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

[xviper]

Spektrum works well beyond visual range if done right.

It's interesting you mentioned that. On my sailplanes, I've had them go out of sight. Out in the country (farmland), I've had a flight at over 2500 feet. The thing was a spec. Many of us have also flown these sailplanes at more reasonable altitudes but very far out, so far that if you blink, it's visually gone. We were testing our "Return to Home" modules to see how well they worked (starting closer and going further and further out). A few times, we lost sight of them and flipped the switch to "come home" and miraculously, a minute or so later, we see them on their way back. There was nothing else fancy about the radio gear. They just seem to work at very long range. Of course I'm talking about Spektrum as you say. Some guys have fully autonomous flying wings for pipeline survey and those things can go 50 miles out and 50 miles back and land. I don't count those as there are other electronic devices onboard that flies the plane.

[killickb]

Not to clutter the thread but in 50 years have used many brands, very, very, very few radio failures. However seeing all those Top Gun and Florida Jets pilots using Spektrum (as I do now) provides all the confidence that I need. If I was a young techie just starting, Jeti would certainly be on my list though !

[fredmdbud]

Stock cg is pretty nose heavy...stated often.

That's an opinion. I've heard people who were satisfied with the book CG. And some who prefer nose heavy.

So there won't really be a "consensus", unless you are asking a particular circle of users.

[e4dragongunner]

never had an issue with spectrum equipment love their stuff.

Actually never had an issue with either as I own both.

[e4dragongunner]

I as many of you hav read EVERY page and post in they thread. Can we please refrain from letting this " my radio is better than your radio " debate from hijacking this discussion, Its happened at least 3 times before ( with other subjects) in the 108 pages, In my opinion its distracting to say the least.

I ask that you take everyones feeling and experiences ( known or unknown ) in to account when replying and posting.

Lastly we have a lot of new members, ( this doesn't mean that are new to RC in all cases) Please take time to welcome them and support them,

Thanks guys.

[Hardway]

Roger!

[janmb]

That's an opinion. I've heard people who were satisfied with the book CG. And some who prefer nose heavy.

What is nose heavy and not is down to fact, not opinion.

What CG people prefer on the other hand, is clearly a matter of opinion. But that doesn't change what's nose heavy and not.

I as many of you hav read EVERY page and post in they thread. Can we please refrain from letting this " my radio is better than your radio " debate from hijacking this discussion, Its happened at least 3 times before ( with other subjects) in the 108 pages, In my opinion its distracting to say the least.

I ask that you take everyones feeling and experiences ( known or unknown ) in to account when replying and posting.

Lastly we have a lot of new members, ( this doesn't mean that are new to RC in all cases) Please take time to welcome them and support them,

Thanks guys.

+1

[Quax]

Got my bird yesterday and had a quick look on it. Really nice finish! However, bypassing the blue box will be a thing but according all the experiences mentioned here, it seems to be necessary.

Some mentioned they left the gear and the lights connected to the box, others bypassed the box completely. What is the solution for the lights in the later case?

[HellHathNoFury]

Got my bird yesterday and had a quick look on it. Really nice finish! However, bypassing the blue box will be a thing but according all the experiences mentioned here, it seems to be necessary.

Some mentioned they left the gear and the lights connected to the box, others bypassed the box completely. What is the solution for the lights in the later case?

If you bypass the BB which I have done you can use the Freewing Gear & led sequencer.. Definitely Gremlin proof.. Concept of the BB is great but unfortunately q/c is patchy..To quote Clint Eastwood’s famous line.. Do you feel lucky..Punk??

[Carlbrainiac]

Is this the rc geeks centre burner?

Testimonials about the Lightburner will look amazing on this F-18 check out the details of the unique setup in the link provided

[e4dragongunner]

Awesome Share and Great Question, about completely bypassing the BB.. I was wondering this myself! :-) Thanks guys!

[gooniac33]

Here's my flight from this morning. Spektrum TX, Lemon RX, HobbyEagle gyro, stock wiring through blue box, 5000mah, 6s Admiral. Flew it twice today, both times were uneventful except that the flight I didn't get on video was the one that landed perfectly flat and didn't tip over on the bumps like the one in the vid.

Spectrum and LemonRX are a great combo! I have used the RX with Gyro in several of my planes and am actually going to be switching my 90mm F-16 back to it because I was able to fine tune the gains much better and had the plane flying rock solid! The A3L that I am using works great but it isn't doing exactly how I want. I know that there are higher end ones but the lemon is just far to easy... If they ever work out the issues with the blue angel I plan to get one. For now I will be getting the Kit Plus Grey one and doing a VFC-13 hornet...

[xviper]

Spectrum and LemonRX are a great combo! I have used the RX with Gyro in several of my planes and am actually going to be switching my 90mm F-16 back to it because I was able to fine tune the gains much better and had the plane flying rock solid! The A3L that I am using works great but it isn't doing exactly how I want. I know that there are higher end ones but the lemon is just far to easy... If they ever work out the issues with the blue angel I plan to get one. For now I will be getting the Kit Plus Grey one and doing a VFC-13 hornet...

I am using the A3L on the F/A-18 and the Lemon 7-ch stabilized RX on the F-35. I have both on the adjustable master gain on the rotary knob. I would have to say that the Lemon gyro produces a much crisper and well defined stabilization. The A3L does work but it seems a little slower to respond and at times feels a bit mushy. It also "appears" to dumb down the stick responses when the gyro is on. I also like that the Lemon can "self center" the trims with the flip of a switch. IE, after you set the trim for the plane to fly level (gyro off), you can flip the ON/OFF switch twice quickly and the RX now thinks that's the trim center without actually resetting it after each power off like the Spektrum AS3X. On those, you need to manually set the control surface rods after each flight.

[Woodcock]

Got my bird yesterday and had a quick look on it. Really nice finish! However, bypassing the blue box will be a thing but according all the experiences mentioned here, it seems to be necessary.

Some mentioned they left the gear and the lights connected to the box, others bypassed the box completely. What is the solution for the lights in the later case?

First off, I want to premise this by saying, "I'm probably the last person in the world" you should be taking model advise from. Just saying. My take on this is that the manufacturers of this plane have allowed a questionable lot of servos to be installed in these planes. I'n my opinion, remember this, "Opinion" this is more than likely the cause of most evils in this plane. One bad servo can wreak havoc especially if it happens to be shorting the power and signal side. Check your servos. It might not be our blue boxes this time, or a combination of both. When it comes to things like this it is rarely just one thing. Most of the time, in my experience it's 2 or 3 things causing the problems.

Woody

[tengarang]

Is this the rc geeks centre burner?

nope different technology and is its own unique setup this is the Lightburner

[Quax]

First off, I want to premise this by saying, "I'm probably the last person in the world" you should be taking model advise from. Just saying. My take on this is that the manufacturers of this plane have allowed a questionable lot of servos to be installed in these planes. I'n my opinion, remember this, "Opinion" this is more than likely the cause of most evils in this plane. One bad servo can wreak havoc especially if it happens to be shorting the power and signal side. Check your servos. It might not be our blue boxes this time, or a combination of both. When it comes to things like this it is rarely just one thing. Most of the time, in my experience it's 2 or 3 things causing the problems.

Woody

First of all, let me say that I value any oppinion and answer to my questions no matter who was written it.

I totally agree on this one. However, I do not want to risk a 500€ jet because of an electronics item that may fail under some conditions. As long as these conditions are not known, I would like to bypass the box. Second reason for doing that is that I would like to have each servo on a seperate channel for mixing etc.

Maybe, I am too cautious but I lost one of my other jets two weeks ago because the newer Spektrum receivers may (or may not) cut off after some random time during flight (I was able to confirm that, see other thread). I can live with problems that can be reproduced clearly and therefore solved. However, the kind of problems (box and voltage cutoffs) are not and I therefore tend/try to take the safest possible way.

[Quax]

If you bypass the BB which I have done you can use the Freewing Gear & led sequencer.. Definitely Gremlin proof.. Concept of the BB is great but unfortunately q/c is patchy..To quote Clint Eastwood’s famous line.. Do you feel lucky..Punk??

Thank you, I just ordered one.

[Hardway]

OK Woody, I will step off into this fray with you!!! The blue box in discussion is this one: https://www.motionrc.com/products/freewing-multi-function-control-box-e-mcb-e. Not good reports from the Hornets that have flown, but... Unless Freewing has changed something in the mfg. processes, this is the same box used before... I verified this before typing this post. I have the L-39, the F-22, the Flightline F4-U Birdcage Corsair, and the F-18C BA. All use the same blue distribution box. The one thing I have changed on all of these is the BEC and the power distribution used. Using a CC 20 amp Pro, https://www.motionrc.com/collections/battery-eliminator-circuits/products/castle-creations-20a-bec-pro This has two power output leads. One plugs into the receiver, (I use all Spektrum) and one plugs into the blue box in an auxiliary port. That way, the power is distributed to both the blue box and the receiver... Also, cycling the gear after power up seems to be key to steering function. Make sure if you transport the bird with gear up, that the gear switch is in the up position before powering up the plane. Transmitter ALWAYS on first. Low throttle, and set the gear switch to match the planes gear position, up or down. This keeps the box from becoming "confused"... Hope this helps some folks out there, but the servo issue is another can of worms... Same servos in the other birds, but this does seem unusual with all the bad servo reports.... Good luck all!!

[Carlbrainiac]

nope different technology and is its own unique setup this is the Lightburner

Shame I didnt see this before I got the rc geek one. Ahh well.

[Carlbrainiac]

Thank you, I just ordered one.

Surely if the blue boxes are failing then freewing should send these out for free as an alternative for people who have had blue box issues.

Just out of interest has anyone experienced issue running Futaba yet? Dont think I've heard any problems with Futaba so hopefully I'll be alright and be able to run it as it comes out of the box when it finally arrives that is.