FenderBean

Well some good news, the clear coat I have matches perfectly, im hope once applied it will look good enough to keep me sane.

PowerBoxDanny

My Feedback: (47)

Hey fender, I will be receiving my 14 here next week. I got the jolly rogers. I will definitely have it ready by Florida Jets and will also fly it in Kentucky. I am a painter so I plan on weathering the hell out of my bird as the Tomcat on a carrier is far from clean. Other than a few issues you have, everything else is minor in my opinion. I would have all that stuff repaired in no time. Dust under the clearcoat thankfully wont be an issue for me as it will look very dirty anyways. Kinda like my Digital Camo Yellow F18. It looks great so far. Maybe Anton can send you a new set of wind shields.

My 14 is arriving via freight from Oregon with a pre inspection there. So far there have been no issues of any sort with damage coming on the ship from China. We reinforce the SM box once here so it should be A-Ok on the trip to me in Florida.

I am following your thread on the build and look forward to flying them at Kentucky!

FenderBean

Sounds good, yeah mine will be ready for MS jets and Ky jets as well, They told me they are going to send me a new stab and windshield as well so the really big stuff isnt a worry. I agree if I was going to weather this thing it would be no big deal but I dont like to do that myself, maybe down the road I will. Everything so far is solid so thats what counts, I will make the gear doors look much nicer and the same for the cockpit.

FenderBean

Okay so just to keep everyone up to date, I have been in jets about 5 years now and when it comes to jets things are just going to happen. Shipping is just rough on them no matter how well the package them and things get missed or left out, they shouldnt but its just the nature of the beast. Whats important and can really help with the anxiety of buying one of these very high price toys is how the company will support their product when things go bad. I have seen the worst of this and have seen the best of this and when the company takes care of you its just really really really nice. I am very loyal to a company that can produce a product I like and take care of you when things just dont go right and when the company says "yeah your right some of that was factory mess up and the other was shipping," thats just how you do it folks! No bull just owning up and taking care of the customer! So needless to say I am happy with how SM is helping with my issues, new stab is being built, I sent this pic to aid them in matching the damaged one.
They are sending touch up paint, a new front wind shield as well, they are also sending me a shorter pipe for my Avanti. John at SM has been very prompt and nice, Eric Clapp has backed me and forwarded everything to Anton as well and his help early on was a big help getting this scheme done right. So a personal thanks to Eric.
so with all the bad stuff taken care of I would like share some pics of what I think is a one of a kind F-14!!!Cheers!!!

Inspection is complete building will begin as soon as I can get the Avanti done!!!

M3Baker

Keith, the jet looks awesome. I'm glad everything is working out for you.

FenderBean

Well after much debating with myself and trying to deal with it I think the best thing is to send the nose section back and have them repaint it completely. Unless skymasters painter can provide the correct matching paint in a spray can there is no way to fix the paint issue. I asked so we will see, I hate to and it may cause me to miss some events with it but I will feel better.

DrScoles

My Feedback: (18)

You're sending it back over a little dust under the clear? Or, am I missing something. is it the nomenclature?

I wonder how many orders it would take for Alex to make some cockpit kits . Gonna email him tonight.

FenderBean

No I fixed that but the im sending it back because the paint doesnt match on the nose after they redid the decals and I am sending it back because trying to fix their mess up without matching paints is impossible. I spent almost 100.00 dollars on mixed up paint samples from every place in town and none of them match. The color they use is an odd color and even using a professional 6k scanner designed to match paints to a perfect I still havent found something that matches. Plus the most important reason im sending it back is I paid 10k and it should be done right and make me happy

FenderBean

It has been awhile since I posted on this build but since the Avanti is just about done I figured I would start on the F-14. I started by fixing the damage on top and the bad touch job SM did to the hing for the top hatches.
I had to add some gap filler to the fin that was broke so the paint looked good. the match is as close as I can find but its still a little dark. I need to balance the avanti tonight but as soon as thats done Im going to pull the guts out of the F-14 and install the turbines. I want to start here since I hate this part, but with the pipe design the way it is it should be a simple line up. I am also pulling all the air line out of the jet and replacing it with my own, I bought 100ft of white and blue from Mcmasters nice heavy duty stuff and it only cost me about 40 dollars! Just a note I can only do so much till the new nose section arrives, im waiting on the new stab and a new nose section.

so here is the before and afters

Dansy

My Feedback: (53)

I'm amazed that for this price the factory actually shipped the aircraft with these imperfection.......but nice repair.

You wouldn't happen to have the part number for the airline?......lots of choices on McMaster site....

FenderBean

Yeah which is why i am a bit upset I know this isnt the norm, I seem to have horrible luck so far all five of my jets have had paint issues and damage Spending 10K and dealing with this is very stressful and really takes the fun out of it and being a hobby its not worth doing unless its fun.

The hose item number is 5648K22

Dansy

My Feedback: (53)

I surely agree, make me think I will stay with sport jet only......Thank you

FenderBean

I finally got started on this jet, I am currently taking everything out. I recommend doing this to check for loose screws and check everything. I am replacing all the airline and I don't recommend using the stock airline, it seems to have hardened and leaks. I am also removing all the air cylinders to check for leaks prior to install, I recommend this also because it is much easier to replace something in this stage. If you have ever had to chase down an air leak on a completed jet you will understand. The gear comes out very easy and is only a few bolts, I am adding the gear paint to the "ugly" list. The gear itself is very solid and actions smooth, I would also recommend painting your own gear. I say this not because of the quality of the paint, but they don't tape over the air nipples so the airline pulls right off and will leak. So at a minimum I have to clean the paint off those prior to installing the new airline. The swing wing mechanics only need to remove from one side to slide everything out on one side, it's a very nice simple design. The linear actuators or firgs and I high recommend the aluminum ends if you don't have them. This is for the mounts points, having plastic mounts is just not a good idea in my opinion. The plastic can harden over time from the heat and chemicals and break in my opinion. Wing install and removal is very simple and I like how easy this is, one this I may do is cut the hatches at the attachment point and add some hinges. Mine keeps chipping the paint off along the seam so in order to stop this I may do this mod.
I am going to install the turbines first after I get all the air stuff out, this is out of the norm, but I wanted to start with the most annoying part for me, I made a video showing everything so far on my YouTube channel and it gives you a nice look at stiff. Cheers!

FenderBean

I am slowly working on the turbines, its such a hard place to work in and I have yet to find a easy way to line turbines and the pipe. I am going to make a jig that I can attach to the inside rail that will all me to push the turbine against it for the 1 inch gap on my K170s. Just so the kingtech guys know due to the size of the mount itself you do have to trim about a 1/4 in off each side, otherwise the turbine hits the frame and will not sit on the rails. The 170s fit very well and have plenty of room, its just awkward location to try and work. I am trying to use the rudder center line and make the turbines parallel to this. I am not sure how critical it is on this jet since the pipes have a out angle at the end of the pipe. I also have the main gear door cylinders out and will leak test them be I re-install, these were a pain to get out and I will change the way they are attached to make for easy removal should one go bad and need replacing. If anyone that build one of these has a good way to align the turbines feel free to chime in.

Also you can see the inside turbine rail does not line up with other side, it is no level nor the same angle as the inside rail. Not sure what to say other than its not what I would expect to see, I will deal with like everyone else has so far.

FenderBean

So after hours and hours I finally got the pipes in right and the turbines in. The way SM has the pipe set you cannot get the pipe in far enough so I mounted mine on the other side of the back turbine rail mounts. Instead of just pushing the pipes into the mounts from the rear, I took the bolts off the bellmouth and mounted them to the rail mount facing forward. This allows me to push the pipe in further and then I simply pull the pip aft to slide the bellmouth onto the bolts/alignment pins. I think this is a much better way so the pipe is supported by the rails and not the tail cone, plus I can add a nut on the bolts to secure the pipe from any movement. Its a complete pain working in this area like I did but I think in the long run it will pay off. I am uploading a video showing what I did, its really hard to show things in this area so it just a lot of explaining. Cheers

FenderBean

After the turbines I moved on to the stab servos, I thought this was going to be an easy thing but ran into another problem. The ply used for the servo mount need some beefing up, when I install the servo screws in the predrilled holes the wood just crumbled. So I am having to glue in ply blocks on the back side for the screws. Just a note, you will need a spacer to raise the servo so the horn clears the fuselage, I used some carbon servo holders commonly used on helis to hold the servos in. I have a few videos of everything done so far and the issues. Also when it you install the servo covers for the stabs be very careful when drilling holes, since they dont use any primer when painting paint just seems to chip off very easy. This will be a recommendation to SM, they use very little paint which is normally good to keep weight down, but with no primer it doesnt stick very well and things scratch very easy.

FenderBean

Got an early start this morning, I installed the rudder servos and this was when I noticed I was missing the package with all the links. The instruction pictures that show the hardware bags are very hard to see, but it looks like the bag that has my rudder horns has all the links and clevises as well. This mean I cannot finish the wings either since the slats and spoilers require rods, but I will still install all the servos. I had to clean hysol our of the rod holes in the rudder not a big deal just be careful when doing this since the hole is against the out wall of the rudder and being in a hard place you could easily punch a hole in the outer wall. After the servos I marked a cut the servo wire holes in the top of the fuse, also note here there are some bulkheads you need to clear. Once this was done I moved on to installing the clunk inserts into the fuel cells, this requires you to enlarge the holes and hysol them in. Next thing after will be the high flow clunk and clink line install to finish off the tanks, this way I can install the saddle tanks and put the mechanics back in. Once this is done I will re-install gear door cylinders and then move on to repainting the gear.

I have four videos uploading on my youtube channel.

FenderBean

I managed to get some late night work done after taking a break this evening a bit. I finished up the tanks by drilling the vent holes and gluing in the brass tube for the lines. The saddle tanks need a L type fitting if you put the vent on top due to the proximity to the top of the fuselage. I added mine to the top front like I always due with hysol, its simple and I can use any size brass tubing I need. While the glue sat up I grabbed the nose gear to take the bottom door piece off so I can refinish it. The jet is and gear is a work of art, the painters SM uses just ruins it, so I HIGHLY recommend you order your jet with the gear unpainted.

Jeremy_D

Nice build Keith,

One question, how does the elevator stab lock in once you slide it onto the servo arm?

Cheers

Jeremy

FenderBean

There is a sloted piece of G10 the has a little arm sticking out the bottom of the jet, you pull down on it and slide the stab shaft in and then release. It has a spring on it the holds it up. I personally do not like this since there is no way to lock the sliding G10 plate. I would rather have a set screw or just bolt that screws into the groove on the stab shaft. I will work on some pics for you.

FenderBean

Not much done today since had some family things to do, but I did finish up the tanks and installed the saddle tanks with some velcro. I also tested all six of the gear door air cylinders and none are leaking yet, so I will install them in the morning and run the airlines. I also made some reinforcement blocks for the inside turbine rails, since the area around the turbine clamps is thin. I also did another video for folks following the channel as well, I will try to get some actual building on video tomorrow.
THe last thing I did was trim the inlet ducts, I cut them flush with the back bulkhead

FenderBean

Well after a long day working it feels like I did very little LOL I removed the speed brake air cylinders and checked them, I found one small leak which I fixed. Then I added the airlines and checked all the 3-way fittings Im using, the fittings are in the tail so I only have two airlines to the nose(open/close). They function really well and have lots off power. I may have to put a restrictor on them to prevent from damage something lots of force, which is good they should deploy in flight without any issues. I did a video showing them function with a compressed air can. Next I put the ducts in which I will make removable for maintenance, this is a good application for the hot glue gun Oh and as you can see below here is the after pick of the nose gear door, I think it looks much better compared to what it did.
Some I did as well on the rudders was add an extension to the rudder servos, this way the wire inside the jet under the ceramic blanket and aluminum tape stay secure and you can remove the rudders. That was the last thing I worked on was securing and heat protecting the servos in the tail. Once I put the main gear door cylinders back in tonight I can reinstall the turbines/pipes and the two Robbe battery backer leads in the fuselage to complete most of the aft section work! I am quickly running up on work stoppage due to waiting on the new nose section. Once I get to the work stoppage im going to repaint the gear doors, speed brake areas and the gear. Two videos are uploading everyone have a good Sunday night! Cheers

FenderBean

Well I managed to get all the main gear door cylinders in and mounted correctly. I used blink nuts on the two inside for easy removal for maintenance. My fingers are done, I have said this in every build I hate air systems LOL cannot stand the airline and fittings. This leaves everything done in the fuselage the onyl stuff I will have to do once the nose gets here is replace the airline and check the cylinders in the nose and start hooking up the air valves! I am going to use my current nose to come up with my layout and make and mounts needed. Oh and I added some BVM ring oil to all the cylinders just give them a nice lubrication inside as well and on that note im out have a great night RCU!

FenderBean

So I got started today with getting allthe wires ran to the tail servos for the battery backer and covering them with some aluminum tape. After that I installed the turbines, I got the gaps as close as I could and no matter how I hat I try they just are not perfectly centered on the pipes. Im guessing with the out thrust on the ends it will not matter but I hate not having it perfect. I did however try and make the both the same and aligned the turbines as close to the rudder center line as possible. The wires are growing, im going to put the pumps and shutoff valves under the deck forward of the wings. I will be able to get to them through the main gear area.

FenderBean

Sorry folks I took the Afternoon off and spent some time with my bud Paul, what a nice afternoon of rc talk and just catching up! I havent done this in about two years being deployed and all, thanks Paul and good luck on your new adventure in Kansas City!!! Stop by any time your passing through!