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

[xviper]

GliderGuy wins the golden star in this thread for his tenacious reminders to all about the perils of landing this bird. I am weeks away from finally maidening mine and those notes will be priceless when I do decide to maiden mine.

Cheers!

Indeed, he should. It wasn't until I took heed of GG's cautionary points, that I started to have consistently incident-free flights.

[GliderGuy]

Indeed, he should. It wasn't until I took heed of GG's cautionary points, that I started to have consistently incident-free flights.

You just made my day!

[GliderGuy]

Wow - 19 flights this afternoon in nice conditions. I’m soooo glad the 100+ heat is going away.

AL-37, P-38 and F-4

Getting back in the saddle.

-GG

[GliderGuy]

I realize this is not my first precautionary text on the B-2.

HOWEVER, it is worth posting some additional evidence.

I’ve been getting a little cocky with the wind limit conditions, of late. I have not stopped flying her when the winds reach 5 mph and have been doing OK. A few skip bounce landings….nothing major. With more practice, you can “recover” fairly well from a less than perfect landing by “just keep flying her” and not over control.

Then came YESTERDAY! Was pushing past the limit at 7 mph after many flights as the wind increased after a dead calm sunrise start to the day.

DOH and DOUBLE DOH!!!!!

She dropped in from about a foot up (wind gust) and I didn’t react fast enough. Got the dreaded bounce / nose over. Might coulda saved the landing with power, maybe. YEPPER Wiped out the nose gear mount + servo damaged. Added note: no crosswind yesterday.

Now mind you, she’s been flying for months without any incident. I PUSHED PAST MY STATED 5 mph limit and paid the consequences. UGH.

Easy repair and flew her again this morning in calm conditions. No issues and lots of fun!

TAKE HEED / CAUTION!!!!! Fly with wind, and you will VERY likely have a landing incident.

Post submitted in evidence.

-GG

[Evan D]

Was it straight down the runway @7?

As an aside, mine is still in perfect condition

[GliderGuy]

Yes….no crosswind. Was just beginning to get a little gusty, and you could see the gyro working the controls on a low fly by (another sign it is time to stop flying her).

LOL - I bet yours is like new!

-GG

[Evan D]

Yes, it is... Good that you were able to get it back it the air today. As you have said a few times, not if, but when..

[Balsa Bob]

I didn't notice any guidance in the manual regarding the gyro connection to the reciever. Is it preferred to put that channel on a knob or a 3 position switch ?

Thanks.

[Evan D]

There is mode and sensitivity. Mode is 3 positions. Sense can be 2, 3 or variable. I had it on a slider when I first built it and after flying found just two levels and only change it while taking off and landing so mixed it to my gear switch.

[xviper]

I took the B-2 out for a couple of flights this morning. There hasn't been a really calm morning till today. Beautiful flights, both of them, with picture perfect take-offs and landings. Greased both landings - one was on the runway and the drag rudders becoming "air brakes" reduced the roll out dramatically; the other was on the grass at the edge of the runway but because it was also a "greaser", the landing gear took it in stride and nothing untoward occured.
Two guys who only come to the field occasionally, was in awe of the B-2 and took flight videos and multiple ground pictures of the plane. I guess the B-2 is still something special to some people.

[Aros]

Glad to hear you enjoyed some nice flights with her. Indeed this is an iconic bird and it's not ubiquitous which makes it very compelling for some. I've been waiting for Freewing to release this model for years. I have still yet to maiden mine. Been busy with other stuff. I still need to dial in my throws and rates. She's a beauty for sure.

[Balsa Bob]

There is mode and sensitivity. Mode is 3 positions. Sense can be 2, 3 or variable. I had it on a slider when I first built it and after flying found just two levels and only change it while taking off and landing so mixed it to my gear switch.

Thanks Evan. Does the single switch (or knob) adjust both Mode and Sensitivity ?

[Evan D]

Not on mine. The switch only controls mode and in reality I never take it off regular rate mode. I tried the other modes and absolutely did not like them. I suggest not having any mode switching. I like 100% sensitivity landing and taking off and 50% while flying, that is mixed to the gear switch.

[Balsa Bob]

Not on mine. The switch only controls mode and in reality I never take it off regular rate mode. I tried the other modes and absolutely did not like them. I suggest not having any mode switching. I like 100% sensitivity landing and taking off and 50% while flying, that is mixed to the gear switch.

Thanks. I was not sure if there was supposed to be two (2) channel inputs to the reciever ... one for mode and one for gain. If so, I would have had to get a reciever with an additional channel.

[xviper]

Thanks. I was not sure if there was supposed to be two (2) channel inputs to the receiver ... one for mode and one for gain. If so, I would have had to get a receiver with an additional channel.

Technically, there are 2 inputs to the RX IF you wanted to program different modes and assign that to a switch. Leaving it as is and NOT using that input simply means the gyro is always ON. The master gain is the other input and that can be controlled by the rotary knob if you so choose. If you don't choose to have a master gain, which BTW is generally kept at 100% anyway, it just defaults to 100% of the gains as it comes out of the box. Using a master gain gives you the ability to dial the gains down below 100% of stock gains for those times that you may dive the plane at full throttle, at which time, you can exceed the speed where oscillation begins. Only on very few occasions do I find that I need to reduce the gain just a "hair", maybe down to 90%. Having experimented with it, I find leaving it with the stock gains for most flying conditions is completely adequate, meaning that even the master gain does NOT need to be input into the RX. It is advisable to use the max stock gains when taking off and landing anyway and perhaps utilizing a stand alone steering gyro like the Assan, gives this plane a more solid ground tracking.
You really DON'T need to increase the stock gains for this plane and only on rare occasions would you even need to reduce them. Thus, using the master gain when you don't do any alterations (ie, increase the gains) to the stock gyro programming, is somewhat pointless.

[Balsa Bob]

I placed the Gyro Mode lead on a spare channel in my reciever and assigned that channel to a 3 position switch. When I power everything up the red light on the E52 box continues to flash red ... it never goes solid (for Basic Gain Mode) no matter which position I put the 3-position switch in ????

[Evan D]

Is the travel that switch activates 100/0/-100?

[xviper]

Polarity correct?

[Balsa Bob]

Thanks guys .... it works now .... I figured it out .... interesting story !
I have a Futaba radio. I named that channel GYRO (from the options in the menu). I went to the Monitor menu and noticed there was no movement on the screen when I cycled the 3-position switch. I then went and renamed that same channel Auxiliary 1 .... and it works fine !!!

[Evan D]

Cool. Glad it was easy.

I've seen something similar where a few people were hunched over a radio for hours and never got it to work.