FenderBean

Yeah I remember your post about it, man I had to walk away from it. The more I inspected it the worse it got, there are some major issues on this jet. The quality on this jet is night and day from my SM F-14, I want say what it reminds me of. Did yours have the holes in the bottom of the wings to attach your pylons? Paint looks like it was done with an airbrush so its very uneven and the paint underneath it shows through so u see spray patterns, dust underneath the clear coat on the nose around the cockpit. For some reason one half of the wing tip missile rail is painted brown?

gunradd

My Feedback: (9)

No holes. I only flew it with the tip missiles and belly tank. BTW the belly tank is to big if you try and use it. Was a challenge to get it installed with the gear doors.

the flap and Aileron hinge covers on mine where all painted the wrong colors. Made it hard to be 100% where they went. Many many markings where wrong and not spelled correctly. For the amount of money it cost I was pretty disappointed. That's before the whole fiasco of the engine mounts not being aligned correctly. The wing fences also are not the right size. I made new ones from the old ones after getting measurements from the real one. The nose wheel landing light sits in the wheel well so the light does not shine toward. The catapult part on the nose gear is way to big for scale and it interferes with the cockpit.

getting the markings for the gear from tailor made makes the gear look killer though. The plane has potential it just does not seem like a complete product. Very happy Anton is bringing big planes like this to the market just feel like this plane needs to be refined a little. It's like the project was 90% done then they moved onto other planes and never finished it.

are your engine mounts straight? Mine had different angles on them.

FenderBean

Not that it matters but they lost me as a customer. Call me picky then turn around knowingly use the wrong decals to save money, and I quote “ we can make proper decals it will just take longer”. At almost 10k why should this even be the standard and allowed? I agree it’s a lacking jet design and will take some work to make it safe and survive past a few flights.

I haven’t checked mount alignment due getting angry and at just seeing it. I agree it’s nice they bring stuff to the market but they need to slow down and stop making new things a bit and fix/refine the current stuff. The f-14 had lots of developement due to the fej scare but they are obviously lacking.

One of the hinges is so bad angle wise it will have to be cut out of the wing and redone as well. With that all said I will pm you if I have a question hate being so negative on a thread but it’s a loooot of money wasted to have redo paint and cut up the jet, oh and how about not listing a scheme on your site if you can’t copy it.

Levi Wags

Fender is yours twin or single? Shame about those cosmetic imperfections as Skymaster have done a good job on my large F16. It’s the first model I’ve had them paint and I was pretty happy.

Gunradd would you go again? Sad how yours ended.

gunradd

My Feedback: (9)

No way I would do it again. I still have not recovered from the loss financially. If you follow the directions to a T and the plane goes down anyway due to improper alignment that could be easy to correct during manufacture or even have instructions that tell you its wrong and how to re align them to the proper angle.

Also the fuel tanks on mine didn't fit in the plane. I tried and tried and even cracked the fuselage a little trying to get them in and they did not fit. That is ignoring the poor shape of them. I had to cut the bad section out and then re glue them together. Fender your tanks on your model should be different.

Another F18 was lost due to what is thought to be flap failure due to the poor set up if you follow the instructions. You need to reverse the linkage in order to get more leverage. Again something else that can be fixed easy with some pictures and better instructions.

I have seen one loose a canopy in flight due to the factory not assembling it correctly. The thing is when you buy this plane you pay extra for the quote (pro assembly installed canopy).. Well its all wrong and does not work and needs work to make work.

I know of 4 of these planes so far that have been lost due to one reason or another. I need a plane with a longer life span on my budget. If they would just put a little effort into the finishing touches this plane would be great.

Fender here is a picture of my flap covers... You can see how they are all different colors. This made it a challenge to figure out where they went since you would think they would match the colors. The instructions don't show them so your on your own to figure it out.

The plane is a challenge in a crosswind on the ground. The main struts are pretty soft so she leans very bad and can be hard to keep straight and its easy to drag a wing tip even with both wheels on the ground.

Good luck with it. It has great presence and flies very light. Do everything possible the keep everything for the engines separated. If I did one again I would fly it on a single K210 or K260 with less fuel and have fun with it.

Craig B.

Interesting feedback guys and I must say a bit disappointing but I appreciate the honest assessments. I too have been considering this model for some time but there were a heap of things that needed fixing on my f14 and for what SM are charging for these models that really should not be the case. I had to totally rework the nose gear for starters and re-align most of the engine mounts.

I have a good mate who is heavily into gliders and when I look at what $3k will buy him and the superb quality of the European glider kits I really think the cost of many of the jet kits these days does not compare favourably. When I look at the quality of my flytechnique Mig 15 and compare it to most of my other jet kits the difference in quality is hard to reconcile. The mig 15 has been put together superbly and with great care. This f18 is a very expensive kit and it had better be pretty good for that money. I think I will sit this one out for a while and build my yellow.

Basspilot

FYI for those considering this kit. I have the white gel-coat version and it's A LOT of work to get it ready just to paint. Lots of sanding, fitting and filling. It will be a super scale model when finished but lots of work. Also the stock fuel tanks hold 400oz of fuel and that's overkill which makes for a heavy T/O weight. I had custom saddle tanks made that hold 100oz combined along with 165oz in the main tank which will reduce the weight with ample flight time. I also grounded all the carbon fiber inside the fuselage and the other issue is the elevators are way out of balance. Lots of reengineering that shouldn't' have to be done.

FenderBean

Mine is the twin, I just heard about the other crashes and the flap failure which is why I inspected this area after unboxing. The flap design is geometrically not correct which causes bending/binding and ultimately fatigue. This alone is not safe, sure it will fly but I’m like Gun I can’t buy products with the life expectancy like a Vietnam Helicopter Pilot!
Cosmetic stuff I can deal with yes, but just tell me you cannot do it correctly, that way I can save the money and do it myself.

Gun my hinge covers are all the wrong color as well plus one of my wing tip missile rails is half tan and half brown. The instructions on this jet are by far the worst I have seen. This is why I do builds but because I’m so disappointed with this jet I don’t even want to do my usual build. I have built jets from just about all the manufacturers and this is the worst so far. It just seems rushed and not very well thought out.

What’s worse after talking to the some different companies it seems the US market is vanishing so other companies are not producing so instead getting more options we just get this.

andrewpohlmann

My Feedback: (6)

also wanted to mention after reading this thread I too have had many issues with the new sm f18. I went as far as ending my wings back to my local dealer here in Canada to have him send to his builder to get my flaps to perform properly. After many months of waiting they came back no better then they left. They do not operate smooth and end up jamming up after 1.5cm down flap. Hinge Chanel or connections arm is not aligned in the wing and causes this to happen. Also some of the decals are backwards and incorrect. This was by far the largest jet purchase I have ever made and at the time thinking skymaster was the best quality i was extremely disappointed with what I got. I had air lines hooked up incorrect from factory (mine was one of the early ones) and the guy assembling had no idea there were locking cylinders that had to be seperate from the retract air system to be actuated at a different time. From this jet I have decided that I would never buy a new jet(early version) from them again. Don’t get this wrong, it has been a dream fulfilled to get this jet but the experience has been so disappointing and the cost escalated 20-30% more from where it should have been if the factory did as they should have. And I also have had a lot of fun correcting the canopy mech to make it work, many many hours that I had paid the factory to have it done for me.
After reading all these posts I’m becoming very questionable if I should even be flying this so called rc jet... with $25k Canadian invested is it really safe to fly? I’d like to know how many have been sold and an accurate number that have been flown and crashed! I only have 3 flights on mine, how many is it good for???

andrew, alberta, Canada.

FenderBean

I feel you Andrew this thing cost as much as the F-14 but in its current state its not flyable. The only good in this is I will have to repaint it so cutting out the hinges and trying to redo something that works will be covered up on repaint, if I dont scrap and get rid of it. I lost my hobby room so doing major stuff is going to be tough, working out of my hobby trailer these days LOL

On a builders note, if I build it, I will def trim the nose wheel catapult arm and also put spaces between the nose gear and the ply to push the nose gear further out of the nose section. Its too far in which is why the landing light is halfway inside the nose section and u have to extend the strut so much. I checked the air piston clearance and there is room I just have to shorten the piston door. Im also going to put a linear actuator on the canopy and two small linear servos for locks, this will allow my to make the aft section of the canopy able to be permanent. The nice part of using the linear actuators i get rid of two two-way valves and sequencer! This will also let me use the small hatch behind that like the C model has for switches and fuel shutoff valves.

marquisvns

As with flaps set up, if you are like me, looking for those scale heavy draggy flaps that will deploy all the way down, then you definitely need to compromise a bit of the wing trailing edge and run your rod to the top side leading edge of the flap to receive. If you are ok with only a mild 15 degree flaps, then just about anything should work.

As with the jet rolls left and right on its main, it is so true, but one'll get used to it by flying it on the ground, like none stop. Another band aid to this problem offered from SM is to deflate pressure of the oleo and let the jet bottom out, but I'd say don't do it.

One issue I do have is the wing pylons for the tanks, when installed, the tanks looked straight and level when they should have good margin of negative angle of incidence. The stock set up when tanks installed, really impaired how the jet should fly.

I would say that this jet is definitely not an entry level scale jet and does take quite a bit of work to make it work. Once you do, it's all worth it.

Regards,
Barry

johnzqh

Hi All

Thank you for your feedback.We appreciate your contributing advice.Sorry for those unpleasant experience.We are reading them in detail and making timely necessary improvement now.Meanwhile,we will slow down the new project and concentrate on finishing current project as best as we can.

Best regards

John
Skymaster

Levi Wags

John,

Skymaster overall are a class act and you have provided me great service and have been very helpful over the years, so thank you. Good to hear your response and hopefully you’ll take care of those that already have the product.

Gunradd, Fender, Bass and Andrew, thanks for your honest feedback and advice. I feel sorry for you and your experience’s. Although it doesn’t help you much now you’ve paved the way for the rest of us.

Craig, mate you won’t be able to restrain yourself for long ��

Levi

gunradd

My Feedback: (9)

The only way to improve a product is good honest feedback. Glad to hear you guys are making changes John.


Andrew I forgot about the gear... mine also came plumbed wrong. Had to spend some time getting that all sorted since it's not mentioned in the instructions.

BlueBus320

My Feedback: (57)

Thanks guys! I'm seriously thinking of pulling the trigger on a D model, but am reading this in time to maybe wait a little bit more on the revisions.
Jay

FenderBean

I tried my best to capture it but with the light in may trailer makes it hard to see unless you enlarge the picture, the entire jet has it. In person is easy to see the issue.

yeahbaby

My Feedback: (21)

Good looking bird...what are we looking at in photo?

FenderBean

this first picture has it circled the entire jet looks milky or dusty. Looks like something went wrong with the clear coat. I have seen clear get milky if applied during cold temps or humidity. It looks like the jet was sitting collecting dust and instead of wiping it down they just sprayed clear over it. The pictures don’t show it well and the colors are wrong, one middle brown is waaay off, this scheme has to be close or it looks bad. All the decals are gray instead of tan, the decals I was okay with since I can replace but they do have the ability to do the correct decals and thats all I will say about that, color and issue with the clear I can’t unless i repaint.

So to be fair I would like to give some positives feedback and after this all future things I will keep to FB or maybe a build thread, still on the fence about a build thread. While the packaging still needs work the jet arrived without damage, missing fuel tanks/hardware and wingtip missiles but they are sending those no issue. The cockpits! holy cow the cockpits look great compared to all the other cockpits i have had. They look much better and are pretty scale, the only con to this is the weight, they use some heavy thick plastic. Here again not a big deal since all of the Sm cockpits I have simply shaved the back side of the panels down and this eliminates most of the weight. So cockpits are a plus! The landing gear on this jet minus the wrong size wheels has some nice details and the steering arm on the nose wheel is nice and thick, the f14 has this same design but it’s not as robust and has been an issue, so with some modding of the catapult arm, spacers to push the nose gear down and proper setup this should be a solid trouble free setup. The kit over all has some nice lines and detail, it’s very clean layup and everything fits nice, minus the flaps I’m not see anything that will require mods. I did check the wing mounts for the ordnance, they did add wood dowels so this will make installation possible without mods.

It did took almost 8 months to get the jet and I went through Pacific RC jets with the order. Dirk has been handling everything like a champ so no issues there and I highly recommend going through a dealer, I have worked straight with SM before and it’s just easier.

yeahbaby

My Feedback: (21)

Rog, valid points above and I can appreciate the frustration when spending this kind of $$$

i try to look at it as todays manufacturers are the 80% solution to months and months of prep work and finish. I currently don’t desire to expend the time required to replicate a project, good on ya if that’s the case. I used to be motivated. LoL I assume you don’t want to spend your ground time toiling away in garage when you could be playing with the Mrs.

Like someone mentioned above, white gel coat and finish to your satisfaction is the only way to go for that level of detail but these work for their intended purpose which is Get it close, and fly it. Looks cool in the air and ground regardless.

Nobody sees the tires when they are tucked away and nobody would even know the colors don’t match if you hadn’t said anything. However, until you repaint it we’ll be sure to remind you. Lol.

You know the lil twinkling lights aren’t twinkling Clark.....

bring the turkey buzzard to the next Waco day.

FenderBean

I wasn’t referring to the dust on the wheels but the entire jet has that look to it and I wasn’t going for true matching scale just something that looked like the pictures and paint chips we sent. My flustration is as you said I paid a redonklous amount of money on it already. It’s daunting since painting is my kryptonite. Anyway I have said my peace if anyone has questions feel free to pm me. I’m pushing this thing to the curb hopefully I will eventually get motivated to build it.

its in the trailer so if we do a Waco day it will be there.

Basspilot

Fender,

With artist oils and an airbrush you could really make that scheme look good and you wouldn’t hardly notice the dusty overspray. If I was closer I would be glad to help with that but Indiana is a bit of a hike from TX!

FenderBean

Thanks Bass but you would have to see it person to see how off the scheme is, I don’t like the darker look with these colors. Plus I don’t like to wx my models, just my thing I guess.

yeahbaby

My Feedback: (21)

If you sent paint chips then I definitely understand the frustration. Good grief. You’ll get motivated again. All,we need is a Waco day to give us a jump start

FenderBean

Well it’s just bad luck I’m even here and not in Germany with my unit and still planning to go so no point in starting on it till I know for sure. Plus I had to spend all my hobby funds and then some on a new a/c unit for my house.

yeahbaby

My Feedback: (21)

Lol better than finding your **** in a yard sale to pay for the AC