Official Freewing Twin 70mm AL37 Airliner Thread

[aljoma]

Hola
Soy nuevo en este foro y también soy el nuevo propietario de un AL-37 Freewing
Como buen patriota quiero decorar el avión de las Líneas Aéreas de España, IBERIA, y me gusta mucho copiar del original, pero me encuentro con dos problemas:
- En la actualidad la aerolínea ha simplificado mucho su decoración simplemente con la cola pintada de rojo y amarillo, la anterior decoración es mas llamativa y llena mas el avión.
- La compañía IBERIA, por acuerdos comerciales con la U.E. deja de comprar Boeing y compra aviones Airbus, el mas moderno es el Boeing 737-400 y no se ajusta al modelo...


Aun así no me desanimo y aunque sea un avión imaginario, mi idea es sobreponer las dos fotografías y pintarlo con la decoración antigua.

[GliderGuy]

It was a cool day, but light winds and sunny. Waited until the temp got above freezing before going out (45F+ suites my old bones better and is better for the LiPos...so I read).

Beat my personal best of 40 flights in one day with 47 total flights today. Was using 3 of the 4-bank (4 X 100W) chargers and 16 batteries (10 6S and 6 4S) powered by my truck's heavy duty electrical system. Nobody stopped by the baseball park's parking lot to chat (that's unusual).

The break-out of the flights is as follows:

AL37 = 34 flights (This is a brand new bird...not even a week old. Maiden was on 01/13. After today she already has 60 flights on her.)
F-4 = 4 flights
P-38 = 9 flights

I'm bushed! But it was sure fun!. I love this hobby.

-GG

[Straightshooter]

Nok Air Thailand low cost carrier. Nok Cartoon Livery. Maiden soon.

[hcew]

Hi,
Hello at all from Germany

I'm now also a AL37 owner. Bought it in white and designed it with the help of callie in two airlines.
The right side Ryanair and the left side SunExpress.
The reason is, our son took the Ryanair EI-DHP factory new by Boeing in Seatlle and with the SunExpress D-ASXD he was the first to be allowed to use the callsign sunrise .

[GliderGuy]

Update to Post #1904....

New bird is ready to go! Hope to maiden Bird #2 this afternoon, if the winds cooperate.

I was able to add a span-wise reinforcing carbon rod stringer in the wiring channel in the area which was found to fatigue crack in Bird #1. Remains to be seen if this is successful.
-GG

Update - Maiden was a success! Needed about 3 clicks of up trim is all. Flies GREAT!

[GliderGuy]

Rogerio "Noted GG, and thanks." / (Reference my prior post #1893...adding weight to the fuselage will also likely accelerate the foam cell boundary cracking I experienced on the wing's topside after many, many flights due to the added stress on the wing caused by the added weight.)

Adding / FedEx notification just received for a "today" delivery of my new AL37. Woo Hoo! I'm going to attempt to engineer some internal bracing to the topside skin area of the wing that has been shown (on my bird #1) to be prone to foam cell boundary cracking (due to flexing) . Or...I may decide to add a layer of glass externally to the topside of the wing. But, I'd rather not get into a sanding/repainting job on the wing, if possible.

We'll see how it goes. I'm not overly concerned about the wing structure (with the cracks), but it is not pretty...and everyone comments about the cracks when they see them. UGH. I want to avoid having the cracks re-appear on the new bird. The strength is in the carbon rod...not the skin.

Here is an ENHANCED CONTRAST photo of the cracks on Bird #1....after 1000+ flights / normal and aerobatic flying (I didn't quite match the original paint when I attempted to fix these the first time they showed up). Note: There are no cracks on the bottom wing skins. Raised bump/nature of the areas around the cracks indicate compressive stress in the skin likely resulting from loops and recovery from spins.

Again, Bird #1 is being retired.



-GG

[Rogerio Pereira]

Noted GG, and thanks.

[Rogerio Pereira]

Adding weight = self imposing restrictions
Speed and acro = stress on a structure compounded by more weight
Worst case for stress = increasing the weight of the non-flying parts of the aircraft
Steep banks = more stress Hi, GG,
Thanks for the reply, and yes I agree 100% with you on your note -. No Aerobatics- My flying style with this model is scale like as much as possible, and with this one even more so, it does not look right flying the AL 37 inverted or performing bomb dives, I have other models for that, I was not sure if the addition of another couple of pounds in the fuselage was not going to compromise the integrity of the plane while flying scale like, but I guess it was already answered on other posts, ( did not read all of them).
My plan is to add another 6S 6000mah pack to enjoy a little more flying time, I fly off an active aerodrome with smooth blacktop runway, the other addition planned is wheel brakes, but there I am looking at home made passive magnetic brakes in the wheel hubs to avoid the use of more power, it will only require the addition of one opto switch to activate, the added weight is minimal and no risk of stopping a wheel as it only brakes if the wheel turns above a certain low speed. Will post some pic's and vid's when I get back from work and complete the installation in a couple of months.
Thanks again.

[GliderGuy]

Hi folks, I would like to ask the question related to the use of TWO 6000 packs to extend the flying time, will the wings take the extra weight without issue? I expect landing speed will be higher, but, how mutch? Balance the plane should not be an issue if I make a new battery support base to extend further back, my main question for anyone out there is if the model can be run in this power configuration without structural issues, appreciate if any of you could reply.
enjoy your models and fly safe.
Rogerio Pereira

Hi Rogerio - The structure of the AL37 has been proven by the other posts showing 4 engines flying successfully and others posting here and on YouTube about flying with 2 batteries.

Your question to yourself should be, “How do I intend to fly the AL37?” Added weight and structure stress means severe limitation on any aerobatics and speed. You’ll be much safer flying around in a slower scale manner (avoid high speed dives) and not flying off of rough surfaces due to the added stress on the gear.

Adding weight = self imposing restrictions
Speed and acro = stress on a structure compounded by more weight
Worst case for stress = increasing the weight of the non-flying parts of the aircraft
Steep banks = more stress

When we add several hundred pounds of water ballast in the wing tanks of the sailplanes we fly to improve the glide ratio at a given speed, we must dump the water before landing or risk breaking the landing gear....and NO ACROBATICS!

Reference my prior post #1893...adding weight to the fuselage will also likely accelerate the foam cell boundary cracking I experienced on the wing's topside after many, many flights due to the added stress on the wing caused by the added weight.

-GG

Photo of a sailplane dumping water ballast prior to landing...

[Pacro]

So finally got it all finished.
here is a WR737 pouch style nacelle grafted onto my P8(al37)

[Rogerio Pereira]

Hi folks, I would like to ask the question related to the use of TWO 6000 packs to extend the flying time, will the wings take the extra weight without issue? I expect landing speed will be higher, but, how mutch? Balance the plane should not be an issue if I make a new battery support base to extend further back, my main question for anyone out there is if the model can be run in this power configuration without structural issues, appreciate if any of you could reply.
enjoy your models and fly safe.
Rogerio Pereira

[Gecko 17]

No, it is not. Both ESCs on this plane are "optos". If you do not plug the external BEC into your RX, there will be no power to run it.

Yea, I talked to buddy last night who said the same thing. This is my first Freewing bird. Been flying Eflite and some Flite test builds I've done. Freewing does things a bit different. Thanks man!

[borntoolate]

That is a stellar job you've done there Man! I've always loved the Arizona graphics on Southwest planes.....

Thank you!

Bob

[AirHead]

After one year, my Southwest Airlines "Arizona One" took to the skies!

Bob

That is a stellar job you've done there Man! I've always loved the Arizona graphics on Southwest planes.....

[xviper]

The RX is already getting voltage from the Throttle/ESC

No, it is not. Both ESCs on this plane are "optos". If you do not plug the external BEC into your RX, there will be no power to run it.

[Gecko 17]

Hey AL37 jocks....
this BEC that comes with the bird. I'm going to use a Spektrum AR637T, since I have it laying around. Can this BEC be plugged into the first port? The Bind/programming port? Is it really neccessary? The RX is already getting voltage from the Throttle/ESC and yea, I guess this protects from an issue with the ESCs but...seems like I'm putting 10v into a receiver now.
poor job by Freewing not documenting this or...Motion covering in build video. What are you jockeys doing? 😁

thanks

[GliderGuy]

With over 1,000 flights on the AL37, I have decided to retire it and order another one. Below is a summary of how the design held up:

1. Replaced one motor after about 400 flights due to a bearing that started screeching like a banshee. The other original motor has functioned without issue as has the replacement motor.
2. One main gear servo was replaced.
3. Quite a bit of foam cell boundary cracking can be observed on top of the wings in the area over the nacelle mounts. While likely cosmetic, the cracks are not pretty and returned after I attempted to fix them <obviously I didn't do a good job on the attempt to fix them>.
4. The nose gear landing light's mount broke.
5. Re-glued the nose gear's steering servo mount when it came loose.
6. Replaced the winglets (once on each side) due to the mounting pins breaking <not from ground strikes>.

That's it...not bad for an old girl with lots of hours/smiles on her. Also worth noting...the plastic wing/nacelle mounts held up without cracking through all the landings <some not great>.

Beyond the above "design" items, I also did the following repairs over time:

1. Reinforced <internally> the fuselage joint after the glue joint cracked due to a hard landing.
2. Repaired an engine nacelle after damaging it landing when the main gear servo failed to make the wheel come down. The nacelle hooked on a turf mound and tore away.
3. Landed short of where the pavement started and badly damaged both main gear mount foam areas when the wheels contacted the edge of the pavement.
4. Replaced all the rubber on the wheels several times. The nose gear rubber wears pretty fast on the hard surfaces I mainly fly off. The main's rubber resists wear pretty good.
5. Replaced a fan when a rock chipped several blades.

None of the control surface servos failed and none of them began to chatter.

Well done MRC design engineers! The bird exceeded all my expectations.

I am looking forward to getting the new one that's coming, and I'm somewhat sad to relegate bird #1 to the status of hangar queen to be a source of spare parts.

-GG

P.S. I built a cooling fan from a 24-volt, 80 mm, high-speed (4,500 rpm), PC case fan and old 6S LiPo...mounting the fan onto the end of the battery + added a switch. I used this to blow cooling air over the ESCs between flights for a couple of minutes, since I have enough batteries and chargers to allow for very little down time between flights. While not critical during cool weather, I felt this was needed while flying on hot summer days. Did it help extend the life of the ESCs? I am betting that it did. For sure, they performed without any issues.

[borntoolate]

Hi Rick. Thanks for your comments. All the paints I used are from Home Depot, flat interior paint. There are two sets of three colors. One set of 3 are for the colors of the Arizona flag and the other set of 3 are for the SWA colors. I can provide the paints codes if you would like them. 99% is airbrushed. I did some touch up with a brush as my hands are not as steady as they once were. I did paint one stripe at a time as this was a big plane to wrestle with.

Bob

[Swarick]

After one year, my Southwest Airlines "Arizona One" took to the skies!

Bob

Bob,
Awesome jet!! I fly for SWA and own the older Windrider 737 model. It's getting really old and I will be getting the Freewing one. I would love to know what paints you used, and the method of painting.

Rick

[Pacro]

Hey, I pulled the nacelles off to do some maintenance. Look at what happens after just one run on a grass field. (the flight was from a few weeks ago and the grass has turned brown)

The blades are not damaged. Its easy to clean and important to get it taken care of before it does cause damage!

Mine has the exact same problem, I just take a 800grit wet sandpaper and slide it between the blades and shroud, some small scrubbing will remove it