I just finished the F-117 kit from RCSuperPowers.com and thought I’d post a quick review here. I saw a video of this model a couple of weeks ago and was so impressed I knew I had to have one. I ordered the kit on a Sunday and it was on my doorstep waiting for me when I got home from work on Tuesday. Quick service! The kit is only $15 (!!!) and includes only hand-cut grey foam and the printed instructions—no hardware or carbon spars. No big deal since I already had all the hardware I needed in my shop. The cutting was well done (especially since there are a lot of beveled-edge pieces) and they even threw several large scrap pieces of Depron for future repairs, which was a nice touch.

The design is all 6mm Depron and is very cleverly engineered. It uses 3 carbon spars to strengthen the aft part of the wing while the forward part is automatically strengthened by the fuselage pieces. Strips of spruce are used to reinforce the wing leading edge. The result is a stiff and light structure. The fuselage is very simplified, of course, but in the air the silhouette of this model looks remarkably scale from almost every angle. It really does look the part of the Stealth fighter in the air!

The control arrangement is quite innovative and uses 1/16” music wire torque tubes that are directly zip-tied to the servo horns. Elevons are the only flight controls. I set my model up with a Littlescreamers Park Jet special, a 6x5.5 prop, CC25 ESC, and a Thunder Power 3s 1320 battery. AUW came out at a very light 10.75 oz, which was a nice surprise. This kit goes together VERY quickly--I built mine in essentially one afternoon, spending about 5-6 hours total. But I’m a very slow builder, so I bet most people wouldn’t take that long.

When I maidened this bird, I expected it to be a reasonably good flyer but mostly would just look good in the air. Boy, was I wrong--I was flabbergasted by how well this thing flew! Stability throughout the flight envelope is excellent in all 3 axes, maneuverability with the elevons is excellent, and the speed range was amazing--from probably 60 mph at the top end to a <15 mph crawl at the low end. Less than 2 minutes into the first flight I was doing low inverted flight, loops, rolls, cubans, and Split-S’s. After 10 minutes of flying I ended with an easy hand catch landing. The handling characteristics overall are surprisingly docile, and it flies just as well as any of my other park jets.

The only thing to watch for is that it does have a mild pitch-up at high alpha, just like my F-18 park jet (though it isn’t nearly as strong as the F-18). This is a natural phenomenon with highly swept wings and is caused by leading edge vortices forming at the nose at high AOA. This tendency can make the airplane a little tricky to fly at high AOA, but on the other hand it also lets you make beautiful nose-high flared landings with almost zero groundspeed (just like my F-18). Just pull back hard on the stick right when you‘re ready to flare and the airplane will nose up sharply and settle gently into the ground (or your hands). This tendency also allows this model to do a MEAN flat spin!

For more details of this kit and to see a flying video, go their website (http://www.rcpowers.com/F117.htm).

Overall, I’d say this is very cleverly engineered model and I was very happy with both the flying qualities and the scale appearance in the air. A more scale fuselage might be nice, but then again I find the simplicity and light weight of the current design very appealing. All in all, I highly recommend this kit.

Steve

Hi Steve,

She looks like a great little flyer!! Nice and cheap too

A jetset44 designed F/A-22 would be killer!!! (if you make it, they will come)

There is a nice moulded foam F-22 by X-flight (see my Avatar) made in either a pusher or twin EDF, kinda pricy and it's shipped from overseas, but the guys who are building it say it's great!!

Hans-joachim's F-22 is another great design, and it's listed on my plans page too.

I love that fleet pic!!!

Tom
www.parkjets.com/free-plans.html

Thanks, Tom. Yeah, an F/A-22 park jet is definitely on my "must-build" list, but there are at least 3 or 4 "must-builds" ahead of it...

I am starting on a Superpowers F-117A tomorrow..Glad to hear it flys as good as the video shows..Plan to paint the bottom like my avatar..Thanks for sharing your build.

Randy

Great! You won't be disappointed. I gotta see yours when it's done--that bottom paint scheme in your avatar is so inspirational. I can almost hear Lee Greenwood singing you-know-what when I see it...

I looked at your pictures a lot closer and noticed that you installed the reinforcing carbon from the bottom instead of on the top like the plans show...good idea, it won't interfere with the control hookups..Did you have any trouble installing the control setup??? It looks like you have installed a couple of bearing points about 3/4 of the way to the aileron?? Did I see that right or am I seeing things!!! Thanks

Randy

PS....My next build will be your T-38...I used to fly chase in the T-38 when testing the F-117A.....Gotta have models of bothe planes..

How did you make the canopy windows and the other insignia???They look the right size....hint....hint

Randy

Originally Posted by Meatball

I looked at your pictures a lot closer and noticed that you installed the reinforcing carbon from the bottom instead of on the top like the plans show...good idea, it won't interfere with the control hookups..Did you have any trouble installing the control setup??? It looks like you have installed a couple of bearing points about 3/4 of the way to the aileron?? Did I see that right or am I seeing things!!! Thanks

Randy

PS....My next build will be your T-38...I used to fly chase in the T-38 when testing the F-117A.....Gotta have models of bothe planes..

Another reason to install the carbon on bottom is so that it doesn't show when the model is on the ground... Looks better that way.

I had no problems at all with the control setup. It was easy to install and works great in flight. But as you noticed, I did install bearing points about halfway out since I thought those long torque rods needed some support(though I didn't test it without them). I simply used snipped off servo arms drilled out and epoxied into the foam (see closeup photo below). Since both ends of the torque rods are permanently installed, these supports have to be installed during construction. I'd recommend using them, but don't install one more than one on each torque rod since the wing flexes in flight and the rod has to be able to flex with it! Otherwise it could bind.

Yes, I created my own decals for this model. But I'd be happy to share. I'll dig up the file and post it here later tonight.

Steve

A true gentleman....I just put the 1st coat of white on the bottom of the bird..needs white under the red to get the right shade of red..the blue looks OK on the sample piece I painted...now I just need to find the right kind of stars...looking for kids stickers...tho I won't put all 50 stars on the bottom.

Here's the decal file I made for my ship. This is intended to be printed on Avery clear label paper. I've attached both a quick low-rez preview and a high-rez PDF file below.

Steve

its great to see Steve's comments on this plane. Also thanks for the decals.

Steve a F-22 from you would be the best.

I also got mine almost ready. I am planning to use the following setup
1st option:
BP21 - motor
8040/8043 - Prop
3S TP 1320 Prolites
2 GWS Naro servos...

2nd Option:
Mega 16/15/5
7 X 5 prop

I will have to check the AUW & CG tonight and may be maiden it tomorrow / weekend.
Its a great looking plane and am excited to see it flying.
Thanks
Aravind

Thanks Steve for the decals..Makes getting ready to fly easier...Now if I can just figure out how to change the plane # to 784...that was my bird..used to flight test the Infrared system...

Randy

Randy,
Would this work (bmp in attached zip file ) ?

Steve,
What font do you use for the text & is it possible for you to send me a copy of the font ?

TIA.
Aravind

Gee thanks Aravind...I'm always amazed at the talent you can find on the net..especially RCers..I guess thats why I fly...GREAT PEOPLE..

Randy

Nice!! Glad the motor worked out too


Sorry but quick off topic ??

Steve,
Who is the company that is kitting YOUR F-14? I want to build a pair of them for the MWE and run twin Park Jet Motors on them with 4.75x5.5 props and 1/2" offset for prop clearance