Flex Innovations F-100 Thunderbird, 90mm

[T-CAT]

Thanks. Hate Facebook, but will make an exception for this...:)

Or message him on his YouTube channel. Maybe he'll answer there as well.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZNEk0kfvF1Sw32lZf1mudg

[tab28682]

FB paul appelbaum

Thanks. Hate Facebook, but will make an exception for this...:)

[Robert Belluomini]

FB paul appelbaum

[tab28682]

There’s a guy in St Louis that is a master at these conversions. He will be converting the Hun. He should offer a tank and pipe to suit. He has done four foam jets to date.

Would you happen to have any contact info or a web site? I googled around, but did not find anything in St. Louis.

[Robert Belluomini]

I am willing to give the Aura as installed a fair shake.

I actually like my 90mm T-45 and F-22 on 6s, so I predict this F-100 will be at least as good and likely a little better, based on the videos.

After a month or two of flying the F-100 stock, the plan was to convert it to turbine with a Kingtech K45G3. This may be more problematic than I thought as space for a fuel tank in an optimal location looks to be very limited, due to the long inlet duct and lack of accessible real estate inside the fuse.

We will see.

There’s a guy in St Louis that is a master at these conversions. He will be converting the Hun. He should offer a tank and pipe to suit. He has done four foam jets to date.

[flyinhigh042]

I’m personally a big fan of the Aura 8. It took a little bit of time to learn the intricacies and come up with settings that work well for me, but the end result has been well worth the effort. I’m converting all of my 80 and 90mm EDF’s over to the Aura. I’m using it both with Spektrum and Futaba systems. Been solid on both. So for me that was a positive selling point on the F-100.

[tab28682]

I am willing to give the Aura as installed a fair shake.

I actually like my 90mm T-45 and F-22 on 6s, so I predict this F-100 will be at least as good and likely a little better, based on the videos.

After a month or two of flying the F-100 stock, the plan was to convert it to turbine with a Kingtech K45G3. This may be more problematic than I thought as space for a fuel tank in an optimal location looks to be very limited, due to the long inlet duct and lack of accessible real estate inside the fuse.

We will see.

[T-CAT]

Wow, the Aura 12 sounds robust with some great features. I'll look into today. I like seeing Flex evolving in the market.

[Robert Belluomini]

I think the Cortex Pro flies and feels better than the assist units. The Aura 12 features dual battery And Rx inputs (Futaba currently) and of course 12 pwm outputs. It also fully supports S-bus I/O. The power has been tested to over 30 amps. Its housed in hard aluminum case and feature mounting tabs with grommets. It also has a remote sensor for those really noisy turbine installs. This is unique to Aura.

[T-CAT]

I saw recently that they had an Aura 12 and they recommended that with their FlexJet Pro. I'll have to watch a video on that one to see how it compares to the Aura 8. The Cortex is a heck of a unit also, and hard to beat. If I didn't use receiver gyros exclusively now, I would use stand alone gyros more often. There are some great options these days.

The Assist has been nice so far, and worth trying. I think Jeti could work on some aspects of the programming, wording, etc. to make it more intuitive, but hopefully continued updates provide that in the future.

[Robert Belluomini]

I have yet to try an Assist. I have set a few up and I like that it is an Ex device. I typically use the Cortex Pro and I Iove the Ease of setup. I have an Aura12 pro in my Rebel Hot. It flies locked in! I use the Aura 8 in my foam.

[T-CAT]

Have You flown a model or models with an Aura setup? The F100 has full ducting and no cheater holes. David said their 6200 fits. How much battery does one need?

Only one aircraft I've flown with the Aura and I was impressed, but it wouldn't cause me to replace the gyro ability in my Jeti Assist receivers that are now my go-to gyro for jets. I could just deactivate the gyro functionality in the Assist, but then that defeats the purpose of why I prefer to own and use that receiver (primarily the ease of programming within the radio, reducing a little weight, and consolidating components in the battery compartment).

The ducting is one reason I like the F-100 and few other features. However, I tend to dislike most 6S 90mm jets, although that doesn't automatically disqualify this jet. This F-100 is kept clean without a cheater and I enjoy the thought that Flex gives to their ducting. This should help with performance and lessen some of the personal thirst for additional power to achieve the performance I'd like in most 90mm foam jets. As it gets into the hands of customers, we'll see what battery weight and dimensions allow for HV systems to be used, but by Flex's response in their RCg forum it doesn't sound like there is much room.

When I see the jet in person, I hope it pushes me over the edge to purchase the product. I have high hopes for it. Until then, I feel more comfortable spending $529 on different aircraft.

[Robert Belluomini]

I'd love to know how everyone likes it. Have fun with it! A F-100 is a great looking jet, and I like the liveries Flex chose.

Unfortunately, I couldn't get myself to purchase it because of the rather small battery compartment for a 90mm jet, as well essentially not having any option to purchase it without the Aura included (which is to be expected). The Aura is a really nice and capable unit, but I don't want to have to sell it individually since I use a gyro receiver and prefer it over the Aura. As a lesser additional reason, I would rather purchase it without the power system because I don't prefer it. At that point, it made more sense for me to wait it out and look at other model options.

Their FlexJet Pro composite/balsa jet is pulling on my heart strings, and it doesn't come with an Aura or power system, which is good for me.

Have You flown a model or models with an Aura setup? The F100 has full ducting and no cheater holes. David said their 6200 fits. How much battery does one need?

[T-CAT]

I'd love to know how everyone likes it. Have fun with it! A F-100 is a great looking jet, and I like the liveries Flex chose.

Unfortunately, I couldn't get myself to purchase it because of the rather small battery compartment for a 90mm jet, as well essentially not having any option to purchase it without the Aura included (which is to be expected). The Aura is a really nice and capable unit, but I don't want to have to sell it individually since I use a gyro receiver and prefer it over the Aura. As a lesser additional reason, I would rather purchase it without the power system because I don't prefer it. At that point, it made more sense for me to wait it out and look at other model options.

Their FlexJet Pro composite/balsa jet is pulling on my heart strings, and it doesn't come with an Aura or power system, which is good for me.

[Alpha]

Well, the Flex F-100s have arrived in FL.

I confess that I "abandoned the fold" here and went over to Flex and ordered one today....:)

No harm there, it looks like a solid product and I earnestly hope it's a breakout hit. I believe there are several people on this forum who preordered one as well. Let us all know how you like it!

[xviper]

Well, the Flex F-100s have arrived in FL.

I confess that I "abandoned the fold" here and went over to Flex and ordered one today....:)

I hope you enjoy it and provide you with lots of great flying. Please post up here your review of it. I'm back up on the fence on this one. Motion's recent 2 releases have my attention and will likely get my money. Dribbe's recent post and comment about "making the flaps work right" has me thinking back to my experience with the FlexJet. I found it to be less than the hype that it was given and a couple of things that was disappointing to me, that never did "work right". Also, I have the "non-super" Sabre (F-86) in transit at the moment. It'll get the HiPerf inrunner treatment. That will be my Super Sabre fix for now.

[tab28682]

Well, the Flex F-100s have arrived in FL.

I confess that I "abandoned the fold" here and went over to Flex and ordered one today....:)

[xviper]

Only that was county music playing and not rock music, I liked it and I'm a hard ROCKER.

Sounded like country to me, too, but I could barely hear it in the video. Even turned up, I didn't have the need to slit my throat as I do when I hear certain other kinds of "music". I'm surprised that YouTube didn't censor it for copyright infringement. Usually, you can't get away with having any music in the background.

[RRHandy]

Nice video except for the music
As a boy I always hated when I went to airshows and they blared bad rock music over bad speakers at high volume ( I wanted airplane noise) I can see I hate it just as much 50 years later

Only that was county music playing and not rock music, I liked it and I'm a hard ROCKER.

[killickb]

With you Quickstop ! You go to the TICO airshow (among others) and that g--awful music goes all day ! Like you, I want my jet noise plain vanilla. Is my age showing ??