Mr DJ

That's right, Steven, Kool Beans is my line

I see what you're sayin about the smart fly - guess it is pretty powerful...

rhklenke

My Feedback: (24)

The problem is, and this is an honest criticism, that this should not have happened in the first place and that is the crux of FEJ's approach to this business thus far. There is no indication from the video on the site that FEJ ever tried to retract the gears on the one test flight they conducted. Further information from David indicates that they did and had the exact same problem that he, and everyone else, has had, and will have. They simply should not have sent out a kit with this kind of fundamental problem, period. AND, and the same time, they are spending their time introducing (or "announcing" ) new models on an almost weekly basis. They should be going out back to their test flight "road" and putting time on their existing models to iron out the problems.

As for the "fix" its not conclusive that bigger cylinders will solve the problem. Whatever the fix, FEJ needs to come up with potential solutions and then FLY it and try it, and do so enough that the fix is going to work for the customers without further aggravation and risk to their investment. Instead, I fear that they will simply move on and leave the customers to find their own solutions to the problems, as they have done in their previous models.

Bob

jetmodeller

Hi All i have flown mine today and i have had the same problem as david with the gear retracting it will not go up,i also think that the main gear needs to be brought forward as far as possable because mine came off the ground at 80 degrees a hand full of down elevator saved the model,once up and flying not to bad but the C/G needs to be more forward it was very pitch sencertive,i rolled to inverted to prove the c/g problem and needed only very slight down elevator which indeicated rearward c/g problem,when inverted i had a flame out!! and had to land dead stick this broke the main gear mounts on one side,very easy to repair and needed doing any way no other damage,but i agree with david it needs at least 40lbs plus as there is a lot of drag on the air frame,the Rhino only just enough to fly it,verticals woud not be good regards Keith

1st vertical on take off 2 flying shot

Mr DJ

Keith...

Sorry to hear 'bout your broken gear mount but like you said, easy fix... Post a photo if you can...

You have the light version-correct? Even with that version, 40 or more pounds is suggested from you-excellent info: c/g, power, all... I know you and David S are excellent flyers-your comments are well taken...

Thanks...

salibaj

Keith,

Have you flown it with full ordinance? I have the heavy version. If flown without ordinance using 40lbs you think it will be `good' enough for flying?

Regards

Joseph

jetmodeller

Hi i only had the missles on the wing tips and the others underneath no tanks,40lbs will fly it but the vertcals will not be great regards Keith

Kmarks

My Feedback: (36)

Hello Keith and All,


Some one posted that on any F18F a shim should be placed under front nose gear to lift the nose up slightly thus allowing better AOA on take off. I cut 1/4 ply shims and placed them between gear mounts and ply rails. Easy fix and lift the nose up 1/4 inch. Nose gear fits inside fuse with no problem.

Also it has been stated that take off flaps should always be used for F18F. Did you use take off flaps, and if so what did you have them set at. Also what did you set your CG at and what are you going to move it to.

I think there are a handful of us getting ready to maiden our FEJ F18F, and all this info is needed.

What else would you do to enhance flight and handling charactoristics?? Was your nose wheel responsive using FEJ pull/ pull wire system??

Thanks to everyone contributing to this thread.


Kevin Marks

autorot

Hello,

Dave and Keith, do you have balance the elevator?

Concerning the power for this plane, it's an obviousness that 40 lbs or more is better than 36 lbs... but don't forget that all the planes that flight until today, flight with gear down (because the gear problem) and with this, the drap is enormous..
So yes this plane is probably better with big engine, but i think that a 36 lbs to 40 lbs engine is correct and more realist, but less demonstrative (vertical..etc)

I have several model:
Rafale xtreme jet (10.5 kg dry) with 13 kg of trust, Or FEJ F16 (9.5 kg dry) with only 7.5 kg of trust.. it's different.. but all flight great, it's different style.

Concernig the several little issues (gear up, gear plate..etc) regarding the low price of these models, the excellent after sell service (thanks a lot James!!).. i think it's question of choice. i made already several modifications and checks to improve the reliability (before first flight in several week...i'm not in e hurry!) (tank renforcement, gear plate replacement, )..etc

It's also abviousness that skymaster ARF plus or composite aRF make CURRENTLY.... better plane but.. the price.. and with the rate of progression of FEJ.... it's excellent :


Regards,

sébastien

jetmodeller

Hi Seb no i did not use take off flap as i was not sure if it would affect the elevator trim,also i did not balance the elevators as to put around 2oz in each elevator would need the same if not more weight in the front to get the c/g correct,C.G was set at 160mm from the L/edge of wing this needs to be futher forward,perhaps David can tell us where his is set regards Keith

rhklenke

My Feedback: (24)

From what I have heard, this is typical of F-18 models and is not unique to the FEJ F-18. I would not count rotation as a problem or move the gear until you try takeoffs with varying amounts of flap to find the best setting to use.

Bob

David Searles

My Feedback: (49)

Keith,

I'm sorry to hear about your damage, but glad it is repairable.

I balanced mine exactly on the point they indicated, with the fuel tanks empty and gear down. I then added a 1lb weight in the nose, just to be sure. With the added weight of the fuel in the center tank, mine actually felt a little nose heavy. I'm just super careful in making sure I never do another maiden flight with a tail heavy airplane! Takes years off your life! Again, I'm really glad you got yours down in one piece, especially deadstick!!

Bob,

I agree with your comments re the new cylinders. I'm not sure the cylinders are the problem. In static they snap up with what seems to be more than enough authority to handle the air induced drag. The problem seems to me to be in the ultra secure mechanical down lock built into the gear frames. A good positive down lock is essential, but there's seems to bind the system under load. We'll see how the larger cylinders work.

While I also agree with your comments about testing first, I also accept the fact that I paid less than $3k for this plane delivered to my door! I'm sure that a more involved testing cycle would alleviate some customer issues ahead of time, but how much would it also increase the cost? For the time being, I'm still happy making the effort to help work out some of the bugs in exchange for saving a bunch of money! Were the issues more structural in nature, ie weak wings or construction, it would be a different story! But overall, for the money, I still think I'm ahead in the game. Especially if the cylinders solve the problem, this plane is golden.

As regards takeoff settings. I learned by flying the Tam SuperHornet, to use FULL flaps, hold full up elevator until you see the nose start to lighten, then ease back on the elevator for smooth takeoffs. The same process worked on this F-18F. The problem is that the AOA on our planes tends to be slightly negative. It causes the nose to be difficult to "unstick" that's why the "jump" on takeoff. I would say that Keith's 80 degree takeoff was entirely due to his having no flap set.

GAWD, I hadn't seen the photo before. Thrust is a wonderful thing! It can save you from all sorts of unfortunate predicaments we get ourselves into. That had to be a TRUE 36lbs spitting out the tail or you would have been done!

Yes, my stabs are balanced and yes it took a couple oz in each to get it done. I know there is an argument back and forth as to whether it is really necessary. But IMHO, I would never fly a plane of this size with stabs this big, having not balanced them.

David S

rhklenke

My Feedback: (24)

I honestly want these guys to succeed, I hope that is clear. I took the same risk with the FEJ F-15 and Rafale that I have and my thoughts were the same, if I could work out the problems relatively easy, then it would be worth it. Unfortunately, I lost an entire summer flying the plane, my son got really frustrated with it, and in the end, the replacement parts (i.e., stuff that worked) cost me enough that I could have bought a JL F-15 and put Robart gears, UP valves, and BVM cylinders in it, and had a stronger, better plane (better yet, bought a GJC F-15 ARF plus).

It would seem to me that flight testing out back of the factory and getting it working right would be cheaper than sending out all of those replacement parts. James had to DHL me at least 4 times stuff from China and that can't be inexpensive.

If replacement cylinders solve the problem, you may be OK, but it sounds like a gear re-design is in order and I hope they do that if necessary...

Anyway, don't want to hijack the thread... Good luck guys.

Bob

autorot

Agree with you david,
Concerning the gear issue, i think there is two issues : cylinder too little (not enough force, these F18 legs are really strong.. so heavy) AND locking system => On all my other FEJ models (F16 and L39) I had also taken again with the dremel the machining of the geard locking, the angle is too sharp and that blocks even in statics (At up and also down, be carefull!) not cylinder issue on L39 and F16

Regards,

sébastien

jetmodeller

Hi David It would be really good if you could measure the postion of the C/G on yours with the weight in,also how much flap did you have on for take off,guess i will have to balance the elevators as well,did you have any rotation problem? of did it just come off nicely regards Keith

rbxbear44

My Feedback: (86)

David,
I am assembling the flaps and ailerons now...the photo shows 40mm of Flap throw...or do they mean 40 degrees??? 40mm is nothing really. Can you help me on this? You fly this bird more than anyone. ON my SM F-18, Flaps are set at 20 degrees for take off and 50 degrees for landing.

Your set up and thoughts please??? I need to set the Flap hinges and sand trailing edges of wing enough for proper Flap deflection.

Thanks,
Rex

Kmarks

My Feedback: (36)

I tried a little experiment with the front nose gear.

I had an extra SkyMaster cylinder that was an extra from my F4 main gear, it seemed to be the same length with a larger diameter. I needed to shave off some steel so the end nipples fit perfectly into the side frame holes. I also took a mini file and softly smoothed out the steep angle in the lock positions of the side frames.

After getting everything back together and setting air tank to 110 pounds pressure there was nothing I could do to hold the gear from moving in the direction it wanted. I did not need to tap, push or give negative pressure to get the gear to work well.

I think with new larger diameter air cylinders and slightly smoothing out the lock on the side frames of the gear that this is the cure.

I cant be sure till the actual test flight, but this modification sure has authority.


Kevin

David Searles

My Feedback: (49)

Keith,

I will measure CG one evening this week and let you know. I've just about got the video ready to upload, I think.

I didn't have a problem with rotation. The plane did seem just a bit nose heavy, but rotated easily about the spot I would have thought.

I am using 40 degrees of flap for both takeoff and landing. Experience has shown, with all the Hornet models I have flown, that it helps get the nose up smoothly rather than that "OH SH*T" sudden leap off .

Rex,

Anything more than 45 degrees is adding more drag than creating more lift. I still need to play with the flap setting to find what's right to smooth out the landing profile. As I said and you will see in the video, departure when the wings stop creating enough lift is fairly abrupt at the current settings.

David S

David Jackson

My Feedback: (15)

Considering that David Searles added weight, using A123 batteries might eliminate the need for lead. Also, I really like the quick charging you get with the A123 Racing batteries.

matt2808

hay we have fitted 2 hi flow intarco retract valves 1 to the front gear and 1 to the rear gear this dose mean 3 air systems in the plane but we have had no problems with set up.
we put the front 1 right next to retract and run it at 120-130 psi.
the doors and brakes are on the 3rd air system we are using servos four the canopy.

David Searles

My Feedback: (49)

Guys,

I'm having problems getting this video uploaded properly. First time I've done it. There is a video on youtube but ther's no sound and the vid is pixilated. I'll keep trying to get something better.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aY0TN7jnqmQ

David S

If any of you videophiles can help. I'm trying to convert my AVI file from the video camera to a file that youtube will accept. Each time I convert it, the audio gets stripped. Any ideas?

ash 26

Hi David
well done it looks good ones all the little problems are sorted out I am sure she is going to be a good machine,I am working on mine
but I got held up as I am busy at work[:@] but I hope to get some more time over xmas
I had a few of the air rams that where leaking and a broken gear door ,but all where replaced by Flyeagle great service thanks James
I am going to try and see what can be done with the retraction problem.

all the best

Andreas

jetfreak

My Feedback: (9)

Try converting to a .wmv or even and mpg/mpeg file. WMV is better suited for the web. Don't know what kind of converter you are using but if is somewhat new it should support the WMV formats

AndyAndrews

Agreed, I use it on all of my big jets.

AndyAndrews

Nice maiden David...greased her in! Can't wait to get mine in.

Andy

heraldoboldrin

david

My usually use PInacle Studio to convert and format my videos from the camera to dvd or youtube... it is very good

see
www.youtube.com/heraldoboldrin