Hi All,

I'm eyeing off as a first and only turbine, the Skymaster F-15 Eagle.

Just wondering what size turbine, I'd prefer an engine with about 23-25 lbs of thrust. Not "over-powered", but adequate power.

Also, how many channels would I need to safely operate it? Auto-start up/Auto Shut-down, flaps, gear etc

Also how is the model scale wise?

Of course I'll be getting all the help I can get before committing it to the wild blue yonder.

John Murray

''Adequate power'' for the SM F-15 is IMO not less than 30 lbs. I'm taking out my 30lbs turbine and replacing it with a 38 lbs Merlin 160 at the moment.
Good thing about more powerfull turbines is that you can always turn down the max rpm's if needed....

Since Skymaster had no problem mentioning themselves and slamming their rivals in yet ANOTHER thread last night about Jetlegend...Eric just could not control himself....I really feel no problem in mentioning that the people who originally made the Skymaster F-15 still have the tooling for it and are still making the "Skymaster" F-15 for MUCH less money. Factory direct, no importer to pay.
YOu can reach them at www.jetlegend.com
Several people have ordered and seem to be very pleased. That's JETLEGEND.COM. Huge savings over skymaster, same plane.

Two way street, eric. Don't know why you felt you had to step in AGAIN.

Hello!

Felt I should chime in about the power needed to fly the Skymaster / JL F-15.

My current F-15, my second, is the taileron version. It has flown many flights to date. Installing our Artes Super Eagle with 30 lb of thrust proved to many this combination offered very exciting performance. Unlimited vertical with short TO rolls on asphalt or concrete, yet idle thrust low enough to execute very slow landings. This SM or JL airframe will fly nicely on any thrust range from 14 to 30. Beyond that IMO you are waisting thrust and $'s as performance does not increase significantly.
I am in the process of retrofitting my Eagle with our new jf100 Falcon with 22 lb thrust. Our newest turbine which based on sales numbers is filling a need in this class, a niche not previously addressed. Lighter in weight (3 lb) will fly this airframe well indeed.
Next, I will install our jf50 Super Bee of just 1.7 lb. By doing this, I have now reduced TO weight by more than three pounds. While not expecting unlimited vertical, I do anticipate sweet performance while carrying no more than 70 oz of fuel. Look for a report in the near future.
Any questions, give me a call or drop me an email.

Best regards,
Eric Clapp
jetArtes Gulf Coast
www.jetartes.com

In a short time, this is the 3 Tread about a F-15.Thats turn in too a slamming post about two rivals,
Why,most of the readers I think are tired off this.

And its only make the tread in too some sort of a entertainment.
And not give any info about the main thing,RC Jet airplanes.

I thought we were over it, too. But last night, I was reading a thread about the Jetlegend F-15, and, lo and behold, there was ANOTHER post by Eric Wu of Skymaster, slamming Jetlegend.
For the life of me, I can't understand why he could not resist doing it again.
When does this stop?

I am fresh of a setting up and test flying a SM F-15... and perhaps my impressions could help you.

I used a P-120 with about 28 lbs of thrust. seemed to be ideal to this plane.

I also used a Futaba 9C with the following functions: Elevons, Throttle, Rudder,Retracts, Flaps,Aleirons (mixed with the aleirons function of the elevon), Turbine on/off and wheel brakes.
but I found that flaps or speed brakes not necessary in this plane,au contraire, they add uneeded
weight, cost and complexity.

About using this plane as a first turbine, it is possible, yes. But it has two smalll characteristics that are not ideal for a jet trainer: first is the narrow landing gear, although it has a very good
tracking for easy take-offs and landings, you should remember to slow down well the plane for
making turns, unless you want to scrap the wingtips.. and the second is the roll rate: the plane
has a very small moment of inertia on the roll axis, so it can roll real fast if you want it and it
could make a novice (or nervous) pilot to induce oscilations.. not a big deal, specially if the plane was trimmed and flown before you fly it. On the good side, the pitch response of this plane is smooth and progressive,retains solid control at low speeds and it could be landed at high angles of attack without fearing a tip stall.

About being scale, I am not sure how accurate it is, but watching it fly makes a fantastic impression.

Best regards, Enrique

My friend Billy (a good pilot) started into turbines with the F-15. He chose a JetCat P-120 for power and it has very good performance.

He has especially enjoyed the reliability of the setup (I think it is all stock except for a TAM pipe). Reliability is very imprtant if this is a big investment (first and only turbine as you say)

Good luck in your choice!

ET,

Lets keep this on the subject of the Skymaster F-15.

The Skymaster F-15 was my first turbine. I love it. Went together pretty easily...it flies very stable. I currently am using only 6 channels with 2 matchboxes and I have the flaps/ailerons version. Mine is powered with a P120. Anything less would be marginal, but the 120 will move it pretty good.

Mike

When you decide to shutup.

So you dont like Eric Wu, big deal. Thats not what this is about so stop trying to HIJACK yet another thread with your controversy.

Mike

Like the threads about the Jetlegend F-15? The ones that Eric decided to ruin? Man, he did it again just YESTERDAY.
I thought it was all put to bed, but I guess not. So far, he has chimed in on EVERY thread about the Jetlegend F-15. Every one.

Hello ET

I’m glad you are having fun destroying all the work Me and my friends have done in Hawaii. You don't have a clue as to what is really going on as most don't and should not regarding Jet Legend vs Spark vs Skymaster. I have worked many many hours for no pay helping Eric and other modelers out getting Airpac off the ground, preparing airplanes for jet meets, getting prototypes ready for flight.

I read you posts and it makes me want to puke and quit. You play the antagonist at every corner, every slip up that Eric does you jump all over Skymaster. You are not only hosing Eric, but a large group of people who work very hard in the background of all of this.

Do you have money tied up in this venture? I’m sure if you did you might be a little defensive about your product too. I’m sure it is great fun blasting Eric for all his posts, the dude is a very hard working person and I think you just love it when you can blast him.

Blast me too if you want now ET, i'm just another clueless jet pilot for you to flame in effigy

Eric seems to have "fun" blasting Jetlegend.
Don't blame ME, blame HIM.
Why he cannot stop is beyond me.
If he has such a great case against Jetlegend, then let the courts figure it out.
And...maybe YOU didn't get paid...but HE did.
Look...it's really simple.
EVERY time someone posts something about Jetlegend, Eric is there, talking about how unsafe Jetlegend is, how they ripped him off, etc.
Bad business. Tell him to STOP already.

I did, he was responding to a question on the other thread. I just wanted to let you know that you are really making the whole Hawaii gang really feel like S*** this might be fun for you but it is insulting alot of hard working jet modelers too.

I guess we are just collateral damage in your quest to protect Jet Legend the undefended.

Why should the whole Hawaii gang feel like s***?
They never did anything wrong whatsoever.
I never heard THEM slamming other companies. Never heard YOU do it, either.
I also have never heard the UK distributor for Skymaster, feel a need to do it, either.
I have heard one USA dealer chime in. But everybody else seems to understand that the best thing to do is keep silent and let the planes do the talking.
Skymaster has a whole bunch of new planes on the way, I'm sure they will survive, and I think it's a BAD business to keep slamming Jetlegend. And I'm not the only one to feel that way.
Why you should "feel bad", I don't know. But maybe you should talk to Eric and tell him to keep his mouth shut already.
Some of us DO want to hear about Jetlegend without hearing Eric talk about how awful and dangerous they are.

Hi,
The Skymaster F-15 is a great first turbine airplane.I had one of the first ones with a Simjet 2300(25 lbs thrust),and it flew great.I also carried 40 oz of smoke oil in it,and it was definitely not underpowered with a 25 lb engine.They were flying the lighter taileron version with 17 lb turbines.The F-15 is a draggy airplane,and it will not go much over 200 no matter how big an engine you put in it.Mine took off grass in approx 200 ft,and stopped in the same distance.It is a straight airplane that slows down well,with no bad habits.Even with the narrow gear I have landed it in 10+ mph crosswinds and not scraped a wingtip.You will be happy with this airplane.
Duke,
Realize that most people take what ET says with a grain of salt.I'm pretty sure he got himself kicked off here at least once.In response to him I will say that Eric Wu is a gentleman,and a straight-up person to deal with.Any and all issues/phone calls I made to him were promptly answered,and he stepped up and supported the product without fail.I don't blame the Airpac people for being upset with the Jetlegend situation.I have not seen any manufacturer, in my 30 years in this hobby, spool up and release so many great new products in such a short amount of time.Obviously a tremendous amount of time and energy went into this,and they deserve to benefit.It is clear that people buying Jetlegend stuff will not have product support(in this country),and are hurting a company that is doing great things for all of us interested in jets.So don't sweat the ramblings of a blowhard.Anyone with half a clue knows better.Oh,and ET,I'll face to face with you anytime about it.
Erik

Hi Erik

Thank you.

As far as the F-15 I have flown it with a mw54 to a Simjet 3000.

If you want to fly it on a smaller motor I would say that 13 lbs is the minimum for flying. And it pretty much needs to be off of asphalt.

If you keep it light, taileron no external tanks P-80 17 lbs ok.

Really fun if you have 25 lbs.

Fully loaded with tanks and pylons use 27 lbs+. I would use 30 ~ 32 lbs as the upper limit.

Duke,

I learned something very useful that I have decided to use. Its the little button on the bottom of ETs thread that says "block". I learned this from Seanreit, and at the time I didnt pay it much attention...but after further consideration, Im finding it to be very useful. You might give it a try, maybe it will make RCU more enjoyable. I know it works for me now.

Mike

Eric

Thank you for your comment. Just let you know Skymaster is NOT the same as JL. Please do not put 2 different products in the same comment. Thank you.

I have one of the original SM F-15's (which makes me unhappy that they are now going to correct the un-scale nose section). I have the aileron/flap version (which also was not done at the factory at the time).

I am using a P-120 that was turned up at the factory (actually at the field by a Jetcat rep) to 29+ pounds. I would say that it flys this jet well.....but not with abundant power. As stated, the F-15 is a draggy airframe. I am flying mine with the sidewinders and centerline fuel tank. I don't think it would ever go over 180...but I fly mine at 3/4 throttle (usually at full in turns) for most of the flight. It seems to be happy at this speed. I've not flown it, but less than 23 pounds of thrust seems like it might be marginal.

I've thought, since I got mine, that the taileron version would be a great first turbine. They fly honestly and they will teach you to fly a disciplined approach while not making you pay for mistakes too much.

OK,

The website stated that it needs 17-28 lbs to fly, so I thought about 25lbs thrust would give adequate, performance.

Is this Eagle good scale wise, like cockpit rivots etc.


John

HI
I have one of the earlier Skymaster F-15 too , that i fly on a Ram 750 . This plane has brought me a lot of joy flying it . The panel lines , grills , humps and bumps are all there . I was sorry to see they stopped making the taileron verison only . The plane was lighter and simple to get in the air fast . Skymaster / Airpac and their dealers back their products up with support and care to keep you happy as a customer , that has been the norm for me .

Charlie H

It seems that every time there is a potencial point of conflict Easytiger likes to come in and put the controversy on. I think that there are a lot of people here that want to learn and not hear coments that change the direction of a thread. As I say if you don't have something helpfull to say, just don't say anything. We are here to support each other.

Duke, you have been very helpfull in all questions I have had in the past, and your support and knoledge is awesome. Don't get discouraged by ET coments, just keep up the good work.

Michel

Is their much difference in handling between the elevons only version or elevators, flaps & ailerons? Is one better than the other.

Cheers

Jeremy.