F-100 Super Sabre 1/8th Build (70")
- Thread starter thenated0g
- Start date
I think i can lighten up the f-100 a bunch. flight number 2 i moved the 2200mah 3s pack back about 6 inches and flight number 3 i moved it about another 6 inches and it was still nose heavy with a bunch of up elevator dialed in. I would remove the trim and use the radio to offset it each time, but each flight i was still running out of trim and having to hold back. The canopy is a huge chunk of foam, plastic and tape, i can convert that to hollow fiberglass. I could probably remove all the nose lead weight and go to a smaller battery.
John in Boston
New member
She’s photogenic!
Borrowing three photos from Wayne of Aloft Hobbies! Maiden day coolness.
Borrowing three photos from Wayne of Aloft Hobbies! Maiden day coolness.
Thanks man!
John in Boston
New member
The late NAA Test Pilot Bob Hoover! You know you are making the likes of guys like him happy and proud.
John in Boston
New member
Nate, I am no expert, but my gut says the F-100 will be happiest at a relatively greater weight, carving up and down and around the sky. As in, a more scale-like airspeed and overall flight regime. So, a model requiring fairly strong wind and consistent slope lift.
Your F-100 at a higher wing loading will likely “feel” a lot better to you on the stick, will lock “into the groove” and respond solidly around the pitch/roll/yaw axis.
Required thus is careful finessing of control throws, expo, rates and of course CG, etc. And of course that magic elixir of strong lift conditions.
All that care I imagine will bring you true seat of the pants “fast jet” flight performance, just like the large RC jet-turbine powered scale models enjoy. I’ve seen them go at big events (the Top Gun Invitational, Florida Jets), they roar around the sky, look badass as all hell, AND are very much “controlled”, as in, ummm... feeling in-the-pocket at all phases of flight. Disciplined penetration versus waiting for the mercies of wind gusts, lift bands, thermals. (Us slope enthusiasts have the greater challenge, IMHO!)
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John in Boston
New member
Ergo: Reduce the airframe weight as much as humanly possible, and then BALLAST as needed for a good time had by all!
I actually have a ballast spot already built in. When it was going to be powered i had a second battery hold down on top of the wing. So get as much weight out of the plane as i can and add it back when needed.
Updated wing loading data based off of weight on maiden, the previous data had the weight at 5,300 grams when it was going to be powered. This way i can compare it later when i remove a bunch of weight. Also want to have a comparison for my current build which is a 8ft flying wing. I like to compare wing loading and cubic loadings between scratch builds to give me an idea of how they will fly and in what wind speed.
Fellow pilots wife got some great pictures of the slope soaring event, here's her video:
Cant remember if i mentioned it or not already but the f-100 was really nose heavy. I did have enough control but there was a lot of up trim in the elevator. I decided to lighten it up as much as i could and move the cg back an inch. I took a couple inches off the back as this will not be very noticeable in the air. It was about 50g of weight. Than i removed all the heavy gauge wire and connections i had put in for a 6s battery, removed the battery tray and velcro, 12v ubec for the wingtip lights (which you couldn't even see during the day), 5v ubec for the RX, 2200mah 3s pack, super heavy canopy (foam wrapped in paper wrapped in duct tape with wooden parts and solid abs plastic base). Removed about 670g of weight. 120g will go back in as a 2200mah nimh pack and i will make a super light canopy and a very light covering over the tail. Hoping for a 500g weight reduction when done. CG was moved about an inch back. If i find this is not enough i can still remove the lead i put in the nose.
Ended up only saving about 400g, but the cg did get moved about an inch back and that was the main thing i wanted to do. Ready for another flight.
I also found a crack in the fuselage so i used one of my @hobbyking syringes and some gorilla glue to insert it ever few mm's and squirt it inside.
Also found out that this cooler insulation foam i used for the canopy does NOT like spray paint. Ended up covering new canopy (no pictures sorry) with black vinyl, flitetest style.
I also found a crack in the fuselage so i used one of my @hobbyking syringes and some gorilla glue to insert it ever few mm's and squirt it inside.
Also found out that this cooler insulation foam i used for the canopy does NOT like spray paint. Ended up covering new canopy (no pictures sorry) with black vinyl, flitetest style.
Decided to retire this f-100 and move the parts over to something bigger and lighter and specifically made for slope. In the picture below that rectangle represents a 4x8 foot piece of pink foam.
This will be about 20" more wingspan than the f-100 but it will be using an E180 (8.59%) PSS specific airfoil so it will be actually 25% thinner at root than the f-100 was. Also to reduce weight and make it slipperier in the air i am going with a simple profile version of the fuselage and making it only 6" wide when viewed from the front. Also it will not be solid. For covering i am probably going with either just packing tape or just laminate as the pink foam is already pretty rigid. It will have I beam spars through out though.
aaaaaaaaaaaaaaand cant find pink foam anywhere right now. great. even company online just called and refunded my money as they dont actually have any in stock. stupid.
Found some of the squishy Rigid brand insulation at home depot this weekend, 2" thick stuff.
guess i should move this to a new thread at some point
pic dump
