Sweet! Thanks Alan. Just today I was telling a friend at the field what extras were needed to complete the Hawk for BITW and since I don't have the probe yet I didn't mention it. So of course he says it will need a probe to ever be considered finished! So thanks.
I flew another 6 flights today and I am really getting used to the Hawk. I really love it, it flies great and it looks great. I mixed 4% down elevator in starting at 1/2 and ending at full throttle and now it does not climb at all when I push the power all the way up. It accelerates perfectly level I mounted my Cheetah above the rails BTW. So that is dialed. I think it flies better with the CG at 197 than at 189. Takeoffs are certainly nicer and landings are fine just a little more lively. It still needs a ton of down elevator when pushing inverted, and a ton of up elevator when landing, must just be the way it is. And strangely I needed even more down elevator and some opposite aileron mixed in with rudder for Knife edge passes. But it is all around nicer for aerobatics and rolling maneuvers with this CG and the new mixes.
This is a sweet jet!

i have just started building by Hawk, and looking forward to building it ( and painting it too )
have started on the wing retracts while waiting for the servos to come in
few things that concern me is that the wood parts /retract plates are not symetrical. the have also been glued offset , such that i hardly have any access to 2 out of the 4 retract bolts

has anyone else had the same problem, ?
i will attach pictures later tonight

Yes. You can notch out some of the inner lip of the wing skin with a dremel and I think on one I had to shorten the bolt a little to get it in and out at an angle but it still catches all the threads of the T-nut .

i think Dave mentioned that he just taps out the ply with 4mm tap, and strenthens with thin CA
i was going to go this route
Dave ..? suggestions ?

Yes. Unfortunately the plywood construction in the wing gear mount area is not a "drop in" fit with the CARF supplied gear. Mine was not symmetrical either. So to elaborate on what Marty said:
You have to position the gear symmetrically then grind away enough wing skin for bolt head access, after drilling you will have to grind away some of the plywood support where it interferes with the blind nuts below the gear mounting plates. I used a dremel large fiber cutoff wheel for this. You will have to cut away some of the blind nut flanges also. Then install the blind nuts (and cut down bolts at an angle for the outer bolts} and tighten as best you can. Grease up the bolt and use a bit of epoxy here to fill the gaps produced by that angle. When positioning the gear make sure to approximate the toe in angle and take care that the tires do not touch the wing skins going in and out, the wheel wells are huge but the mounting plates will have the gear very close to the edge when operating! I also had to grind away some of the wing skin foam to relieve the gear air line fitting, it is that or shims but if you go with shims ensure the gear axle bolt will not interfere with the inner gears door closing. The main gear inner doors were also a challenge. I did it with all the supplied parts but I had to shim the hinges where they mount to the door to move the wire hinge away from the door a bit to allow for the wing skin thickness. I spent days working on the main gear and doors. But it works fine in the end.

The EDF Hawk I'm getting close to finishing has the worst wood positioning I have seen, I've emailed the boss about it and hopefully it will get fixed for future kits and the Hawk I have just ordered.
The wood has always seemed off set, the openings are not equal around the CL. But normally a small notch (like on my original) is enough, this one is by far the worst of the four Hawk's I have done. Set the unit position with the inner gear doors fitted and wheels/legs in place.

Yes, I just tap the plywood (on all my CARF models) No spike nut. I use a new sharp M4 tap in a 9.6 or 12v drill. Drill 3.2mm and tap straight through. Hand taping is not a option as you wave the tape around too much and work the hole larger. I don't add thin CA as I have never found it necessary. I can crank the screw down tight on just the plywood.
My thoughts have always been if you rip the thread/screw out you can still fit a spike T nut. If they are in to start it takes the whole wing out!

Yeah, it would almost be better if they installed a solid sheet of ply and marked and cut the gear mechanics cutout after removing the wing from the mold.

They just need to adjust the sub ribs, or assemble the structure in the lower skin where the openings are...

Dave
looking at your pics, i must admit i would not accept this. needing to cut into the outer skin of the wing where the doors dont cover is just not acceptable
i bought the 4mm tap today , and will work on it later tonight ( if i get home from work ) but if i need to cut into the wing itself, i will request a new wing from CARF and have the current one sent back if needed

i think i will use CA to harden a it the ply( my feeling of security )
will add pics later tonight
izzy

Ooops, to elaborate, the smiley face was a response to Dave's post, of course assembling the wing the "right way" is best. Going to CARF for a new wing is not a smiley face deal.

Here are some pics of my main gear installation.

Deleted

Alan

The guys here have taken the gear apart and rotated the end 180 degrees so that the air fitting does not interfere with the wing skin. I'm not sure why they aren't simply assembled that way in the first place...

Bob

I started to try that but was concerned the flat head screw might strip, they are very tight.

If it wasn't for the black scheme and easy going owner I'd have had to modify the mounts. A new wing is a pain all around with fitting it to the existing fuselage. Most are like Husafreak's wing with the notches just in the lip.
Its common to have to clean the lower skin to clear the side air connection, I have done one with the cylinder rotated 180 and that worked out too. You can just see the blue air line in some of my photos

Dw

H

Here is the Flap cover picture

D

OK, I see you moved the fwd fairings forward a bit and relieved the point where they contact as well. How did you attach them? Did you just rough up the wing and epoxy?

Before shaping to wing, glue a piece of balsa in the base. That held the sides apart, sand to section and just Slo Zap to attach.
The idea was in a gear up landing they might come off cleanly. Two years and I'm yet to test that!

Dave

Are selling these covers again Dave? I could use two sets.

This is as far as I got before I cut too much, and got hung up on the whole geometry thing. As you can see the aft fairing is pushing up the fwd one. I just need to set the flap deflection with the radio on and move things around and grind away until it looks like yours Dave. The aft fairings will be easy to fabricate out of balsa though. I only ruined 2.

can anyone tell me if they used the phillips head screws on the flap servos or theyy replaced them with 3mm allen bolts and nuts
i am really having a difficult time to get the screwdriver in there to close the servo
also added a 3mm spacer to the servo mount to get the servo more in line with the flap pushrod
looks like the uploader inverted the pics ,so hope it comes out right
1 pic of the electronics tray for the fuse
1 pic shows the spacer used for the flap servo
last pic shows difficulty to reach the deeper screws to close the flap servo in position ( thinking of using 3mm allen bolts and nuts to close them )

see attached pictures

Izzy

I always use small socket head self tapping these have 'built' in washers etc but allow easy fitment with ball ended Allen key.

http://www.modelfixings.co.uk/servo_screws.htm

Alan

I use #3 size servo screws with an Allen head. You can slip a piece of fuel tubing over your ball driver, insert the ball driver into the screw, slide the tubing down and over the head of the screw so it holds the screw in place on the ball driver, reach in, insert the screw through the servo hole and screw it in, then pull the ball driver off

Mike

Alan just posted a pic of the screw you want

Mike

All the Hawks I have built use the stock CARF screw. I have a Wiha screwdriver with very long blade. Needs to be at least 150mm blade.
Dw