Official Freewing Twin 70mm AL37 Airliner Thread

[Aros]

Good points...I will do a direct test...Roger that! Thanks!

[xviper]

Hey ya'll, I have recently come into possession of one of these beauties (thank you Griffon Wings!) and I have everything working but the gear. I've triple-checked all the connections...Everything appears to be plugged in. Wing connections, RX to blue box connections...I don't see any reason why they won't cycle. My radio shows the normal gear switch is functioning just fine...Any ideas? Appreciate it!

Have you checked (servo tester) to know for a fact that the retracts work? You can also do a test by connecting the retracts (via a triple Y) directly to the RX.

[Aros]

Hey ya'll, I have recently come into possession of one of these beauties (thank you Griffon Wings!) and I have everything working but the gear. I've triple-checked all the connections...Everything appears to be plugged in. Wing connections, RX to blue box connections...I don't see any reason why they won't cycle. My radio shows the normal gear switch is functioning just fine...Any ideas? Appreciate it!

[urrl]

Morning flight

[ABJ]

Hi ABJ, I had an EC5 connector on an AL37 get hot enough to form a bubble on one side of the connector. The cause was a poor solder connection inside the male side on the contact screen that expands off the center shaft and makes contact with the inside of the female EC5.

If you suspect it is the EC5 getting hot, get a very bright light and look inside the male EC5. Look for damage. Also, consider replacing the male EC5 with the split-shaft type of EC5. See photo below…

Tip - After about 2-3 flight sessions, I wet a cotton swab with alcohol and clean out residue that forms inside the female connector of all my batteries. You will be amazed how dirty the cotton swab can get. Clean=less resistance=cooler connector

A very warm EC5 = ok. Hot EC5 = there is a problem.


Note: There are some good YouTube videos showing tricks to solder AWG wire. Watch a few. You should be using 10 AWG wire.

-GG

Thanks for your input.. im replacing the entire power wire harness, will use thicker wire and solder directly on to the esc's
Hope that will fix the heat issues.

[Hugh Wiedman]

Finished my 2nd AL37 in Voegol livery. I've always loved this scheme. I originally asked Callie back in 2019 and finally did it.

Beautiful, I guess it's safe to assume you kinda like the AL37!

[Iflycessna182]

Finished my 2nd AL37 in Voegol livery. I've always loved this scheme. I originally asked Callie back in 2019 and finally did it.

[GliderGuy]

Hi ABJ, I had an EC5 connector on an AL37 get hot enough to form a bubble on one side of the connector. The cause was a poor solder connection inside the male side on the contact screen that expands off the center shaft and makes contact with the inside of the female EC5.

If you suspect it is the EC5 getting hot, get a very bright light and look inside the male EC5. Look for damage. Also, consider replacing the male EC5 with the split-shaft type of EC5. See photo below…

Tip - After about 2-3 flight sessions, I wet a cotton swab with alcohol and clean out residue that forms inside the female connector of all my batteries. You will be amazed how dirty the cotton swab can get. Clean=less resistance=cooler connector

A very warm EC5 = ok. Hot EC5 = there is a problem.


Note: There are some good YouTube videos showing tricks to solder 10 AWG wire. Watch a few. You should be using 10 AWG wire.

-GG

[xviper]

Maiden done, all vent well and my concern about the extra weight by flying with two 4000 MaH Bats proved not to be a problem, only catch was it required a rather long takeoff run, but landing was fine with plenty af elevator authority to flare.. However i found out that supply cable from bat's to ECS got extremely hot, which i think i strange when considering that i only had full throttle during take off, rest of my flight was at half gas, just cruising around .. Flight time with 2 x 4000Mah 70C was 4 mins, and the cells were at 3,75 after..

Im suspecting the factory wire Y connection from ECS to Battery connector might be soldered bad, or just made of to thin wires..

The heat and the power consumption seems strange,,

Does anybody in here have the same heat build up in cables and connectors when flying.. ?
I fly my 6S Freewing Hawk T1 & F-35 frequently and have never experienced warm cables / connectors


:-) Anders

You're flying off what looks like fairly deep grass. It's going to take a long distance to get off the ground. When I fly off grass, this plane can take twice the distance to lift off.
I don't recall anything getting hot, maybe the battery comes down a little warm but that's it.

[ABJ]

Maiden done, all vent well and my concern about the extra weight by flying with two 4000 MaH Bats proved not to be a problem, only catch was it required a rather long takeoff run, but landing was fine with plenty af elevator authority to flare.. However i found out that supply cable from bat's to ECS got extremely hot, which i think i strange when considering that i only had full throttle during take off, rest of my flight was at half gas, just cruising around .. Flight time with 2 x 4000Mah 70C was 4 mins, and the cells were at 3,75 after..

Im suspecting the factory wire Y connection from ECS to Battery connector might be soldered bad, or just made of to thin wires..

The heat and the power consumption seems strange,,

Does anybody in here have the same heat build up in cables and connectors when flying.. ?
I fly my 6S Freewing Hawk T1 & F-35 frequently and have never experienced warm cables / connectors


:-) Anders

[GliderGuy]

A weak area of the LG is the bottom wing skin in front of the main LG. If you have concerns, take a thin sheet of carbon or a good aircraft plywood and cut a piece 3x3 inches or there abouts for each side and remove the paint from the foam in front of each main gear and glue the sheet to the bottom skin either butting up against the plastic mounts forward side or even overlapping onto the plastic mount.

Otherwise, the main gear can pull down on the front side of the plastic mounts and split the bottom skin in the process. It takes a whack to pull the plastic mount down on the front edge, but it can happen. Reinforcing this area can’t hurt.

-GG

[ABJ]

Two 4000mah, 6s, 70C LiPos shouldn't weigh 4800g. Is your scale calibrated correctly?
Unless you hit a hole or bump in the grass or land real hard and heavy, the gear should be OK. I've done it a couple times with mine but I didn't like it. Lots of grass get sucked into the engines.

PS. Nevermind, you're talking about the weight of the whole plane and batteries.

Yes.. total airplane weight is 4800G. Batteries alone are 1240 G.
Hope to survive the GRASS experience :-)

[xviper]

Ready to maiden my AL37 in SAS scheme, have been reading this tread through for info an battery size and im planning to use 2 x6S 70C 4000Mah bats in parallel, mainly because i have a bunch of them on stock. i have modified the battery tray to be able to place batteries further back to balance on the factory CG. It balances perfect and ends up at 4800Grams in total weight.

? please share if you have any experience flying with dual bats at around 4800G on the airframe. Im flying of grass surface in my club and my main concern is the stress on the LG with the added weight, Will it hold :-)

Two 4000mah, 6s, 70C LiPos shouldn't weigh 4800g. Is your scale calibrated correctly?
Unless you hit a hole or bump in the grass or land real hard and heavy, the gear should be OK. I've done it a couple times with mine but I didn't like it. Lots of grass get sucked into the engines.

PS. Nevermind, you're talking about the weight of the whole plane and batteries.

[ABJ]

I haven't tried yet but next trip out to the field will be trying 6s4p 4000mah Li ion for hopefully a 15min flight lol. That's about 1800g of battery.


Justin La has a vid on YouTube of a 2x5500RT endurance test and the plane handled it fine. I think managing speed and bank angle in the turns will be more critical than the landing gear - these are some of the best retracts you'll find on an EDF for my 2c.

Thanks.. Your setup looks very similar to mine.. Nice to hear the LG's are tough, as im not concerned about the flying as
long as i keep it within the scale flight envelope for a Passenger jet.

Hope to fly tomorrow, will post result
:-) Anders

[mshagg]

I haven't tried yet but next trip out to the field will be trying 6s4p 4000mah Li ion for hopefully a 15min flight lol. That's about 1800g of battery.


Justin La has a vid on YouTube of a 2x5500RT endurance test and the plane handled it fine. I think managing speed and bank angle in the turns will be more critical than the landing gear - these are some of the best retracts you'll find on an EDF for my 2c.

[ABJ]

Ready to maiden my AL37 in SAS scheme, have been reading this tread through for info an battery size and im planning to use 2 x6S 70C 4000Mah bats in parallel, mainly because i have a bunch of them on stock. i have modified the battery tray to be able to place batteries further back to balance on the factory CG. It balances perfect and ends up at 4800Grams in total weight.

? please share if you have any experience flying with dual bats at around 1240 G for both. and total airplane weight at 4800 G,
Im flying of a need grass surface in my club and my main concern is the stress on the LG with the added weight, Will it hold :-)

[Flamingo]

MAIDEN ALREADY
Airforce one with NEW design

from my friend, mine is in background

we like them🤩 flying regularily since 1.5 years from grass
w/o any issues
use just big batteries up to 8.8Ah and extended battery bay

[GliderGuy]

Ouch! What he says….GET ANOTHER. When I stupidly flew my second brand new AL37 into a lamp post, #3 is since doing great and giving me a lot of joy.

Someone posted in this thread…”If you ain’t crashing, you ain’t flying!”

-GG

[Hugh Wiedman]

It is with a heavy heart that I pass on the untimely passing of my beloved AL37. I took it up a couple of days ago and flight #1 was good, but I could feel I was not on top of my game. I debated about doing another flight, and the conditions were just perfect and getting better, other than the sun was not quite setting, but on its way. still plenty of light though. But, myself, I was not up to the standards I liked but regardless, went up a second time. It got too far away, and turn to final, I lost perspective and in it went. No one to blame but my own self. I broke my own rule with this plane, that if I was not feeling it, I would not fly it. So, after 22 flights, its gone, and i'm upset at myself for crashing one of my favorite planes.

So sorry to hear that, there's only one thing left to do. Get another. I've done that with other planes, getting them too far out and loosing orientation, but sometimes just can't get my brain to learn from my numerous mistakes. I feel your pain, and this added to the early first round exit of the Oilers (along with my Panthers)!

[Scale Freak]

It is with a heavy heart that I pass on the untimely passing of my beloved AL37. I took it up a couple of days ago and flight #1 was good, but I could feel I was not on top of my game. I debated about doing another flight, and the conditions were just perfect and getting better, other than the sun was not quite setting, but on its way. still plenty of light though. But, myself, I was not up to the standards I liked but regardless, went up a second time. It got too far away, and turn to final, I lost perspective and in it went. No one to blame but my own self. I broke my own rule with this plane, that if I was not feeling it, I would not fly it. So, after 22 flights, its gone, and i'm upset at myself for crashing one of my favorite planes.