Absolutely. Post away!

Thanks, Dan.

I've read the book through the wing construction, and I'm really impressed with the engineering that went into this design. I contrast it with building Pavel Bosak's PITN F-4, where I had to add alignment tabs to the bottoms of the rib and former drawings so I could get the darn thing straight.

Looking forward to its arrival.

Thanks, Bob.

I'm particularly proud of the wing design on this model.

Ha ha! Yeah, this model should be a pleasant building experience for you.

Dan

Stuff is piling up on the bench- the fan, landing gear, fan mounts, servos..

Think I'm going to try to fake an F4H-1. If I make a small, pointy nose cone out of balsa, and maybe trim the canopy to sit lower, it might fool the uniniated.

i liked those point magu test F-4's they had a paint job close to that one .seen Dan's f-4 fly in really hot weather last year at Big Jolt it flew very well .enjoy your build .and post pics for us to follow along.

Dan:

She arrived today, all safe and sound. A couple of questions that are probably obvious to experienced EDF builders, but this is my first one. (I do have a lot of flight time on very high performance prop driven deltas, tho, so I don't anticipate any problems with the Phantom.)

1. My EDF has this fairing on the side where the wires come out. I think it will fit inside the oval part of the tailpipe so that all I'll need to do is cut a hole in the tailpipe for the wires to exit. What do you seal that hole with?

2. I don't understand how to get into the fan area with low tack tape to fasten the tailpipe to the EDF. I know this is a critical thing- any air leaks here will destroy the performance in a heartbeat, and probably blow the fan hatch off. Is there a better method for this, besides the tape?

The dimensions of my EDF are such that I'm going to have to build the aircraft around it. The OD of the shroud front without the bellmouth is smaller than the holes in any of the 1/8 ply former parts- B7A, B7B, or the -1s

I put the plans under glass, then tack glued B7B and B8B to the glass so I could check the EDF unit fit.

With the unit in place, I can screw the bellmouth on from the front of B7B to seal the unit to that former. (When I'm satisfied with the installation, before sheeting the fuse top, I'll run a bead of thick CA around the bellmouth to insure a good seal.) By removing the shroud from the wires the back end fits through B8B and the wires can come vertically through the tailpipe and then forward through the servo compartment.

I'm thinking that I probably ought to do the tailpipe and wiring before final sheeting, as well. My luck with building stuff that's supposed to fit into other stuff has never been very good. I'm more of a cut and paste kind of builder.

Dan or anyone else who has built one of these, I would greatly appreciate your opinions. Nothing's permanently assembled at this point.

Originally Posted by Bob Hunt

1. My EDF has this fairing on the side where the wires come out. I think it will fit inside the oval part of the tailpipe so that all I'll need to do is cut a hole in the tailpipe for the wires to exit. What do you seal that hole with?

2. I don't understand how to get into the fan area with low tack tape to fasten the tailpipe to the EDF. I know this is a critical thing- any air leaks here will destroy the performance in a heartbeat, and probably blow the fan hatch off. Is there a better method for this, besides the tape?

Hi Bob,

Glad to hear the kit arrive safely.

1. What you use to seal the hole depends a lot on how big the resulting gap is. If it's small enough, I would use either silicon or tape.

2. I don't use low-tack tape. I use electrical tape. I think Daren used electrical tape on his and his fan is pulling 2000w.

As long as the mylar tailpipe fits tightly around the fan, it won't stretch under pressure to allow air to leak out, so the electrical tape works fine.

When I pull the tape off the roll, it stretches. Then, once it's off the roll it will 'shrink' back again. When I apply the tape, I make sure I only lay it on the joint without stretching. If you stretch the tape as you apply it, the joint will be much weaker. Once it's taped into place, I seriously doubt you could pull the tailpipe off with your hands, so having it blow off due to fan pressure is pretty much impossible.

Dan

Originally Posted by Bob Hunt

I'm thinking that I probably ought to do the tailpipe and wiring before final sheeting, as well. My luck with building stuff that's supposed to fit into other stuff has never been very good. I'm more of a cut and paste kind of builder.

Dan or anyone else who has built one of these, I would greatly appreciate your opinions. Nothing's permanently assembled at this point.

It sounds like you're making progress. The biggest thing with customizing a kit is to try to plan out every step in advance and cut all your pieces before you begin gluing them together.

Yes, you will want to get as much of the internal stuff laid out before you seal up the fuselage. That's one of this kit's real strong suits. It allows you complete access to all areas of the fuselage which makes this kind of work a snap.

Dan

Thanks, Dan. Especially appreciate the tip about electrical tape.

Ok...I'll be the dummy.
I've read the the thread and haven't found what's available?
Plans, kit, drawings?
Sorry if this is already been answered.
Thanks

Here's the url for the kit on Dan's website:

http://www.savagelight.com/F-4/index.htm

Thanks for the help Bob

When it comes to model selection, I've done a combination of kits, ARFs, building from plans and scratch building. I've learned some new trick with almost every build. Sticking the parts to glass over the plans has to be one of the slickest techniques I've run across. Beats hell out of cleaning wax paper from the parts.

One step away from starting the lower sheeting.

Made a new F7A with a smaller inside diameter to fit my EDF without the bell mouth. Fit looks very good. (not shown)

Decided to model it after the last F4H-1 block 1 aircraft (143392), which was destroyed in a crash in 1961. It's the only one I know of with all orange wings, and should be easy to see.

Gear test before sheeting the bottom of the wing.

I've used the Eflite 15-25 electrics before, and they are really slick. Kinda pricey, but worth it.