M3Baker

Keith, it was great to see you again. Thanks for your hospitality.

FenderBean

Anytime your driving by feel free to stop in!

FenderBean

Managed to get a little done today, I got all the wing mechanics back in and the gear. I also hooked up the vent lines and lock wired the ends attached to the saddle tanks, still trying to decide on where to run the vent tubes out the bottom. The only thing left to do in the fuselage is run the brake lines, mount the turbine pumps and run the airlines for the mains. I am planning to repaint the main gear and I started on the nose today, it will not be a full repaint just some touch since the paint I have matches really well and SM put such a light coat on that hitting the gear with mine will help with making it more durable, the current paint chips and scratches very easy. Im not in a big rush on the painting since it can be done once the jet is finished, im starting the wings tomorrow but will be limited from this point on until my nose and missing hardware shows up. They are adding the decals to the nose now so it will be shipping soon and when it arrives the finally assembly will go pretty quick, if I can get some jet fuel I was going to give the turbines a run but well see.
I have a video uploading showing the work so far and im calling it for the evening. Cheers

FenderBean

Started on the wings this after and things are pretty simple to install, I think I may have to redo my servo layout. I opted for a small mini size servo for the spoilers and two bls175s for the slats. The outer slat servo box is designed for a smaller servo and will require some cutting to get it in there so well see. I know the slat dont move much but they are not the smoothest things and do require a bit of torque so unless I cannot fit the regular size servo I will go with the 175. I cannot do much other than install the servos, the flaps are done since I have everything to make them work and its a very simple design I just hope it doesnt develop slop. I have went ahead and did the a hatch as well to show how I make my screws fit flush. I will more than likely hit a stopping point tomorrow and will have to wait for the other items, but I can do some painting on the gear doors and gear while I wait. I also need to balance the Avanti, I got my battery in and its done. Videos are uploading and im calling it for tonight, its time for some Birthday cake!

FenderBean

Well the work on the wing still goes on, after fighting with the outer slat servo and I decided to mod it. I am doing all the servos that use the L brackets mount like the flap servo. The servo boxes and the tabs are cut bad and just dont work right when trying to install the servos. This is much easier and probably stronger mounting since the wing is a thick carbon fiber layup anyway. The outer servo you have to use 1/8 ply and one the screws are installed I removed about 2mm of screw so it sits flush. Then I just hysol the ply plates in and check alignment to the rod holes and once dry just mount the servo. I dont know why they made the outer slat servo box so small. I hate using such high priced servos on something like a slat that only moves 12mm LOL.
The left wing is done and I started on the right but im going to chill tonight and watch some movies. I have a video uploading showing the left wing stuff

FenderBean

Been working on the right wing this morning and this one is going much faster since I have a good setup. No change from last wing but I still made a small video with more in-depth info on setting up the flap servo and getting the binding out.
Cheers!

FenderBean

I finished up the right wing today and will move on to the setup of the nose while I wait on the things I need from SM. I will probably switch gears and get some test runs on my Avanti in prep for the maiden so it will be slow going till after that.
I did manage to make another video showing the wings and the sweeping action. The linear actuators when extended seem very flimsy to me so I will deff keep and eye on them. I think this jet will look great in the air, the colors turned out better than I expected and pictures just dont do it justice!

PowerBoxDanny

My Feedback: (47)

Great job Fender. Your going to save me a lot of "figuring out" time. I'm glad to hear the wings are not too bad of an install. Im gonna get the turbines in this week and the pipes. Should have most of it done by the end of the week. Funny thing is I am also building an avanti. Lol, Krill but still. We have similar taste in planes. Keep up the great work.

FenderBean

Yeah the first wing I did took me all day, but then I decided to do it my way and it went much faster and the 2nd wing only took about an hour....For those who do what I did you can also buy servo side mount systems that would glue straight to the wing and even add a support across the top which could be removed if you need to change servo. My method is just me build my own type of flush mount, I like to build and fabricate stuff myself, the stock method will work as well but the ply tabs on SMs servo boxes are not very big and in my opinion this is a much stronger option and allows for easier install and rod alignment. I figure why not take advantage of a wing thats made from carbon fiber

If GJC ever start to offer a GJC version of this jet I think a lot of the mods I have done would be a great addition to this, most of them are very simple. I will be sending up a list as well of needed improvements to Anton to help give them some ideas, maybe they will use them maybe not its always.

M3Baker

Keith, looks like the build is going well.

FenderBean

Thanks Paul, I didnt do much yesterday due to us having a Super Bowl Party here but today I did a few detailing things. I placed an order for a few items like turbine pump mounts and shut-off valve mounts and my Igyro, I normally dont waste money on items like this but since I am planning to mount my pumps and shut-off valves in a certain area I went with something easy to mount. While I wait for them to show up I went full up nerd today LOL One hour of clean up sanding and painting has made an eye sore really pop. In my opinion the nose gear of jets, and more so navy jets is a real eye catcher so this area for me should be detailed a bit. What I did was very simple and took no time, its hard to see but I even added a clear plastic lense over the light area. The three color lights are plastic button valve tops that I had left over and the simulated wires/hydraulic lines are very thin wire. When I looked at pictures of the nose, SM did actually do a very good job replicating the real gear. If your into super detailing things a few small things can really bring in the wow factor. Tomorrow I will paint the rest of the nose gear and reassemble the nose gear.
oh and for those who are wondering the clear cup with the bottom cut out is what I used for the lense, it had a nice curve to it and simulates the real thing very well.

rcjets12

My Feedback: (21)

Hey Buddy,

Your not not done yet. What's taking so long. My F-15 is going along but not sure if it will be ready for FL Jets.

Team am shirts are in by the way. I will be calling all you guys for sizes.

FenderBean

I have been waiting on parts and the new nose for about a month now. I have done about as much as I can so that once the rest shows up it should be quick.

FenderBean

Well the nose gear is about done, I have one spot to touch up then clear coat it. I think it turned out pretty good.

M3Baker

Great job on the nose gear! Looks awesome.

FenderBean

Thanks Paul, I wish I would have completely stripped it still has some orange peal from the old paint. I can live with it since it looks nice with the new add-ons.

rcjets12

My Feedback: (21)

Why make it that pretty it's just going to get nicks and dings on the runway. Ha ha ha.

All jokes aside it looks really good.

FenderBean

It wasnt much work, you should have seen it before hand! I have standards LOL

FenderBean

Not much but some long winded videos and few shots of the shutoff valves, I put them inside the wheal areas so I can reach them very easy without opening anything. Not much left till the nose shows up so I will work on some details for the mains and painting the missiles. I ordered two extra phoenix missiles since I have back rails to put them on, I wanted to make the missiles look more scale since they tend to draw in the eyes

I also got a new toy that im going to add to both the Avanti and the F-14 should may both fly much better.

FenderBean

Not much to do why I wait so I figured I would work on the stores and clean up the mounting and start to paint the missiles. I really like how SM did the ordnance it goes on pretty easy and is secure enough to fly with, and I tell you it just screams awesome with everything on. My back bottom rails I will have to add some mounts for but that will be simple, I will add some blind nuts to the inside like the front. The nose gear looks nice with the added detail as well and while I wait im going to use the current nose to make my equipment boards, I bought some light ply that doesnt weigh anything but still strong enough to hold things.

FenderBean

Okay so I learned something else today, have SM paint the missiles! It wasnt till I put some pain on them till I realized exactly how much work is done prior to them painting. So I need to grab some bondo and start from scratch, these things look rough. Even if you want to paint them yourself like I did I recommend just have them paint and then you can just paint over it. Lots of work to make these things look good, so until I can get some motivation and warm weather to get outside and have a sanding day these are on hold LOL

I am sooooo glad I had them paint all the rails and tanks

FenderBean

Only thing today for the build was improvements to the nose pod, I spent most of the morning trying to figure out a gyro. The pictures dont look that good it looks much better in person, plus the canopy glue is still drying it will dry clear and be transparent on the front lense.
I hae the single version but they both look the same and you can see the effect I was going for.
I

FenderBean

Looks like the new parts are done Im hoping everything is here next week to get back to building

FenderBean

While I wait on the parts I need I decided to flip the jet over and start on the back rail mounting and the tail hook. Nothing crazy here the back rails will be held on with two screws per rail and I will add a small ply block inside for the screws. The tail hook will be removable that way if I ever fill like making it function I can, plus the hook itself will have the ability to drop for static display purposes. Lots of sanding ahead on the missiles I am having to add lots of bondo

Im also going to paint the black engines danger lines while its flipped over as well

FenderBean

I have had the last few days off due to snow but the flu stole all motivation to do any building so no advances plus it looks like my nose and missing items didnt make it out before the Chinese New Year.
Been a rough week but starting to feel a little better and with the mail going again I should get some small items need tomorrow to add those aft missile rails. I ordered some 5mm blind nuts like used on the other rails so make it easy for removal.