RBCKits F9F-6 Cougar 90mm Balsa EDF kit

[Kloverzero]

Let the fun begin!! I just got the shipping notification from fanjetusa.com that my order has shipped!! I will be starting the build on this beautiful beast next week!!

My plan is for 90mm 8S on the Freewing 8S inrunner and a CC 160A HV ESC. I will have Freewing retracts and 17g Digital Metal Gear servos, and use an Admiral 6 channel receiver. Finish will be doculam over a fully sheeted structure, then painted with Testors Model Master spray. I am also thinking about incorporating the GT power aircraft lighting kit in it as well. I will also be doing full gear doors, to enhance the scale look and reduce drag on the airframe in flight. This should be an adventure, and I invite all of my fellow Squawkers to come along for the ride, especially those of you who have never built a balsa model before!!

I will begin the documentation as soon as the kit arrives!!

P.S. : I also ordered the 70mm F-100 Super Sabre from them. That will be build #2!!

[RCjetdude]

Should be quite the project Michael. I will be following your progress for sure. :Cool:

[Prowler901]

Sweet! Lookin' forward to it.

[Kloverzero]

*FEDEX SUCKS*
THAT IS ALL

[OV10]

Sorry to hear your just finding that out :Scared:

[Kloverzero]

ALRIGHT!! FedEx finally managed to get the kits to me, around 11 a.m. this (Saturday, Jan 6) morning. Other than a trip to the grocery store, the propane store, and smoking some ribs, I have been working on it ever since. Here are the first impressions:

The plans are half size, with a few exploded views that only tell part of the story. You have to correlate all of the drawings, and a lot of building experience, in order to get it right. There was a lot of head scratching and glueless building to ensure everything was correct. The CD "instructions" that are included are mostly worthless. They are for an earlier version of the model, and many things have been changed. It is an okay overview, and if there is a part that you can't quite figure out, it shows most of that. It is very difficult and slow to navigate the disk as well. My HP Laptop told me it was empty. My DVD player pulled it up, but you have to scroll through the pics singularly, and it takes some time.

Everything fits together PERFECTLY. It is like an erector set. Every thing jigs together. I had the entire nose together without a drop of glue on it. Likewise with the rear section, for the most part. The hatches are well thought out, and I do not see the need for any mods there, however, the fan unit that it is designed for does not have an intake lip, and using the Freewing 6S inrunner unit, the lip is non removable. Once it is in, I will not be able to easily remove it, as the longerons will not allow the lips to exit.

The ducting included in the kit is a thick paper. I have some 1/64th ply I was going to make it out of, but the curves are too steep to easily do it, so I am going to go with poster board instead, sprayed with Polycrylic before installation. I am going to have to poly-u and paint the balsa inner duct wall now, before I go any further. The exhaust is made from included .3 mil clear plastic sheet, but the sheet included with my kit is damaged, and I do not know yet if enough of it is okay to be used.

There is an ample battery bay under the canopy hatch, and loads of room for the ESC and servos. I am going to put full doors on it, and I have ordered a GT Power lighting kit for it. Nose gear bay is very spacious as well.

The majority of the fuselage is sheeted with strips, which I am not really jazzed about, but it will make the compound curves much easier to negotiate.

So, with out further Ado, here are the unboxing and build photos!!

[Kloverzero]

[Kloverzero]

So, that is where I am at as of 9:30 EST. I shall carry on.

[Prowler901]

Excellent! Looking really nice. :Cool:

[RCjetdude]

That looks like a lot of work :Dizzy: but what you have done so far looks really good. :Cool:

[Capt. Crunch]

Very cool! I love balsa kits. I will definitely be tagging along on your build.

Your build bench has a tool everyone needs...a back scratcher!:)

[Kloverzero]

Managed to get a little more done to the Cougar on Sunday. The major assemblies are to the point I am ready to start running electronics, duct work, and figuring out the gear door orientations. Here are the photos of it.













I will get on the ducting this evening, maybe get some retract plates mounted, servos in the tail, and get the fan and ESC mounted.

[Kloverzero]

Alright, as promised, after a trying day at work, I still managed some work on the Cougar. The ducting is in, the retracts have been chosen (F-104 90mm nose and Venom 90mm Mains) the fan and ESC are ready for mounting (CC Talon 120A and the Freewing 90mm 1680kv 12 blade unit.

The duct was real PITA. The "plan" template was no where near correct. I had to pull it out and revise it several times, came up short in a few spots, notated, and then a final one for each intake was created. Ahhhh, the joys of scratch building a kit. I also did not use the paper included but went with poster board, and once in place, beads of hot glue fore and aft to keep it n place.

For the flaps, I admit, I have not done much research on the plane other than paint schemes, but I will need to do split flaps. Probably scale though. There is a fairing that blends the TE of the wing to the fuse, and there is no way that it moves with the flap. My idea, is a piece of sheet 1/8th inch Lexan, wih ply ribs and a block to mount the control horn.

I think the retracts chosen will give it the scale high AOA sitting on "The Deck" ready for launch, and they are a great fit for the stock set up. There will be no mods necessary.

I did not get to the servos tonight. That will be for tomorrow... ENJOY!!

[Prowler901]

Really nice work, Klover! :Cool:

[Kloverzero]

So, I didn't do any work to the Cougar tonight, but what I did do was buy the Detail and Scale book for the plane, and boy did I learn a few things!!

I ordered it mainly to get accurate lighting placement, which I got. I came to find out, there were no production Cougars that had ailerons!! They used Flaperons, and where the aileron should have been on the outboard of the flap, was fixed on the right wing, and used as a "trim tab" on the left wing. I got some great detail for the landing gear doors, and how they attached to the main gear. The gear strut was all the way at the aft side of the door, because of how the retracting mechanism worked. There was only an approach light on the left wing, and the arresting hook was stowed inside a cullis at the rear of the fuse. The stabs, while they were never transitioned to "full flying stabs" were hydraulically adjustable and could be oriented in different positions to effect trim.

Such a wealth of information on a plane that really took great leaps toward the modern fighters that we all know and love. I think that was a wise 10 dollar investment, and I am certain that my model will greatly benefit from the knowledge that I have gained.

I have some redesign to do!!

To the workbench I go!!

[Prowler901]

Those books are excellent resources. Interesting details on the flaperons. I never would have guessed.

[Kloverzero]

I have been a little under the weather, and not sleeping so well, so progress has been pretty slow. In light of my findings about the flaperons, I have modified the wing accordingly. I am playing with the idea of upper surface spoilers, but I don't know whether I am going to go that route or not just yet. My lighting kit arrived today, and I will be ordering the servos, pushrods, connectors and receiver tomorrow.

[Prowler901]

Nice progress. Hope you feel better soon.

[OV10]

At least the flaperon mod caught your attention prior to the wing being completely sheeted :Whew:

[Ron1950]

man that box -o - bulsa remends me of the old Royal kits...open one up and its a box of blocks u make into a airplane...
man that some nice work there...I love the f9f myself but way too much work for me;;;