RCP Mig29 V4 NAMCV3 Build complete

Hi everyone -

Managed to finish off my RCP Mig29 V4 NAMCV3 today, well at least to the point where I can get it flying and test it out before paint and a bigger power system.  For now I just put on a little painter's tape and some magic marker for contrast so I can track it for the maiden and test flights.

A couple of comparison pictures with my stock Mig29 V4.  I know it is kind of hard to tell because of the angle of the pictures, but the NAMCV3 is 2" shorter than the stock Mig.  

Hopefully you can also see how much shorter the front part of the fuselage is due to the motor being moved forward by 1".  Also, the elevons are more square on the V3 compared to being more tapered on the stock Mig.

In the picture above, you can see how much smaller the intakes/nacelles are to accommodate moving the motor forward and shortening the fuselage behind the prop slot.

Picture below of the trailing edge and rounded wingtip of the "Mig35ish" wing.

Picture below shows the distance between the trailing edge of the wing and the horizontal stabilizer.  It is now 1.5", on the stock Mig it is 2.25".

Below shows the position of my battery to balance right on the stock CG per the plans.  This battery location is about 1.5" behind where my battery is on my stock Mig and my NAMCV1 and V2.  If it ends up staying anywhere near this location, all of my weight, battery, motor, ESC, Rx and all six servos are within a 10.5" area which will be awesome for aerobatics... :)  The tip of the pen in the picture is pointing towards where the stock CG is located.

So here are some of the key dimensions on the NAMCV3 compared to stock

Wingspan - V3 is 27.5", stock is 27";

Length - V3 is 39", stock is 41";

Elevon span tip to tip - V3 is 17.75", stock is 18.5";

From nose to motor mount - V3 is 23.75", stock is 24.75"; and

Distance from the prop to the elevon hinge - V3 is now 9", stock is 8"

Overall, other than the fact it doesn't look that great right now as it isn't painted, I am very happy with how it looks and how it turned out.  Other than the fact it doesn't have a dual seater canopy like the Mig35, I think it looks a lot more like a Mig35 than a Mig29 which was one of my goals... :)  The real proof of concept can only be assessed at the field.  I am hoping to maiden tomorrow if the forecast holds.

My weight as is right now is 21.5 oz which is about the same as my stock Mig, so it will allow for good comparison between the two to see how the modifications affect how it flies compared to stock.  Once I have that testing done and the proper CG sorted out, I will paint and put in the NTM Prop Drive power system for some real speed, that should bring my weight up to about 25 oz which is normal for an NTM equipped plane in my experience with the MG servos for the elevons and the extra carbon fibre reinforcement.

So I am excited to see how it flies as this is the most ambitious set of mods I have ever done on a Mig29 V4 to this point.  I will do a walk around before flight and write a more detailed post on the build after I get some test flights done.  

Should be exciting... :)

Cheers,

Scott