What did you fly today?

[jetfool]

Good Job Davegee., I always suffer the pucker power on first flights in calm wind. Can't imagine trying in gusty wind. My hat is off to you. Nice looking model

Best Regards, Rex

[davegee]

will do, f4u aussie! Planning on sometime next week, weather permitting.

Cheers

davegee

I took my new Freewing F-35 out to the field this morning. I first flew my "weathership" Beech 18. Winds were much less than ideal but it was a good workout for takeoffs and landings on an airplane that can handle them.

I did a bunch of ground tests on the F-35 like taxi tests, high speed taxi down the runway and then trying the new (for me) reverse thrust system, range checks, and the like. I was leaning towards stopping after those were completed, but then the wind died down some. Probably more than I should have tackled for a maiden of this little jet, but first one went ok, despite the winds. Got it back down safely although less than an impressive touchdown and rollout due to the winds which were probably more than it can really handle, at least while I'm at the sticks!

I took it up for a second flight when the winds died down again, but of course once I was aloft. they came up with a right 90 degree angle at about 10 knots, and very gusty. I was able to get it on the ground ok, actually better than the first landing, but as it slowed down to a stop, I momentarily scraped the front underneath parts of each wingtip. These parts are plastic, and easily sanded and repainted so you won't see them.

I did have one "Homer moment" as I was trying to get somewhat proficient trying to get the reverse thrust activated to help slow it down to a stop on landings. My backup radio that I'm using right now is a DX 9, as my DX18 is in the shop in Illinois getting the roller switch replace that went bad.

I had the B switch set up as the forward/reverse control for the motor. So, I have it set up so if you push it forward away from you, you are in forward thrust. If you flip it towards you, the reverse thrust is armed and you can add reverse power by advancing the throttle stick. Well, while testing this at very low speed I accidently flipped the "GEAR UP" switch behind it and the gear retracted on the rough runway. DOH!! Just very minor foam scraping easily fixed on the bottom of the fuse, but probably a classic human factors issue with having two different switches in proximity to each other that can cause major problems if you mess it up. I think more training on my part will help correct the problem, hopefully.

I can't really give a good analysis of the flight performance of the airplane today due to the winds. I was really fighting them and this was probably more than this little plane was ever designed to handle.

But it did fly fairly well despite those challenges, and I will always fly this plane in much calmer conditions in the future. It is a pretty cool plane, and I think next week or afterwards, I'll be able to put on a bunch of flights to get a better read on where the settings should be. I took the dual rates and expo values for the control surfaces from a guy on the internet who calls himself: FAT GUY FLIES RC. He had some good ideas on how to fly this airplane, and I thought this was a good start for me. He wasn't far off and I think I can keep them fairly close to what he has and it will fly great.

Cheers

Davegee

[davegee]

Hi dave b sure to let us in on the f35 maiden ,, u always keep us informed.... anyway i had one when first released,, (my second edf).. found it to be a scally wag ( trouble) great looking little 70 never the less b safe hav fun.

will do, f4u aussie! Planning on sometime next week, weather permitting.

Cheers

davegee

[davegee]

Thanks, Hugh. Did some taxi and range checks with it at my house yesterday. I think I have the reverse thrust set up properly, and will practice some runs on the street outside our house today. Never done reverse thrust before on a plane weighing less than 100,000 pounds!

i’ve read and seen videos it can be pretty squirrely with book rates, so for now I have for high rates on my transmitter the Low rates posted in the setup manual. Then the rates go down proportionally from there to the other switch settings. I just don’t want to fly like a drill bit right out the chute on the maiden.

Will report back results of first flight tests when I do them.

cheers

Davegee

[f4u ausie]

Hi dave b sure to let us in on the f35 maiden ,, u always keep us informed.... anyway i had one when first released,, (my second edf).. found it to be a scally wag ( trouble) great looking little 70 never the less b safe hav fun.

[davegee]

Dave,
Not necessarily off topic, anything that improves our flying experience is right on.

Speaking of SMC, got out yesterday with a couple I rarely fly, but with SMC packs they fly great. The FMS 1700mm P51, definitely underpowered (and yes, I do need to weather it, but something else always ends up getting priority, like repairing after mishaps), but flies much better on their 4400HiV or 5300 standard, nice and light, which helps this pig.

Also flew my 8S F4 & F16, which gives me over 5 minutes on the HiV 8S 5900.

Got my repainted Stinger 90 up which I've upgraded the fan to the 6S big 12 blade I took out of my F16 when I converted that to 8S. The Stinger is a rocket with that fan and is flown on a SMC HiV 6S 5900 for 5-6 minutes. Can't beat that. 🤙🤗

Hi Hugh: I just bought a Freewing F-35 the other day. Just getting most of it put together. Turns out my Admiral batteries are too long to fit (the CG is WAY back there), so I tried the shorter Spektrum G-2 smart battery which fits, and also the SMC battery if I lay it down on its side so the canopy clears. I'm going to buy at least one more of the SMC packs shortly. I'm hoping this little F-35 flies well. Probably maiden it next week.

Cheers

Davegee

[davegee]

DG, As a group they are selling the intellectual property (IP) for their Aluminum Retract Line, Aluminum Struts & Wheels.

The Rubber Tires and Plastic bits are being outsourced, but they say they will not miss a beat keeping up with those Inventories.

All the ZAP adhesives are still a part of Robart as far as I know.

I believe there are prospective buyers, but I have not heard of a pending sale.

I had chatted briefly with 'she whose authority exceeds my rank' about the prospect and finding out more.

When I researched the opportunity, I found that it is only the in-house aluminum manufacturing segment being dismantled and only the IP that is for sale as stated above.

Best, LB

Thanks for that info, Steve. I was totally unaware of all these happenings until Rex mentioned them in a post earlier today. I wish them and our hobby the best, going forward. I've used their retracts and other hardware for over 20 years.

Cheers

Davegee

[jetfool]

Hugh,
Your Fleet looks great. Enjoy reading your updates and tricks of the trade. Would love to get the FW F-4 but don't think my ability to fly it warrants it. No EDF experience.

[Elbee]

I hadn't heard about a sale of Robart? Do you have any more info on that? I sure hope that doesn't cause them to reduce inventory or quit the business altogether.

DG, As a group they are selling the intellectual property (IP) for their Aluminum Retract Line, Aluminum Struts & Wheels.

The Rubber Tires and Plastic bits are being outsourced, but they say they will not miss a beat keeping up with those Inventories.

All the ZAP adhesives are still a part of Robart as far as I know.

I believe there are prospective buyers, but I have not heard of a pending sale.

I had chatted briefly with 'she whose authority exceeds my rank' about the prospect and finding out more.

When I researched the opportunity, I found that it is only the in-house aluminum manufacturing segment being dismantled and only the IP that is for sale as stated above.

Best, LB

[Hugh Wiedman]

Hey Hugh: a little off topic, but just wanted to let you know that I've been giving my test SMC 5000 a workout with several planes, especially my F-18C and F-15C. Flies great in anything I put the battery in. I plan to buy more of these soon.

Thanks!

Davegee

Dave,
Not necessarily off topic, anything that improves our flying experience is right on.

Speaking of SMC, got out yesterday with a couple I rarely fly, but with SMC packs they fly great. The FMS 1700mm P51, definitely underpowered (and yes, I do need to weather it, but something else always ends up getting priority, like repairing after mishaps), but flies much better on their 4400HiV or 5300 standard, nice and light, which helps this pig.

Also flew my 8S F4 & F16, which gives me over 5 minutes on the HiV 8S 5900.

Got my repainted Stinger 90 up which I've upgraded the fan to the 6S big 12 blade I took out of my F16 when I converted that to 8S. The Stinger is a rocket with that fan and is flown on a SMC HiV 6S 5900 for 5-6 minutes. Can't beat that. 🤙🤗

[davegee]

Davegee,

Great looking models. Glad the tires made a difference. I hope Robarts wheels are staying produced by someone after there sale. Would like to have the FMS JUG in my fleet someday

Hi Rex: I hadn't heard about a sale of Robart? Do you have any more info on that? I sure hope that doesn't cause them to reduce inventory or quit the business altogether. I had to order the 3.5" wheels directly from Robart yesterday, MRC and the others were out of stock. But no problem going to the source to get what I needed, this time, anyway.

Yeah, I think at least a little weathering is appropriate for warbirds, or any model airplane based on a full size aircraft. The trick is not to overdo it to where it looks worse than if they hadn't tried it at all! Sometimes, less is more with weathering. It's a real art. Your Corsair came out very nice, and you can use that knowledge to tastefully enhance all your future planes, or even some around the house that you haven't made any final touches to yet.

Best,

Dave

[jetfool]

Davegee,

Great looking models. Glad the tires made a difference. I hope Robarts wheels are staying produced by someone after there sale. Would like to have the FMS JUG in my fleet someday

[jetfool]

Wildman, Thank you. Your FW-190 looks great also. Yeah I had to repaint the moment I removed it from the box. The landing gear is strong and I'm surprised how good it holds up on landing on our grass field. I installed the softer tires and they make a difference.
Probally harder to land but a ME-109 (1600-2000mm) from Motion w/bells and whistles would be great. I am still holding out for a Zero from Motion to go with my Corsair.

Davegee, Agree with you on repaint. Since taking your advice on weathering w/chalks (over 2yrs ago) I have a hard time looking at a WWII plane and not see some weathering to be done . A friend has the FMS Red Tail Mustang stock and I keep pestering him to weather it, It doesn't have character just looks like a toy.

Best Regards, Rex

[davegee]

Ah, heck! You'll do just fine on those airplanes, Rex! The ones that really get my blood pumping are my F/A-18C and F-15C. They fly very fast (for me) and I always struggle to keep them in tight in the pattern. It is really easy to let them get out too far because of their speed, and then you might be in trouble trying to get them back safely! Not for me, just asking for a friend. (LOL!)

I have not flown the FW-190. It looks totally cool and a Bad Ass on the ground or in the air. I used to have a Freewing Me-262 way back. Great flier but it almost always scuffed the bottoms of the nacelles due to its proximity to the runway surface.

Tigercat is really a great airplane. I had the MRC one, I really like the FMS version better, with the exception of the raised rivets which the real one did not have. But I do admire the excellent scale landing gear.

My Corsair continues to soldier on well, last iteration testing LB's magnificent Brewster bomb rack and 500# bomb. It's always fun testing out new ideas on these airplanes, especially if no one you know has tackled some of them before.

Please post pics of your planes when you do fly them, You may find it wasn't as hard as you thought it might be to get them back to mother earth safely! The soft scale tires are definitely a big help, IMHO. I just changed out my second set of wheels/Robart tires on another P-47 that I plan to fly tomorrow morning, weather permitting. I had to order another set of the Robart tires through Robart and they should be here within a week or so to complete my last P-47 mods.

Best,

Davegee

I went out to fly this morning with the second of my three FMS P-47s modified with the Robart tires. This airplane performed much better for ground handling, tracking, and really "sticking" the landing on each of the 5 flights I put it through this morning. Just waiting on my order of two more Robart tires to come and then I can modify my third aircraft to complete this mod for my P-47 fleet. Very happy with the results.

Also, I have to give some credit to my wonderful E Flite Beech 18 that I use for my warmup plane for flights tests like I did today. But it is also a true joy to fly, very stable even in moderate winds, and able to takeoff just in a matter of feet on our short crosswind runway when needed due to winds. Plane loves to land in a two-point, just like its big brother. A few pics included after the flight tests. I guess I've probably had over 100 flights on it since I got it a few years ago.

Happy flying, all!

Cheers

Davegee

[davegee]

Great looking FW-190s! Rex, I agree with totally overhauling the OEM paint scheme to one that is historically accurate. Well done! And well done with the maiden and getting it back safely on the ground, ready for a new career of flying with the other planes in your hangar.

Cheers

Davegee

[Hugh Wiedman]

Davegee,

These are photos of my E-Flite FW-190 that I test flew yesterday. Some scale mods and complete new paint scheme from the terrible OEM scheme that came on the model. Painted as a real JG300 STRUM. After 2 yrs. of looking at it ,it was time to fly. It needed very little trim and flew as if on rails. I highly recommend it but change the horrible OEM paint.

Best Regards, Rex

Outstanding repaint Rex! I definitely hated the clownish paint scheme it came in, which kept me from even considering it, even though I could have repainted it. A buddy has one and it does fly great.

Found a balsa 62" Extreme Flight FW 190 "Red Tulip" (Aces High-now discontinued) and got that instead. Absolutely love it. Installed 2 model sound speakers and it flies on a SMC HiV 5900 for over 10 minutes. Would like to see Flightline do a 1600mm FW or a BF 109.

[jetfool]

Davegee,

These are photos of my E-Flite FW-190 that I test flew yesterday. Some scale mods and complete new paint scheme from the terrible OEM scheme that came on the model. Painted as a real JG300 STRUM. After 2 yrs. of looking at it ,it was time to fly. It needed very little trim and flew as if on rails. I highly recommend it but change the horrible OEM paint.

Best Regards, Rex

[davegee]

Not too bad. The Robart tires have an inner ring molded in the tire that has to be removed more or less, so that you can put in the two halves of the E Flite/FMS wheels from either side of the tire. The plastic wheel halves have pins on one part and holes in the other, so you need to have anything of the Robart tire removed enough so it doesn't get stuck between the two halves of the wheel.

I don't see any reason to glue the halves of the plastic wheel together. I did for a while, but the manufacturer never saw that need, as you have a pretty tight fit with a C clip at the end of the axle that keeps everything together. As long as the C Clip doesn't come off, you should be in great shape.

I wish FMS and E Flite would have gone with something like the above setup instead of making those very hard plastic wheels that can cause fits trying to land without bouncing and possibly damaging the gear or even other parts of the plane. To me, this mod is a superior way to go over the OEM design.

One of the best things is I have found that as long as the touchdown is reasonably good, you won't get that big bounce the OEM wheels often give. Most times, it "sticks" the landing!

If you feel like it, give it a whirl. Let me know if you have any concerns or questions over this mod for both E Flite and FMS P-51s/P-47s.

Cheers

Davegee

[Coconut]

Are the tires easy to change out?

[davegee]

Congratulations Davegee! Your fleet is improving each year with all your gradual improvements. The scale mods are just icing on the cake too.

Yesterday was the first test flight on my E-Flite FW-190, flys beautifully with no problems. We fly off grass and the long gear holds up very well, also have the e-flite soft scale tires on. Next up is the Tigercat then later the Corsair which I'm sure my knees will be knocking.

Best Regards, Rex

Ah, heck! You'll do just fine on those airplanes, Rex! The ones that really get my blood pumping are my F/A-18C and F-15C. They fly very fast (for me) and I always struggle to keep them in tight in the pattern. It is really easy to let them get out too far because of their speed, and then you might be in trouble trying to get them back safely! Not for me, just asking for a friend. (LOL!)

I have not flown the FW-190. It looks totally cool and a Bad Ass on the ground or in the air. I used to have a Freewing Me-262 way back. Great flier but it almost always scuffed the bottoms of the nacelles due to its proximity to the runway surface.

Tigercat is really a great airplane. I had the MRC one, I really like the FMS version better, with the exception of the raised rivets which the real one did not have. But I do admire the excellent scale landing gear.

My Corsair continues to soldier on well, last iteration testing LB's magnificent Brewster bomb rack and 500# bomb. It's always fun testing out new ideas on these airplanes, especially if no one you know has tackled some of them before.

Please post pics of your planes when you do fly them, You may find it wasn't as hard as you thought it might be to get them back to mother earth safely! The soft scale tires are definitely a big help, IMHO. I just changed out my second set of wheels/Robart tires on another P-47 that I plan to fly tomorrow morning, weather permitting. I had to order another set of the Robart tires through Robart and they should be here within a week or so to complete my last P-47 mods.

Best,

Davegee