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Skymaster F18D Hornet twin build

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Skymaster F18D Hornet twin build

Old 03-19-2017, 05:52 AM
  #151  
bruno borges
 
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Hi Gunradd,

Sorry for the downfall of your f-18. This was one of the most beautiful jets I've ever seen. I'm thinking of putting one of those F-18s together. Is making it very difficult? Which radio and turbine do you advise to use?

Tks

Bruno
Old 03-19-2017, 06:42 AM
  #152  
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Dude, that was one wild ride! Don't beat yourself up, even Ali might not have been able to save her, the fact it didn't crash on takeoff is a testament to your flying skills.

Crashes are painful, we've all had them (maybe some more than ohers, HA), but we move on, right.

Your next one will be even more impressive I'm sure!
Old 03-19-2017, 07:47 AM
  #153  
P. Richards
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Hated to hear that the F-18 went in, but I am sure the next one will be better. You have a lot of turbine flights, and you have skills as a pilot, things happen and we learn from it. Thanks for posting the progress and issues with the kit and the instruction manual, I am sure that we all benefit from that. Keep your head up.

P. Richards aka SwatTeam
Old 03-19-2017, 07:57 AM
  #154  
gunradd
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Originally Posted by bruno borges
Hi Gunradd,

Sorry for the downfall of your f-18. This was one of the most beautiful jets I've ever seen. I'm thinking of putting one of those F-18s together. Is making it very difficult? Which radio and turbine do you advise to use?

Tks

Bruno

Hello Bruno.

The weight came out to be about the same as my F15 I used to fly on a k210. If I built another it would be a single with a 210 or 260.

120 size twins would work well as well as twin 140.

For radio if I had the money I would make the switch to jeti.
Old 03-19-2017, 08:09 AM
  #155  
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Originally Posted by gunradd
Hind sight is always 20 20.
Lessons learned...
I should have ran the engines one at a time then I would have seen the RPM problem.

I should have just landed the plane on the first lap despite some one being on the runway even if it was into the grass.

On the final turn I think if I rolled to slight inverted like I did on the turn before that I could have gotten the nose down and avoided the departure from flight that killed it.

Last lesson. When Ali is standing next to you and something like this is going on just give him the sticks lol. I am very grateful he came to help me out hes one of the best guys in this hobby and a good friend.
Kris, very sorry about the Hornet. It looked amazing. It's a shame someone was on the runway as I'm sure you would have been able to save it. I hope you're able to jump back on the horse and build another kick ass project.

Last edited by dubd; 03-19-2017 at 08:18 AM.
Old 03-19-2017, 08:42 AM
  #156  
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Gun sorry see that beauty go in, I read your post and didn't want to bother you if your not in the mood. I was confused and wanted to make sure since eventually I do want to build one of these. This issue was the turbine being so close causing the turbines to read opposite rpm? I learned something here I didn't even know that was possible, but it makes since. Again sorry for the loss.

Last edited by FenderBean; 03-19-2017 at 08:45 AM.
Old 03-19-2017, 09:02 AM
  #157  
gunradd
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Originally Posted by FenderBean
Gun sorry see that beauty go in, I read your post and didn't want to bother you if your not in the mood. I was confused and wanted to make sure since eventually I do want to build one of these. This issue was the turbine being so close causing the turbines to read opposite rpm? I learned something here I didn't even know that was possible, but it makes since. Again sorry for the loss.

I also was unaware if this with twins. They need to be reclocked to avoid each other. Just can't clock them to much because then they won't start. Jim tried to break up the signal on his with carbon fiber between them and other stuff also. Nothing worked reliable accept reclocking them.
Old 03-19-2017, 09:53 AM
  #158  
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I wonder if you designed a bypass with copper mesh in it to create a sort of Faraday cage or Faraday shield would that solve the problem.

Oli? This sounds like a perfect experiment.
Old 03-19-2017, 10:00 AM
  #159  
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Gunradd, sorry about your loss man. The amount of talent that you have and put into all your jets is unbelievably nice, so that makes the loss so much more.

My my condolences and god speed back on that horse! We need guys like you for our inspiration!
Old 03-19-2017, 10:26 AM
  #160  
essyou35
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There's nothing wrong with your piloting abilities. I am not familiar with how things work at FJ, but cant your spotter call out you have an issue and have the runways cleared? Im not trying to armchair quarterback this I just wondered by the runway wasnt cleared for you.
Old 03-19-2017, 10:35 AM
  #161  
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Hi Kris,

Just want to say we're feeling for you pal. Plane looked awesome, it literally made me want to get an F-18D... Looking forward to seeing your next project and following your build thread.


Note: Someone should probably make a point in the general RC Jet Forum, & elsewhere, to raise awareness related to the twin turbine proximity point. I'm sure a lot of us are not aware of this. This type of thing should be well studied and documented to help mitigate this from reoccurring. Even the turbine & model manufacturers should probably make a point to inform builders on twin setups.

Take Care.

Last edited by skunkwurk; 03-19-2017 at 11:09 AM.
Old 03-19-2017, 12:25 PM
  #162  
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Gunradd, sorry for your loss brotha. Keep your chin up, this is just a minor setback and you will be back at it before you know it. Everyone at one point in their flying career has to taste this, fortunately it builds character and determination. You had one SWEET ASS F18. Next one will be even better.
Old 03-19-2017, 12:26 PM
  #163  
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It's always a hard thing to take regardless if you spent two years kit building or a few months, it's still a disheartening thing. I know you will take the positives from this as we all learn from theses kind of things and we become better from them. Most of the guys that have been doing this have had a loss. It still hurts and sometimes we question ourselves. When I crashed my two year long kit build on the tenth flight I kind of went into shock of the rc kind, you shrug it off and move on but it takes time for it all to soak in and you are taking it like a champ whitch speaks volumes to your piloting skills, there is more to flying then yanking the sticks.

Thank you for shearing both the build and the misshap.

TB

Last edited by TonyBuilder; 03-19-2017 at 12:29 PM.
Old 03-19-2017, 01:31 PM
  #164  
BlueBus320
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Sorry for the loss dude! That SUCKS
at least we just pick up the pieces & lick our (emotional) wounds. If you were a biker (or many other sports), that could have been a life changing/or ending event. I'm sure you'll be back with something just as cool
& looks like you did a great job (attempting the save) for what you had going on.
Jay
Old 03-19-2017, 02:11 PM
  #165  
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Originally Posted by gunradd
I also was unaware if this with twins. They need to be reclocked to avoid each other. Just can't clock them to much because then they won't start. Jim tried to break up the signal on his with carbon fiber between them and other stuff also. Nothing worked reliable accept reclocking them.
Relocking? do you mean rotating the turbines so that RPM sensors are further apart?
Old 03-19-2017, 03:21 PM
  #166  
Chris Nicastro
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Wouldn't this issue have come up in the first three flights? It seems serious enough that it could have been avoided I would think.
Old 03-19-2017, 04:36 PM
  #167  
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SAFTEY ALERT Any twin turbine setup check to see that one engine does not read the others RPM ... I had this problem with mine and spotted it while doing repairs. Another plane was lost at the event and we think this may have caused the problem. I was able to fix mine by rotating engine #1 45 deg.
Old 03-20-2017, 10:33 AM
  #168  
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Gunradd,
really sorry to see your model go in.
i know everyone's going to have a pet theory as to what happened, but can I ask the following.

1) did you have the transmitter set up to start each engine individually or both at the same time?
2) did you have a gyro on it that had a heading hold facility on the rudder?

its just the behaviour of the flight looks awful like a rather exciting flight I had one time of my small SM A-10....
Old 03-20-2017, 01:04 PM
  #169  
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Originally Posted by bidrseed2
Gunradd,
really sorry to see your model go in.
i know everyone's going to have a pet theory as to what happened, but can I ask the following.

1) did you have the transmitter set up to start each engine individually or both at the same time?
2) did you have a gyro on it that had a heading hold facility on the rudder?

its just the behaviour of the flight looks awful like a rather exciting flight I had one time of my small SM A-10....

I had the engines on a Y cable.

Gyro was the new cortex pro with heading hold disabled. Also on the maiden flight where this same thing happened the gyro was off the entire flight.
Old 03-20-2017, 01:22 PM
  #170  
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Ah, there goes my theory, then.
i took off one time with one of my Engines at idle, (finger trouble as they were on a 3 position switch, ne for both, one for left and the 3rd position for the right engine ) AND the gyro (an igyro) on in the rudder heading hold mode.
Your F18 looked like my A10 behaved in yaw AND the way your model never seemed to quite stabilise in roll, despite the gyro, made me think.

Doesnt seem to apply to your situation. Sorry I couldn't help, and I hope you figure out what happened.
Old 03-20-2017, 02:36 PM
  #171  
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From my understanding, it seemed like an engine out situation.

And the reason why the engine stopped running is in debate with a very real possibility of some engine rpm bleeding to adjacent engines as a possible cause.
Old 03-21-2017, 09:37 AM
  #172  
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A steel or iron plate will attenuate the magnetic cross talk between the motors.There is also something called miracle metal that is supposed to block magnetic fields. The thickness is the issue depending on how strong the magnetic field is. It could get heavy. I am building a Mig 29 with 2 Cheetah 160's and they are about 9" apart center to center. Just curious how far apart are the engines in the F-18?
Old 03-21-2017, 09:53 AM
  #173  
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So sorry to hear about your F18 Kris, it was looking awesome. Hope you can get back on the horse at some stage because your stuff is awesome.

Hang tough mate!

-Geoff
Old 03-21-2017, 12:06 PM
  #174  
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Originally Posted by Bobneal1
A steel or iron plate will attenuate the magnetic cross talk between the motors.There is also something called miracle metal that is supposed to block magnetic fields. The thickness is the issue depending on how strong the magnetic field is. It could get heavy. I am building a Mig 29 with 2 Cheetah 160's and they are about 9" apart center to center. Just curious how far apart are the engines in the F-18?

They where about 1 inch apart in the front
Old 03-22-2017, 11:04 AM
  #175  
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Originally Posted by EDFJim
SAFTEY ALERT Any twin turbine setup check to see that one engine does not read the others RPM ... I had this problem with mine and spotted it while doing repairs. Another plane was lost at the event and we think this may have caused the problem. I was able to fix mine by rotating engine #1 45 deg.
Is your F-14 setup like Kris did his or as bidrseed has his setup if I might ask?

I've not flown my F-14 or even started the beast up with it's new engines, but mine are setup on a switch as bidrseed talked about and I'll watch for the RPM bleed over issue in any case.

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