A-4 Skyhawk- Yoav in 1/30 scale

[Isaac]

Here is the fuselage with the vertical fin on








Isaac

[MacSongLi]

Nice Isaac, I love the detailing on the rudder.


Gary

[Isaac]

Originally Posted by MacSongLi

Nice Isaac, I love the detailing on the rudder.


Gary

Gary

Me too. Lots of work, but looks great.


Isaac

[Abir Merlin]

Isaac, great work on this model.
Your tips and explanations are very useful!
Thanks

[Isaac]

Originally Posted by Abir Merlin

Isaac, great work on this model.
Your tips and explanations are very useful!
Thanks

Glad you found it informative


details are important for building techniques. I always learn from others that post an in depth build log.


More coming


Isaac

[Isaac]

The Skyhawk like many second and post second generation jets had an all moving horizontal fin that was pivoted. The small elevators were used also in conjunction to provide pitch control.

For this build, I decided not to separate the "elevators" because they are really tight and flush with the rest of the surface and added nothing to the build ( same with the ailerons ).


here are the parts


inner frame dry fit


I used a wood dowel to provide structural strength ( it is also the pivot point and you can position it at various angles if you wish )


the dowel is in place


side plates


both halves ready



glued on



Isaac

[Isaac]

A correction. The all moving horizontal stabilizer was for trimming purposes and not really the primary mode of pitch control.


Isaac

[Isaac]

The original model designed by Yoav shows the plane in a flying configuration. Thus, no landing gear. So if you choose to modify this model to be on its wheels on the ground, you will need another modification in addition to the landing gear. The Skyhawk had leading edge slats that were not mechanically driven, but rather aerodynamically actuated. The slats were free to move and on the ground and low speed they were deployed down due to gravity. However, as the airspeed increased, the aerodynamic forces were greater than gravity and the slats traveled back into a stowed or flying position.

So a decision to build this model must be taken upfront ( slats retracted on the ground were only due to maintenance or in some museums ).


My build as usual is on the ground with the landing gear extended. Thus the slats will be lowered. A modification will be needed.

Here are reference pics showing the slats on the ground






Isaac

[Isaac]

Here are the wing spar parts



spar built per original design


here is the original wing skin. landing gear doors and the slat area will be cut


cut the slats out


I repainted and printed another set of wings with the red slat area attached to the wing. This is not the slat, but the undersurface. It was painted red as with most Skyhawks



a view of the dry assembly



cut out the new slats with extra material needed as glue tabs



glue the inner part. I also added wood stick to stiffen the leading and trailing edge



top view


glued in place top and bottom of wing halves



Isaac

[MacSongLi]

Isaac,


Wings look great. So the Horizontal Stabilizer doesn't have separate control surfaces?


Thanks,
Gary