I have motors but ran out of fan units and Wemotec is on vacation until tomorrow so probably about a week before I get the fan units in.

Don.

Don how does the hand launch go with the 3s1800? I will maiden this setup today and I will try with 3/4 throttle at launch.

I always full throttle launch my EDFs as I want to get them up to flying speed as soon as possible then you can throttle back.

Don.

Maiden F-18 with 3s1800 and balanced Wicked Wemo Combo @6000kv went great. Full throttle launch works great. It almost pulls out of you hand. I am not sure what speed i am getting but it is more than enough for me and i get great thrust which give me great vertical performance. Sounds great also. Thanks Don.

I can't wait!! This sounds like a fun set-up. My batteries and ESC are on the way. I'm just awaiting the wicked combo to get in stock again. I am eager to see how much faster it is than the stock set-up in person.

Don--any ballpark idea of throws you used with tailerons only? Mine is ready for maiden (hopefully Sat. morning) and I went the taileron only route as well. I have about 10mm up/down for both elev. and aileron functions.

Sound close?

Mine has the 50mm Wemo with a Wicked4800kv. I'm notching the fuse out to fit both 3s 1300mah 30c and 4s 1300mah 30c.

That should be in the ballpark, you may want more if possible. I would say mine was about 1/2" each way.

Don

Got my F/A-18 today. I had to get the full PNP version from HK since the airframe kits seem to be unavailable anywhere...unless you're willing to do without a canopy and get the replacement fuse version. It was easy to pull the stock DF unit, it had just a small amount of glue holding it in. The Wemo/Wicked fan and motor is a heck of a lot beefier looking than the stock gear (see photo)! I got the combo with the Wicked 5400 motor, and for a battery I got a Rhino 1050mAh 3S 40C. I'm going to put landing gear on it, using the molded-in servo pocket for the nosewheel steering servo. Hopefully the power of the Wemo/Wicked will make up some for the drag of the gear. I might even put the missiles on it (missiles on a Blue Angel plane!)

When I place the Wemo shroud as shown in Don's photos, with the lip just touching the front of the gray plastic fan-cover attachment parts, the back of the motor will just barely clear the front of the bifurcation divider.

I just received two types of the hobby city nano-tech batteries and both fit the F18.
They have 5C charge rates and 25C discharge.

1600mAh 136 grams
http://www.hobbycity.com/hobbycity/s...dProduct=11905

1800mAh 146 grams and 156 grams (this one had 1" longer wires and bigger gauge)
http://www.hobbycity.com/hobbycity/s...dProduct=11908

Hey Don, I just wanted to say thank you for sending me the motors quickly and in perfect shape. I recieved them last week, and I am putting them in today. You make some great products, and I hope you continue your business in the future.

Originally Posted by andersonj55126

I just received two types of the hobby city nano-tech batteries and both fit the F18.
They have 5C charge rates and 25C discharge.

1600mAh 136 grams
http://www.hobbycity.com/hobbycity/s...dProduct=11905

1800mAh 146 grams
http://www.hobbycity.com/hobbycity/s...dProduct=11908

I have a few nanotech batteries on order as well.

Don

Originally Posted by T-CAT

Hey Don, I just wanted to say thank you for sending me the motors quickly and in perfect shape. I recieved them last week, and I am putting them in today. You make some great products, and I hope you continue your business in the future.

No problem I like happy customers :-)

Originally Posted by herk1

When I place the Wemo shroud as shown in Don's photos, with the lip just touching the front of the gray plastic fan-cover attachment parts, the back of the motor will just barely clear the front of the bifurcation divider.

Mine was the same way, it was pretty close.

Don

I put on new servo linkages on my F18. I used the ball and joint style and it seems to have worked out great. The stock wires had too much flex and the stock control horns also flex with movement. I think it was just a matter of time before they broke. This way the ball joint takes all the flexing.

I finally got a chance to work on my F/A-18 this week, and just finished it today.

I put landing gear on it, and made the nosewheel steerable. I didn't use the big, fat wheels that came with the kit...I used smaller/thinner ones, and made the nosewheel smaller than the mains, as it should be. I installed the main gear mounts on the side of the plane instead of on the bottom of the wings as specified in the manual. The end result came out pretty decent looking, I think. Can't wait to go out to the club, and taxi onto the runway and do a nice scale takeoff in this cute little plane!

It has Don's Wemo combo with Wicked 5400 in it. With the Rhino 1040 3S 40C battery at half charge, I ran it up on the wattmeter and it showed about 20 amps. It sounded nice and smooth, thanks to Don's balancing work. According to the manual, the stock battery that came with the plane is 950 mAh and 20C, so I guess that would be pretty marginal to try to use as a second battery. Too bad, because it's nearly identical in all three dimension to the Rhino. Both are a perfect fit in the F/A-18 battery compartment, without widening it.

The CG worked out precisely at the recommended 42mm with the Rhino positioned all the way forward up to the foam bulkhead that houses the nosewheel strut and servo (photo). I originally extended the ESC's battery-side wires a little, per Don's build description earlier in this thread, but it turned out that no extension at all was needed. So I desoldered the extension and put a new Deans connector right on the original ESC wires.

I pulled out the stock servos, and replaced them with HS-55s. I want this to be a gem of a little plane, so none of that stock electronics for this baby!