Cheetah11

Wow what a great offer Pete. Well done. You are right, Frank will never be the same. Cheers Nick

Hi John Here is a n accessory for your F1. Cheers Nick

Well done Frank, enjoy every minute of your flying. Nick

Maybe easier to do a flaps up and another flaps down set of wings and include both in the kit?

The flaps are looking great John. Well done On a side note I measured the wing and fuselage in the week after all the internet chatter on the old Esci and KH 1/48 kits. The Esci kit was done erroneously with the launchers included in the span but the length checks out. KH kit 1/45 ???? Cheers Nick

Ha Ha Alain, yes Frankenstein still have a few limbs to be transplanted before he becomes alive. Cheers Nick

The Kfir has a similar compression rod. When upgraded from the Mir iii a longer oleo was needed. Upon retraction the oleo is compressed to allow the new gear to fit in the old wheel well.

Some more trouble in paradise The base of the Academy fin is thicker than the Hasegawa ( and Tamiya ) one. The obvious answer is just to use the kit fin and detail it a bit. But more trouble in the horizon. Fin base compared. On side view the two also differs. The angle of the rudder hinge and rudder dimensions are suspect compared to the Academy kit and the Tamiya kit. ( and side on photos) I suspect this is a carry over from the fact the original kit was based on pre production aircraft and never updated on the later A and C parts. The solution In the mean time this arrived from East Anglia. Cheers Nick

Hi Alain Every operator most likely had their own rules on the extension of flaps on the ground. In the SAAF the flaps/slats were selected down after parking in revetments. On the outside flight lines the flaps were left retracted when parked. Looking at a few photos this seems to have been the general rule in most air forces operating the F1. As with most rules many exceptions can be seen , so a model would be good in any of the configs. On the ground is a bit of a generalization as flaps were selected down after start and retracted after turning off the runway, so while taxying the flaps could be up or down. Here is a photo with slats/flaps down parked on the ground. Cheers Nick

Good job John. If you are going to deploy the flaps have a look at the trailing edge flap. They are double slotted and move a fair amount backwards to increase the area when deployed. Cheers Nick

Hi John Just a heads up on the flap, slat config. The slats and LE flaps are not deployed by themselves on the ground unless the a/c is being tested. They are fully deployed with the trailing edge flaps and in the full flap setting. This is only seen on the ground in revetments or hangers. On flight lines all LE and TE are normally retracted to prevent dust in the mechanisms. The term Combat Flap was a mode in the air where the Slats / Flaps automatically move to the 1/2 flap position below 300 KIAS. If you need the angles of the flap/slats in various settings just shout. Cheers Nick

Super nice paintwork Chris. Well done.

Hi Jeff Welcome to the forum I do not know where you are based but maybe one of our members close to you can cut masks for the walkways. Easier and more realistic. Cheers Nick

A little progress. This build is going a bit slow but should speed up a little soon. I decided to use the kit compressor face although it is overscale. The intake trunk of the Hasegawa kit matches the Academy closely after a bit of sanding. The underside is now almost complete. Time to the upper section of the kit. Cheers Nick

You are better off without instructions for the KH Mirage.