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PSS A-4E 'Top Gun' Skyhawk


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Posted by Harry Twist on 06/09/2016 22:54:42:

Your A4 is really starting to come alive with that "flowing" colour scheme Phil.

I think an airbrush and compressor is on my Xmas list!

Am on the train coming back from London and just spent ages looking for my reference to the airbrush I use which may help Phil and Harry choose one for Christmas. Like I say in my blog, I think you need 2 - one for fine work and another for sploging paint like primer and base coat.

This is the reference to my A4 page. It is about half way down - **LINK**

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More painting today, almost done now with just some green to be applied to the top of the nose section and another stripe on top of the wings.

final paint 1.jpg

The 3 colour camo looks great but painting the 3rd colour is a pain as it requires so much masking for such a small area... applying the tape, cutting the mask patterns, attaching them with tape and securing/checking all the edges all takes time - probably 10x more time than the painting itself!

final paint 2.jpg

final paint 3.jpg

Anyway, nearly there - Ill finish the last stripes before work tomorrow so that will be cured upon my evening session starting which can then focus on final assembly (tailplane, arrestor hook etc) and then the stencilling and decorating can begin!

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Up very early this morning to complete the painting, I managed to get the final green patterns masked and painted before going into work, but then left early doors to get back home and back on it!

last mask 1.jpg

last mask 2.jpg

With the paint dry upon my return home I could remove all the masking and rig her for the first time to see how the patterns matched...

last mask 3.jpg

and with the painting complete I could begin to add some of the details, like the arrestor hook and the infamous Liz Earle jet pipe! A bit of Tamiya chrome paint finished the back end off nicely.

last mask 4.jpg

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Tonights session has focussed on decals and detailing.

Tim at ModelMarkings had made me some excellent spray masks for the 'low vis' Aggressor markings which are all one colour and ideally suited to this process...

The mask is positioned and rubbed down firm, the edges are burnished. Its then masked off with tape and paper to avoid overspray...

decals 2.jpg

The paint is applied and the masking is removed - simple and very effective!

decals 3.jpg

The wing was easy with only 2 decals top and bottom and no real challenges with the masking - the fus was a bit more complex and I regretted fitting the tailplane prior to completing this paint job!

decals 4.jpg

decals 5.jpg

Tim also supplied some water slide detail markings with wording etc to go in some of these 'blank' boxes later...

decals 6.jpg

... and up front there were a couple of vinyl decals to add too - BLUE 55 is almost ready to scramble and splash some Tomcats!

The intakes I've cut from black Solartrim.

So she's almost complete - a few more decals to add and some panel lines prior to travel. I wont have time to add weathering and apply the clear cote before the event this weekend so more detail will be added afterwards.

Tomorrow I need to fit the Rx Battery and balance her, do a full radio check and drop her on the scales.

Edited By Phil Cooke on 09/09/2016 01:18:39

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Looks great - so we are both at exactly the same point now. One day to go and I'm wondering what large job I've forgoten still needs doing. I've still got the control surfaces to attach which I always worry about - making sure there is enough movement and not glueing up the hinges.

At least tonight will be a relatively early bed time, 2:30am laugh

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I took the day off today to help ensure we crossed the line with a flyable model as I'd still left myself a list of jobs to complete before the A-4 was ready to load in the car tonight!

With all the main markings applied there was one very special badge that had to be placed on the fin, as per the full size Aggressor. I printed this on my PC, the glossy photo paper is a little thick so I elected to weather proof it with a round patch of clear vinyl.

final day 1.jpg

I spent an hour applying some of the major panel lines with a permanent marker and a flexi-rule. Just a few today, there's many more I want to apply but we'll do all that (and add some weathering) after the event. Same applied to the water slide transfers as supplied by ModelMarkings to supplement the mask sprayed warning signs. I was running out of time, and still in need of balance, R/C check and 'finished model' photos...

final day 2.jpg

The Rx battery was wrapped in tape such that it was just a nice fit in the balsa battery tube and not rattling about. With the wing on, the balance test suggested I needed to add 1oz of lead at F1 - so 3 and a half little lead squares were cut and attached to the very front of the battery. The ribbons are used to help retrieve the battery from its working home when required and run out into the wing bay.

final day 3.jpg

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I had promised my son, Harry, that the model would be complete and ready to fly in time for when he came home from school, and just like 2 years ago with the Jet Provost Mass Build, he wanted his photo taken today with the new creation.

editimg_1397.jpg

With the 1oz additional nose weight the AUW came out at 43 oz (2lb 11oz) which is just 3oz heavier than the prototype which flew bang on 2.5lb - not bad considering this one is fully glassed and sprayed all over.

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So that's about it for now...all I have left to do is pack the car with this and 4 other PSS models and make my way to Llandudno first thing in the morning - where with any luck Jester will get to maiden his Scooter prior to the event proper on Sunday!

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  • 2 weeks later...

So I'll round off my Skyhawk build blog with a brief flight report and describe the few refinements made since the models first outing last weekend.

The model flew very well, I'm glad to report - although her true characteristics may have been slightly masked by the 35mph wind and epic slope lift we were enjoying on the Orme at the time! It will be good to fly her in slightly less 'high octane' conditions when we should learn a little more about her true personality.

The launch and in flight photos below are both by Matt Jones.

a-4 flight 1.jpg

a-4 flight 2.jpg

Despite the lift, I felt my model was slightly nose heavy, the elevator felt a little 'soft' and I needed 6 or 7 clicks of up trim to keep her nose on the horizon. The dive test was reasonable for me, in that she did slowly raise her nose as the speed increased in a 'hands off' 45 degree dive. A forced stall test proved nothing more than a mushy wing drop, easily recovered. She was very crisp in roll and the model showed good stability and had a solid feel in the air. She would quickly build up speed in a dive and was ably aerobatic - she looped ok but needed a lot of entry speed - rolls were twinkle like and big reversals looked and felt great!

So having brought her home I've now taken out 1 of the 4 slithers of lead I added to balance her and I've reduced the expo on the elevator slightly from 40% to 30%. That should correct the uptrim required and sharpen up the elevator with the throws left as they were.

The model was programmed with 'Draggerons' for use as brakes on landing, and these proved effective at slowing her up almost to walking pace on finals, although I'd say 1/4 stick down elevator was needed to combat the nose up reaction the model had when they were deployed. So this down elevator trim has been added to the programme which should now enable a 'no input needed' transition from clean flight to brakes on.

That's about it regarding the flying set up. The model itself still needs a little more detailing, and the elevator clevis shroud still needs a little fettling before it can be fitted for flight (its got a slight binding problem which was only realised with the clevis connected!) both of which Ill complete ahead of the next PSSA outing 8th/9th October.

So that's about it until the next time! thumbs up

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  • 2 years later...

Hello

just ordered the short kit from Sarik. I'm pretty new to slope soaring although been flying power RC for years. Built an Obelix and it flies great on my local cliffs on the NE coast. It flies in pretty light winds ... 15 mph.

This is my first Power scale model. Do you have any more feedback on its flight characteristics and say minimum wind speeds. The local cliffs I fly off are around 75' high, vertical and in an Easterly straight off North Sea.

Cheers

Mike

Edited By MikeQ on 13/04/2019 22:36:42

Edited By MikeQ on 13/04/2019 22:37:04

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Hi Mike - sorry for my slow response - been one of those weeks and I've not spent much time on the forum!

Sounds like you have a pretty decent coastal cliff - Its AUW dependant of course but this model is no floater and needs fairly strong lift before it gets properly going - and it doesn't really like flying too slow - one to save for 15mph or more regarding wind speed and good lifting slopes. In the right conditions the model is a great flyer - very agile with a superbly crisp roll rate. Loops require a lot of entry speed and careful energy management with the elevator over the top - but if you fly big, smooth manoeuvres it can be made to look totally convincing in flight!

Enjoy your build - and your first experience into the vast world of PSS! Perhaps see you at a PSSA meet soon!!

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Hello

thanks for the feedback ... I was a little premature saying I was about to start the model. A bit more googling on the forum made me think it might be a bit hot for a slope newbie. So I've also bought the Canberra laser cut kit figuring it should be better in lighter winds.

The Skyhawk will be straight after that build hopefully.

Ill do a build blog in the Canberra but I see there are some very good ones already. I thought I'd modify it into a B-57. Lengthen the nose a little and pull a new canopy.

No doubt I'll be tapping this forum up for help going forward. I actually built a circa 1982 Obelix as my first slope model last year and crashed it this week with what looked like radio failure.

thanks again.

Mike

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