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

[ridgerunner]

Does anyone know what the drag rudder settings are for the full-size B-2 during take offs and landings?

[F106DeltaDart]

Great job F106. I too have never flown it with that clear plastic fin. It went in the trash with the box as soon as I finished putting the B2 together. Did you play much with the rudder control during flight? I find it very useful to pre load bank turns, kind of like with the F-15. I have also now flown her with 10-12 mph crosswinds and notice no tendencies to weathervane.

Gravy

Thanks, I played with the rudder quite a bit in flight, and was surprised at how well it behaves. Kind of reminds me of a heading hold heli in the turns. Starting with rudder helps, and feeding in more as bank angle increases. Your braver than I playing with crosswinds, but that’s impressive performance!

[GliderGuy]

I admire the sh*t out of all of you guys that have jumped in both feet on this one, but I'm not sure I'll ever be ready for the B2... I'm still fully capable of flat-spinning my little FW 64mm F18 with no understanding of what happened...
I'd turn the B2 into strained popcorn in no time...🤣🤣🤣

Hi Jasmith41,

As with pretty much all RC planes, there is a learning curve. That’s part of the fun and challenge of this hobby.

Yep….Right now, my heart begins to race every time the B-2 is turning final.

But, looking back:
1) The F-4 suffered several broken nose gear pins while I learned. Now, pretty much every landing is a non-event.
2) The AL37 “seemed to be” a handful in winds. But with practice and experimenting with expo…landings are non-events. I did add a gyro eventually. Easy now.
3) Don’t get me started on the PJ-50. I was ready to hang her from the ceiling for display. After great first impressions, the more I flew her, the more challenging she became (esp in windy conditions). Someone suggested adding a gyro. Now she’s my “go to” bird for VERY windy conditions. She lands so well in wind. Solid flyer!

At the moment, after over 100 flights, I don’t feel the B-2 will consistently tame in windy conditions. EVERYTHING must go just right when it is windy to pull off a good landing. Maybe I am wrong on this. But when a landing goes bad….it goes really bad AND fast!

So, the challenge of the B-2 is taken on willingly to experience the thrill of seeing her in the air. But, after a couple of near disaster landings….I’ve decided to challenge myself LESS by sticking to light wind days. Helps keep the heart rate lower on final, too.

Challenging? Sure. But otherwise we’d be sitting on a couch watching TV. Risking doing the walk of shame? No doubt.

But, I once read an article that said, “Do something each day that scares you a little. It helps maintain a sharp mind and a healthy body system.” LOL - Flying the B-2 in wind will keep us all VERY sharp and healthy!

-GG

[davegee]

You have an excellent memory! The Mittelwerk rocket factory is just a few miles NW of Nordhausen town. The EDF meeting is situated a few miles south of Nordhausen, near a small town called Hain.

Yes, I remember it very well! Looks like a beautiful area to fly your EDFs.

Cheers

Davegee

[jasmith41]

I admire the sh*t out of all of you guys that have jumped in both feet on this one, but I'm not sure I'll ever be ready for the B2... I'm still fully capable of flat-spinning my little FW 64mm F18 with no understanding of what happened...
I'd turn the B2 into strained popcorn in no time...🤣🤣🤣

[xviper]

every landing seems to be a stress test

Indeed, it is. If I try to sell mine, I won't get much for it. Even slightly used foam models fetch bargain basement prices here. I'm wondering how much damage could be incurred in a belly landing.

[Icarus the 2nd]

Very cool you were flying at Nordhausen. We were on a holiday many years ago through Germany, and stopped off to see the Nordhausen Mittlewerk WWII rocket factory in the mountains there. How far was your flying field from that museum?

Thanks!

Davegee

You have an excellent memory! The Mittelwerk rocket factory is just a few miles NW of Nordhausen town. The EDF meeting is situated a few miles south of Nordhausen, near a small town called Hain.

[Evan D]

You can just put the info out there and let it ride. I finally braved the elements and flew mine today after the crosswind/ cartwheel/ crash/ replace the whole airframe. I really like how it flies but jeesh, every landing seems to be a stress test. I'm going to put it up for sale.

[GliderGuy]

Caution - There is that “one” gust out there just waiting to grab you by the short hairs upon landing.

After making a lot of flights and after making a couple of nose gear repairs, it is inevitable if you fly the B-2 in much wind….a gust (or gusts in succession) will hit you at the wrong time.

You will be money ahead if you only fly the B-2 in light winds…no matter your skill. This caution is offered for what it’s worth.

I consider myself a good RC pilot. But…..I learned my lesson with the B-2. Lucky once, lucky twice….sure, but a gust will get you eventually, if you fly in much wind.

Offered as an example (all this within 6 ft of altitude): GUST/BOUNCE/POWER APPLIED FOR A GO-AROUND/WING DIPPED/CORRECTED/ANOTHER GUST INTO THE “CORRECTING” ROLL INPUT/CORRECTION INPUT/RAPID OPPOSITE ROLL/OPPOSITE AILERON APPLIED TO CORRECT AGAIN/ROLLING PIO NOW/NOSE PITCHED UP/INSTANT SNAP ROLL TO INVERTED (extremely fast roll to inverted)/IMPACT INVERTED

Soooooo….caution is offered about gusts and flying in much wind. I’m gonna fly the B-2 only in VERY NICE light wind conditions…..lesson learned. Take heed! I have other birds to fly on windy/gusty days.

LOL - The snap roll sucked the energy from her plus the headwind brought the ground speed to zero. She only got a minor scuff to the battery cover. See photo…sooooo lucky!!! Will you be?

-GG

PS: To the armchair quarterbacks analyzing the above, I admit….I screwed up. But, be aware that I have well over a hundred B-2 flights under my belt, so a novice B-2 pilot I am not. If an evil gust is out there waiting for you….why allow it to get you, too?

The point is….in light wind conditions, you will have lots of great landings! In the gusty wind conditions, I got bit. Quoting a popular book…”You lay down your money, and you take your choice!” It is my hope that you will not experience a bad landing.

ZOOM IN….I still don’t believe it!

[Gravythe clown]

Yep, no clear fin for me. Didn’t seem to be an issue as long as you coordinate your turns with rudder. The aircraft requires a lot of rudder input in a bank, almost as much rudder as aileron. Setup was all done per Jeremy Solt’s video. Not a single click of trim was needed.

Great job F106. I too have never flown it with that clear plastic fin. It went in the trash with the box as soon as I finished putting the B2 together. Did you play much with the rudder control during flight? I find it very useful to pre load bank turns, kind of like with the F-15. I have also now flown her with 10-12 mph crosswinds and notice no tendencies to weathervane.

Gravy

[F106DeltaDart]

Congrats! Is it safe to say no Vstab on the maiden as well? You rebel!

Yep, no clear fin for me. Didn’t seem to be an issue as long as you coordinate your turns with rudder. The aircraft requires a lot of rudder input in a bank, almost as much rudder as aileron. Setup was all done per Jeremy Solt’s video. Not a single click of trim was needed.

[Aros]

Congrats! Is it safe to say no Vstab on the maiden as well? You rebel!

[F106DeltaDart]

Got in the maiden flight on the B-2 this afternoon at Thunderbird field. The aircraft was modded with shorter gear, corrected nosewheel position, a sequenced nose gear door, and scale sized pilots. It flew excellent and required very little power. Definitely presents a unique profile in the air.

[Icarus the 2nd]

My apologies for the low quality vid, here's a new high quality version

[davegee]

I had a LOT of FUN some weeks ago at an EDF meeting in Nordhausen, Germany.

And it was great to use a very long concrete runway once instead of my usual very short grass runway.

Very cool you were flying at Nordhausen. We were on a holiday many years ago through Germany, and stopped off to see the Nordhausen Mittlewerk WWII rocket factory in the mountains there. How far was your flying field from that museum?

Thanks!

Davegee

[Icarus the 2nd]

I had a LOT of FUN some weeks ago at an EDF meeting in Nordhausen, Germany.

And it was great to use a very long concrete runway once instead of my usual very short grass runway.

[jasmith41]

i usually try to keep my eyes open and not blink when falling out of a bar seat so i can see what i'm going to face-plant on before it happens... alcohol-induced pre-cognition...? you decide... but it usually take more than 25ms to hit the floor...

[xviper]

Fact is a $25 steering gyro will outperform the best R/C pilot in keeping a plane straight on the takeoff or landing roll, especially in a crosswind.

Some planes are well behaved, others, such as the Avanti, definitely benefit.

I love these steering gyros. Not all my planes have one or need one. Your example of the Avanti really needs one, yet a similar sort of plane like the stinger 90 runs straight as an arrow without one. It also depends on the type of runway surface. The rougher it is, no matter what it's made of, the bouncier the ground roll. A perfectly smooth runway (and who really has one of those?), likely won't affect a plane's ground roll very much at all.
There are 2 B-2s at our field - mine and a friend's. My friend's is very suseptible to cranking around 90 degrees when it hits a small bump. It has no steering gyro. Mine has one and it is quite straight and controllable UNLESS it hits a bigger bump in a crosswind take off. Then the gyro doesn't help all that much. I try not to take off in a crosswing with this plane and I try my best to avoid the lumps and bumps. Our runway will soon be rolled (GeoTex fabric over packed dirt), so I'm expecting B-2 take-offs to become non-events.

[MikeT]

Ignorance is bliss.

Fact is a $25 steering gyro will outperform the best R/C pilot in keeping a plane straight on the takeoff or landing roll, especially in a crosswind.

Some planes are well behaved, others, such as the Avanti, definitely benefit.

It sure is. I can tell just by the posts in this forum.

Mike

[avanti127]

Ignorance is bliss.

Fact is a $25 steering gyro will outperform the best R/C pilot in keeping a plane straight on the takeoff or landing roll, especially in a crosswind.

Some planes are well behaved, others, such as the Avanti, definitely benefit.

AMEN!, was my point exactly. I've been flying for 40 years as well and it doesn't mean your reactions are the same as the were 40 years. Good for you if they are, I choose not to fight it.