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

[GliderGuy]

FINALLY...the wind stopped blowing 30 mph!

Up at sunrise to maiden with calm winds. Got in the maiden + 19 more before Easter activities.

• A huge congratulations to the Freewing design team, flight testers, and Alpha. A dream come true. Y'all did an awesome job bringing this bird to market.
• Beautiful kit and design well thought out - the finish is BEAUTIFUL
• Can't get any easier to get ready (albeit some fiddling with the rudder setup is needed)
• The initial gyro setup is OUTSTANDING to help ensure a first flight success.
• The Wright brothers would not have believed it!

First - The setup
============

1. Admiral Pro 6000 mounted with the rear end flush with the trailing edge of the battery tray
2. Elevators 8 mm up and Ailerons 4 mm up
3. Rudder a bit more than spec...but as close as I could get it...about 47 mm open
4. Fingertip CG slightly nose heavy, but not much, when lifted on the marks
5. No dual rate...it messes with the rudder set-up when changing rates (at least it did for me)
6. I needed 4 clicks of up trim and a couple of rudder clicks on the maiden to get her dialed in.
7. Clear plastic vertical fin installed.

Second - First impressions - For what it's worth
====================================

1. 100% overcast sky at 2000 AGL, no issues with the visual orientation...will need to see how she looks on a bright sunny day
2. Control "feel" and response is VERY good and VERY tame
3. She glides for what seems like forever with zero throttle
4. The B-2 dissipates energy upon touchdown faster than any EDF I fly. Short runways should not be an issue for this bird. Some have discussed the possibility of adding crow or a way to throw fully open the clamshell rudders after touchdown. IMHO....not needed at all. The post-touchdown rollout is SHORT.
5. Plenty of power for take-off (hard surface tried only). Ease in the throttle, wait a couple of seconds, apply a touch of up elevator , and YOUR OFF (and keep holding the up elevator until she gains speed or your nose will drop)
6. I flew at 50% throttle for 4:40 then reduced to about 25% on downwind further reducing to maybe 15% on final until over the threshold. Once over the threshold, reduced the throttle to zero, and she glides into ground effect so nicely while you are adding up elevator (as needed) to hold attitude.
7. With this flight profile, She "sipped" consistently about 3000 mAh. Timer was set for 5 min. No doubt, longer flight times are possible because she flies at 30% throttle just fine
8. Gear down and 50% throttle requires holding up elevator in the pattern (due to my CG location no doubt). Will add some gear+elevator mix to correct.
9. Once in ground effect, it is possible to absolutely nail it. As an example, one landing I was able to hold her steady while rolling only on the lower mains while the upper mains stayed in the air for SEVERAL feet. Solid control, for sure
10. I tried a few SLOW AS POSSIBLE landings from ground effect. She's like a full scale Cub. You can keep adding more up elevator to keep the wheels off the ground a few inches for like FOREVER. Touching down with full back stick out of ground effect is very doable. What a Hoot!
11. Trim change from 1/2 to full throttle was minor, if at all. She's FAST!
12. Gliding requires some up elevator at zero throttle
13. After several flights, the wind began to blow about 8 to 10 mph. Not an issue. She continued to do great! As the turbulence began to increase, it was possible to see the control surfaces working rapidly to keep her on an even keel. This translates into a very slight wiggling of the overall aircraft, but you must look closely to even see it.
14. I did a 1/2 roll off the top of a loop...absolutely a non-event. She has plenty of roll authority.
15. I DID NOT use the rudder in flight at all. I only used the rudder on take-off and landing roll-out. Her turns are perfectly coordinated w/o the need for additional rudder. Take this from a full scale sailplane pilot that uses yaw strings and who works hard to prevent adverse yaw from causing side slipping. From a ground perspective, you can leave your "feet on the floor"...no need for rudder. I saw no adverse yaw (from my vantage point)...very nicely coordinated thanks to the control box set ups.
16. No issues with at-speed ground handling…tricycle gear geometry is spot on! I did check how tight the steering linkage pushrod set screw was and found it needed to be tightened more than it was.

Summary
=======
If you haven't done your maiden, do not be nervous. What a lovely gentle lady to fly.

Again....A HUGE "Thanks" to the FW Design team, flight testers and Alpha. Y'all DONE GOOD! A dream come true!

-GG

[xviper]

This is exactly what I wanted to accomplish but without understanding the mode and gain connections I just plugged in the lead labeled gyro in the gain function controlled by a knob on the radio. I found the step I missed explained with photos in post # 638 by Icarus on the other thread. I'll get it done today and test it.
Thanks for the help.
Gary

Also, looking at your picture over at RC Guppy, on the gyro itself, you've got it plugged into the AIL2 slot, NOT the gain slot.

[kallend]

This is exactly what I wanted to accomplish but without understanding the mode and gain connections I just plugged in the lead labeled gyro in the gain function controlled by a knob on the radio. I found the step I missed explained with photos in post # 638 by Icarus on the other thread. I'll get it done today and test it.
Thanks for the help.
Gary

Glad that you sorted it out.

[viper1gj]

I'm unclear why you have the MODE channel assigned to an analog input (the knob). It should be on a 3 position switch.
If you want to adjust the master GAIN, that is a separate input to the gyro and its channel should be assigned to a knob or slider.

This is exactly what I wanted to accomplish but without understanding the mode and gain connections I just plugged in the lead labeled gyro in the gain function controlled by a knob on the radio. I found the step I missed explained with photos in post # 638 by Icarus on the other thread. I'll get it done today and test it.
Thanks for the help.
Gary

[Tabdy]

Wondering if anyone has investigated how to setup RTH. I wonder if one could somehow use Kopilot Lite bearing in mind gyro conflicts.

[mshagg]

Seperate BEC has tripped people up in the past, make sure it's plumbed in somewhere

[kallend]

I have Spektrum radio. Can someone tell me what Aircraft Type settings should be used? For some reason, none of the control surfaces are functioning. I have it set to a single aileron/elevator servo for the wing type. And, I have the gyro plugged into Aux2, and that channel is assigned to switch B, but the switch does not change the modes on the gyro. Any help is appreciated.

Can you be more specific? Are the flying surface controls completely dead, or just not working correctly? How about the retracts, are they working? What is the color of the LED on the gyro?

When you state "I have the gyro plugged into Aux2", how exactly have you done that? Which slot on the gyro, which cable did you use, and how is the cable arranged (which color lead is on top)?

If you plug a servo directly in to the AIL or ELE port on the receiver, bypassing the gyro and control box, does it respond to stick movement? If you plug a servo into the Rx AUX2 slot, does it respond when you move Switch B?

If you look at the monitor screen on your transmitter, what values do you see on AUX2 for the three switch positions of switch B?

[xviper]

I have Spektrum radio. Can someone tell me what Aircraft Type settings should be used? For some reason, none of the control surfaces are functioning. I have it set to a single aileron/elevator servo for the wing type. And, I have the gyro plugged into Aux2, and that channel is assigned to switch B, but the switch does not change the modes on the gyro. Any help is appreciated.

I also use Spektrum (DX9) but when I look at the aircraft type, I only see "wing: normal, tail: normal". I don't see what you see on yours. Maybe it's the same?
As for the "mode" switch, is the wire you're using plugged in the right way? It's not upside down at one end, is it? Is it actually plugged into the "MOD" port and not the "gain" port? Can confirm when you look at the "monitor" that when you flip the switch, it's actually working AUX2? Other than these points, it should be working.

[JohnnyJet62]

I have Spektrum radio. Can someone tell me what Aircraft Type settings should be used? For some reason, none of the control surfaces are functioning. I have it set to a single aileron/elevator servo for the wing type. And, I have the gyro plugged into Aux2, and that channel is assigned to switch B, but the switch does not change the modes on the gyro. Any help is appreciated.

[kallend]

I finished the B-2 assembly, set up and Jeti programming in about 3 hours. Biggest fuss was setting drag rudders to the recommended spacing. I had to set the rudder rate endpoints to 60% to make them work. Only change from stock was to set steering on separate channel to get steering trim and turn off steering when retracted. I added the gyro control channel and assigned it to a knob control. I did not use the clear vertical fin.

I had to postpone test flights today for rain so Thursday is next opportunity.

My gyro channel goes from -100 to +100%. On a Jeti this spread is slightly larger than other radios so it may equate to about -120 to +120 on other systems.

This is what I observed.
From +100 to +25 I had solid red basic gain in normal mode.
From +25 to -25 I had slow flashing red in attitude lock mode.
From -25 to -100 I had purple (combined red and blue) in trainer mode.
There was no way to turn the gyro off.

In the basic gain normal mode the gyro corrections were correct and momentary when the jet was moved in pitch roll and yaw directions. Pitch movement was very low, roll was medium, and yaw was very aggressive. I could not see any difference between when I moved the gain control from +25 and +100 so I assumed the gain is at some preset value in basic or normal mode. This seems to fit what others posted.

In attitude lock mode the gyro activated flight controls acted like a heading lock mode and seemed to stay deflected toward the previous attitude which I did not want.
In trainer mode the gyro flight controls acted sluggish to limit pitch and bank attitudes which I did not want.

As a result I set a function curve for the gyro channel for 100% to keep the gyro away from attitude and trainer modes. After further reading forums tonight the simplest way may be just to delete the gyro channel and unplug the gyro lead. This would still give 100% of the preset gains.

Will report back after some test flights.
Gary

I'm unclear why you have the MODE channel assigned to an analog input (the knob). It should be on a 3 position switch.

If you want to adjust the master GAIN, that is a separate input to the gyro and its channel should be assigned to a knob or slider.

[xviper]

Seemed to me to be a relitivly normal flying plane. It seems the internet is being very picky for this aircraft. Its seems to be in tge AL and PJ category for flight skill and expectations.
Warning. You can easily loose the aircraft if you look away. for any reason. Dont take your eye, or eyes, off the aircraft.

Yeah, that's what the internet does to a lot of people. Brings out stuff in their character that they would never get away with at the flying field. What can you do?
I'm a little surprised that you can visually lose this plane so easily. Perhaps with the right kind of sky? My old X8 was never a problem to find it again if I "lost" it. Worst case, do a shallow banking circle and there it is. With this plane, if I were to lose it, I'd put it in "trainer" (auto level) mode before doing the big circle. I would love to put a RTH module in it but with its stock gyro, that would be extremely difficult. I tried once with my 2.0 Opterra and that was a nightmare - could never make it work.

[MeyerVW]

That clear fin may actually make it weathervane even more easily.

Seemed to me to be a relitivly normal flying plane. It seems the internet is being very picky for this aircraft. Its seems to be in tge AL and PJ category for flight skill and expectations.
Warning. You can easily loose the aircraft if you look away. for any reason. Dont take your eye, or eyes, off the aircraft.

[xviper]

This is what I observed.
From +100 to +25 I had solid red basic gain in normal mode.
From +25 to -25 I had slow flashing red in attitude lock mode.
From -25 to -100 I had purple (combined red and blue) in trainer mode.
There was no way to turn the gyro off.

Someone over at RC Guppy already mentioned this. The "mode" control is different from "master gain" control. Take a look at the stock gyro device. There are 2 separate pins for these functions. One is for "mode" where you have 3 types of gyro function. This should be a switch. The other is for "master gain". This is the one that you put on a rotary or slider so you can dial it from 0% to 100% of the set gyro gains. 0% will turn the gains to ZERO (no gains, no gyro response). If you are using Jeti and not incorporating the stock gyro, you must emulate what the stock gyro unit does in terms of these 2 separate and distinct functions. (I don't use Jeti so I have no idea how you do it.)

[avanti127]

Got the LED landing lights all hooked up and wired in...

[viper1gj]

I finished the B-2 assembly, set up and Jeti programming in about 3 hours. Biggest fuss was setting drag rudders to the recommended spacing. I had to set the rudder rate endpoints to 60% to make them work. Only change from stock was to set steering on separate channel to get steering trim and turn off steering when retracted. I added the gyro control channel and assigned it to a knob control. I did not use the clear vertical fin.

I had to postpone test flights today for rain so Thursday is next opportunity.

My gyro channel goes from -100 to +100%. On a Jeti this spread is slightly larger than other radios so it may equate to about -120 to +120 on other systems.

This is what I observed.
From +100 to +25 I had solid red basic gain in normal mode.
From +25 to -25 I had slow flashing red in attitude lock mode.
From -25 to -100 I had purple (combined red and blue) in trainer mode.
There was no way to turn the gyro off.

In the basic gain normal mode the gyro corrections were correct and momentary when the jet was moved in pitch roll and yaw directions. Pitch movement was very low, roll was medium, and yaw was very aggressive. I could not see any difference between when I moved the gain control from +25 and +100 so I assumed the gain is at some preset value in basic or normal mode. This seems to fit what others posted.

In attitude lock mode the gyro activated flight controls acted like a heading lock mode and seemed to stay deflected toward the previous attitude which I did not want.
In trainer mode the gyro flight controls acted sluggish to limit pitch and bank attitudes which I did not want.

As a result I set a function curve for the gyro channel for 100% to keep the gyro away from attitude and trainer modes. After further reading forums tonight the simplest way may be just to delete the gyro channel and unplug the gyro lead. This would still give 100% of the preset gains.

Will report back after some test flights.
Gary

[xviper]

Wind is a factor. I almost always have a crosswind of some kind. The plane while on the ground, will turn into the wind very easy. This maybe where that clear fin comes in. I did not use it but I noticed the aircraft will go into the wind very easy without it.

That clear fin may actually make it weathervane even more easily.

[MeyerVW]

Wind is a factor. I almost always have a crosswind of some kind. The plane while on the ground, will turn into the wind very easy. This maybe where that clear fin comes in. I did not use it but I noticed the aircraft will go into the wind very easy without it.

[kallend]

I've also seen that kind of gear wobble on first flights of any plane. In this case, the retention methodology of the strut onto the retract pin needs to evolve to hold it more firm. Perhaps a longer pin that goes into the bore of the strut is the answer.

They use cheap alloy for the trunnion and the traveller on the threaded rod, which wear very quickly and create slop. But the worst I've seen has been on some EFlite planes. The 80mm F-4 is notorious for its nosegear retract collapsing due to wear on the metal parts after very little use.

[xviper]

NIce Nikes...
When is FW going to make a gear door that fully closes properly...?
And the gear wobbles like I've been flying and landing it (not healthy for the gear) - i would think a brand new plane would be tight...(?)

If I'm correct about the door close mechanism, it's a mechanical spring loaded bar that the strut pushes on to close the door. I think it's just a matter of adjusting the rod length so that it closes the door more fully when the strut pins the bar down. Even if it was a servo actuated door closer, the same method is used to adjust the close limit on the door. I usually do this on every plane I get. They are never adjusted properly from the assembly line. It's just part of the getting a plane set up for operation (fine tuning) and not necessarily a design flaw. It's no different than setting all control surfaces to neutral after you've powered up the plane for the first time.

I've also seen that kind of gear wobble on first flights of any plane. In this case, the retention methodology of the strut onto the retract pin needs to evolve to hold it more firm. Perhaps a longer pin that goes into the bore of the strut is the answer.

[kallend]

NIce Nikes...
When is FW going to make a gear door that fully closes properly...?
And the gear wobbles like I've been flying and landing it (not healthy for the gear) - i would think a brand new plane would be tight...(?)

Hey, one of my Gripen doors closes properly, as do all three of the Eurofighter doors.

One landing and FW gear wobbles - that's the way it is.