Official Freewing F/A-18C Hornet 90mm EDF Thread

[Elbee]

Hey all, Now I know why all of you have been posting pics of your Vertical Stabilizers. Been slow goin' over at the LB Hornet Works, but I have finished the RH Vertical. Added the White Marker Light, Back-lit Formation Light, and 'Heartbeat' Red Strobe. Markings are Callie Graphics and the livery is 70th Anniversary VFA-41 Black Aces CAG 100. One down, one to go. Best, LB

[Hugh Wiedman]

Hey all, Now I know why all of you have posting pics of your Vertical Stabilizers. Been slow goin' over at the LB Hornet Works, but I have finished the RH Vertical. Added the White Marker Light, Back-lit Formation Light, and 'Heartbeat' Red Strobe. Markings are Callie Graphics and the livery is 70th Anniversary VFA-41 Black Aces CAG 100. One down, one to go. Best, LB

OUTSTANDING SIR!!!!! Can't wait to see the final finished product. With your canopy and pilot mods, this could be the "pride" of the fleet. Of anyone's fleet!

[Aros]

Elbee, I am moving in.

[Brinka]

3D printed rails:. So after careful examination and planning I completed the 3D printed rails project. The files were available on this forum (a few pages ago) And those files were printed by Elbee Gracious thank you for help getting this project done. First off I tested the strength and rigidity and these printed rails are super strong and lighter than OEM. They will not snap or break as easy as the OEM.

However the screw holes must be drilled, the holes are half done, you must complete the job with a small Dremel kit. The rails are cut in 2 half's, and must be filed flat before trying to glue them together. The way I did it was by joining one half of the rail with the wing as shown, if you look at the before and after drilling you can see a small gap between wing and rail. The screw needs to sit on a flat spot in order to tighten. I kind of messed up the first rail by drilling a bit too much on the outer part (but I repaired that by using a another screw with a wider flat head).

After test fitting the rails to make sure it fits flush I glued them together with super glue gel. I then used acrylic paint as shown from Walmart for .79. That one matches best. Once again thank you all for your help, the show is this week and I will now have the F18 C model ready to fly at Florida Jets!

[Brinka]

Hey all, Now I know why all of you have posting pics of your Vertical Stabilizers. Been slow goin' over at the LB Hornet Works, but I have finished the RH Vertical. Added the White Marker Light, Back-lit Formation Light, and 'Heartbeat' Red Strobe. Markings are Callie Graphics and the livery is 70th Anniversary VFA-41 Black Aces CAG 100. One down, one to go. Best, LB

Truly outstanding job! 👍🏼 Love the livery scheme! You're gonna love the Hornet it is as cool as any jet I've ever flown!

[gooniac33]

That appears to be the direction we are going moving forward. I have been updating several EDFs in recent months to the "High Performance" (inrunner instead of outrunner) versions, so while I can't speak for the company officially (only Tom and Mark can do that), I would say that the old outrunner paradigm for EDFs is going to be a thing of the past.

That is really good news!! Nice to see them changing with the times!! All of them having inruners is a step in the right direction!!

[gooniac33]

I've mentioned to Alpha that it would make sense to have FW offer these rails as a separate SKU item instead of only being available with the wing set. Hopefully they make that addition soon because they are easy to break. I could use a new set myself.

Please please please make this happen!! They have kept my wings from getting damaged in cross wing tips but I would love to have a couple spares!

[Elbee]

Hugh Wiedman Aros Brinka, Thank you Gentlemen. Much work left to do. Brinka, if those rails are a decent design, the holes can easily be added to the STL FIle, I presume 3mm. Aros, we have rooms above the garage, bring your own "people paper" and be prepared to mow the lawn once in awhile. Hugh, Thanks Brother and how's your Cockpit Assembly coming along? Best, LB

[Brinka]

Hugh Wiedman Aros Brinka, Thank you Gentlemen. Much work left to do. Brinka, if those rails are a decent design, the holes can easily be added to the STL FIle, I presume 3mm. Aros, we have rooms above the garage, bring your own "people paper" and be prepared to mow the lawn once in awhile. Hugh, Thanks Brother and how's your Cockpit Assembly coming along? Best, LB

So the outer part on the rails which hold the screws just need about a 2.5 or 3mm hole. The inner part that inserts the wing also needs about 2-3mm more space to fit. Final product, looks fantastic

[Jets and Wings]

Hey all, Now I know why all of you have been posting pics of your Vertical Stabilizers. Been slow goin' over at the LB Hornet Works, but I have finished the RH Vertical. Added the White Marker Light, Back-lit Formation Light, and 'Heartbeat' Red Strobe. Markings are Callie Graphics and the livery is 70th Anniversary VFA-41 Black Aces CAG 100. One down, one to go. Best, LB

Looks awesome, looking forward to see your F-18 finished!!!

[Elbee]

Thank you, JW. I, too, am looking forward to seeing the finished airframe. LOL Best, LB

[Elbee]

So the outer part on the rails which hold the screws just need about a 2.5 or 3mm hole. The inner part that inserts the wing also needs about 2-3mm more space to fit.

Brinka, When you get back and if you'll make the time, would you be willing to sketch out what is needed to make the part perfect and I'll adjust the STL? You can PM me at that time. Best, LB

[Hugh Wiedman]

Hugh Wiedman Aros Brinka, Thank you Gentlemen. Much work left to do. Brinka, if those rails are a decent design, the holes can easily be added to the STL FIle, I presume 3mm. Aros, we have rooms above the garage, bring your own "people paper" and be prepared to mow the lawn once in awhile. Hugh, Thanks Brother and how's your Cockpit Assembly coming along? Best, LB

Got a little side tracked with the SU-30 and a few other things around the house, including the restoration of a 1968 convertible Firebird 400. It only has 25,000 miles on it and used to be my mothers car, so a labor of love restoring it. Believe it or not, It will end up with the same paint scheme as my Stinger 90 and RAM truck (originally both picked out by my wife-so gotta follow orders). It was originally British racing green and was the first car I got to drive, but that didn't last cause I got 3 tickets in 5 days and was grounded. Still sneak in a little work on the cockpit now and again though. Gotta get out to the field and do some flying, hopefully this week as the winds are supposed to subside down to 10-15mph.

[Elbee]

That series of late 60's Firebird was IMHO the coolest. Being a 400 so much the better. I dated a gal in HS that had a Firebird: '68 Pontiac yellow convertible with white top and interior which is still my fave today. In hindsight, pretty sure I dated her 'cuz the car was so cool. LOL

[Bellke]

(Sigh) The maiden for my Blue Angels F-18 didn’t go as well as I had hoped. About half way down the runway the nose gear hit something that caused the nose to pop-up and snapping the white plastic in front of the LG. The plane was going just fast enough to leave the ground, almost like a ski-jump, but it was in a stalled condition. At the same time, the left wing caught a gust of wind which rolled it to the right. The right wingtip broke off, the fairing on the right fuselage back to the wing and the fuselage broke in half about the back of the battery bay. It came to rest on its back supported by the vertical stabilizers, but they weren’t damaged at all. Kind of bum’ed because it was such a nice looking plane. Never did find what the nose gear hit that set everything in motion. When it happened, a couple of us thought I lost the gear but what we were seeing was the plastic piece breaking and falling to the ground. The good news is it seems to be fixable, just some will be a little crinkled. The foam will go back together and I may need a new nose gear. Want to let it sit for a few days before I do a proper assessment of everything. Que Sera Sera.

[Evan D]

Sorry to hear this. It flies as good as it looks.

[Brinka]

Brinka, When you get back and if you'll make the time, would you be willing to sketch out what is needed to make the part perfect and I'll adjust the STL? You can PM me at that time. Best, LB

I will indeed, will have to measure properly, but for now they look fantastic. Just need to make those holes on the file. I'm surprised at the strength, they will last a long time!

[fredmdbud]

I don't understand why these rails are made of foam (the Eflite/FMS F/A-18D had them, too). Heck, make them out of colored plastic and leave them on the sprues for user assembly.

[JamesonC]

I don't understand why these rails are made of foam (the Eflite/FMS F/A-18D had them, too). Heck, make them out of colored plastic and leave them on the sprues for user assembly.

Mine are not foam.

[xviper]

Just checked. The wing tip missile rails are plastic on the outside (shell) but has foam on the inside. They are attached with screws and can be left off if so desired. I like the looks of them so I put them one. On the first tip over (tight turn), one broke (front part). I just glued it back together and reinforced with a carbon rod down the center (into the foam).
I also have the previous version of the 90mm Freewing F-18. Those rails are all foam and are glued to the wingtip. Both of those have broken off during tip over. Also glued back together with a carbon rod down the center.

[gooniac33]

Just checked. The wing tip missile rails are plastic on the outside (shell) but has foam on the inside. They are attached with screws and can be left off if so desired. I like the looks of them so I put them one. On the first tip over (tight turn), one broke (front part). I just glued it back together and reinforced with a carbon rod down the center (into the foam).
I also have the previous version of the 90mm Freewing F-18. Those rails are all foam and are glued to the wingtip. Both of those have broken off during tip over. Also glued back together with a carbon rod down the center.

Yes.... I was just going to chime in about that. I like the fact that its a blend of foam and plastic! It keeps them from deforming at speed but then also keeps them from breaking when they are bumped... can't wait to actually be able to get them as as spares!!

[Jdcrow]

Can someone tell me the track width on the Main Gear?

And if you have a SuperScale F-16, is its main gear width wider or narrower than the 90mm F-18c.

Im mentally comparing how it should behave to my other edf's i fly at my field. Grass Ops.