FRC Su35 MK2 NAMCV2 build complete... :)

Hi everyone -

Well I finally managed to get my Su35 MK2 NAMCV2 completed today, all ready to fly... :)

Not sure why this picture above has kind of a halo effect around the plane...maybe it means something... :)  Some more shots from different angles.

As mentioned in a previous post, the paint scheme was inspired by one I found for an Uzbekistan Air Force Su27 from 2010 from this great site http://www.mars.slupsk.pl/fort/sukhoi/  My yellow is a little brighter than the original, but that will help my old eyes keep track of it a little better I hope... :)

My build -

• 6mm depron for main airframe, paperless dollar store foam for KF4 airfoils.  Construction about 95% with Foam Tac, with some hot glue, epoxy, Gorilla glue, 3M Super 77 spray adhesive and Alene's Original Tacky Glue as required;
• Power setup is the Focal Price 2700 Kv motor, 6x3 EMP prop, Turnigy Plush 40A ESC, will run it most of the time with a 2200 Mah 3S battery with minimum 25C discharge;
• Control setup is elevons, ailerons and rudders, 6 ch Hobby King receiver compatible with my Turnigy er9x transmitter, rudders connected with Y harness, all aileron and elevon servos have their own channels for best fine tuning.  No mixes for spoilerons, etc, this is not a great slow flier in my experience, so I won't be worrying about high alpha;
• Plane completely sanded, wings, horizontal stabilizer and elevons and vertical stabilizers and rudders all sanded and shaped to have symmetrical leading edges; 
• paint is acrylic craft paint from various sources, dollar store, Walmart, craft store; and
• My AUW with a 2200 Mah 3S battery (which I will use in it about 99% of the time) is 607 gr/21.4 oz.  This should give me a thrust to weight ratio of about 1.7:1 which is pretty respectable.  

My modifications to stock build -

• elevons are about 15% smaller than stock and have been split so that there is a horizontal stabilizer and then smaller moving elevons a la the RCP Mig29 V4.  Experience has shown with extensive testing with the RCP Mig29 V4 that I like the added stability this split horizontal stabilizer and elevon setup provides, less turbulence and drag than the full moving elevon from my observations. Elevons also reshaped a bit to look a bit more "scale" with the boom out the back where the drag chute would be stored on the real plane;
• vertical stabilizers are "toed in" to create the wedge effect a la the RCP Mig29 V3 and V4, gives much better stability.  The front edge is angled inwards 3 degrees from the back edge on both sides to create the wedge;
• ailerons are significantly reduced from stock size, about 60% of stock span and start off at the wing root with same chord, but taper out rather than flare out like on the stock plane, these are very effective, when working in concert with the elevons, very little movement required, but give very crisp, precise turns; and
• top KF airfoil is extended forward along the leading edge extension (LERX), gives added stability and smoothness to how the plane flies.

As you may have read in previous posts, I have been filming the build at each step, so I just need to film the final part of that build video and then on to editing before posting which will probably take a day or two.  It will be a long video, I think in the neighborhood of 3 hours, but I hope it will have lots of quantity of tips, techniques, etc.  It will be laid out in a building block approach, so depending on your building skill level you will be able to pick and choose what you need/want or fast forward through what you don't need.

I did try a new technique for painting as I have been finding my paint jobs were adding a lot of weight... :(, in the neighborhood of about 40 gr/1.4 oz.  I just brush on the acrylic craft paint and depending on brand or age of the paint, it can be a bit thick.

I thinned it out with a 50/50 solution of water and rubbing alcohol, the same stuff I use to take the paper off dollar store foam.  I just kind of estimated how much to add to get the paint to the consistency of table cream.  It still seemed to hold it's color well and took about the same amount of time to dry, probably because the alcohol evaporated faster.  If I had used just water, the drying time would have probably been quite a bit longer.  Anyway, the good news is I saved about 9 grams on my paint job as the paint only added 31 gr/1.1 oz!  I was amazed at the difference and might even try thinning it a tiny bit more next time.

I'm hoping the weather gods will be with me tomorrow for a maiden flight, if not, the forecast does not look good again til next week sometime... :(.  But that will give me lots of time to edit the build video anyway... :)

Cheers,

Scott