Bob,
It's on the list with a few other posibilities. Snowing in Cleveland today. "Won't stop until April!" I have some time to decide on next years mount.

Wishing you and yours a Happy Thanksgiving Holiday!

Dave Rigotti

Thanks! Best wishes to you and your family.

I'm headed to southern California for the Holiday, I plan on visiting the Basin for the Jet fly on Sunday.

Safe travels my friend!

dave

Hey Mark,

I plan on getting a Lightning and I'm trying to decide between a Titan(P-160) or P-180.
I currently have a Titan on my Kingcat & for me its plenty of power. I'm waiting to hear from & see more people flying the Lightning to see what's the preferred turbine size.
So far, I've only seen one Lightning fly here in the US and I believe it had a Titan(P-160) for power. It flew great, but still had some small bugs to work out. A couple BV guys who I trust flew it & really liked it. After seeing the Lightning in action & hearing nothing but good comments, I decided that would be my next jet.

Please keep us posted on your build progress.

Thanks...Scott

Hi Scott,

The 160 is a superb match for the Lightning.

The response to this new model has been interesting. At first, people were a tad dismissive. However, they then started to see them in the flesh, saw the build quality and what was included for the price. Then people saw some prototypes fly and now we're seeing completed customer's models ripping up the sky people are becoming extremely impressed. It's also a 'steal' for such a large sport jet combining some of the best build quality around and some of the best flying characteristics (not just my views!) - I think you'll soon start seeing a LOT of Lightnings and owners with some BIG smiles on their faces!

As for the build thread, I'm just waiting for my retracts to arrive and then I'll make a start.

Rgds,
Mark

Comp-ARF Rep
www.composite-arf.co.uk

Mark,

Are you going to use the Comp-Arf retracts? Are there other choices that you know of that can be made to fit?

Thanks,
John

Hi John,

Yes, I will be using the retracts sold by Comp-ARF (made by Behotec of Germany) as they are very very nice and very solid. I believe Intairco (www.intairco.net) have units that will fit too.

If it helps, I will post the dimensions of of the retracts/legs when I receive them so that you/others can have a rummage around in your retracts box to see if you have anything that will fit!!

Rgds,
Mark

Comp-ARF Rep
www.composite-arf.co.uk

The retract/struts are Beheotec - wheels & brakes are Intairco. Check Comp-ARF's site for details.

After personally seeing them static & in action, I agree they appear to be very stong - perfect for grass fields.

Scott is right in that Intairco supply the wheels/brakes for the Lightning set.

My comment that Intairco also have units that will fit was in repsonse to John's question "Are there other choices that you know of that can be made to fit?" as Intairco have their own retracts/legs that fit.

The Lightning should be great off of grass as not only are the units very tough, the mounting plates are extremely strong and designed to carry the retract loads etc into the airframe rather than concentrate them simply on the retract rails. I'll shoot a pic a little later.

Rgds,
Mark

Comp-ARF Rep
www.composite-arf.co.uk

Pics of the mounting plates as promised. Nice and sturdy......

Rgds,
Mark

Comp-ARF Rep
www.composite-arf.co.uk

Mark,

Thanks for the info and the pictures. The reason I asked about other retract choices was because replacement parts for units made here in the States (BVM or Robart) might make getting replacement parts quicker and slightly less complicated. The Comp-Arf units do look nice.

Thanks again,

John

I bought my Navy schem. I can't wait to have it in my hands.

I also would like to know if wich robart retracts would make a perfect fit??


Regards

Guys,

My retracts will be here next week. I'll post pics and measurements then for you so you can compare sizes.

Right now I'm in the throws of house buying/selling/moving/packing and all with a 10week old so time on the Lightning is scarce at the mo! A shame really coz I really want to get on with this kit coz it's so nice !!!

Rgds,
Mark

I just received a set of Behotec C-50's with struts for my new project and am very impressed . By far the nicest and most robust units I've owned . They make the Robarts look like they were made with a hacksaw and file. The main body of the retract is machined out of one block of aluminum . The action of the retracts and struts are buttery smooth with no slop. The struts are also damped as well as sprung.

Marc

Merci Mark

Guys

Just test flown my Lightning and it looks like being a winner.
Powered by a P160, I think the power is perfect. If you go for a heavier turbine will just add a lot more weight as you will need more nose weight.
My kit still needed nose weight, I tested it without any ballast and it was much too elevator sensitive.
I then added a second ECU 6 cell pack and the C of G is about right-I need to do more a few more flights to get things dialed in.
Ailerons are really nice, rudder couple is minimal, the elevator is powerfull so I have been adding a little expo each flight to get a nice balance.
Flight times are long on the super large tanks, so far I have flown 13 minutes and there is still fuel in the main tanks!
Landing speeds are very low even on a calm day like we had yesterday in Southern England.

Dave Wilshere
Comp ARF rep

Great report Dave. A friend is building one now so I look forward to seeing his fly in the spring.

Bought the Jolly Rogers off the assemly line. Scheduled to leave Thailand on Dec 9th. Should arrive early-mid Jan/06!

All

The landing gear supplied with the Lightning IS fantastic quality, as good as anything I've used and better than most.
The units and legs are made from high quality materials, the pins that join the oleo to retract yoke are 10mm steel that is Bas**d hard requiring a quality grinding wheel to flat for grub screws. Fits on all the parts is spot on-No slop.
The damping on the oleo legs is perfect for the weight of model, even a high decent speed produces no bounce!
I used a single UP 2 valve to drive the gear and doors rather than the two Jetronics valves and sequencer.
I split the front door to allow the doors to be shut gear up and down, keeping the fuselage clean inside during our "damp" season!!

I would not bother looking around for an alternative system, Comp-ARF got this one right straight off the board.

Dave Wilshere
UK Comp ARF rep

David, let me know when you get that. I'd like to come over and check it out!
Rick.

Will let you know Rick!
David

Gear dimensions for those that asked. I would echo Dave's comments though - you really don't need/want to be looking elsewhere - this gear is a little special!

Rgds,
Mark

Comp-ARF Rep
www.composite-arf.co.uk

Got a couple of hours in at last on my Lightning. Started with some easy bits, well it's all pretty easy, so these are the really easy bits

Aileron mounts. This is a pretty cool idea. The aileron mounts are bolted to pre-installed mounts in the wings. Three bolts and you can whip the hole thing out! All you need do is cut the ply parts from the sheet and cyano them together. Be sure to make a left and a right!!! Then run a fillet of epoxy or Hysol along the joints to strengthen the structure. Simple as! Done!

Rgds,
Mark

Comp-ARF Rep
www.composite-arf.co.uk

Finished off the fin and rudder too - this is dead easy too!! The only 'building' required here is to cut a slot in the fin for the rudder linkage! With an 8511 and a SWB metal arm, I found the centre line of this slot to be 25mm from the base of the fin. If you start there and open the slot up bit by bit you shouldn't go too wrong! The linkage was setup and then the supplied fairing simply glued in place with some 10min contact adhesive I use for my foamies.

Rgds,
Mark

Comp-ARF Rep
www.composite-arf.co.uk

Also, got the wing bolts in place. It is very important that you drill the initial hole in the ply wing root where it says in the manual. It may seem odd at first but if you don't you will not be able to get the wing bolt, door ram and wheels all in place so make sure you follow the instructions! You may find that in order for the captive nut to sit flush on the ply plate you need to cut off the front part but this is probably the most 'fiddly' thing to do in the whole build

Standard process really. Drill the root rib hole 6mm. Slide the wing on the tube, mark the centre point on the fuselage, remove the wing, drill the hole in the fuse 7.5mm, refit the wing and use the bolt to pull the captive nut into the ply a little before removing everything. Now, simply pull the captive nut into place using the wing bolt and some strength! I found that two large fender washers were ideal for 'pulling' the captive nut into the ply plate inside the fuse.

When you're happy with the position of everything, run some epoxy over the captive nuts to hold them securely in place. Avoid getting any glue in the thread of course!

Rgds,
Mark

Comp-ARF Rep
www.composite-arf.co.uk