Post by dennisp on Dec 28, 2009 18:24:53 GMT 8
Christmas saw the arrival of a few new models at the SSW and one of these was the RC Lander F-16D, having just completed the RCL Hawker Hunter this kit was of special interest as it was a factory assembled version with all the extras. No I am not going soft or mad, but I am sure that most of you have built a model to the instructions and a had some odd parts left over and no idea where they were supposed to go, I will admit that I had two or three bits left over from the Hunter build.
The interesting thing was comparing the instruction manual with the factory assembled model and it was easy to spot the differences, I shall not delve into the assembly as it really is straight forward the only trap is the fitting of the vertical stabiliser and its associated push rod, which I will describe this later.
Following the instruction sequence the first part to be looked at is the intake and landing gear, the model comes as two completed assemblies with the lighting wires all fitted.
The other half of the intake had a small plastic plate over the NLG, which according to the instructions is required when taking off from grass..
As can be seen from the next picture the NLG and MLG are fitted with the cover in place, so just a case of checking the operation was all working well.
The rear of the fuselage is all pre-wired with a OPTO ESC and the after burner ring installed.
The font of the fuselage with all the cable retaining plates in position and also that clear piece of plastic I had left over from the Hunter build holding the ESC in place (not mentioned in the manual).
Having explored the parts in the box time to test the landing gear, a no drama situation after the Hunter......
I had concerns on the Hunters rudder there is a possibility of slop / spring in the actuator rod, the F-16 had a torque tube glued into to the fin to alleviate this... (not mentioned in the manual).
Again where the vertical stabiliser fits to the fuselage there was a square hole in the case of the Hunter with no part supplied to fit same, on the F-16 low and behold there is a plate fitted, so all concerns on rudder control are gone, again there is no mention of this in the supplied manual.
Reading the manual one of the last items to be fitted is the vertical stabiliser and the rudder push rod connection, a close look at the manual picture shows an external push rod so this could be done as a last thing, however with the rudder control horn being located in the exhaust duct this needs early attention before you fit the EDF unit.
This picture shows the rudder tiller arm in the exhaust duct, it is essential to file / grind a flat in the shaft as it will be just about impossible to service at a later date.
The supplied ESC is manufactured by Hobby Wing and the servo’s are all labelled as RCLander.
Mounting the EDF unit follows the RC Lander practice of double sided sponge tape and is a real easy task...
With the vertical stabiliser fitted the horizontal ones were fitted and then the wings attached as per the instructions, with the inlet duct and landing gear being last to be fitted.
Dorsal fins fitted and the side vent grills added, I have to say I screwed up here as these grills should be fitted before you fit the inlet duct and landing gear assembly as they are a dog to do later,! 0 out of 10 for this....!
The model is now on the set up stand and all those wires for the servo’s and lights need connecting up......!!
So stayed tuned for the spaghetti wiring program....
The interesting thing was comparing the instruction manual with the factory assembled model and it was easy to spot the differences, I shall not delve into the assembly as it really is straight forward the only trap is the fitting of the vertical stabiliser and its associated push rod, which I will describe this later.
Following the instruction sequence the first part to be looked at is the intake and landing gear, the model comes as two completed assemblies with the lighting wires all fitted.
The other half of the intake had a small plastic plate over the NLG, which according to the instructions is required when taking off from grass..
As can be seen from the next picture the NLG and MLG are fitted with the cover in place, so just a case of checking the operation was all working well.
The rear of the fuselage is all pre-wired with a OPTO ESC and the after burner ring installed.
The font of the fuselage with all the cable retaining plates in position and also that clear piece of plastic I had left over from the Hunter build holding the ESC in place (not mentioned in the manual).
Having explored the parts in the box time to test the landing gear, a no drama situation after the Hunter......
I had concerns on the Hunters rudder there is a possibility of slop / spring in the actuator rod, the F-16 had a torque tube glued into to the fin to alleviate this... (not mentioned in the manual).
Again where the vertical stabiliser fits to the fuselage there was a square hole in the case of the Hunter with no part supplied to fit same, on the F-16 low and behold there is a plate fitted, so all concerns on rudder control are gone, again there is no mention of this in the supplied manual.
Reading the manual one of the last items to be fitted is the vertical stabiliser and the rudder push rod connection, a close look at the manual picture shows an external push rod so this could be done as a last thing, however with the rudder control horn being located in the exhaust duct this needs early attention before you fit the EDF unit.
This picture shows the rudder tiller arm in the exhaust duct, it is essential to file / grind a flat in the shaft as it will be just about impossible to service at a later date.
The supplied ESC is manufactured by Hobby Wing and the servo’s are all labelled as RCLander.
Mounting the EDF unit follows the RC Lander practice of double sided sponge tape and is a real easy task...
With the vertical stabiliser fitted the horizontal ones were fitted and then the wings attached as per the instructions, with the inlet duct and landing gear being last to be fitted.
Dorsal fins fitted and the side vent grills added, I have to say I screwed up here as these grills should be fitted before you fit the inlet duct and landing gear assembly as they are a dog to do later,! 0 out of 10 for this....!
The model is now on the set up stand and all those wires for the servo’s and lights need connecting up......!!
So stayed tuned for the spaghetti wiring program....
I'll be there for the maiden - give me a buzz!