XF VIPER - Foamboard F-16 EDF

[kilroy07]

Any other suggestions?? Thanks, Ron

I started out using cheaper servos but now that my planes are lasting for more than a couple trips to the field I've been looking into getting some better servos (mainly for an upcoming FT Edge build).

As far as I can tell (and someone correct me if I'm wrong) but the ES08MD do not have bearings, and may have bushings (or nothing but the plastic case?)...
NOT saying they are bad. But I did find these for about the same price I was seeing for the Emax servos.
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/10p...223.html?spm=a2g0s.9042311.0.0.fbd84c4dx6ihnZ
They are a tad heaver still... but (I hope) are a bit better quality too.

<Edit>
Here is a link to lighter ones;
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/MG9...pm=a2g0s.13010208.99999999.275.72a13c001FFysQ
</Edit>

Unfortunately, I placed my order just about the time the Chinese new year started (apparently the whole country shuts down for a week or two.) So mine haven't even started their 2-4 week journey to my greedy hands...

So, just tossing this out there... Just something else to look at.

 

[Mid7night]

They'll probably work great, but I'm a little harder on my planes and tend to need to reuse my stuff a lot more, so I've moved more towards the ES3154 servos: https://store.flitetest.com/emax-es3154-19g-metal-gear-digital-servo-emx-sv-0280/p785289

Another option that might suit you better is the ES08MD-II: https://alofthobbies.com/emax-es08mdii-servo-2kg-27-8-oz-in-10-sec-13-grams.html
It's about half the price of the ES3154, but still all metal internals. I've used them before and they're pretty stout for the money.
I tried to find a link to it on the FT store, but it doesn't appear to be there. Aloft is a local California shop, good people, fast shipping.

 

[Papo_60]

Hi Kilroy07, I did a little more investigating & found that you are right. The Emax ES08MD servos do not use bearings and I was not able to find what they use as a substitute. Not sure what the affect this has on the quality of the servo but since they are cheaper I would guess that the quality and longevity of the servo is most likely diminished. Thank you for bringing this to my attention, knowing this now I would prefer to spend a few extra $$ for a higher quality servo. I am towards the end of the F-16 build and do not wish to have to wait for the delivery times associated with Aliexpress..

Mid7night, thanks for showing the existence of the Emax ES08MD II servos. These servos cost a couple extra $$ but do use bearings. I tried, unsuccessfully, to find a distributor on the east coast since I live in NY. I did find them at Flite Test but they were out of stock. Fortunately, the vendor you suggested, Aloft Hobbies, did have them & I placed the order this afternoon.

Thanks again to both of you for the info you provided, it was a big help. Ron

 

[dsexton1990]

Has anyone tried this build with ailerons and/ or flaps? I wanna try it with atleast alerons on the main wings not that tjere is anything wrong with the way u have ot designed ?

 

[Mid7night]

I don’t think ailerons have been tried, but there’s no reason you couldn’t. I went with elevons-only on the tail just for simplicity and weight savings.

 

[Papo_60]

Mid7night, thanks for the lead on Aloft Hobbies. I ordered the ES08MD II Servos on Tuesday, 2/5 and they arrived, from Cal to NY, on Friday, 2/8. Amazing.. I was surprised at how small these 13G servos are. Not rationalizing to myself how much added weight the metal gears would have over plastic gears. lol. I was expecting this 13G servo to be 1 & 1/2 times the size of my 9G plastic geared servos... These are actually about the size of my 5G servos with plastic gears..

I think I will go ahead and order some of the 19G ES3154 servos you recommended. Think I will feel a little more comfortable with the larger servos on this F-16.. I have all the major pieces all cut out and assembled, including the electronics. I am at the point where you join to 2 fuselage sections together, then add the horizontal/vertical stabilizers, etc. I will post a picture when finished... Can’t wait!! Ron

 

[Papo_60]

Here are a couple photos of my F-16 build!! There are still a few parts that I taped on to take these pictures, including the Fuse Top Center piece. Last picture is a side by side of the Viper with the HH F-16 Thunderbird. I am very proud to own both and in awe as to how successful Ben was in duplicating this model. Thanks again to Mid7night for all his effort in creating this great plane!! I really enjoyed the build, my only hope is that mine flies as good on its maiden as Ben’s did!!! Now I plane to build a second plane and use the skin created by Rasterize...

 

[Papo_60]

Finished detailing my F-16, I borrowed the look of the vertical stabilizer from the HH F-16. Hope you like it and hope she flies as good as Mid7night’s maiden of his brown FB F-16. Now I am going to have to wait until May to maiden this beauty! Just one of the disadvantages of living in NY.... lol

 

[Mid7night]

Looks great Papo! Can't wait to see your maiden report.

 

[Papo_60]

Was curious what the weight difference is between the Horizon Hobby F-16 Thunderbird and Ben’s amazing XF Viper F-16 FB design. Since I have both, I weighed them and wanted to share the numbers with you. I was surprised at how much heavier the HH F-16 is. It does have a high-power 6S compatible brushless inrunner motor installed as compared to the 4S motor in the Viper F-16... Here are the numbers:

1) HH F-16 comes in at 1,570.56 grams or 3.46 lbs..
2) Ben’s F-16 weights 904.35 grams or 1.99 lbs.

 

[Papo_60]

Added the air-to-air missiles (sidewinders?) to the wing tips of the F-16!!

 

[JTarmstr]

Added the air-to-air missiles (sidewinders?) to the wing tips of the F-16!!

Those look more like AIM-7 Sparrows to me, the AIM-9 Sidewinder has fins all the way forward and the AIM-120 AMRAAM has smaller rear fins, and the AGM-88 HARM has much bigger forward fins than rear fins.

 

[kilroy07]

Those look more like AIM-7 Sparrows to me

@Papo_60 Here are two nice examples of later versions of the sidewinder on thingiverse;
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2724399
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2747018

 

[Papo_60]

@Papo_60 Here are two nice examples of later versions of the sidewinder on thingiverse;
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2724399
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2747018

Thanks Kilroy07, those sure are the AIM-7 Sparrows. Only difference is mine are made out of foam board (base), insulation board (tips), plastic food container (fins) and PVC Pipe ( tube). Sure wish I had a 3D printer and the time and smarts to build/use it... lol Making parts for all my FT, Nerdnic, Charlie Fite and Mid07night plane builds would be a big advantage with better results...

 

[miraspen]

Has anyone pulled off landing gear? Im trying but eveything i try comes up short.

 

[poltid]

hello everyone...

i'm mikael... just download the plan 3 weeks ago.. this is what i looking for since i begin this hobby.. i try to build it but not complete.

does anyone put rudder on it?

Thank you...

 

[kilroy07]

Has anyone pulled off landing gear? Im trying but eveything i try comes up short.

I’d probably start with a plywood plank on the roof of the intake and run the gear through it. Nose gear might be the hardest... not a lot of support.

 

[poltid]

hello everyone...

i'm mikael... just download the plan 3 weeks ago.. this is what i looking for since i begin this hobby.. i try to build it but not complete. View attachment 126775

does anyone put rudder on it?

Thank you...

Could anyone help me, i just crashed my F-16 yesterday.

when take off the plane couldn't go up

please tell me where i have to put the battery? i thing is it about the CG.

Thank you

before crash

 

[kilroy07]

Awe, that sucks, looked like a nice build.

You can see a pic where my battery was located on page 6 (right before my first build flew into a corn field...) and @Chuppster has a pic on page 8. The plans has the CG points located and those worked nearly perfect for me.

 

[cgoffroad]

Fun fact: You could fit a 90mm EDF in there as-is.

You’ll need to make the nozzle bigger, but there’s room for a 90 already.

Well, I can confirm a 90mm EDF fits. I can also confirm that just because you can, doesn't mean you should. This thing was a screamer, vertical hand launch was a neat trick too. A poorly planned high speed pass resulted in a mid flight structural failure and spectacular breakup. I'm going to scale it up to a 120mm EDF next time