ser00

Hi everybody,

Well, according to FedEX, my planes should be here Thursday, 7/30/09. They are in Chicago as of this morning and they need to make their way here to Houston, TX. I will keep everybody posted and will take some pictures when they come in.

Happy flying and soft landings!

ser00

Hi everybody,

Well, the F-16 kits came in today. Very interesting. The laser cutting is good as always. That is about all I can say at the moment. The plans are somewhat lacking in detail. There are no part numbers on the plans. I see the general shape of the plane, formers, servo locations but that is about it. I can not tell for sure but it appears that the retracts retract forward. The gear legs also seem shorter. The CG looks to be between 6.5 to 6.75 inches from leading edge. Also, there is no manual on the CD (just lots of pictures). All I can tell you is to use Blade47's build here as your manual and just eyeball it. I have no doubt that the plane will go together easily and that Alex spent alot of time making sure that this plane just falls together in ease of construction. But they say that a picture is worth a thousand words and I have plenty of pictures to look at. I will email Alex about the lack of a manual on the CD as I am sure this is just an oversight. For what it is worth, this plane should fly really nice with an OS 75AX in it. If you go with the lighter engine (55ax), place the servos where Blade47 put them. If you are going bigger, place them where they are marked on the plans. I will keep people posted when ever I start building this.

Happy flying and soft landings!

ser00

Hi everybody,

Has anybody else recieve their kits?

Happy flying and soft landings!

Blade47

Have you started to build the Kit yet Ser00??? ...how about some pics

ser00

Hi Blade47,

I think that once I finish the Ultrasport 60 on the table, I will start on the AK-models Mig 29 before I do the F-16. I also have the SU-27 kit. It really depends. Since you have built all three planes, what do you recommend that I build and fly first. I am thinking that the Mig-29 would be the best to fly first. But, I am open to suggestions.

Happy flying and soft landings!

Blade47

Yes the MIG 29 then the SU27 would be a good choice before the F-16 in the building sequence ....

ser00

Thanks Blade47. In your opinion, would you say that the Mig 29 is the easiest to fly and land? If so, do you think the SU-27 is the next easier to fly and then finally the F-16 as far in flying. I do appreciate all that you contributed in these forums as far as in building and flying these three planes. I will study all three build forums carefully (especially the super-long SU-27 build).

Happy flying and soft landings!

evanspa

Is anyone building/flying these? Looking for more info

evanspa

Is this thread completely dead? Looking for building advise.

I am going through the kit, I noticed I have the Original kit w/ the updated Plans. The mains in the kit retract to the rear, the plans show they go forward. What are the advantages to gear forward? It seems having the gear going rearward would be easier to control the CG w/ the gear down. Or am I thinking wrong?

Mustang Fever

My Feedback: (2)

evanspa:

Gear forward is scale. Rearward aint.

evanspa

I'm looking to build a plane that flys well, not so much "perfect scale". What are the performance issues, if any, are there in regards to Forward vs rearward? Ground handling etc.
The kit calls for Spring Air 101HD's, Will the Robart 521W1's be a good substitute?

Mustang Fever

My Feedback: (2)

Couldn't say about the effect of one direction or the other on flight characteristics, but I suspect it's not a big deal. The mains are close to the CG, and they both retract forward. The nose is way ahead of the CG, and it retracts aft. Seems to me they would more or less cancel each other out, balance change wise.

Haven't built one, so can't comment on what it does to construction. I guess if I was, I'd want it to look right, and it won't with aft retracting main gear. The full size F-16 landing gear is kind of strange- the mains gravity fall. There is no "power down" provision, and that's probably the reason they are lowered to the rear, so that the slipstream will help them lock in the down position.

evanspa

That's pretty mush my thoughts as well, Thanks.

evanspa

The kit calls for Spring Air 101HD's, Will the Robart 521W1's be a good substitute?

Mustang Fever

My Feedback: (2)

I used the robostrut version of that gear on a scratch built F-4, and my opinion is that it's about the sorriest retract system on the market. The control valve is a pain, it sticks all the time, and it's impossible to get a decent combination of retract vs extend speed.

After that experience, I'm sticking with air up/air down, or mechanicals. I think spring down systems are vastly overrated.

lfinney

My Feedback: (44)

i have used retracts for years, and spring airs are very well loved for a good reasons, spring down saved many a airplane, if your control valve sucks substitute one from springair or or robart, all retracts need lube, its sad how often guys swear at their retracts, and when you ask them have you ever oiled your retracts, i get this dumb deer in the headlights look usually.; a drop or two of good airtool oil per cylinder and a drop or two per valve does wonders to longevity and reliability FWIW

evanspa

I finally made a few decisions on the plane. I am going with the Spring Air 101HD gear and a 95AX for power. I will hold off on getting the Jettstream pipe for now due to cost and Noise restrictions at our field. This is my first Prop-Jet so, if this isn't my cup of tea, I have good motor for all around sport.
The stock 95AX should be plenty of power since the prototype used a 55AX. I am also going to change out the aluminum wing tube for CF or Fiber glass. That should reuduce the extra wing loading from the 95. I was originally going to Minwax glass the plane, but I'll save that for the next one.
I do want to put navigation and landing lights on the plane. So if anyone knows a good affordable option, let me know.
The plans are for the updated version with forward retracting mains, but the kit parts are for the original rearward mains. I am going to mod the kit for forward mains. I just don't want to end up dragging the ass around on the ground due to the rear weight shift of the mains from flying CG.
There are currently no intructions for the build, so I will be going a little slower than usual.
If anyone has built one of late, let me know what tips or issues you have come accross. Thanks

Blade47

Sorry Gents I have been away from building and RCU ..so ...how is the building going ??? any flights yet .... as for the main gear going forward I think I put the information in this thread someplace if not I will re -read and and add the information. the location for the gear is still well behind the C/G when down for a good balance on the ground ..when retracted the front main kinda cancels the mains out when retracted so all is good .
Cheers for now

smoknrv4

My Feedback: (11)

Good to hear from ya again.

bob27s

My Feedback: (19)

Welcome back Pete...... good to hear from you

Blade47

Thanks Guys :-) ..You know I may even build another F16 this winter not sure yet ... still 3 months to building season up this way.

hattend

My Feedback: (20)

Pete, are you building again? I'm back in Alaska. Didn't ship any of my stuff back up but when I go home in September I will probably ship up a few kits and building supplies. We need to do another build thread in the winter of 2011-12. [8D]

Don
King Salmon, Alaska (300 miles SW of Anchorage)
I'm further south but farther west

Blade47

0-0 Holy Cow is that you bud :-) ...good to hear you are back to work ...mind you it is back up north ...but hey ... money is well .....KITS ...lol just having you on ....yeah for sure we need to build somethng ....what do you have in mind?

hattend

My Feedback: (20)

I'm not sure. I'm in the mood for a float plane or seaplane. Leaning towards a Balsa USA Northstar... of course, highly modified...hahahaha. I sold a lot of my kits last year trying to survive until a job came along so I'm not exactly sure what kits I have anymore. I do have some plans for a few of the kits I sold (I copied the plans before I shipped them out) Maybe we could scratch build one of those... I would only have to make another plan set and send it to you.

We'll see. I just had not seen you for a while and I was not on RCU for a long time as well. Wanted o make contact with you again.

Later
Don

Blade47

North Star Hmmm that sounds like a good one .... I think i may have looked at that on a build thread here on RCU .... I will check it out and have a look ...mind you not to much water here other then the river so may build to go both ways land and sea :-). If anyone else reading this and you have a link to builds on this plane maybe you can post them here !!!

You still have my email Address? if not I will pm you with it so we can get a build list going .....
later
Pete