Holman Me-109F | IMP Fw-190 A6 | Hobby Lobby P-38 | Me-262 A-1a | Misc. R/C | Contact | Links | R/C models | Home

Builders Report on Airworlds's Me-262 Kit
Updated 09/27/2005

Specs.
Wing Span = 78.75"
Length = 68.9"
For (2) 90mm EDF;
Highly prefabricated kit.

Another plane I've wanted for a long time. Believe it or not, it all started many years ago, when Tom Cook put out a 262 kit for twin ducted fans (IC) in about this same size. At the time, I didn't want the hassle of two IC ducted fans. ICDF were still pretty new. Short plug life led me to believe that this would be an accident waiting to happen. So I waited... by the time ICDF became pretty reliable, the 262 was no longer available. Then, about 2 years ago I come across the Airworld Me-262 for Electric Ducted Fan (EDF). It's beautiful! However, it's costly and performance (at the time) was limited. ROG from grass was not deemed possible. So, I wait...
Now, it's 2004 and things are looking hot. I get interested again, mostly because I really like this plane. I read a couple of threads on the R/C bbs (RCGroups and RCUniverse) suggesting that the latest breed of EDF will make this plane a performer! A little more investigation, a couple of E-mails, some begging to the wife and BINGO, Got one on order. The story of getting the thing here is worth the tail, pull up a chair...

Let's look at June, 2004...
I started sending out e-mails looking for a place to purchase an Airworld 262. The only two options I found were direct from Airworld and Stuart Mackay (in England I believe). Well, Mackay was asking for about $400 more for the kit + shipping. I figured that getting it directly from Airworld would be a cinch. They quoted a shipping price to the nearest international airport, heck, I'll travel the 2 hours to Rochester and pick it up myself. After going through all the wire transfer and everything, I eagerly awaited a phone call. I got the phone call just before the 4th of July, only it was from Lufthansa Cargo... JFK international. This I was not counting on... they wanted to know how I was going to get the kit through customs... hand walk it through myself or via a customs broker. I was at a loss. I didn't know how to handle this. I called a lot of people, UPS, DHL, etc. no one could help me. I finally used google and typed in "customs broker JFK" and found someone that could help me, but at a price. The last thing I wanted to do was drive to JFK (6+ hours) and go through this, so I said "You're Hired". After faxing them everything I had about the contents of the kit and the invoice I was given "the price", including the broker fee, waivers, tax on the import, etc. I was now 100 bucks OVER the cost from Mackay. Damn, and I still needed to pay the fedex shipping charge to get the damn thing from JFK to me. However, once the kit arrived, I was happy. If I was ever to do this again (and if you're going to do this) I would have Airworld pack the kit up, but not ship it. I would have DHL (partners with Lufthansa) pick the kit up at Airworld and they will do everything to get the kit shipped directly to me (they do all the customs stuff). DHL were the nicest people to talk to of all the people I called. As long as they get the box from the beginning, they will do it all. Update 11/22/05. Since this was written, it has come to my attention that Ductedfans.com carries AirWorlds Me-262, and at a decent price (wish they carried this when I bought the kit). Though I have not done business with them, I recommend you contact them first if you're interested in this project.

July 2004
This pretty much gets us to today. I'm not sure you can tell by the pictures but the kit is fantastic (couldn't resist). The glass work/gel coat is excellent. Just a small amount of work on the seams here and there will be all that's needed. The tough decisions coming are... what fan/motor/battery to use and what retracts to choose. For retracts, I like BVM products. I believe that in the US, BVM is the leader in the jet field. Their units are pricey, but very very good. Robart also makes some nice units. I know that they have various retract angles to choose from, and they are a bit cheaper. I've used them before and I might choose them here again. For propulsion, how about a Schuebeler DS51-3PH-DIA. Reading about it gets me all woozy <G>. Motors... Hacker brushless sound very good. ESC I'll worry about a little later. Batteries... are Li-Po's really that expensive? Guess I better start doing a little homework in that area. It sounds like for performance, you can choose no other (especially for flight duration).
Right now, I'm just trying to make room in the shop for this beast. I'll start cutting and gluing in August.

August 2004
I've started looking into the retracts more "in depth". I started with my scale and a 1/48 scale drawing and did some conversions so I now know what the length of the struts needs to be, along with the wheel size. I also have the retract angles. Armed with this information, I think that BVM is out. They really only offer retracts for the kits they manufacture. Robart looks more and more interesting. They have the nose gear (with 100, 105, and 110 degrees of motion) and strut length I need. Main gear is another issue. To get main retracts that accept "scale" struts (not 5/32" or 3/16" music wire) then the retract unit gets "thick". Maybe too thick for the wing. Their other option is to have the retract air cylinder facing outboard. I'm not sure I have that option. I can get the "thin" retracts for 5/32" music wire and then buy some struts that attach to the music wire stub. I've done that before on a few models and it works quite well, but I'd really like to go with a retract that accepts the strut. Spring-air is similarly "thick". What I've got to do is cut away the gear door covers from the wing and take a look around. It's probably one of the first steps in building the 262 anyway, so I might as well get started. The other option I could look at is mechanical retracts.
The other thing I've been working on is some documentation. I know, for a competition model you usually do that first. Well, who said that this was going to be a competition model? <G>. Like I said, I've got a nice 1/48 scale drawing that I'm using for measurements and I've just ordered Experten Decals ED-2A . This is the paint scheme I'm leaning toward.

August 12
I finally started to do a little cutting. I really need to see inside the wing to know what retracts will fit. Plus, I really wanted to feel like I was doing something. I started out thinking that I could cut out the main gear opening with a razor blade. I've got a steady hand, the doors are well marked... what could be the problem. Well, after about 10 minutes of getting no where, out comes the Dremel tool. I have no idea what the outside of this plane is (gel coat??) but's it's pretty hard. The Dremel with a saw attachment made quick enough work of it on the straight cuts. I used a small router bit for the curves. The wing construction is interesting (to me). It appears that the inside of the wing has a layer of fiberglass cloth with a single layer of resin. The wing sheeting looks to be about 1/16". Be careful when you "pry" the door out. On my wing, there was a little extra glue from the gear mounts that leaked to the wing skin (gear door). I had to carefully pry the door away. If you're not careful you'll break the door at this step. The door itself will need a little strengthening (maybe a single layer of carbon fiber mat). So here is what I see...

One of the main gear doors cut out

I've also received the documentation from Experten Decals. Good documentation, but after looking at it, I'm not sure this is the scheme I want. It's hard to explain, but I have a lot of time to think things through <G>. My library has a few books on the 262, some showing great "winter" camo. That would be interesting, if I get enough good documentation.

August 25
I thought I'd let you know where my head is...( that sounds dangerous, doesn't it?) First off, I've settled on a first choice for my retracts. I'd prefer to go with Robart... mostly because they have the proper angle for the nose wheel retract with shock absorbing struts. The main gear however will not have the scale "inward cant" (similar to the 190). This "cant" is not as pronounced as on the 190 so I'm not as worried about this. The nose wheel just has to rake forward though! The only issue I might have with the robart main gear is how deep it is. I've only got 15/16" from the face of the mounting rails to the top wing skin. Looking at the robart drawings... it looks like it might fit. I'll be calling them to get a precise measurement before I order. Regardless, they will supply my nose gear. Spring-air is the backup for the mains. I'd have to go with a 90 degree unit that has a 3/16" strut. I'd cut the strut off to a stub and attach a shock absorbing strut (probably Robart again) to the stub. I've done this a few times before, and I've been quite happy with the results. This 262 just begs for a better solution though. We'll see how the phone call to Robart goes. While I'm talking about shock absorbing struts... Robart's are nice, but I wish I had a second choice (from a cost perspective). Although I might be inclined to stay with Robart on the 262, on other models I've built, a simpler and cheaper alternative might be fine. Case in point is my 109. I used spring air retracts with a "bolt on" strut from Eurokit. Much less expensive (at the time) and well made. However, I can no longer find an importer for these units. Shame.
Radio, I'll be using my Hitec Eclipse. I've been looking at servos, and hitec has a nice slim "aileron" servo that might be nice to use throughout the plane (except retracts). It's the HS215. They also have a digital version, the HS5125. I've been dying to try some digital servos, and use the programming ability, but I think in this case that would be overkill. I will not need to adjust speeds or anything, so a regular servo should be fine.
The motor/fan combination I've already mentioned. I've got price quotes from hacker, but I will probably not order for a while (same for the fan). I'd rather get the servos and retracts in first, since I think they will be needed earlier in the build process. The motors and fans can wait until closer to Christmas (at the rate I build). Besides, just think how nice they would look under the Christmas tree.
As for building pace, I don't expect this project to really get started until late September or October. I'm just too busy at work, and with summer activities with the kids. I'd like to get the P-38 finished first, if I can stand the wait. It should be possible to finish both this winter, if I can keep focused.

September 10
Getting close to actually doing something now. I think about this plane a lot. I've put together my order for the retracts. Going through it one more time before I order to make sure I'm getting what I want. I've also started planning some of the work on the fuselage. One of my nose wheel mount rails is really warped, so I'm getting that straight now. I also have to do some trimming on the wing hold down mount.

October 5
After an agonizing review, I've finally order the main retracts for the Me-262. Over the past 3 weeks... every time I've been ready to order the gear I'd make one last check of the measurements and then delay the order while I look for "a better fit". I've finally reached the conclusion that there is no better fit. The problem is that the wing is quite narrow (clearance from the retract mounting rails to the top wing skin is 1" MAX.) and most gear that will fix in this opening retract away from the air cylinder. Those will not work in this wing. So the gear that retract over the air cylinder are a bit too long (overall measurement of the retract, not the strut length). I can make them fit, but I really don't want to hack into the existing structure (or at least minimize the hacking). So Towerhobbies had the robart mains at a reasonable price and I bought a pair. We'll see how they look. I also bought a Hitec HS215 servo so I'll have one to play with.

October 7
Score... Robart 1, Towerhobbies 0. I should not be so cruel. My order from Tower arrived and a quick check of the main retracts shows that they will indeed fit, and it's a better fit than I anticipated. I should not have to do nearly as much hacking as I feared. The units look plenty strong too. The little Hitec HS215 that I ordered "as a test" is just too cute. I'll have no problem fitting them into the wing (ailerons) and the tail (elevators and rudder) plus they have more torque than the recommended HS81s'! As for the last item on my tower order (Robart struts), well, instead I found 2 hobby knives. Also a useful item, but hardly interchangeable. The packing slip showed the correct item, it just didn't make it into the box. They will be returned.

October 11
I've test fitted the main retract and it went in with very little cutting. Probably less than 2 minutes with the dremel (not all at once). I see no interference problem so I'll be cutting the other gear cover out soon. The instructions call for the rear wing hold down plate to be warped to fit the angle of the rear fuselage. This is hard to put into words so I'll add a picture. I very quickly did this over a kettle of steaming water.

November 10
Not a lot has been happening here. I've been trying to get the P-38 ready to paint. Once I've got there, I'll get the Me-262 going faster. I do have the robart main struts in and they fit well. May not even need to be shortened.

Landing gear rough fit. Wing mounting plate warped to fit back of fuselage.

December 1
Focus will now be on completing this project, now that the P-38 is about ready for primer. I've installed the wing mount bulkhead (for the dowels) in the fuselage. I've also installed the mounting plate for the wing hold down bolts. I've noticed one "issue". Where the bottom of the wing meets the bottom of the fuselage (forward part of the wing) there is a "step" of about 3/16". The transition from fuselage to wing is not smooth, the wing actually hangs down below the fuselage. If I now look at the pictures in the old "Jet International" magazine (which ran a construction article) I think I can see the same issue there. It's cosmetic, and I doubt it will hurt anything but it's annoying. It would be easy to fix with a little filler (OK a moderate amount of filler), but I'll hold that for last. When I've got the wing mounted I'll grab a picture of it. Other than that, it's the best fitting wing I've ever seen in an "ARF" kit (if you consider this an ARF). The wing to wing saddle fit is great.

December 17
Before I forget, I'm updating the "issues" table below. I forgot that the kit came w/NO instructions (although it did have a CD with some images). There was not even a drawing that showed the CG location. Thank goodness for the internet! I also found a slight issue with the landing gear mounts. But... on with the show! Below you will see a fresh picture of the 262 with the wing mounted and the tail in place. I've installed the dowels for the front of the wing, along with the bulkhead/receptacle in the front of the fuselage. After drilling the wing for the dowels, I noticed that there was nothing in the front of the wing to "hold" the dowels in place. Nothing to glue to, so the speak. If I made the dowels long enough, they could butt glue to the main wing spar (composite spar) . I was afraid that this would just not be enough, so I took a can of the expandable foam that you can buy at any hardware store and sprayed a little behind each hole. Just enough so that when it expanded and cured, I would have a 3-4 inch blob to glue to. Worked like a charm. With that done I glued some additional hardwood to the wing bolt mounting plate (for additional tapping surface). While that dried I started looking into the divots that mark the locations of the horizontal stabilizer tubes. I used a grinder/sanding bit in the dremel tool and in no time I had the holes opened up, some temporary dowels in place (they supply aluminum tubes for this, but I'm undersized right now and using dowels to get things aligned), and the tail on!! I aligned the wing, drilled and tapped, and you get the picture below !! This plane really can be built fast. Since this picture was taken, I've messed around with an aileron servo mount and I've installed some stiffeners for the nacelle attachment. I've also cut out the second main gear doors and test fit the other main gear.

December 28
Christmas gave me two more HS215 servos and a robart nose gear. I've done some tinkering with the nose gear and it's mounting supports. My biggest concern in this area is where to mount the steering servo. I think I can mount it inverted right behind the nose gear and the strut will clear it when retracted. The cables should be short enough that they will not get "tied up" when the gear moves up and down. The last thing I want is to have the steering cables cause the nose wheel to hang up while retracted. I've drilled some pilot holes for the left nacelle mounting bolts, just to get a feel for how difficult alignment will be. Once I'm clear on the nose gear I'll grab another picture.

January 11, 2005
I've been concentrating on the nose wheel retract mount for the last few days. It appears that the existing mount (specifically, the angles that the mounting plate reside at) are not going to work with the 558RS unit. I had two options... first I could replace the unit with a 440RS unit (which is about the same thing, but it retracts away from the cylinder, or I could change the mounts. The problem I ran into was two fold. First, in the extended position, the nose wheel was way too far forward. Second, when retracted the wheel didn't get all the way up into the wheel well. I wrote to Robart, and they would exchange the unit, if I had the original receipt (which I don't, as I got this as a gift). So, I go with option 2. Besides, won't it be more fun to make my own mounts? I made a quick and dirty template from 1/16 balsa and then used a bandsaw to create the genuine article. It looks like it will work well, but I need to add some reinforcements to some areas. I'll include a picture once I get something "interesting looking". It should soon be sitting on it's legs!!
I've also written to Shredair about purchasing two Schübeler DIA-51 fans. I'm currently on the waiting list (order due in February). <fingers crossed>. Now... to place an order with HackerUSA.

January 14
Work continues.... and the next issue arises. On the plus side, it appears that I mocked up the nose wheel mounts correctly. When I test fitted the unit in the nose everything looked good (from a strut angle aspect). So, gear down the nose strut looks right. Gear up it looks like the nose wheel will now rest entirely inside the fuselage. I set the plane up on its gear and tried to figure out how long the nose strut should be to give me the proper stance on the ground AND not interfere with the fuselage when it retracts. It looked like if the strut was about 7 - 7.25 inches it would be good. This also was about the right length if I just scaled it off a 1/48 scale drawing. So I took the plunge and shortened the strut. Now... the documentation that is available on Robarts web site says you can shorten the strut by 2.5 inches. I was cutting off about 2.25. When I was done I saw that what appeared to be a nylon insert in the strut (that the spring rests against) only 1/4 inch deeper into the strut. This does not give me much room to install the reducer in the strut (to accept the wire stub). If I took off the full 2.5 inches I would have been right against this insert. I'm not sure if I'm supposed to remove the nylon insert and replace it with my reducer or if the drawings are just wrong. If that was not enough, because of the location of the pivot point of the retract, during retraction my wheel will hit the fuselage and NOT retract into the fuselage. That was my fault, I should have sketched this out first, then I would have caught it. I don't want a shorter strut because that will make the plane sit with a nose down attitude on the ground. I hate that!! I've seen a few pictures of AirWorlds 262 sitting on the ground with just that attitude. I think most modelers just admit defeat and use the shorter strut length. I just can't do that. So... I'll do a bit more work on this, sketch it out and make it look right. Then I'll lengthen the wheel well if necessary to get things cleaned up when in the air. I'll also order a new strut if necessary. While I work this out, I'll put together the mounting unit (all the plywood parts) and get it installed in the plane. I'm adding some triangular stock to the mounting rails to add some strength. I've got one side done and the second side will be done tonight. Then I'll add a picture.

January 22
I've installed the nose gear. I added some triangular stock where the support rails meet the bottom of the fuselage, to increase the gluing area. I also added some triangular stock to the top of the rails so I can install a battery tray there. There is a picture below. You will also see the first image of the plane sitting on it's feet. Not bad. The picture shows the plane sitting on 4 inch main wheels and a 3 1/4 inch nose wheel. I think I'll go with a 3 1/2 in nose wheel, just to get the nose a bit higher. This will mean lengthening the wheel bay cut-out by about one inch. I'm thinking that the next step is to get the nacelles mounted.

January 27
I called Hacker Brushless yesterday and ordered a pair of B50-13XL-DD motors with C50 rotors and a pair of 77-O controllers. I should receive them in early February. Since the fans are due in late February, I'm hoping that in early March I'll have the power units ready to install. So that gives me what... 5-6 weeks to get the rest of the plane ready. I'll bet that everyone thinks that is plenty of time (and I'd agree under normal circumstances). However, for me, that will no doubt be close, since I only get an hour or two to work on it a week. I'll still try to get the nacelles mounted this week (or weekend). Then I'll work on the servo mounts and LG door mounting.

February 1
I took the wing and nacelles over to my fathers last Friday to get them aligned and have the mounting holes drilled. Two sets of eyes and hands make this a much more manageable job. This could be considered a tough job, or an easy one... depending on your point of view and "need for accuracy". You would think that getting the thrust devises (nacelles) for an airplane properly aligned would be considered important. I'd agree with that, but with a kit that has this level of fabrication already complete, it kind of locks you in. To make it look right, you would need to align the nacelles with the built in "fairings". It was not quite that easy. We looked it over... looking for some way to "check diagonals". You can't rely on the panel lines, or you shouldn't. Not much on the nacelles has a corner or notch as a good reference to hit with a tape measure. We really ended up eyeballing it, noting that the right nacelle "saddle" was a bit longer than the left side. Also, the left nacelle measures a bit closer to the aileron on the left side. When all was said and done, things were within an eighth of an inch (more like a sixteenth). That will have to do. Pilot holes were drilled for now. I've got the hardware in place for everything so I'll get them set this week. I've also decided to keep the rudder servo in the fuselage at the rear of the wing opening. Plans call for it being mounted in the tail, but I see that as becoming a hassle to get mounted.

February 8
I've put together some nice servo mounts for the aileron servos. Everything installed and working fine. I'll add an image of that area soon. In order to properly secure the control horn in the aileron you need to add a filler block. I'll have to do the same to the tail surfaces. I've been playing with a design to operate the gear doors. I think it's kind of novel, at least I've never seen anyone else do it this way before. If it works, I'll include some drawings here. I've also started looking at paint. It seems that I keep losing all my favorite paint suppliers. Cheveron's "perfect paint" is starting to disappear.

February 16
Let's see, first things first. I mocked up the design for a gear door "operator". Good news is it worked as I expected (quite well) however, I decided against using it on the main gear doors. I might try a version of it on the larger nose gear door. Chances are it would work fine all around but I want this to be bulletproof so I'm taking a different route for the main gear "clam doors". They will operate off a separate servo and an EMS - Jomar "gear and door sequencer". I've never tried one of these before, but I like the thought of a timed sequence for two servos (one for the air operated gear, one for the doors). I've tried the ultra-precision sequencers before, with limited success. So, I ordered one from EMS (along with a servo reversing "Y") and low and behold... 4 days later they were in my hands. Great service EMS. I think when this is all over I'm going to list all the suppliers and score them on things like quality and delivery.
I've also spent some time on the front nose gear door (small). There was not enough room for a standard hinge (or the kind that swing out, like sonictronic or BVM sell, so, after some trial and error, I came up with this design... I thought it was pretty neat. It swings the door forward and in slightly as it opens, getting it out of the way of the strut and steering. This is somewhat similar to the real deal. Works like a charm. I'll probably pull it out and clean things up a bit, then reinstall. Last problem with this is... how do I operate it? Do I somehow connect it to the strut, or spring load it? I'd like to spring load it closed and let the strut push it open. I'll keep you posted.

My last item is with the part supplier issue... I ordered the motors and controllers from Hackerbrushlessusa in late January (the 26th). They stated they would have the parts by the 28th. It's two weeks beyond that now and no news. Granted, they order from Germany and many things can go wrong, but I just get so fed up with missed delivery dates. I'll give them until Friday, then give them a call. Still holding out hope for the Schübeler DIA-51 from Shredair. At least Shredair gave me an unsolicited update on delivery (late Feb). Fingers crossed. If suppliers would just give honest information when they take an order there would be much happiness in the modeling community. So often I read about deliveries being missed by weeks and months. I've been there myself a few times.

February 22
I placed a call to Hackerbrushless to check on the status of my order. It seems that we are now waiting for the controllers, which were due to be delivered on February 18. If that happens, then I should have them in my hands late this week or early next week. I was thinking that I really didn't need the power system (motors/controllers/fans) this early in the project. However, on thinking about it more, the nacelles are ready to be mounted and having the power system would let me do quite a bit in this area. I need to lay things out to avoid "noise" issues (wire routing).
I've been playing with opening up the horizontal stab to mount the elevator servo. Got a surprise there... I thought that each stab had a pair of carbon fiber tubes for mounting each half. Now that I've opened one up, I see that what AirWorld did was mount some dense blue foam with some "kick ass" adhesive and bored that out to accept the mounting tubes. I don't want to say that the foam/adhesive was haphazardly installed, but I found foam where I didn't expect to. There is no way to mount a servo back there (as instructed) without removing some of the foam. So, I did. Didn't seem to weaken the structure any, but it's a little disconcerting. I'll grab a photo to show you.
I've also cut out some 1/64 ply to "line" the wheel well openings.

March 1
I received a couple of packages yesterday. One had a copy of "Zemke's Wolfpack", HC, signed by Zemke and a few others... the other package was from Hackerbrushless. Wow, I've got purple motors!! I also sent in a note to Shredair about the status of the fans. They should be in this week. Just hope I make the cut (I'm on the list but I don't know how many they will get, nor how many are already promissed to others. On the 262 front... making steady progress, but mostly on small items. New servo covers, opening up the horizontal stab for elevator servos, things like that. Almost time for a couple of new photos.

March 14
Work continues... mostly on small items. I put the hinges in place for the main gear inner doors, setup the covers for the aileron and elevator servos. Small items like that. I finally dug out the aluminum tubes used for mounting the horizontal stabs. Up to now I've used some old dowels that were about the right size. Well, here we go again... the tubes are too large for the existing receiver holes in the stab. Didn't I just go through this on the wing mounts for the P-38? I found a drill that is about the right size for the tubes and started reaming the receiver tubes in the stab. It's slow going and I still have a tight fit. Maybe a little more work and I'll have it. I've also played with removing a little of the aluminum, which is even slower. I'm also working in earnest on making the nose wheel gear doors work. I've played a lot with simple mechanical devices to close the doors, working the mechanism off the gear strut. None of them felt right. I've built quite a few planes with working inner gear doors and the only one that seemed to work right was a home brew using two standard rhom air valves and a 180 degree servo. Things like the USP valves, while they seem like the right idea, don't seem to work right when the air cylinders get large. It's like they can't handle the volume of air and trigger too early. For the 262, they might work fine, since the 262 gear has a more normal cylinder size. But I don't want to take a chance. I've already bought a gear door servo sequencer from EMS. Something I've wanted to try for a while now. This device will trigger one servo (for the gear to come up) then (at some later, programmable, time) a second servo will be triggered. In this case, the second servo will operate the gear doors. I've already got the main inner gear doors set for this and now I'm thinking that I'll add another servo to work the nose gear. It might get a bit tricky as the nose wheel well is tight for space. I've also received word from Shred-air that the fans are still not in. Something about the spinners not yet at Schuebeler in Germany. But... getting close. Still... I'm on a waiting list and that makes me nervous. Hope I'm high enough up the list to get a pair.

March 22
I thought I'd give a quick update. I've had to re-think the gear door hinges for the main gear and the long nose gear door. I was originally going to use some offset hinges from sonic-tronic. I had them all installed and ready to go on the main gear. When I installed them on the nose door (the side closing one) I ran into some serious interference issues. I thought that maybe I needed the pivot point to be in a different location, so I quickly ordered some other hinges from BVM. Then, after I calmed down I pulled out some standard piano type hinges that I purchased from Aerotech models a long time ago. They are heavy duty, which would be nice, but I didn't think they would work with the curve that the nose wheel door has. Well, work it did, and quite nicely too. I'll be using them on the main gear doors as well. I also took the stabilizer aluminum tube braces to my fathers and put them on his drill press. I then "turned them down" about 1.5 thousandths. They are now much easier to work with. Things are moving along... Oh, while I was on the BVM site, I also ordered a 3.5 inch nose wheel.

March 29
More gear door issues. I completed the mechanics necessary to get the nose gear doors working. Although it works, and is fairly robust, it has one issue that I don't like. I ended using a couple of 90 degree bell cranks and one of them is very close to the nose gear steering. No interference issue, but I just know that the steering cables will eventually hang up on the bell crank and the nose wheel will not deploy. I can't have that. So I'm now into design number 3, which will use one bell crank that is moved back 1/3 of the way back from the nose gear itself. I think I can make this work and not have the steering cable issue. It may even work better than what I have now. If I had this to do over again, I might have raised the nose wheel retract mount vertically (up) about 3/4 to 1 inch. There is plenty of room for it, and it would place the steering arm up where you have options beyond pull-pull cables. You could probably use a push-push system with the servo in front of the retract. I just read an article in a recent issue of "Jet International" that shows this type of installation. It looked promising. Since I ended up modifying the nose retract mounting anyway (remember I changed the angle that the retract sits at to insure the wheel got all the way up into the well?) I don't think it would be an issue to just keep the angle the same and raise the gear. It might have other benefits as well, like not requiring the door to be lengthened to get a 3.5 inch wheel in the well. It's worth looking at...
Part of getting the nose gear doors working was placing the servo that will operate them. I've never used a servo to link directly to gear doors before. I mentioned earlier that I purchased a door cycler from Jomar. Well, I tested it yesterday and I'm impressed. It allows you to slow the servos (gear AND doors) independently. So I can have the gear servo go normal speed to work the pneumatic valve, but have the door servo move slowly. The only thing you can't do is adjust the timing of when each servo moves. Basically, when you hit the switch to retract the gear, the servo for the valve moves first (normal speed), then after about 5-6 seconds the door servo moves (speed adjustable). When you select gear down, the door servo moves, and once it's completed it's move the gear servo moves (no time delay). This makes sense. You can also set the system up to work with cycling doors (aka a P-51). Like I said, I'm impressed.
Other news... it's been what...one week since I placed an order to BVM? Well, yesterday I received a package from them. Order complete. I probably will not use the hinges I ordered (save them for another project) but the nose wheel looks great. It's interesting, from their website it appeared (to me) that I needed to order the wheel and tire separately. I was wrong, so I got a complete wheel/tire AND a spare tire. Probably will never use it. It's a very nice wheel/tire, more than adequate I'm sure.
Still no fans in the mail. I read that Shred-air is expecting the shipment from Germany this week. I read this at RCGroups.com. Good news is it sounded like there will be enough fans for everyone currently on the waiting list!!
Oh, before I forget. I turned the stab. aluminum tubes down another .5 thousandths. This was really necessary, as the fit was still too tight. Now I've got things ready to mount the stabs.

March 30
Yesterday I installed "design 3" of the nose gear door mechanics. I think I finally got it. It's working great and I think it's robust enough to "keep on ticking". Here is a short video of the doors in operation, utilizing the EMS (jomar) door sequencer. In the video, during one of the scenes, you can see the two servos working. The servo just sitting there will eventually be placed to operate the air valve for the gear. Some of the details are hard (if not impossible) to see, but it still looks cool. Now it's on to the main gear, finish installing the horizontal stabs, get the rudder servo and receiver "holder" in place, and lots of other things too numerous to mention. (still waiting on the fans too).

April 04
Shred-air sent me a note saying the the fans have indeed shipped from Germany, and asked if I was still interested. I said "Hell Yes!". Well, not quite like that, but I let them know that I wanted 2. Might be in this week...
I've installed a pair of hardwood rails in the fuselage, near the back of the wing opening. This will be used to install the rudder servo and to hold the receiver and various other items. I'm not sure where to mount the retract servo (for the air valve). Could mount it near the front, or next to the rudder servo. I ordered a new nose strut from Robart along with a complete air system. I probably could have scarfed together everything I needed but for this project I'd rather have all new. That's it so far...

April 05
Score one for Robart. Right after I updated this page I received my order from them. Quick turnaround (and nice timing). I started playing with the rudder linkage today.

April 06
Another quick note. I'll be going on a little vacation next week, so don't look for updates until after the 15th. I did a little thinking and I decided there is no reason I can't paint this bird before I install the fans. In fact, it might work better that way. Then I don't have to worry about over spray on the fans. So when I get back from vacation I'll place an order for some paint. I'm still hoping that I can get airborne in the month of June. I send an e-mail to Shred-air about my fan order, mostly wondering if they will need a CC number within the next week. I didn't want to lose my place in line if they didn't get a response from me for over a week. Well, Dieter responded that my e-mail was good enough and they would not send my fans to anyone else (since I've been on the list since Dec. 29). That's good news.
I've got the rudder all installed and working. That went pretty well. I also did a final measurement for the nose wheel strut and cut that to fit. I want to tell you... that is not a fun job. Cutting the strut was no problem, but inserting the adapter was a job. I filed off any burs, but I still had to use my vice as a press to get the thing inside the tube. I used a little JB-Weld on the last 1/2 to keep things in place, but the press fit is so tight I'm not sure it was necessary. I was afraid that I would split the tube. Worked out OK though, and it looks good with that BVM nose wheel out front. I think I'll try to get the nose wheel steering done before I leave. Then all that really remains is the retract servo, the blind nuts for the nacelles, installing the horizontal surfaces, and cutting the canopy area out. Then a little paint and install the fans and I'm ready. Let's see.. what am I missing...

April 26
It's been awhile since I updated. Took a week off (vacation), that was nice. I've got the inner gear doors (mains) working now. I'll probably wait on getting the outer doors attached to the struts. I also did a quick try at cutting out the area for the canopy. With a dremel tool, I can cut out one panel in about 3-4 minutes (there are 7 panels). Depending on how careful I am, there will remain a little cleanup after, but it's pretty painless. I've also got the nose wheel steering working. I'll post some details on that a bit later, but I used something innovative (I think) for the steering cables that eliminates any issue with slack cables when in the retracted position. I'll be order paint later this week. I've also received additional e-mail from Shred-air. They are still waiting on the fans, but he was able to give me a final price and payment instructions. Nice thing was, he said "don't send money until I tell you they are here". How many times have you paid for something and not received the item for weeks/months? It's nice to do business with someone that doesn't bill you until the item is ready. By the way, I don't blame Shred-air for the long delivery time. They are at the mercy of Schuebeler, which makes things by hand. No one has mislead me on delivery (although I've heard these rumblings on the internet about the shipment date). It was a longer lead time that I anticipated though, so if you're going to get one of these for a project, contact Shred-air early.
I still need to hook up the retract system, and do final install of the horizontal tail surfaces. The tail might turn out to be the big thing (other than mounting the fans). Strictly from a cosmetic standpoint, there is a gap between the tail and the fuselage. If I decide to fill that gap... well, once you start down that road you can't stop until it's right. I could leave it alone, with roughly a 1/16" gap in some places. Many would do just that.

April 30
Lots happened over the last 4 days. Right after I posted the last update I received an e-mail from ShredAir. The fans were in! They took my shipping address and mailed them out while I was writting them a check. It's so nice to do business with someone that trusts you to send them payment and not wait to get the money in hand prior to shipping. Delivery was fast, in fact I received the fans today! A quick inspection showed them to be of very high quality and very light. I also did a quick test fit, which makes it look like a need to do a little sanding to get them to fit properly. I've got to post some pictures soon. While I'm fitting them I will be pulling all the gear out of the plane in preperation for paint. I've been communicating with Chuck from Warbirdcolors and I ordered paint from him today. I may get this thing in the air by June yet!!

May 2
So, I've tried to test fit the fans, and it's not going to be as easy as I hoped. The fan diameter is a bit larger than the opening for the fan to fit into (the front lip of the nacelle). I sanded the ring on the nacelle as much as I dared, but the fan still won't slide in. It's this >< close... So I'm going to add a layer of glass around the ring that the fan slips into to give me back some strength and allow me to remove more material for the fit. With a little luck this should happen pretty easily.

May 6
I added the extra layer of cloth. I believe it was 2 oz cloth. It was just enough. I ended up removing all the existing "lip" that the fan is supposed to rest inside of. I just kept grinding out the material with a dremel sanding drum. Sand a little and test fit, sand a little and test fit. I now have a nice snug fit. That's been the major bit of work for the last few days. That and painting a P-51 for my father. I ordered a bunch of small parts for the 262 (and P-38) today. Things like hookup wire, connectors, a Whatt meter. I hope the paint arrives soon so I can get started on that next week.

May 10
This will be a short update. I've started adding material (G-10) to the inside of the nacelle as attachment points for screws (for the access panels). That's about it. I'm waiting on paint at this point. However, I wanted to write down some feedback on some orders I made last week. So, last week I placed orders to 4 different companies, Hobby-Lobby, Trinity, CastleCreations, and Cal-Grafx. Mostly heavy wire, connectors, a Whatt meter... little things. The Cal-Grafx order is for decals for my Fathers P-51 and my small electric P-38. All Four rate high for easy access web site ordering. All four have good e-mail order confirmation. CastleCreations and Hobby-Lobby also rate high for order status e-mails. My Hobby-Lobby order has already been received (excellent!!!) although one item is on back order. I'm thinking I should make a small chart of business and rate them for easy access, status, promptness, etc.

May 31
I lost three or four updates for the month of May, which is a real bummer. There were some items about who shipped orders to me in a timely manner, and my preparations for paint. So, can't go back I guess... might as well keep looking forward. I now have paint and I expect to start painting this week. It will be a long process, so don't expect me to finish in a week. I will take regular pictures and movies of the process ! Also, before I forget... Pro-Mark sent me some dry transfers for the 262 and they look great. This is the second time I've used them and they continue to yield a great product. Only took 3 -4 weeks (from my first mail), which is very good considering they warn you of 6 week delivery times during their peak season)

June 2
This will be a short update. I really want to get the painting started this week, but I'm running out of week. I've finally ordered the last items (I think), the batteries. I also ordered a programming box from Hacker, which is on backorder for two weeks. In all honesty Hacker has not impressed me. I've only ordered twice from them and both times I've had to wait. Unfortunately a 3-4 week wait on orders is a bit too typical in this industry, but I'm ranting. Still, Hacker is a great motor so maybe it's worth the wait. One interesting area that I expected to wait for (and didn't have to) was the dry transfers from Pro-Mark. They told me to expect a 3-4 week delivery (after I verified the proof sheet) and I don't think it took two weeks. So, from the first letter I sent them (explaining what I wanted and including a 1/24 scale model decal sheet) to getting the finished dry transfers was less than 4 weeks. In that period of time they sent me a proof sheet, showing what I would get and asking for approval, so there are checks and balances in there to assure a good product. That was nice. I've also sanded the bulkhead that holds the back of the fan unit in place so I've got a nice fit there. I struggle a little with when to mount this stuff. I'd like to have the fans/motors mounted now, but I don't want to get paint on them, and I don't want to mask that area off. I will be safe installing them after paint (everything has been dry fitted), I'm just hoping that I don't scuff the paint too much. Most of the airframe has been lightly sanded in preparation for paint. I'll start by spraying a little RLM 02 in the cockpit area and wheel wells. If I get that done this week I'll be happy.

June 14
Just a couple of images to let you see what I'm trying to do. I'm following the lead from the plastic modelers... highlighting the panel lines first. Next comes the application of the camo scheme (starting with the light blue bottom). If I do this right, it will look cool. If I do it wrong... I'll just cover up all the nice highlights. I'll know more this afternoon.

June 15
I'm hoping that updates will come a little quicker for the next three weeks. I'm trying to paint as often as my schedule allows and I'm shooting for a test flight on July 8th, 9th, or 10th. If I get the paint only partially done (the major portion) then I'll switch gears, reinstall the radio and fans and fly before all the paint is done. I need to at least get the main colors on, just not perhaps the defense checkerboard and other minor adds. The painting can go quick, I just need to keep moving on it. To that end, I painted the bottom of the plane yesterday (RLM 65). This is my first time painting a plane with the Warbirdcolors paint "system". It is different, but I think once I'm used to it I'll be fine. As you can see above, I highlighted the panel lines a few days ago with black. This showed that I needed to be very careful of how heavily I applied the paint. It almost seemed to "bead up" like water off a duck if applied too heavily. I really needed to do multiple light coats, more light than I'm used to. Painted the bottom showed this same "phenomena", but I was ready for it and tried to just fog some paint on for the first few coats. I'm guessing that I applied 6 to 7 coats total, but you really couldn't even see the color until I had 3 coats on. Once I had the 4th coat on I could start applying the paint heavier if I wished. I may actually have applied one too many coats as I covered my panel line highlights totally in a few spots. I'm not worried about that, I can "re-highlight" later in the weathering process if necessary. The bottom of the wing turned out great, the panel line highlight is very subtle. Time will tell. This whole "paint beading" issue might be that I didn't sand the plane enough prior to painted (very likely). I'll know more when I paint a few of my hatches, which have a sanded surface. I also need to test a spot with some tape to make sure I will not pull any paint off when I make off areas later. I'm thinking of making some card stock templates for the camo pattern on the tail, but in some places (like the checker pattern) I will been to tape things off. I'll get a picture of the painting at each stage.

June 21 (note... the paint adhesion issues I talk about in this update are "resolved" in the August 19th entry)
If I were titling these entries, I would call this one "Painting, in which I become reacquainted with an old friend" or "Old friends are not always good". I started adding the RLM83 (dark green) to the top of the airplane. Over the last few builds I've been using a knock off "type 400" detail gun for most of my large painting jobs. I used that gun on the bottom of the 262 with fair results. It's probably a testament to the paint that it flows out so well because in my attempt to learn how to use this paint I've had issues with getting a uniform application (I get paint drops or "speckles"). I was going to use the same detail gun for the top of the wing (in fact I did for 1/2 of the top). I then switched to an old miller detail brush for the top of the fuselage and, despite it's age and "old technology" (it's one of those "cover the airhole with your finger to divert the air stream over the tip of the gun" brushes) it worked great. I really think part of my problem is that I over thinned the paint a little on this one, which added to my "speckles", but the miller did just fine. So, I used that for the rest of the application of RLM 83.

As you can see... it looks pretty good. I applied the paint a bit lighter and the black panel line highlights still show through well, especially on the fuselage. I'm pretty happy so far, although I still have some touch up to do to get the proper mottled look for the fuselage and nacelles. Actually, that's the really good news, the nacelles are good enough that I now feel comfortable in installing the fans. They will only need a little touch up after the fans are installed and the nacelles are attached to the wing.
Now for the "friends can bite" part. I remembered a little too late that sometimes the little miller airbrush "spits", which you can see a little of here.

 

 

 

I can touch this up easy enough, but it still disappointed me. One other issue I've come up against (and expected, the way the paint behaved during application), the paint pulls off with tape. In fact, the paint scratches way too easily. At this time, I'm not blaming the paint. I think it's all in surface preparation. I taped a small section off near the tail, where the checker pattern will be applied and when I pulled the tape off (black electrical tape) 90% of the paint came off too. I've since tested an area with the blue masking tape and that didn't pull any paint off, but... I'm quite certain that I didn't sand the surface enough and that is why I'm experiencing the paint adhesion issue. I've sanded down the bad spot (and will sand a lot more in that area) to accept future paint. Then I'll know if it's the paint or me (I really think it's me).
Next steps are to install the fans and mount the nacelles to the wing. Then I can touch up the wing. Concurrently, I'll be finishing the fuselage (more mottled and some weathering, plus the checker pattern and the tadpole tail pattern. Here is one last image...

 

 

 

 

June 27
Where to begin... I mixed a little RML83 with RLM70 to get a slightly darker green for the tail and some "cover ups" that were done when the group converted from bomber to fighters. I was again frustrated by two events, one that I might be able to solve, but probably not the other. My small Paasche airbrush clogs up quickly when I use this paint. I'm guessing that the pigment is too large but... I'm also contemplating getting a new airbrush just in case my old airbrush is just... too old. My other problem is with tape lifting off the old layers of paint. I alluded to this earlier and I think it's my lack of good preparation. I have a couple of test areas that will tell me more. It's funny, right from the first color laydown I was thinking "this doesn't look right, I should stop now and check this out further". And after every application I've thought the same thing. When will I listen to me?? Anyway, I've gone far enough that I want to get the first flight is with the finish "as is". After that I'll decide whether to remove all the old paint or just keep going. I can avoid most of the tape issues by using template cutouts, but I can't stand not being able to use my little detail airbrush. By the way, I think I know what was wrong with my old miller single action airbrush. If I fix that, I'll be a bit happier.
Off the internet (newgroups) I've learned a bit. The gear mounts need to be reinforced if you're using a grass field (which I am). So I did a little of that this morning. Also, the CG needs to be 1/2 to 1 inch further ahead than shown (so, 5 to 5.5 inches back from the leading edge at the root). Also, expect the plane to over rotate on the first take off (which the further ahead CG will help). I'm trying to mount the fans now so that they can be easily removed, just in case I need to pull them out for the repaint.

June 29
Yesterday I performed a little test... I wanted to run one of my fans, just to get the rotation direction figured out before I start running wire. My test setup was far from professional. In fact, it was probably pretty dangerous, from an equipment safety standpoint. After a couple of false starts, I got one fan to run... backwards the first time. Swapped two wires and I'm all set, so I run it once more. Now, this "run" was only up one notch from "off" on the transmitter but that one notch was big (almost scary). I'm impressed with this fan!! Once that was complete I got some permanent hardware install for the nacelle. I'll get the other nacelle hardware installed next... get the wire runs made, and get the wing all set (hopefully before the 4th).

June 30
Last night I decided to postpone the planned maided flight by one week. Things are just too close for me to feel comfortable comitting to the weekend after the 4th. The reason I need to "plan" this is a very good friend of mine is driving down from NH to video the flight. So I want to give him as much advanced notice as possible. Waiting another week gives me some breathing room.
I did get the second nacelle mounted yesterday. I'll get the fans installed and wired in the next few days (let's say, by the 5th) and then reinstall the rest of the gear.

July 06
The date is set to July 16th. My friend from NH will be coming down and (weather permitting) we will be flying. The 17th is the rain date. Glad I postponed by a week as I never would have been ready this weekend. The Nacelles are ready to mount, so 30 more minutes of time and I'll have then in place. Battery packs are ready. I have a design in my head for a battery "holder". That needs to be made, but it's quick and simple. I ordered a HD receiver battery pack today, for added safety (1800mAh NiCad, remember, I've got 10 servos on this bird).

July 07
One nacelle is mounted, the other should be done later today. Next is the battery tray.

July 08
Both Nacelles are mounted (milestone). Good think I postponed my buddies trip by a week. I have some new ideas on the battery tray, after reading ilike2fly's notes on rcgroups.com. I can be fabricating that while I'm reinstalling the radio. I also have a new airbrush nozzle that I'd like to try (larger size so maybe it won't clog as fast).

July 11
One quick picture. Getting really close... what an exciting week this will be.

July 15
I've had to postpone my first flight. Things just got too busy at work to finish her up. I'm this >< close though. I'll put her on her feet today and get another picture. All that remains is to "test" my battery mount idea prior to gluing it in place and remounting the main landing gear and aileron servos. Oh, I've also got to solder up my power wiring harness for the ESCs.

July 18
This is what I have to date...

July 26
She Flew... officially on July 23rd around 12:08PM...
Weather was about perfect. 80 degrees with low humidity (38%) and very few clouds. The only bad thing was a 10 mph wind, but pretty much down the runway. I didn't mind the wind at all but some thermals passing through would give me some 30-60 second bursts of bumpy, stronger winds. This was the first time I had the plane all together. I've tested the individual "parts" (retracts, radio, fans) but never fully bolted together. So I arrived at the field and assembled things. First check was un-powered range check... no problem. Then run the fans... WOW. Then a power on (fans) range check, no problem. Then I ran the fans at 2/3 power for 2 minutes to check temperatures (batteries and ESCs), no issues but it was difficult to check the ESCs. Double check the CG (about 5 to 5.25 inches back from the LE at the root. I put in 3-4oz of nose weight, just in case. The first flight I will keep the gear down. I pull the batteries and top them off.

While the batteries charge we put a second flight on my fathers’ sterling P-51. Nice plane, but it's sensitive to elevator. I think it needs about 4-6oz of nose weight and reduced elevator throw. Good flight, retracted the gear (first time). Everything was fine. Even in the wind the landing was uneventful.

Charging done, no excuses left. I was not sure I'd make it this far today. I thought for sure something would bite me. I taxi out and throttle up. I'm waiting for something dreadful to happen, or at least a bad over rotation. It was going like the devil so I pulled a little up and off she went. Very uneventful!! There was a little tail wag (dutch roll?) that I don't think you can see in the video, but it looked so real doing that on the climb out. I was throttling back just as I started my first turn. By the time I completed the first 180 I was close to 1/2 throttle. The plane is fast!! I made another 180 and flew up the runway. A little up elevator and left trim would have been nice, but I didn't want to play with anything yet and it wasn't very bad.

Now, I had told everyone that I'd make two circuits and then start trying to land. I wanted to keep the first flight short so I could check temperatures. Well, my knees were knocking so I decided to come in on the second circuit. I was very hot and kept thinking "go around idiot, go around" but I stayed down. A bit of a mistake but this landing showed that my gear can take a little knocking!! (bounced like crazy, the worst thing I could possibly do). I ran into the weeds, but very little damage. The nose gear mounts have a couple of placed that need re-gluing and one main gear mount "feels a little loose". I'll check everything over and fly her again very soon!!! She can easily land much slower than I had her. I kept worrying about getting behind on the power curve... (my first jet, what can I say). Also, as I went to flair, it "felt" like I was running out of elevator, so I think I can pull that 3-4 oz. of nose weight out. I will also increase my elevator throw (from 5/8" up to 3/4")

Now the tough decision... do I strip her and re-finish or just try to finish with what I have?

Video here

August 08
Three more flights! The second one took place on August 5 at my home field. Flew for about 4 minutes (only pulled 2 amps out of the battery). I was hoping to have the retracts working but it didn't work out that way. So, the wheels remained down but the flight was still great. The next day is was off to Hamburg (near Buffalo) for the Flying Knights Scale Rally. My father and I have been going there for well over 20 years and we look forward to it every year. I was able to put two more good flights on the 262 there (still wheels down). Did a roll on the second flight... looked great!! On the first flight all the flying spontaneously stopped when I was preparing to fly. Very nice of everyone! I think I surprised a few by taking off of the grass instead of the blacktop. I did that for two reasons, one to show the power in this setup and two, because I was nervous about taking off of blacktop <g>. I'm getting more comfortable flying her, she's doing great. Here is a link to the third flight (first flight at Hamburg) taken by my 11 year old Daughter. It's un-edited (13 Meg) and I should have chopped off the last 2 minutes.

262 on the runway at Hamburg	Me and my 262

August 17
I now have a total of 5 flights on the 262. The last flight was at our club fun fly (video here). This video is a little rougher and almost not worth the download, but I put it out there anyway. I retracted the gear on this flight (I was a bit nervous about this). I have this wonderful image of the 262 on a low flyby now, with the gear up. It really looked great. Too bad the video doesn't show it that well. I've now started the paint repair process and I'll report back how I make out. I've decided not to fly at NEAT. I was warned that the field was a bit "tight" and Chris True confirmed that it was a bad idea. There is a special award being given to a club near us (STARS) in Cuba NY. My understanding is that the AMA is awarding them for "starting the giant scale movement". I might take the 262 to that event, if possible...

August 19
Lets talk paint. I've started the paint repair process and I confirmed my original belief. I simply didn't do a good job of surface prep. Right now, anywhere that I had the paint pull off with tape I've gone back and sanded the area smooth (feathering the painted area into the area where the paint peeled off). When I reapplied the paint I had no problems. Paint coverage was good and color match was good (no fading). People I've talked to have mentioned that dealing with FG parts can be a pain. Sometimes even sanding and washing the part will still not remove all the parting agents used. I guess it's very dependent on that was used during the lay up process. For me... with this kit... it looks like a good sanding with 320 paper does the trick. Remember I originally used 400 paper, lightly, and sometimes just steel wool. I've been told that perhaps if I did prime with a good epoxy primer that that would have done the trick. I avoided that because I was worried about weight buildup. Since the plane came in at 14 pounds, I think I could have afforded a little more weight. Regardless, I have enough paint to completely refinish the plane, but the thought of doing that bugs me. It's made worse because I distinctly remember when I was sanding thinking... "Kevin, if you don't take the time to do this right you will hate yourself". And I do... I may try to repair what I have first. The only area that remains to be painted is the checkered tail and the 'toad' pattern on the vertical stab/rudder. I'll play with that this fall (September) and if it doesn't work out I'll strip the whole thing and start over with warbirdcolors. I should also mention that if you send an e-mail to warbirdcolors.com, it goes to Chuck Graves. Chuck has been very interested in my progress and has been helpful and encouraging, and all initiated by him. In other words, I didn't contact him first about my problems, as I was content to solve them myself. He contacted me when he read that I was having problems. Not many business should that level of concern these days.

September 9
Last flight of the year is here. It took place at the S.T.A.R.S funfly. It shows the plane flying with the gear up (finally) to pretty good advantage. I'm calling this the last flight of the year because I'm creating my list of mods (finish paint, add cockpit, finish gear doors, etc.) for the winter and I don't expect to fly it again this year. BUT... if the right situation comes up, I'll fly it again. It is such a nice flying plane!! As for this diary... I'm not sure whether to close this one out and start another one on the winter upgrades or just keep this one open. But rest assured, I will continue to update the site.

September 27
Last update for this page. I'm going to start a "phase II" page for the 262 dealing with refinishing and futher detailing... plus maybe some mods to the basic kit.

e-mail me

Planned Equipment List	Actual Equipment List
Retract, Nose wheel - Robart 558RS	Robart 558RS
Retract, Mains - Robart 550 RS	Robart 550 RS
Servos, Control surfaces - Hitec HS-125MG	Hitec HS-125MG
Fans - Schubeler DS51-3PH-DIA	Schubeler DS51-3PH-DIA
Motors - B50-13XL with C-50 rotor	B50-13XL with C-50 rotor
ESC - Master 77-3P Opto	Master 77-3P Opto
Batteries - LiPo 9S4P	Thunderpower 5S4P and 4S4P
Charger - Astroflight lithium charger (2)	Astroflight lithium charger
Watt meter - Astroflight Super Whatmeter	Astroflight Super Whatmeter

Partial list of kit "issues" and/or things to do different next time:	Possible solutions
Kit Lacks Flaps	None, this time around. The ailerons actually contain the outboard flaps, so they COULD be split off with a little work. I'm not sure what things look like for the inboard flaps, so I won't be touching this.
Schuebeler fans don't slide onto lip built into nacelle	I'm not sure if other fans (midi) will have this issue, but the Schuebeler outside diameter of the fan housing was too big to slide into the lip built into the nacelle. I had to wrap additional glass cloth around this lip and then sand away the "old" lip material until I had a proper snug fit.
Nosewheel mount angle.	At first, it appeared that the nose wheel mount would cant backward, so if a 90 degree nose wheel retract is used, the wheel would be contained fully, when retracted. Further investigation of the nose wheel mount shows that the retract would actually be at 90 degrees when extended. This is the proper way to produce this kit, although not scale (if you use a 90 degree retract). Since I've pretty much settled on the robart 105 degree nose wheel retract, I'm good to go!
Instructions not provided.	Some friends on the internet came to my rescue.
No front wing dowel mounting structure.	Filled this area with expandable foam.
Main gear mounting locations not the same. If you measure the distance from the center line of the wing to the gear pivot location (or any gear mount structure, like a rib) one side is 3/16 to 1/4 inch closer to the center of the wing.	I will move the outer most gear in to make things "even" and fill as necessary for the gear doors to work properly.
I recommend you visit this site ...

Holman Me-109F | IMP Fw-190 A6 | Hobby Lobby P-38 | Me-262 A-1a | Misc. R/C | Contact | Links | R/C models | Home