Skymaster F-18C Purchase from Chief....
 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V2tOws8gESg Well, she has arrived....

Just a Christmas Thank you to Dana and the team at ChiefAircraft. My F-18C arrived today safe and sound. Placed my order on September 11th and she arrived at my doorstep on 12-16-15. DHL of course and not on the container. I missed that opportunity by a week. And by that time, the container was full.

So far I am impressed with the quality of workmanship. No Flags as of yet. Unfortunately I wont be starting this project until after Christmas. Really want to focus on kiddo's and family. But I can tell you as soon as the lights come off my house on December 26th, GAME ON! LOL

I have atleast 4 threads bookmarked and I have read them all. From replacing the stock air lines to the CG set ups. Of course I will be reaching out to all of you as the build goes! So look for the questions!

I am attaching a quick pick to show some of the airline install, but man I hate to mess with it all. But apparently they don't hold up too well....


Anyhow, Thank you Dana and ChiefAircraft for an amazing purchase experience. Communication was excellent and you have a lifetime customer.

RP

Congratulations! I love the Blue Angels and the paint job! I've stopped work on mine for a little, busy time of year and have another project I have to move.

Not sure about where you fly down there, but you are always welcome to come up to Seguin and fly at the Randolph AUX. It's especially suited for maidens, 1,000 acres and 125 ft by 1,500 ft paved runway!
I will be following along on your "build" of course!

Luke

Dblex look at the video of mine that I just bumped. yeah, I had to cut them out both places.

Yeah, I just PM'd bri6672 because I couldn't see his either...

Did you guys keep the skymaster air lines? Luke, I think your build thread did have the original airlines?

As for the maiden, I may take you up on that Luke... As for flying, Only a handful of us south of San Antonio. I got my waiver with Joseph in Harlingen and I fly in Bishop Texas. My goal this year is to get out and about and meet others.

Luke, where did you get your fuel tank fittings?

dbsonic, attach a link...I'm looking but don't see it...

Don't cut into the wing for the flap, a servo can be mounted in the cut out with just a slot cut for the horn.

I went with JR 3421's on the rudders, so I went ahead and cut a hatch. The verticals are very thin, but I got it to work.

This is how I did the ailerons, I have not installed the flap servo's, but when I do I will post pictures. Then I show my vertical with the hatch I made.
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=2136145http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=2136146http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=2136147

Looks great! Been thinking about one of these for a long time. Would you mind posting some more pics of the interior? Maybe some pics of the elevator servo mounts and pivot mechanism.

http://www.jettechusa.com/collections/fuel-fittings

I used his high flow fittings, any turbine 140 and above benefits from them. I have plumbed my fuel tanks already, will show pictures when I can take them, was not doing a good job taking pictures this time!

oh, no can't use the air lines, I've already replaced those! I will say that the BVM line is way to stiff for the main gear at least, I did use BVM line on the nose gear and doors but I could not get it to bend on all the gear door cylinders in the back. Put to much stress on the cylinders anyway. Maybe someone here knows a way to use it, did not work for me, went with a softer line.

Luke, email me your contact info.. [email protected]

I would like to give you a buzz tomorrow.

correct, the flap just needs a slot since you can mount the servo with the servo head/horn in towards the wing. I needed a fairly long slot for the arms I used.

Flap Servo

http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=2136160

Looks good buddy, will loook real nice cutting thru the air inverted!!

Dblex, their airline is okay but I would not use the brittle fittings they use. I replaced all of mine on both SM but I have seen people use the stock stuff. I figured it would be much harder to go back and redo stuff than to do it during the build.

The airline is not the problem. It is the way the factory heats it.

So replace????

lol

Is this the 1/6 scale F-18?

no sir. 1/8th scale

Do not cut the wing skin , just cut a slot and get the servo in side the wing see the picture herehttp://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=2136339http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=2136340http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=2136343http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=2136342

I agree with fender about the airline fittings being the major problem, I replaced mine with metal fittings after the plane was together, which is a pain. The plastic sm ones are brittle and ive had some spit the hoses of the fittings.

Tuan, Thanks! That is the plan for the flaps as well as the rudders now. I measured the rudder slot (in the video it had a 1/8th x 1/8th runner across it)and it sure seems to be made for a thin wing servo. My JRDS390HV thin servos dropped right in there. Skymaster didn't supply long enough control rod's for it but they are only 4-40 threaded rods w/Sullivan gold connectors. The Sullivan gold connectors came in the kit. Longest one supplied was 3 to 4 inches. I will just need to make one an additional 2" to get there..

So would everyone agree that the CG for this version F-18c is at 140mm or 5.5 from the leading edge at the fuselage for first flight?

Luke, yes that will work fine for starters and you can move it back from there.

Hey Ron! Happy to work with you and get that purdy plane ordered and there safely! You can download the manual for the F-18 on Skymasters site. At the bottom you'll see the link! Early Christmas for you!!! Please continue to post pics of your build! Looking forward to seeing this bird fly! Thanks again from Chief!

Thanks! One other thing I forgot that kind of bothers me about this plane is the elevator horns, they have no set screw. My question is do I need to drill and tap for a set screw or should I put something on the elevator rod before I tighten it, like Loctite or something?
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=2136418
I got my fuel tanks done, just need to do a pressure check and rinse them real good with diesel before I add the clunks.
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=2136413

Also have my airline done with no leaks finally, I had to replace some air cylinders. Some just need the caps on the end tightened, some need hysol on the nipples, but it all works now. I used BVM air line on the nose gear and half BVM air line on the mains, other half I used softer Dreamworks stuff. Also figuring out the electronics, UAT and other stuff install in a pretty tight place.

http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=2136414http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=2136415

Looking good. Yes on the elev rod there is no "D" or flat spot so what I did is tap the horn for a set screw and just barely counter sunk a hole in the elev rod. I didn't want to drill the rod too much and create a weakness in the rod itself. Just enough for anti-rotation. Loctite for the bolts as well. And once I was satisfied all was permanent I even hit it with hysol. In addition I also doubled up the horn with other aluminum to provide a bit more material to fasten the ball link.

Great, really appreciate the info. Two more quick questions before I finish the stabs, where is your center? It has a panel line and it seems the stabs are at center just below it, is that correct? Also, should I mix about 1/4" of up elevator with full flaps? Thanks!

http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=2136426

I will have to check the neutral (from the video it looks be very close to 0 incidence) but yes, with full flaps and no airbrake that's about the right amount of elev.

Ok, so the C version came with 4 air tanks.... What are you guys using for air setups? Gear, brakes and doors all separate? 4th tank for air brake?

I plan on using UP6 and UP3 valves but the UP3 only has one air input?


Anyone using a retract failsafe? trying to keep her as light as possible and don't want to add a bunch of accessories

thoughts...?

Mine only came with 2, I ran 2 separate for doors and gear, and added an extra 1 for both the brakes and air brake. Seems to hold up alright.

Yes, here is the description...

Single air inlet (30 to 200 psi). Two up & two down nipples for the retracts. Two open & two close nipples for the doors. Dual speed control for retracts (3-10 secs). Dual speed control for doors (0.5 to 3 secs). Standard servo actuation (0.3" throw).

Your Stab (elevator) looks to be right on the mark. I set mine so it was parallel to the bottom of the main wing Set your throws up as the SM Instructions. 1/4 inch up with full flaps is about right for mixing elevator flaps. COG 140mm from the leading edge with UAT full, empty tanks ( can go back further after you feel comfortable flying it). Deploying the speed brake will cause it to balloon in the air. So if you plan on using it you will need to remember to mix down, leave it alone unless you have enough height to see what it will do on the first few flights.

I used 3 of these for Gear doors and air brake. http://www.intairco.net/products.php...ear-Door-Valve
1 of these for the wheel brakes http://www.intairco.net/products.php...al-Brake-Valve

Just because I've been reading everyday on this plane, what about full flaps and elevator washout? I have read many posts that say use full flaps on take off and landing but some have also mentioned losing elevator authority when full flaps are deployed??

Reason I ask is because I noticed on the Skymaster website they are testing the large 1/6 18C and they they only used partial flaps and not FULL flaps for take offs and landings and had no "ballooning", seemed very smooth with a nice alpha and a lot of elevator..

Half flaps for takeoff, full for landing.

You can use crow on landing but not necessary although it does help somewhat with a crosswind.

Think the large F18 they are testing has leading edge slats as well. Its also the Super not the Classic. Some will say full flaps others half, mine took off nicely at half once the issues with the COG where sorted out. Ive just about finished repainting mine into a different scheme because I plan on getting the 1/6th in the original scheme I had. Elevator Authority isnt really a problem as long as the cog is set up right, and you have enough throw on your elevator. You have to bear in mind that when you are taking off you have a lot of fuel in front of the COG, which is why you dont want to have your COG too far forward, when mine was test flown at what was suggested Jason had a hell of a time getting it off the ground, and had a lot of up fed in until the tanks started emptying, and it was very lazy on the elevator. My COG is set to 155 from the leading edge, I did say 140 as a starting point.

here we go!


https://youtu.be/-KUcNz_FqVo

First test finding....airbrake mount popped right off when testing actuator!! LMAO

Scared the bejezuz out of me!! It is a clean shear break so I assume it was simple prepping when gluing and the screws were only about 1/16 or so screwed in...

talking about airbrakes....Dblex I actually cut a piece of fuel tube and slipped it over the end of the ram to act as a stop, because I found with mine that when the airbake was retracted it deformed the brake around the mount, which caused a depression looking at the outside where the mount is. I just unscrewed the ball joint, slipped the tube over, and kept trimming it till it sat flush with the fuse. I also fit a bit of heat shielding over the top of the airline because mine melted

I wondered about the tubing and heat! I actually cleaned up the part, bagged it all and hung it up to come back to. I figure get all the elevator servo work done and out of the way then come back and finish it. Of course I will run the lines ect, but the repair will wait.

So should we keep going here or start a new F-18 thread?

Keep it all here.

Can anyone tell me what the secret is to getting the saddle tanks in without tearing up the hatch opening to jam them in????