RE: AKM SU-27 Flanker-Does Look Good
The plane is very stable in all phases of flight and lands at very normal speeds!
The prop I am using is a regular old APC 12-6. You cant beat the Jett... they haul A@# and are easy to adjust... This is my second Jett .90L and they both run flawlessly. My motto is: "you can buy a cheaper engine.. but not a better one" After buying another brand of engine plus header, pipe and brackets you are around the same price as a Jett and the Jett is out of the box tuned power!! No need to screw around with tuning the pipe!
Here is a critical measurement from Alex at AKM: If you measure from FRONT of F6 to outside front hole of the retract it should measure 95mm. Ignore what the plan says in this regard and ignore the CG on the plan.... it will not work unless you move the gear way back. If you have mounted the gear using the previous measurement your main gear will be right on. This was the first time I did not use a balancer!!! Then when you balance the plane do it on pavement or other hard surface.... it should sit on all 3 gears BARELY!! When you lift the nose in the air about an inch the tail should fall to the ground (dont scratch up your plane!). Remember this is with an empty tank.... once you add gas the nose will be solid on the ground. Use at least an 18oz tank. The Jett uses it fast and you want to land with a a few oz. in there!
I am getting some rudder flutter.... I am working on some solutions... the obvious one is to go slower... but that kinda sucks... for now I have put the toe in on the rudders... you can see a pic I put up several posts ago. the inward deflection of the rudders seems to help abit. Also I just added another epoxy bearing to the rudder torque rod to get rid of some of the play... I attached a pic! also use 3 hinges not 2!
The oil is a bain in the A@# as usual! The diverter helps. I doped my wheel wells before covering the plane.... but they do not seem to get alot of oil in them. the bottom of the plane does get real messy.... no way to avoid that. The fake black ultracote jet intake is somewhat fuel proof because I covered it with clear covering to keep the black part from coming off!
L8tr
Rich