The molds opened 5 minutes ago. Untrimmed and unwashed.

I am happy that the plug survived so well. Thanks to the wax and PVA.

Sorry Scott couldn't wait.


The intakes will have an insert made later.

Now the 2nd hard part. Make it fly and come back safely.

Steve

freaking awesome. id love to buy a set of glass parts when/if you get to that point!

Originally Posted by corsair nut

freaking awesome. id love to buy a set of glass parts when/if you get to that point!

Me too. (I think you're going to get a lot of "me too's")

me too

me three.

O very nice!..I will come by in the morning..

First one out of the mold. Usually the worst one because this is the one that teaches you where the trouble sections will be in the lay up. A quick trim of the part. The way we do our lay ups, we get perfect surface finish and detail transfer every time. Can't see in pics.


I never paint in the mold. For this pic, to show the model better I painted one side of the fuse. I need to see into the fuse to make sure my bulkheads and V-stab supports are in the right locations. And also bonded well.

This one is also made out of polyester resin. It is the test drone for CG and throws. I will make an epoxy one with all the bells and whistles once I get my drone flying well.

Why use expensive epoxy for the test drone. Although, using polyester reminded me why I never use polyester. Stinky crap. Never again. I would rather crash an epoxy one next time for next models drone .

We will sling shot the first one into the air, then bolt a good edf into it.

Ultimately a Wren 54MK2, and maybe a MK3.

The fuse measures exactly 69" as is shown from tip of nose to tail "stinger" at base of rudder.

Steve

nice ...that feels good to have the first one popped out

Nice!!! Love me some Starfighter

well, she turned out pretty awesome, didn't she!? very cool.

The surface details and skin look really good. It doesn't have that homogeneous look that plastic models have.

Planning ahead: What will the hot setup be? I know the high blade count fans sound cool (we're never going to replicate the spooky howl of the 1:1 in EDF) but what will make the power and speed? This is going to have long intake ducting and a short exhaust right?

Originally Posted by CarreraGTSCS

(we're never going to replicate the spooky howl of the 1:1 in EDF)

Check this out:

F-104 howl reproduced

Don't know what it might do to EDF thrust but.....

Steve she is looking great. Nice job in documenting the build for us. I have a question on your use of polyester. Did you have to add wax to your last coat to get it to harden? And what do you think the actual cost difference would have been between the polyester and epoxy?

By: CarreraGTSCS: This is going to have long intake ducting and a short exhaust right?

I think you would be in the same place with a large bell mouth on the fan housing, nice radius lips on the fuse. intakes and no inlet ducting. Especially gauged against very long intakes. Its just my opinion though, and I know its not in majority thought, but I base this on the performance of the old Byron powered kits, of which none used internal inlet ducting. You may gain some efflux with internal ducts, but at the expense of static and dynamic thrust. Again I know I am in the minority here but the few direct comparisons I have seen seem to reflect this.

Thanks Gents

Buckaroo

For the wax on the last polyester coat. No, hung it out in the sun till cured. Problem was cold damp weather when laid up. Once the sun came out and the air was dry, it cured.

First choice is to make the intakes look as close to scale as possible. The first one will fly with no intake ducting and only a bell mouth edf unit. thrust tube.

I had a Byron F-16. It had thrust but not much speed.

For me, I am shooting for speed without over amping my equipment. The 104 is the perfect air frame for that. Also, one of the reasons I did not put wing fairings on my fuse is because I am ultimately looking to put the thinnest high speed wing I can land safely with.

On the intake ducting. I have always kept ducting on a high priority with fans. Airflow is the one key variables to performance.

The intake ducting will also be used as a structural support for sections of the fuse in place of bulkheads. I have used the ducting on my K/A F-100 to reinforce the nose section on that model using seam tape in a loop configuration. Can take a hit and doesn't let go cause the loop flexes just a bit.

The epoxy on average is around $125.00 an aprox gallon (1.2 gal). Polyester maybe $30.00

Steve

Originally Posted by xmech2k

Check this out:

F-104 howl reproduced

Don't know what it might do to EDF thrust but.....

That was very cool. Thanks.