IAD

Very quickly, can somebody fill me in on what those semi-transparent red things are, just forwards of the canopy, and on the very front of the LEX? Are they the sensor array for a MiG-29 style IR/laser target acquisition system? By the way, the 51 now has wings. ~Luke

Sorry... Couldn't help myself... Call me a traditionalist. Then again, just because a pilot is able to outfight everything else in the sky, even though she is flying a bright pink aircraft, this still doesn't mean that combat aircraft should be bright pink... By the way, I've started a new thread, specifically devoted to the SV-51 Gamma build on RC-Groups: http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=403195 ~Luke

Well, I've started the building process... So far, so good. Work-in-progress photos can be found here: http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showpost.ph...8&postcount=812 This isn't a perfect-scale model by any means, but it should convey the concept of the SV-51 fairly well... ~Luke

Well, I'm an all-electric guy, so I don't really worry about one motor quitting... I'll be using brushless motors, which don't burn out, unless pushed beyond design limits. (I may however equip the SV-51 with differential thrust, to allow the motors to be throttled independently. Gives very good yaw control.) From what I've seen of the Macross designs, most of them have so many vertical stabilizers, there isn't much of an issue with yaw stability. I'm not entirely sure that the ducted fans will actually give a higher top speed than a prop would, in this application. However, on the SV-51, there's a near total lack of 'good' spots to hide a propeller, so.... ~Luke

Hullo... By way of introduction, I'm one of the fellows working on the Macross ships on RC Groups. I design my own aircraft, many of which have strange design features (swept-forward wings, canards, tipsails, flying wings, multiple motors, differential thrust/thrust-vector, etc.) and nearly all have proven to be at capable of reasonable controlled flight. I've already flown a prototype SV-51, and now I'm working on a CAD design for a twin ducted-fan version, with working thrust-vector vanes. (See attached.) The SV-51 is quite similar to an F/A-18 Hornet, or Su-27, aerodynamics-wise. It's also 'cleaner' than other anime/Macross aircraft I've seen. The ducted fans do add some complexity and risk, but... Oh well. The YF-19 could be a bit more difficult... I'm having a fuselage carved out of solid foam by a guy with a CNC machine, and plan built-up (and sheeted) balsawood wings. Stability is almost certainly not going to be an issue, what with the large cluster of fins towards the back. Also, the 20" YF-19 testbed has already proven that it has positive stablilty in yaw, and what appeared to be neutral stability in pitch. The biggest problem is getting the center of gravity where it needs to be. The weight distribution of the design is pretty bad, a lot of the airframe's mass is concentrated aft... ~Luke