The F-15 Page

The venerable F-15 gets an upgrade in 2004 with a new Tam's Smoke System, and initial trials in the backyard are a grand success!

The Philip Avonds F-15, manufactured by Aeroloft, has turned out to be a great flying plane. It is powered by an AMT Mercury turbine, and has the Mercury conversion kit in it from Avonds. So far, 225 flights, and all is working great. Final weight was 22.5 lbs dry.  Below the pictures are some thoughts on different elements of the plane.

Click on any of the images below to see a larger photo.

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The Box of Goodies
finally arrives.

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3/24/99 11:45:08 AM

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Rigging the full
flying stabs.

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3/24/99 10:32:08 AM

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Main former
installation.

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Ah.. Finally Taking
Shape

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Cockpit and engine
test stand detail

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The joys of terrorizing
the neighbors :-)

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Painting gets
underway.

f15_8.jpg

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3/24/99 10:32:14 AM

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A night of Red

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3/24/99 11:49:58 AM

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Ready for markings
and then clear coat.

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Detail work about
1/2 done.
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5/12/99 11:02:32 AM

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The best way to ballance
an airplane.
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5/12/99 11:02:34 AM

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Cockpit detail.

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Nose & Intake with
Mercury Installed
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5/12/99 11:02:38 AM

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f15_15.jpg

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5/12/99 11:02:38 AM

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Awesome night run on
the test stand, and yes,
many shots were taken to
get the timing just right.
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5/12/99 11:02:40 AM

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5/12/99 11:02:40 AM

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One of the best
in-flight photos anyone
has gotten of one of my jets.

f15_19.jpg

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7/1/99 3:02:40 PM

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"Best of Show"
at The Show-Me R/C
Extravaganza, in
Jefferson City, MO

f15_20.jpg

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7/13/99 11:30:42 AM

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Nice takeoff

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11/19/99 10:30:32 AM

-    The kit is a good one from Aeroloft, with good glasswork, and excellent pre-covered balsa flying surfaces.  I would recommend the Mercury conversion from Avonds, if Aeroloft is not offering it, as it's nice to have all the proper full bypass ducting and correct formers.  It has a well crafted split tailpipe with ceramic felt for the hot spot at the break.  The rest of the interior I used BVM Heat Shield, which seems to be working well.

-    The power plant is excellent.  The AMT Mercury is an incredible piece of engineering that simply starts easy, and just runs.  15 runs on the test stand, and 4 flights, and I'm starting to realize how temperamental the ducted fans are in comparison.  Running with 80 oz of fuel (32 oz, 2 x 24 oz), flying for about 7 min, and landing with about 25 oz left.

-    Excellent retracts from Robart, and they are nice and strong for the job, but I can't speak very highly of the brakes from Aeroloft.  The O-rings don't recess back into the hubs when air is released, so they drag.  I spent 3 nights reworking them to get them to a function stage, and now they work tolerable.

-    Finish.  I see now why guys use the automotive paints, hazards and all. The outcome just can't be beat.  I used Dupont Chromobase & Chromaclear for the first time and got top notch results, learning as I went.  The markings were from Aeroloft, and were an absolute joy to use.  I'd used Pro Mark before and found I needed to spend an extra amount of time cleaning up a goo residue from around the markings.  There is none of that with the Aeroloft markings, much less trouble, however they do need to be clearcoated.

Overall, I couldn't be happier.  Top speed isn't blazing fast (clocked at 130 mph), but there's lots of power - just what I was looking for. 

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