Built from Scratch: My F4D Skyray Soars!

[@Thercgeek]

6 years in the making, and it was absolutely worth it! Still one of my faves and flying her regulary. Let me know what you’d like to see next-let’s make 2025 a year of epic builds and flights together! If you'd like to know more about the painting & finishing methods, check out my book here➡bit.ly/TRCGBook

[@RDM-RC]

Stunning work! I am a disabled Vet, and I also was a carpenter, so I have some skills, lol. If I didn't live in an apartment in Brooklyn I would have built me an RC Boat. One day my dream will come to fruition, and I will be able to. Great work and inspirational!

[@spindash64]

So, is she mostly 3D printed, or made from Foamboard, or Balsa, or something else?

[@Thercgeek]

@RDM-RC Sounds like a great project! You’ll get her done, I know it. 😊

[@Thercgeek]

@spindash64 the model was built primarily from Depron foam with some balsa and ply parts as needed structurally and then fiberglassed and painted. I also 3d printed the nose and inlets in the process too plus all of the detail bits.

[@jabe5895]

Fantastic work as always, do you have the video showing the very beginning of the project and how you shaped the Depron foam from plans? Thank you for your videos they are an inspiration for all us.

[@mogsyman]

Hi from the UK 👋 What a great build. Love the fine detail bringing it to life (airplanes aren’t clean!), well flown with a good scale feel about it and a lovely landing using the throttle as it approached keeping it flying as it should 👏

[@Thercgeek]

Thank you very much!

[@CheifyRC]

Wow great job Chris. 🤩🤛What a stunning model you built and she flies amazing. Congrats on the maiden and happy flying for 2025. 👌🤛

[@Thercgeek]

Thank you kindly! All the best in 2025 to you too!

[@janxspirit6707]

Beautiful aircraft and a stunning model, ty for sharing!

[@Thercgeek]

Thanks so much for watching!

[@boldrbangr9834]

Great job! One of my all time favorites 😜

[@Thercgeek]

Mine too! 😊

[@ioannisbatas1614]

Superb !!!

[@Thercgeek]

Thank you! Cheers!

[@jollyroger2226]

Excellent paint job and demonstration of how you do it. The scale details added really looked good - and you flew her beautifully !

[@Thercgeek]

Thank you! I really appreciate that!

[@otc-x1-b9]

Definately one of my favs now. Amazing detail..

[@Thercgeek]

Thanks!

[@rcf4phantomflyer]

Sorry you were sick for the holidays I am as well, bed marathons and chill. Getting better my friend. Nice video and happy new years

[@Thercgeek]

Thanks man, hope you’re feeling better! I’m finally feeling like I’m getting there at last. My wife seems to be getting a relapse. 😕

[@rcf4phantomflyer]

I'm sorry to here that, we'll I hope you both fully recover ASAP. Idk man I haven't been sick in along time so idk it's scary to think what's going on. I went to Walmart today to get more message and there was really nothing on the shelves it was scary. My mom was sick, her sister, my step-dad then me.

[@t1m790]

Cool !!

[@Warbirdpilot]

WOW, amazing work 👍👍fantastic looking Skyray

[@Thercgeek]

Thank you! Cheers!

[@lw216316]

She is beautiful....congrats on a job well done!

[@geralddecelles77]

Awesome aircraft - awesome build!

[@jeffreywolff4961]

Congrats 👏 amazing build 👏

[@Thercgeek]

Thanks, much appreciated!

[@guaporeturns9472]

So cool. Great build …. And I absolutely love the Skyray

[@Thercgeek]

Thank you! The skyray is one of my faves too, such a beautiful and classic design from the early jet age. 😊

[@guaporeturns9472]

@ she is a beauty

[@AviatorJohn70]

Dude why am I so relaxed after watching this video? 😀

[@Thercgeek]

mission accomplished! 😆

[@FarmerFpv]

Weathering is my favorite part of painting. You did a fantastic job on this scratch build. The F4D Skyray has a nose only an Italian mother can love. lol

[@Thercgeek]

Thanks! Agree, I love the weathering process too.

[@The727Flyer]

That's the type of maiden flight we all dream but almost never have with a new model. Congratulations Master, that's a fantastic plane.

[@Thercgeek]

Thanks a lot!

[@eqrc7587]

Awesome Chris !!! Wish I had one 👍🏻✌🏻🖖🏻😃

[@cybersecuritydeclassified4793]

Very impressive!

[@Thercgeek]

Many thanks!

[@Blackheart7-5]

You should kit this! Or maybe fms or freewing will in a 90mm. Skyrays are one of my favorites. Excellent lines and it's a delta, which means it flies great! Excellent job building and a BEAUTIFUL model!!!

[@Thercgeek]

Thanks a lot! The Skyray’s a classic! 😊

[@SlowFlyer85]

Great Job looks good and flew good worth the wait 😊😊😊

[@Thercgeek]

Definitely worth the wait 😊

[@SlowFlyer85]

@@Thercgeek 👍

[@pauletxfish4976]

WOW!😉

[@mithrandir1313]

WOW!! Beautiful!! Well Done!!

[@Thercgeek]

Thanks! I really appreciate that!

[@Royshanger]

Very nice job, my friend. You are a good pilot as well.😊

[@Thercgeek]

Thank you so much!

[@Royshanger]

@Thercgeek you bet I know talent when I see it.

[@moonmullins8227]

I built 2 depron foam pusher prop jet versions and both were some of the best flying I have ever had. Great plane, love the planform and yours just takes the cake.....awesome.

[@Thercgeek]

Thanks for sharing that, the Skyray is a great flying airplane!

[@tommyyates4639]

Beautiful job Chris! Looks like it flies great as well. Love the detail.

[@Thercgeek]

Thanks a bunch!

[@johnhalligan2530]

Awesome Chris! Looks amazing

[@Thercgeek]

Thanks a bunch!

[@steveniezgoda4941]

Great video! Loved seeing your painting process! Thanks for sharing.

[@Thercgeek]

Thank you so much for watching!

[@austriaelephant]

Awesome work. And a good hand on weathering such an aircraft 👍👍

[@Thercgeek]

Thanks a lot!

[@Ricksworldtv]

What a beauty! Got to love a hi-viz Ford and it flies as good as it looks.

[@Thercgeek]

Thank you! 😊

[@iTickle88]

My all-time favorite build of yours… Outstanding craftsmanship and great piloting Chris!! There’s just something about that era of jet fighters… just beautiful, and your execution is second to none. Nicely done sir!!

[@Thercgeek]

Wow, thanks!

[@dradden1556]

Very cool 👍👍👍

[@Thercgeek]

Thanks, I appreciate it!

[@CJ-cs9qo]

You do amazing work!

[@Thercgeek]

Thank you so much 😀

[@jcb6713]

really nice work ! great flight...

[@Thercgeek]

Thanks man!

[@fedesilvi6965]

amazing work!

[@Thercgeek]

Thank you so much!

[@tsniii3452]

Happy New Year! I love this plane. Great job. How about a Viggen in 2025?

[@Thercgeek]

Great suggestion! I’d love to get my hands on an old Jim fox kit. Happy 2025!

[@davidsnyder238]

You really did next level work on rgis one Chris. Definitely worth the wait! Beautiful model and maiden!

[@Thercgeek]

Thank you, I really appreciate that!

[@prestonkizer9618]

Awesome Build and amazing paint work. Love this Jet don’t understand someone not producing one. Flies great and looks even better! Love to see you build a F-105 Thunderchief 90 mm in an aluminum finish? Keep up the building of different stuff👍 you’re an awesome modeler!

[@Thercgeek]

Thank you, I really appreciate that! I'm definitely interested in building an F-105, it's on the short list. 😆

[@sophiejaysstuff4026]

Congrats, Confidence building flight for sure!

[@Thercgeek]

Thanks! 👍

[@GrayBeard13]

Beautiful job!

[@Thercgeek]

Thank you! Cheers!

[@GrayBeard13]

@@Thercgeek I've been flying RC since the mid 70's and hand-lines since '63 and I would be scared to death to put such beautiful birds in the air since I still make holes in the ground with them from time to time. I truly am amazed at your patients and skill. Keep up the good work of inspiring us old geezers to keep pressing on.

[@fabiohaddad2531]

Very inspiring, beautiful work, nothing replaces paint. The model is much smaller than the old Frankel one. 👍

[@Thercgeek]

Thank you so much 😀

[@dunbar555]

that thing is a beaut !

[@Thercgeek]

Thank you!

[@shaunmaree6493]

Nice

[@claysmoker1]

Hi Chris, If you haven't tried SEM Hi Build Primer/Surfacer part #42043, give it a shot. I think you'll like the way it works. Very cool airplane you have there!!

[@Thercgeek]

Thanks! I’ll look into it. 👍

[@GregoryC21]

That’s a beautiful job on that bird. What are the specs (weight, length, wingspan, battery size )?

[@jackpotmedia]

Beautiful work! The Skyray is my favorite jet out of the 50s. If you wouldn't mind me asking, what resources/drawings did you use to make such an accurate scale model? I'd like to make my own some day. Thanks :)

[@Thercgeek]

I used a Douglas drawing use to show components locations as the main source of the profiles.

[@russcole5685]

Try your hand at a F1-11. Its a plane that doesn't get much attention, maybe because its always flying under the radar

[@Thercgeek]

😆 I’ve always loved the F-111. Such a beauty

[@russcole5685]

@Thercgeek I've drawn it at 1:12 scale, made the tailerons, and rudder. Started making the wing and lost interest, as I was trying to make it too scale, full span slats, and double Fowler flaps. My skill lacked my vision. I'll revisit it soon. Just got to get my head in the game

[@Thercgeek]

Sounds awesome!

[@russcole5685]

@Thercgeek thanks, 👍. It's a dream. After seeing the FW F14, and the banana hobby B1B on the market, I'm sure my F111 will work. Just time and patience. Twin 70mm EDF's if it's light enough, but is room for twin 90mm EDF's if needed. I keep watching builds like yours and others on here to learn, and try the different techniques to help my own build

[@Airsally]

Now for the bigger or biggest F-4D in your Que. Almost feels like you cheated using stencils and 3D printed parts. Us old guys didn’t really have that ability back in the day. That's what was so amazing about your Dads modeling back in the day. What brand paints did you use? Can some of those 3 D parts be enlarged for the JHH 1/9 th scale F-4D? Really a work of art and passion.

[@4qr1vq4mx]

Could you tell me what type of foam masking tape you used on this project? Thanks

[@Thercgeek]

I used 3m soft edge masking tape for that.

[@desertskycam]

May I ask where your Center of Gravity is located? Perhaps I missed that. Thank you.. Dan

[@Thercgeek]

Well, I’m not sure me giving a cg dimension is terribly useful since this is a one off model. If you’re building a skyray, I can give you a location if you let me know the span of the model.

[@kultursender6507]

Excellent job - but you should wear a mask when you are spraying!

[@ohiorc5586]

What is this model made of

[@Thercgeek]

It was built from depron with balsa and plywood used as needed for structure.

[@stevemerrill7430]

You can spray paint in your garage without a mask??

[@Thercgeek]

The door is open and fans be blowing.

[@Plydrms]

you are insane with the paint masks...you laser cut?

[@Thercgeek]

😆 I have a vinyl cutter that I used to cut them.

[@Senior-Busa-Rider]

Is I possible to get drawings for this aircraft ?

[@Thercgeek]

There were no plans from this, just a profile drawing of the side and top scaled to the desired size. I did 3d print a few parts, but everything else was designed as we went.

[@ryanrekz7744]

Delta wing supremacy is what i always say, what a beautiful jet

[@mithrandir1313]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/h6TVaJeDf8ejba8

[@daviddavids2884]

information it is recommended that a model aircraft have a flat-bottomed profile; not a scale-accurate profile. why. because REYNOLDS Numbers.! because edf does NOT draw like an engine, scale-accurate air intake and exhaust openings are frequently NOT correctly sized for an edf version of a jet fighter. see the common use of cheaters, on scale edf jets. the cross-sectional area of the exit/exhaust opening should be equal to the Effective swept area of the impeller. the high pitched part of the edf noise may be a symptom of less-than optimal design.

[@Thercgeek]

Thanks for the comment, but I’d recommend a few modifications here. It’s not about a flat bottom airfoil, but about using a low reynolds number designed airfoil. Flat bottoms are pretty old school actually (but still have their place) and there are some pretty amazing low RE airfoils out there. For the inlet sizing, you can size a model to match the inlet area requirements to the fan which omits the necessity for cheaters. Or, when needed the inlets can be cheated to get the area too. These are better options than adding cheaters as Cheater inlets are inefficient and will ultimately rob performance and flight time. The quieter the inlet system, the cleaner it is and the more efficient it is. We all love that jet-like noise, but all that means is that you’re losing flight time. That’s the beauty of scratch building, you can size the model to whatever power system you’ve chosen and make it as scale (or not) as you like too.

[@bradleyramondpierce133]

You are a master my friend 🤘🏼

[@Thercgeek]

Thanks a lot!