Official Freewing 80mm EDF L-39 Albatros Thread

[xviper]

Has anyone removed the servos from the horizontal stabilizer without tearing it up? I rolled my office chair into it and it was left in an undesirable state. I purchased a new one but after attempting to get the servos out of the original it appears I will have to destroy it to do so. The old one could be a less aesthetically pleasing spare after repair. This also seems to indicate after removal the servos will have so much glue on them they will never sit right again in the new part. What say you of vast knowledge and experience?

All my "spares" that come off existing planes are "undesirable". That's why they became spares. The servos in the horizontal stab are 1/2 inside the tail of the fuse. Yanking them out shouldn't damage too much that can be seen. Slide a thin blade (X-acto knife) along all the edges to free up the sides of glue, then try to slide a flat bladed something under the end of the exposed servo to free the underside from the stab. Worse comes to worse, pull out the servo with needle nose pliers and if there's a lump of foam attached, cut that off as flat as you can and glue it back in the hole. The stab is already in a condition you don't like, so a little more "dislike" shouldn't bother you that much more to keep as a spare. If you don't like the way it looks now, will you ever actually use it when you need another replacement?

[urrl]

[vdanger]

URRL , great video!

Where are you located? Florida?

[urrl]

URRL , great video!

Where are you located? Florida?

Yes, thanks.

[sflyer1]

Getting close to flying my new L39. I will be flying off of decomposed granite road way. I'm thinking about covering the cheater inlet with a screen mesh. any thoughts?

[adb2@suddenlink.net]

Getting close to flying my new L39. I will be flying off of decomposed granite road way. I'm thinking about covering the cheater inlet with a screen mesh. any thoughts?

Any grass areas around?

[bill34207]

Getting close to flying my new L39. I will be flying off of decomposed granite road way. I'm thinking about covering the cheater inlet with a screen mesh. any thoughts?

Screen mesh sounds like a good idea under that type of condition. It doesn't take much of a pebble to destroy a fan.

[adb2@suddenlink.net]

Screen mesh sounds like a good idea under that type of condition. It doesn't take much of a pebble to destroy a fan.

I would check it out first for any small loose pieces and if so I wouldn't take a chance.

[vdanger]

Getting close to flying my new L39. I will be flying off of decomposed granite road way. I'm thinking about covering the cheater inlet with a screen mesh. any thoughts?

A screen wont work.

Any screen small enough to filter out small rocks, say window screen size, will not pass high speed air, it will act like a solid barrier.

Any screen large enough to pass high speed air will not stop the small debris that will destroy your fan.

A better bet then a screen would be a small plastic deflector in front of the inlet to deflect small rocks kicked up by the front tire.

[sflyer1]

We fly all kinds of planes, warbirds, pattern, EDF(Avanti's) off the packed granite with no problems. Has anyone tried the screen and how did it effect the performance? May try the deflector option.

[xviper]

We fly all kinds of planes, warbirds, pattern, EDF(Avanti's) off the packed granite with no problems. Has anyone tried the screen and how did it effect the performance? May try the deflector option.

I've read where people cover that cheater inlet completely and they still fly, so a screen won't be any different and should still let in some air. With the cheater covered, you just need more distance to get up to speed for take off. The deflector is an option but if that cheater sucks like a vacuum cleaner, some debris will still get in.

[vdanger]

I've read where people cover that cheater inlet completely and they still fly, so a screen won't be any different and should still let in some air. With the cheater covered, you just need more distance to get up to speed for take off. The deflector is an option but if that cheater sucks like a vacuum cleaner, some debris will still get in.

The plane will still definitely fly with a screen over the cheater or even the cheater completely covered.

But I assume the reason the designer put the cheater in in the first place is because the scale inlets do not flow enough air for the fan.

Therefore if you block the cheater in some way, you are probably starving the fan to some extent and loosing some performance.

[xviper]

The plane will still definitely fly with a screen over the cheater or even the cheater completely covered.

But I assume the reason the designer put the cheater in in the first place is because the scale inlets do not flow enough air for the fan.

Therefore if you block the cheater in some way, you are probably starving the fan to some extent and loosing some performance.

The other thing that I learned is that the cheater is for sucking more air in during zero to take off speeds, when there is less forward movement. Once moving, the cheater is not that needed due to the ram air effect. In fact, some have said that top speed is not affected with cheaters covered. I've never covered mine, even when I used to run on a gravel runway, so I can't attest to any of this. And yes, the gravel runway beat the crap out of the fan blades.

[Quickstop]

The other thing that I learned is that the cheater is for sucking more air in during zero to take off speeds, when there is less forward movement. Once moving, the cheater is not that needed due to the ram air effect. In fact, some have said that top speed is not affected with cheaters covered. I've never covered mine, even when I used to run on a gravel runway, so I can't attest to any of this. And yes, the gravel runway beat the crap out of the fan blades.

They also add it because it contributes to that turbine like sound we all love.

[sflyer1]

Today I was able to use a grass field to fly my L39. Flew 3 times without the screen on the cheater inlet and 3 flights with the screen. I had 3 pilots spotting along the runway to determine the point on liftoff.
There was not enough difference between using the screen or not. It may well effect other EDF's but not the Freewing L39.

[xviper]

Today I was able to use a grass field to fly my L39. Flew 3 times without the screen on the cheater inlet and 3 flights with the screen. I had 3 pilots spotting along the runway to determine the point on liftoff.
There was not enough difference between using the screen or not. It may well effect other EDF's but not the Freewing L39.

And there you have it. I think "cheater holes" help the pilot believe there is an improvement. They may help in the first 10 to 20 feet from the start but after that, most EDFs are moving pretty well. The only EDF where cheaters might actually do something are ones that hover (eg. SebArt Mig 29) where there is little to no air movement past the plane. They fly in dead air some of the time.

[urrl]

[p51mustangman]

any updates on the 3d cockpit upgrade? Just ordered mine...also looking for the nose strut support...

[Race 22 Crew]

Here is the link to the L39 nose gear brace on thingiverse. Had a friend print it for me. Should arrive next week and once installed it will be ready for the maiden.

https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3134218


Warren

[p51mustangman]

Here is the link to the L39 nose gear brace on thingiverse. Had a friend print it for me. Should arrive next week and once installed it will be ready for the maiden.

https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3134218


Warren

yeah I saw that, I do not have a 3d printer though...