Originally Posted by leadfeather

I'm still hoping for a printed version of this jet, but in the mean time here is something to help put the finishing touches on an F-14.

GotrekGurnisson has created decals in his blog for several planes and several variations of the F-14 http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/member.php?u=89637 His artwork is very, very good.

Yes, his work is indeed excellent.

GG's decals are for the Steve Shumate F-14. You may wish to compare the sizes of the two models before making decals. GG's decals, BTW, are not scalable except by GG, as his files are all protected with Acrobat 7 (and up) security features. :-(

Cheers,
Bill Segraves

Originally Posted by wohenzhuce

here is a bug i found from the plan.

Sorry I don't know how to put the picture in, but it was the overlapping on the plans. No Big deal to fix for sure, just wondering. I downloaded the latest plans

Has this been corrected yet?

I absolutly love your F-14 plan, and plan to build one for sure. I already have the Steve Shimate one in the box, and if I hadn't already ordered it, I would have went with yours first.

Thanks for sharing your beautiful plane with us.

Tab overlap has been fixed in tiled plans - download "foam parts tiled 2" from the first thread. Glad you like it.

Hey Maybz! I just finished your F14 and I'm impressed! I've built a few foamies and I must say I simply love the way this is layed out. At first I was intimidated by the shear number of pieces to be cut. But once the temps are done the rest is easy. I made a few changes from the parts I had on hand. I also took your advise and used a HS65 servo for the wing sweep. Since I'm running a DX6 I used the gear retract switch to do the sweep. Worked perfect the first time out. Thats a testement to the R&D you did on this one. I love F14's and this is by far the best profile F14 I've seen yet. Great work! I just finished it up tonight and will try to maiden tomorrow. Dang, I hope I don't plow this one into the ground. Lotsa work and looks so pretty. I hope the images do your plans justice dude.

Looks great in white! Love the graphics! Good luck with the maiden... Just keep the wings open and add a little up elevator trim (1/4") for the first few flights. After you get used to it you can start moving the CG aft for optimum trim. I also use 60% expo on mine - very important when the wings are swept!

Maidened my F14 this morning. The weather was picture perfect. My FB Kimo was also impressed by the engineering that went into this design. I had initially tought that the CG was a bit aft so I added a 1/4 oz. of lead to the nose. Turns out I didn't need it. Wings out, 3/4 throttle and a gental underhanded toss and it was airbourne. I had to add quite a bit of up elevator trim and touch of right aileron. Watching this bird zoom by at speed and have the wings retract was totally, totally cool. Everything worked perfect! The roll rate with wings swept was quick but not uncontrollable. The recommended throws was spot on. The flight performance was so good that a little old chinese lady came by after and asked who was flying the plane with the retractable wings. She said that was the neatest thing she's seen in the air. How cool is that?! I did notice that on flight #2 the wings didn't extend fully. I didn't bevel the wings leading edge. I think the drag from that was a bit much. I've since put a sharp bevel on all leading edges and will see how that works. So far I think this is a super cool design. I thank Maybz for his generosity for sharing his plans and putting a day long smile on this face. Kimo and I wondered how in the world did you figure out how to design and build this from scratch. Feel that? I think its the itch to build another one just for the heck of it.

Steve

This would be a great candidate for the 6mmflyrc quick build series.

I second that. Flew her again this morning. Another great set of flights. Yes, the bevel on the leading edges made a hugh difference in wing sweep and sheer speed. Wings tucked in a full throttle diving pass is spectacular. I'm trying to see what I can do to get a broader sweep from full closed to fully extended. I used the subtrim (DX6)to give more extention on the open position but then the closed position is cut short. I need more servo arm travel I think. This is still the coolest foamie I've flown yet. On one diving pass the speed was enough to peel the decals off the wing! I think I'll build me another, this time with a full fuse on top. You made me a happy flier Maybz!

Steve

I figured out the wing sweep travel. I needed to use the (DX6) servo travel adjustment....dooh! I've flown this one for 4 days straight. I love every minute it's in the air. Flew a couple of packs this morning and a retired navy guy saw me getting the F14 ready to launch. His comment was after I explained what it was made out of "gee", Thats flat foam? Thats a small lookin' motor. Oh, it runs on batteries? Does it fly ok? I said ....it flys ok. I stuck in a 1,650 from CSRC and gave her a toss with wings out. I deliberately made a slow pass at 20' right in front of the guy. As soon as I passed him I retracted the wings, pulled up elevator and hit the throttle. With the motor and batt. combo I think this thing hits about 60 mph plus in a dive. I had to chuckle when I heard him say "Holy friggin Sh#@!" I wish you could hear the sound coming off the clipped 7X5 prop. It has this raspy whine to it. Full throttle banking high speed dives look soooo awesome! This is the COOLEST foamie I've seen yet. This guy wasn't a navy pilot but he did work on a carrier. Dang, I couldn't get that theme from "top Gun" outta my head all day. Maybz is the man! Till the next sortie!

SS

I finished taping the plans together (pita) and just ordered some 6mm Depron. Based on SS's comments and the videos that Maybz posted, I'm really looking forward to getting this built and up and flying.

This plane looks like the perfect prop-jet.

Forgive the noob question, but this will be my first build on OPP (Other people's plans).

Do you paste the plans on the foam to cut out the pieces? Otherwise, how do you make sure the plans don't slip while you are cutting?

Originally Posted by Will Rock

......Do you paste the plans on the foam to cut out the pieces? Otherwise, how do you make sure the plans don't slip while you are cutting?

I spray the foam with 3M77 adhesive, then cut, and then peel off the plans.

Hi guys, glad to hear you are enjoying it.
Shioi, you are right - you need to increase the servo travel on the TX to maximum throw, sorry for not mentioning this sooner.
Will Rock, if you plan to use 3M77 I would recommend you lightly dust the backside of the plans and then stick them to the foam after the glue has dried at least 30 seconds. This will minimize the amount of glue residue left on the foam and will also make it easier to un-stick the plans after the parts are cut.
Or... If you're tired of 3M77 dust getting everywhere (like me) then you might try this method... rough cut all of the plans with scissors leaving a 1/8 ~ 1/4" border around the edge of each part and then tape them to the foam in 2 or three spots. Cut the taped areas last.
I'll have new Mk2 plans posted soon, and I'm also working on making a small run of foam-only kits for those interested. No price yet.

Kits would be nice, maybe I should cancel my foam order? Nah, it'll keep me out of my wife's way for a week or so...... Can you tell us what changes you're making on the MK2 plans?

Nothing major.. I moved a few cut lines around to save foam and reduce waste, and I made a few cosmetic changes. Also increased the area of the elevator by 10% and split the wing in two for the carbon spar. Should be easier to build now.