Hey Guys,
Finally starting work on my Mig, and thought I'd better start a nice comprehensive build thread for her!

Looking over her fresh out the box, there's some things I really like, and some things that I will definitely change. There are bone-stock Migs that have already flown, so we know she will fly *as is*... but anybody that knows me, know that I expect more than just *the average* out of my models! Following the tradition of other RCLander Build Threads in this forum, I'll be posting mods where I feel necessary. Feel free to chime in with your comments, suggestions, questions, etc.

My setup will be as follows:

- 9g HXT servos for Ailerons, Elevators, and Nose Retract and Steering
- HS82MG's for Rudder and Main Retracts
- HET 9305 with a Hyperion HS3026-1900 motor
- Hyperion G3 4200 6s VX packs
- And one of those new Hyperion Atlas 90amp ESC's

Enjoy!

Vic

Alriiiiight, so we pull her out the box.
First thing I notice is that's she's pretty big! Definitely the biggest model currently released by RCLander... then again, it is designed for a 90mm fan
I put my RCL F-16 up for size reference. They appear to be similar in length, but don't let that fool you, maybe its a camera trick or something, but she's a little bit bigger than the F-16. Not to mention she's alot wider all around, with a TON more wing area! RCL projects an AUW of about 6lbs... let's see if I can't cut that down a bit!

The finish looks great too.
The entire model was wrapped like a mummy in spongy foam. Yet mine still came with a very minor dings in the tip of the Vertical Stab. but it happens, and overall a very nice packaging job. I've since clear coated the entire model with a layer or two or Water Based PolyUrethane... adds a little to the *ding* resistance AND gives it a NICE gloss!


The inside of the model is cavernous!!!
Those are Hyperion G3's; a 4s and a 2s 4200 VX packs sitting side by side with room to spare. If you want to get crazy and run an 8s setup... go for it!

I'm going to build a little out of the manual's sequence, but rest assured it will all get covered!

Starting with the Vertical Stab:
For some reason, the Vertical Stab and the base where it meets the Fuse didn't line up properly... there was a good gap between the base and the LE of the rudder. Not a big deal; Trim away some foam as shown in the pic below and it lines right up!

With that squared away, I started work on the Horizontal. On my first dry fit, the Rudder travel was a little binded up by a protruding piece of foam from the horizontal. Trim away a little bit on the area marked with Sharpie and you'll have full Rudder Throw (I like to Knife Edge... )
You can go ahead and glue the rudder in now. Some 5 minute epoxy is what I used, but I work fast! If you need a little bit of time, go with the 15 minute stuff.

After that came the task of installing of dropping in the servos. Since screwing them right into the foam was out of the question, I used the old tried-and-true *potting method* to secure them. Simply wrap your servo in some tape, then glue them with Foam Safe CA (or epoxy) into it's desired location. Don't worry, if you have to pull them out later for some reason, just peel the tape off and your servo come out nice and clean!

Cut some slots in the base of the Stab to feed your servo leads through. RCL did a good job of molding a channel (that will later be covered by plastic) to keep your wires out of the thrust tube. Good job RCLander

More progress hopefully tomorrow if I get back home in time!
(School and Flight Block)

Cheers!

Vic

Heya migkiller any updates on the construction of this bird...I'm building mine too...

Nice pictures, but why are you adding this to the already existant build thread on this model?

I thought this jet was made of EPO and could take regular CA

They have provided me with epoxy and I just saw mig killer talk about using foam safe CA.

Anyone know what it is really made of and what would be best to use when gluing her together?

Originally Posted by skyline_g35

Nice pictures, but why are you adding this to the already existant build thread on this model?

That old thread got way too cluttered, and wasn't very comprehensive at all.
This new thread will weed out all the *garbage* and focus on making this plane great! I hope to set a good baseline-standard for you guys to build your jets from. The mods I will be doing aren't set in stone, but should provide great ideas for you guys to work off of.
I find that as long as we keep an open mind, more mods (or better solutions to current ones) keep popping up and making the bird even better!

Alphamox,
Sorry dude! Got caught up at the end of last week and had no time to post pics. More pics today though! Promise.

Vic

Originally Posted by rccrazee

I thought this jet was made of EPO and could take regular CA
They have provided me with epoxy and I just saw mig killer talk about using foam safe CA.
Anyone know what it is really made of and what would be best to use when gluing her together?

This one is made out of SEPO, which is a very dense, finer version of regular EPO. Epoxy and foam safe CA will work, but regular CA would melt it.

Vertical Stabilzer Assembly:

Next step was to glue the Vertical Stab into place. But first things first, pre-fit your Vertical on there one more time and mark the location where your servo wires must go through the base. Go ahead and cut out a slot on each side for them, then go ahead and glue your Stab in (I used 15 minute epoxy for this task). The Assembly pretty much lines itself up, but always double check to make sure that its getting glued straight.

Nose Assembly:

Next step is to start work on the front end of the bird. I started off by wiring up the Nose retract and Nose steering servos. 9 grams servos are all you will need for these functions. I like the fact that its a perfectly straight shot from the servo to the linkage, it's going to make the servo's life alot easier!
Center up your servos, bolt them into place on the hardwood support, and hook up your arms to the correct wire. I was careful and made straight Z-bends on each side... if you want a little room for error, put an EZ connector onto the servo arm...

Once that's done, flip the Nose assembly over and locate your Intake splitter. Simple enough--- Pre-fit it, then glue it into place once you're satisfied with the fit.

There's nothing more I'll really need to get to, so I went ahead and glued the Nose piece onto the Fuse. Some epoxy, a few minutes later, and the nose section is just about done! Feel free to glue on the Plastic nose cowl as well. I reccommend epoxy for this part... CA w/ Accelerator might get a little warm and melt/distort the plastic.

Ah haaah! Good thing I did not start building yet. I was going to use reg. CA. Now I know.

Originally Posted by AceMigKiller

This one is made out of SEPO, which is a very dense, finer version of regular EPO. Epoxy and foam safe CA will work, but regular CA would melt it.

Yup, epoxy and foam safe CA on this one for sure!
I also like using Ultimate RC Foam Glue from Yardbird RC (I think that's who makes it). It's a contact cement that works great foam-on-foam. I don't think it would be good for adhering carbon-to-foam- though.

Hey Mig Killer,

I was just wondering, on the previous build thread, there was a mention that the front landing gear had to be jacked up because the plane has a low angle of attack, which prevents the plane from taking off. Are you going to do anything about this? What would be your suggestions?

I did look at that. Have not made a decision yet. They claimed that the strut fully compresses when loaded up with batteries, which is possible, but we'll see.
Nonetheless, lowering the nose gear won't be hard if needed. Just cut out a square piece of light ply (probably 1/8") and glue it to the hardwood mount.

Vic

Glue'em Together:
Now it's time to glue those shiny wings together!
I liked the way they fit together... lots of carbon rods overlapping in the center section, and each wing panel has it's own set of carbon imbedded in them.
Pre-fit them, trim if required (mine did not require any trimming for a good fit), and mix up some epoxy to glue them together. You'll need a little bit of time to coat each area, so I'd recommend 15-minute stuff if you're quick, 30-minute if you feel you need some extra time.

Wing Servos:
Here's my first major gripe... Aileron-Servo Geometry.
The stock servo pots throw the geometry waaaay off. A little bit is acceptable, but this much will probably make for a sloppy linkage, not to mention reduce the amount of throw and put unecessary strain on the servo.
Lucky for us, that whole area gets covered by a small plastic servo cover. All I did to remedy the situation was reposition the servo for better geometry (much closer to 90 degrees), mark it with a pen, and cut the new area out with a sharp exacto... muuuch better.
Once satisfied with the fit, I centered up the servos with the radio and glued them in place using the potting-method. Hook up your linkage, glue in your control horn, and you've got your ailerons all hooked up and ready to roll! (pun intended...) Mine came out with practically ZERO slop, and only minimal strain at max. throw.

I opted to forgo the flaps, but they won't be very hard to install if I decide to do so later. They will get held on with some double-sided servo tape for now.

Wings to the Fuse:
When I first opened up the box and saw how big this thing was... I had to question how she was going to fit in the back seat of my car... (Mustangs are not meant for hauling stuff!)
Fortunately, this baby's got removable wings!!! The entire Wing Assembly we just worked on gets held onto the the Fuselage with four 6-32 China Bolts. I say China bolts, because my Dubro 6-32 bolts went in a little, then got stuck... to avoid a cross-thread, I just used the ones in the kit. They work fine!


That's it for now, more progress soon!

Vic