DonStegall

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Jim,

I finally had a chance to get a solid color Sky Raider Mach II out tonight. The hinges look and feel fine to me. They may be just a hair thinner than Great Planes CA hinges, but I don't see a problem with them. They do have a front-to-rear slit to help the CA wick in, but it is not a gap.

The only issue I see is 3 hinges per aileron. I'm pretty sure I will use 4 or 5 per aileron, just because.

I'm adding trim to the wing, the rudder, and the elevator. It is so much easier without the surfaces being pre-hinged. I'm going to strip the rudder and elevator. If they were pre-hinged, I wouldn't even attempt it.

I'm doing a yellow one with red and red/white checked trim as a gift to Irwin Funderburk for all he has done for me. Hopefully I can get him to race here. Like a lot of people he got tired of the long trips and stopped racing.

Jimmy Katz went home with a white Mach II last weekend. I saw him today and he hasn't started on it yet. He has another project ahead of it. But I really think that once he gets on the course, he will be hooked. Jimmy is an experimenter, and it will be interesting to see how a one-design class works out with him. After hardcore FAI and F1, it may be too little. But Jimmy seems to get a kick out of seeing other people have a good time, and evenly matched planes make for a real good time.

DonStegall

My Feedback: (1)

I used ToughLon covering from The World Models for the trim on this one. Since that is what the planes are covered in, there are no heat compatibility issues. I like to use the same kind of covering that the base color is in for a number of reasons. Plus ToughLon is cheaper and comes in bigger rolls than the other coverings.

This was my first good trim job with the ToughLon. I tried it "dry" on the bottom of an LA Racer 40 wing and did not get as good of results as this one.

The CA hinges work really well for trimming. It is so easy to trim around the hinge line. I started not to do the ailerons, but it seemed like laziness, so I went for it. It took very little time with the surfaces not hinged.

DonStegall

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Now that I got the LA Racer 40 together I could get back to the Sky Raider Mach II.

I think the 1" checkerboard ToughLon covering on the tail looks pretty good. ToughLon checkerboard is only $12.99 list and makes it easy to get a cool look. I actually covered both the stab and the elevator twice. On the first try I wasn't satisfied. So I pulled the trim off. It left some color / residue behind. I tried 0000 steel wool and that just made a mess. So I tried acetone, and it took the residue right off. ToughLon is very opaque thanks to a very light coat of white on the backing. ToughLon solids are $10.99 list. So far I am really happy with this covering.

It was SO much easier applying trim on the control surfaces with the pre-slotted hinges instead of the pre-installed hinges.

This Mach II almost looks "racy".

HighPlains

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That's a really pretty floor Don!

DonStegall

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I'll make sure I tell my wife. She spends a lot of time cleaning it because it shows any dirt at all. It's 1" x 2" red oak stained with Minwax Red Mahagony with a little black added to bring out the grain. And finished with satin polyurethane.

Here is another solid color Sky Raider Mach II trimmed up. Actually this is the wing and stab for an LA Racer 40, but it is the colors I plan on doing the Mach II in. I might use Pearl Ferrari Red on the Mach II though. I have a complete assortment of ToughLon coming in this week. It was hard to get the trim in the hinge line. That's no problem on the new Mach II's with the CA hinges.

DonStegall

My Feedback: (1)

Trimming a Sky Raider Mach II is pretty easy. The ToughLon is actually pretty nice covering. It is strong and it works well once you get used to it.

The most important first step is to use a heat gun to make sure the film is fully stabilized where you are putting the trim. I go over the whole part and get it as good as I can get it. Be careful with the heat gun because the ToughLon is a low temperature covering. Exceeding 250 will cause problems, and heat guns can be as high as 400.

Cut your trim to size. Spray the area where the trim is going with Windex. Spread it out with your fingers if needed. It is best to have the backing off your ToughLon covering before you wet the area. Use a little piece of tape to start the backing coming off. Position the trim and rub it out with your fingers a little. Then use a squeegee to get the bubbles and excess Windex out of the way. I use a piece of 1/64� plywood that is about 2� square with the corners rounded and the edges smoothed up. Using the iron at 160-175, lightly smooth over the surface. Trim any excess film and do the edges. I increase the heat to 200 for the edges. Now you can use a heat gun to work out any wrinkles or bubbles. Be careful here. You can coalesce the bubbles and take the heat off. The bubble may go away. If not, take a T pin and barely penetrate the trim layer. Now take the gun and work the bubbles again.

If you aren’t satisfied with the trim, lift an edge with an X-Acto and pull it off. ToughLon colors have a white backing. Some of the color and adhesive may be left on the primary surface. Wet a paper towel with acetone and wipe the residue off. Let the acetone dry and clean the area with Windex. Try it again.

DonStegall

My Feedback: (1)

We may get two more colors of Sky Raider Mach II kits. They would be solid red and solid orange.

AirBorne Models (US distributor of The World Models) is very customer oriented and they supply spare parts for all of their airplanes. They have a concern about being able to supply spare parts for all of the different colors. I told them that I don't think it will be a big deal if people can't get spare parts in particular colors, and I told them that I would take on supplying spare parts for the solid color planes if that would help.

What do you think guys? Would you like to have red and orange as well as the white and yellow?

Jim Duda

YES and YES!!!

dwbebens

Yes, yes, yes.

Doug Bebensee

gunfighter

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ADD another big YES! I would love to have a couple of solid orange!

There is going to be a problem with identification though. The red (orange) lane marker will not show up well on either a red or orange wing.

Ken Erickson

Actually, if you are using Paul Herman'd program, you can assign the Pilots with Red and Orange winged planes to Category 1 or 3. That will put them in the High and Low Green lanes. ID will be fine . When you do that , you must put at least 1 pilot in Categories 2 and 4. The program will balance it out, if there are not too many of the pilots of Red/Orange plane. If that does not solve it 100%, we can probably take care of that with some of the Black Combat tape on the ends of the markers.

I have tested the use of the Category field. Works great. Will test the black tape next time out.

Ken Erickson

DonStegall

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AirBorne Models now has solid red and solid orange Sky Raider Mach II ARF kits in stock. Here are some photos outside and inside. The red is Ferrari Red and is the same red that is used on the LA Racer 40 planes.

They even did a new label for the box.

AirBorne has a limited supply so order soon. I've already bought a bunch of each and have some in stock already.

I will even do limited mixing of colors for a small additional fee. One guy wanted a yellow fuselage with a red wing. So if a red fuselage and tail with a yellow wing is your thing, I have one ready for you.

DonStegall

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I'm doing an orange SRM2 in pseudo K&B colors. I've always liked orange and purple together. This is metallic purple instead of the traditional purple, but the colors go together pretty well.

DonStegall

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Would you rather have the Sky Raider Mach II available as an ARC (Almost Ready to Cover) or would more solid color options be preferable?

If you want more colors, which ones? We already have solid white, solid yellow, solid orange, and solid red.

I'm thinking medium to dark blue, and maybe even silver.

dwbebens

Don;

Along with the blue and silver, I might suggest a green. With all those solid colors available we might not need a bare ARC version, unless someone wants to put a transparent colored film on the plane himself. Would the ARC version cost less?

Doug Bebensee

rambler53

My Feedback: (494)

I'm totally lost here, bring me up to speed, what is the ORDER that you're talking about? You can get these in solid colors and at $69.99 still? Please elaborate. I have always flown these at a public field here, no frequency control so small loss if someone shoots me down. Anyway, it's a fun plane but it would be great to get it in solid colors and for $69.99. But we pay $79.99 and they are ugly. I'd like to know what it takes to get your order.

DonStegall

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The Sky Raider Mach II is available in solid white, solid yellow, solid orange, and solid red. Any dealer can get them.

The current price is $79.99 for the original colors and the solid colors. There was a $10 increase in the middle of this year.

I keep all of the solid colors in stock most of the time to support my Club 40 promotional efforts. I will PM you with the details.

The solid colors are so much nicer looking. Pylon racers like to decorate their planes so that they don't get them mixed up with other planes in close proximity on the race course. I usually include some ToughLon iron-on covering in several colors so that guys can personalize their planes.

rambler53

My Feedback: (494)

Don, thank you so much for the super deal on the Ferrari Red Sky Raider I received in just a few days. Boxed very well, and more personalized trim for just one plane, I'm thrilled to have found this offer. I'm taking it to the field later today to show it off. That should get more colors flying at my field soon enough!

DonStegall

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I'm putting an orange Sky Raider Mach II in Tony Stewart colors together for a NASCAR personality. If he doesn't like it, it will go on the block or in my demo fleet.

The Toolman

Thats gonna look good Don....



Ronnie

ChrisAttebery

My Feedback: (15)

Hey Guys,

I'm helping a college prof with a project to fly a small sampling payload in an R/C plane. I thought we could install it in the same area as the receiver and battery. Is there enough room in the SRM2 for a 2"x2"x1" payload?

Thanks for your help,


Chris

vicman

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Easily.

ChrisAttebery

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Thanks Vic!

vicman

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Do you need a pic?

ChrisAttebery

My Feedback: (15)

Vic,

That would be great. I sent my recommendations to him yesterday, SMR2, 46AX, Fut 4EXA, along with oversized wheels so we can fly off fire roads. I figure with an AX and 11.5x4 APC it should get off the ground ASAP.

Thanks,


Chris