Originally Posted by "TIMBITS"

Just to add to the comments about glueing wings on; and I totally agree to scuffing up the EPO foam first before applying epoxy (actually regardless of the foam type I do this) On all my builds after the glue cures I run medium CA around the entire area to seep into small cracks and such. No "real" weight added and it gives me peace of mind.

I do the same thing with CA after epoxy too!
Great planes medium CA has been my after glue.

Originally Posted by scunna

The thrust is nearly 1-1 .I now have 9 changesun fan models l. if you think that sounds good ,listen to the sound of this

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iyqtD8vO2pY

Personnaly i think the mirage has the best sound. F-22 not bad too.

Nice fleet!

I have a couple of newbie questions about the TX/RX setup that comes with the RTF model Exceed Nitro F18. The poor instructions say to make sure you turn the TX on first and then plug in the ESC to the battery. And I guess you have to make sure the throttle stick is down. Is the RX already "bound" to the TX - or do I have to do something. The TX is an Exceed -RC 5 channel Skysport FHSS PCM1024. Also someone in this thread mentioned a couple of the channels were reversed, one being the throttle. That seems a bit scary. This TX has 5 switches - a mix/a-nor which is set for a-nor - and then ail,ele,thr,rud. These 4 switches are in the rev position. Is this correct or do you just have to check them out to make sure the sticks work correctly - I would do that anyway. The TX does have a bind set button. I am just concerned that when I connect the ESC the motor could go to WOT if the THR channel is reversed. The TX also has a switch for channel 5. I assume the 0 position is off and the 1 position is on? This would be for the retracts? Not that I have them - I have the fixed gear model.

BTW - I will take this plane to a local RC club and have an experienced pilot fly it for the maiden and then get some hands on training/advice/etc.

WTN

Best practice to turn the TX on first before plugging in the plane goes back to older mhz radios where the reciever may listen to something else and have a mind of it's own if you don't have the TX turned on. With 2.4 usually the reciever will just beep at you or something. Not sure what RTF RXs are like to be honest.
If the throttle channel is reversed on the TX and you have it down (but is actually full throttle) the throttle channel won't arm. Regardless of reversed or not you have to move the throttle up and down to arm it (safety feature). If it's reversed you quickly find out that up is off. Simply reverse the throttle switch on the TX and maybe have someone/thing hold the plane at first start up.
If your aileron is correct right aileron will deflect the right aileron up, left down. If this is backwards reverse the switch.
If your elevator is correct, up elevator (the control stick up, actually being down elevator in flight) pitches the surface down. If it pitches it up, reverse the switch. This can all be checked on the ground with ease before flying.
In fact check before every flight after you plug in the battery.

Originally Posted by WTN

I have a couple of newbie questions about the TX/RX setup that comes with the RTF model Exceed Nitro F18. The poor instructions say to make sure you turn the TX on first and then plug in the ESC to the battery. And I guess you have to make sure the throttle stick is down. Is the RX already "bound" to the TX - or do I have to do something. The TX is an Exceed -RC 5 channel Skysport FHSS PCM1024. Also someone in this thread mentioned a couple of the channels were reversed, one being the throttle. That seems a bit scary. This TX has 5 switches - a mix/a-nor which is set for a-nor - and then ail,ele,thr,rud. These 4 switches are in the rev position. Is this correct or do you just have to check them out to make sure the sticks work correctly - I would do that anyway. The TX does have a bind set button. I am just concerned that when I connect the ESC the motor could go to WOT if the THR channel is reversed. The TX also has a switch for channel 5. I assume the 0 position is off and the 1 position is on? This would be for the retracts? Not that I have them - I have the fixed gear model.

BTW - I will take this plane to a local RC club and have an experienced pilot fly it for the maiden and then get some hands on training/advice/etc.

WTN

Please don't take offense to this but is this the first jet you will have flown? Do you have stick time on a fast prop driven bird?

I'm just trying to understand where you're coming from to better answer your questions.

Originally Posted by Rangerfan

Please don't take offense to this but is this the first jet you will have flown? Do you have stick time on a fast prop driven bird?

I'm just trying to understand where you're coming from to better answer your questions.

Well , thank you. If you will actually read what I wrote, that would be answered as one of your questions.

Originally Posted by WTN

Well , thank you. If you will actually read what I wrote, that would be answered as one of your questions.

I think you have assummed that everyone knows exactly what you meant by "newbie ". Does that mean new to edf's, ducted fans, this forum or RC aircraft in general?

Just trying to answer your original question.

Originally Posted by Rangerfan

I think you have assummed that everyone knows exactly what you meant by "newbie ". Does that mean new to edf's, ducted fans, this forum or RC aircraft in general?

Just trying to answer your original question.

Thanks to ISP for the answer to my TX/RX question.

Rangefan,

I mean "I have never flown any RC aircraft" . Sorry I did not make that clear.

I have some time on the PC sims, but that is about it.

I have several hobbies, and thought this would be incredible.

Maybe not so - actually. Read on through the threads.

So, I did a search and found this site. Seems like a bunch of folks who know what they are talking about.

So, yes I need a lot of help.

And a lot of questions will follow. Right.

I did research, found a local RC group, etc.

And when I mean "newbie" I mean "I have no clue what you folks are talking about"

WTN

WTN thanks for clearing up your history in more detail. I think you are going about things in the right fashion with getting started with a club and getting a mentor. Since you dont have any hands on beginner prop plane experience, I would try to actively fly that first. Not saying by any means that you cant watch and learn what an experienced pilot can teach you when he flies the F-18. I would be prepared to let the F-18 sit for a bit so that you can learn the tendencies of a ducted fan jet over the prop planes which are normally more forgiving. Let us know how it goes.

Coot

"WTN" - As for having a throttle channel reversed; no need to worry. As a Futaba 6EX 2.4 user I have to reverse my channel each time I build a new plane.
Just the way some TX's work; especially Futaba.
Also; always a real good idea to glance at your throttle stick to make sure its down anyhow on start-up - but you'll have the safety feauture "Ispin" talked about as a back-up.
I agree with "Coots" comments on starting with an EDF - I always hate to see "newbies" turned off to the hobby upon damaging or totalling their initial purchases when the basics are not covered first, ie cheaper/easier beginning aircraft. No sim out there can replace sun in the eyes, blackflies hounding you, gusty winds, and plain being up flying when conditions or the pilot shouldn't be.
Just speaking "the deal" is all. I'm 51 now and started R/C in 87 so I have some experience. Its an awesome hobby and 18's are in my mind still the coolest !!!

Originally Posted by WTN

Thanks to ISP for the answer to my TX/RX question.

Rangefan,

I mean "I have never flown any RC aircraft" . Sorry I did not make that clear.

I have some time on the PC sims, but that is about it.

I have several hobbies, and thought this would be incredible.

Maybe not so - actually. Read on through the threads.

So, I did a search and found this site. Seems like a bunch of folks who know what they are talking about.

So, yes I need a lot of help.

And a lot of questions will follow. Right.

I did research, found a local RC group, etc.

And when I mean "newbie" I mean "I have no clue what you folks are talking about"

WTN

WTN- The good thing is that you're jumping into one of the most fun and enjoyable hobbies out there! I've got no doubt that you'll fly and enjoy this jet and you'll be great at it. The bad news is that you're kind of jumping into the deep end of the pool without having really learned how to swim yet. Like others have said, starting out in rc aircraft with a jet, is going to be a difficult learning curve at best. Although F-18's are generally good edf's to use as jet trainers, no jet makes a good first rc flight trainer. This (in the stock form) is going to fly at about 60 mph, things are going to happen fast and with the stock radio that doesn't have any expo or other programming, it's going to be a bit sensitive even for an experienced pilot.

The idea of a club and a mentor is a great starting point. You'll most likely need to become an AMA member to fly there, so be prepared for that. I would highly suggest finding a mentor who can put you on a "buddy box" for about 10 flights with a high-wing, three wheeled, prop driven trainer before you go buy a trainer and spend some time flying solo with that for a while. From there, he would likely suggest moving up to a warbird. A warbird is going to fly faster than the trainer and have a higher stall speed than the trainer. All of which will get you ready for your jet.

Much like you, I saw a video on youtube about 5 years ago of someone flying a foam jet and I was immediately hooked. I ordered a $150 RTF jet from nitro thinking I could do this too. I built it, watched instructional videos, got a simulator and then went and tried to fly it. It took off, but that's about it. I was in no way prepared for how fast things happened and how sensitive it was to the controls. It exploded into confetti as it hit the ground. Looking back, I am so glad I didn't hit something or someone with it. I then went to a local club, found an instructor and bought a trainer and buddy box cable. It took me about a year of sim time, progressing from my trainer to a Parkzone T-28 and then to a tail dragger warbird before I tried to fly a jet again. Today, I've got several jets and even put others on the box to maiden their jets and provide some initial flight training to those moving up to jets. I certainly don't know everything and continue to learn each time I fly. There is a lot to this. Much more than any sim can teach.

I don't want you to be discouraged. You can do this. It's absolute fun. Everybody here just wants to help each other and give advice when asked. I feel like it would be a bit irresponsible of me if I told you to go fly this one with having only sim time.

I wish you all the best.

WTN - I agree with RF...get some simulator hours at least to get good orientation.

On the sim

1. ) learn to land different airplanes with some consistency...
2. ) figure 8 SMOOTHLY at low and high speeds
3. ) Get a club buddy to help out with set up and balance first jet

I don't blame you though, the aRC F18-F is a nice bird with some REALLY nice flying and landing characteristics.

If you can't help yourself (like I couldn't) and you have to touch something with sticks ...HK sells a jet trainer...it's 100usd shipped I think...

It's really a glider with an EDF strapped to the top of it to get a good feel for EDF and it's made of EPO so it has a couple of unplanned landings in it.

Finished all the electronics and did some static tests and weights;

All Up weight..............1396g (49.28oz)
Bird w/o lipos..............1001g (35.36oz)
4s 40c 3000 lipo...........347g (12.32oz)
3s 450 lipo(on bec).........48g (1.6oz)

Thrust as measured in the video and settling a bit = 1464g (51.64oz), the scale read 1530g (53.97oz) at its' peak. Here's a short vid on how I tested it;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...&v=3XEhKXIptAE

I've been adding some junk in the trunk to my plane and needed a little nose weight (at least I think, not finished, but have 2650 nanos and no nose gear).

Tonight I added two pilots, some cabin lights and HUD.

Looks pretty sweet me thinks

Haven't glued back on the canopy yet, going to fix up the seats tomorrow.

Oh yeah, my daughter and son are two weeks old now, time to get them started.