Official Freewing F/A-18C Hornet 90mm EDF Thread

[Elbee]

Colors may vary according to batch, so the pigment color match numbers may not match, so bringing in a painted part is more reliable.

FMDB, In the words of the famous sidekick, Ed McMahon, "You are correct, sir. Heh, heh heh." Best, LB

[Elbee]

Just so you know I'm not slacking off this weekend, I have been building component parts for the 3DP Cockpit. Fun, though slow goin'. Best, LB

[Bobaroo]

Just so you know I'm not slacking off this weekend, I have been building component parts for the 3DP Cockpit. Fun, though slow goin'. Best, LB

VeryNice... And it's going in a Jet with a Clear Canopy so it can actually be seen !!! Bonus !! I've got plans for raising this Canopy along the New Line I've got going here. A Seat and Pilot are also in the works. I may be molding up a Canopy for this one also. ExcitingStuff

[Elbee]

VeryNice, And it's going in a Jet with a Clear Canopy so it can actually be seen ! I've got plans for raising this Canopy along the New Line I've got going here.

BBR, Might I propose a collaboration, perhaps? Thought there might be more guys on the 3DP Express for this 'bird', but time will tell. What's the consensus for the "Center-line Fuel Tank"? F-16 or something else? Best, LB

[Bobaroo]

Yes LB, the CenterlineStation will need a Tank on this one. Proper WingTip Missile Rails and Wing Pylons all around are also a must. If you can get that Cockpit Stuff done, along with an operating 'Canopy', a Feller can grind out a pretty decent model with this one. SpeedBrake is also on the list. My Seat/Pilot guy is slowly working on those details too. Cheers !!

[flystrydom]

Hey all. I'm new to the forum.

So I just had the same issue with my Freewing F18 maiden flight.

After a successful takeoff and turn onto downwind I accelerated straight and level. Soon after I was ready for the base turn to bring her back over. Suddenly I realized that I had no elevator control. (During the setup of the plane I noticed one elevator stopped working for a few seconds until it decided to join the party again.) She made a slow roll and spiraled into the ground. I was accompanied by other RC pilots and they did not think the speed was excessive at all.

There seems to be a trend developing after reading the threads above and comparing it to my crash today. My jaw dropped when I read Mikes post because it is exactly what happened to mine, just a little sooner into the flight than Mikes.

Let me just add, it is the first RC plane I've lost in 5 years of joining the hobby. Yes lucky also I guess. I am overly cautious when I build or assemble. I used a brand new Spektrum AR8010T with satellite rx.

Regards

[Evan D]

Sorry about the plane. But welcome to the forum. Have you pulled the servos to look at the wires, gears, or mounting plate?

[Elbee]

Hey all. I'm new to the forum. So I just had the same issue with my Freewing F18 maiden flight. Regards

FSD, Whoa, Firstly, "Welcome To Hobby Squawk!" I am sorry to read about the your initial check flight, though what EvanD wrote is a good beginning point. Hang in there and post what you find. Best, LB

[flystrydom]

Thanks for the welcome!


All the wires were in tact and in their places. Nothing pulled out. Both the elevator servo's were stripped but that is surely due to the impact. Those elevators create a big moment on the impact of coarse. On first binding with the plane I ran into some very confusing moments with the aileron/flap setup. Turned out that the aileron and flap leads were plugged into wrong ports from the factory, furthermore they were swapped around. That created fun and games trying to figure it out..

Anyhow, I don't know if we will ever know what caused the crash exactly, but Mike and I have the same story to tell ;)

I'm not trying to shed a negative light on Freewing. In fact, I'm already contemplating which one to get next. I really want the F18. She looked soooo good on her very short flight. No matter what Freewing I get next, I think bypassing the BB with Y leads will be step number one, followed by a decent set of servos for the elevators. (I'm just being paranoid now)

Can anyone give me some positive feedback on the F18, or should I choose a different plane perhaps?

Thanks in advance!

[Evan D]

I love mine and am approaching 100 flights on it. I bypassed the BB except for retracts and lights and have a Jet Fan 8S setup. I deleted all the wing interconnection wires and ran each servo to its own slot on a 12ch receiver and mixed everything. I also programmed tailerons, full span flaps, crow and rudder air brakes. Awesome plane but each plane has its own personality and I like each new plane I buy.

[Carlbrainiac]

I think the problem is those hybrid gear servos. Meshing a metal gear with a plastic gear was never going to work. Mine felt awful out the box so I went straight to the full metal gear ones.
Only half a dozen flights on her but so far so good and that's all stock with the blue box.

Had an epic day today flying syncro with my buddy and his A10. Was awesome!

[Evan D]

Let me add that whenever possible I move the pushrod to a more inner hole on the servo horn, much less stress on servos this way.

[Carlbrainiac]

Couple of stills from today. Video coming soon. Remembered to connect up my rc geek centre burner today. Looks fantastic. Although the angle of this particular shot makes it look like I've had a flame out on engine no.2 lol. Guess that could be an argument to have the dual light burner but I like the more orange natural flame colour of the rc geek one and seeing it flicker into life. And I guess because of the angle of the ducting you would still only see one side at a time anyway depending on angle. Think the orange light is more visible than the yellow light of the light burner too. But I'm happy with both. Got the light burner in my Avanti and the centre burner in this.

[adb2@suddenlink.net]

My guess is that it was just bad servos

[Aros]

Sorry to hear that flystrydom! Make sure you document the entire event and any reverse engineering you have done and submit a ticket to our customer service agents. They will be more than happy to assist you to find out what can be done for you.

[flystrydom]

Thank you all for the replies and support !!

Good ideas bypassing the BB and setting up cool mixes.

I'm back on the horse and ordered a Freewing Venom! Once I've sowed that patch on my flight jacket I will get another Hornet!

Carlbraniac, your pics are awesome dude!! Love the plane.

Cheers!

[Carlbrainiac]

Thank you all for the replies and support !!

Good ideas bypassing the BB and setting up cool mixes.

I'm back on the horse and ordered a Freewing Venom! Once I've sowed that patch on my flight jacket I will get another Hornet!

Carlbraniac, your pics are awesome dude!! Love the plane.

Cheers!

Thank you. If you need more inspiration have you seen my video?

https://youtu.be/KohdsHnafqw

More videos will be up soon 👍

[flystrydom]

Thank you. If you need more inspiration have you seen my video?

https://youtu.be/KohdsHnafqw

More videos will be up soon 👍

Soooooo Nice! Thanks for that. Please do send more

[Carlbrainiac]

Soooooo Nice! Thanks for that. Please do send more

Will do as soon as my buddy of essential rc has them up. Or just subscribe to his channel and put the bell on 👍

[Aros]

Man, ya gotta love 4K video!!