RE: CJM F-4D Conversion and Build
I have removed the area that Mario had pointed out in the previous post. I still need to do more sanding but I think it is well worth it.
Posted on: 5/19/2013 7:31 PM by Author "USSCAT" in the forum "RC Jets"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11516619

RE: CJM F-4D Conversion and Build
The kit did not include a canopy frame (lost??), I will try to make one here is a few photos of the plug that I am making.
Posted on: 3/8/2012 7:36 PM by Author "USSCAT" in the forum "RC Jets"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10992299

RE: CJM F-4D Conversion and Build
Being that I am converting from DF to Turbine, the plastic Exhaust needs to be replaced, so I made a mold and made three in case I mess one up.[:D]
Posted on: 3/8/2012 7:29 PM by Author "USSCAT" in the forum "RC Jets"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10992292

RE: In Need of Prayers From My Jet Buddies
Shaun, Our prayer for a healthy and happy recovery. Best wishes, Mike
Posted on: 1/27/2012 6:47 PM by Author "USSCAT" in the forum "RC Jets"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10931530

RE: CJM F-4D Conversion and Build
To keep the engine hatch sides in place I am adding a few 1/8 dowel pins to the hatch where it fits inside a bushing that is attached to the Fuse. The excess was cut and sanded.
Posted on: 1/25/2012 5:34 PM by Author "USSCAT" in the forum "RC Jets"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10927796

RE: CJM F-4D Conversion and Build
I have been working on the engine hatch and after some sanding I go the hatch to fit, there are some gaps at the edges of the hatch. So I used John Redman's method to line up the hatch and then drilled four 1/8 hole on the inside lip of hatch and the mating fuse section to keep the hatch in place while I deal with the gap issue.
Posted on: 1/25/2012 5:28 PM by Author "USSCAT" in the forum "RC Jets"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10927782

RE: CJM F-4D Conversion and Build
Ok, I have been away for while, I got invited to be at the WGS Satellite Launch for the Airforce at the Cape this past week. The Launch was on Thursday night and I tell you it was a sight that I will never forget. I have a few photos here and have a video of the Launch that once I can get it on the PC I may upload it. I have worked for multiple defense contractors for the past 25 years and have never been so excited and scared at the same time [:D][:D]
Posted on: 1/25/2012 5:13 PM by Author "USSCAT" in the forum "RC Jets"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10920248

RE: CJM F-4D Conversion and Build
I cut the aileron/flap section of the wing and installed the 1/8 ply to cap the end of the exposed foam, a strong base for the hinges. Again, nothing but Gorilla Glue. I will leave the Aileron/Flap section in one piece till the very end. Things will line up better.
Posted on: 1/16/2012 1:31 PM by Author "USSCAT" in the forum "RC Jets"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10861600

RE: CJM F-4D Conversion and Build
I was so concerned about the way the diverters were fitting, I used a plug that I had a made a while ago to check the fit, and it looks pretty good. I know the plug does not look right, so rather than fooling with it, I thought about making another one so the past few days, I have been working on one. Lots of sanding and and fitting, the first picture is the old one and the rest are the way I am hoping to make the plug. I may pull a canopy off the plug, we will see how it works out, but most probably I will end up ordering one, I like to get the one with operational canopy.
Posted on: 1/8/2012 7:24 PM by Author "USSCAT" in the forum "RC Jets"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10898889

RE: CJM F-4D Conversion and Build
Working on the belly a bit, remember this is the DF Kit with once piece wing that I am modifying for turbine and plug in wings. The belly pan is designed to be attached to the one piece wing. I have built up the wing box and now fitting the belly pan in place. I will have to do a lot of patch works later to get everything in tight. I will have to build the engine brackets later to fit my JC Rhino. The cool thing about CJM kits is that they pay attention to details, as you can see the belly pan is set up for two Sparrow Missiles, two more fits under the fuse up front.
Posted on: 1/8/2012 7:13 PM by Author "USSCAT" in the forum "RC Jets"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10898868

RE: CJM F-4D Conversion and Build
Hi Ronnie, Oh that is right, I remember that now, you came up with a cool way of fitting things up front, I will have to try something similar to keep some weight up front. Is the JL stab a one piece assembly or is it built up? in another words, how are the two stabs attached? Best Regards, Mike
Posted on: 1/2/2012 7:43 PM by Author "USSCAT" in the forum "RC Jets"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10888742

RE: CJM F-4D Conversion and Build
Ronnie, Thank you, that helps a lot, I see the alignment now, I should be Ok with a small tilt of the intake. The other site is also very helpful. BTW, in your JL F-4, did you make the nose section removable? If so, is that where you have your batteries? I am thinking about that but am concerned about having long battery leads. Best Regards, Mike
Posted on: 1/2/2012 5:21 AM by Author "USSCAT" in the forum "RC Jets"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10887363

RE: CJM F-4D Conversion and Build
Ronnie, Thank you , that looks like the cheeks do tilt down, I will try that and see how it compares to the photo. Happy NewYear, BR, Mike
Posted on: 1/1/2012 12:54 PM by Author "USSCAT" in the forum "RC Jets"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10886301

RE: CJM F-4D Conversion and Build
Hi Ronnie, If I tilt the cheeks down then the bottom front end of the cheek will not be in line with the fuse. Do you have the same picture except a bit zoomed out? I wonder if bottom of the cheek is suppose to be in line. BR, Mike
Posted on: 1/1/2012 12:42 PM by Author "USSCAT" in the forum "RC Jets"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10886285

RE: CJM F-4D Conversion and Build
I built the intake cheeks a while ago per plan and video instructions which are very detailed (sorry no build picture). I am dry fitting them in the fuse and am concerned that there may be a problem with alignment. If you look at pictures 1,2 & 3, the tip of the white intake sites above the line where the canopy would sit on. I do not have the canopy frame yet, need to order one, but just looking ahead, do you guys think that it is sitting too high?
Posted on: 1/1/2012 11:40 AM by Author "USSCAT" in the forum "RC Jets"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10886205

RE: CJM F-4D Conversion and Build
Going back to the rudder and vertical fin, I taped the parts to the fuse to check for fit, once done, I lined up the vertical fin and rudder with a gap of 1/64 between the top of the rudder and the fin and scribe lines for the counter weight. the section was cut, sanded and caped with 1/64 ply. I am sure there will be a little bit more fitting/sanding that will be done later. There is gap under the rudder and the fuse for a aluminium tube per plan which I believe is the fuel dump. My plastic model shows that detail also. I will have to work on that as one of the last steps after everything is finalized and dry fitted.
Posted on: 1/1/2012 11:31 AM by Author "USSCAT" in the forum "RC Jets"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10886193

RE: CJM F-4D Conversion and Build
I have been working in the shop basically looking for parts that are missing. I am missing the stab hardware which I will have to order from Bruce at CJM unless I change the design similar to JL or BVM, have not decided yet. The other part that is missing is the rear parachute door, the gremlins must be living in my shop [:D][:D][:@][:@]. The door is not a problem, easy to remake, I basically made a balsa structure close enough to the profile and used Great Stuff to fill and sand. Once everything lined up, the foam structure was covered with Epoxy/Microballoon mixture and sanded to final shape. Rather than making a mold, I used the piece as a plug and covered with several layer of cloth and saturated with epoxy. Used a nonstick stretchable material and taped it up. Once cured, I made another batch of epoxy/microballoon and applied a top layer, I did not thicken it as much as I normally do so that the epoxy would somewhat self level itself, once cured, a little bit more sanding and now I have the door.
Posted on: 1/1/2012 11:19 AM by Author "USSCAT" in the forum "RC Jets"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10886172

RE: Canopy Help
Hey Shawn, I got a tip from someone here, use future floor wax, I looked long and hard since it is not sold under that name. I found a bottle of Pledge with Future shine at Walmart. I just had to use that on my F-4 Canopy. take the canopy and the wax to your sink and basically hose your canopy down and let it stand and dry. set it such that the excess solution will run out. My canopy was not installed in a frame so it is a lot easier to deal with it. If the canopy is in a frame, then I recommend pouring the solution in the affected area and then use a syringe to suck the excess off. Best Regards, Mike
Posted on: 12/29/2011 8:56 PM by Author "USSCAT" in the forum "RC Jets"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10882341

RE: CJM F-4D Conversion and Build
Found a video on YouTube describing the F-4 control surface movements, it is pretty cool. Thought F-4 fans would enjoy. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EXsTlmokAlQ&feature=player_embedded Best Regards, Mike
Posted on: 12/28/2011 8:40 PM by Author "USSCAT" in the forum "RC Jets"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10880623

RE: CJM F-4D Conversion and Build
Got the wings done, pockets filled and sanded. I will come back to the wing later. I am now working the Vertical fin and rudder. The vertical fin was some what done by previous owner all I had to do was to sand it down and form it. Next thing was to build up the rudder which uses ribs and sheeting to make a pretty strong but light structure. I have been looking at John Redmann's BVM F-4 build and got some pointers from him which I will share with you. The rudder control rod in BVM F-4 is different to what is provided with this kit, but since I am converting it to turbine, I would like to put a little beefier mechanism, if I was going DF, I would follow the plans. So what BVM does is to run the control rod under the rudder about a 1/3 way down and up in to the bottom side. It is pretty slick and scale looking. So what I did was to cut 1/4" from the bottom of the rudder (balsa) and replaced it with 1/4" thick plywood. I sheet the rudder after the modification. Once I make the control rod and the Mods, I will post a few more pictures.Here are a few pictures showing the progress so far.
Posted on: 12/26/2011 9:44 PM by Author "USSCAT" in the forum "RC Jets"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10877523

RE: BVM F-4 build
Good morning John, Wow, great pictures, thank you. This is somewhat similar to what JL uses for their stab, except they use machined aluminum parts. so one thing I am wondering about, there must be a gap between the block that connects the two stabs and the fuse (top and bottom), how does the gap get covered during flight, is there some sort of cover that attaches to each outer side of the fuse? Best Regards, Mike
Posted on: 12/26/2011 7:18 AM by Author "USSCAT" in the forum "RC Jets"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10876529

RE: BVM F-4 build
Hi John, Thank you for the detail photos. Is the vertical fin removable on BVM Jets? whenever you get a chance, can you post the stab hardware? I am curious as how the BVM jets are setup. I have some details from JL F-4 , thanks to Country Boy and Split S. I have misplaced the Stab hardware and am in the process of placing an order with my friend Bruce at CJM. Best Regards, Mike
Posted on: 12/25/2011 9:19 PM by Author "USSCAT" in the forum "RC Jets"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10876199

RE: BVM F-4 build
Hi John, I am working on my stab and rudder. I am curious as to how BVM rudder is actuated? and how the metal arm/rod is attached to the rudder? Best Regards, Mike
Posted on: 12/25/2011 12:13 PM by Author "USSCAT" in the forum "RC Jets"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10875741

RE: BVM F-4 build
Hey John, Nice thread, I am watching your build closely as I am building a CJM F-4D and taking a lot of information for my build/conversion. Any way, I was looking at my F-4D plastic model and it has the vents, the horizontal plate is just a bit lower. I also have a tale from BVM F-4 used to belong to Patrick Frost, he lost his F-4 a while ago. Here is some close up photos. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all. Best Regards, Mike
Posted on: 12/24/2011 1:15 PM by Author "USSCAT" in the forum "RC Jets"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10874787

RE: CJM F-4D Conversion and Build
As mentioned before, I had to cut the outboard wing from the wing to correct the alignment. I removed the 5 inch brace on the front end, as you can see from the photo that is not red paint on the leading edge, I stabbed my hand while using an exacto saw blade to cut the brace loose...ouch ouch [:@] [:@] Needless to say that was not pleasant. I used a 10" band saw to slice and separate the two with a little more hand-sawing. first picture is the misalignment , the rest are the corrected alignment.
Posted on: 12/19/2011 5:18 PM by Author "USSCAT" in the forum "RC Jets"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10867230

RE: CJM F-4D Conversion and Build
Ron, Thankyou for your comment. I am not a fast builder, with work, Kids, Wife and a mortgage, oh well you do what you can[:D][:D] quick update, I attached the the outboard wing to the main, the leading edge of the main ended up a bit lower than the outboard wing. I lookup John Reddman's BVM F-4 Build and I am affraid, I will have to cut the wing a part and reinstall. I will post photos later tonight.
Posted on: 12/19/2011 1:04 PM by Author "USSCAT" in the forum "RC Jets"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10866840

RE: CJM F-4D Conversion and Build
I just checked the right wing and it seems to be ok, there must have been a small difference between the two outboard foam cores. I butted them together and the left one is bit thicker in the center section, which could have been caused by not having enough pressure on when I put the skins on[:@][:@]. I will line up the leading and trailing edge, glue and sand the center section in to submission [:D][:D][:D] then fill in for a nice transition. The plans don't call for it, but I am thinking about laying a piece of carbon to strengthen this joint, top and bottom prior to glassing. By the way, I plan to add panel lines to the wing and the fuse. I know of a way to use thin marking tape and use paint to build the surfaces and them remove the tape. I f anyone is got a better way, I am all ears. Best Regards, Mike
Posted on: 12/18/2011 9:31 AM by Author "USSCAT" in the forum "RC Jets"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10865002

RE: CJM F-4D Conversion and Build
Mario, Wow, never seen that close of a detail, thank you. so that is the leading slats in extend position, do you have a photo of it that is not extended? or were you referring to what looks to be some sort of grid work??
Posted on: 12/18/2011 9:11 AM by Author "USSCAT" in the forum "RC Jets"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10864974

RE: CJM F-4D Conversion and Build
Hi Mario, No not easily and maintaining the same thickness the whole length. There is a 1/8 ply doubler that is installed on the trailing edge of the wing between the Aileron/flap and the main wing which extends in to the outer board wing. Best Regards, Mike
Posted on: 12/18/2011 9:03 AM by Author "USSCAT" in the forum "RC Jets"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10864955

RE: CJM F-4D Conversion and Build
Ok, here is my problem, when I line up the leading and trailing edge, the center area of the outboard wing sticks up about 1/8. and when I let it rest on the wing foam casing, the leading edge of the outboard drops by about 1/8 also. one thing that I have done wrong was to cap the main wing with 1/8 balsa, the instructions says to use 1/16 balsa, however, I do not believe that could be causing the problem. I will contact Bruce at CJM, those guys are real good about helping with build issues.
Posted on: 12/18/2011 8:49 AM by Author "USSCAT" in the forum "RC Jets"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10864936