Official Freewing 90mm F-4 Phantom II Thread

[Maverickpro]

That was my issue also with the nose door dragging the paint off the strut. I'll post something when I get it figured out. Hopefully soon, but I think your right about the c hinge helping to offset the door better.

[Matt Mathias]

Hello, I was a f4 plane captain with VMFAT-101 from 83 through 86 in Yuma AZ. I started flying rc planes in 1986 and have been flying EDF'S of all sizes, war birds and sport jets for 4 years. I'm finally going to pull the trigger on this F4 but I have a question for you experienced f4 pilots. Is the performance of the 6S plenty good or do you guys think the 8S Is the way to go? I know these type of questions are subjective and depends on a lot of things. But what does your gut say? I like speed but I don't have to have the fastest, know what I mean? I have plenty of 6S batteries but to run 8S I would have to get some 2 cells or buy some 4 cells. Which is not to big of a deal. If I get the 6S would I regret it and wished I had gotten the 8S? I've never flown 8S but I'm not scared of it. I do value like minded rc pilots opinion. Just having trouble deciding. Thanks in advance fellas.
Regards
Matt

[nuts-n-volts]

Hi Matt. I have 390+ flights on my F-4. Documented. All on 6s. Of course there will be folks who will say 8s is better. Agreed. I am certain it is better. You will get more speed and vertical with the 8. Power management comes into play on either pack. But there is also the charging perspective. Me personally, I like the ease of charging a 6s Lipo and easily taking a few to the field.

The jet flies very scale with 6. Still plenty fast. Big loops, Cubans, etc. You can do anything the real one can do. I do recommend no less than a 6200. This will give a 3.5 minute flight. It can carry weight easily so 7000 packs are not out of the question and of course will produce more flight time. It is a very scale flying jet and is absolutely one of my best favorites. It never fails to impress at the field.

[f4u ausie]

Hello, I was a f4 plane captain with VMFAT-101 from 83 through 86 in Yuma AZ. I started flying rc planes in 1986 and have been flying EDF'S of all sizes, war birds and sport jets for 4 years. I'm finally going to pull the trigger on this F4 but I have a question for you experienced f4 pilots. Is the performance of the 6S plenty good or do you guys think the 8S Is the way to go? I know these type of questions are subjective and depends on a lot of things. But what does your gut say? I like speed but I don't have to have the fastest, know what I mean? I have plenty of 6S batteries but to run 8S I would have to get some 2 cells or buy some 4 cells. Which is not to big of a deal. If I get the 6S would I regret it and wished I had gotten the 8S? I've never flown 8S but I'm not scared of it. I do value like minded rc pilots opinion. Just having trouble deciding. Thanks in advance fellas.
Regards
Matt

Yes this is just an opinion.... i got mine(camo) as an 8s... but i had no 4s batteries,, so first 6 or so flights were on 6s,, (i had an 1835 hp fan) 3 minuts was about max 4 me,, to nervous to stall in the turns.. onc i got 2 sets(4 batts) hrb 6000 4s the8s setup went in,, well its like going from a smallblock chevy too a big block 454,, massive tourqe.. especially if taking off of grass.. i feel its more locked in..but as well 4 minute flight times.. ( what a bonus) so for me its a no brainer.. i now have maybe 25 flights just luv it, im sure i will get a gray navy version at some point... do upgrde the elev linkage etc,, (not that far back this thread),, good luck u will enjoy it,, post pics.. of course thats just my 2 cents worth

[Matt Mathias]

Thank you nuts and volts and f4u ausie for the well thought out and reasonable responses. You have both given me valid points to consider. Thanks as well for the reminder about the elevator linkage mod. You would think that would have been fixed by Freewing by now. But thanks and I will do that mod before it's first flight. Since I live in Montana but work on turbines in the oil patch in Texas I will place my order on Sunday 11/24 so I will be on my off time for the delivery. I need to decide which one pretty quick. I am leaning towards the 8S but I will kick it around a bit more. Thank you for your time and thoughts. Callie is making up my units decals and I will post a few pics when complete. We flew F4 J, N, S models before converting to F18's i would make mine a S model if I could put on leading edge slats 🤣
so a J it will be.

[CoastlineChris]

The Freewing 90mm F-4 Phantom is finally here, combining stunning scale detail, versatile power options, and excellent performance. With its SEA camo livery, grass-friendly gear, and customization potential, it’s a must-have for RC jet enthusiasts. A perfect tribute to the iconic Phantom!

[f4u ausie]

Hi phantoms replaceing my ar631 6 channel rx with ar8360t+ so excited bout that will now have thrust reverse,, awsome.. its a telemitary rx but will take me a bit to get goin..on that cya

[f4u ausie]

Cauze ive got a 90 fms avanti coming 631 willgo good in that Land slower

[Flyer771]

Hi phantoms replaceing my ar631 6 channel rx with ar8360t+ so excited bout that will now have thrust reverse,, awsome.. its a telemitary rx but will take me a bit to get goin..on that cya

And you can use channel 8 for nosewheel steering. The AS3X+ firmware adds nosewheel stabilisation. Note that most of the new style AS3X receivers can be updated.

[Hugh Wiedman]

Hello, I was a f4 plane captain with VMFAT-101 from 83 through 86 in Yuma AZ. I started flying rc planes in 1986 and have been flying EDF'S of all sizes, war birds and sport jets for 4 years. I'm finally going to pull the trigger on this F4 but I have a question for you experienced f4 pilots. Is the performance of the 6S plenty good or do you guys think the 8S Is the way to go? I know these type of questions are subjective and depends on a lot of things. But what does your gut say? I like speed but I don't have to have the fastest, know what I mean? I have plenty of 6S batteries but to run 8S I would have to get some 2 cells or buy some 4 cells. Which is not to big of a deal. If I get the 6S would I regret it and wished I had gotten the 8S? I've never flown 8S but I'm not scared of it. I do value like minded rc pilots opinion. Just having trouble deciding. Thanks in advance fellas.
Regards
Matt

Hey Matt,

For what it's worth, IMO the Freewing 90mm F4 is significantly better on 8S than 6S. I had 2 F'4s on 6S that I upgraded to the bigger 12 blade 4068 6S inrunner and flew them for 4 years logging over 300 flights. One of my top favorite EDF's. Then I decided to upgrade one to 8S. The upgrade was significant and nearby pilots could hear my constantly saying HOLY . I do not fly for speed but the maneuverability seemed far better, not having to go to full throttle on loops/cuban 8's/split S's, etc. where at the top of the turn with 6S on a full throttle too tight loop it would result in slight wing stall. Never on 8S even below full throttle. Additionally, this F4 does not have any "cheater holes" for the fan intakes and occasionally on a mid throttle too tight rudder turns when lining up the runway, I was just beginning to experience a stall as I believe the inner intake was not getting enough air (but you being a REAL F4 pilot might know if that's true, man I'm so jealous of you being a real F4 pilot!! how awesome!! ). This F4 on 8S is a real pleasure to fly and it seems some of us (me included at first) were a bit intimidated in flying it because of those angled horizontal stabs. Loved it on 8S so much I bought another stock 8S and did it in the Jolly Rodgers. The RX I used was an AR8360T, then Spektrum upgraded them to what they call +. Now that was a quantum leap for my F4's (and all my aircraft-most notably for landing). The Gyro much more active with the ability to put the nose wheel on it's own gyro along with other great upgrades. I have to say that now it flies even better, if that's possible. Not only is it incredibly stable in the air, but landing is almost on auto pilot. I was able to move the cg back 10-15mm with much better results (without +, flew best at manual cg of 190mm but a little nose heavy-so landings not as easy as I'd like). All my military edf's I fly at least 20-40mm back of recommendations, but the F4 was not one of those. Moving the cg back 10-15mm on the 8S F4 along with the + upgrade resulted in my landings becoming almost picture perfect and simple, with the nose up about 10-15 degrees without much up elevator at 25-30% throttle, nice slow speed then dropping throttle to 15% and she touches down like feather. And my landing adventures has always been my Achilles heel, no longer thanks to + and so far consistently perfect landings on all my military edf's with +, even the squirrely F18! And trust me, it ain't the Pilot.

Flight time on an SMC HiV 8S 5900 is 5 minutes or more, depending on throttle management, but you don't need full throttle unless you want it in flight. The battery bay is expansive enough to easily accommodate any pack size you want, even 8S 7-8000's if you want, but I recommend the 5900 which weighs only 930 gr. Additionally, the T designation in the RX name includes some great telemetry. The absolute most useful is in-flight battery pack voltage. I set it for 45 second call outs of flight pack voltage and a warning when it gets to 29.1 volts (HiV full charge is 34.8 v) so I don't have to completely rely on my timer, but instead I know exactly when to land to avoid any problems.

So bottom line is GET THE 8S!!!!

[f4u ausie]

And you can use channel 8 for nosewheel steering. The AS3X+ firmware adds nosewheel stabilisation. Note that most of the new style AS3X receivers can be updated.

I only have an nx7e at the moment,,,(tighta???) Me,, should spent extra couple hundred for 8 or 10.... but with the plus receiver its been said(extra channels)??? So question is can i still have seperate channel for steerable nose wheel inc still having reverse

[Hugh Wiedman]

I only have an nx7e at the moment,,,(tighta???) Me,, should spent extra couple hundred for 8 or 10.... but with the plus receiver its been said(extra channels)??? So question is can i still have seperate channel for steerable nose wheel inc still having reverse

The AR 6/8/10 RX's have 14/12/10 "Ghost" channels in addition to the "plug in" channels, so all have 20 total channels. The plus upgrade did not change this, only making the gyro more responsive and allowing a separate programmable gyro for nose wheel and additional separate gyro capability for something like Thrust Vectoring nozzles.

In addition to their RX upgrades, Spektrum also upgraded several of their TX's via online downloads. I know for certain that included my IX 14, making it a 20 channel TX (Sweeeeet, saved me $1,200 by not needing an IX20). I believe the NX also can be upgraded to 20 channels, but not sure about the NX7e.

Regardless, you can use your 7 channel TX if not upgradable, the way it is for nose wheel steering and 6 other plug in servos with an AR8360T. Or use that 7th channel for reverse. With an AR637T in the F4, no separate nose wheel or thrust reverse. If your NX is upgradable with more channels, you can have both with an AR8360T.

Why have so many ghost channels and only 6/8/10 plug in channel? I use ghost channels (aux 1-15) for all kinds of 💩. Right top knob, aux 3 (for example) gives me the ability to adjust gains in flight. My flaps are tied to switch D with delay on aux 1. I also designate switch D to aux4 and use that to change gyro flight modes. So my switch D does 2 things, first deploys flaps with a programmed delay of 4 sec, and increases gyro settings (without that delay) for take off flaps and even more on landing flaps.

There are many other goodies to assign to the ghost (non plug in) channels as long as your TX has those channels.

Enough of my mouth diarrhea 🤮

[Hugh Wiedman]

f4u ausie. Just looked up the Spektrum TX upgrades. Your GOLDEN!!! Your NX7e can be upgraded online to 14 channels! More than enough. Others to 20 but you saved a bundle by not getting a 14 channel TX, so now it's free! The only real difference with a 14 vs 7 channel is the 14/20 has more switches, trims, etc.

So you can get an AR10360T, use 10 plug in servos, etc. ports, use another 4 ghost channels for stuff, all with a 7 channel TX. So whose the smart one now, the guy who bought an IX20 for $2000 US, or you who saved mega bucks, ended with 14 channels, and can use the saved money for more aircraft? Very devious of you!

I have enough problems with 2 sticks and several switches, more would just blow my punny brain.

[f4u ausie]

You hugh r the golden 1,,,, thaanx so much... i got home from work thisarvo about 2 pm saturday 4 me.. 2 jobs to do( so i can fly it in the morn sunday) glue in and setup new rx.. excitment plus, after work.. reverse working ,,yep,, aileron,,. Yep ,, elev,, yep ,, flaps with mix,,, yeep.... ok now lets go forward programming and setup as3x,,,, naaa nx7 wants a firmware upgrade,, .. so in the morn will fly no as3x (very confident).. no wind expected and get some help to upgrade... after that,,, my son is 28, help ya dad,,, na thats too hard,, mmm.. will let the team no how it went and devious mmm new90 fms avanti ,, next week or so (hopefully) on the way have fun b safe

[Elbee]

f4u ausie Hugh Wiedman

I need Google Translate here.

So, if Fred Flintstone and I are the only two guys left flying 8J Futaba Txs what's a boy to do?

I could use more channels, but my "puny brain" still thinks my IBM 1130 is viable.

Yes, the kid in the picture is me at the WSU Computer Lab, circa 1975.

Boat shoes, hair-doo, khakis, and an Izod shirt, what a 'frat boy'.

I can still program in COBOL.........I just don't have enough space for all the punch cards.

Anyway, like the conversation about Txs, looking to upgrade.

Best, LB

[f4u ausie]

Flares and all steve,, mums got couple of me just like that a bit younger(only just).. freds life was much simpler,, no upgrades downgrades.. blue tooth red tooth orange tooth to much sometimes

[Elbee]

Yeppers, flared khakis, too. Those were the days, huh. (LOL).

[davegee]

f4u ausie Hugh Wiedman

I need Google Translate here.

So, if Fred Flintstone and I are the only two guys left flying 8J Futaba Txs what's a boy to do?

I could use more channels, but my "puny brain" still thinks my IBM 1130 is viable.

Yes, the kid in the picture is me at the WSU Computer Lab, circa 1975.

Boat shoes, hair-doo, khakis, and an Izod shirt, what a 'frat boy'.

I can still program in COBOL.........I just don't have enough space for all the punch cards.

Anyway, like the conversation about Txs, looking to upgrade.

Best, LB

How I remember the punch cards! Freshman year we had a computer class where we had to write programs, and then send over all the punch cards to the main HQ so they could run our programs to see if they worked or not. Sometimes took hours to get our results, and of course we usually messed something up on one or two steps and the whole thing went down the drain!

Great pic!

Cheers

davegee

[Elbee]

How I remember the punch cards! Freshman year we had a computer class where we had to write programs, and then send over all the punch cards to the main HQ so they could run our programs to see if they worked or not. Sometimes took hours to get our results, and of course we usually messed something up on one or two steps and the whole thing went down the drain!

Great pic!

Cheers

davegee

Dave,

I hear ya, Brother.

I was a second semester BASIC FOUR student when that picture was taken.

What a mess, even then, to program, but it was the wave of the future.

I have dropped my fair share of punch cards boxes in the halls of Ol' "Ta-State U.

We have it so good now; however, those that build the apps and programs are not necessarily without ulterior motives.

Anyway, still researching TX alternatives.

Best, Steve

[Matt Mathias]

Hi Hugh, Thank you so much for that awesome write up, I was just getting ready to order the 6S but your info you shared along with the others who commented have convinced me to go for the 8S. Also I want to comment and clear up any misunderstanding. In the Navy and Marine Corps a plane captain is the ground guy who inspects and prepares the (in my case the F4) aircraft for flight. The plane captain also assists the pilot and the back seater (RIO) strap into the seat, answer any questions they may have about the particular aircraft. you also pull the safety pin from the ejection seats, start up the engines and go through system checks using hand signals with the pilot then salute them and send them on their way. You also recover the plane when it comes back from its mission and secure the drag chute and check over all systems upon return. I wish I was an actual F4 pilot but I was an enlisted NCO. VMFAT-101 was a F4 training squadron based at MCAS Yuma AZ. The "V" stood for fixed wing, The "M", for Marine, The "F" for Fighter, The "A" for Attack, and the T was for Training and unit number was 101. Oh, and the base was MCAS which stood for Marine Corps Air Station. Great times and I really enjoyed my time there. We did a deployment on the USS Enterprise for a month getting our student pilots carrier qualified. That was an amazing experience which I thoroughly enjoyed. Anyway I hope that clears up any misunderstanding I caused. The F4 was a great plane but I have to admit was completely out classed buy the F18 that replaced it. But the night time CAT launches on the Enterprise were a sight to see, and hear. I love the Picture you included looks super scale. Also I recently bought a FW F18C and made it up in my oldest sons father inlaw's Squadron. He is a retired Navy captain and he flew F18s. Ill include a picture of how I made it look. I flew the FW F18 for him because he is not a rc pilot. I flew it without a gyro and I really enjoyed flying it. So much so I am ordering the FW Blue Angle F18 on the same order as the F4. I fly with a Radiomaster TX16S with Edge TX.

[Hugh Wiedman]

f4u ausie Firmware update is easy and quick. I'm lucky that my flying buddy RudyD54 is a computer guru as in my case "I Know Nothinggg" and he programs all my TX and RX programming goodies, but I'm learning (can now actually turn the TX on by myself) Elbee and davegee I too was a 1st semester COBAL inductee when I came down from the frozen north of Michigan to attend "Sun Tan U", where all the coeds were in bikinis whose bodies had been "Kissed By The Sun". Followed one in to the computer building (since torn down and converted to a football stadium ) but only got "lucky" with punch cards. First job, my boss gave me this new fangled Mac PC he'd gotten and had spent weeks creating complicated spread sheets. Told me to get "acquainted" with it and said start with the manual. Step 1: Format the Hard Drive! Step 2: Peal my boss off the ceiling when he found out I erased all his work! Nice to know I have brothers like you who are old enough to know God when he was a boy and were around at the invention of computer programming.

The Real Reason I moved South:
My Kids with a few of their "Pets":

And no "Punch Cards" or RC Transmitters in the group: