Stratotanker

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And here she is out of the paint booth amd sitting on her gear. I got a couple shots off before the camera went dead. Starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel!!!

Chris

olnico

Wow, I wish I could have a room like this for my paint jobs.
Nice painting Chris.
You have a good base now. What scheme are you expecting to do ?

jeanfi

Hello

Very nice job. How did you do your weathering ?

About the kit of F84G, does PST has made the many upgrade of Oliver ?? (landing gear, wing incidence etc etc...)

Thanks
Jean Fi

olnico

Jean Fi,

Unfortunately, I have reviewed a recent kit purchased by a friend and nothing has changed.

They have just fitted slightly bigger pistons on the main retracts. The main gear is still a total disaster.
The wheels are on brass bushing that seize rapidly ( had to change the wheels to bearing ones ), the main gear is too high, giving a negative AOA on the ground.
The main retracts don't work; they have never sorted out the ram effect of the main doors, the gear plate system is incredibly poorly engineered and need to be completely reworked before the first flight.
The elevator system on a single carbon tube is unsafe, the engine pipe is too soft, too small for a 160N thrust engine, and poorly designed ( non existant cooling effect ), giving an internal fuselage temperature of over 150°c.
The user manual has never been completed and is on standby since July 2007...

I have put over 200 hours of work just to build the plane and sort out all the flaws. And my friend will have to do the same again. What a waste of time.

It is really sad since this kit could be one of the best available on the market if they would finish the design job. The plane still flies like a dream.
I am still waiting for a proper update from PST on this kit and would really love to put a review on a new kit that would have all the flaws sorted out.

Stratotanker

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Thanks Oliver. The paint booth was a huge help, you should see the rest of the shop! Anyway, here is the scheme that I am doing, once my shop is cleaned up today I will start tinkering with the paint masks, I want to get the patch along with the Milky Way applied this week hopefully. Once I get back, I will only have about two and a half weeks to finish the paint, markings, and installation, going to be tough!!!



Chris

Stratotanker

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Oliver, did you get the parts that I cut for you installed? Jeanfi, Oliver is right, there have been countless hours and sleepless nights figuring out fixes to these problems. Hopefully with the design of the hinged door mechanism and the proper air system components, the gear will operate on at least the satisfactory level, time will tell...

Oliver, did you do anything different with the elevator rod???

Chris

olnico

Well, good luck !
Very nice scheme, but a lot of work ahead !

olnico

I am working on the plane right now. Your parts should be fitted soon. I have made up a complete set of scale parts for the landing gear. Keep an eye on my thread. Will post the pictures tomorrow.

I didn't change the elevator rod/arm system. But I installed two DS3421 in the fin base with a direct connection to the arms. The link is very short and no slop is detectable.
I have tested this setup up to 230 mph and it is rock solid.

Stratotanker

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Thought I would post these, looks pretty cool with all the bones in there. These will most likely be the last pictures that I post until the plane is finished and the owner has come and seen it in person. Wish me luck!

Chris

samo

Looks awesome Chris good luck with everything!

Andrew

olnico

Hi Chris,

I can see that you have put the gear plate from the top. It is strongly advisable to to put it from the bottom.
Two reasons for that:
1. The gear will not pop up in case of a hard landing on the nose
2. You'll gain 1/4" at least on the nose height, which means a higher AOA on the ground.

The real plane was taking off really smoothly. The scale one should do it as well...

Looks like an Alien nest...

Stratotanker

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I will look at moving the gear, I think I had issues way back???

Chris

Stratotanker

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I am currently sitting at 0 degress AOA at the wing tips as the jet sits...

Chris

avionics

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Hi Oliver;

I saw your elevator modification and it looks excellent. Can i request you to put up the picture of the servos for the elevators. It is a very clever idea and very neat for everyone else to see and modify accordingly.

Thanks

Reza

olnico

Certainly:

olnico

Yes you'll need to sand the front of the retract a bit to squeeze it between the inlet and the gear plate.
Not a big deal on my kit though.

olnico

I have +1° on the wing tip with full fuel load.

avionics

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Thank Oliver that looks very nice and very helpful.

I was test fitting my new Robart retracts as per your advice, I notice that the Robart collapses inwards and the PST retracts collaps outwards ( I hope you know what i mean) now i havent startd shaving the gear mounts so i dont know exactly how it fits but when Robart retract collapses the strut and the cylinder dont run exactly parallel so i am not sure if the wheel will go inside the wheel well or not?. some how i feel it doesnt go all the way in with the existing wheel mounts. did you have this issue with yours?

Reza

NickC5FE

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Chris! Wow, she is looking great! I have tried calling a few times when i have been home, which isnt much! Gimme a buzzz when you can man! Nick

olnico

You need to turn the Robart trunion by 180 degrees. The mechanism walls need to be trimmed and new transverse rod holes drilled.
Do not shave any wood !

BTW I was at a management meeting for the whole afternoon. So my phone was off.

avionics

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Olivier;

The Trunion i can see that i could turn 180 degrees. The Tranverse that you mention do you mean Trunion Pin?.

I call you later as i want to discuss other issues with you.

Thanks

Reza

Stratotanker

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Nick, I have been way busy man, sorry I missed your calls. I will be TDY to Vegas for two weeks starting on Saturday and then on leave until the middle of August to get this puppy finished.

Reza, I had to shim the retracts a bit to keep the wheel from contacting the inner well, I laser cut some shims to get the right angle.

avionics

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Chris;

thanks for the advice, any chance you could add the shims to my order. that saves me a lot of time fiddleing.

Cheers

Reza

Stratotanker

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oh yeah, will throw some in for you. Here is a pic of them installed.

Chris

NickC5FE

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TDY to Vegas huh, POOR YOU!! Hy no worries bud- get with me when you can, i will be on leave in August as well, (6-16th)