Jetlegend

[Bigplumbs]

I am thinking of getting my first turbine model and found this site.... Their kits/ARF look very good and very reasonably priced.... Their retracts also look very good

The site is a little slow so be patient it is worth the wait...... Has anyone any experience of these planes/jets ?

http://www.jetlegend.com/

Regards

Dennis

www.densplanes.co.uk

[Marty C...]

I am thinking of getting my first turbine model and found this site.... Their kits/ARF look very good and very reasonably priced.... Their retracts also look very good

The site is a little slow so be patient it is worth the wait...... Has anyone any experience of these planes/jets ?

http://www.jetlegend.com/

Regards

Dennis

www.densplanes.co.uk


G'day Dennis, JL make some very nice kits and the quality is good....
Ideally for a new turbine jet flyer I would suggest their F-15 (Taileron version) as an ideal entry choice for a first time turbine jet. Another reason is that the F-15 is a 'VERY' popular model and you should have no worries with obtaining plenty of info here and support locally with turbine and systems installation and flight set up as JL and most of the Chinese ARF jets do not come with extensive instructions that a new jet flyer may prefer...
hope this helps
:)

[Ravill]

I recently built JL's F-18c. I've quite a detailed post on RCU. I want to expand all of our horizons so I'd like to post on RCG as well.

My thoughts about the JL f-18c (in a blue angels color scheme)

The bad first:

1. The paint luster will not win any awards. Maybe some rubbing compound will help it shine

2. Seams. It is painted in the mold so the seams are clearly visible.

3. Pull-Pull steering. Ok, in truth most jets (other than bvm) are using Pull-pull, which is horrible. With all the improvements with jetlegend over my skymasters f-18c, I think a direct linkage nose gear system, especially on this airplane (two wheels on the nose and most of the weight of the airplane on the nose) is the way to go.

The GOOD:

1. Awsome carbon wing spars

2. The BEST elevator mechanism on the market. Even better than Tam's. Tam's is a close second with his F-18.

3. The gear work, and look, flawlessly. Very unexpected after some "china" experiences I've had.... :rolleyes:

4. The wheels and brakes are awsome and have performed flawlessly. I'll be maidening her in the next week, so I'll be able to compare it to my Skymaster's f-18c.

Everything else is just fine. Nothing spectacular, just as it should be. The formers have ample and neat glue, the hinges are robart variety and the surfaces are pre drilled, the rudders attach nicely. The airbrake is reasonably straight forward (easy for me to say as I've built two before... :D )

My thoughts about a first jet...

1. I personally didn't like my f-15 all that much. Scale jets don't glide well and have uber amounts of dutch roll. What's dutch roll? Its when you feed aileron to turn and it has the tendancy to flip/slide on its back. Not helpful with the first jet nervousness

3. Scale jets not only have what called a "sink" rate on approach but you have to learn turbine lag as well. Both of these phenomena are real and should not be down played.

My SM f-15 had nasty dutch roll tendancies. It had an unpredictable sink rate. If you fed in throttle it would bob up unpredictably making it difficult to slow down with the feeding of elevator. I was never able to slow down my F-15 to under 20 MPH.

The f-16 dutch rolls less and the f-18c dutch rolled MUCH less. These two last airplanes also have had more predictable sink rates.

The F-18C has more critical ground control issues secondary to the placement of the main gear (~10cm behind the CG, ie alot of normal force on the nose gear) and the trailing link gear. Helped immensly with the use of a gyro. One can still scrape wingtips, even with a gyro!! :eek:

All that being said, I think a sport jet or an f-16 or an F-18c is a better start.

In last month's RC jet international, the F-15 from JL was praised as a very good airplane.

[Marty C...]

I recently built JL's F-18c. I've quite a detailed post on RCU. I want to expand all of our horizons so I'd like to post on RCG as well.

My thoughts about the JL f-18c (in a blue angels color scheme)

The bad first:

1. The paint luster will not win any awards. Maybe some rubbing compound will help it shine

2. Seams. It is painted in the mold so the seams are clearly visible.

3. Pull-Pull steering. Ok, in truth most jets (other than bvm) are using Pull-pull, which is horrible. With all the improvements with jetlegend over my skymasters f-18c, I think a direct linkage nose gear system, especially on this airplane (two wheels on the nose and most of the weight of the airplane on the nose) is the way to go.

The GOOD:

1. Awsome carbon wing spars

2. The BEST elevator mechanism on the market. Even better than Tam's. Tam's is a close second with his F-18.

3. The gear work, and look, flawlessly. Very unexpected after some "china" experiences I've had.... :rolleyes:

4. The wheels and brakes are awsome and have performed flawlessly. I'll be maidening her in the next week, so I'll be able to compare it to my Skymaster's f-18c.

Everything else is just fine. Nothing spectacular, just as it should be. The formers have ample and neat glue, the hinges are robart variety and the surfaces are pre drilled, the rudders attach nicely. The airbrake is reasonably straight forward (easy for me to say as I've built two before... :D )

My thoughts about a first jet...

1. I personally didn't like my f-15 all that much. Scale jets don't glide well and have uber amounts of dutch roll. What's dutch roll? Its when you feed aileron to turn and it has the tendancy to flip/slide on its back. Not helpful with the first jet nervousness

3. Scale jets not only have what called a "sink" rate on approach but you have to learn turbine lag as well. Both of these phenomena are real and should not be down played.

My SM f-15 had nasty dutch roll tendancies. It had an unpredictable sink rate. If you fed in throttle it would bob up unpredictably making it difficult to slow down with the feeding of elevator. I was never able to slow down my F-15 to under 20 MPH.

The f-16 dutch rolls less and the f-18c dutch rolled MUCH less. These two last airplanes also have had more predictable sink rates.

The F-18C has more critical ground control issues secondary to the placement of the main gear (~10cm behind the CG, ie alot of normal force on the nose gear) and the trailing link gear. Helped immensly with the use of a gyro. One can still scrape wingtips, even with a gyro!! :eek:

All that being said, I think a sport jet or an f-16 or an F-18c is a better start.

In last month's RC jet international, the F-15 from JL was praised as a very good airplane.



Ravill the fact that you mention you recommend a gyro on the JL F-18 suggests to me this is not an ideal first jet! Why would you need a gyro anyway?? From my personal experience with the same Sparks/SM/JL design F-18 I would honestly only recommend this model for the more experienced jet builder/flyer only because as it needs to be set up and flowen correctly using flaps for take off/landing and is not really as forgiving when compared to the JL F-15.....
Ravill- Iam Not sure what problems you encounted with your eagle (CG? possibly due to fuel load shift) but the F-15 is one real pussycat to fly when set up right compared to the JL bug in my opinion... Consider how many people have learnt to fly jets on the F-15 and flying for sport and scale Avonds/Aeroloft/Yellow/SM/JL/FB all produce the F-15 so I think it is the most popular scale jet around due to gentle flight envelope.
Another reason the JL bug is not an ideal first jet is its a little tricky to fly compared to the F-15 as the wing section is flat bottom this contributes to higher than average drag ratio and 'heavy' flight feel to the model and likely also why it seems to need higher than average thrust for its size... I flew my one with a 30 lb thrust turbine and it needed it all!!! when coming of the throttle she would sink like a lead balloon.....unlike the F-15 and F-16 which have better glide ratio in my experience.
If it came down to recommending the JL F-15, F-16 or F-18 as a first jet I reckon most would also probably agree the F-15 1st then the F-16 over the bug.... the F-16 is quite a fast jet in the air compared to the other two due to much lower design drag ratio, she lands nice and slow and ground handling is good but accelerates quite fast once in the air and could be a bit of a hand full for a newbie. The F-18 maybe as a second or third jet but ideally not as a 1st in my opinion primarily due to getting used to turbine throttle management, that being said the bottom line would really be how experienced and confident a flyer you are??? if in any doubt surly go with a sport jet like the Boomerang, A-10X, Eurosport or Kangaroo types, if it has to be scale? then the F-15 in my opinion is an 'ideal' first scale jet.
:)

[Jascat 100]

I would go along with what Marty says about the F15 being a good first jet. I have flown various F15s. They all fly well, but my favourite is the Avonds. It is a very forgiving jet to fly. Get the elevon model & you only need three servos if you use electronic valves for retracts & brakes.
The Jet Legend F15 is very good value for money.

Regards

Jim

[Marty C...]

Gday Jim I have an early Avonds F-15 myself (elevon version) Iam converting from D/F, Its one of my 'Many' long term projects. The Jet Central Falcon and Wren Super Sport are my #1 choices for this to be one sweetheart of a flyer and also very fuss free, the throttle lag is minimal on these two turbines over similar thrust turbines from my experience, faster spool up down is a serious BIG PLUS for any first time turbine flyer. Residual thrust is minimal also on both of these engines so the aircraft should settle and slow during landing more predictably as well...
Iam not sure how light the new JL F-15 (elevon version) can be built/assembled, If she can be kept nice and light say around 20- 24 lb AUW an 18-22 lb thrust turbine would be an ideal combo I reckon for a first jet and its scale, plus quick to put together easy to transport handle and maintain if you really want to fly a lot and has to be scale... :D

[Jascat 100]

Hi Marty. You will love the Avonds F15. I have a Simjet 2300 uprated to 29lbs in mine at the moment.
In the past it has had a Jetcat P120 & originally it had a Simjet 2050. It has over 400 flights on it.
It may be the only jet I have ever had that might die of old age.

Regards

Jim

[supercruise]

I just received my JL F-15 and this will be mysecond jet. The first is a Reaction 54 which is a great trainer and has had it's share of some tough landings. I went with the F-15 from the guys I fly with one who has a Air Magic F-15 and they seem to be the best first or second scale type jet. Hopefully it will be for me. Here's some pics out of the box.

[Bigplumbs]

Well thanks for all the help guys but I have decided to go for and have in fact purchased the AMD Hawk from Colchester A1 models. I intend to put the Wren 44 gold in her to save a fer pounds of weight. I will post a build thread once I get started but I have to wait first as her indoors has taken it away from me to wrap as Santa is surposed to be bringing it

Dennis

[Marty C...]

Well thanks for all the help guys but I have decided to go for and have in fact purchased the AMD Hawk from Colchester A1 models. I intend to put the Wren 44 gold in her to save a fer pounds of weight. I will post a build thread once I get started but I have to wait first as her indoors has taken it away from me to wrap as Santa is surposed to be bringing it

Dennis

Jim what does your eagle weigh?? maybe a Merlin next eh! ; )

supercruise, looks very nice indeed, hope you can keep us all posted with build and flight reports, I would be very interested to find out how much the JL F15 airframe weighs, just so I can compare it to my Avonds F-15. Any thoughts on what you will be powering her with??

Dennis, good choice... The Hawk is also a sweet flyer, you will love the little Wren also, they really know how to produce first rate turbines...Looking forward to seeing some build and flight pics.
:)

[Ravill]

This is GREAT!!! :D :D

All good info. If I was doing it again, I'd go right to my f-18 after my A-10x. I think you guys are more than correct. Turbine lag is a handfull to learn, especially with your knees knocking with your first jet!!!

You'll love that hawk. Maybe I'll get another F-15, purely and elevon version to compare to my SM f-1... :confused:

Raf

[supercruise]

Marty(like your name),
Funny you should ask on the weight as Joe on RCU asked the same so here it is.

Joe, I weighed the stuff on a postal scale.

Fuse.............................................. ... 13lbs 8oz
pipe.............................................. ..............14 oz
Landing gearw/tanks,tubing hardware ....2lbs 13 oz
Fuel tanks with hardware..............................13 oz
Bypass............................................ ........... 4 oz
Bag of harware........................................... ..6oz

Comes out to about 18.6 lbs.

My jet mentor has suggested for me to go in the upper power range if I ever want to fly off of grass so as to get it up quick and put less stress on the gear/airframe. It's going to either be a Jetcat 120 or an Artes Eagle. I'm leaning towards the Eagle for a few reasons. Mainly their service center is located closer so turnaround time should be quicker when there are problems, faster spool up time, lifetime warranty(only time will tell on that one) and more power.

Marty

[Jascat 100]

Marty. My Avonds F15 weighs 20lbs dry. I built it as light as possible. There are no gear doors. It can land & stop in 50 metres.

Supercruise. Good choice you made with your F15. Ideal thrust class is around P120 size. Any more does not make it go much faster & uses more fuel. The airframe is fairly high drag. Watch when doing your downwind landing leg. Keep some power on till you finish your final approach turn as it slows down very fast in the turn with no power. I got caught out once with one of the original Skymaster F15s. The juggling act as I waited for the turbine to spool up was a source of great amusement for the other guys.

Dennis. Good luck with the Hawk. Probably not one of my picks for a first jet. Make sure you have experienced help around if you get into difficulties on your first few flights.

Regards

Jim

[Ravill]

Let us know how it goes!

Raf

[Marty C...]

Marty(like your name),
Funny you should ask on the weight as Joe on RCU asked the same so here it is.

Joe, I weighed the stuff on a postal scale.

Fuse.............................................. ... 13lbs 8oz
pipe.............................................. ..............14 oz
Landing gearw/tanks,tubing hardware ....2lbs 13 oz
Fuel tanks with hardware..............................13 oz
Bypass............................................ ........... 4 oz
Bag of harware........................................... ..6oz

Comes out to about 18.6 lbs.

My jet mentor has suggested for me to go in the upper power range if I ever want to fly off of grass so as to get it up quick and put less stress on the gear/airframe. It's going to either be a Jetcat 120 or an Artes Eagle. I'm leaning towards the Eagle for a few reasons. Mainly their service center is located closer so turnaround time should be quicker when there are problems, faster spool up time, lifetime warranty(only time will tell on that one) and more power.

Marty


Gday Marty :D 14 lb for the fuse alone??? is that without any flying surfaces?
I have a fair bit of experience with operating and flying both the JG-100 and TJT-3000 which are of similar origin to the Jet Central (Artes) Super Eagle and have to say if you have flowen both the P-120 and Super Eagle the performance difference is quite noticable ESPECIALLY the acceleration and deceleration, The Eagle also has less residual thrust runs cooler and is more economical on the fuel consumption.... for me its a no brainer the Eagle is just a better performing turbine so with the new warrenty deal in fact I would go as far as to say it is currently the best performing turbine in the 30 lb thrust class..... Also worth investigating might be Wrens new BIG turbine it could be a serious contender also ;)

[supercruise]

Hi Marty,
The fuse weight includes all the flying surfaces. Good to hear positive comments on the Eagle. Like I said, I'm leaning towards it and hopefully I will get to talk to Eric from Jet Central at Florida Jets in March and make a $decision$.

Marty

[Mavericksa]

This is GREAT!!! :D :D

All good info. If I was doing it again, I'd go right to my f-18 after my A-10x. I think you guys are more than correct. Turbine lag is a handfull to learn, especially with your knees knocking with your first jet!!!

You'll love that hawk. Maybe I'll get another F-15, purely and elevon version to compare to my SM f-1... :confused:

Raf
Hi guys!! Im writing this, being very excited and at the same time a ;ittle anxious. I have decided to go into rc jets. I wanna do it!!!!! I have previous gas powered two stroke trainer aoroplane radio controle experience, but thats how far it goes. But I imagine if other guys can do it, I can do it as well. I will do my homework first!! Ravill I am checking out the A-10X for a first trainer jet, can you reccomend it? im a little confuse now, cause in this discussion everyone is suggesting the F15 for a first jet? And what turbine could you recommend. I need a mentor here, please!!! I was busy buying a raptor helicopter, but stopped the process after seeing a rc jet on a videoclip. This is what i wanna do. Do you recommend a simulator to start of with?

[gjr.]

You might consider the Baby Boomerang as a good entry level jet also. Any good 12-20 lb turbine will work. The best bang for the buck is something like the the Jet Central Bee, Wren MW 54 series, or any of the other 54mm sized turbines from Jetcat, Simjet, PST 600R, Modellbau T-500, etc. You can use any of those in the Boomerang or A 10X.
If you like to build, look at the Facet 1200, Reaction 54, Mach Trainer, etc. They are full build kits.

[supercruise]

Hi guys!! Im writing this, being very excited and at the same time a ;ittle anxious. I have decided to go into rc jets. I wanna do it!!!!! I have previous gas powered two stroke trainer aoroplane radio controle experience, but thats how far it goes. But I imagine if other guys can do it, I can do it as well. I will do my homework first!! Ravill I am checking out the A-10X for a first trainer jet, can you reccomend it? im a little confuse now, cause in this discussion everyone is suggesting the F15 for a first jet? And what turbine could you recommend. I need a mentor here, please!!! I was busy buying a raptor helicopter, but stopped the process after seeing a rc jet on a videoclip. This is what i wanna do. Do you recommend a simulator to start of with?

Since you've only flown a trainer up to this point, I would highly recommend that you consider a plane or two in between your trainer and a turbine. You need some low wing experience as well as something that that can do over 75mph. A simulator can help but going from a high wing prop trainer to a turbine is big leap unless you have someone who is flying jets and willing to give you a lot of buddy box time. JMO

Marty

[Jackspt28]

Hi, I am finishing my second turbine jet a Comp, ARF Flash ,with a Artes Falcon. I have been looking at the Jet legend F-16 1/8 scale as my next project, Does anyone know how this one compares to the Tam jet one or the Skymaster one, Thanks Jack