Which Park Jet for me? - Part 4 - Why the RC Powers F-18 V3?

Hi Everyone -

Well, after trying your first park jet with the Mig-29 V1, time to progress perhaps to your first "score and fold" plane.  Score and fold essentially means when cutting out the plane parts, you score about half way through the foam on the designated lines, put tape on the opposite side to act as a hinge and then fold the foam along the score line in order shape 3D type fuselages, hence "score and fold".  These planes are a bit more complex to build and repair than a profile plane like the Mig-29 V1, but I think look a lot better, are more streamlined and have a better "presence" in the air.  They also lend themselves well to adding full control surfaces and KF (Kline Fogleman) airfoils as your building and flying skills advance.

The RC Powers F-18 V3 in my experience is an ideal plane for your first score and fold park jet.  Again, it is free which is tough to beat, but is quite straight forward to build, stable, very popular and well supported.  Hundreds of people have built this plane as their first score and fold park jet and have experienced great success.

As with the Mig-29 V1, it is a little outside what I consider the ideal size range for a park jet with a 30" wingspan and the angled vertical stabilizers do cause stability issues in winds over about 10 mph, but other than that it is a plane you can use to really push your skill and confidence levels and one you can "grow" into experimenting with more advanced control setups and expanded flight envelope over the Mig-29 V1.  Also, the control surfaces are quite large, larger than what should be on more aerobatic and precise park jet, but for learning and building skills and confidence, they still work very well.

Here are some of the reasons why I think the F-18 V3 makes for such a great follow on to the Mig-29 V1 as your first score and fold park jet.

• Ease of build.  Again, a very low parts count, only twelve total parts if you use the untiled plans (not including KF airfoils);
• Requires you to focus more on building light and strong, a habit you want to develop early in your park jet career; 
• Great stability and self righting, the battery sits very low in relation to the wing plate, giving the F-18 V3 excellent self righting properties, earning it's nickname "the smart plane";
• Allows you to "grow" and learn by adding more control surfaces, KF airfoils for more precise flying, advanced aerobatics and increased flight envelope; and
• Although relatively agile, the F-18 V3 will never be a speed demon, so you can push the envelope of aerobatics while being able to stay ahead or keep up with the airplane much easier.

Ease of build

While of course not as easy or quick to build as the Mig-29 V1, once you have the parts cut out, you can essentially build the two main parts (fuselage and wing plate) concurrently which speeds up the build.  After putting the reinforcement in the wing plate, hinging the control surfaces, you essentially build the "tube" of the fuselage and when everything is ready, mate the wing plate assembly with the fuselage assembly and other than adding the vertical stabilizers and electronics, you are ready to fly.

This build was my first really successful build, more on my first less than successful build later.  I built this one light and simple, but still with all control surfaces and KF4 airfoils.  It took about two days to complete.  "Paint" job is done with magic marker for lightness and simplicity.  The picture on the right is the same plane after it's 300th flight, a little faded with a new nose and a few other "blemishes", but it still flew great.

Build light but strong

With the F-18 V3 more than most any other park jet I have flown, it is very important to keep the weight down if you want to get full performance from this plane.  With most power setups, you are OK up to about 22 oz/624 gr, beyond that and wing flex and wing loading will become a real problem.  You can still fly the plane, but aggressive aerobatics will be a challenge and could lead to damaging the plane.

Unfortunately, I built my first F-18 V3 far too heavy (25 oz/709 gr), put a big, heavy power system in it and flew it very aggressively.  Despite actually seeing some wing flex, I kept pushing the plane too hard and this was the result.​  The wing actually snapped in the air.  So I'm not trying to be overly dramatic here, but it is important to focus on building the F-18 V3 light but strong.

Learning good techniques for building light and strong will be very important for the duration of your park jet career, so it is a good time to start with the F-18 V3.  While there are lots of great lightweight glues around like Foam Cure, Foam Tac and UHU Por, if you are careful and smart about it's application, you can still build quite light with hot glue and/or epoxy.  The key is to apply it very lightly and scrape off any excess from the area applied while the glue is still soft.  You can always add a tiny bit more if you need to, but it is much harder and more damaging to your plane to take it off it you put too much on.  Having some pieces of scrap foam, popsicle sticks or toothpicks is very handy when building with hot glue, it allows you to scrape away the excess and when you do that, you actually create a stronger bond along seams where hot glue is applied.  Takes a little practice, but can be done.

I have found the ideal weight for the F-18 V3 to be about 21.5 oz/610 gr or less.  On my first build shown in the first set of pictures, I saved weight by using only one servo for the rudders and "painting" with magic marker instead of paint, both these techniques saved me about 1.5 oz/42.5 gr of weight.

The "smart plane"

As mentioned already, the F-18 V3 like the Mig-29 V1 has great "self righting" qualities which adds to it's stability.  The battery actually sits almost 1.5" below the wing plate, so it helps make recovering from turns and rolls much more crisp as the plane wants to be upright naturally.  When still learning how a park jet handles, this increased stability makes the plane feel more smooth and docile and greatly reduces twitchy tendencies you might find in some other more advanced park jets.

A plane to "grow" with

The F-18 V3 is an excellent platform to "grow" with as a park jet pilot after flying the "elevons only" Mig-29 V1.  In fact, although the F-18 V3 will fly "OK" with elevons only, it is a great candidate for elevons and ailerons combined.  The larger, straighter wing can slow the roll performance down, so having the ailerons working with the elevons makes for much crisper, snappier response in turns and rolls.  

If you still want to start elevons only, that is fine, I would in fact suggest cutting and hinging the ailerons and rudders and then taping them down so that adding them later is much simpler.  That way you can add control surfaces as your skill and confidence increases and you want to further expand the flight envelope of your F-18 V3.  Having all the controls including rudders allows you to explore slow flying and high alpha, both areas in which the F-18 V3 excels.

The F-18 V3 is also an excellent platform to start exploring the affects of KF airfoils.  Personally, based on multiple tests, I would commit to either no KFs or KF4 (airfoil top and bottom).  This is quite different than what most people recommend for beginners and here is why.  While KF2 (airfoil only on the top) does provide more lift, it can make the plane "floaty" and the controls "mushy" if you get too slow in turns.  I have had many accidents with KF2 airplanes getting "mushy" in turns and I end up losing control.  KF4 give you added lift, but also added wind penetration and stability, makes handling more precise and gives the plane a much more "locked in" feeling.  All things I think which are good to have when learning to fly.  In testing of the NAMC Mig-35, I found that I lost about 15-20% of precision and handling with KF2 versus no KF or KF4.  Hopefully although this video is from a flying wing, you can see the difference in smoothness and stability between KF4 and KF2 in the air from the airplane's perspective.

Not a "speed demon"

With it's larger, straighter wing, the F-18 V3 is a bit "draggy".  When learning this isn't necessarily a bad thing, you can certainly make it a little "slipperier" with a bit of sanding and keep it "speedier" with a very light build, but it will never be a "rocket".  That is OK as you can still really throw it around the sky learning good smooth turns, loops, rolls and other advanced aerobatics, but if you need to relax and just work on the basics, it is much easier to stay up with or keep ahead of the plane as you are flying, making the flying experience more manageable and enjoyable.  Besides, normally to go faster you have to add a big power system, meaning more weight which as I already mentioned is not a good thing with the F-18 V3 😐.

Certainly there are other good planes for your first score and fold park jet, but it is tough to beat the price, support and performance of the RC Powers F-18 V3 in my experience.

In the next articles, I will switch gears a bit and move towards more specifics on the different types and behaviors of park jets in general that might help you find which park jet is right for you depending on where you are in your RC career or as you look to expand your flying horizons if you are still new to flying and park jets.

Park Jet noise...the "other" sound of freedom😎
Cheers,

Scott

Which Park Jet for me? - Part 2 - Preparation

Hi Everyone -

Yes, I know, nobody likes to do homework!😵  But as I often remember from my time in the Air Force, "people don't plan to fail, they fail to plan".  There is certainly a lot to be said for doing some research before building your first park jet or in fact if you already have built one, doing some research before building your next one.

My intent is not to be overly blunt or insult anybody's intelligence with my advice and recommendations, but hopefully try to set you up for success.😎  I still see far too many guys jumping on the RC Powers forum, buying plans for a plane, starting a new thread every time an idea pops into their head and really never getting anywhere and they sometimes give up or never have the success they could have if they did a little work on their own. I know it is tough when you are excited to get started on your first park jet or even the new "hot jet" that has just been released to resist the excitement (been there, done that😭), but a bit of time spent preparing can often save a lot of fried and frustration😊

Unfortunately, the less experience you have, I think the more study is required to ensure best success when taking the test with your first park jet flight😐  Also, I think it prudent to do some work to educate yourself so that when you do need to ask a question, you can do it with some knowledge and ask much better questions to get the answers you seek.  From hard earned experience, I know it will get you where you need to be much more quickly with hopefully greatly reduced frustration and embarrassment.

Also, it will give you a far better idea of what materials, components, etc you need to acquire before you can build your first park jet.  Long term, building and flying foam park jets is one of the most economical ways to enjoy the RC flying hobby, but there is a certain amount of money you will need to spend to get started and set yourself up for success long term.  The great thing is once you have a couple motors, ESCs, batteries and a handful of servos, you can recycle them into follow on planes which greatly reduces the cost over time.  I know for a fact I have components, pushrods, carbon reinforcement that has been in at least a half dozen planes and is still going strong.  I like to think of the park jet part of the RC hobby as having a very high "fun to dollar" ratio.  In other words, a whole lot of fun for very little outlay of money and very little building time to get you in the air.

If you haven't already, I would strongly encourage you to join the RC Powers forum.  It is free to join and there is no requirement to post at any time, but as soon as you join, you get access to free plans for the Mig-29 V1 and F-18 V3 which are the two planes I strongly recommend you try as your first park jets, especially if you are brand new to the hobby.  Here are a couple of pictures of my favorite Mig-29 V1 and F-18 V3.  I literally put hundreds on flights on each of these airplanes, nothing fancy about the paint schemes, but the skills and confidence I gained from these planes was crucial to my development as a park jet builder and pilot.

Once you have access to these free plans or any plans you may purchase or get for free, I strongly recommend saving them to a thumb/flash drive so you will always have them, no matter what happens to the website you download them from.  Also, it makes it easier if you need to take them to a professional printer to have them printed if you have them saved on a portable memory device.

Although the RC Powers threads may seem lengthy, I would recommend taking the time to sit down with your favorite beverage and some snacks and have a read through them.  You don't necessarily need to do it all in one day or even read the entire thing, but very quickly you should get an idea of what setups have worked best for folks from the most basic to the most advanced.

You might also get an idea what guys you might go to for questions or advice based on how they have written their comments, feedback or provided advice to others.  Of course it is like any internet forum, you will have your good guys and your not so good guys, sometimes you just have to figure that out on your own.  Quite honestly, you will probably find about 25% or more of it is just mindless chatter between members which you can just skim through.  But as I mentioned before, you don't have to interact with anybody if you don't want to and you can still learn a lot.  I would actually go to the "parts" or "getting started" page on the RC Powers forum to get an idea of what they recommend to do. This could save you a lot of grief before you start ordering goodies and cutting foam.

The embedded search function on the RC Powers page located up towards the top right is also very good and will take you to the subject you want to research pretty easily.  Many people fail to use this and start threads or ask questions about topics that have been covered over and over and over and often suffer the wrath of less patient members, making their experiences less than positive.

Anyway, enough of my rant on the RC Powers forum, I certainly have had my ups and downs with the forum in my time, but if you want to learn about park jets, it is definitely a rich gold mine of information.

As I mentioned in the first post, here are some questions you might start asking yourself as you decide what park jet might be right for you.  As I mentioned, try to be as honest with yourself as you can when answering, it might save you a lot of time and frustration.  Of course if you are brand new to the hobby, perhaps you don't know the answers, but do your best 😊

• What are your flying preferences?
• Do you want a plane that is forgiving and relatively easy to fly?
• Do you want to challenge yourself, flying a plane that is a bit more difficult to fly but perhaps more aerobatic?
• Do you go for scale looks over performance or the other way around?
• Do you want a plane that is versatile and able to handle a wide range of power setups, wind conditions and has a large flight envelope (in other words flies well from quite slow to very fast in just about any environment)?

What are your normal flying conditions?

• Do you fly at a smaller field where having a plane that you can keep close to you is important?​
• Do you normally fly in windy conditions (in other words anything but dead calm winds)

Is the plane I want to build popular and well supported?

• Does the designer provide instructions you can follow, or are you going to be pretty much on your own?  Some designers provide very detailed instructions, others a few build pictures with little explanation, so it might be important to assess how self sufficient you can be in your build before selecting a certain plane.
• Have lots of other guys built it and enjoyed it?  Of course with every plane you will get guys who love and hate it, but in general, has it been a successful design and good flier?  The Mig-29 V1 for example has been around for over eight years which is amazing for a park jet, the F-18 V3 has been around for over four years and they are still the most popular planes for guys getting started.  I don't have room for either of them in my "hangar" these days, but I have built several of each of them, enjoyed them thoroughly and learned a lot as I went along. These are pictures of the last Mig-29 V1 and F-18 V3 I built, lots of mods and updates since the first ones pictured above, but still amazing flying planes.

I suppose I could go on forever, but hopefully you get the point.  One other question I would ask myself is "what transmitter to look for or if I have one, how well do I know how to use it?"

You don't need a terribly complicated transmitter to enjoy most park jets, but if you have something too simple, you are probably going to need to consider on board mixers which can make your control setups a bit more complicated, take up more room in your plane and add unnecessary weight.  So you don't necessarily need to splash out hundreds of dollars on an overly complicated and capable transmitter, ask around, shop around and you can get set up with a good radio you can "grow" into that should meet all your park jet needs.  

You Tube is an excellent source of information I have found, lots of reviews and comparisons available.  What you want to try and avoid is what I did, I started off with a Spectrum Dx6i which is a good basic transmitter, but has limited mixing functions.  I quickly outgrew it and then had to buy a second transmitter just to be able to keep up with the complexity of my setups as my skills and desire for more advanced setups increased.

If you already have a transmitter, I would suggest learning how to set up mixes in it and start playing around with those.  Almost every park jet I have ever flown will fly well with elevons only, so if nothing else, learn if your transmitter is capable of doing that and how to set those up.

I hope that I haven't scared you away from thinking of building and flying a park jet, as I mentioned in the opening paragraph, I am only being a bit blunt to hopefully prevent you from making many of the same mistakes I have made or that I see others repeating over and over.  Some research before spending any money doesn't cost anything but some time and in the long run will hopefully set you up for success, save you some stress and frustration and get you on your way to flying and enjoying a cool park jet.

I shot this video awhile ago and although a couple of the items I discuss I don't use any longer, hopefully it will give you an idea of how my park jet workshop is set up after much trial and error to get the goodies and products that work for me.  It is quite lengthy and detailed, but that is what fast forward is for :)  Also, if you watch on You Tube, you can find the index to the video that will allow you to navigate around to find the subject or subjects that you are interested in most.

So I encourage you to get busy reading, watching and thinking about which park jet you want to build first or next depending on where you are in the hobby.

In the next two articles, I will discuss why I think the RC Powers Mig-29 V1 and F-18 V3 are such good choices for starter park jets. They do have some qualities that are different from what I will discuss throughout the rest of this series, but they are proven airplanes, quite straight forward to build, quite beginner friendly and a lot of fun to fly regardless of your RC experience level.

Follow on articles will then start to discuss specific qualities and behaviors of park jet design and features that may help you in your park jet choices in the future.

Park Jet noise...the "other" sound of freedom😎
Cheers,

​Scott