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

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  • Originally posted by Bobaroo View Post

    But I bet you heard that Clanky Roll-Out !! I try to Eliminate that Clinky Rattling Plastic sound on mine. Every Time I manage get them quieted, they just Roll' on Forever !! And Brakes are 'Heavy... Brass Bushings on the Axels work but keeping them Lubed and Quiet is a Pain !!
    Yeah one landing I was coming a bit Hot and it rolls for like 200 feet but luckily my Runway is never ending I fly on the local highway hardly no traffic I wonder if I could program my ailerons like spoilers or speed brakes so they'd go up if I flipped a switch on the ground and have both rudders turn inwards

    Comment


    • Originally posted by Dannythiessen2@gmail.com View Post

      Yeah one landing I was coming a bit Hot and it rolls for like 200 feet but luckily my Runway is never ending I fly on the local highway hardly no traffic I wonder if I could program my ailerons like spoilers or speed brakes so they'd go up if I flipped a switch on the ground and have both rudders turn inwards
      Yea,... Might Help !! Or better still, howabout your Canopy Popping Up !!! and your SpeedBrake Deployed !!! That's my Plan. Haha. Cheers !!

      Comment


      • I flew for pay for a short period in the Navy. Every turn, landing and takeoff was graded. I know that would not be the case flying for a distributor but the over analyzing by our peers would be crazy.

        I'm happily retired thank you! :)

        Originally posted by Dannythiessen2@gmail.com View Post

        Haha yeah we should get ourselves hired there that'd be my dream job hahh

        Comment


        • Originally posted by TiredIronGRB View Post

          The stock Blue Angel we had at Joe Nall has close to 400 flights on it now, half of which were in China ;)
          Coolio,... Must be one of the 'Solid' ones. A wish for ManyMore to you !! Cheers

          Comment


          • Originally posted by Bobaroo View Post

            Yea,... Might Help !! Or better still, howabout your Canopy Popping Up !!! and your SpeedBrake Deployed !!! That's my Plan. Haha. Cheers !!
            Yeah but getting the canopy to pop would take an extra servo and hinges but would be cool

            Comment


            • You make a good point but let me say I feel you are overly critical at times. That said I have to say I modify everything. If I build a kit (wood) it's usually modified quite a bit and modifying wood kits is the norm. Even a foamie gets modified. Even a seemingly simple one like a EFXtra or Stinger 64 get props and fans balanced, and screws loktited or glued (should these be considered modifications).

              So good question. Is bypassing the MCBe a modification? If I balance the fan and loktite the motor screws and landing gear set screws is it? Is moving the push rods around because the lengths in the manual was wrong a mod? Is moving the pushrod to a different hole to get a better mechanical advantage a mod? Is plugging in the motor to the ESC because they were loose in the kit a mod? Is changing the CG point?

              In all the FW jets I have replaced 5 servos. Four on the F-14, tail and aileron (with better Freewing servos) and the tail servo on my L-39 (again with another FW servo).

              Personally I don't think any of these things are mods. Mine is flown most with standard ailerons, flaps, etc at rates between their publish high and low and at a CG within4-5mm of their published setting.



              Originally posted by Bobaroo View Post

              But could you be happy and more importantly, 'Comfortable' flying one of these Jets completely 'Stock' ?? 'I'mJustSayin' Most of the more successful Flight' reports here are coming from Dudes that have spent a considerable investment in Modding their new Hornets. Tightening them up considerably seems to be the only way to go with these.

              Comment


              • Originally posted by Alpha View Post
                We called in the flight team over the weekend to assemble and fly a dozen randomly selected F-18s. Spektrum DX9+Admiral 10ch rx, Futaba 8J+R2008 rx, FrSky X10+X8R rx. Eleven of the twelve models were flown 19-20 times, stock 6s PNP system, Admiral 6s 5000mAh. Aggressive flying. Consecutive rolls, full power dives and loops, everything we could think of. 213 flights over two days, no issues for eleven of the twelve models. Receiver function, MFCB function, servo function, structural integrity function. No problems.

                However, one of the twelve models, on its 14th flight, during a full power corkscrew spinning dive straight down from ~600ft to ~100ft, had its port side plastic elevator mount lift up slightly during pulling up from the dive. Not enough to come loose, but enough to roll the aircraft over during the full up elevator pull-up to recover from the intended spinning dive. The model rolled over twice as its nose pointed upward (recovering from the dive), the pilot reduced all power, then glided back to the road for a short-field landing. After taxi back, the elevator linkage was still attached and the elevator still moved, but the mount was sloppy and had to be reglued down before its next flight.

                I would not describe that flight pattern as normal --it's irresponsible. Nevertheless, we took that data point and spent this evening opening 203 F-18s at the factory trying to replicate the failure. We calculated the approximate force on that area during a pullout, then tried to pry up the elevator mount. Of the 406 elevators tested, only 2 of them were able to be pried up with between ~7lbs-8.5lbs of hand applied pressure against the elevator rod (~116oz and 133oz). This prying force applied during testing on the F-18 elevator rod is higher than the force tested on the F-14's and F-22's elevator rods, so again I would consider that above normal use.

                So, data summary for this weekend's testing is: 12 newly assembled planes flown, 227 flights without any issues, 1 flight with 1 partially lifted elevator mount, 203 planes checked manually at factory, 1 elevator mount able to be manually pulled up with similar force. This is in addition to the hundreds of flights conducted during prototyping/production/destructive testing phases, which are conducted before the first shipment departs Asia.

                Preliminary Result: No pattern established for physical failure points. One logged failure in 2,348 minutes of logged factory test flights. Flight testing continuing to try to replicate customer-reported crashes.

                Action for existing customers: As an additional precaution, that statistically is frankly overkill based on the data so far, you might want to check your elevator mounts by gently trying to pry them up. There's a large plastic foot so I don't expect them to tear completely up. If you detect any lifting, take a photo or video and send it to the CS Team. If you can pull the mount up halfway like this with a three finger grip on the elevator rod exerting anything less than 7lbs of force, call the CS Team immediately and feel free to post here. It's a large plastic foot so a complete tear-out would likely crack the plastic. Reglue as needed.

                Click image for larger version Name:	F18C 196 -SB- 116 ounces -6.24.2019.png Views:	0 Size:	687.9 KB ID:	202373
                Sounds like a pretty fun fly in! Hope there is video of it.

                Comment


                • Modding in my view is, Reworking/ Reinforcing and/or Swapping-Out/Replacing/ByPassing Factory OEM Supplied Components or Structures on your Jet for Other Components or Materials.

                  Yes,... I agree. I am Very Critical of much on these new High End FW Offerings. Equally Critical on the old Low End Jets in my possession. I simply feel compelled to be more vocal about things where more investment is applied. It's 'AllGood' really, and I actually enjoy doing the work on these Jets, I really do. I simply feel that at this 'Level', Much if not Most of this Modding should not be necessary to achieve a satisfactory flying example of a ScaleJet. Cheers

                  Comment


                  • Originally posted by Dannythiessen2@gmail.com View Post

                    Yeah but getting the canopy to pop would take an extra servo and hinges but would be cool
                    Will be Cool !!! I plan on doing it !! Hahahahaha I'll have it Strengthened and Flyable with a proper Lock-Up and everything. It simply has to be done.


                    And, .... Bonus !!! A fellow Squawker may be supplying the necessary part for the SpeedBrake. The Motion Guyz have already posted that there were undesirable effects with the Deployment of the Brake and it was deemed Unnecessary and also rather Costly to produce. We shall see how it works once I get one made.

                    Comment


                    • Originally posted by Alpha View Post
                      We called in the flight team over the weekend to assemble and fly a dozen randomly selected F-18s. Spektrum DX9+Admiral 10ch rx, Futaba 8J+R2008 rx, FrSky X10+X8R rx. Eleven of the twelve models were flown 19-20 times, stock 6s PNP system, Admiral 6s 5000mAh. Aggressive flying. Consecutive rolls, full power dives and loops, everything we could think of. 213 flights over two days, no issues for eleven of the twelve models. Receiver function, MFCB function, servo function, structural integrity function. No problems.

                      However, one of the twelve models, on its 14th flight, during a full power corkscrew spinning dive straight down from ~600ft to ~100ft, had its port side plastic elevator mount lift up slightly during pulling up from the dive. Not enough to come loose, but enough to roll the aircraft over during the full up elevator pull-up to recover from the intended spinning dive. The model rolled over twice as its nose pointed upward (recovering from the dive), the pilot reduced all power, then glided back to the road for a short-field landing. After taxi back, the elevator linkage was still attached and the elevator still moved, but the mount was sloppy and had to be reglued down before its next flight.

                      I would not describe that flight pattern as normal --it's irresponsible. Nevertheless, we took that data point and spent this evening opening 203 F-18s at the factory trying to replicate the failure. We calculated the approximate force on that area during a pullout, then tried to pry up the elevator mount. Of the 406 elevators tested, only 2 of them were able to be pried up with between ~7lbs-8.5lbs of hand applied pressure against the elevator rod (~116oz and 133oz). This prying force applied during testing on the F-18 elevator rod is higher than the force tested on the F-14's and F-22's elevator rods, so again I would consider that above normal use.

                      So, data summary for this weekend's testing is: 12 newly assembled planes flown, 227 flights without any issues, 1 flight with 1 partially lifted elevator mount, 203 planes checked manually at factory, 1 elevator mount able to be manually pulled up with similar force. This is in addition to the hundreds of flights conducted during prototyping/production/destructive testing phases, which are conducted before the first shipment departs Asia.

                      Preliminary Result: No pattern established for physical failure points. One logged failure in 2,348 minutes of logged factory test flights. Flight testing continuing to try to replicate customer-reported crashes.

                      Action for existing customers: As an additional precaution, that statistically is frankly overkill based on the data so far, you might want to check your elevator mounts by gently trying to pry them up. There's a large plastic foot so I don't expect them to tear completely up. If you detect any lifting, take a photo or video and send it to the CS Team. If you can pull the mount up halfway like this with a three finger grip on the elevator rod exerting anything less than 7lbs of force, call the CS Team immediately and feel free to post here. It's a large plastic foot so a complete tear-out would likely crack the plastic. Reglue as needed.

                      Click image for larger version Name:	F18C 196 -SB- 116 ounces -6.24.2019.png Views:	0 Size:	687.9 KB ID:	202373
                      Thanks for the info, now I feel stupid complaining about mine, it just has a mind of its own, and just my luck as usual, out of all those that you guys tested, I get one of the bad ones, hey, at least my decals went on good...LOLLOL

                      Comment


                      • So my using a JF/ HET/ Turnigy power system would definitely be a mod and my partial rerouting around the MCBe would be another... I would say low on the mod scale then...



                        Originally posted by Bobaroo View Post
                        Modding in my view is, Reworking/ Reinforcing and/or Swapping-Out/Replacing/ByPassing Factory OEM Supplied Components or Structures on your Jet for Other Components or Materials.

                        Yes,... I agree. I am Very Critical of much on these new High End FW Offerings. Equally Critical on the old Low End Jets in my possession. I simply feel compelled to be more vocal about things where more investment is applied. It's 'AllGood' really, and I actually enjoy doing the work on these Jets, I really do. I simply feel that at this 'Level', Much if not Most of this Modding should not be necessary to achieve a satisfactory flying example of a ScaleJet. Cheers

                        Comment


                        • Originally posted by Evan D View Post
                          So my using a JF/ HET/ Turnigy power system would definitely be a mod and my partial rerouting around the MCBe would be another... I would say low on the mod scale then...




                          That's how I see it... And anyone who changes out Servos for a different Type for example or in the case of our Beloved FW F-4D, adds a Plywood plate for Reinforcement of the Stab Servo and changes out the Linkage.


                          I am not suggesting there is anything wrong with this practice. I am saying that at this 'Level' I feel it should not be necessary for me to do this in order to get the level of confidence and performance I require in a ScaleJet. And clearly it is not necessary for everyone judging by the countless number of people who come forward with testimonials on how great this Factory Stuff is. Fast Heavy Jets cruising around on $10 Servos seems unsound to me. And Rudders going Crazy with Gear Deployment, if only on one in a hundred of these, is still rather unsettling.

                          Comment


                          • Got to maiden mine over the weekend, and after a bit of an adventure the first flight, the next several flights went great! As for the maiden, my elevator neutral was way off, it needed max up trim, and my elevator throw was also way too low. Must remember on full flying stabs to measure the travel from the LEADING edge of the stab at the fuse rather than attempting to measure from the trailing edge as with a traditional elevator! It does show an image in the manual that way, but I missed it. Anyway, the rest of the flights were smooth, maneuverable and FAST! Enjoyed every minute. Here are a few pics taken right after the last flight.
                            Any day you can fly is a good day!  :D
                            Dave

                            Comment


                            • Way to go Dave! I was lucky and had my stabs set up perfectly and didn't have to touch trim at all.
                              Pat

                              Comment


                              • Nice shots! Glad you had a successful maiden! I am just happy to be associated with a quality manufacturer like Freewing. Alpha's posts underscore the importance we place on quality and performance. If there is an issue, rest assured it's going to be handled one way or the other. I look forward to many successful flights of this model moving forward!
                                My YouTube RC videos:
                                https://www.youtube.com/@toddbreda

                                Comment


                                • Mine is still in the box, but it will be all good. I change things all the time, just from experience... But overall, look at what you get for the price point... We couldn't have touched this stuff back in the day for 400.00 -500.00 bucks!! I for one, am very thankful!!! :Cool:

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                                  • Just to qualify my statement, I have assembled well over 500 balsa kits. Designed and drew the plans and scratch built many... I have over 100 foam aircraft ready to fly, and rotate flying them on a fairly regular basis. Almost all (99%) are warbirds and jets... I also build and pilot helicopters, gyrocopters, and quads just for fun!!! I just don't want folks to think I am offering an uninformed opinion.... 35 years so far as a pilot. Motion rocks as far as I am concerned... :Cool:

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                                    • (Wrong thread. My head was on another plane. Sorry.)

                                      Comment


                                      • Checked my elevators, and all is good with them, but now I have to wait Another week for the parts that were bad to get here because we know they wont send them quicker.

                                        Comment


                                        • Kudos to Alpha for the heads up on the elevator mounts. The right side on mine was loose.
                                          My YouTube Videos https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrz...4Q-xrOOtP2C-8w

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