About the F-18
The new RCP Easybuild F-18 is simply high alpha heaven. It's got forward "strafes" that are tilted down to act like simple canards like Dave Powers Su-35. This means that all it takes to high alpha with the Easybuild F-18 is to slow down and pull up a little and BAM. The model locks into high alpha so you can show off your high alpha mad skills(or m4d 5ki115 3v3n!). To get out of high alpha, simply gun the throttle, elevator down, and watch the Easybuild F-18 slide back into normal flight. Don't forget this model is no different from our other Easybuild parkjets with a super short build time and a microjet friendly setup. High alpha capability on a taileron only parkjet with JUST a 2-cell battery, what more could a scratch builder ask for?
Recommendations
- If you want more speed just add one of Grayson Hobby's higher performance motors like the SuperSonic and the Megajet. Don't forget to get a bigger battery, too!
- High alpha is the way this plane likes to fly. If you want to see it happen, drop your throttle slowly and up elevator, BOOM! To get it back out, gun your throttle, elevator down slightly, and watch it return to regular flight.
- With the Microjet pushing it around, you have a very low wing loading to easily fly in areas as small as a minor league softball field!
- Since your running the MicroJet buying more 2-cell batteries is very affordable! The average run time is about 10 minutes.
- If you don't like cutting out the foam yourself, you can buy the pre-cut F-18 kit here.
3) Make your bottom hatch by taping a hinge as shown into this piece.
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4) Glue the two horizontal bottom nose pieces together.
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5) Glue the piece you just put together to the piece with the bottom hatch, then score/fold/notch the sides of the piece upward as shown. Make sure that your hatch flips DOWN or OUT from the folds inward.
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6) Glue the bottom part of the vertical nose piece into the bottom vertical fuselage. I know this picture is really washed out and I will replace it soon, but you get the idea.
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7) Cut and tape/hinge your tailerons as shown.
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Here is a short video that outlines how to make a control surface.
8) Glue the tailerons into place and glue a piece of carbon onto them as shown. Your tailerons should not have the gap in the middle like mine.
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9)Glue the two rear fuselage pieces to the bottom fuselage piece and glue the top wing/fuselage into place.
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10)Glue the top horizontal nose piece to the nose.
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11)Glue the rear top accent piece into place.
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12)Glue the stabilizers into place. You should see that the lower part of the stabilizers has a notch that will fall into place where the tailerons were mounted earlier.
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13)If your going to make this F-18 just like the one in the promotioanl video, get this kind of paint. Any dark blue will work, though. Then use it to paint the entire model.
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14)Here are the vinyl decals that you should have gotten from (badbradgraphicslinkhere) or with your kit. If you live in a warm area or you are applying the vinyl decals where it isn't below room temperature, place them in the freezer for half an hour or so then use some office scissors to cut them up as shown.
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15)Take your time applying the graphics. Here is a series of photos from the MiG-29 decal set that show how to remove the film and install the decal onto the airplane. Make sure you clean the surface you are applying the decal to. If you want extra time to slide the decal around, you can spray a LIGHT film of water onto the foam.
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16)Here are all the locations for the F-18's decals This is just a general guide, as long as you get them close to where they go you should be fine..
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17)Glue in your control horns and set the servos up as shown. Make sure the servos are centered by plugging them into your radio and setting them up before you install them. The photo is from the MiG-29 but the F-18 is setup exactly the same way.
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18)Open your bottom hatch and glue one of the magnets in place then tape it down. Place a piece of tape sticky side UP onto the magnet, then place your second magnet ontop of it. Put a dab of glue onto the top of the second magnet. Now put the hatch down and reach under it to push the tape onto the foam. These photos are from the F-35, but the hatch magnet installation is the same for all the airplanes.
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19)Here is how to build and install the shock absorbing motor mount.
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As a couple final notes, you want the control throws to be pretty high to give yourself plenty of control authority. Expos at 50% are a good idea to keep things smooth. Also, make sure you strap down all your wires real good, putting them right infront of the prop wash can be dangerous if you don't. As far as power systems go, I have tested (succesfully) and found, with the microjet motor you can get a floaty, easy to fly, relatively slow plane with a 1000 mah 2-cell. If you want it to go faster with better speed and a more scale handling, put a 1500 mah 3-cell on it with a GraysonHobby SuperSonic v2. If your really feeling like some fun, you can put a Super MegaJet motor on the plane with a 2200 mah 3-cell and have a blast.
it doesn't matter all you really need is a 3ch radio. a more advance radio will just help fine turn the plane. for example the DX6i has dual rates which can calms the planes control surfaces down so you can land easier or switch it the other way and do exciting moves in the air
Very True! This airplane WILL fly off a 3-channel radio. However, if your getting into the hobby of scratch building you'll quickly find a need for a 6 channel, programmable radio so investing in a DX6i is a good idea. Thanks!
Although the original aircraft is underpowered and overrated, (hence the beefed up EF version, they did get this one right…) I have always been a fan of the beautiful lines of the F-18, and after scrapping my Robbe ducted fan model due to the not so successfull modification of installing moveable LEFs (leading edge flaps) and the resulting pilot error of augering it in, I just knew I had to have another one at some point in time.
So when Scott brought out his EZB (eazybuild) version, I was immediately hooked, especially by the ingenious way of the interlocking vertical tails. Pure genius Scott! (This sole feature really did it for me, there are a ton of free F18 designs out there, but those type of details make one stand out from the rest.)
Of course I modded some features here and there, partly because when I bought the design, it was still in the “cheap phase” ;-) so no building instructions, and partly because I wanted to make some little improvements to capture the essence of the Lines of the jet just a little more.
The changes I made:
·I did not like the flat bottom of the forward fuselage part (although clevery done to improve the structural integrity of the airframe) I transposed the horizontal nosepart on to the front of the LEX’s (leading edge extensions, (the pointy narrow “wings” starting from abeam the cockpit and extending to the leading edge of the wings.)
·Next the things that just HAD to be on there to capture the “Lines” of the jet, (I keep referring to this as it is is the only way I can express this in English) are of course the missile rails! The trouble with these things, is that they are really fragile and susceptible to (mostly transport) damage, so I made them from a length of 8mm. square balsa, and they are connected to the aircraft with square, cut in half, rare earth magnets. This connection is strong enough to stay on in flight, but when the rails get snagged behind something, they come off easily without any damage.
·Another key element of the F18 are the twin exhaust nozzles. So by cutting a small wedge in the back, this is easily replicated. (Really only a 3 second modification, but it makes ALL the difference, and sometimes the simplest things are the best!)
·The clear canopy with the pilot behind it. Since i do not have a vacuum pulling rig, it is made from a piece of see thru (clear) heatshrink tube, an excellent idea I got from HansJoachims F16 thread on the RGGroups scratchbuild forums.
·The pilot and cockpit details are made from 3 mm foam. (I took some liberty here, as the real Blue Angels fly with mike booms i.s.o. O2 masks, but it just looked better with the pilot having the mask on than not. And of course to give a little tribute to the designer of this version of the aircraft, I gave him his proper name! ;-)
·The decals used are (free) from Steve Shumate, and I think I found them on the 6mmfoamRC website or so.
·I really need to have rudder authority on my airplanes, so I made the control surfaces and they are operated by a single servo in the back.
·The landing gear is just for display and photo purposes, it just “clamps” on the fuselage, and it comes of before flight.
·There is a carbon spar running from the nose to the motor firewall, and another one running along the horizontal tails for added strength.
These were the major things, I am sure you can find some more little details by studying the pictures.
The dry operating mass came down to 279 grams, and the lipo will add another 67 so the TOM (takeoff mass) will be a nice 346 grams.
Motor used is a Suppo 2208, (equivalent of the Grayson MicroJet) with (for the moment) a 6x5 prop cut down to 5 inch, since I plan to fly it with a 3cell 750mAh lipo. (Lucky for me I read just in time the part where Scott warns someone that you will burn off the 2208 with a 6x4 on a 3cell. I completely missed that before, but since I have not had the chance to fly it; autumn has kicked in here in the Netherlands, so mostly unfavourable winds and/or rain, no damage was done!
On the bench test at 11Volts it put out 15Amps, 140Watts, so I think a am safe here. No hard data on the thrust, but from the TLAR method (we all know that one right ;-) when held up vertically it would really try to leap out of my hand, so more than enough here! ;-)
Anyway here are the pics, and I want to thank Scott for another awesome RCPowers design, and please do keep them coming!!!
This F-18 easy build is a fun aircraft to fly. This is my third F-18 and by far the best. This aircraft needs all the control throw that you can give it. I had alot of trouble getting mine to turn downwind but I finally was able to dial it in. I built mine with BLUECORE foam and the MICROJET w/6x4 prop. It is a very fun aircraft to fly. My current F-18 is modled after the NASA chase plane for the space shuttle. I also salvaged the cockpit off an old EDF F-18.
Very good job lucyf18. I noticed you didnt get the two tail pieces either. I just went ahead and fabracated a couple of pieces and stuck them on anyway, I hope it wont hurt the performance any. I took about 10 hrs. to build this plane and loved every minute of it. Im looking foward to learning how to fly this thing now.
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