From the Field -- Scale Competition Thoughts & Practice with the JHH A-7 Corsair II (The RC Geek)

[@richardberrie5510]

Best RC videos on KZbin. Outstanding information, editing and flying! Thank you Chris.

[@Thercgeek]

Thanks so much, I really appreciate your kind feedback!

[@KenBlackRifleAmerica]

Great airframe Chris, wishing you all the best during the competition!!!

[@Thercgeek]

Thank you so much! :)

[@BrianPhillipsRC]

Good lord - That plane is AMAZING!!! I would be having a heart attack getting out of the car, let alone flying it!!! Amazing flight! You are very good

[@Thercgeek]

Thanks man, I appreciate your kind comments!

[@tpobrienjr]

Excellent - so realistic! The flight is awesome.

[@Thercgeek]

Thank you!

[@tpobrienjr]

@@Thercgeek I worked on the design of those birds as a young engineer.

[@JeffsCustomRC]

And the winner is....great job Chris, you got this buddy, amazing job as always 🏆🥇

[@Thercgeek]

Thanks man! We'll give it our best. :)

[@cmcgehee100]

Great aircraft! I worked in the Crew Station Engineering Group at LTV Grand Prairie, Texas in 1984 on the A7 Aircraft.

[@jettechdonatkins]

I've always liked your A-7,and you have it looking fantastic! I am not going to wish you luck,as you don't need any,your skills and your prep work are going to get you where you need to be,it will just be up to your mental state at the time! Just relax and remember,it's just a walk in the park! Sure wish I could make it to see it in person,but will be anxiously waiting! Thanks Chris for sharing this!

[@Thercgeek]

Thank you so much, I appreciate your sage advise!

[@zubuxstein]

I sincerely, 100%, enjoyed this video, very well organized, excellent presentation, overall five stars!

[@Thercgeek]

Thank you very much!

[@The_Original_Brad_Miller]

I'll add my kudos to the rest, a very scale flight. I really enjoyed the talk through on the maneuvers, Thanks for that. Good Luck!

[@Thercgeek]

Thank you very much! :)

[@FAA-DPE]

I don't know how you do it! That was beautiful.. Whenever I fly an aircraft I've put tremendous time and money into, my hands shake. I could never be that relaxed and I've been building and flying for 40 years : ) Hope you win more of them.

[@Thercgeek]

Thank you! I definitely understand where you’re coming from. Time on the airplane always helps.

[@zubuxstein]

on top of that, championship judges evaluating your flying skills, he sure has nerves of steel.

[@lmoore5994]

Very well done. The details look worthy for sure. With that and your flight presentation, you should be in the money. Good Luck !!

[@Thercgeek]

Thank you, I'll give it my best! :)

[@sikkphish]

Daaamn the sluf looks and flys amazing! Well done!!

[@Thercgeek]

Thank you!

[@icastel101]

Man, best of luck Chris and thank you for outing the effort to create the videos and share. The A-7 looks fantastic and you surely fly it well. Wish I could get to see it in person, sure makes me miss mine. All the best! - Ivan

[@Thercgeek]

Thanks man! There was a sluf for sale on RCG recently. I think it's still available. Just sayin... ;)

[@roderickjamesriddick9174]

Well done Chris.

[@Thercgeek]

Thank you!

[@davenehilla9610]

Sweeeet! Late to the show but loved it. Just like the real jet, had to pull the nose up prior to the aileron roll as the roll rate was not as quick as other aircraft and the nose would fall through. You sure make it look easy but your flying is surely superb!

[@Thercgeek]

Thank you so much!

[@Bon3fish]

Great job! My Dad flew the A-7. I really enjoyed this.

[@jhonnylopez2461]

REALLY NICE MODEL. THANKS FOR YOUR BLOG AND KZbin CHANNEL.

[@Thercgeek]

Thanks so much man!

[@verdw6587]

Nice bird and flying Chris, good luck at the scale masters

[@Thercgeek]

Thank you!

[@f1matt]

Those scale details are incredibly well done!

[@Thercgeek]

Thank you!

[@kamp.4466]

That landing was butteryyy

[@castlefranck3979]

I love that plane, congratulations for the accuracy of details nice fly demo well executed good luck for the contest

[@Thercgeek]

Thank you! :)

[@bmoorear]

Looks great. The break to land is nice.

[@Thercgeek]

Thanks man!

[@vvogt4252]

Great job on the A7. Brings back memories of my Navy years on the USS Independence. Fly Navy.

[@Thercgeek]

Thank you so much and thank you for your service! :)

[@Mikeylikesit1968]

Nice flight Chris and good luck at the Masters

[@Thercgeek]

Thanks man! Gonna give it my best!

[@JustwingitRC]

Very, very nice Chris!!! Wishing you all the best at Scale Masters my friend 😎👍!!!

[@Thercgeek]

Thanks man! :)

[@JustwingitRC]

😎👍

[@matk4731]

What a beautiful bird👏 & superbly flow sir👍🏻. Best of luck at the comp. 👍🏻👍🏻🙃🙃

[@Thercgeek]

Thank you! :)

[@victorrcjets7660]

still looks great! I loved seeing this fly in real!

[@Thercgeek]

Thanks man! :)

[@PatBALEX]

Great work Chris.. She flys well.. I need to pull out my old birds..

[@Thercgeek]

Thanks man! Hard to believe I've had this airplane for so long, but I enjoy flying it more now than I ever have. :)

[@flyingchickenrc1653]

Nice plane!Good luck at the competition 👍

[@Thercgeek]

Thank you!

[@janne-pekkahuuhtanen4691]

Chris, that is way too cool. Nothing more to say. Greetings from NATO-Finland. Janne

[@Thercgeek]

Thank you!

[@xKmotx]

Very cool. Thanks for sharing your method.👍

[@Thercgeek]

Thanks for watching!

[@davidlaflam1775]

you sure do great landings great

[@Thercgeek]

Thanks!

[@Zoomie932]

I worked on A-7A's/B's/E's at VA122 NAS Lemoore. I was there when the first E's hit the flight line. You got the detail down to about 99.9%

[@Thercgeek]

Thank you! And thank you for your service!

[@jorgevalverde1707]

nicely done

[@Thercgeek]

Thank you!

[@bobrosso9147]

That's a thing of beauty. I'd be afraid to fly it.

[@Thercgeek]

Thank you!

[@darrenxw3495]

Hi there RC GEEK, beautiful Corsair you have. As far as the Scale Masters go,because yours is an EDF,would you get any extra points fitting one of your centre burner kits? To me that ups the scale features even more.

[@Thercgeek]

Thanks! It’s something that would add to the realism score when used appropriately. In the case of the a7, it was actually non afterburning.

[@darrenxw3495]

@@Thercgeek Oh ok,yeah well if the real plane doesn't have an afterburner now I know why you didn't fit one to it :) Thanks for the response. Time to watch some more of your videos,cheers from Brisbane Australia.

[@masterchief586]

You know, a sound system would be great for accurate sound. Great build!!

[@Thercgeek]

Thanks man! The thing I’ve found with sound systems in jets is that they don’t seem to sound right in the air. On the ground, all good, but the frequency is so high that the sound just doesn’t seem to travel that far in the air.

[@v8truckin79]

You bringing it to Reedley for the Scale Masters? My Club is hosting the Event this yr! Hope to see you there

[@Thercgeek]

Yup, I will see you there! 😊

[@whiskytango17]

Thanks for giving the breakdown of a scale event. I’ve always flown IMAC but was watching and announcing at the 2016 scale masters where you brought your Mirage. Thinking about competing with a Freewing F-4 to get the event rules down, and then maybe building something. Is it possible to fly the foamie F-4 in the ARF class?

[@Thercgeek]

Thanks! Yeah, the pro-am classes are open to any type of airframe, so I’d say go for it! 😊

[@jamesberwick2210]

The only thing missing the belching black smoke out the tail pipe. otherwise, you wouldn't know it was a model.

[@edwardcase]

I know it's asking A LOT...can the wing leading edge lift up for carrier landing? didn't some corsair IIs have that extra lift wing position?

[@Thercgeek]

You're thinking of the F-8 Crusader which had the variable incidence wing. The A-7 Corsair II had a fixed incidence wing.

[@edwardcase]

@@Thercgeek ahhh. yup....I looked into it. You're right

[@Plydrms]

the surface weathering is awesome. I'm surprised you didn't become a Navy pilot...

[@Thercgeek]

Thank you! I actually wanted to be a pilot in the military, but my eyesight didn't make the minimum requirement. :( So, that's when I decided to go the aero engineering route instead.

[@jorgeluisarguero2072]

Hello Cris I think it would be very interesting if you present a Tetris Challenge No obligation, obviously.! A greeting from Buenos Aires.-

[@Thercgeek]

A Tetris challenge? I’m not exactly sure what you mean.

[@jorgeluisarguero2072]

The RC Geek The aviators deployed all the equipment they use to defend the Minot Air Force Base in North Carolina. Radios and night vision goggles.? - Ready Rifles and machine gun.? - Ready www.infobae.com/america/wapo/2019/09/29/no-son-soldados-de-juguete-es-el-tetris-challenge-la-nueva-tendencia-viral-entre-militares-y-equipos-de-emergencia/ Translate you please, Crhris.!!

[@jorgeluisarguero2072]

twitter.com/PrefecturaNaval?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor

[@sblack48]

50v? About the same as my tig torch!!

[@velcro62]

Hi! How does the nose gear retract with the launch bar extended? Does it fold by itself and if so, how? Thanks!

[@Thercgeek]

The launch bar is attached to the strut and by the forward plunger (part that would push the bar downward on the full scale airplane). The plunger is made from concentric aluminum tubing with an elastic cord inside to spring it closed. When the gear retracts, the bar pivots along those two attachment points and that forward plunger extends and the bar pulls up into the scale retracted position. Hopefully that made sense as it’s kind of hard to explain.

[@velcro62]

@@Thercgeek i got the gist of it but if you could show a video of the gear retracting, I'd greatly appreciate it! I'm trying to build a launch bar for rc jets so that one day they can be launched from a rc aircraft carrier.

[@Thercgeek]

Ah, I see. On this model it’s decorative to add realism. Would need a bit more engineering and strength to be functional.

[@Lino-zd4ft]

Hi Chris ! Here's a random question ! Is the A7 ARF kit available through JHH ? I know the web site says not available, but maybe you have one laying around ! Lol

[@Thercgeek]

Unfortunately not. 😕. They pop up on rcgroups from time to time. You could put a wanted ad out on there maybe?

[@Lino-zd4ft]

@@Thercgeek Thanks for the reply Chris I figured that but thought I'd ask . I bought one when they were first released , built it and sold it , wish I would have kept it

[@volksyes9477]

Where is the F-14 from JHH the aggressor tomcat and can you fly her again? Big Fan 👍👍

[@Thercgeek]

Thank you! Unfortunately, my old Tomcat went in quite a few years ago now. I have a DCU tomcat that I'll be building at some point into the same paint scheme. :)

[@rlake349]

I’ve always loved your content and that’s one sweet plane. However, that Jetfan unit could be balanced much better. There is a noticeable drone that resonates in the airframe when you run it up.

[@Thercgeek]

Thanks! The JetFan come dynamically balanced. I probably just need to clock it differently on the motor shaft. Doesn’t really bother me that much thought truthfully.

[@Thercgeek]

I’ve found that even the most balanced fans can still have a natural frequency that interacts with an airframe. That natural frequency resonance is much less noticeable on foam aircraft since the material absorbs it better.

[@bobrosso9147]

Sounded SCHWEEET to me!

[@user-td1zo3tv9p]

Beautiful plane and flight characteristics as well. Very impressive. One question: instead of the battery connection "arc," why not install an in-line switch to prevent arc burning on the connections? Just curious. Good luck on the upcoming competition.

[@Thercgeek]

Thanks! Yeah, that's a good question. I've just not done any anti-spark stuff previously though I probably should. Though, switches can be prone to failure, an inline capacitor or something like that is usually what guys do.

[@andyschulze8854]

Seen that the kid is no longer avaiable but bought one in 1:7 and it will be fun

[@Thercgeek]

Yeah, it’s the one kit my folks no longer make (long story). Sounds like you got the pacific rc jets one?

[@ModelAV8RChannel]

Good luck man! You are a great builder...that plane looks amazing! I had a question for you about scale contests - I notice the turn arounds seem "hurried" as in they don't seem to take up much airspace as if you are flying a tight pattern. I notice most scale contest pilots doing this. Is that because of limited airspace at the particular venues? It always seems like planes at airshows (full scale) like Jets and warbirds eat up a lot of sky. I've always felt like flying a bigger pattern with a model tends to get the timing closer to the real planes and look more scale. That may not be a possibility in a contest. Not being critical of you by the way...you are a good stick and I'm sure you are doing it exactly the way you intend to. Just always wondered about that. Your maneuvers like the roll seem to be right on point comparing it to video of a full scale A-7. I also notice a lot of scale pilots hurrying those to. A P-51 just doesn't look right rolling at the same rate a F-16 can, but you see stuff like that quite often in contest video. Thanks for any light you can shed on that!

[@Thercgeek]

Thank you! You know, some of that has to do with airspace, some of it has to do with pilots and their preference. In my case, being an EDF, I have a very limited amount of time to get the maneuvers in, so that is a big consideration. Thankfully, this airplane and setup are quite efficient, so I do have some extra time. Also, based on the size of the airplane, the further out it gets, the harder it is to see, so that is another consideration here. There should be no issues with space at the competition, so during the practice day on thursday, I'll definitely work to get my bearings, etc. (with a different airplane of course just in case! ;) ).

[@ModelAV8RChannel]

Awesome! Thank you for the info. I'll be pulling for you in the competition and I can't wait to see your video about it! At least I'm hoping you'll have somebody videoing it... it would be neat to see how things work at a competition like that. Although if making a video is going to mess with your focus... Don't sweat it! Good luck!!

[@Thercgeek]

Thank you!

[@jabe5895]

Hi, beautiful plane, is it foam or composite? Good luck in the Scale Masters competition.

[@Thercgeek]

Thank you! This one is a composite fuselage with balsa sheeted foam wings and dorsal and solid balsa stabs. It's a kit my dad brought to market back in the 80s actually. Unfortunately, it's the one kit he no longer offers anymore. :(

[@robertnolan8240]

AWESOMENESS! I stood before the actual A7 at the Tillamook Air Museum, wishing I was a millionaire.Bwahahaha

[@Thercgeek]

Cool!! I’d love to see the actual airplane one of these days. Sure could use a restoration though. 😕

[@robertnolan8240]

@@Thercgeek Thank you for your wonderful videos. Yea, the "401" at museum has a peculiar stencil "double " image of sorties going on. Really borderline disrespectful..wish the Jet Hanger hobbies A7 was still available. Well, Godspeed in your endeavors! Rob

[@Thercgeek]

The double image is a result of the airplane having been repainted. It carried the markings and then was actually repainted on the cruise home if I remember right. So it’s now coming through since the paint has faded so badly.

[@robertnolan8240]

@@Thercgeek ohhh..i thought it was done by some depot guy who didn't give a rip! I'm thinking of contacting them and starting a fundraiser to get it cleaned up. Thank you for your time. Amazing how things can fall into place..like Kelly designed the P38 on a napkin taking a train to Burbank. Well, thats my urban myth, right?!! Harphh.. Semper Fi, Rob

[@cobrat7712]

does each manuever have a difficulty factor or are they all scored the same? Does JHH still sale the arf kit of he A7?

[@Thercgeek]

There's not a difficulty factor, but each maneuver score is weighted by Precision (5 pts), Placement (2.5 pts), and Realism (2.5 pts). Unfortunately, the A-7 is the one kit that my folks no longer make anymore. Based on what all happened with the ARF, they don't have the molds in their possession anymore. :(

[@scottmonroe6522]

Slow your roll rate about 50% on all rolling maneuvers and you’ll be golden. I fly pattern and it’s easy to roll too fast.

[@satinderdhindsa835]

Do the moves have a K-Factor to them?

[@Thercgeek]

Each maneuver is scored to a maximum of 10 points and is weighted by Precision (5 pts), Placement (2.5 pts), and Realism (2.5 pts).

[@Thercgeek]

Maneuver selection is extremely important and vary based on the airplane. It's always best to keep it simple. Competing with an EDF has additional considerations based on the flight time also. There are only two maneuvers in my routine that use full throttle, takeoff and the Immelmann. Everything else is partial throttle.

[@chksix]

They should just mail you the trophy and be over with it.🏆

[@Thercgeek]

Haha, I don't know about that. There are some pretty amazing airplanes and pilots that come to this competition. We'll most certainly give it our best! :)

[@richarddarlington1139]

Scale competition with a foamy?

[@Thercgeek]

Yup! The pro am categories allow you to compete with models you haven’t built. Including foamies. It’s all in how well it’s flown and presented.

[@richarddarlington1139]

@@Thercgeek So, no static judging?

[@Thercgeek]

Correct, it’s an auto set amount of points for static by showing it’s a real airplane so it’s all weighted by the flying scores.

[@richarddarlington1139]

@@Thercgeek Okay, then. No more questions, I promise. Thanks!

[@Thercgeek]

I'm happy to answer any questions you have. :)

[@440centerline]

If you still have this aircraft and if you have any desire to sell it let me know

[@Thercgeek]

I do still have the airplane and while I appreciate the offer, it’s not for sale.

[@CNSFX]

Lol, I have the same shirt...

[@Thercgeek]

I assume you mean the Harry Potter shirt in the thumbnail and not The RC Geek shirt in the video? ;) :p Picked that up at the Harry Potter Studio in London this past summer. Such a cool place!

[@CNSFX]

The RC Geek do you get the odd approval nod from random people? 😉😎

[@Thercgeek]

Pretty much, yeah and more, haha! It's like being part of an exclusive club. I don't dare tell them that I never read the books or even saw all the movies... lol

[@CNSFX]

The RC Geek for those that ask what it means I just say Nobody’s Perfect!

[@DaFlyingSnek]

Any cheater holes on there? all I see is that open mouth! Btw thanks for the help with my P-47 and F-35!

[@Thercgeek]

No problem, glad I could help! No cheaters at all here. Just a nice clean inlet like the real one. :)

[@User-nj9ti]

give plz