I am creating this thread to assist anyone who wants to make the drag chute mod on their F-4 Phantom. I will be posting photos and instructions and I am able to provide the fiber glass tail cone parts and some other bits and pieces in a short kit. You would need to source some micro servos and a few other items to complete it. The chute can be provided by Paul Helms (Helmsman52) and is truly a work of art if you desire a more scale ring/slot style chute. Paul and I collaborated extensively on the design of this very simple yet effective system and I couldn't have done it without his input. Thanks Paul! I will be adding to this soon but wanted to get the thread started for now. Higher and higher, straight up we'll climb!
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darn... you have done it again lol -
Ooohhh, a short kit! Looking forward to this Steve!PatComment
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Here is the instruction for the plunger assembly which slides into the CF tube in the back of the tail section.
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AWESOME! I was so hoping you would do this! Thanks much.
JimComment
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Here are some pictures....
This is how I trimmed the foam on the upper tail section to open it up. Eventually I did cut the CF tube flush with the back edge of the stabilizer bearing block using a Dremel cut-off wheel which should be good for about 2" of plunger travel.
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The fiber glass tail cone pieces I made we're just translucent enough to see where to make the cuts in the foam and eventually where to trim away the outermost layer of foam to get the parts to fit flush.
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This shows the foam trimmed to accept the fiberglass parts.
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Moving right along...
Initially I relocated the rear hard point but after joining both halves of the FG tail cone realized that the bottom foam piece could just be slid under the edge of the FG part to hold it which worked great. The short kit would contain a strip of FG cloth to join the two halves after you have positioned them and sanded the mating edges flat. I just used CA to saturate the cloth and join the parts. By the way, the FG parts are made with epoxy resin.
Then I took a piece of Estes BT-55 rocket tube I had lying around and kinda formed it into a rectangle. Doing this helped it fit inside the tail cone better. A 2" long piece is provided in the short kit as well.
Placing the tail cone in place over the cardboard tube allowed me to see where it came to to help determine where to cut the hatch.
You can see here where I decided to cut it. I used a razor saw to make the cut
The short kit will also contain the hinge and small screws to help secure it as well as 4 small neodymium magnets and a piece of 1/8" light play to install in the hatch. It must be flush so as not to snag on the chute. I fitted some small scraps of wood to fill the space between the top of the cardboard tube and FG tailcone. Once the glue was all set I drilled some 2mm holes in the wood plate on the hatch cover and in the filler pieces to glue the magnets in. Be very careful with the magnets. They are very small and can end up stuck to who knows what. Also be mindful of their polarity. If installed properly they should be adequate to hold the hatch shut until the chute pushes them apart.
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When is the flight demo?Meridian Aeromodelers, Meridian MSComment
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With everything I have going on I may not get to try it until Nall.Comment
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Here is the red and white drag chute I’d been working on.
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Looks fantastic Paul. Very well done. :Cool:Comment
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I just ordered a spare tail section for my Phantom in anticipation of Steve's chute mod short kit! :)PatComment
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Warning: This clip can make you dizzy... it made me dizzy while filming lol.
A very short clip of the red and white drag chute.Comment
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Helmsman,
Your chute looks great. Superb job!Comment
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Video of Paul's chute in action.
I have one short kit available for the release system and I am working on another. First come first served. PM me if interested. I plan to update this thread tonight with more information about the construction.Comment
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Short kit is sold. I will be making more. Getting back to this. Here is a shot of the servos installed. One simply lifts the trigger wire and the other pulls on a pin which releases the leader that anchors the shock cord in a second CF tube I installed. The trigger wire is anchored to the CF tube by drilling a small holes in the tube to fit the small turned down end and then it is secured with a small tie-wrap. This helps keep it from rotating and moving forward or back. I had to temporarily remove some foam from above the CF tube in the fin mounting area and from below the tube where the wire fits to fit the tie-wrap. After the wire is secure, just glue the foam pieces back in place.
The chunk of foam I glued back in after I installed the tie-wrap to secure the trigger wire can be seen near the bottom of the photo.
And here are a couple videos that go over some more details.
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The leader as I call it needs to be long enough to place the beginning of the shock cord about even with the plunger plate when it is locked in and ready to fire. The shock cord needs to be about 8" long from the leader to where all the chute cords come together.
I made the leader from 80# test Spider Wire fishing line.Comment
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