No problem Art, its good to see this site can still work for guys to offer help to each other. Ya, Al W is a good friend, and it took a while to convince him to let me have the jet when I lost mine... It was either this kit from Al, or a used jet with some (fixable) nose damage hanging in a hobby shop near Toronto. I think that one's still there if anyone in the East is on the prowl for a jet, but it has the Euro gear and I think Du-bro wheels... Not traditional hardware.
Hey, on the speed brake... Are you going air or servo operated? If servo, can you post a pic or 2? My speed brake frame survived my crash but isn't worth using in the new fuse. Kinda feel like a scratch build at times, and I could use some inspiration...
Interesting note on the turbulence at high alpha, makes sense. I heard there is a similar theory on F-16, having the nose blank the fin, which is apparently the reason for the relatively large fin + ventral fins. Don't know for sure, just what I was told. On the HS, I only extend the brake full on final but half extension and gear down sure makes it feel mushy... No idea what it would turn like on full brake.
The biggest HotSpot instability issue I've witnessed was from my buddy Jon. He's on to his 2nd hotspot, with a homebuilt UT-160 for power. The jet can get into a Roo-like chicken flop if the airspeed comes down too far, while flying on a rearward CofG. His 1st one crashed twice because of this, both times rebuildable though. At least, if it does crash, it goes in at low speed. Forward CG doesn't seem to have the same problem. If it happens - pilots say the way out is to just cut the throttle and wait for the nose to fall - then fly out if it still has altitude to recover. Jon tried to power our of a spin the 2nd time, and it didn't work out well... I once saw a guy at Superman do this on purpose. He floored it in the spin and the jet went ballistic flopping all over like a bouncy ball. Guessing that is a gyroscopic effect from the turbine. Looked cool, but probably beat the hell out of the bearings!
Man, this thread is making me want to go out into the garage and get on with finishing it. winter - please go away...
K