Official Freewing 90mm F-4 Phantom II Thread

[GMB]

I am thinking it is either a bad servo or as you say, the connector board. I have sent an email to the support team at MRC asking what to do. I will report back what they say.

Thanks to Motion RC. Since the above post I was able to test the servo and found it was working okay. I sent a message to MRC saying I believed the problem to be a faulty control board. All of this occurred over this past weekend when MRC support was closed. Today (Monday) I received notice that a replacement control board was on the way. That is excellent customer service by MRC.

GMB

[dahawk]

Weathering the aft to replicate the gritty, sooty, grimy early F4B before GE made an upgrade to reduce the black smoke.

[dahawk]

More refining to do

[Aros]

Love it!

[RCjetdude]

Looks like you got your F-4J after all Dave!

[dahawk]

Mine is a B. Lol. Yes, she’s ready. Just waiting for this blast furnace to die down. Oppressive heat this time of year. Looks good for the 4th for a maiden. I’ll make sure to get video.

[RCjetdude]

Mine is a B. Lol. Yes, she’s ready. Just waiting for this blast furnace to die down. Oppressive heat this time of year. Looks good for the 4th for a maiden. I’ll make sure to get video.

Ok, ok...F-4 Navy livery.:)

[Callie Graphics]

Happy 4th of July guys! Just had to share this photo that was just sent to me by Scot Q. Awesome timing to see a Bicentennial F-4! For those of you who don't know, we're having a storewide sale going on till tomorrow. All of our stock sets are 20% off.

[Aros]

Thanks Callie! Happy 4th to you and everyone as well! Beautiful livery! I put it up on our main page as well... Be safe!

[dahawk]

Awesome Callie ! Loving my Sundowners VF-111

So today was my turn in the barrel so to speak. Maidened my Navy F4B Phantom.

There's good news and bad news.

First the good:

1). I didn't break anything- Yay !
2). She got airborne- well, barely
3). Did not need a click of trim

Now the bad:

1). She was SLOW ! I think she might have been able to keep up with an Apprentice S-LOL

Pre-flight Pic




The video is in two parts. You'll see what I mean about her being slow.

https://youtu.be/pjuNcddGbGk

https://youtu.be/w7PnvW9iNlg

The 12B 1620kv setup just does not cut it. Suppose I should have just bought the PNP version and been done with it. Not enough watts.

So, now I'm on the hunt for a more powerful 6S or possibly bite the bullet and go 8S. Need an inrunner though as I have the RC Geek center afterburner designed for inrunners. Looking at FMS, Changsun, Dr. Mad Thrust, Freewing and others. Didn't really want to spend beaucoup bucks on the JP. Open to ideas.

She'll be grounded until I come up with a more powerful set up. Thinking something around 3000 watts with at least 6# thrust.

Hawk

[DCORSAIR]

Looks like you got the maiden out of the way, you had me worried at first, wasn't sure if it was going to get off the ground there for a minute, sure looks nice in the air. Great job.....:Cool:

[rifleman_btx]

Was the RIO threatening to walk saying he could get there faster?;)LOL

[Bajora]

Was excited to see and shoot the first few flights of this F-4 at one of our local flying venues this AM. A joint project by Mike (Goosekiller around here) and Justin K, piloted by the latter. Custom paint and Callie graphics applied by Rob D (we miss you man!). I have a bunch more photos to share, as well as perhaps a little video ...

[dahawk]

Thanks Corsair,

Had me worried too. I had remembered Ryan suggesting to not use takeoff flaps at least initially so she could build up some speed. Glad I didn’t cause she would most likely have popped up and stalled.

Gonna try recalibrating the throttle to make sure the esc is seeing the end points.

If that doesn’t cure the problem it’s on to a new inrunner. Maybe the FW 1680kv.

[Elbee]

Was the RIO threatening to walk saying he could get there faster?;)LOL

rifleman_btx, I was that RIO once, so I got promoted to 'front seat' and learned I should have kept my mouth shut. LOL Happy Independence Day! Best, LB

[rifleman_btx]

Hahahaha! Yes!LOL Happy Independence Day to you as well!

[DCORSAIR]

Thanks Corsair,

Had me worried too. I had remembered Ryan suggesting to not use takeoff flaps at least initially so she could build up some speed. Glad I didn’t cause she would most likely have popped up and stalled.

Gonna try recalibrating the throttle to make sure the esc is seeing the end points.

If that doesn’t cure the problem it’s on to a new inrunner. Maybe the FW 1680kv.

Not sure if your going to have enough power even with the 1680kv, mine looks to be a little faster than yours, if that was all the power you had, and I fly with the drop tanks and all, not sure you will be happy with it, you added some extras to yours right? Mine is just as it is right out of the box as far as servos and all that, only thing I changed was the fan/motor to a FW 4068-1680KV so you still might not get the performance your looking on 6s if yours is a little heavier than mine, mine is no rocket but you can see the difference for sure.

[Bajora]

A few more of the Rob/Mike/Justin F-4:

[

[goosekiller1]

John would love to see some video of Rob Justin and mine F-4 Please.

[dahawk]

Okay,

At Captain Momo's suggestion, I did a recal. It helped!

Freshly charged 6S 50C. Saw a peak watt burst of ~2,300 on the screen. Peak amps was 93. Voltage showed 24.7. Multiplying amps x volts gets me to: 2,297 watts. A 21% increase in power. I'll take it .Math checks out. I think that is around the same as what the stock 6S 9b is rated at if I'm not mistaken. Far better than the 1900 watts I saw before recalibrating. Worth trying to fly her again before replacing the combo. I don’t have the proper testing device to accurately measure thrust. My barometer for measuring is if it can blow one of my wings off the the rack on the wall. Lol. The esc is a no name 130 amp from Elmer at edfhobbies that I’ve had laying around looking for a home. No programming manual. I do recall that it was originally set for high timing. I'm hearing that an inrunner should be set for low timing . Don't know how to change it without a manual or programming card. I could try my Hobbywing card.

Might still be below my expectation of a fast Phantom known for her Mach 2 speed. If I can’t keep up with my 70mm BAE Hawk or a 80 mm Avanti, it will be a bit of a letdown. I want air superiority ! Lol


At some point, I may just bite the bullet and upgrade to hotter 6S like a JetFan or maybe a even a 8S setup. This Mach 2 jet warrants a quality power investment IMO. I would not like being passed by a 80mm Avanti- lol

Thanks again guys for all your advice and help in troubleshooting.

I’ll report back after the next flight.

Hawk