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

[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

[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

[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

[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

[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]

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