Official Freewing Twin 70mm AL37 Airliner Thread

[Desolation Angels]

Thought I’d try a Western Airlines Bud-Lite scheme.

She's gorgeous!
Beautifully done phaehv!

[MeyerVW]

I just bypassed the box for ailerons and flaps. Easy. Unscrew the 2 screws on tge wing for the circuit board un disconnect the aileron sevo. Exstension and put the board back. If you also do flaps you need more y harnesses. But for just tge ailerons just 1 y harness will do. Take you mabe 10 minutes to do thiis just as xviper said. I only dud it because what I discovered. Makes sence if tge all share a common ground or power and they may. Also maybe why other aircraft suddenly roll over and lawn dart.

[xviper]

xviper, I get that, but with the AL37, the ailerons they are fed by that ribbon cable from the control box. So, do I disconnect the signal wire and leave the power wires to the servos, or just find the aileron and throttle servo wires in the wing and route them to the gyro, bypassing the control box totally? I'm looking for AL37 specific gyro hook up advice.

Don't take apart the servo lead. Use extensions. from the wing root. You can remove the servo lead from behind that multi-connector on each wing.
You have a choice. Remove the AIL feed from RX (coming from the box) and put the gyro/RTH device in between OR, you can bypass the box and do it that way. In either case, the gyro goes between the RX and the servos. Don't worry that there's a control box in that path. Bypassing the box means you have to take the servo feed at the wing on each side and use a "Y" inside the plane. Now you need to decide which route you want to take. Do you trust the control box or not?

[Scale Freak]

xviper, I get that, but with the AL37, the ailerons they are fed by that ribbon cable from the control box. So, do I disconnect the signal wire and leave the power wires to the servos, or just find the aileron and throttle servo wires in the wing and route them to the gyro, bypassing the control box totally? I'm looking for AL37 specific gyro hook up advice.

[xviper]

xviper, i agree what your saying, but that day I did not listen to my inner voice, which told me conditions were not ideal. I did one flight and it went ok, but I was not on my A game. I went against my better judgement, late afternoon, overcast, grey sky. but wind was ideal and one more battery. It got too far out, and the turn to bring it back I lost orientation. in all the previous 23 flights, i had no issues and loved that plane. That one time, A return to home function would have saved it, and I would use it as an emergency solution to a bad situation, not as a regular go to flying mode. As to the gyro set up, I am familiar as I have one in another plane. I am specifaccly asking about hooking it up in the AL with regards to that control box.

A flight controller such as a RTH device hooks up similar to a gyro. In fact, it's just a slightly modified gyro. It goes between the RX and servos.

[Scale Freak]

xviper, i agree what your saying, but that day I did not listen to my inner voice, which told me conditions were not ideal. I did one flight and it went ok, but I was not on my A game. I went against my better judgement, late afternoon, overcast, grey sky. but wind was ideal and one more battery. It got too far out, and the turn to bring it back I lost orientation. in all the previous 23 flights, i had no issues and loved that plane. That one time, A return to home function would have saved it, and I would use it as an emergency solution to a bad situation, not as a regular go to flying mode. As to the gyro set up, I am familiar as I have one in another plane. I am specifaccly asking about hooking it up in the AL with regards to that control box.

[xviper]

If anyone has fitted their AL37 with a flight director or gyro, id like some advice on how this was done. I am fitting a Kopliot to my new one as the last one got away and I lost orientation. The return to home function is what I want to have in place now.

I've put many gyros into my planes and have a HobbyEagle in my AL-37. I also use the Bigaole RTH device in all my sailplanes. Each type of device will be similar in the way they work and the set up will be "similar" but the best way to make your particular one work is to read the instructions or find a YouTube video the will take you through the steps. Generally, the gyro or flight controller goes between the RX and the servos for AIL, ELE and RUD. Set moderates gains for each axis so you can see how each control surface is reacting and make any changes for response direction as needed. For the actual flight, dial back the gains to a lower setting, somewhere around 25% and increase after each flight till you get oscillation in that control surface, then dial it back a bit. For RTH to work, usually a switch is assigned and this is where reading the instructions comes in. Most RTH devices primarily use AIL and ELE to get it home, although the AL-37 can use RUD gyro to help with the tail waggle. Throw the switch and set throttle to an adequate level for the plane to fly home against the wind (worst case scenario). Always makes sure the gyro works properly and set up properly and then test RTH early to make sure it actually does "come home". Be ready to turn it OFF and manually fly it in the event something isn't set up right.
Having a giant airplane like the AL-37 get away from you and losing it is somewhat hard to do but not impossible. That being the case, a RTH device may not be the solution and perhaps working on other skills might be more important.

[Scale Freak]

If anyone has fitted their AL37 with a flight director or gyro, id like some advice on how this was done. I am fitting a Kopliot to my new one as the last one got away and I lost orientation. The return to home function is what I want to have in place now.

[Straightshooter]

[xviper]

I'm still waiting for good weather to maiden mine. But,seeing the problems with the "blue box",and also the Admiral rx w/gyro,gives me pause.
I'm using a Lemon rx w/gyro,which the Admiral is a rebranded copy of(pretty much).
I've also got an 8000mah,60c China Hobby Lines Black battery, hoping for longer flight times.
But,I'm staying "tuned-in" to this,and RCG,to see if there are any more glitches with the blue-box.

The Admiral isn't just a "re-branded" Lemon. It's also had additional features programmed into it. The Lemon product should NOT be any problem so long as you don't skip any steps in the set up. My only concern with either the Admiral and the Lemon (w/gyro) is the range so do a thorough range test. Having only those twin "diversity" type antennas and NO satellites makes me nervous. Any major problems with the "box" can easily be averted by wiring the ELE and AIL directly to the RX.

[Mrdronenut]

I'm still waiting for good weather to maiden mine. But,seeing the problems with the "blue box",and also the Admiral rx w/gyro,gives me pause.
I'm using a Lemon rx w/gyro,which the Admiral is a rebranded copy of(pretty much).
I've also got an 8000mah,60c China Hobby Lines Black battery, hoping for longer flight times.
But,I'm staying "tuned-in" to this,and RCG,to see if there are any more glitches with the blue-box.

[MeyerVW]

If you take one of these "control boxes" out and look at it under a magnifying glass or a dissecting microscope, you will see that many of the circuits share common ground circuits and some share power inputs from a common point. Furthermore, some circuit pathways run very close to other circuit paths and in some areas, you can see that there is some leaching of conductive material from one pathway to another. This ground and power leaching or bleeding from one path to another can and sometimes does create a problem. In most of my planes with these control boards, I've wired key control surfaces (ELE and AIL) directly, especially in my AL. If there is leaching, at least you've got "bank and yank" capability to get it back down. Unfortunately, you can't completely eliminate the box as some things like lights draw power from other things like retracts. Doing so would require you to get a light controller.
I've also had a problem with my 2 T-33's. The first one would lift off the ground and within 5 feet of the ground, go inverted all by itself and come down upside down. Fixed it and sold it. Thinking it was a fluke, I got a second one and the exact same thing happened on the maiden. I fixed it, removed the AIL from the control box and hooked them up directly to the RX. I've been flying it without further incident for 2 seasons now. These control boxes are a convenience feature but from time to time, one gets made very poorly. All in all, they can be a gamble. I do have a couple of planes where I've left everything in their control boxes and nothing bad has ever happened. I'm sure that's the majority of these planes sold with the boxes but if you are concerned, remove the box from the equation.

I have left the box as it does do some useful things I like. I have removed the ailerons and the the flaps from it and plugged them directly to the receiver since 1 failure equaled to 6 servos going down.

[Straightshooter]

[xviper]

I notice on MRC website it says "This version also now includes two 2952-2100Kv inrunner motors and 12-blade fans for added power and efficiency."
Does anyone have these fans in a flight video? I would be interested to hear the sound of these fans as well as their performance over the previous outrunners, which I have.

Yes, I put these in when I dropped my 37 into an alkaline lake. It gives this plane some real get up and go. As for the sound, I think it sounds much better but that's very subjective.

[MeyerVW]

Its freaking fast. Faster than scale for sure if you fly full throttle.

[MeyerVW]

Yes but you cannot hear. They sound nice but all I hear is wind. I get about 3.5 min on a 6s 5000mah 100c battery. Not sure of the percent when landed but the 100c battery is a good idea. My 60c battery is screaming hot when landing and the battery goes dead at 4.5 min.

[urrl]

I notice on MRC website it says "This version also now includes two 2952-2100Kv inrunner motors and 12-blade fans for added power and efficiency."
Does anyone have these fans in a flight video? I would be interested to hear the sound of these fans as well as their performance over the previous outrunners, which I have.

[MeyerVW]

I think moving the aileron from the box will be a smart idea since I know what can happen when a servo fails. I think I have a channel for the flaps too and that is all I am worried about at the moment. I dont need the entire wing seize up if one issue arises. Very glad it happened on the ground and its something that should be looked at by owners, and maybe it is. Thank you for the help.

[xviper]

If you take one of these "control boxes" out and look at it under a magnifying glass or a dissecting microscope, you will see that many of the circuits share common ground circuits and some share power inputs from a common point. Furthermore, some circuit pathways run very close to other circuit paths and in some areas, you can see that there is some leaching of conductive material from one pathway to another. This ground and power leaching or bleeding from one path to another can and sometimes does create a problem. In most of my planes with these control boards, I've wired key control surfaces (ELE and AIL) directly, especially in my AL. If there is leaching, at least you've got "bank and yank" capability to get it back down. Unfortunately, you can't completely eliminate the box as some things like lights draw power from other things like retracts. Doing so would require you to get a light controller.
I've also had a problem with my 2 T-33's. The first one would lift off the ground and within 5 feet of the ground, go inverted all by itself and come down upside down. Fixed it and sold it. Thinking it was a fluke, I got a second one and the exact same thing happened on the maiden. I fixed it, removed the AIL from the control box and hooked them up directly to the RX. I've been flying it without further incident for 2 seasons now. These control boxes are a convenience feature but from time to time, one gets made very poorly. All in all, they can be a gamble. I do have a couple of planes where I've left everything in their control boxes and nothing bad has ever happened. I'm sure that's the majority of these planes sold with the boxes but if you are concerned, remove the box from the equation.

[MeyerVW]

Ran into an electrical issue on reassembly. Plugged in all the wiring to the blue box and to the circuit board of the wing. The only part completely taken apart was the small circuit board in the wings and a few wires to the nose. The rest stay put at the receiver and blue box. When I plugged it all in my ailerons and flaps did not work at all by my controller. They were twitching very bad especially the right aileron. I disconnect the right aileron servo from the wing circuit board and the rest of the wing works. ie left aileron and all four flaps. I plug the aileron back in and nothing works. I do have lights and gear and they work fine. I unplug the right aileron and it all works. So the common place is the blue box. But why does it take it all down if 1 component goes bad? This concerns me because if in flight 1 servo goes down the aircraft will be uncontrollable and crash when I should be able to counter a faulted servo with the other wing. I did test the servo in the receiver by itself and its dead. I replaced the servo with another I had and all is working fine at this point but it makes me nervous.