Thrust Vectoring F-16

[19000rpm]

I've been too busy to even put it together yet. And since the weather has been so bad, and it doesn't look too good in the near future, I've been in know rush.

[19000rpm]

The weather still sucks, but I didn't have the plane put together yet anyway, so...

I put the kit together yesterday. It was really simple and straight forward.

Cons: 1) The kit came with a few dents in the foam, but it wasn't enough to send it back. As this is my TV "Trainer" I'm sure it will end up with more dents. 2) The 45A ESc is buried between the fuse and thrust tube. No way to get it out without cutting it out.

I'll put in an AR7000 and run a 2200, 25C 4S.

Added a strip of CF since it came without a wing spar.

[Gabe]

Oh man! Good looking plane!

[19000rpm]

The forecast for a big thaw next week got me motivated to install the AR7000 and program the DX7. Now, with all the snow we've got, I may need to put floats on for a maiden.

It turns out the ESC didn't come programmed. At first I thought I had a bad ESC. I called the guys at HL and they said, "Oh you need to program it." DUH, never bought a PlugNPlay that needed the ESC programmed. ;D

The F-16 is all set up. The Mix switch is all that needs to be activated to turn it from 4ch control into 6ch TV mode.

For the maiden I'm going to start in low rates and leave the TV off to get a general feeling for the handling characteristics. The motor seems to have plenty of thrust so I think takeoffs will be relatively short.

Flight number two, if all goes well, I'll go to high rates and then activate the TV system. I can't wait! This should be the most exciting RC experience since I hit the idleup switch on the G2.

[akent]

Glad you are finally melting up there!
I look forward to a flight report with that. They look like a blast to fly!
Kent

[19000rpm]

The thaw will be a mixed blessing because we're sure to have some massive flooding since the sewer systems will still be partially frozen. I'll be lucky to find a place dry enough to fly. ;D

BTW, I had the HL F-18A TV box open the other day and it looks even better than the Pics. Lordy, lordy, please help me for I'm about to EDF again.

[19000rpm]

It was a decent enough day, the HS parking lot only half full for a Hockey game, and we've had a bit of a thaw so the pavement was relatively clear. I couldn't resist doing a Taxi Test.

And some times Taxi Test's turn into Maidens...I probably wouldn't have been able to resist putting it in the air either BUT...

When I did a control check the flying horizontal stabs (elevators) were acting like ailerons. One up one down. I knew I had them programmed right in the TX and had checked everything on the bench a while back. ;D

When I got home I discovered I'd put one of the elevator servo arms back on backwards when I removed the servo arms to install some clips at the control rods to servo arm connections. That was AFTER I did the control test mentioned above. I should have done one more control test before I left for the Taxi Test.

Besides that, the plane was wandering a bit to the right and I needed to adjust the control rod length on the front wheel steering servo.

I would have been very disappointed if I had discovered those things on the day I planned a maiden. The good old Taxi Test. It's paid off more than once.

On a better note: The plane seems to have plenty of power. Just a touch of throttle got it moving fairly fast.

If only the flying stabs had been right I might have been posting in the "Did You Fly Today?" Thread.

[Gabe]

Good catch! Been on the short end of that stick so many times. Glad you had your eyes peeled!

[19000rpm]

I had planned on flying the F16 at the school parking lot along with the P-51 and Fury yesterday, but the wind came up and the family was wondering why I was off flying all day on Easter ;D

So, this AM I got up and took off to the Rec Area I use as an alternate flying location when the school parking lot is full and I need an area with no grass to fly from.

The gravel lot at the Rec Area wasn't in too bad shape. The wheels and gears on this plane aren't really intended for that kind of surface, but I had anticipated some less than smooth flying surfaces so I had that base covered with a reinforced nose gear.

After a full check, I put the DX7 rates on low and didn't engage the Thrust Vectoring. Playing it real conservative for the maiden.

The wind was only 1-3 mph. I chose a path that was as free as possible of larger stones and throttled up.

She gained speed quickly and with just a tap of up elevator leapt quickly off the ground and built speed. I wasn't paying particular attention to how fast it was going, but in retrospect; I think is was about 60 when it was time to turn it around.

I made a few circuits getting a feel for her and found I didn't need any trim. I had it up fairly high so I cut the throttle to see how she slowed. And, she slowed to a crawl with no apparent tendency to stall.

I made some slow circuits with some fairly sharp banks and she never became unsettled. This is one stable airframe.

The first landing was fairly straight forward. Cut the power and let her settle in. And she came in a bit hot, bounced a few times and rolled to a stop. The nose gear was a little bent, which was easy to straighten, and the mains were fine. OK, not bad for a maiden on a less than perfect landing area.

The second landing was much better. I took advantage of the excellent stall charcteristics and brought her in in near high alpha. She settled like an Eagle landing on the edge of a branch.

No, I never went to high rates or flipped the TV switch. Next time out I'll go on high rates and if my nerve holds I'll throw the TV switch. That's gonna' be a rush. Maybe I'll get some pics next time.

[19000rpm]

I had a nice break with the weather this morning so I took advantage of it.

Winds were 5-10 out at the Rec Area. Sunnier skies than I've seen in awhile. Good time to take the next step with the F16 TV

I was once again impressed with the way it get's off the ground. With just a bit of elevator it leaps off the ground and if I haul the stick back it goes almost vertical. And that's on low rates.

After a circuit or two I flipped the TV switch. I forgot I was still on low rates. I pulled the elevator back and and it looped in almost it's own length. Then I tried a flat spin. Perfect. Then some more loops. A low high Alpha pass. What a blast.

[shakey]

Glad to hear it was all you expected. Nothing better than everything working on your 1st flight. Good luck with it.

[Moparmyway]

19000,
Can you get this TV F-16 on video ??

[19000rpm]

I'll sure try to. I've got someone to shoot video, but he's not always available. Hopefully our schedules will work out for a video session soon.

[19000rpm]

Some time after this last post, after many great flights, I had a glitch and it went in hard. I mean unrecoverable hard. I was not able to determine the cause. I pulled the elctronics to save for another day.

Since the airframe was toast, I started looking for a replacement. The few that I found were twice what I paid. So, I left the set up in the Tx and have been trolling for a replacement that didn't feel like a rip off...Well, tonight I stumbled on it. Yeehaw! It'll be here in a few days. Can't wait. An early Christmas!!

[Gabe]

Where from!!??