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

[Elbee]

LB,

It all depends on where your battery sits, and how high it is. I use a heavier RT 6250, so the front edge of the battery is right at the battery strap. In that location, there is plenty of room to add depth to the cockpit.

CMP, I use the same BattPks, so are you thinking possibly another 15mm or more. I really just want to include the full height of the Instrument Panel (See Below-10 separate pieces but I will fit these to construct a single instrument panel) with a new floor or tub if required. Might even get some LH/RH side panel tops if there is enough room. A better question might be; where is the front of the battery in relation to the cockpit/canopy OEM foam cover in side view? Best, LB

[Hardway]

Mine is still in the box.... (Both boxes, actually) So I am not very useful on this one bro....

[Hardway]

The panel is looking good so far!!!

[Elbee]

Mine is still in the box.... (Both boxes, actually) So I am not very useful on this one bro....

HRDWY, I only pulled out the cockpit and verticals as the big box is in the Studio, nice kit from what I saw, though I was a bit disappointed the cockpit is so minimal. I've been designing the Instruments beforehand as best I can to scale and figured I would fit that to the OEM spaces, hence the separate parts of the panel. I might need to pull a DD here and design a tub with more parts, time will tell. Best, LB

[Bobaroo]

Hey,.. I'm still looking for some Hi-Drag MK 82's with Operational Fins that'll PopOut upon Release from the Pylons on all these Jets of ours !!! Hahahahaha.
Watching them Spiral Down is gonna be an Awesome Sight indeed !!! All I need is a common Individual Fin that I can Spring load onto the Pylon, along with the Rear Section of the Bomb to attach them !! The bomb bodies are already made and out there. Even the GBU's !! ExcitingStuff !

Give it some thought. Cheers

[crxmanpat]

CMP, I use the same BattPks, so are you thinking possibly another 15mm or more. I really just want to include the full height of the Instrument Panel (See Below-10 separate pieces but I will fit these to construct a single instrument panel) with a new floor or tub if required. Might even get some LH/RH side panel tops if there is enough room. A better question might be; where is the front of the battery in relation to the cockpit/canopy OEM foam cover in side view? Best, LB

So the end of the pack is right at the battery strap, which is about 1" behind the seat. You should have plenty of room to lower the cockpit into the fuse.

[Carlbrainiac]

One thing I would say to anyone with this model but especially to guys investing a lot of time in canopy detailing. Make sure it is secure on the model. I lost mine on maiden. It's weird theres that square of ply on the back and it's like it's in the wrong position as it doesnt line up with the latch and it doesnt have a hole in it. The latch sits in the foam just above that piece of ply. I just added some strong magnets to both fuse and canopy either side of the latch. Been fine ever since.

[Elbee]

So the end of the pack is right at the battery strap, which is about 1" behind the seat. You should have plenty of room to lower the cockpit into the fuse.

CMP, Thank you for taking the time to measure that for me. I'll post pics as I progress. Best, LB

[Elbee]

Hey Freewing F/a-18C Drivers, I have posted my 3DP STL file for the OEM Front Instrument Panel in the 3DP forum. You will need to add a photo or schematic of the actual instruments if you go for that level of detail. Check it out, print it, print it for a friend, and enjoy! Best, LB

[Aros]

Awesome Elbee! Do you mind if I link to the file on the support page of the model? Credit to you of course...

[Elbee]

Awesome Elbee! Do you mind if I link to the file on the support page of the model? Credit to you of course...

Aros, Absolutely, I just put the file in 3DP 'cuz it's 3DP, (no credit necessary, happy to do it). Best, LB

[Quax]

Ok guys, here is another one:
Prepared my bird for its maiden and was applying decals when suddenly after some minutes I heard a noise of a servo moving - however I was not moving any of the sticks of my controller. Turned out it was the left flap servo going crazy... Luckily it is the flap servo so even a malfunction in flight would not have caused any problems as it moved to the mechanical stop of the fully retracted position. I am going to open a ticket on MotionRC.

Btw:
No blue box involved at all - completely bypassed.

[fredmdbud]

Were you applying decals at the field, or at home? A powered-up plane while applying waterslide decals - that's a new one for me.

[Patriotic_Banana]

Hey F18 geeks!

Just a quick question and apologies if I missed it in the thread... is anyone using a gyro in their F18? I'm thinking of using one for the windier days just to keep her steady and scale.
AS3X, Aura8, HobbyEagle? Many choices... ??

Thanks guys!

I have an AS3X receiver in mine, going for the maiden tomorrow morning. I'll post the values I used for gains if they work well.

Replaced the stock elevator servos with Freewing's metal gear 17g's. It is a night and day difference, super happy I decided to postpone the maiden for those servos.

Can't wait!

[thisguy65]

Has anyone experience this? Was putting together my F-18...bypass the blue box like I did on the other one. I hear the aileron every so slightly twitch. I pause and sit down to just watch it. Completely random it will twitch ever so slightly. Made sure gyro was off, it was. I didn't bother looking at the right aileron but just the left. It's like I would move the aileron and when it would go back to center, the servo maybe would be off just a hair and then correct it self forward (past neutral) and then back. Ever so slightly though. I kept working on the model, having it powered up and it didn't do it again. Everything is plugged straight to the Rx other than landing gear. I know the blue box has a delay but I've got a 5 second delay for wheels coming up.. Deploying them is almost instantly. I have a blue box I use for testing LED, swapped them out and the time it took to retract the wheel was the same. Just seem like a really long time.


My first one I went through a elevator, flap and nose gear servo before the maiden.

[RichJ53]

Has anyone experience this? Was putting together my F-18...bypass the blue box like I did on the other one. I hear the aileron every so slightly twitch. I pause and sit down to just watch it. Completely random it will twitch ever so slightly. Made sure gyro was off, it was. I didn't bother looking at the right aileron but just the left. It's like I would move the aileron and when it would go back to center, the servo maybe would be off just a hair and then correct it self forward (past neutral) and then back. Ever so slightly though. I kept working on the model, having it powered up and it didn't do it again. Everything is plugged straight to the Rx other than landing gear. I know the blue box has a delay but I've got a 5 second delay for wheels coming up.. Deploying them is almost instantly. I have a blue box I use for testing LED, swapped them out and the time it took to retract the wheel was the same. Just seem like a really long time.


My first one I went through a elevator, flap and nose gear servo before the maiden.

sounds like a dirty servo pot or defective servo. I probably would not trust that one. I am still using the Blue box and I agree the delay is pretty long.. I wish MRC would let us adjust the timing of this feature or let us do this with our computer radios

Rich

[thisguy65]

sounds like a dirty servo pot or defective servo. I probably would not trust that one. I am still using the Blue box and I agree the delay is pretty long.. I wish MRC would let us adjust the timing of this feature or let us do this with our computer radios

Rich

I was afraid of that. I'll go a head and replace them. Thoughts on these? https://hitecrcd.com/products/servos...-servo/product

[Dustman]

Elbee, where can I get an instrument panel like the one you have pictured above for the F-18.

[Quax]

Were you applying decals at the field, or at home? A powered-up plane while applying waterslide decals - that's a new one for me.

I was not using water decals. :-) I usally apply a tape on my foamy planes at the edges of wings and the fuselage to protect the foam and decals. From time to time surfaces need to be moved in order to apply the tape correctly. Therefore the plane was powered. Sorry, I was missing the correct English word in the first post.

However, I am glad I recognized the faulty servo on the ground and it did not happen while flying. Replaced all the remaining six servos now (elevator was replaced before) so, with the exception of nose wheel steering and gear, all servos were replaced.

Please keep your fingers crossed, guys. Maiden will be next weekend...

[Elbee]

Elbee, where can I get an instrument panel like the one you have pictured above for the F-18.

Hey DM, I 3DP printed it. Go to the MotionRC website and 'click' until you get to the Freewing F/a-18C page then 'click' "Support" and the 'STL' File is there or you can go to the "Hobby Squawk" 3DP Forum pages and find my post there with the accompanying F-18C Front Instrument Panel STL File. Best, LB