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

[KevinMar]

Who's going to be the first to NOT install the clear vertical stabilizer?

If nobody else is going to do it, I might have to buy one of my own


Edit: just saw that it's "optional"



Damn it, there goes my bank account

[KevinMar]

Alpha Also, why do the navigation LED's protrude from the aircraft? Could they have not been flush with the skin to keep the RCS low?

[Alpha]

Who's going to be the first to NOT install the clear vertical stabilizer?

If nobody else is going to do it, I might have to buy one of my own


Edit: just saw that it's "optional"



Damn it, there goes my bank account

Yes, the clear tail is optional; we have flown with and without it, after getting used to the model's flying characteristics. The gyro and the drag rudders do most of the work, as long as the pilot knows how to fly the rudder stick, of course! We recognized that most pilots have never flown a tail-less EDF before, since there haven't been many on the market. In that sense, I consider the clear tail more of a "training wheel" for pilots who haven't flown tail-less EDF before, and as "free insurance" for pilots who have.

The clear tail plugs into the foam slot in seconds, so I don't see any downside in flying with it all the time (just plug it in before takeoff when no one's looking, ha). Evenso, we anticipated that some purists may prefer knowing it's not there, so we worked hard to ensure the model could fly confidently without it.

Fun fact: A lot of the engineering went into the drag rudder setup's geometry. As in, a lot. It appears simple, but it's really not.

[Alpha]

Alpha Also, why do the navigation LED's protrude from the aircraft? Could they have not been flush with the skin to keep the RCS low?

Yes, the wingtip LEDs could have been more flush, but onlyat the cost of much lower visibility, rendering their presence effectively useless at most viewing angles. The B2 is already a slender broadhead, so practical orientation remained a priority for us throughout the development process.

Interestingly, the slightly taller profile also aided the aircraft's stability. Almost like a single vortex generator out near the wingtip.

I'd expect certain modelers may elect to sand the LED covers down by 2mm-3mm.

[KevinMar]

Alpha Final question (for now), how much stock is there? I mean, I wasn't planning on dropping $700 today. I could, because this is epic, but are you expecting to sell out in a matter of days?

[Jasony]

I am in the fan-club now too, I was later than most but it said in-stock. I am excited, and pleased to see the site has been updated with spares already. Nice job everyone!

[xviper]

Just scanned thru the thread at RC Guppies. It's already started. Haters and nutbags have oozed out of the cracks in the baseboards.

"I'm not going to buy this plane. I just wanted to post that here so everyone knows."
"This thing looks power hungry. Can't possibly fly that long."
"Way too expensive but there's this gun pointed at my head."
"Big profits on this one. Can't be that hard to make."
"Wonder if I can fly this thing with a 50,000 mah pack?"
"What? No 80mm or 90mm option?"
"How come those lights aren't scale?"
"This thing will be hard to see in the air - easily lose orientation."
I'm sure more will follow.

Imagine if we had a 4 month pre-order period how much more ooze would have come out. Luckily, calm heads and those with more than 2 neurons prevail.
This product is already a monstrous success and will continue as such. I guess the BH fanbois and FW haters really hate this - color them green.

[long-love-rc]

I must admit this model is very cool! At the same time, we have so many low end foam flywing models in the market! I cannot stop thinking this is just a "boosted-up" flywing.... Ha, conflicted feeling!

Very cool model, congrats!

[F106DeltaDart]

Yes, the clear tail is optional; we have flown with and without it, after getting used to the model's flying characteristics. The gyro and the drag rudders do most of the work, as long as the pilot knows how to fly the rudder stick, of course! We recognized that most pilots have never flown a tail-less EDF before, since there haven't been many on the market. In that sense, I consider the clear tail more of a "training wheel" for pilots who haven't flown tail-less EDF before, and as "free insurance" for pilots who have.

The clear tail plugs into the foam slot in seconds, so I don't see any downside in flying with it all the time (just plug it in before takeoff when no one's looking, ha). Evenso, we anticipated that some purists may prefer knowing it's not there, so we worked hard to ensure the model could fly confidently without it.

Fun fact: A lot of the engineering went into the drag rudder setup's geometry. As in, a lot. It appears simple, but it's really not.

Excellent work Alpha! I had my own B-2 project going for a while and could never quite get that drag rudder linkage geometry figured out. Looking forward to seeing how you accomplished it this cleanly. Also looking forward to trying flights with and without the vertical stab.

I also wanted to ask about the nose gear position. I noticed that its been moved aft substantially aft from its scale location very close to the point of the nose. Was this done mostly for structural reasons? Ground Handling? Production reasons? Gear bay interference with the scale cockpit? Curious as I'm considering a mod to move it up closer to the leading edge. It's a pretty minor issue, but after trying to engineer it on my LX mod, I wouldn't be able to stop myself from giving it a shot. Really looking forward to flying this one!

[KevinMar]

Sorry for clogging up the thread, but also:

I have 2 70mm edf's sitting around doing nothing, I wish they would have offered an ARF+ option

[Dougcarr73]

Outstanding work, Alpha, MotionRC, and Freewing!! Very appropriate stealth launch for the stealth bomber. It looks as if you all have thoroughly thought this design and release through and I'm very happy to benefit from your hard work. My order (#615101) is confirmed. You guys are making dreams come true, which is why I'm always hoping for an AV-8B one day.

I'm assuming an AV-8 would be around the $1500 range based on conversations I've had in other forums, but never heard from The Man (you). Would that ever be in the realm of the possible, or does it die at initial customer interest/engineering/cost considerations?

[KevinMar]

I'm assuming an AV-8 would be around the $1500 range based on conversations I've had in other forums, but never heard from The Man (you). Would that ever be in the realm of the possible, or does it die at initial customer interest/engineering/cost considerations?

I'd like to point you to this fantastic Youtube channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCj6...0JiGLTJUemIO_A

Rene does not currently have a flying AV-8B, but he is in the process of making it happen! Or at least an AV-8 :)

[PaulZ]

Love it! Ordered! Okay, I have a question - will MRC offer main gear landing lights as an upgrade? I will have match some from another one of Freewing models otherwise. Alpha any ones that would fit well? Sorry, being the scale Geek - the B-2 has main landing gear lights which looks great with three light points during landing.

[cg7060]

On the real aircraft, the navigation lights pop in and out. So to see them protruding is a more scale look up close and when taxiing.

[Dougcarr73]

I'd like to point you to this fantastic Youtube channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCj6...0JiGLTJUemIO_A

Rene does not currently have a flying AV-8B, but he is in the process of making it happen! Or at least an AV-8 :)

Great channel, Kevin, I've actually been keeping tabs on him and Joel & Melanie Vlashof (spelling?), but nothing has materialized toward production like how Alpha, Freewing, and the MRC team keep bringing great products like the B-2 Spirit to fruition. I purchased the B-2 as soon as I saw it. I'd do the same, as I'm sure many others would, for the Harrier, if they ever release one.

[BluesDragon]

Nice one there, Team MRC! Now I've got another one to add to my spank bank.. errr.. I mean my wish list line up!!

[Alpha]

I am in the fan-club now too, I was later than most but it said in-stock. I am excited, and pleased to see the site has been updated with spares already. Nice job everyone!

Welcome, Jasony You joined Hobby Squawk four years ago but I see today was your first post. We've got the plane and almost all of its spare parts in stock already.

[PaulZ]

Alpha, does the Freewing gyro use heading hold on the yaw axis to keep the B-2 tracking straight? Just curious...

[Alpha]

On the real aircraft, the navigation lights pop in and out. So to see them protruding is a more scale look up close and when taxiing.

Thanks for pointing that out. For obvious reasons, the full size B-2's navigation lights can be recessed to reduce their radar signature when low observability is a priority. During taxi and other modes, however, the navigation lights are extended outward. We opted for a partial extension, for the practical RC-orientation reasons I gave earlier.

... I also wanted to ask about the nose gear position. I noticed that its been moved aft substantially aft from its scale location very close to the point of the nose. Was this done mostly for structural reasons? Ground Handling? Production reasons? Gear bay interference with the scale cockpit?

Yes to all, my friend

[Alpha]

Outstanding work, Alpha, MotionRC, and Freewing!! Very appropriate stealth launch for the stealth bomber. It looks as if you all have thoroughly thought this design and release through and I'm very happy to benefit from your hard work. My order (#615101) is confirmed. You guys are making dreams come true, which is why I'm always hoping for an AV-8B one day.

I'm assuming an AV-8 would be around the $1500 range based on conversations I've had in other forums, but never heard from The Man (you). Would that ever be in the realm of the possible, or does it die at initial customer interest/engineering/cost considerations?

Thanks for the opportunity to earn your business, Dougcarr73 ! Nothing is impossible, but there are always costs to balance. I'd encourage you to start an AV-8 thread so we can all discuss it in more detail separately from this B-2 thread. In the meantime, I can say that an AV-8 is possible from an aerodynamic point of view, but performance, flight duration, production cost, and shipping box size/weight quickly impact the equation. It is understandably easy for most people, used to Amazon free shipping, to overlook the fact that some of our airplanes cost us over a hundred dollars to ship. A sufficiently mass-market-friendly, appropriately powered, reliably stable, and enjoyably flyable AV-8 would need to be 1) large, and 2) expensive. I can see something in the $2k shipped range, or more? I'm not confident we could find a few thousand pilots to help make that project break even.


That is not to say that it's not possible. It is, with time, energy, skill, and resources. As KevinMar suggested, check out Rene's channel. He's a whiz!