Thanx Godfather!!

No progress to report, but I have made several decisions.

-Went back to the F4H-1 for trim scheme. The one at the bottom of the picture with the all orange wing. (Tail #143392) I took a close look at the kit canopy, and I think by cutting it low I can get it to look right. (rear canopy top parallel to the top of the fuse.) The smaller nose part should be easy to do with balsa block, as with "S" curving the air intakes.

-Gonna use a Futaba GYA430 on the nose wheel/rudder channel. This will require an 8 channel radio system.

-I really, really want brakes, so I'm going for the Robart compact unibrake inside their 2.25" wheel. The smallest air tank should fit inside the formers behind the cockpit.

I get a $300 a month allowance for model airplanes and toys, and I just bought a new road bike (Specialized Rubaix) so it's gonna be about June before this critter flies!!

Bob this should be a very cool model. Looking forward to seeing more progress on your unique version.

The uni-brake from Robart is sort of heavy. you may want to consider Tam's wheels and brakes if weight is a concern.

I actually did a little work on it today- got the other wing panel off the glass and trimmed it and cut the retract/wheel well openings.

During the process, I took a close look at the area where the retracts and wheels go, and man, that's tight. I may re think the idea of brakes.

On a model this size, it's easy to add too many scale or non-scale functions. It is a relatively small model. Because of this, you end up with a not as enjoyable model, because of higher wing loading.

Over my years in modeling, I have seen this countless times. The modeler will have to fly the model perfectly during critical times of normal flight. The inherent forgiving nature of the design, during those times of flight, are lost or lessened.

I'm guilty of this, in my early years. I could even fabricate reasons for adding so many scale features as being required for the conditions. Higher AUW= more power needed=higher AUW-more power needed=... it's a trend that's too easy to get into.

One would think, that after 54 yrs of modeling, I would learn to completely abandon saying anything, on the subject. As I have yet to discourage one individual from the trend, till after the dis-satifaction or destruction has occured.

Fuzz

Well said Fuzz

Absolutely right. I've seen so much of that on many ARF threads- guys really tricking up a Mustang or whatever to the point where it weighs several pounds more than it should.

Originally Posted by Bob Hunt

-Went back to the F4H-1 for trim scheme. The one at the bottom of the picture with the all orange wing. (Tail #143392) I took a close look at the kit canopy, and I think by cutting it low I can get it to look right. (rear canopy top parallel to the top of the fuse.) The smaller nose part should be easy to do with balsa block, as with "S" curving the air intakes.

Good choice on the color schemes. I like high-visibility paint jobs on my models.

Dan

Hey, Dan.

Did you use a hatch for the aileron servos? I can't find any reference in the plans, and was thinking of just covering over the opening to make future acess easy.

Originally Posted by Bob Hunt

Hey, Dan.

Did you use a hatch for the aileron servos? I can't find any reference in the plans, and was thinking of just covering over the opening to make future acess easy.

Just a Moneykote hatch. Like you're thinking of doing, I just covered over them with the idea in mind that if I needed access, I could just cut away the Moneykote, then apply a small patch to re-seal the bottom of the wing.

I like the orange wings. If I were to do mine again, I would seriously consider the all orange F-4.



Daren

yeah, the point magu F-4's were pretty cool looking!

Dan:

Another item to add to the "corrections" list. The aft, inner panel wing jig part, WJ-4, is too long. WJ-1, WJ-2 and WJ-3 will all correctly align over the plans (with WJ-1 over W1 and WJ-2 over W5/W6). When trying to fit WJ-4 between 1 and 2, it is obviously too long and must be notched a little closer to the wing root to get everything to line up correctly. If this is not done, then the sheeting below W1 and W5 will not be properly supported during the upper sheeting process.

It's also necessary to "angle sand" the notches so the WJ3/4 parts can sweep aft, but that's sort of a given with 1/8" thick cut parts. I use a popsicle stick with 150 grit self stick paper on both sides.

I'm just having a ball with this kit. It's starting to look like something, so I'm spending more and more time on it as the weather here progressively worsens.

I decided to not glue the wing panels together before cutting off the ailerons and doing all the aileron related assembly. I carefully marked the inboard and outboard lines, and cut everything with a band saw. Much easier, faster and more accurate than doing it with a razor saw and a knife. (I never did very well at that.)

Here they are with the LEs and TEs shaped, and the aileron spars and LEs installed and shaped.

Nice work, Bob.

Good tip about the band saw. Hmmm. About the band saw...

Daren