JR 8711 HV used once again on the rudder. JR Alu arm. No need for it to be that long, but it does not foul anything so decided to not cut it down.

AT this stage, I think I got a bit carried away with the build and actually saw an opportunity of having the model ready for the weekend. With that in mind, I got a little lapse with the camera work... Sorry.
There was not much else to explain on the rudder really. Certainly nothing to mention that the superb manual does not cover. I filed a flat on the rudder rod where the double alu arm attaches, and made sure everything was loctite'd. Making sure there was as little play in the linkage as possible. I have to admit, I am a little disappointed that the rudder is such a chore to remove. It is possible but involves the tailpipe coming out which is a pain. Not a major snag to most, but it would make transport easier if the rudder was quicker to remove.

With my lack of attention to camera work [&o] I guess I better go through the random shots I have.

This is the not so scale cockpit. Not the worst I have seen by far, but it just looks a little out of proportion. I was going to suggest that the factory changes this, but then I occurred to me that it has to be this shape in order for the trays to fit as they do.
On the FEJ hawk they have give the builder lots of room under the three staggered radio trays inside the fuselage. Now whist this makes fitting the model out much easier ( As you have loads of room under the trays to put things such as air bottles, and the multitude of air and servo lines. ) it does mean that the cockpits cannot go as deep as scale would require. As I say. Not the end of the world, but it does make finding the correct size pilot a bit of a challenge, but is sure better than having a hawk supplied with no cockpit.
On the subject of cockpits.... I am sure most of us will have battled with fixing these large cockpits into these jets in such a manner that they are easy to remove, yet solid enough they dont fall out. I have tried screws, velcro. Even built little rails and trays that the cockpits attach to. All with differing levels of success. On the FEJ hawk they have thought round this built rails into the the front of the fuselage so the abs moulded cockpit just slides in and out. Again. Another one of those little things that might not mean much to most, but to me it makes a change to have a system that allows me to install and remove the cockpits with was ease and access the radio and air systems below. Especially if it means eliminating the need to fiddle around with tiny screws or velcro at the field.

HI Ali, did you weight the Hawk first, before you started the build, or is your Scale broken too.
Rcpete

Carbon reinforcement on the areas of the fuselage where the antennas attach. You can also see the standard of lay up inside the fuselage. Whilst not up there with the neatness of some of the European manufacturers but certainly better than what I used to associate with Fly Eagle. Speaking to the factory, we are discussing the option to offer a pre painted internal finish ( such as a matt grey type of finish ) This would uniform the internals.. Not sure if this is something that the end customer would want as an option?

No Pete. I had slightly better things to be doing All the components felt ok weight wise. By no means the lightest I have ever felt, but certainly not what I would class as heavy. Handling the now completed model, and having flown it 5 times it all feels light enough.
I have three scales in the workshop which next time the Hawk is in, and together I will get under it and give you the weight.
Regards Al

The bit I hate most of any build.... Making this mess fit and work [:@]

Nose section now fitted and wires and tubes starting to be run. Deviating from the stock set up I added two extra air bottles. One large one for the gear and doors, so three in total and one medium size individual for the brakes and speed brake.
I also chose to use Festo T fittings.. Only because I like them and they way they fit the air tube. However. I did get caught out by having no 4 way fittings so had to use the ones that came with the kit. I pressure tested them in water and di not find a single leak. Although, I did find one that was blocked internally which needed a drill running through two of the nipples before it would work. Lucky really as it would have been a real pain finding that deep inside an installed air system.

First of the three trays. This is the rear one, which is the only one I need to access to fill the air. Beside that I have the fuel filler. The rear cockpit fits snugly on a recessed lip in the rear of the fuselage and is wedged in place by the canopy. SOme care and attention is required when installing equipment to make sure none of it fouls the bottom of the cockpit tubs.

As you can see. I went with the powerbox cockpit AR12200 Rx and power distribution unit. A neat and simple piece of kit that was perfectly suited to the hawk, especially having the servo matched functions for flaps, elevators and nose wheel/ rudder set up. The Electronic component next to that is the light control unit.

I went with BVM air fill valves. Again as I have found them to be 100% reliable in my models and I like to standardise with the simple tube fill system.

Here are the other two trays. The way I looked at it was that all being well. I really should not have to access the air valves in use, so they went on the front tray. The CAT hopper tank and fuel pump sat happily on the middle tray with the filter fitting under the lowest part of cockpit tub.
The King Tech 180 is such a simple and straight forward turbine to instal. Solenoids built into the turbine and a tiny ECU means you really dont need that much space to install any more.

onto the hot end. The King Tech fitted directly onto the mounts. No modification required. I followed the manuals advice and painted the rear half of the fibreglass half bypass with heat proof paint. James tells me there is a top cover available as well, and I might look at fitting that at a later stage. Pipe was mounted exactly as the instructions stated. Please be aware that the double carbon top former brace is not fitted as yet. Whatever happens, do not fly without this. It's amazing how much stronger the fuselage becomes once this is fitted.
You can also see two of the three fuel tanks. In one of my earlier snaps you can see the larger front tank in the first bay of the nose section. I built the tanks as the manual suggested and have enough fuel for a 9 min flight if required. I plan to fit smoke to this model and James advising there is a custom made smoke tank available. I will update this as I go.

Thats about it I am afraid. I did say it was never going to be an epic build thread. The model was rigged and workshop tidied ( Not fully, but enough that a photo could be taken ) Then it was onto testing and running through what I may have forgotten. As I said at the start, this was not my first choice scheme but the more time I spend with it the more I like it!

some up close shots.
Removable Pitot tube, Canopy comes with the det wires stuck on the inside

Scale flap set up with inner flap.. Sorry to all you Italians out there for the wrong green used. The one I flew in the USA in the same scheme had a closer to correct green! Nice touch though.

Powering up the lights for the first time. I love the fact that the underside red light radiates and glows on and off rather than just blinks. The electronics is super easy to use and no need for any programming. One switch position is off. The other switches on all lights except the nose and last switch position is all lights on as well as the landing light on the nose.

A bit clearer to see with the workshop lights off.

Raised rivets and handle on the canopy.

Vortex generators and stall strips fitted and painted by the factory.

Raised rivets on the back end and tail art.

Last one for tonight as I am all typed out.. Plus the football is about to start It may be a day or so before the flying shots come about, as I am on the road tomorrow. Thanks for reading. Sorry for the waffle and any typo's or poor grammar. I have not taken time to proof ready any of this.
Regards Al

Ali how is your large F-16 gear holding up? I have the new design and it still isnt holding up.

I had a gear failsafe issue where the nose didn't lock down ( This I was going too fast when the failsafe kicked in ) I had the latest gear coming to me, but it got sent back to China... I am suspecting that customs saw the paint and kicked it back [:@] So at the moment I am grounded with that one unfortunately..

Ali! You've been very busy! Alice looks great and so does the vamp, looking forward to the flight report. The one thing you definitely have to give to to FEJ is that they are out there flying their product and are modelers themselves too. I think that goes a long way and add to that they are nice people - makes for a good combo. Don't own an FEJ but I'm sure I will at some point.

Thanks Ali for the write up.

I have one coming soon from James and to see the improvements coming from FEJ was a deal maker for me.

I'm really looking forward to this jet.

Doane

Nice job Ali. You sure rung the one out at Best in the West!! Can't wait to see what you do with yours.
Take care,
Lowell