Official Freewing B-2 Spirit Bomber 86" Twin 70mm EDF Jet

[GliderGuy]

Hi Xviper,

Yep….that’s one secret for trouble-free B-2 flying….less than 5 knots of wind and no cross wind is the other secret.

I’ve been going out at sunrise on many recent days with heat advisories. Been able to get in 8-10 flights before it gets too warm…..and in nice light winds, too. First flights are about 10 min before sunrise. She looks VERY cool all lit up in the pre-dawn light.

if the breeze begins to blow, I stop.

An added benefit…she lands sooo easily as you hold her off as long as possible in ground effect . Like a three-point Cub landing. Lots of times, touching the mains when reaching full up elevator.

-GG

[xviper]

Since I got this plane, I would say that my successful flight to non-successful flight rate is about 1 in 2. IE, everytime I fly this plane, I either have a mishap on take off or landing. I take several planes to the field every time I go, so each plane gets flown twice. Yesterday was the first day I managed to get TWO perfect flights. My average is improving. I have the stock gyro on a master gain and I fly it at full stock rates for take off and landing, while I dial it down just a hair during the main part of the flight. I also use an Assan steering gyro and this has made the take off very predictable. The biggest difference yesterday was that it was relatively calm and I made sure the master gain was at full. I think those two things are key to having a good flight compared to having one where I need to take it home and fix something.
Oddly enough, one of the guys at the field was more impressed with the stock shipping box that I use to transport the plane in.

[davegee]

Thanks for the PSA davegee and I am glad the damage was minor! Speaking of "special bondo" care to share what you use? I am always on the lookout for effective repair product.

It looked nasty, at first, but when I got up to it, not so bad! Lucky!

I use Evercoat Metal Glaze, polyester finishing and blending putty. I think it is available in most good auto paint stores, and on Amazon, too. It comes in two parts the bag of putty, and then a hardener, which comes in a small tube and you mix like epoxy. You just need a small amount of the hardener and then use a popsicle stick or something like that to stir it thoroughly. For me, I find when I mix it if it is a light blue color, that's just about right.

Working time pretty short (5 minutes or so), depending too on how much blue hardener you add to it, and ambient temperature of your work area. But I've been using it for 15 years or more. And it works well on foam, too. Light wet sanding and you are ready to prime/paint!

davegee

[Hugh Wiedman]

Thanks for the PSA davegee and I am glad the damage was minor! Speaking of "special bondo" care to share what you use? I am always on the lookout for effective repair product.

Me Too! Hopefully it comes by the Gallon!

[Aros]

Thanks for the PSA davegee and I am glad the damage was minor! Speaking of "special bondo" care to share what you use? I am always on the lookout for effective repair product.

[davegee]

WARNING TO CHECK SET SCREWS ON MAIN LANDING GEAR STRUTS!!!

Hi All: I know we have 60 pages of comments on this airplane, and I don't know if the problem I had the other day was discussed in those pages, or not. But I wanted to bring this to the attention of all B-2 owners to check so you don't have a takeoff mishap like I did the other day.

If you look at the main gear landing gear struts, you'll see a slot running vertically on the strut, and inside you can see a spring, and a set screw that rides up and down along the slot to keep the gear bogie (wheels and tires) going in a straight direction for takeoffs, landings, and taxiing.

We have a very rough runway where I fly. I have 16 flights on my plane so far, a couple minor mishaps on landings, but this one was new. I went to takeoff, and it was accelerating normally, when all of the sudden it lurched sharply to the right, almost making a 180 degree turn, and flipped over on its top. This all happened in an instant, and I just had time to cut the power when it made that sharp turn.

Taking a closer look of the aftermath, the right main gear bogie was now basically "free castering," in other words, was not locked to make it stay straight for normal ground movement. It had turned 90 degrees to the normal direction of the bogie. That's Bad!

I discovered that that little set screw had apparently departed the aircraft just prior to it doing that "wifferdill" and flipping over. I always check things like the gear for proper operation and security, but did not check that set screw to be sure it was secure.

Fortunately, there was very minor damage to the plane. There were scratches on top of the battery cover and the roof of the cockpit, but I was able to repair those with my special bondo, sanding, priming, and repainting. I have ordered new decals for those areas that I had to sand off to do the repairs.

So, I learned something with this airplane, and would suggest it a good preflight check to do on your Spirit, to make sure those set screws are secure on the struts so you don't have a similar issue like I had. Could have been worse, so I consider myself fortunate.

One other thing; I did order a replacement gear, but just as a test, I put a screw into that threaded hole where the set screw had been. I tested the plane for proper taxiing, and today had one of my best flights yet with this set up. Takeoff and landing were nearly flawless, but I didn't want to risk using this new temporary screw to cause any further issues, so I'll wait until I get the new gear replacement and install that one, instead.

For what it's worth.

davegee

[Evan D]

Exactly, my 830g 6000 is all the way forward.

[xviper]

Hi All, I hope to maiden mine sometime this week and am wondering if you have a preference between a 5000 mah pack or a 6000 mah pack ? Is one a better choice than the other for this plane ?
Thanks. Bob

It kinda depends on how much they weigh. I use 6000man, 6s from ChinaHobbyLine. They weigh 900+g. 5000's in the 800g range will also work but they would have to go further forward. Either one will give satisfactory flight time. I also have 6000mah ones that weigh 665g. Those are too light and have to be place way forward, likely not forward enough to balance the plane.

[Balsa Bob]

Hi All, I hope to maiden mine sometime this week and am wondering if you have a preference between a 5000 mah pack or a 6000 mah pack ? Is one a better choice than the other for this plane ?
Thanks. Bob

[kallend]

Yup, when in doubt, read the manual.

That's Un-American.

But seriously, not just the aircraft manual, but his radio manuals too.

[xviper]

Yup, when in doubt, read the manual.

HOLD ON! You say you've got something going on with AUX5. That's CHANNEL 10 (if you have a 10-ch RX). You've only got 8 channels on that RX. You can't do anything with AUX5 since it doesn't exist on your RX. Something is seriously wrong with the way you are looking at this whole situation. You may have a 20-ch TX but you've only got 8 channels to work with on the RX and that only goes up to AUX3.

[Evan D]

Simply, look at the manual. It shows the proper directions and the amount of reflex needed.

[xviper]

I’ve assigned aux 5 to switch a I think I need to look at that again. At the moment aux 5 is assigned to switch a. Is my video posted showing the control surfaces? Just trying to confirm they are moving in the right direction

Switch A defaults to channel 5. If you didn't unassign it from Ch.5, you may have one switch operating two channels. It can be done but could make things complicated that you don't know, especially if you're using channel 5 for something else. At this stage of the game, you don't need a conflict like this.
Like Evan said, none of it looks right. However, it would help if you indicated what you are doing with the sticks when something moves. You also need to step back and to the side of the plane so we can see the all the control surfaces at the same time. Moving the camera side to side and not knowing what stick movements you're doing makes it impossible to say how you can correct things. In any case, there is one sequence where the inner and outer control surface (not the drag rudders) are moving opposite each other. Each side should always move together whether they are acting as elevator or aileron. Additionally, on each side, the inner and outer elevons look to be dead even. They should NOT be. One should be higher than the other by several mm. You should view the videos made by a couple of the posters here to see how they are manually set up.
It would also be nice if you could use something like YouTube so we don't have to download something onto our computers before we can see it. I don't feel easy about putting anything onto my computer from an unfamiliar site.

[Evan D]

As I said none are moving correctly.

[jsoliman]

I’ve assigned aux 5 to switch a I think I need to look at that again. At the moment aux 5 is assigned to switch a. Is my video posted showing the control surfaces? Just trying to confirm they are moving in the right direction

[xviper]

Thanks for the reply

I’m using the ix20

switch assignment for the gear is a and on the monitor shows -100 and +100 on aux 5

Gear always defaults to channel 5 and is operated with switch A unless you tell it otherwise. If you're using AUX5 for gear, then you must channel assign a switch (A) to operate AUX5. As long as you plugged the gear into AUX5 with the proper polarity, it should work. Whatever switches that used to operate channel 5 and AUX5 before should be UNassigned or there may be a conflict.

[jsoliman]

Thanks for the reply

I’m using the ix20

switch assignment for the gear is a and on the monitor shows -100 and +100 on aux 5

[kallend]

Hey guys and gals I assembled my B2 spirit lastnight but had a question about my control surfaces. I wanted to see if they are moving in the right direction per the video attached. https://share.icloud.com/photos/0bfN...bQG3JfuIb_Mchw

Also I am using the spektrum ar8020T and I cannot get my gears to cycle. I have tried everything, any ideas?

1. What transmitter are you using?

2. What is your channel assignment?

3. What does the monitor screen show when you move the various controls?

[Evan D]

Everything looked wrong to me. Rudders are backwards and ailerons and elevators are all wrong too.

If your radio is showing that the gear channel is working -100/ +100 then probably a plug in the wrong slot or plugged in upside down/ backwards.

[jsoliman]

Hey guys and gals I assembled my B2 spirit lastnight but had a question about my control surfaces. I wanted to see if they are moving in the right direction per the video attached. https://share.icloud.com/photos/0bfN...bQG3JfuIb_Mchw

Also I am using the spektrum ar8020T and I cannot get my gears to cycle. I have tried everything, any ideas?