I've got mine assembled far enough to check out the thrust. It seems like it will give good performance right out of the box. Should even hand launch fine. I wouldn't sell the F-4 short till we get some field reports. I will know how it flies by this weekend, I would guess, at this point. Not much left to do - glue the wings on and paint the pilot. I did add 3/4 ounce of lead to the nose to replace the weight of the nose gear and servo. Looking forward to seeing it fly. I expect it to fly as well as the F-5E which did pretty well. LBJ

[QUOTE=LBJ]I've got mine assembled far enough to check out the thrust./QUOTE]

Hi LBJ. Can you or anyone tell me if the stock motor is indeed an OUTRUNNER as stated here?: http://www.hobby-lobby.com/f4.htm

It's an outrunner, but the whole assembly is shrouded by the fan housing so you really can't see the outside turning. It seems to have a brute growl/whine. Pretty wicked sounding. There are a few rough spots on the lower end, vibration wise, but I suspect those won't be working during the flight. Once it gets going, Katie-bar-the-door!

some more pics. oleos added.

Thanks LBJ, for the information that it IS an outrunner.

Bill,

Where are you flying at? I'm flying at Sarasota Silent Flyers and Sarasota RC Squadron.

John

Originally Posted by bill34207

I eyeballed the F-16 a bit too. Got turned off by it having elevators instead of stabilators though. (Not to mention that I have three 16's already) Going totally off topic here with a suggestion for ya. Grab a HP F-16 (airframe only kit $64.95) then drop a 6904 and 3w in it. Mine has been clocked with a radar gun at 122 on this setup.

Got mine yesterday! I've put her together but for the life of me I don't see what he control throws should be. What is every one using?? Thanks for any help. Robin

I'm getting both.. the F16 should be here next week. Its my first f16 and it'll get a wemo mini fan, medusa 28-40-3400 and a turnigy 60amp esc... maybe about 900watts?

if you're using stock servos, then maximum throws are fine. i just run expos on it. Ailerons about 15% and elevators at 20%. then i have high rate set to about 10% and 10% respectively. I installed a rudder and i run about 10% expo, with full throws.

The stock servos, if they're anything like the ones i got, arent much good. to weak really. better to throw them out immediately and build it right. they certainly wont last very long with the speed from the HET fan.

Check the glue on the tail section. I removed the tail section and reattached using 5 min epoxy. my buddy's tail section came off after a particular hard landing and i think some else had that happen in the earlier posts here...

Originally Posted by LBJ

It's an outrunner, but the whole assembly is shrouded by the fan housing so you really can't see the outside turning. It seems to have a brute growl/whine. Pretty wicked sounding. There are a few rough spots on the lower end, vibration wise, but I suspect those won't be working during the flight. Once it gets going, Katie-bar-the-door!

I pulled the fan back out of mine again tonight for one last attempt to balance it. It still vibated, but then I remebered a little something Robert from EJF told me about the collet type adapters a long time ago.
Somtimes they don't seat quite right. Took a few tries to find the "sweet spot" but I now have a smooth running fan that I'm not ashamed to take out in public.

Originally Posted by jonnyjetprop

Bill,

Where are you flying at? I'm flying at Sarasota Silent Flyers and Sarasota RC Squadron.

John

Hi John
I know Ernie and have been out there to the Silent Flyers field once. (long ride from my house) I mostly fly at MCRC and SRQ. Hit one one week, and the other the next. That way I don't annoy either club quite as bad.
Will most likely be at SRQ Sunday morning to take advantage of the paved runway for the test flight on this one. (weather permitting)

Got it put together. Will fly it Sat I hope, or Ed Couch will anyway. Get it trimmed out. It will be on a grass runway so no gear. I cut both sides of the intake splitter off since they would be the first casualty on the grass. Don't look too bad. Williams Bros 1/12 jet pilot. Added a finger rail for launch right on the CG. Not much there but just something to toss it straight. I checked it on the suggested CG at 165 mm which is just about 6.5 inches. It looks like it has some good nose down droop. I added 3/4 ounce lead to the nose under the nose cone to allow for no servo or NLG, plus a bit for good luck. Control throws are anybody's guess. We can do an eyeball test at the field before flight.

Originally Posted by bill34207

I pulled the fan back out of mine again tonight for one last attempt to balance it. It still vibated, but then I remebered a little something Robert from EJF told me about the collet type adapters a long time ago.
Somtimes they don't seat quite right. Took a few tries to find the "sweet spot" but I now have a smooth running fan that I'm not ashamed to take out in public.

How do you pull the motor and the fan? Sorry :-( NooBie on EDFs

arent the aileron servos exposed to much for a belly landing? main reason i dont want to remove the gear is due to the servo arms and stripping

Good luck on the maiden...

Rob

There's a foam hatch at the bottom. just unscrew the plastic holders and pullout. very easy