Tomcat_104

My Feedback: (42)

This is a great forum and I for onr think the turine guys who used to be dedicated to DF can find and read this forum. I looked under "TURBINES" and they even had different categories as well as MANY different forums. I agree with Gordon MC that we may loose some experience but what we can gain will be a lot more dedicated information. Like Dan says "It seems there's a category for everything else" so I'm going to stick by this forum as long as another person is willing to go along with me.

David

Gordon Mc

My Feedback: (11)

Maybe in Canada ... but I sure don't see that here in the US.

FalconWings

My Feedback: (57)

I agree 100%. My kids will build, rigg, balance, glass and properly install DF's before even thinking about flying daddy's jets. I started at the very bottom and so will they. In the end, it will make them smarter too.

Go PLUGS!

David

Tomcat_104

My Feedback: (42)

David,

You're right on the money! My 2 kids will also work their way up. Just because Dad stopped at DF doesn't mean they will but, they will start at the bottom and work their way up. My oldest (boy) started with a LT-40 then graduated to a 4 Star 60, and then a Extra 300S and now a Edge 540. He has just about finished a P-51 60 size. The point is he built ALL the planes from kits, NO ARFs. I try to teach my children to build, the right way. Where they ultimately go is up to them!

David[8D]

petepowell

Right On, this is a great thread and is creating loads of interest.

Keep it up guys

Pete
PJP Jets

rorrock

I plan to go to turbines when i can afford to risk writing off $5000+ worth of gear due to something as simple as interference...

In the mean time it's DF for me, and it will be a long time before the boss off the house will let me feel that comfortable...

So it's on with my kit build in prep for my big zirolli hellcat build.. Then i'll look at getting a kress unit or a ramtec and building a hawker hunter from plans for it..

Rob in OZ

Gregor32

My Feedback: (1)

ok hear is one for the experts, fuel- ive searched rcu for info on what people have been using and the problem is getting premixed fuels here in Australia. from what i can see people are using 5% nitro and a mix of 50/50 castor and synthetic oil making up 20 to 22% total oil content, im just about to go and buy some fuel from a place the can mix to your requirements. so does this sound ok? and what type of synthetic oil would be best ? coolpower? klotz? any comments appreciated.
Cheers Greg

JimBrown

My Feedback: (2)

Hey Mark, I replied to your PM, but since you asked here as well, I'll post my reply here too. Perhaps others will benefit.

Hmmm... tips on flying the Skyburner... Ok.

For take off, 400' should be good. I flew mine out of my club field, which is 430'. It took a fair bit of the runway, so you'll need confidence that you'll get enough speed on the take off roll. Fresh cut grass helps. As does 2 3/4" Sullivan Skylite main wheels and a 2 1/4" nose wheel. No need for brakes, so you'll save weight there. If I recall correctly (it was a few years ago that I flew my last one) I was off the ground in about 275' to 300', and that was without forcing the issue. I'm sure that you will do fine with 400'.

Once it's up and flying, it's a joy to fly. Very responsive, and flies like it's on rails. Roll rate is very fast, so watch the throws and use some exponential.

I built mine with separate flaps (I'll be showing how to do that in my build thread over on RCCanada soon.) So landing was pretty easy. Throttle back on the downwind, drop the flaps and fly the base and final at idle. I like to come in on a low approach to get the nose up a bit as I cross the threashold and then let it settle onto the runway. Landing speed is around 30mph. I didn't notice any stall tendancies.

I did not have any dead sticks with my last Skyburner, but even at idle with the flaps down, the glide ratio is very good. It's a pretty thick and straight wing and has a fairly light wing loading for a jet. It's certainly not a brick! :-)

Good luck with yours! I'm hoping to get mine flying this summer.

Regards,
...jim

FalconWings

My Feedback: (57)

Guys,

This is just to gice you an idea of the stuff I've bought here on RCU and how much it cost:

-BVM F-16 RTF (BVM .91 VIO)- this was my first DF trainer, - $800 (I sold it and made a little profit, flew great)
-BVM Agressor RTF - I re-finished it and had to buy a new BVM .91 for it - $500 (add $125 for a brand spanking new BVM .91)
-TG F-15 RTF - (OS .91 DYANAMX) Flew the ***** out of it, lost to a very stubborn tree - $700
-TG F-15 RTF v2.0 (OS .91 DYNAMAX)- I used this one to get my turbne waiver - $600
-Y/A F-16 RTF (OS .91 RAMTEC) - Flew twice, re-finished and re-sold - $1500

All of these were flying within 2 hours, except the Agressor II. As you can see, be patient and you will find many items in good condition here on RCU.
The BVM F-16 was by far the BEST DEAL ever, but the TG F-15's were the msot fun.

I also learned the essentials:
-BVM .91's like VIOFAN and BVM Pipes
-OS .91's like Dynamax and Ramtecs and both JMP and BVM Pipes
You do this, you will be 90% fine.

JimBrown

My Feedback: (2)

In almost 10 years of flying DF jets, mainly with the OS .91, I never used locktite on any of the bolts on the engine. Anytime I took the engine apart, I made sure I cleaned everything thoroughly prior to assembly. The bolts where tightened down well, but not over tightened. After the first few flights I would go over the engine and check the tightness of all the bolts. Thereafter, I'd check them every month or so.

The saddle tanks should be plumbed in parallel. Use equal lenghts of fuel tubing from the pressure tee to the the tanks, and from the tanks to the tee going to the hopper tank. If you plumb in series, you will get a mixture change when the first tank empties. Not good.

Here's how I set up my remote mixture needle. Set the TX mixture control to about 3/4' lean (1/4 travel for more lean, 3/4 travel for rich.) Loosen the nut that holds the needle so that it can be adjusted. Adjust it so that it is pretty rich. Start the engine. Let it warm up for a minute or two. Go to full power. Slowly lean the needle on the mixture control (NOT with the TX!) until the RPM is no longer climbing. Back it off a bit until the RPM starts to drop again. Tighten the nut so that the needle will stay put. Now you can use the TX to fine tune it for each flight. Normally, for the first flight of the day, I would use the TX to set the mixture pretty rich, get it started, warm it up, go to full power and then tweak the mixture using the TX. I would then not mess with it for the rest of the day unless I noticed it getting a bit lean in the air.

Have fun!
...jim

JimBrown

My Feedback: (2)

If you are using an OS .91 or BVM .91, use the BVM or Tom Cook tuned pipes. They are designed specifically for those engines and do not need to be messed with. Just bolt 'em on and go. My preference is for the BVM pipe with pitot pressure off the fan.

...jim

JimBrown

My Feedback: (2)

Excellent advise. I also use Wildcat 5% Jet-A DF fuel and the McCoy #9 glow plugs. With a slightly rich setting all the time, I'll get 25 to 30 flights out of a plug.

With a clear blue sky, you should be able to see a good smoke trail while the engine is at full power.

...jim

JimBrown

My Feedback: (2)

I'd advise not taking your fan apart if you don't need to. Once you remove the rotor and engine, you should be able to clean it up nicely by poking a rag through the stators and pulling it back and forth.

Regards,
...jim

SPLIT S

I'm about to start a YA F18 using the conformal saddle fuel tanks. Is a hopper tank an absolute requirement or can I just run off of the saddles?

Thanks,
Dan

buddude8

My Feedback: (10)

just run off of the conformals. just make sure you are using a pressure vent off of the fan unit for the back pressure to the tanks.

ken

mafrasca

Hi Greg,

I faced a similar situation recently. There is endless debate over Klotz/Coolpower and yes even castor oil. I ended up with the following mix,

5% Nitro
10% Castor (VP Racing)
13% Klotz KL200
72% Methanol (VP Racing)

I have run the engine with this fuel, no problems at all. I have a mate who uses Coolpower in his OS91 with no problems. I tried to get my hands on Aerosave oil which is the bees knees for DF engines, but proved to be impossible down here in Oz.

I think this is personal preference but if you have enough oil you should be fine.

vasek

My Feedback: (4)

I agree with Gordon!

You want help from people who know (they mostly fly turbines now & wouldn't look at the separate DF forum)

if it's a separate forum you'll endup with a "self-help" from newbies [X(]

Gregor32

My Feedback: (1)

i just picked up my fuel, i got 5%nitro 10%coolpower blue 10%castor 75%methanol, 5L cost $30au so im quite happy. i decided on 20% oil because i wont be pushing for every last rpm and trimaircraft also recomend 20% oil 50/50 castor synth. also i have to agree with vasek about not splitting the jet forum, i think there is more chance of people looking at df questions if they are in front of them.
Greg

Xairflyer

My Feedback: (1)

I know many have probably seen this but I thought it would be worth posting for some.

AMD produce a BAE Hawk http://www.amdhobby.com/product_info...roducts_id=490 suitable for various 5" fan/engine combos from 45 to 90. They also do a 5" fan but dont have any idea what it is like.

There are also many copys being sold on ebay some selling very cheaply, postage can be expensive but if look at the overall cost the aeroplane it is still very cheap for a ARFT Ducted fan model.
http://cgi.ebay.com/Blue-Red-Arrows-...QQcmdZViewItem

I have one of the AMD manufactured models and the finish on the fuselage is nothing but superb. (Red Arrows Version).

Xairflyer

My Feedback: (1)

Anyone familular with the webra 80 ducted fan engine ?

Xairflyer

My Feedback: (1)

Seen this on ebay today http://cgi.ebay.com/F-15-Sport-Eagle...QQcmdZViewItem

looks like a Bob Parkinson Vector eagle that I have comes from http://www.sunset-models.com/index.html they also have a few other ducted fan models.

Anyone know of this company

vasek

My Feedback: (4)

good link flyer, THNX!

I like the F-4 Phantom> anyone knows what kit is that?

SPLIT S

No disrespect for the turbine flyers, I'd love to be one someday but I don't agree with that line of reasoning why we can't have a dedicated fan category. I've seen the same turbine people post on all sorts of categories so the argument that they wouldn't bother to look at a fan category doesn't hold water with me. I do belive that there are plenty of knowledgeable fan fliers that have not took the leap to turbines out of cost so I don't think we would have a bunch of "newbies" attempting to answer everything all the time. Fan fliers have been building / flying for a long time ( remember not too long ago when flying fan jets at 150 MPH was the pinnacle of flying? ). Aerodynamics and engine technology carry on from one form of flying to another. Ailerons and elevators do the same thing no matter what they are attached to.

On the other hand I have read posts in the RC Jet category in response to fan flying from some in the vein of "why bother, who wants the noise, we laugh at them and their machines" among other comments. If they wouldn't bother to look at the fan category, all the better. The point I am trying to make is that there are more than enough turbine flyers who are more than willing and very kind in their advice in helping us fan people that need the advice out. I have had the pleasure in dealing with quite a few of them and wish to meet them all someday at a jet meet. Those are the people that WILL look at a fan forum. The idea IMO that a fan category is a waste just feeds the notion of "what you are doing really doesn't matter." Again, no disrespect to anyone but this "I'm not worthy" bull gets old quick.

Dan

MMallory

My Feedback: (1)

I say go for it. How can another forum hurt. Just don't close the door to posting in the regular jet forum. This way if someone gets stuck they will have another avenue.

Dan,

Are you volunteering to moderate?

Mark M.

Gordon Mc

My Feedback: (11)

Go for it ... I'm not against it at all - just pointing out the kind of issue that has caused quite a few people to vote against a split in the past.

That could possibly be a source of some problems. RCU doesn't allow "spamming" - posting the same thing in multiple places, so if you post the same question in the DF forum and in the whatever-it's-called-now (turbine ?) forum you can expect that one of them will be deleted. Also, the moderators are expected / required to move posts that they believe are are "in the wrong forum" - so if you post a DF query in the turbine forum, you could perhaps expect to have it moved to the DF forum.

Again, I'm not against a DF forum at all, and am not trying to hinder your attempts to get one - just pointing out a few things that you may not have thought of. Unintended consequences can be a pain ... so just try to make sure you think things through before splitting off into your own group.

Gordon