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

[GliderGuy]

Yes, I use denatured alcohol and a rolled up paper towel or swab, thanks for the tips and back to the B-2 topic, yet to get one or even fly one, maybe one day I will give it a go.

Lots of fun and a crowd pleaser….but remember, fly the B-2 on days with less than 5 mph winds IF you want to have her last a long time.

You can get away with a windy day landing, but SHE WILL BITE YOU eventually if you fly in wind.

I made 15 B-2 flights at sunrise this morning, and happily have her home safe. Wind was 4 mph.

All it takes is a gust at the wrong time to cause a crow hop to get going…..ugh!

Order spare nose gear parts to have on hand.

-GG

[DCORSAIR]

Just remember to clean out every bit of the old grease. It does not work well with the tubing. I use alcohol and a twisted paper towel or a swab.

Yes, I use denatured alcohol and a rolled up paper towel or swab, thanks for the tips and back to the B-2 topic, yet to get one or even fly one, maybe one day I will give it a go.

[nuts-n-volts]

Just remember to clean out every bit of the old grease. It does not work well with the tubing. I use alcohol and a twisted paper towel or a swab.

[DCORSAIR]

Personally, I take out all the springs and use fuel tubing with o-ring lube. I have a bunch of different diameters and types, because it does require some trial and error per plane/strut. You want to max the diameter of the tubing in the strut without binding on compression. You also want the length to extend the strut to its max length and no more. This also lets the strut compress the farthest. On struts that have a slot on the side, use tygon gas tubing. It's tougher and resists cutting, but also a bit firmer. Silicon will split on the slot's sharp edges.

Typically you lose a small amount of compression versus a spring. The cool part is that it will not rebound, it only absorbs the shock, just like a real a/c shock and the way it's supposed to work. The o-ring lube is essential as it keeps things slippery in there and always lets the shock re-extend.

I know it's not talked about a lot on these forums, however I've been doing this for over 20 years back when we only had Robart struts. I've never had a gear hang when retracting because it didn't extend. I've had much better landings because the plane "plants" when it touches down. Yes, there are times where the plane can jump back into the air, but that's only if you're carrying too much speed anyway. It works and will save a plane from a hard landing. No rebound!

One other cool plus, most planes will sit with the shocks slightly compressed, just like the real thing. Throw away those big nasty springs!

Wow, great idea, may have to try it one day, I have the HSD 120mm T-33 and it has springs but they also have heavy grease inside, it works well too but I cut the spring down and use light grease instead and it works very well, no bounce and stays planted, may have to try your suggestion and remove the spring completely and use the fuel tubing method.

[nuts-n-volts]

Personally, I take out all the springs and use fuel tubing with o-ring lube. I have a bunch of different diameters and types, because it does require some trial and error per plane/strut. You want to max the diameter of the tubing in the strut without binding on compression. You also want the length to extend the strut to its max length and no more. This also lets the strut compress the farthest. On struts that have a slot on the side, use tygon gas tubing. It's tougher and resists cutting, but also a bit firmer. Silicon will split on the slot's sharp edges.

Typically you lose a small amount of compression versus a spring. The cool part is that it will not rebound, it only absorbs the shock, just like a real a/c shock and the way it's supposed to work. The o-ring lube is essential as it keeps things slippery in there and always lets the shock re-extend.

I know it's not talked about a lot on these forums, however I've been doing this for over 20 years back when we only had Robart struts. I've never had a gear hang when retracting because it didn't extend. I've had much better landings because the plane "plants" when it touches down. Yes, there are times where the plane can jump back into the air, but that's only if you're carrying too much speed anyway. It works and will save a plane from a hard landing. No rebound!

One other cool plus, most planes will sit with the shocks slightly compressed, just like the real thing. Throw away those big nasty springs!

[Evan D]

I haven't heard of anyone doing that. There is a kit where you print a limiter and make a wire piece to change the angle of the trucks hanging down.

[Nightmare]

Dear fellow Spirit pilots

My appologies in advance for posting this question as I‘m pretty sure it has been previously discussed but I went through the post for over an hour and wasn‘t able to find anything.

Do you guys adjust/alter the springs of the main landing gear to reduce bouncing?

Thanks so much for your help!

[GliderGuy]

Aros / Sooooo….. You state the following and confirmed that “He got bit! “

As I have said many times, flying the B-2 in wind is asking for it. One can do it, but watch out!

“He did have another landing mishap that snapped the gear door off and retract out of it's housing.”

-GG

PS I’ve made enough B-2 nose gear and nose area foam repairs. I don’t need any more practice doing these types of B-2 repairs. I’ve learned my lesson.

[Aros]

He actually had several successful flights in the wind to my surprise. It handled better than I expected, but that also has something to do with the pilot as he seems like a skilled jet flyer. He did have another landing mishap that snapped the gear door off and retract out of it's housing. Easily fixed. Seems like she can take a bit of abuse without too much damage. Still, I would heed your advice and I plan on never flying mine in anything over 5mph winds.

[GliderGuy]

Oh my!!!! Definitely NOT the conditions for B-2 flying.

I once did a similar windy day gust caused bounce, then over controlled into a snap roll to inverted and came down level like he did, but with zero ground speed.

Total damage = a very slight scratch in the battery cover. I could not believe my eyes!

Yep - 5 mph or less for successfully flying the bird is a good rule of thumb if you want to have long-term success.

Thanks for the video “lesson” about not flying on windy days with the B-2! You might get away with it a time or two, but you WILL get bitten!

-GG

[Aros]

I joined the Red Apple Flyers club in Wenatchee, WA. Went over this past weekend (2 hour drive) to get solo'd and watch the Fly In. The club is amazing. Extremely well-ran, full showers, roomy private bathrooms, full RV Hook ups, wide open space to fly with a 2,000ft ceiling clearance, etc. The one thing I noticed is they are not afraid to fly in wind! In fact, it was pretty darn windy the entire time and it didn't seem to bother any of the flyers...Well, almost.

One of the guys had a B-2 and he is a fine pilot but I captured one of his takeoffs that didn't seem to go as planned.

GliderGuy if you were not alive you surely would have rolled in your grave! LOL!

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/-5_8mA6Z8Lo

[GliderGuy]

As always, there’s something to be learned from posting. I did not consider the split barrel type EC5 connector’s potential loss of contact over time. So far, I have not experienced that…but will monitor for it. The spring-type’s loss of metal over time due to the connection spark remains a concern of mine, for sure. I’ve seen the results. Thanks.

-GG

[nuts-n-volts]

I think either one is prone to fail after a certain amount of cycles. That said, I agree with DC. The EFL spring type just plain connect and disconnect better and give a more reliable connection for the amount of time they last. Probably best to constantly watch for damage no matter what you use. It would be nice to have a resistance test of the different manufacturers especially after, say, 50 flights.

[GliderGuy]

The other issue with the thin metal spring is that EVERY connection spark blows a little of the thin metal away. Even if the spring remains soldered to the barrel, eventually the spring metal disappears.

One can disassemble a “well used” spring type EC5 and see the progressive damage that results from the connection sparks.

Point noted on the collapse of the split barrel type, but a thin screw driver carefully inserted can restore the “set”.

There’s no way to restore metal that’s been blown away by the spark that happens upon connection. The spring type EC5 connectors WILL FAIL! But…my usage is an extreme case.

Example: In the last 3 days, my birds have flown over 60 flights.

-GG

[DCORSAIR]

I have to say, I have never had any issues using those EC5 spring connectors, I do not like the barrel kind you have listed, those tend to collapse over time and not make a good connection, I only use the Eflite EC-5 connectors, there are knock off versions as well and they are junk in my opinion, I tried them one time, Eflites are better quality and yes there is a difference. I can see where the spring connectors can fail like you say though, I will keep an eye on mine, maybe look inside with a flashlight or just change them out after so many uses, I run even 12S with no problems yet.

[GliderGuy]

A tip applicable to any EC5-equipped aircraft…

Components do get stressed when used a lot. My second experience with an EC5 connector that failed happened recently. Luckily it failed as I connected the battery and not while in flight.

HEADS UP! Details follow.

A commonly used (aircraft side) EC5 design is implemented with a thin metal screen/spring surrounding a central barrel (photo below).

Another common EC5 design is implemented with a split barrel (flower petal like) and NO thin metal screen/spring (photo below).

My experience (heavy user) has shown that the thin metal screen will degrade with use and may even become detached from the central barrel, as was the case recently.

My suggestion: Replace the OEM EC5 thin metal screen/spring connectors with the split barrel type and avoid a potential headache down the road. A crash may be avoided.

-GG

[F106DeltaDart]

F106DD,

What’s your opinion of moving your nose gear forward? It does appear from the photos you made this mod.

I’ve got the hang of landing with the stock gear location, so landing with the stock gear location can be learned. Simply make the best landing of your life….EVERY time. 🤣

But, my focus/attention goes way up if when I am airborne the wind begins to blow.

-GG

GG,

I don't know if my opinion will help much. The look of the stock gear (particularly the nose gear) bugged me enough that I did most of my mods prior to the maiden flight. Geometrically, it should help, or at least make them slower to develop. I've only had one or 2 bad bounces so far, and none resulting in a flip or damage to the aircraft. My mods are summarized below:

1. Moved nose gear forward to the scale position and added a servo on the nose gear door to close it after the gear deploy.
2. Reduced the incidence built into the gear for a flatter and more scale attitude on the ground
3. Shortened all gear slightly.
4. Moved main gear mounting point about 1” farther forward for easier rotation.
5. Completed gear truck mod per Brapping Pirate’s post in the RCgroups thread

More detail here: https://www.rcgroups.com/forums/show...&postcount=780 and here: https://www.rcgroups.com/forums/show...postcount=1477

Following yours and others' advice, I've tended to fly only on pretty calm days or at least, days without any crosswind.

My opinion is that at the least, the nose gear mod is recommended simply for scale appearance. It may help the bouncing, but that's just a nice side effect.

[GliderGuy]

F106DD,

What’s your opinion of moving your nose gear forward? It does appear from the photos you made this mod.

I’ve got the hang of landing with the stock gear location, so landing with the stock gear location can be learned. Simply make the best landing of your life….EVERY time. 🤣

But, my focus/attention goes way up if when I am airborne the wind begins to blow.

-GG

[F106DeltaDart]

Now there is a trusting sole! Here…fly my B-2. LOL

Always helps to have a friend that you trust! It's always important to know the great pilot for these occasions, as well as which pilots to take cover from when airborne

[GliderGuy]

Thanks guys! I was actually the one behind the camera for these shots. Had a friend take the sticks for a flight so I could grab the pictures. It's prime flying season here now, unfortunately the Texas heat is just around the corner, so I'm enjoying it while I can!

Now there is a trusting sole! Here…fly my B-2. LOL

It was beautiful. I was in Hamilton TX Sunday morning and dead calm + light fog + cool at Sunrise for a few hours. It was neat to skim the B-2 through the very thin and low lying patchy ground fog. 10 flights then had to stop for full scale sailplane operations to start.

Perfect for the B-2! Lots of FUN! Not looking forward to the forthcoming Texas heat either.

-GG