dubd

Build is looking good.

Aussie Bart

Hey Murray

Are your carbon wing tubes hollow or solid??

FenderBean

Hey bart long time no see, someone asked the same thing before they said it was just an illusion the tubes should be solid. Are you think about getting one of these, i broke down and got one mine is out of paint should ship soon.

Aussie Bart

Hey mate, not gone just sitting on the sidelines. The trolls just get to be too much.

yep got one of these last Xmas but been too busy to finish it off, a couple of big arse F16's with p300's got in the way. I have it finished now all except the cockpit, it was terrible. Although you get a lot of cockpit for relatively small amount of money, you inevitably have to rebuild it.
I lack the patience to do this so a good mate of mine frank who is a scale detail guru is rebuilding it for me and I get to pick it up next week. I can then finish putting the nose back together and she is ready to fly.

There are some photos of the 14 on my other site in the albums along with stuff on those 16's. In the Scale Jets F16 album you can also see photos of Frank's quality scale work on his F16. https://www.facebook.com/jetsbybart?ref=bookmarks

FenderBean

Well glad to see you back, I was deployed for most of this year and just getting back to it, I understand the cockpit thing my avanti cockpit stuff is all warped and weighs a ton so will be redoing it myself. Looks like I will have to do the same on my next project as well.

dubd

Bart, glad you're back. I've always enjoyed your builds. Very clean and thought out installations.

muzzgail

Hi Bart,

The wing tubes are solid, just an optical dilusion me thinks.

I have finally got back on track putting my 14 together. Tried to unlock the from landing gear strut today, it didn't want to move without some force. It appears that the locking pin isn't lifting up high enough to release. Has anyone else seen this happen? If so, how did you fix it?

FenderBean

May need to send it back to sm it could be the slot the pin slides through is machined wrong.

MNModels

Murray,

Not sure I understand correct your problem. I have noticed your took the gear apart? Are you talking about the actuators that retract the gear? Did you take them apart as well?

Rgds

mick15

If you're trying to operate the nose leg with one airline only it won't work.

Aussie Bart

Hey Muzz
That whole system works as a sequence, it relies on pressure building up behind the locking pin to lift it out of the way and unlock the piston spear, once it has moved then the air dumps in behind the main piston to extend it. The sealing system around the locking pin is not a good enough arrangement and that pin will only lift if you belt the air in quickly, if you try and operate too slow the air bypasses the locking pin and gets onto the main piston which wants to move forward and as soon as it does this it side loads the locking pin and it is all over.

In addition, the locking spear on the back of the main cylinder is so aggressive that you need to slam the nose gear down to get the spear to engage the locking pin as it needs the inertia, if you don't slam it the the spear won't go all the way past the locking pin and the gear collapses.

All of this is not a design fault or a manufacturing fault but simply a good attempt to build a cylinder with an internal locking system instead of and external style which is traditional. The problem with internal locks is that there are just too many forces to contend with and manufacturers have been trying to build the 'better mousetrap' for decades on everything from our rc aircraft to the biggest excavators and such in the world with little success, this is not a guess but knowledge gained from 30+ years in the industry as a designer.

Skymasters design does indeed work but only if all the stars and moons align and everything is perfect but as we know that is not always the case, and as soon as your air pressure starts to drop then things become marginal.

i have always liked hydraulics on these types of systems because oil is incompressible and if you use external locks in the form of pilot check valves then you can be assured of success, however the setup in the 14 does not lend itself for an easy conversion. I have instead decided (at this point) to stitck with the air but remove the nose cylinder locking pin and fit the pilot check valves external to lock the air in the cylinder.

Whilst air unlike oil is compressible, it is still based on true physics of Boyles law which means that as it compresses it increases its pressure (P1V1 = P2V2) and this combined with the size and geometry of the nose cylinder will keep it solid.

HOWEVER if I find that it is not reliable enough then a couple of simple but ugly mods and I will drop a hydraulic pump in.

I can't help think that with all the ordinance and long range tanks hanging off the bottom of mine, it would not be a nice plane to land with gear up.

There is some additional info on the pilot checks here https://www.facebook.com/jetsbybart?ref=bookmarks

mick15

Bart

FenderBean

Same here bart but I would rather put some flats spots on the tanks instead of the jet Fly eagle tried the pin locking and it was like you said you needed the full air to slam things around. The simple compress air trick would not work I had to pump everything up to operational psi.

Aussie Bart

Fender my mate
FEJ, JL, SM, and a few others have tried, and like I said I think SM's is a great shot at it, but I have seen issues with this same setup on their Mig29.

Problem with the 14 belly landing it is too much like me.....too much belly and all those bits & bobs under there would depart and take a fair chunk of the fuse with it.

I will have my setup running next week and good, bad or indifferent I will report back with video.

As usual, everyone needs to make their own mind up as to risk mitigation as I will make up my mind, all I pose to do is offer a different view.

FenderBean

Well If I cant get it working 100% I make convert it, good luck on the maiden!

invertmast

My Feedback: (23)

Its nice hearing you guys talk about some of these nuances, it reassures me that my simple yet complex design may actually work. Lol

muzzgail

Thanks for the replies, very helpful. I will try the strut again with the whole air system connected. I was using a air pump to move it, unsuccessfully. I have 6 large robart air tanks fitted in the aircraft, that should make things move if they are inclined to want all the air at once.

dubd

It'll be interesting to see if these issues are widespread or not. I've had a lot of flights on a SM MIG-29 without any problems with the landing gear.

muzzgail

I just dissassembled the locking unit and found the setup is just suffering from dryness. A little grease on the o'ring on the locking piston is all it took and now it works like a bought one. You could even fire WD40 lubricant in the top of the unit without needing to dissassemble it and this will work.

muzzgail

The unit didn't function on a compressor air hose through a ball valve. 120psi and it didn't care. The lube sorts it straight out.

husafreak

My Feedback: (3)

Another Tomcat Dantley? Far out! Always like to see that "fall off the horse then get on again" kinda thing. This is a better horse though, LOL. You missed the Kingtech guy (Barry?) and his faithful side kick Ali wringing it out at BITW. At least I think this is that machine? Anyway, they flew it over and over and it is indeed a great plane, no one trick pony either, they flew it like they stole it. Tough and reliable.

baron-noir

My Feedback: (1)

Hello Tomcatters !

Just some Tomcat infos for fans out there also having fun playing with FSX : Aerosoft just released it's F-14X which is just awesome !! Included with tons of info about Tomcat system specifics, system operating etc. and some great info about carrier ops, like the carrier circuit with speed, alt, AOA and checklist performed from upwind until the groove... lot's of interesting stuff !! http://en.shop.aerosoft.com/eshop.ph...83k04ggrbghlv5 could also serve if you want to fly carrier circuit in a scale manner lol !

dubd

It is indeed a better horse. Looking forward to it.

current control

My Feedback: (1)

Just got mine in beautiful bird amazing engineering
how is everyone doing the cockpit
for the price I am not impressed looks like it will need to be cut up quite a bit
the rest of the bird is a a+
done in the Texas tail vf202
will post pics shortly

muzzgail

As is the way with the skymaster cockpits. They are the cheapest garbage. I threw mine at the floor in disgust. Didn't fit in the aircraft and was painted by a 10 year old and about $!0 worth, not $295.00. I will not order another cockpit from skymaster. Who ever they use, is just a JOKE.