Official Freewing 70mm F-35 V3 (2019 Version) Thread

[AZFlyer]

Thanks Alpha. James' pics are very helpful. I'll balance it at that point. Maiden coming tomorrow.

Good thoughts, please.

See you on the other side.

[Russ]

CG and LiPo placement.
I have 6S-5000 lipos from Admiral and HRB, below are my placements...both are as far back as they can be pushed. They both balanced on the corner of the panel that Alpha/James highlighted in Yellow.

[Evan D]

Looks good! What's plugged into the balance tab in the first pic? Telemetry?

[Russ]

Yes, Evan FrSky setup with lipo monitoring for the lowest cell and total voltage on an audible callout, it's the feature I like the most about my Horus radio...although the rock solid ACCST system doesn't hurt either!

[1800bigk]

Got the f35 other day went together perfectly but I’m having severe servo fluttering on the elevators while not even touching the transmitter. What causes this. I’m using dx8 and ar620. Never ever had issues been using this combo forever.

[adb2@suddenlink.net]

Got the f35 other day went together perfectly but I’m having severe servo fluttering on the elevators while not even touching the transmitter. What causes this. I’m using dx8 and ar620. Never ever had issues been using this combo forever.

Could be bad servo

[DaFlyingSnek]

Hey guys, when I get one of these, should I add a layer of Minwax polyacrylic to keep it from bubbling? I've heard that it works well and can help protect your plane.

[RCjetdude]

That won't prevent gatoring. Keep it out of direct sunlight for long periods of time. Temperature is what gets it.

[Alpha]

Got the f35 other day went together perfectly but I’m having severe servo fluttering on the elevators while not even touching the transmitter. What causes this. I’m using dx8 and ar620. Never ever had issues been using this combo forever.

Hi 1800bigk, welcome to Hobby Squawk! I would recommend swapping the elevator servo wire with the aileron servo wire, and then seeing if any of the servos still flutter. If the ailerons start fluttering instead of the elevator servos, then your issue is in the wire connection or receiver slot. If the elevators still flutter even after being swapped to a different slot, then the issues are in the servos. Now, it would be exceedingly rare for two servos in the same position (elevator) to both fail at the same time, so in my opinion the most probable cause is the most common denominator. In this case, the Y-connector is loose, or the connector to the receiver is loose. That would affect both elevator servos.

Another option is to rebind and range test.

You're also always encouraged to call the friendly tech support team at 224-633-9090, 8am-6pm CST, and have the aircraft in front of you when you call so they can walk you through it step by step and hopefully diagnose a clear cause of the flutter. If it's a loose connection, that's an easy fix. If it does turn out to be two bad servos, they can send you free replacements under warranty.

[sanjoseraptor]

HI Alpha,

I fly RC helicopter such as Align 700E. I have never flown RC airplanes, but I can "fly" all airplanes on "realflight". take-off, landing on the runway.
Is this F35 suitable for me to dive into RC Jet world?

[JeffS69]

Hi 1800bigk, welcome to Hobby Squawk! I would recommend swapping the elevator servo wire with the aileron servo wire, and then seeing if any of the servos still flutter. If the ailerons start fluttering instead of the elevator servos, then your issue is in the wire connection or receiver slot. If the elevators still flutter even after being swapped to a different slot, then the issues are in the servos. Now, it would be exceedingly rare for two servos in the same position (elevator) to both fail at the same time, so in my opinion the most probable cause is the most common denominator. In this case, the Y-connector is loose, or the connector to the receiver is loose. That would affect both elevator servos.

Another option is to rebind and range test.

You're also always encouraged to call the friendly tech support team at 224-633-9090, 8am-6pm CST, and have the aircraft in front of you when you call so they can walk you through it step by step and hopefully diagnose a clear cause of the flutter. If it's a loose connection, that's an easy fix. If it does turn out to be two bad servos, they can send you free replacements under warranty.

I had the same issue but with Rudder servos "fluttering" then going hard right and locking up. Went thru all the wiring, rebinding, tried different receivers, they'd work for a bit, then "flutter" and then hard right lock-up. Replaced both rudder servos with Freewing servos I had from a crashed V2 F16. Problem solved. Flew my maiden today, no issues. Flys great, and fast. Awesome Jet!

[Aros]

HI Alpha, I fly RC helicopter such as Align 700E. I have never flown RC airplanes, but I can "fly" all airplanes on "realflight". take-off, landing on the runway. Is this F35 suitable for me to dive into RC Jet world?

Welcome sanjoseraptor! The sim is an excellent way to learn how to fly but nothing compares to the real thing. It will give you a tremendous head start in terms of muscle memory but flying a real model does have a difference to it versus the simulator. I would recommend starting with a high wing trainer and move your way up the chain to this F-35 Raptor. Again, with sim experience it will cut down on the time it will take you versus someone who has no sim experience. Good luck and if you have any questions Hobby Squawk is a great place for answers!

[Alpha]

Welcome home to Hobby Squawk, Sanjoseraptor! In the same way that I wouldn't recommend an experienced 90mm EDF jet pilot to start off flying a Trex 450 as his first helicopter, I wouldn't recommend you with your Trex 700 experience to make this 70mm F-35 your first fixed wing airplane. Some of your skills will transfer, but some will not, and in fact some may conflict.

We designed this Freewing 70mm F-35 to be an ideal 70mm EDF for pilots with fixed wing experience wanting to transition into EDFs en route to larger 80mm/90mm sizes, but it wouldn't make a good first fixed wing airplane. As Aros mentioned, muscle memory plays a factor, as does "pucker factor", as does orientation. In practical terms, orientation and maneuvering through space is what challenges most new EDF pilots, or fixed wing pilots in general. Of course, I know of people who flew an 80mm Avanti as their first fixed wing aircraft successfully and confidently, but on the whole, I can say that from our years of experience fielding similar questions that pilots are more likely to be successful the more they maintain a safe progression from fixed wing prop trainer, to low wing warbird, small EDF, then larger EDF. As others have said, this is a fast airplane, and so your decision making window is very short. Orientation plays a role because unlike a heli which is generally closer to you and flying forward at a much slower speed, an EDF can disappear or turn in such a way that in one second it is 130 feet further there where it was, then by two seconds it's 260 feet away, then three seconds it's 390 feet away. At 90mph the aircraft is moving 132 feet per second, imagine needing two seconds to see, orient, decide, then input a control command. The aircraft is not 260 feet from where it was when you made that decision, and due to its size, it's even harder to see.

Ultimately, it's your money so I can't stop you from trying the F-35. But as a fellow enthusiast whose first priority is your safety, I would encourage you to at least get some stick time on a slower and easier to see fixed wing aircraft first. You'll likely be able to tell very quickly how much of your heli experience and simulator experience translate to flying an actual fixed wing aircraft, and from there you can more accurately gauge your appetite for risk. Again, you might be the guy who knows "I got this", or the guy who thinks "I'm glad I started here rather than fighting a 100mph rocket".

[adb2@suddenlink.net]

Got ready to maiden my F 35 yesterday but suddenly developed a rudder flutter. Isolated it and put a new servo in and problem solved. Maidened today and Alpha and his group have hit another home run. Did notice that even though cg was where James recommended,it still should be back even further in my opinion. Flew a little nose heavy but great.Just almost as far back as a 4000 will go. It's a speedy thing even at a little more than half throttle.Great work fellows.

[GBLynden]

I have to be missing something. My rudders and ailerons don't do anything when I apply inputs and everything was done by the book/videos.

Did anyone else have a similar situation and come up with a solution? I want to finish my unboxing video of this beautiful jet, but no dice with only being able to demonstrate the throttle, elevators, and retracts.

GB

[Hardway]

Mine all worked fine out of the box... :Straight-Face: Keep us up to date on the resolution. Sorry :Confused: I did run each servo on the tester for 8 minutes before assembly. I always do that to burn them in and check for excess heat or any noise. I also pulled the leads and used heat shrink for all connections...

[Alpha]

GB, put them directly into a servo tester or a known working receiver slot. If your elevator slot is working, plug the aileron servos one by one into the elevator slot. Also, verify there aren't any errant mixes in the radio's programming.

[Alpha]

Got ready to maiden my F 35 yesterday but suddenly developed a rudder flutter. Isolated it and put a new servo in and problem solved. Maidened today and Alpha and his group have hit another home run. Did notice that even though cg was where James recommended,it still should be back even further in my opinion. Flew a little nose heavy but great.Just almost as far back as a 4000 will go. It's a speedy thing even at a little more than half throttle.Great work fellows.

Congrats on your successful maidens, guys! Keep them coming!

[urrl]

[dahawk]

Thanks for the tip ! and duly noted. Great vid. Glad the damage was not severe. A few rug burns.