Alex48

Rear fuselage section is complete. Firstly thanks to Julian who's made up four good quality extensions for the thermocouple, RPM and burner looms to the ECU's. They been tested for temperature reading differences and voltage drops all of which were deemed to be within limits...

I wasn't going to paint the aft section but couldn't resist, so its had a very light coat of grey, I did weigh it before and after and the difference in weight was negligible. All the wiring has been kept as separate as possible. Ive also installed guide tubes for bolts to the pod that you get at from underneath the fuz. As amusing as it would have been watching Ali trying to get the bolts in I think he would have ended up a little pissed off with me so I caved and put the guide tubes in...

EZairs for the wings have been installed and all air tubing had been replaced with the BVM stuff.

Alex48

Electrics are being driven by two hard cased 5A Lipos with two 4.4A Lipos on the ECU's, positioned as far forward as I can get them. PB Royal with two AR12000's, I've run all the essential systems through the PB with just the ancillary stuff being connected directly to the Receivers. The forward hatch houses the receiver batteries charge ports, GSU connections, switch and LCD display. The aft hatch will have all the fill valves and the two manual fuel shutoffs... It gets very busy with wiring down the front end so neatness is essential otherwise it becomes a real headache...

Alex48

Air systems are all plumbed in......one Airpower pro valve looks after the gear, doors and brakes. The canopy is controlled by two dual action valves and a sequencer, one for the main ram and one for the two locking rams.

Suppose I better get back to it, next is the tray for the turbine ancillary equipment. Lots of little bits and bobs to do on the main fuz but hoping this will all be done before the decals arrive so I can set the radio up and start turning a toy into a battered old Hog

schroedm

My Feedback: (1)

Alex,

Looking good. How is all the prepainted nomenclature? Usual spelling mistakes or all OK? Any classics like an "Erection Seat" that was once adorning a FlyEagle F15 I saw?......

I'm thinking with the little time I have and even less so with #2 arriving soon I'll go for one of these rather than the loooong drawn out process of finishing the Mibo. Size-wise it's close enough to be OK. If the SM was any smaller I'd stick with the Mibo.

There would, of course, need to be a bit of work transforming this from an ARTF to something a little more special as it seems you will be doing!

Rgds,
Mark

Alex48

Hi Mark

There is the odd spelling mistake [:@] and some of the NO STEPS are a little wonky... I'd always advise on any of these sorts of models to get the the airframe painted with no decals added. Ralle now does some great quality dry rubs that go on quickly and easily which is a far better route to go IMO.

You welcome to come up and have look if your going to order one......I'll even give you a build quote

It's quicker to build than a MIBO for sure but there's still a load of work involved in this.....

Cheers, Alex

schroedm

My Feedback: (1)

Re decals - That was my thinking!

snobird

My Feedback: (36)

I have the new JC 100's coming and the GSU is very small can be installed in the plane. I think ? also has a data screen right on board ( for each engine ) single fuel line and power cable..real neat

schroedm

My Feedback: (1)

I was think P100s, then maybe 120s and then I see that Likai uses 2 x Rhinos at 36lbs each?

I'd like to go P100 as they're funky and new but with all the pylons and ordnance (which John @ SM tells me is almost finished) I fear I may be a little under spec grunt-wise for my liking. 4L of fuel on each engine will allow you to fly all day tho

M

Alex48

Hi Mark

The key with this model is keep it light at the back end! I dread to think the amount of nose weight required with two Rhinos [X(]

This is why we went with the Merlins...........having seen the turbines and how the weight is panning out I think it's a great decision Ali made...

I think the 100's would be good and you may even get it below 20kg with the ordnance... Its going to be at least 1:1 power wise.

Cheers

gonzalom

My Feedback: (1)

Mark, I was all about P100 but now I am thinking about P120 for the SM A10 as I would like to have the ordinance and turbo fans.
Alex would be nice later to know how much weight you need to add on the nose for the Merlins to balance? And the dry weight of the A10.
Alex any reason why you didn't choose the powerbow royal with the integrated spectrum rec?

Thanks for all the info.

Gonzalo

schroedm

My Feedback: (1)

Yeah, I'm thinking 120 now.

The 120 is the same weight as the Cheetah 140 so I'll wait and see what Alex needs to balance Al's

Cheers
Mark

Alex48

No worries guys I'll detail all the weights when I get to it...

The reason we have used a Royal RSS is that in the UK if a model is over 20kg it has to go through an inspection and flight testing with the CAA which is run through the LMA. The LMA do not recognize the integrated spectrum unit as two separate redundant systems so to keep the model legal if it does get over 20kg we need an RSS system which would fit within the UK regulations. There are arguments for and against this but whatever our thoughts we have to stick with the rules....

Alex48

the JC is 3lbs and the 120SX 3.1lbs, you've already increased the weight at the back by half a pound over the Merlins which push out a combined 63lbs of thrust. If you go with 100's you save a massive 1.5lbs of weight that's stuck right at the back of the aircraft. My point being is the amount of nose weight is going to go up considerably when using a heavier turbine. Don't get me wrong the model will take the weight but if your looking to make it as light as possible go with a very light turbine as the weight gains will be exponential (well nearly) the larger the turbine you fit due to the moments involved.

1ricardo

My Feedback: (25)

How may pouds of thrsut the cheetah has?

Alex48

31lbs

scottkieper

My Feedback: (10)

boy i hope my p80 se will be ok?????????????????????????????????????????

Alex48

P80s will be fine Scott, I'm just trying my best to keep the weight down although I think it's a little optimistic to get it below 20kg but we shall see...

Ali

My Feedback: (5)

Wow.. That looks like its coming along well.
I got to see an A-10 ( in the same scheme ) up close and personal when I was at Florida jets last week. I have to say that I was very pleased with how it looked, and what it weighed. Still no way of getting it below 20 Kg without leaving important things such as Pylons, ordinance and turbofans off. To me they are essentials.
Thanks for the extra attention in the build Alex. As with the rest of your build.. its much appreciated
I am back in the office now, so will fire off the other parts that you need.
LOL A-10's are like buses.. I dont have one for what seems like ages, then all of a sudden two come along at once. I have just done a deal which sees me obtaining another Mibo example. The owner, wanting to switch to a Skymaster example as this was the only way he might have one flyable this season..
Regards Al

schroedm

My Feedback: (1)

At only 22cm less span, seemingly lighter for its size, with all the additional surface detail I was going to add to my Mibo and the fans etc I'm gambling it'll be worth the swap. Well it better bloody be worth it or we'll be doing another deal swapping back LOL

M

Alex48

Sounds good, when you swap it back maybe I can have your SM one on the cheap then

I reckon to do everything I've done on this including all the repairs [:@] it will be close to 190 hours of work. Its a great kit Mark, one of the best I've built from SM but to get it to your standards you will have to put a few more hours in than a stock build...

No problem a pleasure as always........can you chuck a load of clear 4mm and 3mm tubing in that packet please as this model has eaten all of mine, its a long old run from the pump to turbine....

Cheers

schroedm

My Feedback: (1)

I'm happy to do that. With work and child 2 due in 3 weeks just the paintjob on the Mibo would take about 190hrs if you consider all the ordnance and rubbing back!! The SM has the fans too (5000USD to get them for the Mibo) and the decelerons (more money), scale flap mechanism etc plus some more accurate rivet details etc etc. I think I made the right decision for me! Plus, you know me - so it won't quite be stock anyway!!

Oh, and I still have the Tutor, AW MB339, Tomahawk Hawk and Futura to finish so speeding one along seemed a good idea

Alex48

Good luck with the little one! I'm still recovering from our second who's seven months but still manage to build all these toys, admittidley mainly between the hours of 2200-0300 but its doable...

snobird

My Feedback: (36)

Alex, looks like the JC 100 comes in at 2.3lbs and 22.5 pounds of push !! can't wait

Alex48

Turbine tray is now complete with all the wiring squared away, can't seem to upload photos at the moment so will try again this evening. I need to paint the forward hatch plate the same grey as the fuz so it blends in nicely when you lift the hatch and make the aft hatch plate for the manual taps and fill valves. Just need the decals for the gear and the new pipes then this will be in a state ready to fly. Still waiting on the pylons and turbo fans, oh yeah need to give the airframe a paint wash and some airbrush work too...

Ali

My Feedback: (5)

Hi Alex.
Is there any chance you can paint the inner lip of the front hatch to match the exterior paint? it looks a bit too in your face in white.
Regards Al

The parts order for the A-10 will be going out in the post today.