DrScoles

My Feedback: (18)

Some of you may have read my build thread on the Mig-29. It crashed on the maiden. Though impossible to prove, it looked like vertical fin flutter was the cause of the crash. I emailed sky master explaining what happened, I did not ask for any compensation. John emailed me back and offered to sell me a kit at a "special price." I asked him if I could choose a different model, and inquired about the F-14. He made me a deal I could not pass up and have a loaded F-14 on the way at a very fair price. I know they have tested the hell out of the F-14 and feel comfortable with its design.

It is so refreshing to see this type of service from a manufacturer in our hobby.

Thanks to Anton and John for making a frustrating situation a lot more tolerable!

Springbok Flyer

Fantastic, that is exactly how I have experienced SKYMASTER myself. My first Hawk 100 crashed due to a non-airframe issue and John/Anton also offered me a 'special' deal to replace the airframe. Because of that attitude I will support them and always consider their products first when deciding on a new project. Having a manufacturer that not only stand by their products, but also 'feel' the modellers pain, is greatly appreciated.

Cheers,

Jan

essyou35

My Feedback: (11)

Good but doesnt help the rest of us who are building migs now....

dubd

You bought your MIG used. Who knows what was done with it prior to you buying it. Mike's crash gives you a reason to double check the vertical stab. What more do you want? As of now, Mike's issue was a abnormality. There are plenty of SM MIG-29s flying without issue.

essyou35

My Feedback: (11)

My mig is not used, it is NIB, I bought it 2nd hand though. Its never been assembled or flown. I wish it had been flown though, would give me peace of mind.
I just want to know if there is some sort of "gotcha" I need to be worried about. I emailed skymaster to ask what I should do to ensure my stabs are ok. They have a lot of play with a single bolt. I just want to know what I can do to ensure the same dont happen to me, that is what I want.

Is that a lot to ask?

dubd

IMO, the best thing to do is take photos of your assembly or video of the play and get feedback from people who have flown the plane. From my experience this plane flies great on the stock hardware.

essyou35

My Feedback: (11)

Thank you for that assurance. I'm sure it is fine but I tend to get a bit of anxiety about it. I will post some pics and appreciate any feedback, and appreciate the help so far. I have no one locally to help me who builds scale jets like this. Literally there are 4 flying waiver holders in my state!

I'm jealous of the f-14 and really want to know how much Dr Scoles paid for it LOL. Because I am nosey like that.

dubd

If it were my MIG-29, I would hysol the vertical stabs to the fuse.

Levi Wags

Great to see Skymaster, John and Anton looking after there customers. In my opinion you guys are at the top of your game.

Good to see you have been looked after Mike.

I don't think there is a need for everyone to freak out over the SM Mig. It's been tried and tested for years now with no failures that I'm aware of until now. Mike was unlucky for sure but I'm sure it was an isolated incident.

Glue the fins to prevent the front to back play, and for the left to right flex, just look out to the wing tip of a commercial airliner next time you have a window seat. Now there is some flex.

You will be fine essyou

jetnuno

Hi

I also crashed my F4 in a maiden and they were helpfull enough to replace the plane at a very fair price, including some gear parts

BR

Nuno

ravill

My Feedback: (11)

Start a build thread. You will get a lot of suggestions if you are unsure about how to build something.

You will learn a lot!

And if building that mig seems like a lot, that F-14 is not quite your cup of tea yet.

luv2flyrc

My Feedback: (6)

Why did your F4 crash, was it thumbs or something else? I'm about to maiden mine soon

Mike

kevinthoele

My Feedback: (1)

Also if you think one day you may want to remove the fins. Use clear silicone. I did this to my carf mig 15 and 10 years later still stuck. The fin is a bolt on i just added to bottom when installed and no issues

essyou35

My Feedback: (11)

The mig is not hard at all. After that one crashed I started over and wanted to make sure I follow Skymaster's instructions exactly. Unfortunately the instructions leave out several things.
I added some thick fiberglass cloth to the tail section that also holds the formers down. On the A-10 they had issues with formers pulling away from the fuse, so this will help. If that happened on this mig, it will do exactly what his did.

Usually when I build jets I use my instincts and do what I feel is necessary. However I am told Skymaster is top quality, so I just left it as is and built it. But now I am going back and trusting my instincts again and doing what I feel is necessary.
There are several places I added glass.

I have had issues too, a misaligned tank former, struts not holding air, gear door hits the fuel tank etc.. I have another issues, a very queaky wood sound when I roll the jet around on its gear. Very wierd. Cant find any broken formers so not sure yet what it is.
I may post some pics of my modifications, My mig is 90% done so no point in a build thread.

dubd

Great idea! I'll try that the next time I want to glue a fin down. Do you think Goop is adequate?