The stock wheels have got to go. They’re definitely way too heavy. My first flight yesterday was all stock except I tightened the wheels. My flights today were remarkably improved after I installed the nose and main wheels from my F-4 Phantom. You can reduce the weight by about three ounces just by swapping wheels. The softer material also increases rolling resistance which reduces landing distance. Also when the strut is compressed it rubs against the wheel slightly for braking action! My F-14 doesn’t start rolling until about 20% throttle. Takeoff and landing distance is about 150 ft. The stock power system is great. I’m curious if my A-10 Warthog power system would be an improvement. I’ll post videos soon. Note: The F-4 Phantom main wheels are larger than the F-14 though they still fit in the wheel well.
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Official Freewing Twin 80mm F-14D Tomcat Thread
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Good tip, RuthR720, thanks for sharing!
RCfiddy1, the dirtier the Tomcat, the better.Live Q&A every Tuesday and Friday at 9pm EST on my Twitch Livestream
Live chat with me and other RC Nuts on my Discord
Camp my Instagram @Alpha.Makes
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Originally posted by Bajora View Post
VF-84 is the *only* way to go with an F-14 scheme. Beautiful.
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Hi Cdavis11, welcome to Hobby Squawk! Aside from the insignia's position, I ribbed Bajora for the ventral fins, which are reversed. But yes, VF-84 is gorgeous for a Tomcat, probably the Titular Tomcat livery. I love Bajora's photos that capture the aggression of those Jolly Rogers markings.Live Q&A every Tuesday and Friday at 9pm EST on my Twitch Livestream
Live chat with me and other RC Nuts on my Discord
Camp my Instagram @Alpha.Makes
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A slight boost in performance can be attained by rerouting the motor leads and closing the engine bleeds (tape the cutouts for the elevator servos and motor leads). The Tomcat comes from the factory with the leads directed up from the motor. You can easily reduce the drag from the leads by directing them inboard. Initially I removed the four bolts on the motor and rotated the motor 90 degrees. I discovered that the holes on the fan unit weren’t aligned which was a poor design. Then I reassembled it as it was originally only bending the leads in order for them to exit the fairing inboard. I used Gorilla packing tape to seal the gaping cutouts for the motor leads and elevator servos. The factory also poorly applied the tape over the elevator servo leads. The edges of the tape were in the airflow causing some additional drag. I replaced that tape and sanded some rough spots on the foam with 600 grit sandpaper. Here’s the flight after making the Tomcat sleeker.
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I filled the motor lead opening with foam tac (pictured). I don’t really like that stuff for much else unless it’s for repairs that are internal. Balsa filler is better for cosmetic repairs. Also, on my 3 motor leads I used aluminum tape to tape and align them together so that they lay flat, creating the least amount of drag possible. Basically leads 2 & 3 are drafting off lead 1. The pic below is RC Geeks F-14. He used hot glue for the motor gap, and packaging tape for the servo opening. In all honesty I can’t confirm an increase in performance being as I initially built the plane that way.2 Photos
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Just flew my F-14 after upgrading to the 9 blade fans from the A-10, and what a difference! I can cruise at a lower power settting, and the aircraft definitely feels lighter. Also added a full minute to my flight timer, landing at about 4 min of mixed throttle flying on Admiral pro 4000s. Will definitely be taking the Tomcat out to fly more often now!
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Originally posted by dkalwishky View PostI’ve been looking at the F-14 ARF+ and I think I’ll got with the A-10 engine combination like you did. Did you have to do any mods to the airframe or was it a drop in replacement.
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I recently did the same to my F-14, and the difference is noticeable! Drop in replacement, although I did have to considerably shorten the wires to the ESCs from the battery plugs. Good thing there was I needed them just a tad longer than the stock cables, so that worked in my favor.Pat
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So for those of us who have not yet add the F-14 to our hangers......
Buy the ARF and add the power from the A-10.....Current Hanger: FW, F4.F22,F14, Byron T-6, Top Flite P-47, Top Flite P-40, Top RC P-51 H9 P-51, SebArt Avanti, Yellow aircraft Spitfire, T Jeti Extreme Flight EDGE, DS-24 Carbon,
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