bob1393

My Feedback: (10)

Hi John, glad you got your kit. You're right - the packaging is really amazing. You'll also find the quality of the wood and the quality of the machined pieces to be superb.


Bob

Wayne22

My Feedback: (2)

oh, okay, the original 600 doesn't have the inner exhaust cone, maybe that was the cause. None of the other exposed engines seemed to be quite that loud..

That "Tharpe" scheme is beautiful !!!!

TommyWatson

My Feedback: (1)

What is the thrust of a P70?, I have a Wren Supersport in mine and it is said to have 18 pounds thrust. My Reaction weighs just over 20 pounds. I have great vertical performance. I have not yet put into a full power dive, but it seems very fast to me.

How much does a P70 reaction weigh and how fast??

Regards

JohnVH

My Feedback: (38)

the p70 is around 18lbs too..

Few little things that are confusing at first putting together the wing sub assemblies.. but so far no problems Just wish I had more time.

JohnVH

My Feedback: (38)

ok, half a wing done

bob1393

My Feedback: (10)

That's great John - sounds like youi're moving right along. No questions yet?

Bob

JohnVH

My Feedback: (38)

yeah, did some head scratching.. then looked over the plans.. thought some more, then figured it out... if you look all over all the plans, youll find what your looking for... Im a flyer not a builder, but this bird will be together quick.. it will take longer to save for the turbine install kit and radio gear than it will for me to build it

bob1393

My Feedback: (10)

Just so you know - there are some mistakes in the plans vs. the instructions. For example, when you build the tail (horizontal stabilizer), I believe
the parts are labeled as 1, 2, and 3. - and the instructions vs. those numbers don't agree. It's fairly easy to figure out though so you shouldn't have a
problem. Just be aware that if something seems amiss, study it carefully and you'll be OK. Sometimes I called Bruce if I wasn't sure. Overall his kits are great
and all the color photos really help. I'm sure you found so far that his parts really fit well.
Hope you can make OLF on Sat.


Bob

JohnVH

My Feedback: (38)

Saturday Ill be busy Bob, sorry I wont be able to make it. But I will catch you there another time.

JohnVH

My Feedback: (38)

second wing sheeted the top this morning... going together FAST

Multimaniac

Hello all!

Just surfed a little on RCU to get some new ideas and found this Reaction 54 discussion! This one seems to be an interesting plane for e.g. the first turbine jet... Therefore I think it would be interesting to copy this design for a selfmade beginner jet !

But there is one thing on the Reaction 54 I don't understand - Why does the turbine thrust line have that gigantic downward angle??? I have also seen this phenomenon on some (but by far not on all!) other sport jets, but I don't understand it there too! Well, the thrust line, in case the turbine is installed parallel to the flight line, is a little above the wing center line which may cause some downward moment when pushing the throttle stick forward. But on most other (scale-)jets there is that moment too, upwards or downwards, and they don't give such a big angle?? How would you explain that??

regards

Chris

Bob.R

My Feedback: (2)

S.W.A.G. - high velocity turbine exhaust creates a relatively lower pressure area under the boom and stabilizer that forces the stabilizer down and pitches the nose up. The downthrust from the turbine creates a nose down pitching moment that counteracts this effect. Twin boomers such as bobcat and kingcat have significant downthrust angles. Maybe Bruce or one of our resident aerodynamicist mythbusters can help out.

BruceTharpe

My Feedback: (1)

Yeah, I think bobber's got it right. Final angle was determined through flight testing. A happy coincidence is that it angles the hot exhaust away from the airframe.

ArtW

Can you include pictures and an explanation of the Super Flying Kings and R54 that are being made for NASA? Would very much like to hear more about them. What aspect of UAV research and development are they working on? What does NASA use the R54 for? A few pictures and an explanation would be great.

Multimaniac

Ok, I can see the point, I never thought about that... many thanks for the short explanation!

In case somebody's Reaction 54 is powered by turbines around 70N to 80N (e.g. JetCat P60 / P70 / P80, Behotec J55 / J66 ) - what is the downward angle about, just to get an idea??

regards

Chris

Bob.R

My Feedback: (2)

Multimaniac - Bruce's kits get rave reviews. Might be better to start your turbine career with a proven design such as the R54 rather than a scratch build. Save that for your second turbine. Just my opinion, for what it is worth.

BruceTharpe

My Feedback: (1)

MM - Downthrust angle is about six or seven degrees referenced to the stabilizer.

ArtW - Good to hear from you! NASA is not using R54s. I am currently building four Super Flyin' Kings, with modifications, for NASA Dryden. The only connection to R54 is that this building project is delaying the release of the next batch of R54 kits. Still looking like Nov or Dec for R54 availability. The four SFKs will not actually be UAVs, they will be used to train UAV pilots. I guess they don't want to use Predators for primary flight training . It has been a lot of work, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel. I plan on posting pics on my website, eventually...

Multimaniac

bobber, I think you are right when saying to begin jet flying with a proven design. The only reason why I am thinking about modyfing or scratching is the one that we have only a small runway at our club's airfield (Well, I have been scratching many models so far, exept the first two of them they all flew well). In fact, I am not yet sure yet if jet flying works there. The with is about 33 feet, length only 360 feet, of which 240 feet hard runway. Unfortunately the farmer plants some sort of 10 feet high sweet corn directly beside the runway year by year - in fact in summer the runway is 240 feet as a maximum!

My actual philosophy is the one that I can only land a jet there when it is possible to make it VERY slow (for a jet) - maybe by adding a bigger wing to a known design to get a smaller wing load and some more drag... but until now, jets are (and maybe will be for some more years) only a thing to think about - til the moment we are able to rent some more land to enlarge the runway or somebody proofes that it is possible to get a jet down there!

regards

Chris

ArtW

Bruce, thanks for the response and would love to see the photos of the NASA UAV's. Do they fly them looking at a video and instruments from the plane or watching them fly, like an RC aircraft?

On the topic of slow landings, there are a number of jets that land slowly. There is a wonderful movie of Ali Machiny (SP?) flying a Baby Boomerang in what looks like his back yard. Not all Jets have to have a mile long run way.

causeitflies

Everyone that sees my R54 fly is amazed at how slow it lands. I tell them its like landing a Kadet Sr.

Multimaniac

O.k, saw the description, statements and videos posted (much) earlyer in this thread - the R54 really seems to be a forgiving and slow flying beginner jet whithout any modifiction! Therefore - why not join the Reaction 54 people!?

regards

Chris

TommyWatson

My Feedback: (1)

I might be a little biased (grin), but I also think it is the best looking Jet trainer/sport jet. Put on a 18 pound thrust Wren supersport and it turns into a real perfromance machine. Almost unlimited vertical perfromance, great aerobatics,and it still has the slow landing of a prop trainer. I was at a jet fly last month and I actualy got a clap for my landings. The Roos and Rookies were landing at their normal high speed and my R54 landed at almost walking pace.

It is still a jet model and you do need to keep ahead of it at full throttle but what a great model.

Regards

Helijet

I have flown A LOT of different turbine powered jets over the years. In my opinion, Bruce's Reaction 54 IS THE BEST all around turbine trainer EVER. I know - strong words but I am closing in on 200 flights, fly it on and off a runway using only about 300 ft ROUTINELY AND do touch and goes until its time fill up again. It has flown in 35 mph winds / 20 mph cross winds - the plane is simply magical!

After its second full season - I can still say....Bruce YOU ARE THE MAN!

Kindest Regards
Dean Wichmann
www.helijet.ca

hoppy99

My Feedback: (2)

Yes the Reaction is a fine plane. Fly it fast, fly it slooow, land it fast, land it slow, it don't matter it just does it ! With the Simjet 1200 at 18# thrust it is surprisingly fast, yet with full flaps and a slight headwind it looks like it is stopped in midair. Too much FUN ! Bruce is the MAN !

John

speedbrake

The R54 is so much fun I bought another one!! The first one was built per Bruce's instructions and it is awesome. The second, under construction, will have all the modifications (F54) mentioned in this thread. And I'm confident the second will fly just as well as the first one. That's the magic of Bruce's design. Oh yeah, Bruce is the man! Bruce, thanks for the wing kit! The partial kit was packed as well as the full kit. Many thanks!

hoppy99....I like the look of the dual wheel nose gear. Looks awesome! Go Air Force.

Keith