IMAC JTEC/ Radiowave 3.1m competition series

[IMAC FANATIC]

Thank you, I really dont know how I managed w/o trim solvent before, its amazing stuff. Only issue with it.. youve got about 15-25 seconds to determine that its where you want it to be before it gets too gummy and really adheres, a one shot deal.
Ill probably use clear and iron only to seal the rudder, theres too many colors back there for me to manage and make it look perfect.. both sides, I know, both sides arent necessary but I wouldnt want an " unfinished" side to look at. The gap is less than 1/8" so may not bother with it at all.

 

[stangflyer]

Thank you, I really dont know how I managed w/o trim solvent before, its amazing stuff. Only issue with it.. youve got about 15-25 seconds to determine that its where you want it to be before it gets too gummy and really adheres, a one shot deal.
Ill probably use clear and iron only to seal the rudder, theres too many colors back there for me to manage and make it look perfect.. both sides, I know, both sides arent necessary but I wouldnt want an " unfinished" side to look at. The gap is less than 1/8" so may not bother with it at all.

I hear ya. An "unfinished" look just doesn't seem right. One side without the other. Or the top without the bottom. I guess I am too anal to just do one side. My 260 had four colors I had to match in. It was worth it in the long run, but really took a lot of time. the Suk on the other hand, was pretty straight forward. Not sure the 15-25 seconds thing would work for me. I always have to line things up, put it in place, look at it, move it, line it up again, look at it again, move it again...etc. I would end up screwing it up I think. LOL

 

[IMAC FANATIC]

Oh theres a ton of staring and fidgeting and self doubt, bout an hour of aligning and re aligning and second guessing. Do a test piece, then another woth a different approach. Maybe takes a full pepsi and two marlboros to get the courage up to actually do it, then re trim a 1/64" off a piece thats already perfect, then throw said piece away. Start whole process again lol, sound familiar? But the second piece takes half as long , then by the time your totally comfortable with the process.. theres no more to do !
Thats why its taken me a year and 2 months to get this far.
Heard a quote re: full scale building that applies to these. " building an airplane requires throwing another complete one away, one piece at a time"

 

[IMAC FANATIC]

Thinking to try the windex on glass method to make up the rudder sealing pieces, something I havent tried yet in this build and would like to add it to my " bag of tricks" .

 

[Alky6]

Looking awesome Brian! Has to be exciting getting this close to finishing.

Curious, though. Why choose monokote vs. ultracote? Granted the windex option is intriguing. Seems like each has their pros and cons. Thanks!

 

[IMAC FANATIC]

Very exiting for sure, myself I've never used anything but monokote and the colors I needed for this one were a far closer match than ultracote, id like to try ultracote on a plane to see the difference in fact, would be interesting. I guess its whatever your comfortable with or have knowledge of firsthand that makes people loyal to one or the other, just like any other product I guess. Go with what you know.

 

[stangflyer]

Oh theres a ton of staring and fidgeting and self doubt, bout an hour of aligning and re aligning and second guessing. Do a test piece, then another woth a different approach. Maybe takes a full pepsi and two marlboros to get the courage up to actually do it, then re trim a 1/64" off a piece thats already perfect, then throw said piece away. Start whole process again lol, sound familiar? But the second piece takes half as long , then by the time your totally comfortable with the process.. theres no more to do !
Thats why its taken me a year and 2 months to get this far.
Heard a quote re: full scale building that applies to these. " building an airplane requires throwing another complete one away, one piece at a time"

Sound familiar? Oh um well uh....yeah! It's amazing how them little "gotta be perfect" tasks turn into a complete nemesis ya know? But the nice thing is, once you are actually done with said process, you step back...taking a very scrutinized look and it's almost spontaneous....the little smile you get on your face and the giggle ya get inside when you realize, "Hey now, that looks sweet"! All them tedious and grueling hours become the glue that bonds us like concrete to this hobby.

Monokote verses Ultracoat? I have to put my two cents worth in here if you don't mind. Used Monokote for years. Hated Ultracote. Then in the infinite wisdom of those that produce the stuff, changed the adhesive on everything to make it more...."environmentally" safe. Ugh... Now? Oh I won't touch Monokote even if my life depends on it. Ultracote on the other hand has become so easy to work with, has a really durable finish and because it is a bit thicker in 'mils', it seems to provide a much better finished product. The only thing I would offer however is that with both types, they both take a bit of different understanding on the methods used to apply them. I really like Ultracote now. No compound corner or multi radius structures are a challenge it seems now. Just my "FWIW".

 

[jtec/radiowave]

Never a hijack Al, all things Jtec welcome here. Dig the plane, the lines. Colors are kinda umm ,bold , but it shows well in a video on the phone even. How much will these kits be? how does it compare to the CS in flight?
And.. still doing the chipmunk ?

Btw.. you zeroed the hammer @ 1:39 lol.

Ok Brian

Here are my excuses. I had the plane built by one of the guys and he covered it. I'm with you, kinda has the John Deere look!! LOL. AS for the Hammer I was on the camera and you can guess who was at the sticks. Not my zero

Intro price on the 2.8 MX2 will be $999.99 and we need to get it up on the website. Kevin is building a 3.1 for himself and I will start building the 2.8 for me. I suspect we will cover them in a scale like scheme.

CS vs MX2 you need to get Jerry and Kevin's and Jason input.

Chipmunk: we want to but there are a couple issues we are looking at. We always need to consider noise and being able to put canisters or pipes into it. The low wing on it presents an issue to overcome for exhaust options. Also we would like to be able to put a twin in it but again to keep semi scale it has a thin fuse and in order to get a twin ( 100cc ) we are looking at about 138" wingspan.

Looking really forward to you getting yours up and flying. Your doing a great job!!!

 

[Kevin-Young]

WHAT!!!!! The only reason there was a zeroed hammerhead there was because it was not a hammerhead. It was meant to be a tail slide which I flopped just like the majority of unlimited pilots will do this year in there known sequence. Oh and while we are talking about my subpar flying the knifeedge loop is not a knifeedge loop either, it was actually meant to be a knifeedge double immelman, which it actually is. Sorry I have been catching up on my F3A sequences and thought I would try that one. I also did not know I was being filmed.

As for the Extra 300CS to the MX2, I really feel the majority of the differences that I have noticed between the two aircraft so far have been setup related but I will admit the MX2 seems to knifeedge with less input which is certainly understandable considering how much taller the fuselage side is. I certainly have a soft spot for the Extra because how much time I have into the design side of the airplane so it will be very interesting how I feel about both of them when I get my MX2 flying. I plan on taking home the parts tonight and starting on it.

 

[IMAC FANATIC]

OVERTIME is killing my BUILDING time, but somehow is a necessary evil to keep doing this stuff. Wishing I was rich instead of good lookin.. LoL wait.. I aint good lookin either. Damn !