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

[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.

[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

[Aros]

Great report GliderGuy! Glad you are enjoying her. I put mine together yesterday, she is everything folks have been saying as far as presence and quality. I haven't dialed in the rates/trims yet...Just bound her up for some photo ops on her feet. I did push the sticks around and everything seems good except for the elevator response. When I would advance the stick up and down fully the elevators would twitch but barely move. The ailerons and drag rudders had plenty of deflection. Any ideas? I checked all the connections and everything "looked" tight and secure. I just plugged all the available leads into their proper ports with the right polarity. The controller/gyro is all plugged in and secure, I didn't change anything there.

I'm sure it's nothing and I will get it figured out. I cannot wait to maiden this marvel!

[GliderGuy]

Is your red light solid on the gyro? Other than that, you might try unplugging and re-plugging each connector. Maybe something isn't making contact.

Check that each of the "single wire' connectors is connecting the single wire to the signal side of the RX. ignore the color of the single wire connectors.

Nice photos!

-GG

[viper1gj]

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.

HI xviper,
I think that was Tom's picture just below my post and I can see the AIL2 pin connected. I have not done mine yet but the photos are great in explaining what I got wrong. Hope to get it fixed tonight.
Thanks,
Gary

[Gravythe clown]

Maiden mine as well. I took 3 HRB 6000 pack out to put through her today.
I too starred out wit the 8mm up on inboard and 4mm up on outboard. First flight I decided to second guess my self and went back to manual 4mm. Also no plastic fin was used or harmed in any of my flights.

first flight no wind.
rolled out nice lift off nice, no pop up. Needed up trim and a little right. Tried various throttle settings during flight, ended up happy at 30-50%
I started the flight out not using much rudder, but by the end of the 9 minute flight, I was using lots of rudder in the turns.
yes 9 minutes of flight, I use batter voltage call outs and land when I hear 21.8volts while at 50% throttle stick position. Landing was beautiful, got into GE and let her bleed off power with little back elevator.

post flight trim check. Back to 10mm up lol.

second flight light breeze.
Pre flight. Added less rudder expo. I was at 2.0 went to 10.
roll out lift off again great.
played more with rudder and noticed two things.
my turns were krisper and cleaner if I pre rudderex before starting bank, kind of like how I used to fly the F-15. Second if I let off the rudder to early the roll felt really dampens. So what I found worked great for me was for say left bank, before my planed bank I would put in rudder a second or two before giving left stick aileron then coordinate with aileron/ elevator/ rudder through the whole turn, after bank was completed one of two ways worked good depending on the type of bank I just completed. Wide bank, let off the let sticks neutral and she seamed to just slowly level out, really nice and smooth. If I did a sharp bank, I would coordinate opposite rudder and aileron to quickly get back to level. If I used aileron only it felt slow and dampened, like it was never going to get there.

So one thing I forgot to do was change my timer from 3 to 8 minutes before the second flight. Well at this point I’m way past 3 minutes but not sure where. My voltage is reading 22.7volts. Im like I still have tons of time.
about a minute more I decided I’m going to bring her in. That was the only thing that saved me. Turns out I had a bad cell and bad voltage sensor connection.
I dropped the gear and did a gear check fly by. By the time I was at the end of the fly by and banking towards down wind, I was full throttle and going nowhere quick.
got as much altitude as I could on the down wind which was only just enough. Lost all power so I cut throttle and had to start an very early base turn. Put the nose down in base with lots of rudder. My base was so short I can even say I got a short final. Pretty much went from base to touch down. Had a little extra energy and she touched and bounced. Has enough left in the pack to burp her, which straightened her right out and allowed for a nice landing.

third flight winds 6mph gust crosswinds.
Preflight added timer to 8 minutes.
not much to add other than it was a great flight.
landing was a little rougher than what I wanted, but that was due to my decision to come in a little fast because of the crosswind. So the last landing counted as 4 Landings. I got 3 tinny touch and goes with a nice smooth final landing.

I think for now on, I will take one 6000 pack and split it into two flight. 8 minutes is a long time flying this bird.


Great plane, everyone loved it and it looks fantastic in the air.

Gravy

[Gravythe clown]

P.S.
I will be adding in the gain pin and dialing back the gain. It was noticeably hoppy and twitchy. More than I like anyway.

Gravy

[JohnnyJet62]

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.

I went through the entire setup from start to finish and everything is working fine. I didn't notice anything specifically that was plugged in wrong, but I must have screwed up something in the initial configuration.

Took a few hours to get radio programmed and control surfaces dialed in. I have the gyro on a 3-position switch, and it toggles correctly between the 3 modes per the manual.

[Pete914]

FINALLY...the wind stopped blowing 30 mph!

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


-GG

Congratulations on your Maiden! Great write up. Thanks

Gravy same with you, nice work!

[GliderGuy]

Adding a few notes to Post 622

1. Flew it in bright sunlight later in the day. If at a distance, yank and bank. If you make a shallow bank that presents a profile view, she is hard to see. Steeper banks that present the wing planform HELP!
2. After 37 B-2 flights today, I will say again KEEP IT SIMPLE….you don’t need the rudder except on take-off and on landing roll out. To each his own, but I suggest you don’t overthink it…Keep it simple. I can’t speak for crosswind landings. Don’t know. I never touched the rudder during flight….perfectly satisfactory….Note added = I am using the clear vertical fin.
3. I flew in 12 mph with stronger gusts (15 maybe). She does a great job! But she does wiggle the wing controls more. It’s really not annoying at all. And you get the comfort that the electronics are doing their job.

-GG

[Evan D]

It doesn’t like bumpy air but a cross wind, even 10-15, it handles surprisingly well.

Handles well with the gyro turned all the way down too.

The drag brakes work well, stall turns are easy to do.

I found the book balance point slightly nose heavy but safe.

[xviper]

After 37 B-2 flights today

My goodness! I doubt I'll fly mine that much in the whole season.

[Evan D]

Agreed, and this has long flight times too.

[GliderGuy]

It doesn’t like bumpy air but a cross wind, even 10-15, it handles surprisingly well.

Handles well with the gyro turned all the way down too.

The drag brakes work well, stall turns are easy to do.

I found the book balance point slightly nose heavy but safe.

Yep…I played it safe today. As I progress into some acrobatics, I WILL use the rudder in flight.

Good to know about the cross wind capability.

Slow flying in bumpy air seems to allow the gyro to wiggle the wing controls less.

-GG

[Gravythe clown]

Gliderguy Not sure if you used the vertical stabilizer or not (I didn’t) but mine loves rudder. In fact as I said mine flies better with rudder than without. Same thing I noticed I’m all my past B2’s. If I didn’t use rudder mine would have nose up attitude through whole bank.
also I found if I started with rudder before aileron it would banked much better.
I’m not telling anyone to use or not to use just my experience.

Gravy

[Evan D]

I agree Gravy. The only negative on mine is after I give it left it wants to stay a little left and same for right, like a bit of stiction on a normal rudder…

[Gravythe clown]

Evan D, I didn’t notice if mine did the same or not, but I think I was flying my rudder stick back after completing maneuver. So I might have been correcting back. Something’s I do naturally I think because I fly helicopters allot. I can’t really tell when I fly planes after flying helicopters but I sure can when I fly helicopters after long time of planes only. Lol

Gravy

[GliderGuy]

Gliderguy Not sure if you used the vertical stabilizer or not (I didn’t) but mine loves rudder. In fact as I said mine flies better with rudder than without. Same thing I noticed I’m all my past B2’s. If I didn’t use rudder mine would have nose up attitude through whole bank.
also I found if I started with rudder before aileron it would banked much better.
I’m not telling anyone to use or not to use just my experience.

Gravy

I am using it. That definitely can make a difference.

Thanks for pointing that out.

-GG

[GliderGuy]

Hey Gravy,

When flying LONG wing full scale sailplanes, one must also lead with the rudder. With the ailerons being 40 feet or more away from the fuselage, the adverse yaw is huge. Yanking and banking into a tight thermal turn from level cruise….leading with rudder is the only way of even sorta keeping the yaw string centered as you roll into the bank.

Your leading with rudder makes sense…especially without the clear vertical fin.

Evan, are you using the fin?

-GG

[Aros]

Is your red light solid on the gyro? Other than that, you might try unplugging and re-plugging each connector. Maybe something isn't making contact. Check that each of the "single wire' connectors is connecting the single wire to the signal side of the RX. ignore the color of the single wire connectors.

You know I didn't even check the red light on the gyro. I certainly will do that next time I fire her up. The 'single wire' connectors are in their proper places. The polarity of the Admiral RX is clear, and I made sure all of those connectors were accurate. Could be a gyro setting thing or one of the leads on the control board/gyro is a little loose. I'll be sure to go through it thoroughly next chance I get. Thanks for the info!