New Version Cermark F-16 1st Flight
 

Hi, new guy here again. I just want to give a public thank you to Chris (aka Stratotanker from RCU) for giving my new cermark F-16 the once over and taking the 1st flight for me. The jet flew perfectly and is super fast!! I am very happy with Cermark on this one. I ended up using springair on the retracts and a Magnum .91 in the nose with a set of strobes and nav lights for the heck of it, which looked cool on the flyby. With the big 4 cell 1500 Ma battery in the tail she balanced right at 7 3/4" from the leading edge. Here are a few pics and a 3 links to the videos we took (sorry about the clairity on them but my camera had a hard time keeping up)

Phil Landram
USAF KC-135 R/T Instructor Boom Operator

Flyby
[IMAGE]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v477/themongrel/f-16intheair.jpg[/IMAGE]

After landing
[IMAGE]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v477/themongrel/afterlandingpic.jpg[/IMAGE]

Video Links...
Takeoff:
http://s5.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=29...P1G5G47BEENRH3
Flyby:
http://s5.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=2E...A3NEE7CY1VU2LK

Landing:
http://s5.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=0N...O3851EED86I36L

RE: New Version Cermark F-16 1st Flight
 

Awesome! [sm=thumbup.gif]

RE: New Version Cermark F-16 1st Flight
 

Hi. I am finishing also the new Cermark F-16.. Happy to see that yours flew excellent. Hope mine does the same, probably this weekend if rain permits.. I seem to have set everthing o.k. But I am not sure how the stabs are set up with respect to the fuselage.. What is the correct set-up. Are they set-up with the leading edge of the stabs parallel with the top of the fuselage? or are they set up parallel with the middle line of the fuselage(were the top and the bottom halves of the fuselage meet). or did you set them up in another way?.
Also what size wheels did you use on the mains and on the nose gear? I put a brand new O.S: 90FX what size prop did you use?
Congratulation on the flight-- Look nice !!!!
Hope you can help me on these questions and if you can recomend me anything else, please feel free to make any comment.
thanks,
aapanama

RE: New Version Cermark F-16 1st Flight
 

The stab incidence will depend on the CG. With the CG at 8" you will need the center of the leading edge of the stabilators to be about 3/16" below the fuselage joint line. At 9" the elevators will trim at about 1/16 below the joint line.

I tried an 11x11 Graupner and a 12x9 APC on my OS 91FX. The 12x9 works a lot better.

By the way 509thBoomer, it flies much better at 8.5 inches than at 7 3/4.

Jim

RE: New Version Cermark F-16 1st Flight
 

I had mine set at 1/8" above the fuse line on the rear part of the elevator per the instructions. I am happy with the CG at this point (lands like a baby even so far forward), but I will move it back to see the change. I am still working on the right prop combo for speed. With a 12X7 she went over 110 mph yet with my 14x7 break in prop she went a whopping 75 :). I was able to get a flight in yesterday before the motor came loose and I called it a day, but all is well now and I may try it again tomorrow weather permitting. The spring air 705 retracts work flawless and still had 60 lbs of air in them after a week of sitting! This is one of the best prop jets I have ever owned as far as looks and flight performance!!! Hats off to Cermark!

RE: New Version Cermark F-16 1st Flight
 

From my Cermark F-16 Instruction CD-Rom:

The CG should be 8 ½” to 9” behind the leading edge of the wing at the side of the fuselage. It may be easier just to measure along the leading edge of both wings and make a mark 15” out from the root.

Assemble the airplane completely, with the fuel tank empty and the landing gear extended. Stand over the nose of the airplane and lift it with you fingers on the marks on the leading edges of the wings. The airplane should hang level from your fingertips.

To balance the airplane side-to side, turn it upside down, set the fin on the ground and hold the nose up by one blade of the prop. Add weight to the higher wingtip until the airplane will remain level.

SETTING THE CONTROL THROWS

 Use the following control travels as a starting point

 Ailerons: LOW RATE = 5/8” up and down, HIGH = 7/8”
 Stabilators (elevators): LOW RATE = 3/4” up and down (at the trailing edge), HIGH = 1”
 Rudder: 1” left and right

FLYING

NOTE: Because of the unique aerodynamics of the F-16, it will require some up trim for level flight. The amount of up trim depends on your CG. Start with the trailing edge of the stabilator 1/8” above neutral and flight trim from there.

Use the 8 ½” CG and the recommended control travels and there will be nothing to worry about on the first flight. The F-16 Propjet flies and lands just like a normal sport plane. It will slow way down for landings as long as your prop pitch is 9 or less. (We tried an 11-pitch prop and had to kill the engine to get the F-16 to come down.) The F-16 will do all of the usual sport aerobatics including spins without problems, but of course its coolest maneuver is the high-speed low pass

RE: New Version Cermark F-16 1st Flight
 

You know, I honestly think that is the best looking Arf Prop jet on the market. I almost got the older version a few years ago but opted for the F20 which was a mistake. I may consider that this coming winter .

RE: New Version Cermark F-16 1st Flight
 

thank you very much: 509thBoomer and jrf.
The information you guys gave me is very helpfull. I will set my F-16 per the settings on your replys. It seems that I bought the F-16 before they came with instructions on CD-ROM. Mine only came with a couple of photos and that´s all. So like I said, your information will better the flight characteristics of my plane.
I will post how the flight goes maybe this sunday if the weather permits, If not, as soon as I fly it for the first time.
One more question : I installed Spring-Air retracts but did your kit come with the mechanical retracts included in the price or not?
thanks again
aapanama

RE: New Version Cermark F-16 1st Flight
 

DONT FORGET THE FLANKER... NOT BAD LOOKING EITHER! NOW WE HAVE THE MAKINGS FOR ACM ENGAGEMENTS!

RICH

RE: New Version Cermark F-16 1st Flight
 

I did not build with the instructions either. They did not show up until I called and asked for them. I did not get any retracts, they said I had to pay more so I said bag it and got the spring airs.

Hey jetpilotrich, is the su27 an arf? I have the shockflyer electric version and love it! (Can fly it in my front yard :D)

RE: New Version Cermark F-16 1st Flight
 

Jet pilot rich - where is Flanker available?

RE: New Version Cermark F-16 1st Flight
 

Great job! I'm just starting to assemble one at time of writting, powered by a 91 FX with cermark mechanical (metal) retracs. If its not too much trouble a few questions. Where did you get the additional Thunderbird decals on the fin and just aft of the canopy? What brand are the lights, and do you power them of the main battery? What scale and brand is the scale pilot?

Thanks,

Tiz

RE: New Version Cermark F-16 1st Flight
 

For the decals I bought a inkjet waterslide do it your self decal kit from Bel Inc ( http://www.beldecal.com/) and used photoshop to cut and paste from the real thing. I then sized them to size, put them on and cleared over the jet to make them waterproof. Seems to work good so far.

For the lights, I have the nav lights and rear stobe. I bought them from tower for something like $22 for the LCD light kit. They just plug into ch 9 on my receiver and plug into a "Y" connector. I run a really big 4 cell 1800 MAh battery in the tail to halp with balance so they do not really cause any draw on the jets battery life.

As for the pilot, he came out of my wrecked VMAR T-6A Texan II. I just painted him to look the part.

Hope that helps... Good luck

RE: New Version Cermark F-16 1st Flight
 

You can get the SU-27 Flanker at: http://akmodels.bizland.com/ E-mail or talk to Alex.

It is not an arf but a 90 sized laser cut kit... tell Alex at AKM I sent you to his site and he will give you a FREE set of the laser cut stickers if you order the kit! I love the plane... flys as good as it looks!!

It was a pleasure to build and fly! Here are some more pics!

That is a sweet F-16.... its gonna be my next plane!

Rich

RE: New Version Cermark F-16 1st Flight
 

Great planes guys , how hard are they to fly ? I have flown low wing warbirds , and a few prop jets but nothing hot and fast , do they respond like ducted fans on the Great Plane Fligt simulator , can you please elaborate ? Thanks agian

RE: New Version Cermark F-16 1st Flight
 

"ARF" :D

RE: New Version Cermark F-16 1st Flight
 

To me it flies like a normal sport plane, just a little faster. Lands like a baby