I want to fly an A-4 at Flite Fest...

EDinCT

Member
Anyone know who sells the EDF’s in the states? I just checked the tracking on my banggood order and it’s not supposed to get here until the end of the month!! Argh!
 

EDinCT

Member
Ok I have an EDF finally.

Ben- any words of wisdom on the rounded side inlets? I can’t seem to figure out the best way to attach them without making them look funky- since it is such a large piece it just seems intimidating trying to glue it all on at once. Make sense?
 

Mid7night

Jetman
Mentor
Ok I have an EDF finally.

Ben- any words of wisdom on the rounded side inlets? I can’t seem to figure out the best way to attach them without making them look funky- since it is such a large piece it just seems intimidating trying to glue it all on at once. Make sense?

YES. It is intimidating, but definitely doable and you DON'T have to glue it all in one shot.

Start by removing the foam at the edges per the plans, and GENTLY rolling the nacelle to form around a mailing tube or something else round. The front (inlet) end should eventually make a full half-circle, and gradually taper to flat at the rear.

Once you've got some "preform" in the shape, bend and glue the 'darts', just like you would on the canopy darts - again; TAKE YOUR TIME - there is no hurry when building. Be patient and methodical, and you will be rewarded with good results.

Before you glue the nacelles to the fuse-side, make sure the inlet side 'ramps' are glued in place, angled outward. Use the part labeled "Inlet Angle Gauge" to get them in the right position. If you want, you could even cut a second "Inlet Angle Gauge" and glue them on the backside of those inlet ramps to hold them in place.

After the darts and inlet ramps are glued, the nacelle should be holding its shape a bit more on its own. To attach to the fuselage side, I find gluing (or taping, or both) the top seam first is easiest because it is easier to locate and not move around while the glue is drying. So glue the top seam down, and glue the rear slot as well in one step. Once that is set and dry, hold the jet upside-down and carefully squirt glue into/onto the whole bottom seam. Gently but firmly curl the nacelle and press the bottom seam onto the fuselage, being sure to align the inside-bottom of the nacelle with the floor of the inlet at the front. This might take a while to set, so be patient and hold it in place, blow down the inlet to aid cooling, hold it until it doesn't move when you release your hand. You can always go back and fill in little gaps in the seam if you missed a spot when gluing.

I hope that made sense, and helped a little.
 

EDinCT

Member
That makes perfect sense- thanks for taking the time to give such a good description!

One more question- what size ESC does everyone use for this edf on 4s? I have a castle 75 edge lite I was hoping to use.
 

Mid7night

Jetman
Mentor
75A should be fine. I usually ran an 85A HK BlueSeries with my 12-blade FMS 70mm on 4s, but I don't think I ever saw more than 60A on ground static testing.
 

EDinCT

Member
EDF Arrived!!

The FMS 12 blade arrived today from Banggood so I was able to get some work done. The circles on the plans do a great job of getting the tube circumfrence just right at the front and rear. I used a piece of PVC with just the right amount of tape wrapped around it to hold the shape on the inside of the rear of the tube while the glue dried.

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The entire assembly fits like a glove inside the fuse. I ran my elevator servo wire before dropping the tube in.

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Ben- I used your advice for the Nacelles and it worked perfect. Glued the back tab in first, then glued the top edge flush with the top of the fuse, and then glued the bottom edge.

I'm trying something new (to me) with this plane and wrapping it in colored packing tape instead of painting. In the below pics the nose, wing, and tail isn't glued on yet, but just mocked up to see how everything is starting to look. The tape is on the wing and most of the fuse. So far so good.

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Mid7night

Jetman
Mentor
Awesome! So glad my words translated to understandable actions. You nailed it!

Tape is my preferred coloring method. I've painted a few, but for the lifespan of most of my planes, tape is A-OK. ;) :p
 

SlingShot

Maneuvering With Purpose
How cool would it be to a foam board version of that! (y):cool:(y)

Yup. Pretty sexy alright. Might try a tape facsimile with my next Mid7night Special :cool:. The first shortlived model was too heavy (Office Max fb) to chance more weight.
 

Chuppster

Well-known member
I finally decided to print paint some of my airplanes, so I went to Sherman Williams and got some re-tint paint and pulled out the spray gun my Dad got at an auction. My A-4 has been through a lot (it's on its second set of wings), but I decided I had to give my favorite airplane a paint job. This is my attempt at camo, all covered in lacquer. Ben, thank you for all the awesome memories with this bird. It's a beauty!

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SaltyGator

Junior Member
Ben you are a genius! Sponz you are awesome as always. I maidened my A4 today and, well, it came home in one piece, but it needs a few things. 1.) shorter control horns, way too twitchy for my old reflexes. 2.) some color, my old eyes can't figure out what a plane going that fast is doing when it is all one color.

What a plane! The build was awesome, there is some real awesome technique to be learned building this one. And it flies exactly like an A4 should, fast and very agile. What a great design.

I think I will print a hump and make it an F model.

Thanks guys!

John
 

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Mid7night

Jetman
Mentor
Made a small change to the aft-end of the Skyhawk, slightly opening up the nozzle a bit more ... it makes a HUGE difference! You can fly on PART throttle now, even with a fat 5000mAh 4S! :p

I'll wait 'til SP0NZ has a chance to clean up the plans, and I'll post them here.

 

SlingShot

Maneuvering With Purpose
Made a small change to the aft-end of the Skyhawk, slightly opening up the nozzle a bit more ... it makes a HUGE difference! You can fly on PART throttle now, even with a fat 5000mAh 4S! :p

I'll wait 'til SP0NZ has a chance to clean up the plans, and I'll post them here.


That's interesting. New ID of tube? New FSA or static thrust numbers?