An EDF 'Jetex' Vampire

The rx goes in...er...actually glued on the back face of the spar!

The 13A fuse is for comparison.
Strictly a "shockie" radio but the Vampire is so small you wont be able to see it very far away anyway. :woohoo:
The 2.5g servos have arrived so the ailerons are next.
I do hate soldering up those 32 awg servo lead extensions! :evil:

Now the tissue can start on the wings which allows the booms to fixed in place.

Of course a panel oner the radio has to be left open so the radio can be finally connected up and everything tested.

Then I discovered that the Canberra had used the last vacant memory on my DX6i.
I thought no problem I will just 'double up' on an existing memory but only to find that the combination of servo directions on the Vampire is different to all my other elevator/aileron planes! :ohmy:
I could live with having to make trim adjustments between planes but remembering to reverse a servo or two is just too dangerous. :woohoo:

I could always buy another Tx! .

I've twice launched models with servo's reversed. The first crashed shortly after launch but the second survived - I'd got used to it by then.........

In many ways it was a lot easier when servos came in red and black depending on their direction of rotation and the Tx's were one way only.

Yes indeed and I have just such a pair of servos!
On my 35 Meg stuff I do go to the trouble of ensuring all the servos work in the same orientation so I only have the trim settings to remember and even then I usually adjust the push rods so that all the planes end up flying with the trims set to as close to neutral as possible.
'Model memories' makes you lazy!

I have solved the problem for the Vampire by 'doubling up' with my worst flying plane that I try to fly as little as possible. :ohmy: Fortuitously both its elevator and aileron servos work in the opposite sense so hopefully any sort of control check should make it obvious something needs resetting!

Slow progress today building the ailerons.
The LH complete with a tape top hinge.

As it is only a 4ch radio and bank and yank control the ailerons will have a degree of 'mechanical' differential.
The last bit is the cockpit canopy.

The front is no problem as it is made up of flats but I may have to organise a moulding for the rest.

Started making the battery hatch which will include the canopy and then discovered I had made a serious mistake - the battery compartment was simply too small, well actually big enough for the battery itself but not including the balance and power plugs. :blush:
The battery box needed to be deeper to leave room above the battery for the plugs and still get the hatch closed.
The only solution was to completely cut open the underside of the fuselage under the battery box, cut off the box bottom, deepen the sides, add a new bottom, modify and replace the cut away formers and insert new stringers.
All done and dusted!

The battery in the new deeper box with the JST lying on top.

The fuselage can now be covered and the hatch completed.
Just out of interest the radio LED shines pretty brightly through the tissue!

However the silver paint finish will probably hide it completely.

After the set back just to get the battery to fit things are now progressing slowly on the battery hatch.

The windscreen is easy - just one folded piece but the rest of the canopy will take rather longer unless I can find something already done!

Now more or less complete so a video of the first 'radio' control test.
The tissue structure does not show up well in artificial light.

It will be better when its silver!
It weighs 4 oz (114g) so hopefully no more than 4.25 oz when its painted.

It stands out a bit better in silver!

Just a couple of areas to touch up and some roundels/ fin flashes to add.
The paint has added 0.22oz (6.24g) so it now weighs 4.25 oz ready to go. This gives a wing loading of 7 oz/sqft which somewhat higher than the 4.5 oz/sqft of the Canberra although the Vampire's 60% thrust to weight ratio is marginally better.
We shall see.

Now fully complete and ready to hopefully fly?

Inside of the duct painted black
Roundels added (the boom and fin flashes will have to wait!)
Canopy held on with a front peg and a tiny magnet at the rear.
'Bars' added over the ESC that follow the fuselage line.
It now weighs 4.3 oz (121 g) and has just under 3 oz thrust.

So it looks like 'stick and tissue' and feels like 'stick and tissue' but most of it is actually Depron!

This poses the question, would it be lighter if it was all Depron and no tissue?

Early this morning the weather was not quite as forecast as apart from a very fine drizzle there was little wind so despite the unsuitable conditions for a tissue plane it had its maiden! :woohoo:
Hard to see much as a silver plane against low overcast is not a good combination!

Plenty of power but it tends to roll to the left and as a result the left wing dropped badly on landing but by then the tissue was very slack nevertheless it survived!

well done simon another successful model built and flown.

Well done Q. The first to fly in the 3/6 kit challenge, albeit under RC!