Official Freewing Twin 70mm AL37 Airliner Thread

[GliderGuy]

I fly with an Admiral 6000 and it sits with part of it off the back part of the tray. I still carry about 3 mm of up elevator trim.

Move your battery farther back and/or add weight under the tail. Balance it on the factory CG mark. You have some work to do.

-GG

[Jetman64]

Where are you putting your receiver, and which way is the battery lead facing? These 2 things can help a lot with the CG.

[Syntha]

If I buy the plain white one, does it come literally painted white, or is it bare foam? Looking to put American Airlines livery on this plane.

[GliderGuy]

If I buy the plain white one, does it come literally painted white, or is it bare foam? Looking to put American Airlines livery on this plane.

Painted…actually a slight cream color. Home Depot mix shown below:

-GG

[themudduck]

Painted…actually a slight cream color. Home Depot mix shown below:

-GG

This same paint shade is also a dead-on match for the FW F14 (bottom side), the Avios Mig17, and the FW T45.

[MeyerVW]

Has anyone put the E52 gyro in the Al37? I am ready to tame the tail. What percentages and what surface are you using to stop the tail wag? Also thinking about this for my PJ50.

[xviper]

I use a HobbyEagle in my AL37 and I use a Spektrum Safe Select in my PJ50. What these planes need is what the real 737 uses - a yaw damper. Yaw is dictated by the rudder, so you want high gain on the rudder. The HE gets about 50% on the rudder and the AS3X gets about 60 as its number represent different units. As long as you're putting a gyro on these planes, you may as well take advantage and dial in some gain on the AIL and ELE channels as well - HE, 35% AIL and 35 - 40% ELE. Adjust to suit your flying style.
The E52 is not that dissimilar from the HE.

[MeyerVW]

I do have a Aura8 and my receivers are spektrum AR8020t. I will go look online and see what they can do.

[Desolation Angels]

A pro pilot friend of mine is thinking of getting this aircraft so I let him take the big Delta Max up for a spin, he's not afraid to fly in the weeds
It really is a lot of fun to watch him fly!

https://youtu.be/KK0hsb45boA

[Tooeleflyboy]

When you check the CG is it nose heavy? Is the elevator manually trimmed correctly as shown on page 9 of the manual?

[xviper]

When you check the CG is it nose heavy? Is the elevator manually trimmed correctly as shown on page 9 of the manual?

Not quite sure what exactly you are asking. To achieve the recommended balance at the CG marks on the plane, the battery is placed wherever it needs to be. It's not nose heavy or tail heavy unless that's how you want to fly the plane. If you start with the book CG, it should be neutrally balanced. If you're asking if people fly this plane nose heavy, I suppose some do but then, some will fly it tail heavy and for different reasons.
Page 9 of the manual shows you a reference only picture and what the throws ought to be (for starters). Where it's trimmed on your plane will be specific to your plane and your flying style.

[scotstern]

I want to display my AL 37 and not fly it. Since it is hung from a 12 foot ceiling, I am wondering how to "hard wire" it so that it all works gear, flaps lights, etc. without using batteries. Any input?

[xviper]

I want to display my AL 37 and not fly it. Since it is hung from a 12 foot ceiling, I am wondering how to "hard wire" it so that it all works gear, flaps lights, etc. without using batteries. Any input?

You will still need to put power to the RX somehow. As long as the RX has power, all those things will work. Only the motors won't work. To do it, you can go to an electronics store and buy an AC to DC power adapter. This adapter must be able to put out 5VDC. On the DC end, you can splice in a hot and ground wire just like the kind that is used on an external BEC. Use any servo lead and bare the red and ground wires. Those are the ones that get spliced into the DC end of the adapter. Don't get the polarity mixed up. Plug the other end to any port on a 6-ch RX - best to use the throttle port as you're not using it anyway. Yes, you still need a RX. You can remotely turn on the adapter using something like a WiFi power outlet (or just plug it into the wall socket when you want "action".) You will still need a TX to signal the RX to do what it would normally do. Turn on the TX first (as always), then power up the RX with the adapter. Now you can run the plane as usual but with no power to the ESCs/motors.
Before you hang it up, you need to bind the TX to the RX. Test everything to make it all works the way you want.
Perhaps someone can come up with an even simpler way.

[xviper]

Just finished installing a couple of Hobbywing FlyFun-60A-6S-V5 With Reverse Brake Function ESCs into the AL-37 so I can stop short on our runway after landing. It was quite simple to do. The ESC compartment had to be "re-worked" so the new ESCs could fit. They are slightly thicker than the stock ones. I cut off the battery wire bundle from the old ESCs and soldered them onto the new ESCs. This is to splice the two ESCs together. I continue to use the stock UBEC, so I disconnected the power wires on the throttle leads from the ESCs as they have built-in BECs. On the bench, everything tested out just great. Will test it at the field next week.
The Hobbywing reversing ESCs are by far a much easier and simpler way to do reverse than the Avian ESC method like I used on the PJ Bizjet. (And much cheaper.)

[f4u ausie]

I want to display my AL 37 and not fly it. Since it is hung from a 12 foot ceiling, I am wondering how to "hard wire" it so that it all works gear, flaps lights, etc. without using batteries. Any input?

Sorry have no idea,, but what an awsome idea... when ya mates come over,, have a look at this. Just b sure to get brendan from plane crazy to paint it... great idea,, without lipo in ya house,, sure thats dangerous

[Flamingo]

our 2 FW Boeings at German Airliner meeting in Oppingen

https://youtu.be/A2UdGfxX6aQ

[Bob S]

I'm considering installing a Hobby Wing A3 Super3 Gyro in my Freewing Airliner, any suggestions for gain settings?

[xviper]

I'm considering installing a Hobby Wing A3 Super3 Gyro in my Freewing Airliner, any suggestions for gain settings?

This gyro allows you to use a master gain. Set the gains at 50% and start with the master gain knob very low, at about 50% (mid-way, 12 noon). That would give you an actual 25% gain across the board. Go fly and after trimming, do a high speed pass. If the plane is still stable, increase the master to 1 o'clock. As soon as it begins to oscillate, dial it back to the previous mark.
If you don't have a master gain possibility, start with gains in the 25% area and increase for the next flight to 30%, then 35%, etc. Have the ability to turn the gyro OFF when it starts to oscillate because you may not be able to slow down quickly enough to stop the oscillation.

[jasmith41]

Two questions for the gurus: I’m trying to bind a spectrum ar637t and it binds and all the control surfaces work, but the ESCs aren’t and it just gives me a fast beep after it binds. Any ides…?
Also, the edf wires are red, yellow and black. Do I connect them to the red, yellow and blacks from the ESCs or something different on one side since they are counter-rotating…?
please advise, thanks in advance…
j.

[xviper]

Two questions for the gurus: I’m trying to bind a spectrum ar637t and it binds and all the control surfaces work, but the ESCs aren’t and it just gives me a fast beep after it binds. Any ides…?
Also, the edf wires are red, yellow and black. Do I connect them to the red, yellow and blacks from the ESCs or something different on one side since they are counter-rotating…?
please advise, thanks in advance…
j.

We actually had that happen this morning at the field on another flyer's plane. He was using a Spektrum RX. It all bound and everything worked except the ESC/motor, which gave that beeping. I told him to lower the throttle trim as low as it will go and it initialized. If it doesn't initialize, then try a re-bind after you lower the throttle trim. Next up is to do a throttle calibration once it all works.
As for the wires, forget the colors. They don't mean anything. You plug them in whatever way it makes the motors turn in the proper direction. If the fan goes in the wrong direction, swap any two of those ESC to motor wires. Once they are turning in the proper direction, THEN label the connectors so you know which ones to hook up each time.