F-18 Single ARF in Low-Vis Scheme
05-05-2003, 04:31 AM
#26
Member
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: Las Vegas,
NV
Posts: 59
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
gentlemen, we have a jet
well,
the maiden was done and damm the hornet is quick. shuan did a great job at flying, powered by a p 80 he didnt even open it all the way but it was in a hurry. cool thing is when he dropped the flaps and came in for final it looked scale, like it was about to catch a wire. flight was about 6min with some fuel to spare. dont know the specifics as far as wt etc, but i think he might. hey shaun thanks the show im sure those other spectators will have something to talk about at work tomarrow
the maiden was done and damm the hornet is quick. shuan did a great job at flying, powered by a p 80 he didnt even open it all the way but it was in a hurry. cool thing is when he dropped the flaps and came in for final it looked scale, like it was about to catch a wire. flight was about 6min with some fuel to spare. dont know the specifics as far as wt etc, but i think he might. hey shaun thanks the show im sure those other spectators will have something to talk about at work tomarrow
05-05-2003, 04:41 PM
#27
Thread Starter
F-18 Single ARF in Low-Vis Scheme
Hi,
Well, yes, it was a very interesting and exciting weekend. First, I couldn't go to St. George because I burned my thumb and forefinger trying to monkey some propane out of a can that didn't have a compatible neck. Liquid propane sprayed out all over my thumb and finger, and I didn't even notice until it had been jetting out for a few seconds. When I did notice, it was because of the clicking sound my rock-solid finger was making against the metal can when I tried to get a better grip on the nozzle. When I looked down to see what was what, I realized I had just frozen my fingers. Anyway, I got some first aid and I got off easy with a couple of good blisters. That was my bid for the Darwin Awards this year.
We checked and re-checked everything we could think of. After a reange check (deans whip antenna) that showed a range of about 75 yards with Tx antenna down, we range-checked again with engine running. Everything was fine, so we were out of excuses. There was one inconsiderate knucklehead there, so we waited for him to leave, then fired up again. With Tam's split pipe and no bypass, the sound was LOUD. I put in in the center and slowly advanced to full throttle. I waited for about 250' before applying upshalator input, and she smoothly unstuck. I needed a few clicks of rollerator and upshalator trim, then it was just flying around to check things out. It's got a P-80, so it didn't need a lot of throttle to maintain normal maneuvering. There was plenty of vertical authority, so the straight-up vertical rolls were nice. After a couple of low passes at full kick (which, between the airframe noise and the engine, sounded AWESOME), I dropped the flaps to 50 degrees and set up the final. I used the Navy approach pattern that Paul Bageman taught me, and the 'nose-high pitch v. power descent control' that Buck Garza taught me, and the plane came in beautifully. Thanks to you guys who helped out for another successful maiden!!
Well, yes, it was a very interesting and exciting weekend. First, I couldn't go to St. George because I burned my thumb and forefinger trying to monkey some propane out of a can that didn't have a compatible neck. Liquid propane sprayed out all over my thumb and finger, and I didn't even notice until it had been jetting out for a few seconds. When I did notice, it was because of the clicking sound my rock-solid finger was making against the metal can when I tried to get a better grip on the nozzle. When I looked down to see what was what, I realized I had just frozen my fingers. Anyway, I got some first aid and I got off easy with a couple of good blisters. That was my bid for the Darwin Awards this year.
We checked and re-checked everything we could think of. After a reange check (deans whip antenna) that showed a range of about 75 yards with Tx antenna down, we range-checked again with engine running. Everything was fine, so we were out of excuses. There was one inconsiderate knucklehead there, so we waited for him to leave, then fired up again. With Tam's split pipe and no bypass, the sound was LOUD. I put in in the center and slowly advanced to full throttle. I waited for about 250' before applying upshalator input, and she smoothly unstuck. I needed a few clicks of rollerator and upshalator trim, then it was just flying around to check things out. It's got a P-80, so it didn't need a lot of throttle to maintain normal maneuvering. There was plenty of vertical authority, so the straight-up vertical rolls were nice. After a couple of low passes at full kick (which, between the airframe noise and the engine, sounded AWESOME), I dropped the flaps to 50 degrees and set up the final. I used the Navy approach pattern that Paul Bageman taught me, and the 'nose-high pitch v. power descent control' that Buck Garza taught me, and the plane came in beautifully. Thanks to you guys who helped out for another successful maiden!!
05-06-2003, 04:17 PM
#30
Member
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Tonopah, NV,
Posts: 61
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
How's the flight carictoristics?
So do tell, how does the F-18 handle? does it seem to be a forgiving plane, say like the Avonds F-15, or do you realy have to be on your toes?
Thanks
Andy
Thanks
Andy
05-06-2003, 06:28 PM
#31
Thread Starter
F-18 Single ARF in Low-Vis Scheme
Paul,
Didn't use the compressor yet, decided to take your advice and fly it first. I also wanted to get pics of the airplane, in flight, AS IS (for sales and marketing purposes--so I won't discuss that here :-) ) before I added any aesthetic enhancements. Sorry I didn't call you, I just figured you'd be golfing, didn't wanna add crap to your schedule....
There are the obvious ground-handling issues associated with airplanes that have narrow-stance landing gear. You can overcome them, mostly, on this one by adding toe-in on the mains, and expo on the nose. The P-80 gets it up without trouble, and there wasn't any sudden pitch-up (over-rotation) even though mine sits level (not nose-up) because I use 20 degrees of flaps for takeoff.
Compared to the Avonds F-15, yes, you need to be on your toes. But I think the Avonds F-15 is the Piper Cub of scale jets, so almost anything is a handful in comparison (in my opinion). Compared to the average sport-jet, though, no--it was easy. Beyond that, I'll let the non-Reps who were there say what they thought.
I hung a bunch of crap on the plane (wing pylons, centerline pylon, and missiles) because for me, it's 'the dirtier, the better', and you could hear all that stuff whistling to add to sound. As my kids would say, it was "TIGHT!"
Didn't use the compressor yet, decided to take your advice and fly it first. I also wanted to get pics of the airplane, in flight, AS IS (for sales and marketing purposes--so I won't discuss that here :-) ) before I added any aesthetic enhancements. Sorry I didn't call you, I just figured you'd be golfing, didn't wanna add crap to your schedule....
There are the obvious ground-handling issues associated with airplanes that have narrow-stance landing gear. You can overcome them, mostly, on this one by adding toe-in on the mains, and expo on the nose. The P-80 gets it up without trouble, and there wasn't any sudden pitch-up (over-rotation) even though mine sits level (not nose-up) because I use 20 degrees of flaps for takeoff.
Compared to the Avonds F-15, yes, you need to be on your toes. But I think the Avonds F-15 is the Piper Cub of scale jets, so almost anything is a handful in comparison (in my opinion). Compared to the average sport-jet, though, no--it was easy. Beyond that, I'll let the non-Reps who were there say what they thought.
I hung a bunch of crap on the plane (wing pylons, centerline pylon, and missiles) because for me, it's 'the dirtier, the better', and you could hear all that stuff whistling to add to sound. As my kids would say, it was "TIGHT!"
05-06-2003, 08:17 PM
#35
My Feedback: (45)
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: Poway, CA
Posts: 419
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
F-18 Single ARF in Low-Vis Scheme
I was there to see it fly. Thanks Shaun and Jimmy for allowing me to help out here I could.
First of all, WOW!!!!!!!!!!!
I donno if I can say *****in (just did) Flight performance was truly AWESOME for a jet with a relatively small wing area loaded down to about 20 plus pounds wet. The jet rolled out smoothly, rotated and was GONE, say no more. In flight appeared to be smooth and fast. Roll rate was very quick. The landing was the BOMB! Very scale like and surprisingly not very fast. Pitch the nose up and work the throttle to control the sink rate then touch down with a short roll out. Nice Job Shaun and Jimmy.
First of all, WOW!!!!!!!!!!!
I donno if I can say *****in (just did) Flight performance was truly AWESOME for a jet with a relatively small wing area loaded down to about 20 plus pounds wet. The jet rolled out smoothly, rotated and was GONE, say no more. In flight appeared to be smooth and fast. Roll rate was very quick. The landing was the BOMB! Very scale like and surprisingly not very fast. Pitch the nose up and work the throttle to control the sink rate then touch down with a short roll out. Nice Job Shaun and Jimmy.
05-07-2003, 10:32 PM
#37
Member
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: Las Vegas,
NV
Posts: 59
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
thanks jedi
yo jedi, thanks again for using the force. shaun and i appreciated all the assist. especially with freq control. as for the pics i will see if i can get this roll developed and scanned. shaun took it to the strip today and put it thru some circuts etc. vertical is incredible and landing with flaps deployed appeared very predictable.
Like to see the pics!
05-08-2003, 05:38 PM
#39
Thread Starter
F-18 Single ARF in Low-Vis Scheme
John,
Sorry, everyone thought everyone else was gonna bring the video camera. It was pretty cool, though. The weather looked just like the paint job, so it was a little challenging to see, but the stuff I have hanging from the bottom helps make it easier to follow. There was a 20 kt. headwind, so the distance between the touchdown and the actual coming-to-rest of the plane was about 55' without brakes. But then, I oversteered and took off a sidewinder :-(
At about the same time the plane came to rest, the sky opened up and wet us. I'll get some video of the next one....
Sorry, everyone thought everyone else was gonna bring the video camera. It was pretty cool, though. The weather looked just like the paint job, so it was a little challenging to see, but the stuff I have hanging from the bottom helps make it easier to follow. There was a 20 kt. headwind, so the distance between the touchdown and the actual coming-to-rest of the plane was about 55' without brakes. But then, I oversteered and took off a sidewinder :-(
At about the same time the plane came to rest, the sky opened up and wet us. I'll get some video of the next one....
07-02-2003, 05:05 PM
#45
Junior Member
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Belgium, BELGIUM
Posts: 26
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
F-18 Single ARF in Low-Vis Scheme
OOOOH that F-18 is so nice,beautiful,lovely,
well all the nice words you could think off!!!!
And the Bertella one is a plan from a Italian firm
It is a firm that sells 1:1 scale plans in all wood construction
They have EFA , F-4 phantom , F9 F2 , F14 , F15 , F16 , F18 , YAK23 , YF22 , YF23 , F80 , F84F , F84G , F86 , F100 , F104 , F117 , Fiat G91 , MB339 , Mig15 , Mig17 , Mig19 , Mig21, Mirage2000 , SR71 , SU27 , Tiger , T33 , F105 , Tornado , U2 TR1 , X3 , XB70 , Rafale , Stiletto , F5E
Aslo available canopies,fan and motor and free illustrated catalogue.
The adres is G.Bertella,via Matteotti 248,Gardone V.T. 25063,Brescia,Italy
well all the nice words you could think off!!!!
And the Bertella one is a plan from a Italian firm
It is a firm that sells 1:1 scale plans in all wood construction
They have EFA , F-4 phantom , F9 F2 , F14 , F15 , F16 , F18 , YAK23 , YF22 , YF23 , F80 , F84F , F84G , F86 , F100 , F104 , F117 , Fiat G91 , MB339 , Mig15 , Mig17 , Mig19 , Mig21, Mirage2000 , SR71 , SU27 , Tiger , T33 , F105 , Tornado , U2 TR1 , X3 , XB70 , Rafale , Stiletto , F5E
Aslo available canopies,fan and motor and free illustrated catalogue.
The adres is G.Bertella,via Matteotti 248,Gardone V.T. 25063,Brescia,Italy
07-02-2003, 06:23 PM
#46
Thread Starter
F-18 Single ARF in Low-Vis Scheme
Okay, thanks.
I thought maybe the Bertella one was a kit I didn't kno about. It will probably be a cold day in you-know-where before I ever build a scratch jet. If I ever did, it'd be the Ziroli Panther. I'm not sure whether to build the Ziroli Panther, or wait for the Yellow Aircraft Cougar. I Like the looks of the Panther over the Cougar, but a nice kit is always gonna beat out a nice set of plans in my book.
I thought maybe the Bertella one was a kit I didn't kno about. It will probably be a cold day in you-know-where before I ever build a scratch jet. If I ever did, it'd be the Ziroli Panther. I'm not sure whether to build the Ziroli Panther, or wait for the Yellow Aircraft Cougar. I Like the looks of the Panther over the Cougar, but a nice kit is always gonna beat out a nice set of plans in my book.
