Official Freewing 70mm F-35 V3 (2019 Version) Thread

[Aros]

Very well written Alpha, I enjoyed it immensely. So in other words there's a bit more going on than my painter's tape, shake the rattle can and go? ;)

[Alpha]

Another astute point. Over the past twenty years I've seen so much change in China. Even over the past five years, or two years, or the past six months... the pace at which conditions change is stunning. The interconnectivity of various chains makes things even more persnickety, and requires a certain focus to control the finished product at reasonable frequency, acceptable quality, and sustainable price. The dynamics we read about on the news impacting so many facets of life apply here as well, from global politicking to material shortages to price speculation, but altogether we'd rather ride those rapids for RC.

[Evan D]

And at the price. While we Americans like to poopoo on other economies, especially China, it's amazing what we can get for our dollars now a days.

[Alpha]

"No small task" <-- That's exactly what I hoped readers would glean from the article when I wrote it. Thanks for encapsulating it in three words, I should have just said that, instead. Short article. LOL

[RCjetdude]

Read the article. Very insightful as usual. Creating and producing planes like this is no small task and I am always amazed at how well you and your team pull it off. Thank you!

[Alpha]

Pick up a copy of this month's Model Aviation to see a special "How It's Made" article we provided to show a bit more behind the scenes to bring models from our desk to your hangar.

One of the steps we discuss in the article is painting. I could spend an entire magazine discussing this process, but in the meantime here are a few more centering on our newest Freewing 70mm F-35. The paint masks are made from sheets of copper. They are molded and hand shaped to conform to the surface of the foam down to every panel line. Due to the size of the model, many masks were required to depict the intricate RAM paneling typical of the F-35. It is far and away our most complex 70mm class EDF to date.


The bottom fuselage alone requires six of these overlapping masks, plus the topside fuselage, wings, intakes, nozzle, and other parts, comprising a single masking set. Below we can see the large paint mask needed simply to mask off the intake color. The copper isn't visible under the paint, but the mask is cleaned frequently to maintain performance.



Multiple sets of paint masks are created to meet the production rate across multiple painting booths. Each painting booth uses water catchment systems (the blue/gray "floor" seen in these pictures is actually circulating) and air filtration/ventilation systems that meet increasingly strict environmental standards. After painting the F-35's six colors, the models are cured then set for decaling, yet another process along the way...



Hopefully this peek behind the scenes gives you yet another reason to value your F-35. Thanks again for your support!

[Russ]

Evan...he he...it's definitely an affliction we all share!

Quickstop...yes I have seen a big Mustang of mine spiral in the same way when I got it too slow...heartbreaking. I only have 2 prop planes left and they are VERY dusty. All EDF for me these days, I only have about 10 of 'em though on penalty of divorce.

[Quickstop]

Yes, It was a brain brownout called "I let the plane get too slow and it stalled,rolled over and crashed"

[Evan D]

Ha! My sig on RC Universe says "

R/C Anonymous. My name is Evan and I have not flown for 14 hours.

".

Evan,

You need Aviators Anonymous...you are my Hero!

[urrl]

[dahawk]

Installed the Gooniac AB. Took all of about 30 minutes. Most of the time was tidying up the wires. Easy to install. Tested and works great . Very bright ! Highly recommend. Check out : Gooniac’s RC EDF Creations on Facebook.

[JamesonC]

Maiden on mine went very smooth Saturday. No gyro for me and it flew great. Really impressed with the speed and on the 2nd flight, I didn't have any trouble slowing it down.

As a side note, now that the 2210kv fan/motor setup is available, I have one on the way for my FW Hawk as well.

[Russ]

Evan,

You need Aviators Anonymous...you are my Hero!

[Evan D]

You found two. And the one I flew was without a gyro. I do have three planes with them. A 8 1/2' span old timer that has a Vortex in it (believe me it does not need a gyro), a 1600mm Spitfire that really calms the tail and a Yak130 again to calm it's inherent tail wag.

Oops I have three Apprentices too for club training... I must be a closet gyro person...

That said I have a half dozen helos with gyros and more than a half dozen quads with them. The rest of my 100 or so ready to fly aircraft do not have them...

[scootergenie]

I just like the way they smooth out the bumps. Also great for cross wind landings. But remote gain is a must, and as3x doesn't have it. So I prefer the lemon.

[Russ]

Well, you found one!

I have flown with and without gyros. I've flown the Eflite Viper and the Eflite F-4 with AS3X...both performed very well. It's true that you can turn off stabilization and fly it without but I'm kinda purist about my flying and prefer the "it's all on me" kind of flying. Also, I fly FrSky products and they haven't come as far on their stabilization products as Spektrum has even though I like their Tx/Rx setups better. The gyros have made it possible for less skilled pilots to move up to more challenging planes and that is a good thing!

Russ

[Quickstop]

We have two planes with gyros and we really like the way they fly.

I've had a lot of people tell me how much better they like it with a gyro but never has anyone told me they liked it better without once they tried one

[adb2@suddenlink.net]

Watching the build video as well as pictures of some of you guys' builds it seems that a gyro or receiver with gyro is used. Has anyone flown this airplane without gyro assist?

We have two planes with gyros and we really like the way they fly.

[Swarick]

Thank you for the prompt answer. And I hope you guys can bring this jet out to the Arizona Electric Festival.

Rick H.

[Alpha]

None of the ~200 flights we logged during testing were with gyros. And I think most of James' videos didn't use a gyro or during their Joe Nall event flights. Although I'm not fully certain on that.