Hi folks,

Not been in here before!! I thought this was the best place to post this, it's a tractor not a pusher and a rocket not a jet!!

Kits are available from Cloud Models in the UK.

Afraid it will be short thread as I spent more time building it than taking photos but if anyone has any questions, fire away. I think this model was reviewed recently in a UK magazine.

Just flown it briefly, great fun!!

Cheers

Gary

Construction is fairly simple but there are some tricky steps, again I'm sorry that I don't have many photos of this.

Very basically here are the main steps:

• Cut holes through wing foam spanwise for servo wires.
• Join wing panels (upside down for slight dihedral)
• Build keel frame and fix to wing centreline (underneath is best!).
• Cut slots for wings in fuselage halves, trim to size and glue together in position.
• Add servo boxes, elevons and fin.
• Build battery box and let into top wing skin.
• Build hatch/canopy frame, trim and fix canopy.
• Paint, add motor, check CofG, fly!!

The tricky part was mating the fuselage halves (wing slots seemed too small) and the canopy moulding was not quite deep enough so I have a small flange around the lower edge.

I glassed the wings and fin (after a tissue covering attempt went wrong!) but it's still well under the prototype weight, mainly because of using Lipos instead of NiMh/Nicads.

GB

The prototype used a brushed Speed 400 motor, I had a Mega 16 EDF brushless inrunner spare but the Kv was too high, there would have been a fire somewhere, just like the real thing!

After taking advice I settled on a 4-Max PPI-2847-2700 inrunner and a 6 x 3 folding prop with a cooling spinner.

The ESC I already had, a JETI Advance Pro 40 amp. Battery is a 3S 20C 11.1V 1500 maH.

My Lipo batteries are fairly old so I've limited the current draw by setting the throttle curve on my DSX9 to 70% maximum. It draws 32 amps and produces 280 watts at this setting (which is plenty!).

GB

Ooops, forgot the first flight bit!!

Centre of gravity is checked by hanging the model through holes in the fuselage, unfortunately I set it up with the Mega motor which is a bit lighter than the 4-Max one (CofG is set by moving the battery box fore and aft, once it's glued in your stuffed!). I added a few grammes of lead inside the open rocket (cooling air) exhaust to restore the CofG.

Receiver is a Spektrum AR500, elevon mix on the transmitter with 40% softening exponential on aileron/elevator.

Quick range check then off to some scrub land behind my house, I don't normally fly there but I wanted the long grass!

Not much headwind and it's a tricky shape to hold and handlaunch (instructions recommend that a helper launches) so the first launch went wrong (as predicted!!). Too nose up, a short 'Sabre dance' and a left wing over into the grass, just collected some earth in the spinner hole.

Second launch was similar but it went further!! Third launch was wobbly as well but it got away and once it gained some airspeed it was spot on.

Climbed nicely and I tried a couple of rolls (snappy!). Only flew for a couple of minutes so no chance to check the stall or much else but I can say that it is much faster than anything else I've previously flown!!

I flew the circuit and approach way too fast and it landed 100 yds up the field.

I'd like to try it on the slope and am looking forward to some more fun once I've got used to it.

Recommended but probably not for an inexperienced builder/flyer. Good value for money I think.

Cheers

Gary

Hello Gary, Very nice kit for about $77.00 US plus shipping. I like the one from HET better here is a link: http://www.highendrc.com/index_eprod...roducts_id=231
Plus it's a ARF glass fuse and balsa covered foam wings. It only took 1 hour and it was ready to fly. I got my kit from a place here in the US for $115.00 shipped. I have a bit more power in my 163 it's pushing about 1100 watts at 76 amps running a Sapac MB-1 3200 Kv motor Hobby Wing 80 amp ESC and 4 cell 2200 40C pack and 5x5 prop. It's a blast to fly for sure. Top speed so far is 139.7 MPH or 224.8 KPH on a 4 cell pack. Just got in a 5 cell 2650 40C pack so I hope to get a bit more speed out of her with a 4.75 x 4.75 prop. Here are a few pic's of her ready to go and a video of her flying.



Keep em flying
raido56/ Herb

The fastest aircraft in the club. www.neprcc.com (3 min 24 sec)

1100 Watts?!!! The HET one is nice, I see it says 'advanced skill is required to fly this jet!!'

Good stuff.

GB

Hi GB, I went to a 5 cell pack . Check out the meter readings in the pic .

Keep em flying
raido56/ Herb

Crikey!!

I've flown it some more, to be honest I'm struggling with orientation sometimes. I can tell which way up it is because of the fin but often it's just a silhouette and it's difficult to tell whether it's turning towards me or away, the camouflage is not helping.

It is fun though!!

GB

Hello Gary, great job on your Komet! I like the scale paint job, but can easily understand losing orientation due to the camo. I often paint some kind markings on my warbirds (allied AC are easier thanks to invasion stripes!) to help with orientation. Many German AC had yellow wing tips or noses, or Homeland defense stripes. Not scale on the 163, but better than crashing it.

PS, whenever I see the 163, I get a chuckle as I remember one of the German nicknames for it- The Farting Flea!
Cheers, Steve

Nice build, Gary! The Komet is a great plane - after the war, Lippisch, the designer, lived and died in Iowa, not far from my present location.

Most wartime Komets had a light, off-white color on the bottom (no camoflage needed there ). If you haven't done it already, it may help in orientation a bit. I've found the more you fly it, the easier it is to determine the orientation, but these speedy designs always present a challenge!

Cheers/Roger

Great pic and info Zaurak3, and that Komet even has the famous "Farting Flea" logo on the nose!

Yep!

"Wie ein Floh, Aber Oho!"
(Only a flea, but Oh oh!)

Good stuff!

I wanted to paint the undersides light blue but couldn't find a spray can so they are just grey primer.

I'll slap some dayglo patches on it underneath, should help. In hindsight I was flying it between me and the sun, I'll try it down sun next time.

GB

Originally Posted by Gary Binnie

I'll slap some dayglo patches on it underneath, should help. In hindsight I was flying it between me and the sun, I'll try it down sun next time.

Tsk, tsk... That ought to help, Gary, but I don't believe the German Luftwaffe was quite into `dayglo' colors at the time...

(Post a photo, tho!)

Roger

Cool model Gary

I thought about one of these some time ago and it wasn't until I read a build and review in September's RC magazine that I realised the kit was available.

The guy who built it also had a similar incident on it's maiden which resulted in a few yards of flight before it went groundwards and broke the prop.

Before I buy one , as I'm pretty much a lone flier although a member of the Newmarket Model Flying Club, ( I work crazy hours to everyone else) Is it a tad difficult to launch on your own ???
Cheers. Noel