Hi,
I have just started putting my new and excellent PST "Revsion" together and offer a few comments from my experience so far.

I understand the tail plane and fin are designed to be left in place rather than the "Reaction" system where in later models the factory with good effect designed them to be removed.

This brings two points, the first being the front safety bolt which holds the front of the fin in place needs to be re worked to bolt down from the top of the fin ie complete reversal of the kit as sold. Simply you cannot get to the nut when the pipe is in place.
Also my clamp to secure the fin broke two Allen keys trying to tighten it up, I understand that have been some issues with tube sizes of the fin main mount from the factory which are being addressed as I write.

I have chosen to use the excellent "Tamjets" servo mountings rather than the supplied wooden mounts as they allow easier fixing of a security screw from the outside of the servo covers without fear of splitting the wooden mount.

I did find that my nose wheel mounting plate split when I mounted the retract with 4 mm cap screws ( I prefer these to the machine screws supplied). I am sure there will be those that say the machine screws work fine, but its something to be aware of. I believe this is also due to the mounts being slightly too far apart by a couple of mm leaving not enough meat in the remaining wood mounts for any error at all. I will replace these ( In fact as I did on my Reaction).
I think the wooden mounting plates are a little more prone to splitting than I would perhaps like although will most probably be fine with the supplied machine screws. It also would be a good idea maybe if all manufacturers of retracts made them with the hole mounts further apart anyway as this would help in the mounting of all undercarriage s in my view.

Despite the niggles above this is a really nice and well built kit. The moulding of all components I have found of really high standard and finish is superb. Everything fits beautifully with razor width fitting of every component so far. I have chosen to add wing tip tanks from the PST Panther which are also of high quality and seem to finish off the look of this great sport jet.
The undercarriage is just superb and if you buy the plane don't overlook the undercarriage as it really is great value and quality.

I am sure there will be a lot of interest in this plane as its brother the "Reaction" has given many of us many relaxed days of flying.

Regards

David

I have just completed a Revision for RCJI review and a full review of the kit components is in the current issue. Verdict: outstandingly good with beautifully made landing gear, as good as ANY, as the icing on the cake.

Build: No real building is required because the kit is completed to an extraordinary extent.
Builder is required to:
1. Install control surface horns.
2. Hinge rudder.
3. Trim and glue clear canopy to frame.
4. Fix gear doors and speedbrake if used.
"Build" complete, ready for equipment installation !

Minor comment, as David said the forward fin screw can't be accessed with thrust tube in place, so I have replaced the screw on mine with CF rod spigot as on the BVM F4 fin which is similar in size and shape to the revision.

I used self tapping woodscrews with pilot holes for landing gear fixing as these will pull out of the wood in a hard landing whereas machine screws tend to pull out the landing gear plates making repair more difficult.

Similarly the forward wing screws have been replaced with CF rod

The hole for the flap servo needs to be enlarged, lengthened, to allow JR 8411 servo to fit.

Mine has a PST 1300 for power, as on my Reaction for which the engine is a perfect match.

Servos , JR 8411s and 8511s on control surfaces.

Radio: Weatronics 12-22 with 3 gyros and GPS. This larger receiver will be replaced witha Micro after evaluation of current draws in flight and RF performance using the GPS and data logging system. Dual lipo receiver batteries plus a lipo ECU battery.

The next edition of RCJI will have a fully illustrated assembly article and, hopefully, a flying assesment, this latter MAY be delayed til the next issue.

The Reaction is great fun to fly and the Revision, which is less draggy and has a smaller, thinner wing should have more speed and vertical performance.

Regards,

David Gladwin.

David hi,
I have a couple of questions if possible.

The forward CF spigot replacement,is it clamped as per rear main ali tube fixing or just pegged in so to speak?

On my Reaction I had four 123 2300 cells up front. Does the CG position require a similar weight load up front with the new turbine set up. I am using a 120 SX as on the Reaction.

I would be interested in your tail mounting servo connections as I have been thinking of mounting a horizontal Mutiplex plug between the tailplane plug holes to receive an opposing one in the actual tail plane unit to keep things up from the pipe. Plus maybe a thin blanket of ceramic cloth between the two. Have you made your set up removable for transit ?

Regards

David

In fact I used a screw at the front of the fin as per my SkyGate hawk PLUS the CF spigot, unclamped.

I have not yet balanced it, last job !

Everything is removeable essential for transport over long distances, sometimes by air, in Australia.

The power leads to the three tail servos are clamped to the fuselage side with a layer of ceramic heat blanket with an aluminium face (Wren supplied) There is a horizontal former (1/8 balsa) over the tailpipe at the rear lined with heat blanket to form a little compartment for the plugs. A similar arrangement works well on my AirWorld Hawks.

Regards,

David.

David,
That has been very useful thank you. Just to clarify the screw is screwed down thru the top of the fin but right up the front and goes down into a blind nut above the pipe.
Would be interested to know the outcome of balancing when you get there.
Good luck and I think we are both going to have a nice time with this very nice airplane.....again!

Regards

David

HI Skywarrior
I got mine last November but have not been rushing the build,I have a Reaction X that I have been having a ball with for the last 18 Months. Back to the ReVision I am going to remove a little from the bottom of the fin back about 20 mm from the LE and shape a piece of Ally strip and Hysol in place then drill a hole through the Ally and top of Fuzz to find the right place then Hysol a piece of 6mm ply drill it to take a blind nut and you can use a cap head bolt, eazy fix.I have 2XA123X2200 Batteries up front, the wings are finished and I have most of the front completed. We are in the middle of summer here this week it has been high 30's low 40's not good weather for Jets. One thing I haven't worked out yet is how to fit the speed brake I haven't got any offset hinges that are strong enough, so I will try a few things I think I might be going to have trouble with the leeding edge binding when it is deployed. I have never used a speed brake before I was going to put it on the second stage of flaps but have decided to use it on another switch to start with . Keep in touch it is good to come up with new ideas
Best Regard
Mav

OK, mine is almost ready for flight test. A few notes:

To obtain the balance point, just forward of the aft limit, 1005 grams of lead was needed. The PST 1300 is slightly heavier than a JetCat with obvious slight reduction in nose weight when using the JC. Batteries in the nose are 1 x 3700 lipo and 2 x 2400 lipos.

Engine runs were perfect even though this PST 1300 has not been run for about three years. Starts and runs just like my newer 1300 which has had lots of trouble free flying in my Reaction. The PST bubble trap is quite excellent (its a strong tank and has large bore fittings) and one is going into my SG Hawk.

The fuselage adjacent to the pipe is very cool, almost zero temp rise in the little chamber I made above the rear of the pipe to house the stab and rudder plugs EXCEPT:

The fuselage adjacent to the engine nozzle got very warm indeed during static running (it should be no problem during flight with a flow of air through here) and I am going to put a layer of ceramic cloth in this area, about three inches long, just to be comfortable.

Checks of the air system revealed that the air bled down from 50 psi to nil in about 1 hour gear UP. This was traced to the wing coupling which was cleaned and lubed with BVM O ring grease. The air system now holds air pressure indefinitely, gear UP or DOWN.

Operation of the gear used very little air, pressure dropped less than 10 psi, and it would retract with just over 20 psi, extend with even less than that.

PST has made an outstanding job of the Revision, the quality is equal to the very best and vastly better than most.

Flying report will follow in due course.

Regards,

David.

HI David
I have just ordered 2 x BVM metal offset hinger's and a can of BVM heat sheild I can't see any other way to do the speed brake and it sounds like I will need the heat sheild.
Regards
Mav

Maverick,
Hi and thanks for the ideas. It does seem if my understanding is correct that you will be relying on the strength of the glue joint between the ali and the skin. I think I might have a go in a similar manner but create a slot in the bottom of the fin allowing me to feed the shaped hardwood or ali up into the front of the fin. Then you have a sandwich of the fin skin being pulled down onto the fuselage. It is then possible to reseal the entry slot with some carbon plate which also might be a contender where one has used the ali.
There is an elegant solution to this so we keep listening so to speak.

Regards

David

HI Mate
The main clamp is still on the 15mm shaft all you are replacing is the 3mm bolt with one on the front, you will never pull the piece of ally away from the Hysol.
Regards
Mav

David,
I am in the process of insulating the turbine nozzle area with ali foil and it would be useful to know which side of the former needs the ceramic blanket. I presume it the top f the fuselage or is it all round.
Knowing this will save some unnecessary weight

Thank you

Regards

David

Final checks done ready for test flying this weekend, BUT unlikely to happen due to heatwave here, 40 degrees today and forecast to last so testing is probably going to be delayed.

I have installed a ceramic blanket forward of the rear former, adjacent to the engine tailpipe, sides and bottom, so its a "wrap" of about 3inches. The hatch is lined with the supplied aluminium sheet.

I am sure that this is all that is required to protect the fuselage sides during ground ops.

Regards,

David.

David,
Thank you for the info and I shall also do this now ,just in case !
I enclose a shot of my elevator servo solution with ceramic blanket. I hope the extra few grams will give me a large penalty up the front end when it comes to balancing.
I will cover the servos in ali tape as well.

I suspect your solution is better and maybe lighter but I cant figure it out from the description.

Hey 40 deg is hot and I am not sure I envy you quite that much heat. I only experienced 42' once in Ethiopia towards the Danakil depression and once is enough for a fair skinned guy like me I think.


Best regards


David

Hi guys... More pictures plssssssssss...

David, I hear your coming over with Roger to the Anzac meet, looking forward to it, maybe you should bring this with you...
Do you require anything special in the way of support gear, i usualy look after Roger, so if i can help in any way just let me know...

Cheers Jeremy.

OK, pictures coming !

Many thanks for your kind offer, all we will need is fuel and a 12 v battery, I dont need gas as my JC 70 on the BobCat is kerosene start. Rick is bringing a Savex L39 with Wren 44. Really looking forward to meeting you chaps. I'd rather leave the Revision In Australia till its flown and has had a few shakedown flights.

More engine runs this morning and the insulation is working, the fuselage temperature adjacent to the nozzle keeps the temp way down and the insulation sheet inside the top of the rear cowl does its job, although as soon as the engine is stopped I will remove that cowl to help the heat dissipate.

The only other mods. I made were 1. to install a small tube to guide the Allen key onto the socket head bolt to secure the fin and 2, to delete the screws at the wing root and reopalce witha simply CF locating peg.

Final ballast: 850 grams.

After connecting the GPS unit to the Weatronics receiver, she's ready to go !

Regards,

David.

Hi David,
looks good from here.
Any chance of a shot showing how you dealt with the elevator servo insulation. As I have shown above my solution but yours may be lighter a the tail end and therefore more preferable.
Looks hot in more ways than one !

Regards

David

Hi Guys.
I have decided to join in with the revision build if you dont mind? I have sold a couple of these models recently ( I am sure greatly thanks to David Gladwin's RCJI Review.. thankyou) The other David. Skywarrior, was very complimentary about the kit quality, and gave me great feedback on the kit. So when I sold the latest kit, and the customer asked us to provide a complete package including a turnkey build service, as well as the test flying and set up service that we offer. I decided that I would see if I could restore some of my credibility and build it myself. ( Well assemble it.. I find it hard to call assembling an ARTF building)
I really enjoyed my two reactions ( Both the building and the flying) This was mainly down to the high level of prefabrication that PST seem to provide as a standard now ( Well. With their ARTF jets anyway) and also because of the quality. Everything seemed to "fit just so" and very little remedial work needed doing, so it was just a case of bolting it together and going flying. The Revision is looking like it will be very much of the same.
Despite the fact that I am the UK retailer for PST jets. I will try cover parts of the assembly that show the less than perfect aspects of the kit. I am not sure how this will be received by the manufacturer, and I hope they see my views, and findings as constructive ( Not just for them, but also potential customers). I will of course cover aspects of the kit that I like, and am pleased with. I just like to lay everything out on the line for people to see upfront, and make their own opinions based on the pros and the cons.

First stage, before building was to inspect the kit as it came out of the box.
The Revision was really well packaged and sent the usual PST manor of DHL in a stout box, with each part individually bubble wrapped and carefully placed. There was no shipping damage/ marks that I could see. First impressions were really great. The standard of finish in the mouldings is superb. The paint in mould work is up there with the best that I have seen. The Ply used throughout the structure looked to be of high grade, and seams were neat and tidy.
Areas that I was not so happy with were related to the bonding in a few areas of woodwork to glass. I cannot see any form of abrasion made to the fibreglass where the wooden structure bonds. The glue used appears to be an epoxy mixed with some form of powder ( I cannot be sure about what this is ) The end result is that in three areas, where the composite has flexed ( and the plywood hasn't) The two surfaces have separated.
Let me assure you that all of these areas are in no way structural
1) Is the plywood cradle the supports the fuel tank, and it appears that the underside of the fuselage may have been subjected to some force in transit ( as there are a few hairline cracks in the mouldings that are almost invisible )
2) The edges of the lower fuselage skin where the nose leg exits the fuselage and the rear nose gear former
3) The corners of the plywood structure that batteries attach to inside the removable nose cone.

It took me all of about 20 mins to run some hysol fillets and have these areas stronger than new. Looking at the way they have broken away ( Wood has started to peel away from the glass, with the adhesive sticking to just the ply) I cant help but think that if the factory were to scuff these areas that it would improve the bond considerably.

Out of interest. The bonding in the wing appears to be made using a totally different adhesive that is green in colour and has stuck every joint perfectly.

While the hysol was setting in these areas, I started to paint pretty much all of the fuselage and wooden internals in 2-3 coats of primer. This was under the instruction of the customer. I had done this to a Skymaster L-39 that he also ended up owning and he liked the aesthetic of the finish. I did it on the L-39 as the internal lay up of the composite work was quite messy. The primer gave a much neater and more uniform look. On the Revision there really was no need. The layup is so neat and tidy, the bonding fillets so smooth as clean that its almost a shame to cover it up with primer..... But, the customer is always right!

I decided to hand brush the primer, which in retrospect was probably not the quickest way, but I just couldn't see how I could spray inside all of the knooks and crannies without the primer running. It took me about 6 hours to apply this primer to everywhere forward of where the turbine sits. I am sure I could have got allot more done in that 6 hours, but hey ho!

Some photos that will hopefully show the areas where I have had to apply hysol.

.

Substantial carbon sheet, laid into the top skin of the wing, running from the wing root all the way to the aileron servo box!

First coat of primer goes onto the mid section of the fuselage

hi ali

wow nice plane u didn't told me that u got that one
did u already send my p-20???

Here is the shot of the rear compartment which houses and protects the tail servo connectors. The Platform is just 3/32 balsa sheet
supported on two light ply cross pieces. Foil faced ceramic sheet glued on.

We won't be able to test fly this weeekend, just too hot (33 at breakfast time, 42 early afternoon) so we have it down for next Thursday, hopefully there won't be a total fire ban then which precludes flying.

I didn't paint the interior but coated the ply with a thin coat of finishing resin to protect gainst fuel and water ingress.

Other than that I hardly changed a thing and my glue joints , at leat 99% of them looked fine.

I thought the springs in the MLG (I still drool over its quality) were too stiff but a little rearwards pressure and they seem OK so should be perfect for grass field flying.


Regards, David G.

David,
thank you for the photo, " I can see clearer now" in the words of the song.

I agree whole heartedly about the landing gear it really is very high quality. I suspect a few will have their eyes on this for installations other than the "Reaction".

Regards

David

As I feared... My Revision build was progressing well, but a job for a TV show that involves 2x P200 Sx's has come up, which means all tools are downed on the Revision for this week.
I will try and update on some of the work I have done so far.
Heads up.. I showed earlier where I had run a fillet of hysol on the nose woodwork to strengthen it... If you do the same just make sure that you stop that fillet about an inch from the outer edge of the woodwork. The reason being that the nose cone has 4 slots in its retaining former. So not only is the nose cone bolted through the front, it also neatly slots onto the internal cross woodwork. My hysol fillet was stopping these slots from sliding all the way back and seating the nose correctly.