sunlight and heat are not the friend of EPO foam and you’ll never be able to fully avoid that popcorn coming through, but it will help if you’re mindful of it. Another option I came across for protecting the finish was a custom airplane cover made for these airplanes. I found it at Diamond Hobby and it fits really nicely on the airplane. If you’re not near a shade structure, it’ll certainly help protect it.

Landing Gear Issues and Upgrades

One thing that I had not reported on in my initial build article/video was that the retract side/mounting plates were actually cracked around most of the mounting holes before even assembling the airplane. I assumed that the material was harder than it actually was (wrong assumption) and figured it would be ok moving forward as is. It turns out after a couple of flights, the retract side plates were completely broken around each of the mounting holes with the landing gear almost falling out of the wheel wells. The crux of the problem is the material used in making the side plates was a very brittle plastic. That being said, a quick note to MotionRC about the issue and they had a completely new set or retracts in the mail headed my way the next day. Excellent customer service! The material on the replacement retracts does appear to be harder than what was received in the box.

Ultimately I decided to replace the side plates with aluminum ones which come from a company called Small Parts CNC . It was $40 for the full replacement set which in the end I think is worth it if nothing else for the piece of mind knowing there won’t be any issues going forward. One thing to note is that if you go this route, don’t overtighten the screws in the side plates. If you do, you can stall the retract motor and the gear won’t actuate. So, use some loctite and after tighten it all down, back off the screws 1/4-1/2 a turn or so.

Let the Games Begin!
When I started this series, my goal was to provide some quality information on how to make a fully custom airframe from an otherwise cookie cutter foam ARF. With just a little extra effort, you can have an airplane that is completely your own and completely custom. It’s a great way to practice and experiment with finishing techniques that translate onto other projects. If you have any questions on what we’ve done, please feel free to email me. I’d love to hear from you guys on the conversions that you’ve done, so send those comments and send those pics!

So, in closing this up, here’s another example of a re-finished FMS P-51. This is Brent Hecht’s “Frenesi.” He’s the one that mentioned this process to me and inspired me to make this series. When it comes to foam, he IS the Master!

The post How to Refinish a Foam Warbird – Finale FMS P-51 Flight Review appeared first on The RC Geek .

AirHogs Star Wars Millennium Falcon Quadcopter

Wed, 23 Sep 2015 04:41:00 GMT

A few days ago in a department store quite close by…

Note – If you’re having issues with batteries in the Millennium Falcon, I’ve posted a How-to on replacing the battery here .

Star Wars Episode VII is rapidly approaching and with that comes new Star Wars memorabilia and RC vehicles! September 4 was “Force Friday” which was when all of the new Star Wars toys dropped online and at your local department stores. While cruising the aisles of my local target last weekend, I came across a gem – the AirHogs RC Millennium Falcon Quad Copter ! Needless to say, I couldn’t resist and so I thought I’d give a short little review of it for anyone on the fence about getting one. The bottom line – it is expensive but it’s pretty darn awesome! At last I can try my hand at the Kessel Run!

OUT OF THE BOX

First of all, out of the box, the quad Millennium Falcon is a pretty awesome piece of RC. It really does look good and you have 4 proportional channels which is great! However, retailing at about $115 full retail it is a bit pricey (best I found online currently is Amazon for $88). I can imagine that Star Wars licensing these days isn’t cheap.

Provided in the box are of course the quad along with the controller, a USB cable and the instructions — have your AA batteries handy as the controller requires 6 AA’s. The USB cable is provided for charging as it is recommended that it be plugged into a computer on one end and plugged into the controller on the other end when charging the quad. A charge cable from the controller to the quad is provided in one of the hand grips which plugs into the top of the Millennium Falcon. I think this is done to bypass the AA batteries for the charging process as I can imagine it would drain the AA’s quickly. Also, it doesn’t have to be a computer as a phone charger works or even those portable phone charging batteries do the job. I actually prefer the portable battery as that allows me to take the quad along with me anywhere and charge it even if I’m not near a power source. The one drawback here is that it takes an hour or more the charge the quad. Truthfully, with the lithium battery technology these days, there’s no reason for it to take an hour. Also, there’s no means of changing out the battery and so you’re stuck waiting an hour in between flights — not cool. Having the ability to swap batteries would have been ideal.

In terms of the construction, the Millennium Falcon is very durable. The quadcopter construction itself is primarily plastic having a plastic frame and each of the 4 props being shrouded. The Millennium Falcon body is nicely molded around the quad frame and is made of a durable foam that feels almost like a foam rubber consistency – it’s firm while also pliable and the weight is very light. What this means is that no matter what the Millennium Falcon may be bumped into, it isn’t going to cause damage to itself or what it may hit…for the most part.

FLYING

On power up and initialization, the controller makes noise reminiscent of the Millennium Falcon. Additionally, there are lights in the front (white) and in the back (blue hyperdrive) which add the “cool” factor and also can help with orientation while in flight. Lastly, the controller has two buttons on the top, one of which provides sounds from the Star Wars movies (for you to have an immersed experience I suppose) and the other acting as the “hyperdrive” for the quadcopter. The hyperdrive button when pushed while the Millennium Falcon is in flight results in the blue hyperdrive lights flashing followed by a short acceleration forward…I would guess for less than 12 parsecs…

In flight, the Millennium Falcon flies surprisingly well. It is very stable and having 4 proportional channels you’re able to control all axes of flight which gives you a chance to really have some fun. It is a toy grade quadcopter and so the responsiveness isn’t the greatest, but I also didn’t expect it to be knowing what I was getting. That being said, for flying around in your living room, the control I found adequate. Flying outside in calm conditions is no problem at all too. Light winds do push it around a bit, but can be manageable depending on how windy it is. This is where a more responsive quad would do better. Flight times are about 5 minutes.

Seeing the Millennium Falcon flying around is the coolest part about it. The way that it maneuvers around really does characterize how the Falcon would seem to fly. And if you’re new, with some practice, the quad can be hovered easily enough with more advanced maneuvering available later on given the controllability.

One thing I did notice was that the gyros in the quad may seem to drift. When flying continuously in forward flight, I found that after some time I had the stick fully forward with the quad not traveling forward much at all. If you find this to be the case, simply landing the Falcon and re-centering the sticks seems to resolve the issue simply enough. It’s not something that should exist truthfully, but is easily rectified while flying.

FINAL THOUGHTS

The AirHogs Millennium Falcon is no doubt awesome and any Star Wars fan would geek out over it. It flies well for what it is, but I do find the retail price tag a bit high. Also, the charge time is a pretty major drawback in my book. Having the ability to swap out batteries would have been ideal as then you can have a couple batteries available and have a much higher fun to charge time ratio.

The post AirHogs Star Wars Millennium Falcon Quadcopter appeared first on The RC Geek .

How to Refinish a Foam Warbird – Ep3 FMS RC P-51

Wed, 09 Sep 2015 13:13:00 GMT

Primer, sand, primer, sand…PAINT!

It’s time to finish off our FMS RC P-51 “Lady Alice” Transformation! In this installment we’re doing our paint prep and painting. Last time we covered filling in all of the oversized panel lines, smoothing the airframe out and sealing it all in with multiple coats of polycrylic to provide a protective finish. You can catch that post here ; also, you can catch my assembly review and paint stripping methods here . There’s much to cover, so let’s get to it!

PAINT PREPARATION

Primer, sand, repeat…
This seems all too familiar given our filler process, but the first step in preparing this airframe for paint is to lightly sand the polycrylic’d surfaces with some 180 grit sand paper . This is mostly to even out the finish as there are some stroke marks that do appear. That being said, it’s not a rigorous sanding at all, just a light dusting before we apply the primer.

Once sanded, we apply the primer over the whole airframe. When dry, using 180 grit sand paper , the primer is sanded down to the surface and this process is repeated 2-4 times. This allows the primer to fill the smaller imperfections and even out fully over the surfaces. This is similar to what I do to fill in the fiberglass weave of fiberglassed surfaces. For primer I use Evercote lacquer primer which works excellent; it covers well and sands beautifully. I was a little concerned at first using a lacquer based primer on EPO foam (main concern was the foam possibly melting), but those concerns were unfounded. After testing it directly on the foam and polycrylic, the primer covered beautifully without any reactions whatsoever. So, with that confirmation it was all in!

One thing to note, since the lacquer primer worked so well, this also allowed me to use my other finishing materials. For small imperfections in the surfaces I used 3M glazing putty to fill. There weren’t too many, but it helped in filling the imperfections that were just deep enough that the primer couldn’t fill fully.

Wet Sanding
With the primer and sand process done and the airframe smoothed and evened out to our liking, we can get it ready for paint. This is done by wet sanding the entire airframe with 600 grit wet/dry sand paper . The primer sprays on dull and so can cause some textural build up. Wet sanding knocks all of that down and smooths everything out while also helping with the paint adhesion. Note that lacquer primer is an excellent base for paint to adhere to (most everything sprays over it without issues). So, with everything wet sanded, it’s time to paint the airframe!

PAINTING “LADY ALICE”

Silver – AS-12 Bare-Metal Silver
Green – AS-12 Green (USAF)
Insignia White – AS-20 Insignia White (US Navy)
Black – MM Flat Black (FS 37038)
Insignia Red – MM Insignia Red (FS 31136)
Insignia Yellow – MM Insignia Yellow (FS 33538)

The Painting Process
Though it can be time consuming, I enjoy painting quite a bit. It’s where the rubber meets the road and where you see all of the hard work and preparation come to fruition on a project. It doesn’t have to be difficult and it isn’t with the right tools on hand.

The Paint Application Process
Note that as we go into the painting portion, this is an extensive subject that I’ve abbreviated a bit here. I intend on providing much more detailed painting articles and videos in the future discussing all aspects of painting and weathering.

As a general rule when painting, start with the light colors and move to the darker ones. This is because lighter colors just simply don’t cover well over dark colors. Approaching painting in this way assures that there won’t be any issues in the long run with heavy coats of paint to get the desired coverage and color. There are however some colors that seem to be rather universal. One of those is silver; it will usually cover anything and can be covered by most anything. Also, the AS sprays have decent pigment to them and so in many cases lighter colors will in fact cover darker ones without too much hassle, but don’t ever assume that will be the case.

The key to a good paint job is not just a result of the act of painting, but rather the combination of the preparation, quality of the paint and application technique. Proper preparation is paramount to a quality paint finish. Also, I can’t stress enough about using quality paints. Regarding the technique, the key to applying the paint is laying it down in long smooth passes across the surface. It doesn’t have to go on terribly wet, in fact if it does go on too wet you’ll likely end up with horrible paint runs. Take time in the spraying process. Also, when airbrushing, the paint needs to be thinned sufficiently; the consistency of the paint dictates how well it sprays. Too thick (not enough thinner) and it will spray on dry and rough whereas if it’s too thin, it will run and not have sufficient coverage. It takes a little practice, so test spray on something else before spraying the model.

Spraying the Base Color
So, with all this in mind and approaching painting our P-51, I started with the silver as a base. It was applied on the underside of the wings as well as the lower 3/4 of the fuselage. Note that to cover up the exposed servos on the wings, I cut vinyl patches and placed them over prior to the heavy painting.

Checkerboard Nose and Striped Spinner
With the silver down, I moved onto the nose and spinner. For the nose, the process consisted of masking off the painted area for the checkerboards and painting that whole area white. With the white down, the area was painted yellow (this color must go over white for proper hue). At the same time I painted the yellow, I also masked and painted the yellow rudder (again, spraying white first).

From there, the areas that remain yellow were masked off using vinyl squares cut on my vinyl cutter (they can easily be cut using masking tape, or frisket paper, etc.). With the yellow protected, the exposed areas were then painted red. Once dried, all of the tape was removed and the lovely checkerboards were revealed (one of my favorite features!).

The same process was performed for the spinner, however I used a white tamiya primer (formulated for plastic models) on the plastic spinner. This gave really good adhesion of the paint to the spinner. Also, since the primer was white, I was able to spray the yellow directly over it and then the red once the yellow was masked off appropriately.

Invasion Stripes
The invasion stripes were painted by masking off the entire area first on the underside of the wings and fuselage using fine line tape for the edges and the blue painters tape to protect everything else. Once masked, the entire area was painted white. Once dry, the white was masked off and the black was painted. It’s important to take care in measuring to ensure that all of the edges remain parallel. It’s easy to end up with not so parallel lines otherwise. Note that when I sprayed the white on the underside, I also sprayed white on the upper wing (there’s a white stripe on the upper inboard wing panel).

And Green to Finish it off
With all of the lighter colors applied, we can wrap it all up by masking for and painting the green on the top of the fuselage and wings. It is simply a matter of masking off all of the areas that aren’t green to protect them and then applying the green. The care taken in the masking process will translate into sharp, clean paint lines. It’s amazing how much applying the final color really transformed the model!

Exhaust Area
To finish off the paint, the last item of business was to paint the exhaust area and glue in the exhaust stacks. This area on the airplane is natural metal on the full size airplane so I turned to my trusty Alclad II Dark Aluminum paint. Alclad is perfrect for a quick and easy metallic/aluminium finish as it provides a very convincing natural metal finish (better than most) and it’s a lacquer, so it is very durable as well. To paint the area, it was simply masked off and airbrushed (Alclad is airbrush only).

FINISHING UP “LADY ALICE”

Applying Markings
Being a serious scale guy, I’m very particular when it comes to markings. Mostly, it’s my goal to have them appear as much like paint as possible. As a result I usually make all of my own markings (I actually find it fun). I plan to do a more in depth write-up on this process, but quickly the tools I use to draw my markings are a combination of CAD, Corel Draw and Photoshop. To apply, I use a combination of paint masks (cut on my vinyl cutter) and water slide decals (using laser decal paper).

For “Lady Alice” I wanted something that was quick and effective, so I focused moreso on using the vinyl for the lettering itself rather than paint masks. I painted the vinyl as necessary (after scuffing with a scotch brite pad ) and applied them for all of the lettering. This included the lettering on the fuselage and rudder. Note that I painted the lettering to the desired color before applying.

For the rest of the markings, I used waterslide decals with a laser printer. The one drawback to printing your own decals is that unless you have a special printer, you can’t print white and so the decals are translucent. This requires that the decals be placed over a light background to get the proper hue (there is white backed decal paper, but that has its own set of problems). As a result, I’ve had to figure out workarounds so that the decals appear correctly. To do this for our “Lady Alice,” I used painted vinyl as a backing to go behind all of the decals I applied (stars and bars and “Lady Alice” lettering).

For the stars and bars, the vinyl backing was cut to the exact shape of the full star and bar decal (not just the white areas). This was so that when the decal was placed over it, the entire decal (both blue and white areas) were the correct color. The vinyl backing was painted insignia white, placed down in the appropriate locations on the airplane and then the waterslide decal was applied over it. It’s important to allow the decals to soak properly, otherwise if you force them off the backing too heavily, they may stretch. To set the decal I used Micro Set and then once placed and dried off with a paper towel, I brushed Micro Sol over it to soften the decal and pull it down hard onto the surface. Both of these are essential for obtaining clean water transfer decals with minimal “silvering” underneath. Also, the finish the decals are applied to is best to be semi-gloss at a minimum.

The “Lady Alice” lettering was achieved in a similar manner by cutting the lettering in vinyl, painting it yellow and placing it onto the airplane. The decal was the placed over the yellow lettering which completed the characteristic red outline and black shadow.

Clear Coat
To seal it all up, I sprayed a non-yellowing lacquer clear coat over the entire airframe. A clear coat is a must whenever we’re painting as it evens out the finish which adds realism. I can’t stress enough the use of a non-yellowing clear. I’ve used the model master clear coats and though they work decently for electric models they yellow very quickly which if you have to make any repairs at some point makes paint matching difficult.

Exhaust Residue
Though Ken’s “Lady Alice” is about as clean as you can get for a full size Mustang, there is some exhaust staining that does occur (the airplane is flown every weekend). So, to simulate that I airbrushed some exhaust residue using very thinned out black paint (thinned to the point it’s like dirty thinner). I really wanted to use a dark brown color, but didn’t have anything in my stash of paints and opted not to make a run to the hobby store. Regardless of color, the process is the same and the consistency of the paint is important. It’s easier to add more using a very thin paint than to have to try to take away paint when it comes to this type of weathering which is why I choose to thin the paint down so much.

Chrome Prop
Lastly to button it all up, the prop needed to be chromed as this is a defining characteristic of “Lady Alice.” To do that, I simply used chrome monokote trim sheet and applied it to the front of the prop blades. I used a monokote iron on low heat to seal up the edges and then trimmed the excess with a sharp razor blade. For that final polish, some Meguiar’s Gold Class Liquid Car Wax was used to put a final polish on all of the blades once the trim sheet was down. The Meguiar’s is good stuff, I’ve even restored scratched canopies with it!

Next time we’ll have a full flight review of the airplane (with video if all goes well of course!) along with some setup tips as well. Until then, dust off those projects and get building. See you at the field!

The post How to Refinish a Foam Warbird – Ep3 FMS RC P-51 appeared first on The RC Geek .

Refinish a Foam Warbird – Ep2 FMS P-51

Wed, 26 Aug 2015 06:14:00 GMT

Fill, sand and repeat…

Continuing with refinishing our FMS P-51, in this installment we’re smoothing out the entire airframe including filling in all of the oversized panel lines. From there we’re applying our protective coats of polycrylic which will provide our surface in which we can do our paint preparation. If you missed my build review and paint stripping methods, you can catch that here . Let’s get to it!

FILLER TIME!

It’s no secret, the panel lines on these foam warbirds are huge. When I took on this project, I knew that was one of the first things I wanted to rectify. The overall shape looks so good, smoothing out the finish would only make it look that much better. So, enter our light weight spackle! With the paint stripped off of the airframe, the process for filling in the foam texture and panel lines is quite simple. The key is in the material however.

When I first started this, I tried the pre-primered Patch ‘N Paint from Home Depot as it’s inexpensive to purchase and I just wanted to give it a shot. Unfortunately, the material did not work very well at all (I’m sure you noticed in the video!) in my opinion. It seems that the primer affects the consistency as the material does not dry hard (it has a consistency almost like a dried out marshmallow) and does not sand well (crumbles away more than sands). At one time, you could purchase the material without the primer in it and it worked well. If you can still find that, then it should work but unfortunately it appears that may not be the case anymore.

SAND BABY SAND!

With the filler applied and thoroughly dried, it’s ready to sand. If this were a wood airframe, I would attack it using about a 12″ long sanding block to sand it all smooth. However, given that this is EPO foam, we want to avoid sanding into the foam as much as possible while also minimizing possible gouging. So, in this case, I used some 180 grit sand paper for the primary sanding task to knock it all down and alternated with a small 4″ sanding block to level out any peaks and ensure a continuous surface (the best way to sand a round corner is with a flat block ironically). Note that we don’t want anything heavier than 180 grit as we don’t want to risk cutting too heavily into the foam. Also, in this case I sanded primarily in a circular motion as that helped to localize the sanding and avoid sanding the foam. So, using these two tools, we can really quickly sand down the entire airframe and get it all smoothed out.

It will take a couple passes of the filler. Typically, as you sand you will find areas needing some touchup, so I recommend applying the touchup as you see it. Also, the time spent in this process here will help determine the overall smoothness of the airframe once the polycrylic is applied, so spend the time needed.

AIRFRAME IMPROVEMENTS

Radiator Vent Scale Detail Addition

One thing to note, the aircraft out of the box has 2 non-scale cooling holes on the underside of the radiator fairing. To remedy this non-scale feature, I instead cut into the airframe the scale radiator exhaust vent. An easy mod to do, I simply traced out the outline of the exhaust door and vent onto the underside of the airframe and cut them out. Using an X-acto knife while cutting vertically straight down, the exhaust door was cut out. The same was done for the exhaust portion of the fuselage too, however the top of the vent in the fuselage was cut horizontally (parallel to the waterline of the aircraft) so as to create an exhaust duct. Once removed, the top and sides of the vent exhaust opening in the fuselage were lined with 1/64″ plywood as shown in the pictures below.

The vent door was finished off by lining both sides of the door with 1/64″ plywood. The hole in the part was plugged with a piece of depron. Filler was then applied and then sanded to contour to finish it off. Once the assembly was completed, the vent door was glued into the airframe at the desired angle. A much needed improvement as this vent door is very characteristic of the P-51!

Elevator Stiffener & Pushrod Attachment

ALONG CAME POLYCRYLIC

With the polycrylic applied and cured, we now have a nice canvas for us to paint over while also leveling out our finish a bit. From here, we will begin to primer the airframe and prepare it for paint…and then of course paint it! Both of which we will cover next time. So, until then dust off those projects and get building!

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How to Refinish a Foam Warbird – Ep1 FMS P-51

Wed, 12 Aug 2015 05:29:00 GMT

When did foam become the new balsa wood?!?

Ever since getting to ride in Ken Wagoners’ Lady Alice P-51, I’ve had to have a P-51 in my hangar and it has to be painted up as Lady Alice! Anything I can do to relive that amazing experience…which of course would mostly consist of me pushing the airplane around my garage while making airplane noises! I wouldn’t have it any other way! If you missed my post and video from that day, you can read about it here . Be sure to check the video too as it was a beautiful day for flying!

So, enter the FMS P-51. I had been shopping around for a P-51 for a while and had been eyeing this foamy for some time. A friend of mine is a master when it comes to foam and I’ve always wanted to use his technique on refinishing a foam airframe. So, when the FMS P-51 came up on sale at MotionRC , I bit the bullet and picked one up. Mostly, I liked the size (able to transport easily in one piece), the outline looked good and it had a cool scale 4-blade prop (though, I upgraded to something better and more scale). Also, you get an all inclusive package with servos, motor and ESC. However, it is indeed EPO foam, and though the finish is nice, you get big panel lines and some foam texture; nothing that can’t be remedied through some elbow grease and the right materials. So over the next few weeks, I will be showing the method I’m using to completely refinish a foam warbird while also showing some of the upgrades done as well.

BUILD REVIEW

As mentioned, the FMS P-51 is an all inclusive package that comes painted and with everything installed. All that’s needed is a battery and receiver and you can be flying in under an hour. However, putting the airframe together I noted a few things both good and not so good. Here’s what I found:

GOOD:

NOT SO GOOD:

UPGRADES

There were really only 2 upgrades that I made…

Prop & Spinner
First of all, as noted, the spinner and prop are a bit hokey. Though you get a 4-blade with a scale-ish shape, the diameter and chord are just too small for scale (and that stuff bugs me). Also, the spinner material seems brittle and the attachment and alignment setup for the prop blades leaves a bit to be desired. To remedy this, I upgraded to the AirField prop and spinner available at NitroPlanes . The overall shape is much more correct and the prop diameter and blade chord is larger (more scale, woohoo!). Additionally, the overall design is much better in that the prop blade attachment is much more robust and the prop blades themselves are stiffer. Note that to make this work with the FMS motor/prop adapter, a small amount of grinding with a dremel was necessary to clearance for the hex shaped backplate lock.

5s Motor Upgrade
The second upgrade is to upgrade the motor to the FMS 4258-550Kv motor to run 5 cells. The stock setup is for 4 cells and stock the performance though decent, has room for improvement. So, knowing this, this is an inexpensive upgrade that will notably improve the performance of the airplane. Note that if running more than 4 cells, it is recommended replacing the stock ESC. A Castle Creations Talon 90 will work excellent!

PAINT STRIPPING

Obviously, if you start out with an unpainted airframe (at one time I saw them at Diamond Hobby ), then you don’t have to worry about this. However, if you are refinishing a painted airframe, then the simplest way to remove the paint is using acetone.

To strip the paint, the process is simple. Soak a paper towel with some acetone and place it onto the surface we’re stripping letting it set for a few seconds. Then, simply wipe it off and the paint will begin to lift up. It takes some time, but is not a hard process. The silver took a little more effort, but the acetone alone still lifts it up. However in the process, I discovered that an adhesive remover from G.R.O.W. Automotive (pictured above) available from my folks ( Jet Hangar Hobbies, Inc. , email or call to order) actually acted as a paint stripper and helped lift the silver up quicker. So, using both of these in combination helped speed up the process. Note that the video at the start of the article shows in detail this process.

Next time we will delve into filling and smoothing out all of the surfaces (in the picture above, you can see I’ve already started on the dorsal). This will give us a nice smooth canvas to then start our process for preparing for paint. Ultimately, we should have a finish that will have a similar look to a fiberglassed airframe (that’s our goal at least!). Good times!

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Comic-Con 2015

Fri, 24 Jul 2015 04:16:00 GMT

Geek Power! (raises fist to the sky with glowing ring on finger followed by numerous lightning flashes)

Though RC is my passion, as the name on this blog indicates, I’m also a geek (I know, shocking, right?!). Though I’m not a big reader of comic books or graphic novels (I generally read for research), I love many of the comic book characters and thoroughly enjoy the many movies and TV shows that are out. I’ve researched origin stories and evaluated similarities of film stories to comic book stories and all that nonsense (cue Ogre from Revenge of the Nerds as he declares, “NERD!!”). So, you can understand my excitement when this year, I had the opportunity to go to one of San Diego’s institutions…Comic-Con! If you know anything about how tickets are acquired for Comic-Con, being an average Joe like me, tickets seem almost impossible to obtain. Somehow this year, we made it through and with much excitement by myself (and the rest of my family), we got tickets!

It was an early, cloud covered Sunday morning of getting to the Trolley station (no way were we going to drive down there!) and picking up our tickets. We arrived an hour before the doors opened and there were already droves of people flowing towards the convention center. Surprisingly though, getting our tickets was a relatively quick process and before we knew it we were equipped for our adventure. We hopped in line about a half hour before the doors opened and we waited in anticipation to experience what waited inside for us.

At 9:20 (10 minutes early!), the doors opened and we all herded inside for our Comic-Con adventure. Once inside and on the main floor, it was completely overwhelming! Where to begin, where to go?!! It was the largest convention I’ve been to and the shear number of people was insane. Being our first trip there, we had no clue what to expect or even where to begin!

Walking the floor, the funny thing was that most of what I gravitated to the were the models and sculptures. There were some absolutely incredible models, many of which were props that were used in movies. There’s not doubt a few things we could observe and apply to our models as we look at this stuff. Though, I’m not a sculpture artist of any form, I’m always looking at the finish and evaluating how they were painted and weathered to look so lifelike. That’s what really adds so much realism and it all directly relates to our scale models. Here are just a few examples:

Some of my favorite items were the air and spacecraft movie models including the X-Men Blackbird model that was used in the X-Men 2000 movie. It was a really large model that looked awesome. What I found interesting however was that the model had really exaggerated separation/panel lines. If you thought panel lines on foamies were huge, if you can imagine, these was even bigger! I’m guessing that it’s in part so that there is sufficient contrast in those areas to be picked up on camera. Otherwise I would guess it would all blur together into a big grey blob.

Here were a few of the other cool models:

This year was a DC Comics year (not much Marvel Comics presence on the floor) with the upcoming Batman v Superman movie being a main focus. So, on display they had all of the costumes for the movie along with some of the DC TV shows (Arrow & The Flash). It’s always interesting to see how these are fabricated. Needless to say, they are extremely custom and somehow I don’t think one size fits all. Maybe with some extra protein, we’ll bulk up to fit the BatFleck suit!

By the end of the day, we were just completely exhausted. Trying to walk through the floor was slow and difficult at times. But, it was well worth it. So much cool stuff to see and geek out over. If you ever get the chance to go, try to formulate somewhat of a plan ahead of time beforehand, it will help!

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How to Build an RC Jet – Part 8

Wed, 15 Jul 2015 02:42:00 GMT

Raised Rivets made easy

I had originally intended for our last article and this one to be a single write-up. However, as I continued to write more and more on the construction, I realized that the article really needed to be split into two. Also, since detailing and the application of raised rivets is extensible to more than just speed brakes, I figured a single article on this process would be good since it is a process that can be applied to aircraft as a whole. As with the last article, I’ve also included a how-to video to help illustrate the process which is at the end of the article.

Let’s Get Things Ready

Raised Rivets

From there, raised rivets were added throughout the interior to simulate the full size aircraft as much as possible (I actually placed the raised rivets on the inside liners before even gluing the balsa edges). The rivets used are a laser cut vinyl rivet available from Chad Veich Models . What’s nice about these is that Chad will custom cut whatever size and spacing needed for your project. In the case of the Skyray, I needed two spacings based on what my resources showed.

Note that with these rivets being vinyl, they are most effective as a raised rivet since there will be a raised definition once placed on the surface. Based on that alone, they are not the best choice if one is looking to apply a flush rivet. Flush rivets should be flush to the surface and are more accurate with a recessed definition. I will show how to do flush rivets in a separate article when we get to that on our Skyray. (For flush rivets, I like to use a pin vise and sharpened tube. I plan to use the vinyl rivet carrier from Chad’s raised rivets as a guide when the time comes.)

To apply these raised rivets, it’s simply a matter of plotting out the rivet pattern on the receiving part first with a pencil and applying the vinyl dots along that pattern appropriately. The rivets are transferred by first peeling away the main carrier to expose just the rivets on the backing. A piece of scotch tape (clear so we can see the placement) is then placed over the rivets and a burnishing tool is used (a wood sculpting tool works well) to help transfer the rivets from the backing to the tape. From there, the rivets are placed as appropriate onto the parts. It really is that simple when dealing with these vinyl rivets as they are pre-cut and spaced perfectly for us. The most difficult part is getting the rivets off of the backing and onto the scotch tape. Additionally, if at any time we make a mistake or anything like that, it’s simple to peel away the rivets and start again or add and remove as necessary.

With the raised rivets placed at last, the last item to finish off speed brakes was to add the raised hatch detail on the interior on all four brakes. To simulate this, aluminum tape was used. The tape was burnished with a scotchbrite pad (for paint adhesion) and then cut to the appropriate size and simply stuck in place. To finish it off a single rivet was placed in each corner based on the reference material. Lastly, a light dusting of primer was sprayed over the interior of the speed brakes. It’s simply a light dusting as we don’t want to fill in too much the hard work we completed!

To help illustrate the process a bit more, here’s a short how-to video on how the detailing was done:

So, at last, we now have 4 completed speed brakes ready to install into our fuselage! It took some up front planning and some extra work, but the end result is well worth it. Our next step will be to install these speed brakes into the fuselage. From there, we will move on with installing bulkheads and building hatches. Here’s a quick test fit of the speed brakes into the airframe…Let the games begin!

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How to Build an RC Jet – Part 7

Thu, 02 Jul 2015 05:55:00 GMT

All I wanted was to install bulkheads…but somehow ended up with 4 speed brakes instead…

We have a pretty sizable article this week which is the first in a two part series discussing how the speed brakes were built, actuated and detailed for our Frankel F4D Skyray. In addition, I’ve put together a couple how-to videos to support (the first being below). So, let’s get to it!

Fuselage ready for surgery.

In our previous article, we completed (mostly) our dorsal assembly. With that completed, we can finally move on to work on the fuselage. Typically I would go to the wings next (I generally like to work on the largest parts last), but in the case of this build, we need to have bulkheads installed in the fuselage first before working on the wings. This is so that the wing mounts and spars can be setup in the foam cores before they are sheeted.

So, this originally was going to be a quick task; cutting hatches, installing bulkheads, that’s quick right?!… With that in mind and with much vigor, I plowed on to cutting out the hatch and clearing away any fiberglass that needed to be removed; this included the area in the canopy hatch and the intakes. However, once I had that completed, I realized that getting hands into the aft fuselage (i.e. area where the speed brakes would go) once the bulkheads were in was going to make placing speed brakes difficult. So, instead, I transitioned into building speed brakes…4 identical speed brakes that will ultimately be placed near the aft end of the fuselage. It took some time given I had to build four identical ones, but the result was well worth it. So, in this post we’ll discuss the process of building the speed brakes mostly, but first we need to touch on cutting the hatches out.

Cutting Fiberglass Hatches

The first requirement for the fuselage construction was to cut the main fan hatch and clear away the closed off areas around the canopy hatch and the inlets and open them up (these are closed off for ease of layup of the fuselage). To cut the hatch, masking tape was used to line the entire perimeter which was used as a guide. From there, an Xacto razor saw was used to cut the hatch out, the tape serves as an edge to guide the razor saw while cutting. To initially cut through the glass, the front corner of the razor saw was used to rub into the glass focusing on a small area to puncture through the glass (all while using the tape as a guide) . It takes time, but once cut through, the razor saw is then used to cut the full edge of the hatch. This process was repeated for all edges of the hatch perimeter. In the case of this Skyray, the fuselage layup features carbon fiber tape lining the entire hatch area. Though, it adds stiffness to the fuselage, it is dreadful to cut with a standard razor saw as it dulls them quite quickly. So, in this case, the razor saw was used to cut through the glass and carbon, but from there a #13 Excel saw blade was employed to make most of the cuts as this saw blade was more resilient to the carbon and made it easier to cut. It had a smaller surface area, so would not catch or pull the hatch or fuselage as much

From here, the bulkheads were test fit as they need to be in place before we can do any of the other large construction. It was at this point that I realized that if I was going to build speed brakes into the airframe, this was the time it needed to be done, before the bulkheads are installed. As large as the model is, internal access in the aft fuselage isn’t the easiest to get to, especially once bulkheads are glued in place. So, at this point, it was time to switch gears and build some speed brakes…4…of… them…identical to each other…

Speed Brakes!

The skyray has 4 speed brakes in the aft fuselage forward of the pitch trimmers; two on the top with the other two on the underside. They are hydraulically actuated having a single piston attached to the forward center of the speed brake internally. The goal is to mimic and simulate that look as much as possible with the end result being something functional and maintainable looking very much like the full size.

Cutting The Speed Brakes Out

To build the speed brakes, the first requirement was to establish the shape and location of them on the airplane. I used 2D CAD to draw them while scaling from my drawing reference (I talk more about that in this post ). I cut the shapes out of sticky backed vinyl and placed them onto the fuselage. I made templates for the location to ensure that they were all placed correctly relative to each other and the fuselage as a whole (simple paper templates were plenty sufficient).

To cut the speed brakes, the same method as described above to cut the hatch using an Xacto Razor Saw was employed here too. The vinyl speed brake acted as the template and tape edge for the saw. Again, since cutting through carbon fiber was necessary, a #13 Excel saw blade was employed to cut through it.

Building Liners and Hinging the Speed Brakes

I should note, that initially to determine the proper geometry, I first built a mockup from the first speed brake that was cut out. This allowed me to see at what height the air cylinder needed to be and the location of the horn bracket on the speed brake. Once I had that determined, I followed the steps below to build the final to be installed speed brake assemblies.

With the speed brake removed, the next step was to hinge them. To do this, an interior well/liner was built that serves to hold the hinge while also adding a scale realism to the interior. I determined the geometry of the liner in 2D CAD at the same time I drew the speed brake shape itself. I then used that as a plan and built the liner from that drawing.

The edges of the liner were made from 1/4″ balsa that was cut at about 1/2″ wide. I pre-finished one edge by smearing medium CA on one of the 1/2″ tall edges, wiping it down lightly (to ensure full coverage and remove excess) with a paper towel and then hitting it with some Zip Kicker once full covered. Using a sanding block with 180 grit sand paper applied to it, I then sanded the glue smooth and hit it with a coat of primer. The gave a nice finished sheet metal look by filling in the wood grain.

The edges were built on top of an appropriately sized piece of 1/64″ plywood that was also prefinished. In this case, the 1/64″ ply was primered and sanded a few times until the wood grain was filled and the surface was smooth. A rounded slot was cut through the middle (indicative of the full size) to allow for the air cylinder to pass through for actuating the speed brake. When built, all of the finished edges were oriented inward (the inside is what we want to have the finished look).

To hinge the speed brake, two basswood stiffeners were glued to the interior of the speed brake. A 3/32″ hole was drilled in the ends of each and a 3/32″ aluminum tube was embedded in each opening. This is so that a 1/16″ wire could be run through the tubes to act as a hinge pin. From there, the same treatment was given to the speed brake liners. In this case, I 3D printed a drilling fixture to set the holes properly for the aluminum tubing. Having a fixture helped remove any type of guessing and in the long run expedited building the 4 speed brakes. Once drilled, the aluminum tubing was glued in place following a quick test fit of the assembly to ensure smooth actuation.

With the aluminum tubing in place in the speed brake as well as the liner, the speed brake is hinged by placing it atop the liner and inserting a 1/16″ diameter wire (90 deg bend on one end) all the way through all of the tubing (liner and speed brake). Note that it was necessary to clearance some of the top of the balsa edges (speed brake to liner fit) so that the speed brake would set properly based on the speed brake contour. At this point, we have a fully hinged speed brake and we can proceed to the next step…actuation.

Actuation

To actuate the speed brakes, I decided to go with air cylinders vs servos. The reason for this is two fold, 1) it is about as scale as possible and provides the perfect look within the speed brake compared to the full size airplane and 2) air cylinders can be setup with very positive closing force to minimize the chances of blow-back and the speed brakes potentially opening in certain phases of flight (high g’s, high speed, etc.). Setting up servos in this manner will ultimately burn them out unless an over-center lock is setup which would have been difficult.

The air cylinders are Air Power 1″ stroke (obtained from DreamworksRC ) and are about as light weight as you can get in an air cylinder of the size. The cylinder is attached to two lite plywood brackets that are glued to the underside of the speed brake liner. The height was determined through the mockup by ultimately finding a height that worked best that closed the cylinder well and also pushed it open to an angle that appeared correct. To hold the cylinder in place at the bracket end, a single screw through the hole at the end of the cylinder is used that screws through the brackets. On the speed brake end, I made a 3D printed horn bracket and glued it in place. A du-bro ball link was used at the end of the air cylinder which slips into place into the horn bracket while two 4-40 bolts hold it in place.

Note that in order to get really positive pulling force on the speed brake when closed, the wood brackets were glued in place such that when the speed brake is fully closed, there is about 1/32″-1/16″ of travel left in the air cylinder. This results in an extremely strong closing force once the air cylinders have air in them.

Here’s a video to help illustrate a bit more what has been discussed to this point.

At this point, we now have 4 built speed brakes. However, before we move on to installing them into our fuselage, it’s best that we do ALL detailing of the internals first. Ideally, the internals would even be painted before we install them. So, next time we will get into detailing the interior wells of the speed brake including application of raised rivets; Good times!

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Warbirds and Classics 2015

Wed, 24 Jun 2015 04:08:00 GMT

The Warbirds and Classics Post Game Report

There’s no question that the Scale Squadron of SoCal know how to put on an event. Originators of the US Scale Masters , they have been putting on scale events since day one as scale is their true passion. It is no surprise that this years Warbirds and Classics event was no exception! Running in its ninth year, the event was held at a new location; the OCMA “Bob Swenson” field in Black Star Canyon next to Irvine Lake. Nestled amongst the hills of Orange County, the runway is a nicely manicured and smooth stone composite material that is as hard as asphalt. There had been some light rains a few weeks prior and so the surrounding scenery was lush with green grass and native California shrubbery. Add to that a weekend of picture perfect weather of high 70 degree temperatures and blue skies and it was an incredible weekend of flying and comradery!

The assortment of airplanes at the event was absolutely incredible this year. In the years I’ve gone to the event, I think this year had one of the best assortment of beautifully crafted warbirds to date! We are talking multiple BIG warbirds that were not only built and finished nicely but were also flown in a manner to honor their full scale counterparts. I think the pilot total was around 60 as a guess with of course even more airplanes!

Here are just a few of the airplanes that were there. I have videos of most of these at the bottom of this post with more videos being added each week on my YouTube Channel . So, be sure to subscribe to get those when they are posted.

Another highlight was the banquet. In addition to the delicious BBQ meal provided, Colonel Bob Thacker was the guest speaker and was signing patches and DVDs. At 97 years young, Colonel Thacker is full of life and is just hilarious to listen to. Not only an avid modeler and scale model aircraft designer, he flew bombers in WWII, was a test pilot along side Chuck Yeager and was the first to fly non stop from Honolulu to New York in a propeller driven aircraft which was performed in 14 hrs & 33 minutes. He performed this feat in a P-82 known as “Betty-Jo” named after his wife. The aircraft he performed the flight in resides at the AF Museum in Dayton, Ohio. The icing on the cake was at the end of the banquet, a VQ Models P-82 “Betty-Jo” (donated by Hobby People ) was raffled off to the pilots. It was a really nice looking ARF…to the extent that after seeing it, it quickly was added to my must have list!

Col Thacker and I

As far as jets, only EDFs were allowed at the event which is common out here as there aren’t very many local fields in SoCal that allow turbines anymore unfortunately. There were a total of four EDFs there, two of which were mine ( JHH Mirage IIIRS and JHH A-7E) while the other two belonged to my friend Brian (TamJets A-4 and Freewing A-6 EDF’s). No matter though, we represented as best we could getting in as much flying as we could handle.

My primary goal in covering the event was to capture video as there was so much cool stuff to capture! Though I did take the few pictures above, it’s hard do it all between taking video and pictures while also enjoying flights throughout the day. However, Don Aitken was there and took a number of really awesome pictures. They have been posted to the OCMA Facebook page along with a gallery on the OCMA site. Here are a few of my favorites.

At last, here is a selection of videos from the event. As mentioned previously, there are more to come in the coming weeks that I will be adding to my YouTube channel , so be sure to subscribe to get those when they are posted!

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Adventures in 3D Printing – Ep2

Wed, 03 Jun 2015 02:17:00 GMT

The Tale of Two Exhausts…

A while back, my Friend Brian had a minor incident with his 1/4 scale TBM P-40. Though, it didn’t result in any physical damage to the airplane, it did result in an impact to the “stand way off scale” exhausts on one side. Being made of thin plastic, they ended up crushed and unsalvageable. We originally thought we’d make a quick plug and do some resin castings, but as we looked at the exhausts more, we realized just how out of scale they really were and how much they just didn’t look right at all. So, enter the 3D printer! Within a few days, we were able to draw and print some replacements that came out awesome! Before we begin, if you’ve not read my Q&A on 3D printing, you can read that here to get a better understanding of the process and materials. Also, if you’d like to see video of this P-40 in action I’ve embedded the video from my YouTube channel at the bottom of this article. Don’t forget, if you are looking for help with some 3D printing, I can help! Just shoot me an email through my contact form.

A comparison of the stock exhausts to the final 3D printed exhausts

The CAD Model

First things first, we had to make a CAD model of the exhausts. In looking at the original plastic exhausts, they were completely out of scale. We used the basic dimensions as a starting point, but then used pictures of the full size airplane to draw from. In my research, the P-40 interestingly had different exhaust shapes depending on the variant and model.
Ultimately, we went with the style that had the most flair to it since it looked the best. Whether this is accurate to the full size airplane or not for this particular model, I couldn’t say, but we new they’d look good in there either way.

Rhino was used to create the CAD model which took about an hr or so to draw initially. However, as I researched, I noticed the exhausts had a pretty definitive crescent shape to the exhaust that needed work. So, overall, I would say it took about 2-3 hours to finalize the CAD model for printing. The base of the model was made by drawing the desired outline and then extruding it to add thickness to it. The exhausts were done by lofting the base and exhaust cross-sections along the desired curve of the exhaust. From there, it was a matter of copying the exhaust at equal spacing until 6 total existed in the model.

The Slicing Software

In order to print the CAD model, it first must be exported from the CAD software as a .stl file. This is a stereolithography file type that when exported to, converts the CAD model into a series of polygons (high resolution = high polygon count). This is then brought into a slicing software where it is prepared for the 3D printer. The software generates the necessary G-code to operate the printer. Also taken into consideration is that since we are using an FDM machine, scaffolding and support material are required for any areas of the part that would otherwise print in mid-air. This too is done within the slicing software.

The following pics show the printed part. All scaffolding/support material was removed resulting in a nice 3D printed part. Given we are using an FDM machine, there are some striations in the part that do occur, however, this is easily taken care of in the finishing process (next section). The complete print time took approximately 6 hrs for each exhaust part. The size of the printed part is approximately 9.5″ long, 2″ wide, and 1″ tall. It was printed at a 0.15 mm resolution using Polylactic Acid (PLA) as the material. This results in a hard part that is also, as an added bonus for you green folks, biodegradable.

Finishing our 3D Printed Exhausts

With the exhausts smoothed out to our liking, it was then painted using ALCLAD II (good stuff!) as the base with some black shading added around the edges. ALCLAD II is a metallic paint that comes in various shades of metals. It is the best and most convincing paint that I have come across when it comes to painted metallic finishes. The key is to have a nicely prepared and smoothed out under surface as that’s what makes the paint truly pop. So, with the exhausts done and painted, it’s simply a matter of dropping them into the cowl!

The Final Result

To fit the exhausts, scale openings were cut into the cowl using a razor saw and Dremel tool for the exhausts to be placed through. Standoffs were glued onto the base of the exhausts so as to attain the correct spacing within the cowl. From there, they were glued in place with some 5 minute epoxy and a piece of aluminum tape was place on the back for insurance.

Below you can see the final result as it was well worth the little bit of effort. It didn’t take much time and now the exhausts are far more representative of the full sized aircraft (the stock ones were pretty bad…). Little things like this add a considerable amount of realism to ARF’s and kits and it’s fun to do and experiment in different ways. With 3D printing, making parts like this has gotten a lot easier and quicker.

Lest we forget, here is our subject P-40 in action!

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How to Build an RC Jet – Part 6

Thu, 28 May 2015 05:20:00 GMT

Finishing Fiberglass – Let’s finish that dorsal!

Last time we finished up construction of our rudder/dorsal assemblies and built our offset rudder hinge. So, now it’s time to clean these assemblies all up and make them as ready as they can be to be installed onto the fuselage. The installation of the dorsal onto the fuselage will occur once all of the construction of the fuse is finished however. The primary reason for this is so that all work on the fuselage can be done without the dorsal being in the way as the fuselage is rotated around while it’s worked on.

Primer – Sand…repeat, repeat, repeat…
With the dorsal and rudders being glassed (see Part 5 for that discussion), the first item of business is to start the primering process. The objective for finishing fiberglass here is two-fold:

To fill in the cloth weave, the process I use is to simply apply a coat of primer, sand it down, and repeat until the surface is smooth. Another method is to apply a second coat of finishing resin which works well also, but requires quite a bit of sanding and can add weight. Regardless, more than 1 coat of primer is usually required to get a fully smooth surface anyhow so we can cut to the chase with the single resin layer and just use the primer for filling.

Once sufficiently smooth, any areas that couldn’t be smoothed out with the primer are individually filled using a glazing putty. I prefer 3M Acryl-White Putty as it fills nicely, sands well and gives a smooth surface. However, this is for small surface imperfections. Any deep imperfections require Icing filler to fill as the glazing putty doesn’t have sufficient body to hold shape for deep imperfections.

Details, details…
To finish off the dorsal/rudder assembly, there are a few details necessary. First off, the Skyray has a very definitive fuel dump mast at the top of the rudder with 4 slots in it where the fuel would exhaust through. To make this part, I designed the two ends (radial slotted base and tip with open slots) in Rhino and had them 3D printed out of SLA. Those two ends were then glued into a 1/4″ diameter aluminum tube of the appropriate length. The result is a very convincing and robust part. The whole part could have been 3D printed and I looked at doing that. However, I was looking for a light weight solution and wanted to avoid printing a solid part for that reason (I did have a single piece hollow part printed of the entire mast, but it warped). The mast will be final installed onto the dorsal just prior to gluing the dorsal on.

The other details necessary (in my mind) are the scale actuator linkages that are within the slots for the hinges on the full size airplane. These were also designed in Rhino and 3D printed. They were printed as a single part, however the CAD model was toleranced sufficiently such that after being printed the rod parts were in fact moveable. This way, they move as the rudder moves and it didn’t require anything additional to do so. This is the beauty of a very high resolution 3D print! It saved me lots of time and heartache trying to hand craft something. You can see the results compared to their full scale counterparts below.

For comparison, here are some pictures of the full size counter part. This is the look we are trying to achieve…without the bird pooh of course!

So, at this point, the dorsal is as finished as it will be before installing it onto the fuselage. We still need to run the lighting for the solid white navigation light in the dorsal, but that can come at anytime prior to installing the dorsal onto the fuselage. Also, we still need to final install the rudders too. Again, that will occur just prior to dorsal installation on the fuse. From here we will set aside the dorsal a while as we start to work in on the fuselage (fuse has to be done to setup the wing installation). So, enjoy your rest my friend, we will see you again soon…

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Wings Over Prado 2015

Thu, 07 May 2015 04:14:00 GMT

The Wings Over Prado Wrap-up Report

If you’ve never been to an RC airplane event, you should go to one, even if it’s just to spectate. It’s a great time where pilots hang out and share their love of RC. Not to mention, you get full access to an RC field for 2-4 straight days to get in as much flying as your thumbs can handle! April 24-26, 2015 was the Wings Over Prado event hosted by the Pomona Valley Model Airplane Club ( PVMAC ) at the Prado airpark near Chino, CA. They have a world class venue with a gorgeous 800 ft paved runway and tons of wide open sky to tear up. Plus, for you single guys, there’s a women’s prison down the road if you’re looking for a date!

I attended the event Friday and Saturday taking what video and pictures I could when I wasn’t flying or shooting the breeze with friends. Unfortunately, the weather those days wasn’t ideal, but that didn’t stop us from getting in the flying we wanted! The winds were up both those days (~10+ mph), but prevailing mostly straight down the runway which made it manageable. We even got rain on Saturday afternoon! Again, that didn’t stop us…though the rain ended the event early that day, my dad still enjoyed getting a flight in with his VQ Tri-Pacer in the rain while standing under the announcers tent to stay dry while flying. It was fun to watch. So as you can tell, it doesn’t matter the weather, folks come to these events to fly and it is always a great time!

Here are a few of the pictures I took. I didn’t take many as I was focusing more on video and of course flying!

There is an awesome gallery posted on the PVMAC website of numerous pictures taken by Larry Griffiths. Here are a few of my favorites.

Lastly, here are a few feature videos on some of the airplanes I enjoyed seeing at the event.

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Adventures in 3D Printing – Ep1

Fri, 01 May 2015 04:23:00 GMT

Wait, I can do what?!

3D printing is something that I have been playing with for some time and in one word, it is awesome! Though as a technology, it has been around for a really long time, only within the last few years has it become an accessible tech for most folks. The reason being that the prices of machines have come down dramatically allowing folks access to something that was otherwise cost prohibitive. Also, there are commercial companies now that focus on 3D printing for non-industrial folks like us, plus one can now own a 3D printer for under $1000. So, this is an exciting time as this awesome technology grows in popularity and becomes better and better!

Comparison of the 3D Printed turkey feathers on my JHH Mirage IIIRS to the full size.

As we are going through the Skyray build, 3D printing is something I’m using quite a bit for detailing. I first started seriously experimenting with it on my mirage pushing it to the extent of fully printing the exhaust section turkey feathers. So, with that in mind and having a few 3D printing articles planned in the future, I thought it would be good to start with a good overview of what 3D printing is, the different types of printers and how it can be applied to our models. It’s something you’ll see a bit on my builds. The intent of this article is a general Q&A on 3D printing and how we can utilize the technology on our models to lay the ground work for future articles that I have planned. Also, if you are in need of 3D printing services, I can help! Please send me an email via my contact form with any questions. I can help point you in the right direction and/or help you with some printing/drawings as needed.

What is 3D Printing?

3D printing is the process of applying additive layers of material (typically thermoplastics) under computer control to create a 3-dimensional object. The geometry of the object can be virtually anything and originates typically as a 3D CAD model. There are all types of mediums that can be printed which include metals, ceramics, etc., however, thermoplastics (PLA and ABS primarily) are the most common and least expensive to print. There are also photopolymers (UV cured plastic) that are used to create highly detailed and extremely smooth parts which are useful for model details but are also more expensive to print based on the cost of the material and cost of the 3D printers that use them.

Robo3D FDM Printer

What types of 3D Printers should I know about?

There are a number of different machines out there that use various different processes for printing. However, in the case of our models, the primary types of machines to know about are Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) extrusion type and Stereolithography (SLA) light polymerized type 3D printers. Printing metals is also being done, but it is still quite expensive, so I’m not sure printing full struts is quite there yet. However, 3D printing is ideal for prototyping gear prior to machining. Also, 3D printing is ideal for making landing gear details and things of that sort. Here’s a quick overview of the two types of printers I deal with for my builds.

Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM)

These are the most commonly known 3D printers. An FDM printer uses a filament (most commonly thermoplastics) that is fed through a hot extruder (to melt the material) that lays down material layer by layer to build the object. The material immediately hardens after extrusion as it is applied and bonds to the previously applied layers. The filament is fed through the extruder typically by a worm drive while the extruder assembly is controlled by stepper motors that move the extruder in the x, y, and z axes. These type of machines can use a number of different materials, but the most common (as far as we’re concerned) are Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS) and Polylactic Acid which are quite inexpensive. The finished part from this type of print is strong and accurate, but typically will have striations in it resulting from each of the printed layers. Depending on the orientation of the part during the print, some aspects of the part can appear “stringy.” This is primarily when trying to print a curved surface that is perpendicular to the extruder (as an example, the top and bottom of a closed sphere). The reason being that the printer is building a curved surface using a series of flat edges (like a topographical map), so the orientation of the part during printing helps minimize this.

FDM Printed Exhausts for a TBM P-40

Stereolithography (SLA)

An SLA printer uses an ultraviolet curable photopolymer resin to build parts one layer at a time. Using an ultraviolet laser, a cross-section of the part is traced onto the surface of the liquid resin for each layer. This in turn cures the resin where the laser tracings were made. This process continues until the entire object has been built. Once completely printed, parts are cleaned in a chemical wash and placed in an ultraviolet oven to fully cure. The finished part from this type of print is very smooth and accurate with extremely fine detail which is ideal for small detail parts for our models, but it can be brittle. Also, these are more expensive prints based on the costs of the photopolymer resins and machines being quite high still so owning one of these at home isn’t the most practical currently. However, there are companies that can help with that (discussed below).

SLA Printed Turkey Feathers for my Mirage

How do I make a 3D printed part?

P-40 Exhaust CAD model

First things first, you need a CAD model of your design before it can be printed. This is done by way of a CAD program where one draws/sculpts their design 3-dimensionally on the computer. There are numerous free programs out there that do the job, or you can purchase one. I have been using Rhino which is a 3D surfacing program and like it quite a bit and find it more intuitive than some other programs out there. It’s not a parametric solid modeling program like SolidWorks or Creo which is both good and not so good depending on who you ask and what their preferred type of modeling is. Ultimately, the best CAD system is the one that works best for you. In the end, whatever you want to print, it must start from a good CAD solid model and be water tight (i.e. no holes in surfaces, misaligned edges, etc.) before being sent to the printer.

Sliced P-40 Exhaust Model

From there, the model is imported into a slicing software that analyzes the model. The software determines how best to print it (defining tool paths, supports, etc.) and generates the g-code that tells the printer how to operate to build the part. If you are sending your part to be printed by a third party, then this is all taken care of by them. Different types of machines require unique settings for the best possible prints. They also require different inputs for operation.

P-40 Exhausts Printing

Once readied in the software, it is sent to the printer and the part is printed. The time required varies based on the complexity, size of the part and the print resolution. This can vary from minutes to multiples of hours. No matter how long, it’s worth the wait!

How can I use 3D Printing for my models?

This is the fun part! Ultimately, anything is possible for our models using 3D printers. It can be simple upgrade/modification parts for servo mounts or things of that sort, or fine detail parts for cockpits, antennas, vents, etc. It can even be taken to the extreme of printing an entire airplane (it has been done). In my case, I prefer to use the technology for detail parts that are otherwise extremely difficult and time consuming to fabricate using traditional modeling materials. A prime example is that just prior to leaving for the 2013 Scale Masters Championships, I had a full set of turkey feathers for my Mirage IIIRS 3D printed (I plan to also do this for the Skyray). The end result far exceeded my expectations and elevated the realism of my airplane considerably. In fact, the craftsmanship judge noted that it was “the best set of turkey feathers he had ever seen on a jet.” Also in preparation of the competition, I made some scale wheel hubs as well that included the lug nuts that exist radially around the hub and valve stem in full detail. All of these details added considerable realism to the airplane which helped make it a much more convincing scale model and I believed helped notably on my static judging score.

Do I need to own my own 3D Printer?

As fun as they are, it’s not necessary to own your own 3D printer. Depending on the type of print, it may not be practical to own the type of 3D printer that is necessary (i.e. SLA). That being said, there are guys like me that will help print models for you (I can turn around prints in a day or two, email me for more info ) and companies out there like Shapeways.com (2 week turnaround typically) as well that allow us to print anything we need to. That being said, I do own a 3D printer and absolutely love it! It is a ROBO 3D which is an FDM machine that prints PLA and ABS and I am happy to help others with their modeling and printing needs. It works great for prototyping as well as for some detail parts too. However, to print extremely small and fine detail parts for our models it requires an expensive SLA type machine that uses a very expensive photopolymer material. So, that is where companies like Shapeways come in as they have these machines and offer printing services for these type of prints. I have printed a number of items from Shapeways and can attest to the quality and extreme detail they produce, but this is also the more expensive print to make. So, for items that don’t make sense to print on my own machine or where I need the smooth finish, I go to Shapeways for the ultra detail when needed. A good example of this are the turkey feathers on my mirage shown below in it’s various stages.

Robo3D Extrusion Assembly

If you can model it, you can print it!

In closing, as we move along with the Skyray build, we’ll come back to 3D printing quite a bit. It’s a great process and has really changed what can be done with our scale models. Also, if you do have a 3D printing need or are curious about some CAD modeling or just have some general questions, please feel free to shoot me an email as I am happy to help! I have access to a couple of printers (including my own) and can turn parts around very quickly (within a day or two).

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How to Build an RC Jet – Part 5

Mon, 20 Apr 2015 02:27:00 GMT

Fiberglassing and Hinges…now we’re getting somewhere!

Some Notes on Fiberglassing

Now, I typically don’t hinge control surfaces until after glassing. I’ve done it both ways (hinging before and after glassing) and have found hinging after glassing is definitely my preference. The reason for this is that when I make the slots in the control surfaces to receive the hinges, I can get much cleaner and crisper corners since the glass hardens the wood. Otherwise, the balsa can crush in around the slot and it doesn’t come out as cleanly. In terms of glassing, I use 3/4 oz fiberglass cloth and Pacer Z-Poxy Finishing Resin finishing epoxy resin to apply the glass. The fiberglass is cut out around the surface allowing significant overlap and laid flat onto the surface dry (important!). From there, I mix up the Z-Poxy Resin as directed (50/50 mix on a scale) in a paper cup. I drizzle it onto the dry fibreglass in the center of the surface and then wet out the glass (while on the surface) using an old credit card or something similar as a squeegee. I wet out the glass from the center out towards the edges until the entire surface is covered. There should be no pooling of resin once done, so make sure to squeegee any excess as this is just extra weight otherwise. For the leading edge, it’s important to get some overlap around so that you get full coverage when glassing the other side (at least 3/4 coverage around the LE). This also adds some additional hardness since if done right, you will get a double layer of fiberglass over the LE. For the trailing edge, the glass should be wetted to about 1/4-1/2″ past the trailing edge of the actual surface. This is again for full coverage, but also so that when the opposite side is glassed, it creates a stiff trailing edge that once cured can be sanded to a nice sharp point at about 1/32-1/16″ past the wood trailing edge.

Dorsal glassed and curing

Rudder glassed and curing

Offset Rudder Hinge

All surfaces cut, ready for hinging

Once happy with the hinge cutouts, the rudder was split into a top and bottom in much the same way using an Xacto with a straight edge and a razor saw to cut through the 1/64″ ply trailing edge stiffener. The end caps were made simply by lightly wetting a paper towel with some lacquer thinner, touching the foam to lightly melt a little of it on the ends of the rudders, and then using a balsa wood filler to fill in the space (they can also be capped with 1/64″ plywood as well but requires removal of 1/64″ material on each end first).

Installing the Torque Rod

The last item of business is installing the rudder torque rod which was done by removing the foam in the area of the torque rod and installing a balsa block. From there, a slot was cut in the leading edge of the rudder to allow for the torque rod to be inset into the rudder. It is aligned so that the center of the torque rod lines up as an extension of the rudder hinge line (very important). This minimizes any lateral movement once everything installed which alleviates any biases that could be imparted onto the rudder servo and linkage assembly.

Next time we’ll talk about detailing and finishing our rudder and dorsal assembly. That’s where the hard work and prep really starts to pop!

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RC Cars – Tamiya Midnight Pumpkin

Tue, 14 Apr 2015 01:39:00 GMT

Tamiya Midnight Pumpkin, so much fun!

Midnight Pumpkin ready to roll!

Growing up in my Dad’s shop ( Jet Hangar Hobbies ), I vividly remember many of the Tamiya RC car and RC truck kits on the shelves of the shop. My memory was that they had some of the most fun and stylish RC cars — meaning that they were unique and fun to not only drive but to look at too. Growing up I remember having the Grasshopper, Subaru Bratt and Wild Willy (was actually my sisters) and remember seeing so many more on the shelves of the shop. For a long time, these kits have been discontinued, but many have now been re-released and they’re just as awesome as I remembered as a kid! It takes me back to my childhood and it’s great that I can share the same experiences with the same products that I had growing up with my own kids. The kits are easy to assemble and are a great way to expose anyone to our awesome hobby. You can find many of them on Amazon and/or Tower Hobbies or at your local hobby shop (they can usually order items for you).

The Truck

Classic Midnight Pumpkin Box Art

The Tamiya Midnight Pumpkin is a 1950’s style truck body atop a large chassis with nice oversized tires. It shares the same chassis as the Lunchbox (built one of those with my daughter last year, she was 9) and is a really fun and easy build. The kit comes with everything you need with the exception of a battery, steering servo, transmitter and receiver. With a street price of only $125, this is an excellent value! Starting from a stop, the Midnight Pumpkin does wheelies which is a nice feature for the kid in all of us! Though not a practical feature for racing, it’s a great RC car for just driving around at the park or in front of your house. In our case, it even is great for exercising our dog!

Kit contents upon opening the box

The Build

Pumpkin chassis with electronics installed

Finished body with stickers applied

The finished Midnight Pumpkin looks awesome! I was pleasantly surprised by the metallic body as it has a nice dark hue to the metallic finish as opposed to a straight bright chrome and as a result it looks nice on the truck body. Also, the body being injection molded plastic supplies a nice durable product which is nice as you’re bound to have a few bumps here and there!

The drive

Complete, ready for a test run

Driving the Midnight Pumpkin in short is a blast! The smile on my son’s face as he drives it pretty much says it all. It doesn’t matter the terrain, with the large oversized tires and the large suspension travel the Midnight Pumpkin makes short order of whatever it faces which makes it that much more fun. The wheelies are a really fun feature that give the truck that much more style in the way it drives. Combined with a DuraTraxx 3000 mah MiMH battery, the Midnight Pumpkin can be driven hard for a good 30 minutes! This is a huge change from when I was driving these cars as a kid. Where I couldn’t re-charge the battery quick enough after about 4 minutes, my kids actually get tired of driving before the battery even runs down. A welcome change indeed!

The beauty with RC Cars is that they are accessible for virtually anyone. They are a segment of the hobby that someone can get into for a relatively low investment while also easy enough that someone can drive it straight out of the box without needing much up front training like RC planes. So, it’s no surprise that the popularity of RC cars continues to rise. Though the market is certainly saturated with a variety of ready-to-run pre-built cars, there are still some fun RC car kits out there that are really fun to build and a great project to build with your kids — especially in these Tamiya RC car kits! Give it a shot, you’ll like the results!

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Hawker Sea Fury – 5-blade Electric Conversion

Thu, 02 Apr 2015 14:32:00 GMT

5-blades of Sea Fury Heaven…but it Takes the Right Motor

The power system for the Sea Fury is as follows:

In designing the power system, I kept the following 5 rules in mind:

Use an Electric Performance Estimation Tool

The place to start is with a decent electric motor performance estimation tool. This is the best tool for getting a decent idea of how many amps and watts the system will generate. You can use a basic one like this — http://brantuas.com/ezcalc/neumotorscalc.asp or you can go to something more advanced like this — http://www.ecalc.ch/motorcalc.php?neumotors&lang=en . Note that both are specific to NeuMotors , but you can use them as a start by honing in on a good Kv for the system and then you can manually input motor specs to investigate other motors. In the case of the Sea Fury, I used the basic calculator which provided a decently accurate estimation of the performance of the airplane. Here’s a screen capture of my results from the program.

Blade Count and Pitch Speed

Cell Count and Motor Gearing (or not)

Thrust is Going to be High Either Way

When you start dealing with these multi-bladed props, the thrust is going to be high regardless — so don’t use thrust as the only metric for performance. Static thrust decreases as airspeed increases so, if you don’t have sufficient airspeed being supplied by the propeller, the airplane isn’t going to fly well no matter how much thrust you have. This also boils down to the purpose, of your electric propulsion system. A good example is IMAC aerobatic airplanes. In these cases, it IS about thrust as you have lightly loaded airplanes needing accurate and true vertical lines at constant 50-60 mph speed for all maneuvers. In this case, you don’t want something that is going to fly the airplane too fast. However, with a warbird, you are more highly loaded and so need more speed for the airplane to cruise efficiently and fly well.

Go for it!

Oh, and since we’re talking Thunder Tiger electric conversions, here’s video of my friend Brent Hecht’s F8F Bearcat. In this case, his conversion used a large out-runner motor, a 2-blade prop and 8 cells. It sure would be nice if these airplanes became available again, but I won’t hold my breath given that there’s no longer a US Thunder Tiger distributor.

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How to Build an RC Jet – Part 4

Wed, 25 Mar 2015 04:00:00 GMT

Rudder me This!

Final test fit of the dorsal before fibreglass

With the final shape of the dorsal completed for our RC Jet, it is on to cutting out and shaping the rudder. On the full size Skyray, the rudder was split into an upper and lower half. The upper portion acted as a yaw damper primarily while also acting in unison with the rudder. The lower half acted as the primary rudder surface. Interestingly, in looking at videos of the Skyray in flight, the yaw damper doesn’t seem to act much in unison with the rudder at all. Also, in talking with Mark Frankel, the rudder is quite effective on the model causing it to roll pretty substantially. So, based on those two things, my intention on this model is to make the yaw damper fixed and use the lower half as the rudder. We will be cutting out both the damper and rudder and splitting them, but when final installed into place, the yaw damper will be fixed. This way, it will still appear to be a moveable surface.

Cut it…

Rudder template in place, ready for cutting

Checking my 3-view to the plans, I traced the rudder shape and transferred it to the dorsal. The key here when plotting it out is the allowances for the balsa rudder cap (in this case it’s about ½” of material) as well as the spar in the dorsal itself. In other words, ½” of the rudder leading edge will be removed and thrown away and replaced with a solid balsa cap that gets sanded to shape. Also, I had to take time to ensure I accounted and had a plan for the location of the spar so I had the proper scuffer setup on the dorsal as well once everything is hinged. The idea is to have a nice scale looking flange on the dorsal and rounded leading edge on the rudder. The Skyray has an offset hinge setup on the rudder, so this was kept in mind throughout. Once sure that everything was right (measure twice, cut once!), I moved on to cutting the rudder out.

I used tracing paper to trace the outline and cut the outline out of the tracing paper using a straight edge and an X-acto knife. From there and then used 3M 77 spray glue to tack it down onto the dorsal surface. Again using an X-acto (use a fresh sharp blade) and a straight edge, I cut the rudder surface away from the dorsal using the traced outline as the template. It was done by cutting the rudder outline halfway through on one side of the dorsal, transferring the template to the other side and then doing the same thing. To cut through the 1/64” ply TE stiffened, a fresh razor saw works well.

Shape it…

template marked and LE sanded to shape

With the rudder now removed from the dorsal, it’s a matter of getting the spar cap on the rudder and the spar into the dorsal. In the case of this design, it’s a balsa cap on the rudder with a 1/8″ spar installed into the dorsal. First, the balsa rudder leading edge spar cap was glued using titebond. With the rudder LE on and the glued cured, it was sanded to shape. Given the offset hinge design of the real deal (the purpose of this on the full size is to help reduce surface hinge loads), the rudder has a nice rounded LE. This was accomplished by using a circle template to trace the shape on each end of the rudder and the LE the rounded according to those markings.

Spar it…

Foam cleared for the spar with allowance for the rudder scuffer

For the rudder spar, I had to remove foam from the inside of the dorsal to allow for the 1/8” spar as well as the balsa rudder LE. In this case, we are going to use the balsa sheeting as the rudder scuffer, so only the internal foam is removed. In other cases/designs, we might cut out a section of the dorsal to allow for a balsa spar and create the scuffer differently using 1/64″ ply strips (that will come with the wing). Double checking the fit and depth of the spar with the rudder, the spar was epoxied in place. Some micro balloons were added to the mixture to give a little better thixotrpic properties while

Spar epoxied in place

also lightening the epoxy. Lastly, based on the design, the spar extends well below the dorsal as an attachment to the fibreglass stub fin. So, some sheeting was added so that it matched up to the fuselage. Some balsa filler was used to get a rough matching contour to the fuselage stub fin. Once glassed an glued to the fuselage, that intersection will be cleaned up smoothed out completely. Lastly, I beveled the inside edges of the rudder scuffer so that when glassed, the scuffer will have a nice sharp edge to it and not interfere with the rudder.

Next time we’ll discuss glassing these parts a bit and hinging the rudder or our F4D Skyray RC jet. Here’s a sneak peek to give an idea where we’re headed…

Dorsal and rudder assembly following glassing

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How to Build an RC Jet – Part 3

Wed, 18 Mar 2015 04:08:00 GMT

Dorsal Town

Final shaped dorsal test fit on fuselage

When you build an RC jet like this one, it’s nice to start off small. Progress comes with small milestones accomplished by small steps at a time. It really only takes a few hours per week to see notable progress and the key is to just get into the shop and make that progress happen. Yes, it takes time and will take a while to get done, but that’s half the fun. So, with that in mind, I started off construction with the dorsal. Note that I started this build before starting this blog, so in some cases, I’m limited on the pictures that I took.

Sub leading edge glued in place

With everything unboxed and setup in my shop, the first item of business was sheeting the dorsal foam core (I plan to make a tutorial video on how to do this when I sheet the wings). Mark’s design incorporates a sub leading edge before sheeting, so that was installed first with some wood glue (I like to use Titebond Premium Wood Glue ). The sheeting was made from contest grade 1/16” balsa (as light as possible) glued edge to edge as necessary to get full coverage over the core. The grain of the wood runs parallel to the leading edge (important!) which helps with strength as well as makes it easier for the wood to contour over the foam core. I used Pacer PT-40 Z-Poxy Finishing Resin to adhere the sheeting to the foam. It was applied to the wood sheeting only (the foam will soak up resin if applied to it since it’s porous), in a light thin coat. The sheeting was then placed onto the foam core and into the foam cradles. The cradle was weighted so as to ensure a good bond and that the foam core remains straight. To ensure it was straight, sight down the leading and trailing edges and place weights as necessary to straighten things out. Once satisfied, it was left to cure overnight.

With the sheeting done, all edges were trimmed and block sanded flush to the foam. From there, the balsa leading and trailing edge parts were glued on using wood glue and sanded to shape with a sanding block. On the trailing edges, I like to laminate a 1/64″ ply strip between two pieces of balsa. When glued, the 1/64” ply is placed along the chord line so that once the TE is sanded to shape, it creates a fine, yet sturdy trailing edge. The same was done for the tip block, but some ribs were added also to get a little space between the blocks. The tip block was glued on following final shaping of LE and TE and subsequently shaped as well. In checking my 3-view drawing, I noticed something didn’t quite look right on the supplied tip block, so I cut my own with a modified shape that was more representative of my 3-view reference. Once all the shapes were final sanded, of course it requires a quick test fit on the fuselage!

Final shaped dorsal

I have to say, I love getting to this step of shaping the flying components of the airplane. It’s fun to see it come together and form into what are the primary lifting surfaces for the model. When I get to the wings, I plan to spend more time discussing how to sheet the cores, shape and sand the LE/TE and tips through videos and step by step tutorials. Unfortunately, I had already built the dorsal before starting this blog and was limited on pictures for this post. Next up as we build, we will tackle cutting, shaping and hinging the rudder.

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Lady Alice P-51 Ride

Wed, 11 Mar 2015 05:58:00 GMT

The Experience of a Lifetime!

It was a spontaneous event, so I only had my iPhone with me. Nonetheless I was able to put together a short video and some pictures from it so, I hope you enjoy! Needless to say, I feel a P-51 ARF kit bash in the future. I need a “Lady Alice” P-51 in my hangar so that I can push it around while making airplane noises to relive this unforgettable day! The full story follows below:

A Typical Morning

Saturday, February 28, 2015 started out like any other day really. We had driven up to my parents’ house the night before since we had some family activities to attend to that day. We had arrived late, but my dad stayed up for us as he wanted very much to invite me to go to the hangar at Chino with him. You see, my dad has been helping to restore a PT-17 Stearman with his friends and they all share a hangar at Chino airport. They are all RC guys with an undeniable love for airplanes and aviation. Ken Wagner is amongst them and hangars his two aircraft there (the P-51 “Lady Alice” and an N3N) alongside the beautiful bones of the PT-17 that is a work in progress. My mom always loves time with the kids, so I was happy to join my dad for a father/son day working on the PT-17. It doesn’t get much better than that!

The Invite

Strapped into a Piece of History

The Flight: A Wannabe Flyboy’s Dream

We turned to base and approached the runway as Ken throttled back the beastly Merlin. The touchdown was as though we had been settled into a large pillow, soft and perfect. The tail again wagged and slowly settled onto the runway. We pulled onto the taxiway, called up ground, and began our taxi back to the hangar.

A Successful Mission

As we rolled along the taxi way, I reflected on the flight and was in complete awe of the experience I had just had. It was without a doubt one of the most amazing experiences imaginable; even now, I still can’t believe it! We pulled up to the hangar and Ken shut down the engine, bringing to rest our Saharan cat. Getting out of the airplane, he turned to me and asked, “What did you think?”–to which I promptly blurted out, “INCREDIBLE!” With a smile he dismounted the airplane and I lingered in the cockpit for a while, crawling into the front and relishing the beauty of what it must be like to fly the P-51.

Unfortunately, at some point it all had to end and after I had my fill of making airplane noises while sitting in the front seat and pretending to fly sorties over northern Europe in 1944, I dismounted the airplane. Ken pushed her back into the hangar and tucked her back into sweet dreams, covering her in blankets so she could rest up for her next sortie. Amazingly, not more than minutes after getting the airplane into the hangar, the skies opened up with a full rain squall. Perfect timing on our arrival!

The flight was only about ½ hour in duration, but it was perfect. Stellar views, a beast cowled before us, and the elegance of flight–what more could one ask for? As I reflect on the experience from the day, I can honestly say, it was something that happens once in a lifetime. I have dreamed since I was a kid of flying fighters and high performance aircraft (eyes weren’t sufficient to be a pilot in the military) and that dream was realized that day. It is one thing to behold and appreciate the beauty of the P-51 design with its elegant lines, powerful engine and laminar flow wing, but to experience firsthand the power, the aerodynamics and sheer delight of how that design operates brings that appreciation to a whole new level. It brings it to life! This was the work horse of our US military for so many years and even now, it represents so much more than just an airplane design. The P-51 is a pivotal piece of aviation history that has influenced so many future aircraft designs and I was fortunate enough to experience that history first hand with just a simple ride.

Thank you, Ken, so much for an unforgettable experience! You are an RC Hero!

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How to Build an RC Jet – Part 2

Tue, 03 Mar 2015 05:09:00 GMT

Let’s talk about resources and documentation for Scale Competition for a minute…

First of all, it’s important to know the rules. For this bird, I will be primarily competing in the Scale Masters competitions, and so have gone through those rules numerous times (as well as have competed several times previously). USSMA also has a decent aid on their website for how to put together a quality documentation book. So, before starting, know what is necessary to present to the judges and have sufficient documentation for your aircraft. From the start, a good 3-view resource is necessary so that one can ensure the shapes of the model match the drawing. The paint scheme can evolve as the build progresses as sometimes you may have something in mind initially, and in the research process you may come across something you like more and/or can document color and markings better.

For me, I love the research and will typically buy whatever books I can find (it’s kind of a sickness that my wife gives me a hard time for) and spend numerous hours searching the internet. For the Skyray, there are two definitive books that are absolutely a must for any Skyray fan and are listed below. Also a must is a plastic kit (if available) as it helps to visualize shapes three dimensionally and help with some of the details you may not be able to find otherwise.

For the multi-view drawing, I have a Douglas drawing that came from Mark Frankel that originates from a Douglas drawing used to show the placement of difference aircraft components. It has been published in a few magazine articles written by Mark and is probably about the best Skyray drawing out there for outline shape to the full size given the original Douglas source. It is also the basis for the design of the model which is ideal for competition. Unfortunately, most Skyray drawings out there lack accuracy, most notably with respect to the nose shape. Most characterize the nose shape with some droop to it which is wrong. The Tamiya plastic kit even incorrectly includes this into the model. So, know your airplane and know your model. Ultimately it comes down to the shapes that are documented in the documentation book (not necessarily the full size airplane in some cases unfortunately). There’s a good discussion about this over at Tailhook Topics . The Mark Frankel drawing is available below.

Douglas F4D Skyray multi-view drawing. Source, Douglas Aircraft

In addition to the above, it is hard to beat a simple google search for the subject aircraft. Also, adding “walkarounds” to the search string can usually land a decent selection of detail shots of the aircraft (assuming there are some in existence). There are a few websites around that feature these types of walkaround pictures which are great. Also, if you can find an airplane in a museum close by, then take a trip and take a complete photo profile of the airplane top to bottom. For me, I am fortunate enough to have one of only a few Skyrays nearby at the “Flying Leatherneck” museum at Miramar MCAS. Needless to say, there has been many a trip there so far with more in the future I’m sure! It helps that my kids find the museum fairly enjoyable…most days. I have a huge amount of detail pictures that I will try to figure out how best to make available for those that may be interested (I don’t have the bandwidth to host on this site currently). I’m thinking that a simple CD for $7 plus shipping may be simplest. Otherwise, here are a couple sites with walkarounds that I came across.

Lastly, for paint schemes, an easy start is a google image search (along with searching the pictures in the books) for the subject aircraft as well as a search of some plastic model review websites (my regulars are listed below, they are all plastic model sites). Having multiple pictures along with a sheet of plastic model decals of the desired paint scheme is ideal. The key is to be able to show every aspect of the color and markings sufficiently through pictures and decal placement drawings. I can easily spend hours and hours in this stage because it’s fascinating to me what can be found and sometimes you find that one picture hoping to find decals or vice versa. The deeper you dig, the more you can find in many cases. Also, once you found something you like, then start searching for the squadron, the bureau number, etc.

The above is intended to be an overview of what I go through at the start of a competition project. There are significant amounts of hours rolled up in these few words, so ultimately, you get out of it what you put in. Also, the research is ongoing throughout the build with references continually checked along the way. Physically building the documentation book is another story which I will get into when the time comes. So, pick an airplane and research away! You might be surprised at what you find!

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My RC Hero!

Fri, 27 Feb 2015 04:51:00 GMT

RC Heros – Tips from “The Father!”

When it comes to modeling and RC (well, most things quite frankly), my dad is unquestionably my hero. As some of you know, he is the owner of Jet Hangar Hobbies, Inc. as well as an Academy of Model Aeronautics Hall of Fame member. He is the most talented and skilled builder and flyer I’ve ever known. So, I am excited to be able to feature him in this blog and get contributions from him and my mom (Cyndy). I’ve started a new category entitled “RC Heros” where I will feature posts from my folks. So, welcome to the inaugural post for “Tips from The Father,” written by Cyndy Wolfe.

In a few days, we’ll post photos of the completed Rearwin Speedster; winter is almost over so it will be time to fly!

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How to Build an RC Jet – Part 1

Wed, 25 Feb 2015 04:53:00 GMT

Let the Building BEGIN!!

I’m starting this blog with a series titled, “How to Build an RC Jet.” The subject of the study is a Mark Frankel F4D-1 Skyray kit (I love deltas!) of which I plan to build into a competition ready model for the US Scale Masters (and/or Top Gun if I can ever afford the trip some year). As I build the kit and document it here, I plan to cover not just basic building techniques (including tutorial videos along the way) but also all of the details that go into a competition model and the tools that are used in the process. These techniques are extensible to any model aircraft project and so I hope that I can provide anyone out there reading this some basic tools to do something out of the ordinary.

Regarding some specifics on the kit, the design is an exact 1/7 scale which puts the fuselage length at 77.6″ and the wingspan at 57.4″. This kit was first designed around glow ducted fan back in the mid to late 1980’s and flew excellent with that power. According to Mark, he designed it as large as he could while still getting a great flying airplane given the available glow power systems. The design has flown on glow and turbine power, however this will be the first to fly on Electric Ducted Fan (EDF) power and I expect performance to be excellent! Some of the features I intend to build into the airplane are:

Mark Frankel, I’m fortunate to say, is a friend and has been very gracious since before the start of this project. He is an extremely talented designer and is very well respected within the industry. In addition, he is an accomplished aviation author having published TEMCO TT-1 Pinto (Naval Fighters #72) (Consign) and Killer Rays: Story of the Douglas F4D Skyray & F5D Skylancer (Specialty Press) , the latter being an absolute necessity for this project! So, with that said, here is the beginning with lots more to come!

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Welcome to The RC Geek Blog

Sat, 21 Feb 2015 18:49:00 GMT

Chris Wolfe (The RC Geek)

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The RC Geek

I DESTROYED My Brand-New RC F9F Panther… On Purpose!

I DESTROYED My Brand-New RC F9F Panther… On Purpose!

Cockpit and Canopy Refinement

Auxiliary Intake Plug

Main and Nose Gear Doors

Speed Brake Detailing

Scratch-Built Body Flaps

Surface Prep: Smoothing the Canvas

The B-58 Hustler Saga - An Epic Journey of Hard Lessons

The B-58 Hustler Saga - From Triumph to Tragedy

Building the RC B-58 Hustler

The Maiden Flight: Triumph and Tragedy

A Journey Worth Embarking on

Preparing for Battle: The ULTIMATE Guide to Scale Documentation

Preparing for Battle: The ULTIMATE Guide to Scale Documentation

B-58 Hustler Documentation

Research

Accuracy of Outline

Color & Markings

Cra ftsmanship

Give it a Try!

FREE RC Airplane GIVEAWAY and the Next BIG Project!!

Are You Ready to Take Your RC Flying to the Next Level??

Refinish a Foam Jet Ep5 - Freewing F-14 Final Mods, Custom Programming & Flights

Flight of the Flir Cat…The Sequel!!

SOME FINISHING TOUCHES

AIRCRAFT SETUP

AS3X GYRO SETUP

AIRCRAFT SETUP

Ailerons as Flaps

Ailerons as Turning Spoilers

Taileron/Roll Rates with Wing Position

FLYING THE FREEWING F-14 "FLIR CAT"

FINAL THOUGHTS

Spektrum AR10360T Receiver Review, E-flite F-16 Custom Programming, & AS3X Setup

10 channels of power…and 1 receiver to rule them all!

A QUICK RUNDOWN OF THE AR103060T RECEIVER

A LITTLE PROGRAMMING WITH THE E-FLITE F-16

SETTING UP AS3X

FINAL THOUGHTS

Scale Squadron Warbirds & Classics 2021

Good times and Warbird Flying are back!

Refinish a Foam Jet Ep 4 – Freewing F-14 Tomcat Low-Viz Navy Weathering

Refinish a Foam Jet Ep 4 – Freewing F-14 Tomcat Low-Viz Navy Weathering

How low can you go?…a little low-viz Tomcat weathering.

TOOLS OF THE TRADE

STEP 1: WASHES AND OIL STAINS

STEP 2: PANEL LINE SHADING

STEP 3: PANEL FADING

STEP 4: BLENDING IT ALL TOGETHER

FINAL THOUGHTS

Refinish a Foam Jet Ep 3 – Freewing F-14 Tomcat Paint, Markings, & Panel Lines

Refinish a Foam Jet Ep 3 – Freewing F-14 Tomcat Paint, Markings, & Panel Lines

Making the Flir Cat…Tomcat nose art FTW!

THE PAINT PROCESS

MAKING & APPLYING MARKINGS

DESIGNING & CUTTING

SILK-SCREEN SMALL LETTER PAINT MASKS

ADDING PANEL LINES

FINAL THOUGHTS

Refinish A Foam Jet Ep 2 - Freewing F-14 Tomcat Cockpit 3D Printing, Painting and Moving Pilots

Refinish A Foam Jet Ep 2 - Freewing F-14 Tomcat Cockpit 3D Printing, Painting and Moving Pilots

Are you looking at me?!

A LITTLE CAD DESIGN & 3D PRINTING

MAKING A MOVING PILOT

COCKPIT DETAIL PAINTING

PILOT PAINTING

﻿ EJECTION SEATS & INSTRUMENT PANELS

PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER

FINAL THOUGHTS

Refinish A Foam Jet Ep 1 - Freewing F-14 Tomcat Assembly Mods & Paint Prep

Fill…sand…poly…sand…primer…sand…aaaannnnddd repeat…

A LITTLE POLYCRYLIC…

PRIMER, SAND, REPEAT

A FEW MODIFICATIONS & IMPROVEMENTS

MOVEABLE TAILHOOK

ESC AREA COVER AND COOLING

CANOPY HATCH CLEANUP AND RECONFIGURING

OVERWING HATCH & WING GLOVE FIT

EJECTION SEATS & INSTRUMENT PANELS

AIRCRAFT ASSEMBLY NOTES