Official Freewing 64mm F-105D Thunderchief

[Alpha]

Project Machat:
Freewing 64mm F-105D Thunderchief

Mike Machat is a world renowned aviation artist, friend of Tony and Evelyn Acurso, and valued member of the Motion RC customer family. Mike is also the original namesake of the "Thunderchief" --his uncle, George Hildebrand, a manager within the Republic design team, gave his nephew the callsign "Chief" in recognition of Mike's fondness for fire engines. When it came time to name the project which George had been working on, he submitted the winning name which incorporated the "Thunder" prefix common to all Republic aircraft, and "Chief" in honor of his nephew, Mike Machat. We at Motion RC are so grateful for the opportunity to honor Mike and his uncle and all those who worked on the real F-105 Thunderchief.

Never before modeled in foam in any size, Thunder and Lightning strikes twice! Following up on the wildly popular F-8 Crusader, we are excited to announce our latest addition to the Park Jet Series, the F-105D Thunderchief! Relentless in its bombing missions during the Vietnam War, the supersonic F-105 excelled as a single seat F-105D fighter bomber and a two seat F/G SEAD or "Wild Weasel" platform. Never before available in foam PNP format, with the release of this Freewing F-105D Thunderchief we are proud to commemorate the service and sacrifices of all the Thud's crews who fought unbowed against terrible dangers.

Optimized for affordability and accessibility, the Freewing F-105D truly delivers the fun factor for park jet pilots. Continuing the popularity of our Freewing Stinger 64, F9F Panther, F-22 Raptor, and F-8 Crusader, the F-105D is perfect for pilots seeking standoff scale appearance of a rarely modeled aircraft in an affordable and easy to own package.

The Freewing 64mm F-105D Thunderchief is designed to be an ideal first hand launch EDF, for novice pilots wanting to learn how an EDF jet handles versus a propeller driven model aircraft of a similar size. The Thunderchief is surprisingly stable yet nimble, with axial rolls and predictable behavior. A shoulder mounted wing and embedded plastic "skid plate" along much of the belly protects the aircraft during carefree belly landings. Assembly is straightforward, and using only two servos minimizes weight, complexity, and cost. Like the F-8 Crusader, the F-105D Thunderchief is configured to be flown using a radio that has Elevon mixing, as each side's aileron and elevator surface are connected together. The model's low wing loading and manageable slow speed handling in the landing pattern negated the need for a heavy and costly variable incidence wing. The battery bay can also accommodate a small gyro for additional stabilization.

Powered by an efficient 64mm 5 blade EDF fan unit, 30A ESC and 2627-4500kv brushless outrunner motor, the Freewing 64mm F-105D Thunderchief reaches a top speed of 116kph/72mph using a single inexpensive 3s 1000mAh-2200mAh lipo battery with XT60 connector. While designed with simplified flight control surfaces and intended for hand launches and belly landing on grass runways, an optional landing gear set is sold separately for steerable operation on paved runways.

Special thanks to Tony and Evelyn for presenting this model to Mike Machat on behalf of Motion RC and reminding us all to remember our vets at every opportunity!

PRE-ORDER here!Suprise, surprise, the F-105s are in the same containers as the B-24s! Having been shipped over two weeks ago...


LISTEN here to another fun podcast with RC Afterhours where we discuss parkflyer jets for winter weather, including the all-new F-105:



Flite Test will also be publishing a full review of both the F-8 and the F-105, soon. In the meantime, check out their preview of the F-105 at the 4:30 mark of their Vlog:

Our official videos are coming, too, so stay tuned!




Pilot Evelyn visiting bigger brother:

[Boots Whirlygig]

Awesome. I was hoping for 80mm, but this ones perfect for my stocking! LOL:)
#285269

[Alpha]

Pilot Evelyn and Tony really went the extra mile to capture our F-105 alongside the real deal at Edwards Air Force Base. Special thanks to both of them for coordinating with Mike Machat as well. It truly is an honor to honor the history and people behind this aircraft!

[Alpha]

2017 has been a very diverse year for Freewing and FlightLine. We're changing things up to deliver something for everyone in different sizes and price points throughout this year...

64mm Parkjet: F-8 Crusader ($99)
64mm Parkjet: F-105D Thunderchief ($99)
70mm Scale: F-16 V2 Camo ($199/$229)
70mm Scale: Hawk T1 ($229)
80mm Sport: Avanti S ($329)
80mm Scale: A-4 Skyhawk ($329)
Twin 80mm Super Scale: A-10 Warthog ($599)
1600mm Warbird: Spitfire Mk.IX ($349)
2000mm 4-Engine Warbird: B-24 Liberator ($429)

This time around, it's the stocking stuffer winter class birds to shine:

[borntoolate]

Hmmm... 64mm. I do like the scheme.

Bob

[BRGT350]

Very nicely done, MotionRC! The price point and ability to fly these without a perfect runway make these very attractive. I also like how it flies with 2200 batteries, which I have a good number of.

[dahawk]

Pre-ordered .

[quitcherbitchen]

Nice

[Bearcat]

Now that is a damn good looking plane and the F-105 Thud is a good choice, love the size as I can hide it from my wife much easier!!!!! Now if we can just get Freewing to release a F4D Skyray or F-106 Delta Dart the last of the Delta wing interceptors of the US Airforce.. Fly Fly did the F-100 in 90mm size (I own one) but would love to see a smaller scale and of course a HO-229! ;-) (I will keep trying until I fund the damn thing) will buy the F-8 first and then the F-105.. but as always I will support MotionRC!!!!

[Alpha]

Hi Bearcat, you and I share similar favorites! We talk about some of this subject in the podcast with Andre, Chris, and Mike over at RC Afterhours. We intend to expand this series of 64mm parkjets, and the plan, similar to what we've been doing with the warbirds from FlightLine, is to give a preference toward never before modeled aircraft, or very rarely modeled aircraft. The FlightLine RC warbirds such as the La-7, F8F Bearcat, F7F Tigercat, Ta-152, and these two new F-8 Crusader and F-105 Thunderchief from Freewing are examples of us trying to bring NEWNESS to those segments of the hobby, and seeing what "sticks". The 1200mm Spitfire and 64mm F-86 are good examples of models that sold well in smaller sizes, so we upsided them for the bigger crowd to 1600mm and 80mm, respectively.

For our customer family wanting bigger jets or smaller warbirds, don't worry, we've got you covered. Not just with what we have in stock now, but with what he have to come. You know we've always got more. #BringIt

[xplaneguy]

Alpha, Thank you and the entire Motion RC and Freewing Family for honoring Mike and all who are connected to and love the F-105 Thunderchief. You all are the best!

[andre]

Hi Bearcat, you and I share similar favorites! We talk about some of this subject in the podcast with Andre, Chris, and Mike over at RC Afterhours. We intend to expand this series of 64mm parkjets, and the plan, similar to what we've been doing with the warbirds from FlightLine, is to give a preference toward never before modeled aircraft, or very rarely modeled aircraft. The FlightLine RC warbirds such as the La-7, F8F Bearcat, F7F Tigercat, Ta-152, and these two new F-8 Crusader and F-105 Thunderchief from Freewing are examples of us trying to bring NEWNESS to those segments of the hobby, and seeing what "sticks". The 1200mm Spitfire and 64mm F-86 are good examples of models that sold well in smaller sizes, so we upsided them for the bigger crowd to 1600mm and 80mm, respectively.

For our customer family wanting bigger jets or smaller warbirds, don't worry, we've got you covered. Not just with what we have in stock now, but with what he have to come. You know we've always got more. #BringIt

Good podcast, lots of fun.
Left us wanting more for sure.
The RC Afterhours team all want to try the 64mm edfs now.

[farmflyer]

Expected flight times on 1600,1800,and2200?

[Alpha]

Flight duration is similar to most of Freewing's other modern 3s EDFs. I'm flying with the 1600mAh, timer set to 4 minutes on mixed throttle. The 2200 has ~27% more capacity, but gives about 15% more flight time due to the weight penalty. The more noticeable difference is penetration (higher weight = better penetration in windier conditions) and acceleration (lighter weight = easier acceleration from static). Battery quality factors in, too. The ampacity of a good [accurate] C-discharge rating on a new 1600 or 1800 will be more ideal versus an older 2200, because the model will accelerate more easily, allowing a pilot to back off the throttle sooner, resulting in lower consumption on average, which translates to a longer flight duration.

We talk in the podcast about environmental factors as well. As "winter weather" aircraft when long runways aren't always accessible, these 64mm parkjets will probably be flown in colder conditions, which will affect batteries, as will ambient humidity. I always recommend setting the maiden timer on any EDF to two minutes, then landing, calculating the amount recharged, then adjusting your timer upwards in small, safe increments until you're consistently landing at a safe voltage level.

[farmflyer]

That's pretty good not an edf guy but these are tempting.

[crxmanpat]

So it looks like a lot of us guessed correctly on the F-105. I'm a little disappointed that it's another 64mm hand tosser, was hoping for a 90mm super scale version, but I understand the need to cater to all flyers. On the fence about getting this one, maybe if it had been in a SEA paint scheme instead.

Here's hoping Project Foil is a big one! :)

[TSHobbies]

yup..was hoping for a biggin... just not into the park flyers.

[Alpha]

I'm sure I'll be saying this often, but for all you "Big Bird" lovers, don't worry. Just because the 64mm F-8 sold twice as fast as the 80mm A-4, 80mm Avanti, and twin 80mm A-10 doesn't mean we'll ever stop making big birds. The parkjets are intended to 1) be operable in winter conditions, 2) cater to an entirely different crowd than existing big EDF pilots. The crowd of people wanting to fly their first EDF is far larger than the crowd flying big, advanced EDFs. Help us spread the word to that larger crowd that there are modern, affordable 64mm EDF options as a cost effective stepping stone into the wider world of Bigger/Faster/Costlier. :) The more, the merrier :)

Thanks!

[NoDirt!]

Aaaahhhhhhhh!!!!!!! Ya'll are making me nuts!!!!

[Kloverzero]

I am in!!! #285285 Can't wait to get the first and only EPO Thud!!!