After seeing many videos and following some great builds, I finally decided to order a Mirage 2000 from hobby88 http://www.hobby88.com/shop/product_...roducts_id=619.
Can't beat the price, even with $90.00 shipping
I decided to go with a 6s system (upgradable to 7-8s) with a WeMoTec EVO 90mm fan,HET 650-68-1600, motor Castle 100Amp edge LemonRx 7 ch stabilizer receiver, 20A YEP bec , Revolectrix 4400Mah 60C 6 cell battery and Hobby King medium sized retracts with freewing mig 21 main struts and F14 nose strut.

Finally got this thing on the bench!
In fact, this was the first plane I bought after a 10+ year RC hiatus, and the one that pulled me back in!
I did start a while ago on the struts, as I wanted something a little more "robust" and scale-like in operation.
My first attempt started with a design based on the really cool, but somewhat small HTG wheels
After re-reading all the threads and blogs on this plane, and looking at some pictures and 3-view documentation, I realized that they were way too small.
Anyway, I think I've got it now. I found some wheels that are from my KMP Bf 109E that were perfect for this purpose, and a nose strut that I bought a while ago that was WAY bigger than I thought when I ordered it, but will work well here, and fits the fat nose wheel nicely.
I managed to salvage the main struts I turned, but replaced the oleos with some that I took off of some offset struts I had, with just a little modding.
The trailing arms had to be re-made to accommodate the larger wheels, and keep them as thin as possible.
Now on to the wing reinforcing and retract installation, going to really try to keep the unnecessary weight down, and keep this plane light for it's size

More than a few years ago, I picked up this nice YaK 50 at our swap meet.
It was originally painted up in Russian aerobatic team colours (red on white)
I cannot find any info on the original kit
It is conventional balsa built up fuse with sheeted foam core wings
1600mm wingspan(63")
1220mm fuse(48")
Originally .60-.90 2-stroke nitro
Mechanical retracts
Lemon 7 channel stabiliser RX

I have since converted it to electric, and repainted it to resemble a scheme used on a Lagg-9 fighter (as many civilian owned yaks are painted in warbird colours)

Installed a Turnigy Aerodrive SK3 430kv motor
Revolectrix 4400 6s 60c battery
YEP 100 amp ESC
15x8`prop

Probably start with 25-27% CG (gear up)
Any info would be much appreciated
Thanks

Here's a how-to on putting a layer of protection and strength on an EPO foam plane. This can easily be done on EPS type foams as well.
WBPU (Water Based PolyUrathane) is a finishing product used in the woodworking field and comes in many forms from many manufacturers.
It's main advantages are that it has a low VOC content which is good for indoor application, and is cleaned up with water, it also dries quickly for re coating, and it cures relatively hard, but suitably flexible for use over a flexible and soft medium like EPO foam.
Combined with fiberglass cloth of a tight weave like 18-25 grams per square meter (1/2- 3/4 once per square yard)
It is very strong, light and follows compound curves easily, and when combined with WBPU it becomes a structural shell that is much more resistant to hanger rash, stiffens up the airframe for a more precise and predictable flight, and is a smooth and stable base for paint and detail work.
So,.. let's get to it.

Finally got around to getting this "Schwalbe" going!
I got it started a while ago replacing retracts, and wing work, as well as a pimped out cockpit, but it got shelved.
I learned a lot from the Dynam Bf109, and will put those lessons into this plane.
I won't be going nearly as far with regards to scale outline and stuff as this plane has a much bigger wing than would be "correct" but it flies so well with that wing that messing with it would be a crime!
This time I will focus more on finish, durability and performance, with a closer eye on overall weight.
Still haven't decided yet which 262 I'm going to depict, and I gave some thought to the earlier A-2a fighter bomber, utilizing the two bomb pylons as ESC mounts, but that can be decided later....Continue Reading

Thought I'd record my attempt at taming the nose over tendency of this great flying plane when flying from longer grass fields.
I've heard many have the same issues and some do not. I'm sure field conditions( close cut grass, pavement or asphalt fliers seem to fare better in this respect) play some part as does skill and familiarity with the tempest itself.
Most have, or are going to, shim under the rearmost mounting points of the retracts, and for some this is enough. For the rest of us,(and me) I thought I'd try something different.
While I'm messing around I thought I'd try some inner gear doors similar to what jiggz did on his, however unlike his, I thought I'd try doing this without servos and sequencer first because I seem to like to make everything harder than it needs to be!
So enough of the long winded monologue, and on to the mods!...Continue Reading

Starting a new entry on finishing for the 109.
There are hundreds of great blogs, how-to threads and such on this subject so I hope this can be of some value to someone.
Please feel free to comment, question or...Continue Reading

AS a side post I thought I'd describe how to scale your model and references for those who may be new to scale model construction or maybe just have not done this before.
By scaling, I mean finding the relationship in size between either your model and the full scale aircraft it represents, or your "documentation", be that a drawing (three view line drawing) or profile artwork, even a plastic scale model (the bigger the better). Of course, if you are fortunate enough to have a full scale version near by that's a great source.
The goal is to come up with a number (ratio) for each of your reference sources that you can use to multiply measurements from those sources to real time dimensions on your model.
eg,.. If you want to put scale sized wheels on your model and don't think the kit ones are right, you would measure the wheels on your drawing/documentation, and simply multiply that dimension by your SCALE FACTOR NUMBER to come up with the size of wheel that would be on your model.
Here's a quick "picto tutorial" on how.
BTW... You may notice that I am using metric figures. While I understand that our American cousins outside of the military do not generally use metric, in this case it very much simplifies the process. There are no fractions to consider and multiply/divide. If you have or can get some metric rulers I would strongly suggest using them as they are simple to read and the chances of error are greatly reduced. The only conversions between...Continue Reading

Thought I'd put the project here as it's probably clogging up the thread some.
At first I was going to just keep it simple and do an F4 by cutting off the gun an wheel well bumps, and adding the little windows under the front canopy frame.
Well then my flying buddy Greg went bananas on his so what the hay!
There is nothing I like better than 109's so if it can't be an E4 it might as well be a G10.
I chose a G 10/U4 of II/JG51.
The G10/U4 differs from the G6 in that it had the DB605D engine and required the streamlined type 100 cowl bulges to cover both the gun shell ejection chutes and the engine supercharger (port side, thus the port side bulge is larger)
Other differences include the "Erla Haube" frameless canopy the tall tail,the wider tires and larger wing bulges, plus the deep chin oil cooler scoop.
My intention with these entries is to share ideas on construction and finishing for mutual benefit of all parties. Please feel free to post suggestions or questions.
More...

Here's some detail shots....Continue Reading