SUPER FLYIN' KING UPDATE - January 20, 2003
Good Day Gentlemen,
Thought it was time to share some info with the "SFK Family". Most of you who already have the kit are already well into construction, from what I've heard. Bravo! You probably noticed some minor errors on the parts list (left a couple of parts off), but I'm guessing you 'figgered' out where everything goes.
I've heard from a couple of builders who are planning to install DA-100 twin cylinder engines in their birds. That's a chunk of engine, but one is going to drop R/C parachutists and the other is planning on aerotowing. I do not mind overpowering IF the pilot knows how to use his left thumb. For sport flying, I still think a G-62 or the new Fuji 64 are plenty powerful enough.
About the plans, I know they're not as fancy as the plans that are in my other kits. With the very low quantity of kits that I plan to sell, it's hard to justify spending a month or two on producing top-quality inked plans. They should be good enough to build from, and I haven't heard any complaints. If there are any areas of confusion with the plans or instructions, please let me know so I can improve them in future batches.
The SFK prototype made its trade show debut at the AMA Convention last weekend, and it was interesting to say the least. Perhaps most interesting was getting up and down from its display pole! I had a ball telling everyone it was my new "park flyer". Lots of oohhs and aahhs and "man, that's big" comments. Surprisingly, a lot of people wanted to know if it was an ARF! Sigh, our hobby is changing quickly, but that's another subject for another day...
A couple of guys wanted to know if the SFK could be made into a tri-gear. At the time, I didn't know of any nose wheel unit that was commercially available. Since then I've learned that Robart makes a pretty hefty nose wheel (#159) that might work just fine. My friend Claude McCullough (I know, name dropper...) reports that he used this gear on a 33-lb scale ship with no problem. It only accommodates a 4" nose wheel, but that might be okay.
I've also had a couple of guys ask me about the graphics on the prototype and where to get them. They were cut from vinyl by my good friend, Bill Fulmer in Louisiana. His website is http://www.customcutgrafix.com . Bill loves to help modelers, so he keeps his prices very low. For instance, the big SFK logo that I put on the top of my wing is only $25.00; the smaller one on the side of the fuselage is only $15. I suggest you contact him directly for your graphics - you can adjust size and color to suit your model. If you prefer, I can get them for you, no problem.
One last item you may be interested in are the access panels being made by J&B Access Panels. You've probably seen their ads in the magazines lately. They make a variety of servo access panels CNC-cut from plywood. They just came out with a panel to fit the big Hitec 700BB servos (which a Hitec rep confirmed were ideal for this type of a model). The other neat thing is that the two owners (let's call them "J" & "B") are in this group - they're building a SFK too! Take a minute and check out their website at http://www.jbaccesspanels.com and order four of the panels for your wing servos!
I hope to do SFK updates like this every once in a while, so let me know how your projects are coming along and if you have any questions. If you'd like to be removed from the list, just let me know.
Back to the workshop!
Bruce Tharpe
Bruce Tharpe Engineering
1-800-557-4470