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World's cheapest F-16C - 6/22/2011 4:03 AM   
edpare


 

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Status: offline 		The "T-Model ARF Brushless Electric Jet" from Nitroplanes is actually a very nice fiberglass F-16 that cannot be built as a jet - ****?
It's actually an electric motor pusher prop jet.  Mine came out to a shade over 4 pounds and around 150 watts per pound.

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RE: World's cheapest F-16C - 7/23/2011 4:00 PM   
Flexnbeef



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Status: offline 		I just grabbed one of these. could you give me an idea of your setup and how it performs. thanks

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RE: World's cheapest F-16C - 7/23/2011 4:55 PM   
edpare


 

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Status: offline 		Well, I didn't even rotate the gear on the maiden before it went off the runway and cartwheeled - tore off the left wing and bent the aluminum tube.  Scared me so bad I bought an old-timer to play in the thermals. 

For what it's worth:  I used a Scorpion SII-3020-1110 motor, Scorpion Commander V3 60 amp ESC w/SBEC, Sky Lipo 4S 5000 mAh turning an APC 10x5 for 93 oz thrust.  AUW was 69 oz for 23oz/sq ft loading.
It probably will fly (very fast!) some day when I get braver.
In retrospect, I strongly suggest strengthening the nosewheel mount bulkhead, minimizing the nosewheel movement with exponential, and spending a great deal of time getting the aspect ratios flat even on all 4 horizontal surfaces.

I've actually been having a great time with another pusher from NP called the Vortex 32.  It looks exactly like a Boomerang turbine, has infinite vertical, flies and sounds like a jet, but will slow down to a walk without stalling.



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RE: World's cheapest F-16C - 7/24/2011 4:23 PM   
Flexnbeef



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Status: offline 		WOW!!! . Ok thanks for that info, I will take a shot at it, lol , it might be a few weeks before i get the chance but i will post my results, Thanks again

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RE: World's cheapest F-16C - 7/29/2011 12:40 AM   
Flexnbeef



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Status: offline 		I was looking at the assembly manual and was wondering what you did as far as the stabs go, it's hard to believe they say to just epoxy them to the fuse side, seems to me a hard pull on the elevator and the stabs would break right off. i plan on using carbon fiber rod drilled thru the fuse and into the stabs a few inches.

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RE: World's cheapest F-16C - 7/29/2011 1:55 AM   
edpare


 

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Status: offline 		I actually did a full build review for NP but there were a few negatives in it so NP didn't put it up on their website.  Keep that in mind.

To attach the stabs, you will find 4 short pieces of wire, about 3" long in the kit.  Remove the covering from the  inside surfaces of the stabs and you wll find 2 pre-drilled holes that will correspond to two undrilled dimples on the gelcoat.  Drill parallel holes through the gelcoat and wood underneath and epoxy everything together.  I added 1/2 inch triangle stock under the stabs for extra support.  Feels pretty strong to me!


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RE: World's cheapest F-16C - 11/11/2011 5:59 PM   
TBK


 

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Status: offline 		I got that plane as well a few weeks ago. As I found out later there was another guy at our club who built one and also had a lot of trouble getting it to fly. It was designed as a pusher jet but what he found was there was some pretty significant prop torque on takeoff that caused his plane to flip over much like yours did. We have only a grass field (very short grass) and he also extended the landing gear a bit to get more clearance, but he still had issues with the prop hitting the ground as he tried to add some elevator on takeoff. I've haven't yet started my build. However, as I was sourcing out a power setup and after talking with quite a number of folks I've decided to try to modify this model and build it as an EDF powered jet. It will ceratinly take a fair bit of reworking but it does have a pretty good glass fuse to work from. It looks large enough to be able to take on a 90mm EDF running on 5 or 6s. It will need to have some cheater holes added to be able to help it breath along with that big front end duct. It could probably be built to balance as per the spec with the right placement of the parts and be similar in AUW to what it would have been if built as a pusher prop. Certainly it would be more suitable for use at our field and it would reduce or eliminate the prop torque issues. I'm now looking at sourcing a reasonably powerful 90mm edf unit to make this happen. The HET 9305 does look very promising when connected to their motor. Has anyone done this already or considered doing this modification. If so I would be very interested in how it turned out.

TBK

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RE: World's cheapest F-16C - 11/11/2011 6:02 PM   
TBK


 

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Status: offline 		Additional followup on my last post. I also plan to add a working rudder as part of the modification as well, simply getting back the stabilizer and hinging it. May need to reinforce the rib joint on the stab as well to keep everthing strong.

TBK

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RE: World's cheapest F-16C - 11/11/2011 10:14 PM   
edpare


 

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Status: offline 		IMHO, the main gear is too close together.  If they had been mounted on the wings, ground handling would have been much better. 


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RE: World's cheapest F-16C - 11/11/2011 10:37 PM   
TBK


 

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Status: offline 		You could be right on that. Just another thing to consider on the rebuild. I was considering retracts as an option as well. RC lander makes a cool set to fit the F16. Interestinglyenough on their model the retracts are basically positioned in the same place on the fuse. That's probably to try to keep it more to scale. Any thoughts on my conversion/modification idea? I was considering starting a build log as I progress with the build.Still am sourcing the necessary parts and laying out some preliminary sketches to make it happen.

TBK

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RE: World's cheapest F-16C - 11/11/2011 11:29 PM   
edpare


 

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Status: offline 		Mine only cost me $66 plus old, used, motor and electronics I already had.  I would not put a 90mm EDF in something that already is a marginal flier and is not well-known on the forums.  There are many foam EDFs out there that are proven fliers and won't break your heart when they go down.
That being said, Good luck to you!


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RE: World's cheapest F-16C - 1/20/2012 10:12 PM   
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Status: offline 		Anyone make any headway on this F16? I'm at install of the horizontal stabs and the instructions are useless. Could you put that build review on here maybe??

John

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RE: World's cheapest F-16C - 1/21/2012 1:16 AM   
JohnE55


 

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Status: offline 		Ok...found the wires for the stabs. Found the dimpals in the fuselage. Got them drilled out and it seems to be a pretty good fit. Not sure how strong it will be stock though.

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RE: World's cheapest F-16C - 1/21/2012 1:36 AM   
edpare


 

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quote:

ORIGINAL: JohnE55
 Not sure how strong it will be stock though.


I used 1/4 triangle stock at the joint under the stabs and it all held together.

Ed





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RE: World's cheapest F-16C - 1/23/2012 1:22 AM   
TBK


 

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Status: offline 		I did finish the build on my F16. I converted it into an EDF using an 90mm edf unit that puts out about 5.5 lbs of thrust on 6S. I also added a full working rudder as well. The model balances very well right on the required cg. Unfortunately the snow caught up with me and I yet to maiden the beast. I can post pictures is anyone is interested.

tbk

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RE: World's cheapest F-16C - 1/24/2012 2:33 AM   
JohnE55


 

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Status: offline 		That's great TBK, good luck with the maiden. Any tips on mounting the wing halves?? The aluminum spar is a no brainer, but what did you do besides that to align them?? I see there is a short piece of carbon fiber rod and some dimpels in the fuse. The alignment is my concern.

THanks

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RE: World's cheapest F-16C - 1/24/2012 12:06 PM   
TBK


 

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Status: offline 		Johne55

You are right there is a carbon fiber rod that is provided that fits into a hole at the front of each wing. On my fuse the holes were not drilled but as you say there were some dimples indicating where they should be. Simply install the wing with the aluminum tube and then align and mark the front holes on each side. Remove the wings then drill the holes in the fuse on either side and then insert the carbon rod. Use a bit that is slightly smaller in diameter tahn the carbon rod to get a tight fit. Re-install the wings to test fit the alignment/anti rotation rod and you are done. Then install the servos and route the wires into the fuse and you are ready to epoxy the wings on. Make sure to rough up the surface of the fuse to get a good bond for the epoxy. I toyed with the idea of adding some blind nuts to the wings so that they could be removeable for transporting but since the wingspan is only 41" I decided not to bother and glued the wings on. The finished assembly is very strong and rigid.

TBK

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RE: World's cheapest F-16C - 1/25/2012 3:17 AM   
JohnE55


 

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Status: offline 		Thanks TBK, right now I'm working on the elevater servo setup, seems the score marks in the body don't line up with the servo trays inside the fuse. But I got that licked. Almost done with the linkages for the elevater, then on to the wing halves.

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RE: World's cheapest F-16C - 1/26/2012 2:52 PM   
TBK


 

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Status: offline 		Johne55

What I did with the elevator servo locations was to measure in from the back of the fuse to where the internal space was inside for the servo and the drilled a small pilot hole to ensure it lined up. Once I got that placed I just dremelled out the remainder for a tight fit. I didn't use any of the linkage hardware provided in the kit but instead fabricated custom linkages using CF rod and Dubro ball joint couplers to take out any slop. I did the same with linkages for the aelirons and the rudder. To make a functional rudder I cut out the rudder outline from the tail assembly to match what would be on the actual F16. That works on this model because the way the tail assembly was made allows it to be cut into two pieces with sufficient wood material on both sides to support the hinges. I used CA hinges similar to what is used on the elevator and aelirons. I made a cutout in the top of the fuse, just under the front of the tail assembly to accommodate the rudder servo. The top of the fuse at that point is wide enough to accommodate a high torque metal micro servo. The servo gets buried in this cutout and the only remaining exposed part of this is the servo arm. You need to do this before you mount the tail assembly so keep that in mind. Having a working rudder improves the performace of the plane considerably.

TBK

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RE: World's cheapest F-16C - 2/27/2012 3:28 AM   
JohnE55


 

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Status: offline 		Well, I got the wings mounted. CG is the next concern. How many watts did you guys use?? And what was your RTF weight?.....I need 2 3s 2200 batts in the nose and 3 oz of lead with the 1400 watt motor I am trying to use....Just to CG it.

Thanks

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RE: World's cheapest F-16C - 2/27/2012 1:54 PM   
TBK


 

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Status: offline 		John55

I installed a 90mm EDF fun unit that uses about 950 watts and generates about 5 .5 lbs of thrust. Given that the planes AUW is 4.9 lbs that is a good thrust to weight ratio. With two 3s 2200mah packs mounted in the nose the plane balances right on its expected cg.

TBK

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RE: World's cheapest F-16C - 3/14/2012 3:02 AM   
JohnE55


 

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Status: offline 		Anyone fly one of these yet??...I'm wondering if the CG that is stated in the instructions is correct or not. I am using a 700 watt outrunner running on 5s instead of the 1400 watt inrunner I was going to use. Maybe put the 1400 watt one in after some test flights.

Thanks

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RE: World's cheapest F-16C - 3/14/2012 1:34 PM   
TBK


 

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Status: offline 		John55

Still haven't had a chance to maiden my plane so I can't vouch for the CG as yet. I have set mine up as per the instructions. I'm going to run a 6s pack (40-50C rating) 3000mah as the EDF is really power hungry and with some test engine runs with my two 3s 30C 2200 mah packs I found that they got quite warm. Waiting for the new pack to get here to get that first flight in.

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RE: World's cheapest F-16C - 3/14/2012 4:11 PM   
edpare


 

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Status: offline 		My CG was at the manfacturer's spec - flew fine (and fast!)

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RE: World's cheapest F-16C - 3/14/2012 5:12 PM   
TBK


 

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Status: offline 		Thanks for the feedback. I'll start with the CG at the same point and go from there. Hopefully I won't get any surprises. I do expect this plane to be pretty fast, so when I maiden it I'm going to have a more experienced jet pilot next to me.

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