RE: Mini F-16 vintage project consideration
Guys, What can I use for a glow plug clip on this project? What do you guys like to use? Thanks Rick
Posted on: 7/2/2012 10:23 AM by Author "RickP" in the forum ""1/2 A" & "1/8 A" airplanes"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11139938

RE: Mini F-16 vintage project consideration
Here is some work done on the RK-049 Fan
Posted on: 6/29/2012 5:17 AM by Author "RickP" in the forum ""1/2 A" & "1/8 A" airplanes"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11136243

RE: Mini F-16 vintage project consideration
Tail Pipe Photos:
Posted on: 6/28/2012 6:23 AM by Author "RickP" in the forum ""1/2 A" & "1/8 A" airplanes"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11134951

RE: Mini F-16 vintage project consideration
. For now enjoy the pics ;) RickP
Posted on: 6/28/2012 6:16 AM by Author "RickP" in the forum ""1/2 A" & "1/8 A" airplanes"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11134945

RE: Mini F-16 vintage project consideration
Hello Guys, No this is not dead yet. I just went through a ton of personal stuff. I've been flying my gas airplanes so I've been keeping my feet wet, but I moved into a new apartment, set up a new shop and this is back on the bench. I need some ply formers cut which I have modified so waiting on that. I may just cut them out the old fashioned way - we will see. Plus I have the RK-049 kit. I figure what the heck I might as well build it now. I need a NIB Tee Dee 049. I think I can score them on Ebay for $65 good or no? Rick
Posted on: 5/31/2012 1:34 PM by Author "RickP" in the forum ""1/2 A" & "1/8 A" airplanes"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11101527

RE: Mini F-16 vintage project consideration
Is there any advantage to using the pressure tap on the backplate rather than the one on the crankshaft collar under the venturi? RP
Posted on: 3/2/2012 11:48 AM by Author "RickP" in the forum ""1/2 A" & "1/8 A" airplanes"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10984028

RE: Mini F-16 vintage project consideration
The fact you have a 1991 catalog is amazing! Thanks! John, Can I get the same NV assembly for an .090? Rick
Posted on: 3/1/2012 8:58 AM by Author "RickP" in the forum ""1/2 A" & "1/8 A" airplanes"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10982945

RE: Mini F-16 vintage project consideration
Got my RK-049 yeasterday! Well, if nothing else at least I have the full size plans and full instruction set I can use. This was something I was lacking. I have the ability to do a full size scan of the drawing and I intend on copying all of this material. Not sure if I will use the kit or not, if not I'll sell it again on E-bay. I'm pretty sure I can at the least get my money back. Some extra parts in here too that don't belong to the kit. Maybe you guys can have a look and let me know if I have anything good here. Thanks! RP PS, had to place an order for more 4-40 tee nuts from Tower, so I'll have to wait a couple of days to continue. Also ordered some fuel proof and paint for the motor assembly.
Posted on: 3/1/2012 5:25 AM by Author "RickP" in the forum ""1/2 A" & "1/8 A" airplanes"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10982690

RE: Mini F-16 vintage project consideration
[quote]ORIGINAL: Rubbernecker I thought you had given up on it! [:D] Keep dragging your feet, because once you fly it and tell us how cool it is, I will want one and I have too many other projects going on................ John [/quote] John, I just completed a Spirt 100 sailplane I started 4 years ago. I told you I don't work too fast LOL. I won't take that long with this, but if I don't report back that I quit on the endevor then just assume I am trodding along ;) Rick
Posted on: 2/29/2012 12:23 PM by Author "RickP" in the forum ""1/2 A" & "1/8 A" airplanes"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10981794

RE: Mini F-16 vintage project consideration
Thanks! However, I just purchased one off of E-bay for $40.00.... I know, just what I need to do. Spend more money on this project. But I have been seeing them go for $65 - $80 so I think I got it at a real reasonable price. I really kind of just wanted the full size plans. I may just scan it, copy the instructions, fondle the parts a bit and then resell it. I should have it in a day or two so I will post pictures. Of course there is always the case where my motor might not work, maybe I can fall back on this? I was working on the motor mount some more last night (part that scews into the DF unit) and man I have never worked on something so intricate and delicate out of ply before. I didn't break anything but I'd have been much happier if it were more solid. Of course there is the weight trade off and this is only a .090. Not a gasser. I installed the Tee nuts last night, and of course I ran out of them. [:@] gotta wait on another order from Tower to continue.... RP
Posted on: 2/29/2012 12:20 PM by Author "RickP" in the forum ""1/2 A" & "1/8 A" airplanes"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10981789

RE: Mini F-16 vintage project consideration
Hello All, Well the drill press worked pretty well. I got that part of the project done. Just want to drill the engine mounting holes and mount my Tee nuts. Still waiting for my fan adapter from the shops. I checked in last week, but the guy is on vacation. Hopefully this week he will be able to get to it! RP
Posted on: 2/28/2012 5:13 AM by Author "RickP" in the forum ""1/2 A" & "1/8 A" airplanes"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10979695

RE: Mini F-16 vintage project consideration
Guys, Progress here is slow and steady, don't expect any instant gratification with this project!! One of the major next steps is that I have to drill the mounting holes for the motor pod in the 1/4" ply parts. That means I have to drill a 4-40 clearance hole 1 1/4" deep through a 1/4 x 1/4 plywood square. I was pretty skeptical about this operation, I didn't expect it to be successful. So I hunted down a drill press on crags list and bought it for $50. I tested a sample piece today with excellent results! I'll try a actual part tomorrow! RP
Posted on: 2/19/2012 8:37 PM by Author "RickP" in the forum ""1/2 A" & "1/8 A" airplanes"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10966855

RE: Mini F-16 vintage project consideration
[quote]ORIGINAL: combatpigg Rick, the hardest thing is to find good New England Rock Maple any more. It used to have such a tight grain it was almost like working with aluminum. The stuff that the hobby industry sells now is like cottonwood compared to the old stuff. In our area there are hardwood suppliers who can still get the primordial wood, but it is getting scarce. [/quote] Ahhh, You got me! I misspoke, it is Birch! I ordered all of my wood from Balsa USA. They have Birch Motor mount stock. It's Okay, but now I wonder if it's too soft. Is there something better I can use? Rick
Posted on: 2/17/2012 6:50 AM by Author "RickP" in the forum ""1/2 A" & "1/8 A" airplanes"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10963003

RE: Mini F-16 vintage project consideration
Thanks Guys, With this project when it stops being fun, thats it! So far so good! Yes, my first order of business is finishing up the fan unit. I am going to make sure it runs and produces some appreciable thrust. If so, I'll move on to the tail pipe and inlet. I plan on bench running it like that and trying to make some kind of thrust measuremnt. Provided both of those are favorable I'll proceed ;) Combat Pigg, thanks for the suggestion. Sometimes on these smaller things you have to make some exceptions to keep it light and reliable. Somtimes I forget that I can always go back and fix it! Rick
Posted on: 2/16/2012 12:37 PM by Author "RickP" in the forum ""1/2 A" & "1/8 A" airplanes"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10961888

RE: Mini F-16 vintage project consideration
I am working on like 4 projects at once. It drives me nuts! but that is the way it is at the moment... I started the motor mount last night. You can see the arraingment I am planning on below. I have started second guessing myself. But I don't know what else I can do at the moment. I have to be able to service this thing, so the front mounting plate must be removable. Hence, I have designed it with two 4-40 screws to remove the front mouting plate. I had hoped to be able to get some thread insert into the maple runners but there is just no room for them. So I will have to use wood screws. I know over time wood screws don't hold up too well in this application but not sure what else I can do. I can't go through to the back and use tee nuts. Any comments would be appreciated at this point!
Posted on: 2/16/2012 5:07 AM by Author "RickP" in the forum ""1/2 A" & "1/8 A" airplanes"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10961371

RE: Mini F-16 vintage project consideration
Here is a better shot of how I backed up the seam. If you look close you can see where the laser cutter made a relief for it. And yes, more "Retardant" in the background ;) RP
Posted on: 2/13/2012 1:41 PM by Author "RickP" in the forum ""1/2 A" & "1/8 A" airplanes"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10957292

RE: Mini F-16 vintage project consideration
So I finished the outer ducted fan body. I hogged out all of the cylinder body under the dome with a dremel from the inside. All I have to do is fuel proof and paint it. The inner motor mount will be next, but before I can start on that I have to drill out the stator supports. I need a drill press for this and am going to have to buy one. I have to drill several 4-40 clearance holes 1 1/4" long. It's going to be a tricky operation, gonna need to make a few practice runs first. I also put the motor and fan into our machine shop with the adapter drawing. They said no problem they can do it for me, but one guy is on vacation next week and it's probably going be three weeks before I can get it. Oh well, I guess beggars can't be choosers. I should have given it to him a couple of weeks ago when I first dreamed it up. Anyway I can't complain for free. I think next up for this project will be the tail pipe and formers. After I bought the laser cut kit I dreamed up the tapered tail pipe so all of the hole diameters in the three rear formers need to be a different size. Thank god for the unfold command for the tail pipe, it's tapered so only the long stream is straight. I already cut that out. I have to make the three 1/16" formers next. RP
Posted on: 2/12/2012 11:04 AM by Author "RickP" in the forum ""1/2 A" & "1/8 A" airplanes"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10955551

RE: Mini F-16 vintage project consideration
[quote]ORIGINAL: combatpigg Rick, it looks perfect...! Is the seam fiberglassed..? Skaliwag, the amber liquid is ''retarder''. [/quote] Hello, Nope, I cut a small 3/4" strip of 1/64 plywood to back the seam up. I put a relief in the 1/4" rings to allow for it. I drew it all up in 3D Autodesk inventor. I used the sheet metal module for the cylinder and the "contour flange" command. I then unfolded it and printed it all out and just traced and cut it out. it's amazing it all fit perfectly! I glued the backing strip to one end of the unfolded tube material first and then slipped all the rings over and tack glued it! I think the liquid is Green Flash IPA. ;-) RP
Posted on: 2/12/2012 10:57 AM by Author "RickP" in the forum ""1/2 A" & "1/8 A" airplanes"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10955548

RE: 1st plan build Jr Falcon
Looks great! What a good job, looks like you could use a work bench. I've got one of those Black and Decker workmates. It folds up when not in use. Might not be a bad next investment when you get a chance! But look at this, another JR falcon? Looks like I am going to have to join this club LOL. Got enough projects for this winter though. Lets see for over the summer.... RP
Posted on: 2/12/2012 7:15 AM by Author "RickP" in the forum ""1/2 A" & "1/8 A" airplanes"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10955242

RE: Mini F-16 vintage project consideration
Okay guys, spent a little bit of time working on the Ducted Fan cylinder. I think it went together pretty smoothly. I had decided to build two along the way, and good thing! I messed one up! Glued the rings on in the wrong order, that's going to take quite a bit to fix so I'll just shelf it for now. I am really happy with how the seam came out on the inside.
Posted on: 2/12/2012 6:38 AM by Author "RickP" in the forum ""1/2 A" & "1/8 A" airplanes"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10955218

RE: Mini F-16 vintage project consideration
Still no Balsa yet [:o] - Worse yet I am all out of glue, so not much I can do. Good news is that I should have all of that today. I did however read all of the articles I purchased from that CD and from Kress's design criterior (I know his graphs are highly contested) I can see that the fan I have chosen is a reasonable choice. It's a 6 blade 3" od fan with a 50% diameter hub. Also according to this I need to reduce the OD of the tail pipe to 2.6". This is in contrast to the existing design, so I'll have to cut 3 new formers for the tail pipe, I'll give it a conical shape to reduce from 3" to 2.6" at the exit. Also, from his graphs its clear I should get close to 24oz of thrust with the .090 and 3" OD fan. That would be a 1:1 thrust to weight ratio which would be outstanding. I really doubt I'll get that good of a deal, he has published his RK-049 he calculated 22oz of thrust and the best he could manage was 17oz of thrust. Even if I get 17oz I think I can call this a success. I think 17 would be a good worst case senario and as such worthwile building this misfit! I am also going to have to carve a good inlet. This should be fun. I ordered some 2X4 blocks to laminate so I can begin to hog them out and get started on that. I did start building my assembly Jig / test stand - untill I ran out of glue. [8|] No real progress to show but the end result is becoming clearer in my mind! RP
Posted on: 2/9/2012 5:49 AM by Author "RickP" in the forum ""1/2 A" & "1/8 A" airplanes"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10951086

RE: Jr Falcon Build
[quote]ORIGINAL: Rubbernecker Pictures are posted above. John [/quote] Beautiful, I am going to have to build one of these eventually. Rick
Posted on: 2/9/2012 5:38 AM by Author "RickP" in the forum ""1/2 A" & "1/8 A" airplanes"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10951079

RE: Mini F-16 vintage project consideration
Looks like my Balsa should arrive tomorrow, not much I can do untill then. I built an adapter or mandrel to wrap the 1/64 ply around but it's not perfect. I think I am just going to use the rings I had cut and some clamps with some hardwood. Lets see how it looks once I get some material in my hands. Also I purchsed off of Ebay a CD of Ducted fan design articles including the Kress design documents. Interesting stuff. According to cres the annual area of the fan sweep should be equal to the OD of the tail pipe for a zero restritcting flow. The way I designed my fan I'll need to choke off the taip pipe a bit. Plus it looks really important that I get the inlet fairing right. I'm not sure how I am going to do that. I was thinking a large foam block but maybe Balsa would be easier to deal with. I'm not sure how I am going to do that yet. Rick
Posted on: 2/7/2012 11:58 AM by Author "RickP" in the forum ""1/2 A" & "1/8 A" airplanes"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10948317

RE: Jr Falcon Build
John, That's great! Please post a picture or two when you get a chance and have a blast flying her! RP
Posted on: 2/7/2012 11:47 AM by Author "RickP" in the forum ""1/2 A" & "1/8 A" airplanes"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10948299

RE: Mini F-16 vintage project consideration
Hello All, I got the laser cut parts today. I also should be getting the rest of the balsa and plywood I ordered from balsa USA soon. I attached pics of the laser cut parts. A few items to note, first the horizontal stab came in busted up, too bad. not too upset, it should be easy enough to cut that myself. I was hoping to see the fuselage sides and doublers, but they seem to not have been included. To my surprise he also cut the fins to the missiles which get fixed to the wing tips, but there are only two, I need 4. I dropped him a line so lets see what he says. With all of that said the Ducted fan parts look amazing. More so the tooling I ordered looks great, I have the engine stand / assembly fixture and the drill fixture looks great. The next step is to get the 1/64 ply and form the cylinder for the fan. I should have that soon. I need an exactly 3" OD mandrel with witch to wrap it around and it's not too easy to find. I bought some PVC fittings at Home depot today. Not quite the right size but maybe I can build it up with something.... More to come RP
Posted on: 2/4/2012 7:04 PM by Author "RickP" in the forum ""1/2 A" & "1/8 A" airplanes"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10944242

RE: Mini F-16 vintage project consideration
The Kamdax jet went for $100, a little to pricy for my taste. I finished my DF design, created the drawings and sent them in to have them laser cut. I am getting 1 Mini F-16 short kit and enough parts for two of my DF designs. I'll start assembling the DF first and see if it produces any thrust. Attached is a PDF of my fan assembly. Included with the DF kits I designed some assembly tools too. A test stand and a drill fixture for the stator blades. I have to get an adapter machined for the TD and I need some machining work done on the fan rotor. RP
Posted on: 1/28/2012 3:39 PM by Author "RickP" in the forum ""1/2 A" & "1/8 A" airplanes"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10932712

RE: Jr Falcon Build
Looking forward to the flight report John, You know the Falcon 56 was my first RC airplane! Hope you enjoy flying the JR Falcon! RP
Posted on: 1/26/2012 4:52 AM by Author "RickP" in the forum ""1/2 A" & "1/8 A" airplanes"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10928429

RE: Mini F-16 vintage project consideration
[quote]ORIGINAL: Jaime_Arenas By the way, there's a Kamdax Mig 15 for sale on ebay right now; it's the one with the DF unit and engine. Just search for Kamdax and you should see it. Depending on where your having the parts for your fan made it may be cheaper to just buy this thing. Regards, Jaime [/quote] Thanks! I'll watch it, but if it's more then $150 I'll just get a habu. This is more of a nastoga thread as mentioned earlier. With that said common sense has been tossed out the window a long time ago. Amazingly RK-40's keep popping up on Ebay all the time. They seem to - increduliosly - go for more than $80 each time. Rick
Posted on: 1/24/2012 5:34 AM by Author "RickP" in the forum ""1/2 A" & "1/8 A" airplanes"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10924683

RE: Mini F-16 vintage project consideration
[quote]ORIGINAL: Jaime_Arenas Rick, where did you get the fuel tank? Thanks, Jaime [/quote] Jamie, From my old Quickie 500 days. Darol Cady http://www.darrolcady.com/index.htm Look at the Tetra tanks. I was suprised that he had a tank as small as the 3oz but I think it will be perfect. Too bad I lent my fueler out and never got it back, $35 I shouldn't have had to respend [:(] Darol is a great guy. Rick
Posted on: 1/24/2012 5:31 AM by Author "RickP" in the forum ""1/2 A" & "1/8 A" airplanes"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10924679

RE: Mini F-16 vintage project consideration
Here is the photo, I had technical difficulites uploading it last time. RP
Posted on: 1/23/2012 9:16 AM by Author "RickP" in the forum ""1/2 A" & "1/8 A" airplanes"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10923192