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

[Polyphren]

And a last closeup of my Hornet.

[e4dragongunner]

Crazy Awesome man!

[Airguardian]

Just don't leave it out in the sun for extended periods or cover the cockpit with a small towel. ;)
Most of it is plastic or cardboard covered, so it can't gator anyway. Only the pilot's seat and surroundings are bare-foam.

[Hugh Wiedman]

And a last closeup of my Hornet.

Is all of this "hand painted", including the hornet? Outstanding work, you must have the patience of Saint!

[Polyphren]

I made a simple template for the contour of the hornet. Indeed the rest needs some patience, a steady hand and good and thin brush. For details I use DaVinchi 5/0 brushes. Not cheap but worth every Cent.

By the way, take a. Close look. It‘s not perfect at all. But good enough for a jet in the air.

[steven gubala]

Fantastic job

[steven gubala]

Hey Cape Jets, what basic programmer are you talking about?

[Cape Jets]

Hey Cape Jets, what basic programmer are you talking about?

With some of the Hitec servo's a programmer is needed to set the throws and rotation. There are 2 options, DPC-11 for the pc software version $19.99 ( the one I used) or Hitec HFP-30 Hand Held Programmer w/LCD Display $79.99. These customize the Parameters of Hitec’s Programmable DXXX, HSB-9XXX, HS-7XXX and HS-5XXX Series Servos. The servos I used where the D85MG's that required some programming to set them for the elevators.

[Airguardian]

More flights (without music):

[steven gubala]

Thanks Cape Jets, just ordered one and downloaded the software , Thanks a bunch

[steven gubala]

Beautiful airplane Air Guardian

[Aros]

Fun to see this bird at its aft end of its CG envelope. I am too chicken to go there. I tend to prefer my jets nose heavy versus the alternative and I am well aware I am sacrificing a good percentage of flight envelope so I do appreciate those that do fall out of my comfort zone.

[Polyphren]

All these afterburner modifications are very nice. Could anybody recommend a LED afterburner for the 3672-1900kV inrunner motor ?

[Hugh Wiedman]

All these afterburner modifications are very nice. Could anybody recommend a LED afterburner for the 3672-1900kV inrunner motor ?

IMO, the 2 best LED burners are from either the RC Geek or Gooniac. I have AB's in all my EDF's except the A-10 and wouldn't fly without them. I just happen to use the RC Greek's because I started with those, but a friend has Gooniac's and both are outstanding. If you put them in the F-18, go to the Geek's website and pick out the Twin burners for the 90 mm inrunner (and in the comment section just tell him which inrunner you have to make sure it is the correct one). Since the F-18 has a single EDF, you want to get the twin burners mounted on the single EDF so each nozzle has it's own burner. Also, don't y-harness the 2 leads together, leave them independent to the controller (which has 2 plug in ports), that way each nozzle will "flicker" independently so it looks like 2 separate jet engines. If you hook them up on only one port, which you can, then both LED cones flicker the same and it just doesn't look quite right.

Installing them is relatively simple and you can program the throttle position that you want them to start "burning" at. Also, I would recommend that you line the exhaust nozzles with either aluminum AC duct tape (best reflective quality IMO) or at least paint the nozzles with a highly reflective paint (not quite as good, but not too shabby either). Get yourself a 2S 250 mah to 450 mah Admiral battery with JST connector to supply power. I get about 4-5 five minute flights on a 450 mah battery, but then again I have them coming on at about 35% throttle (50%-70% is more normal and realistic- but I like mine flaming most of the time-if you got it, flaunt it).

.................................1) Single and Twin Afterburnes:...................................... .................................................. ....2) Aluminum A/C Duct Tape in F-18:............................................... ............................3) Fired Up in the F-18:

[Mizer67]

Fun to see this bird at its aft end of its CG envelope. I am too chicken to go there. I tend to prefer my jets nose heavy versus the alternative and I am well aware I am sacrificing a good percentage of flight envelope so I do appreciate those that do fall out of my comfort zone.

I've been beyond the edge with this plane and been actually tail heavy, once.

It just climbs like a banshee, with no other ill effects, provided you already have some expo dialed in and can input sufficiently small control movements and enough down trim to make it controllable.

I love the way it flies with a neutral CG. I'm probably not as far back as AG in that I'm not tail heavy just neutral but still, takeoffs are short and landings are more fun when you can hold the nose off (on pavement). The stall speed is significantly reduced as well.

[steven gubala]

I received mine from RC Geek, but I do have mine on a Y- harness, will try the other way to see which one I like better.

[Hugh Wiedman]

I received mine from RC Geek, but I do have mine on a Y- harness, will try the other way to see which one I like better.

The only difference is that each nozzle "flickers" independently. Most people may have a hard time even noticing the difference, but since I'm aware of it, it looks better to me if they are independent. This is also more noticeable just as they start to come on and at the lower range of the throttle, but once they're fully lit at 80-100% throttle and the bird is zipping around, almost unnoticeable (unless you fly at night ).

[Aros]

Good idea about the flicker effect Hugh Wiedman, I never thought about that.

I am trying to install new aileron servos and the upgraded servos I have are too large, but more important there is no accessible/visible channel running along the wing for the lead so I am afraid of pulling on the servo too hard and it comes unplugged from the extension point (wherever that is) and really dealing with a nightmare. Does anyone have any ideas how to replace the aileron servos without tearing into the wing or good ol' Aros having to go to the ER for a severe case of PLTS (Profanity-Laced Tirade Syndrome)?

[Elbee]

Aros ... I am certain that if you 'unscrew' the ribbon cable attach board from the end of the wing root you see that the aileron servo lead is plugged into the board. It is marked on the F-4 so I presume it also marked on the F-18. Unplug it and tie a thin string or line to it and pull it out from it's normal location. Now you have the length of line to pull your new servo lead back through, test it with servo tester, and plug back into the wing root board and screw it back in place. Repeat for opposite wing. Best, LB

[Aros]

Thanks Elbee I forgot that I had spare wings to practice on and sure enough that's precisely what I did. Those wire hangar lines FW provides sure come in handy. Now I need to figure out what Hitec servo would fit best...Thinking the Hitec HS-85MGs...