turnnburn

My Feedback: (49)

I am mulling over the possible purchase of SM 1/5th scale F-86. I would be interested to hear comments (good and bad) from current or former owners of this model. Im interested in how it flys,good and bad, ease of assembly, fit and finish, landing gear issues, really just anything and everything. I guess I am mostly or more interested in negative comments to see if they are something that can be fixed or lived with or if they are deal beakers. I am not interested in starting flame throwing post however. I think a good way to handle this is to send any negative comments to me via email or private message.

I have seen some pictures where the blue in the stars and bars doesnt like the right shade but in others it looks fine. Also to my naked eye the wing diehedral looks not quite right but I am probably mistaken. Comments on either or both of these items are also invited.

Thanks

dubd

I've recently complete and flown the 1/5 F-86. Here's my thoughts:

Pros:
- nicely detailed
- gear work great
- flies awesome - verified by Top Gun winner and BVM rep... Also a friend.

Cons
- 160n engine is marginal on performance. 180 is ideal.
- SM CG is too nose heavy. Needs to be moved to 390-400mm
- main door cylinders need to be moved to keep doors shut
- ailerons need an external linkage to prevent flutter. I started with internal linkage and it fluttered.
- rudder also needs an external linkage
- I glued my hstabs and reinforced the plate for elevator servos
- i made new carbon push rods for the elevator
- bottom of rear section needs to be reinforced with carbon fiber to increase stiffness. Really an issue when placing fuse on a stand.
- rear of fuse,(past exhaust) needs metal he's shield. Hot air melts paint and fuse
- anti rotation pins on wing can benefit from a set screw going through fuse. Otherwise the trailing edge of the wing pulls apart from the fuse. Not an issue in the air.

Hope this helps. The plane is a joy to fly once you've corrected the above issues.

FalconWings

My Feedback: (57)

If I had the space I'd buy JT's today.

turnnburn

My Feedback: (49)

Thanks dubd. That is exactly the kind of info I'm looking for. Are your stars and bars colors correct ? Do you feel that the diehedral is correct ? I am also very interested in how the wings are attached and how much of a pain is it to put together and take apart ? Do all three gear run off of one retract valve ? How are your doors sequenced ? Where did you move the door cylinder mounting point to ? Are the flight control surfaces counter balanced (mass balanced) . If done properly counter balancing should eliminate most if not all control surface flutter. I like lots of speed and performance so I figured a 200 size engine would be the minimum I would want. I assume they do not run a fully enclosed engine bypass ? A fully enclosed bypass might depressurize the fues and allow the doors to stay closed better.

dubd

- The stars and bars look to be the correct color.
- None of the flying characteristics give me an impression that the dihedral is incorrect.
- Wings are secured with a single bolt. Very typical for a jet.
- Single retract valve. In using the Airpower EV5U which has a built in sequencer.
- Door cylinders have been moved inward. Attached to the bypass. I posted a thread recently asking for pics of the install.
- Flight controls are not counterbalanced. I wasn't willing to take the risk and went with external linkages.
- I'm using a full bypass.

turnnburn

My Feedback: (49)

I was looking over the one that is hanging at my local hobby shop today. Same paint scheme as is shown in the picture a few posts above this one. I was mistaken about the diehedral, it looks to be correct. But I personally don't think the shade of blue on the stars and bars is correct. Seems too light to me. I could be wrong but I think back in WW2 stars and bars were a lighter blue some of the time if not all the time. The blue on this model appears to me to be more like if not exactly like the earlier WW2 insignias. Not a big deal, especially if I'm wrong. The airplane hanging at my local hobby shop doesn't have aileron servos install yet or aileron linkages installed. I cant figure out how an internal linakage would be done Thanks for all you time and answers.