DISCOVERY JET
Construction - Session 5

Ahead to Session 6 or Back - Session 4

Well after a year and 3 months I'm finally back on completing the Discovery jet. Shortly after I started this project last year we sold our house and moved into a smaller one. But I also got involved in screen printing t-shirts and my garage became a t-shirt printing shop leaving little room for model building. Also at the start of 2006 I started taking private pilot lessons with hopes of getting my private pilot license. Between my t-shirt business, flying lessons, work, and family life I had to put away the model building for a while.

However, I recently attended the Shreveport Jets 2006 event and seeing Barry's Reaction 54 burn hole after hole in the big blue sky it gave me a renewed drive towards finishing the Discovery jet. In my opinion Bruce, the maker of the Reaction 54, should have up sized the 54 to also handle the 18 to 24 pound thrust turbines. Currently the Reaction 54 only has enough room for the 10 to 14 pound turbines. At any rate I'm back on the construction of the Discovery jet and plan to sheet the wings and tail surfaces over the coming weekend and vacuum down the wing skins.

Here are a few pictures to show just how big the Discovery jet is. I've read one post which says the wing is about as big as BVM's Kingcat so the Discovery should be a pussy cat in the sky.

A little closer and from an almost table level shoot. The table that the Discovery jet is sitting on is 4 feet long.

Here is a shoot from the left front side at an angle.

Here is a shoot from the top looking down at an angle. Keep in mind that the table the Discovery jet is sitting on is 4 feet wide. This really is a large jet.

Here is a shoot from a front side angle.

Here is just a shoot from the side.

Here is shoot of the tail section. Pretty straight forward however I'm going to have to think about connecting the two elevator halves together. I'd like to use just one servo for elevator control, but might have to end up using two.

Here is a shoot looking down from the nose of the Discovery jet. I'm planning on putting the fuel tanks in between the two formers shown. This should keep most of the fuel weight right on the CG and hopefully not change the flight characteristics as the flight progresses. I'm also debating about making my own custom fuel tank to maximize the space and fuel capacity.

Here is a shoot from the side close up. That is one thick wing?

Here is a rear side shoot giving another overall appearance of the Discovery jet.

With this side shoot you can see the profile of the Discovery. Looks close to the Reaction 54 doesn't it?

I know I said this in session 4, but the next session should cover the sheeting of the horizontal stab, rudder, and wings with 3/32" balsa sheets. To insure a good bond of the sheeting and epoxy, I plan to vacuum bag the parts during the curing process.

Stay tune for Session 6 to be posted soon!

Ahead to Session 6 or Back - Session 4