Official Freewing 64mm F-14 Tomcat Twin 64mm EDF Jet Thread

[freakbrother]

A reminder, since apparently some didn't get the message first time around.

Still no V2 wings at Motion, it's been nearly 7 months now.

Seems like sloppy design work.

Also poor customer service to wait so long for wings.

Things seem to have gone downhill since Alpha was there.

[Evan D]

If Motion can’t get FreeWing to make them…

[Airguardian]

[400driver]

Jandro , those landings are extremely good. I will try and copy your style. What sort of throttle percentage have you got on just prior to the flare?

[Airguardian]

Thanks!

At least the first ones I highlighted at the beginning of the video were... there were a few others that were 'less than stellar', but I'm still adjusting and getting used to the cat, so I'll take it!

I don't think I'm coming with the same level of throttle on each approach. At the angles I'm coming, the jet can easily transition to reverse regime, and at that point, a small change in AoA requires totally different throttle settings...

But, for the approach, let's say, before I get into muddy waters, it was probably something like 15-25%?

I don't consciously think about it but will try to remember next time I bring it out for a spin! :)

[Airguardian]

I'm also landing with full span flaps, which add more drag and require more throttle.

[kallend]

It is a bit strange but thats the only way to get it to work, or have a small RX battery pack to run the RX and servos! Ill just accept that at least its working now.

Have you seen the latest warning on the Motion site about doing that sort of thing?

Power System and Electronics Compatibility:


This model is designed to operate using the included ESC and its integrated BEC, which is specifically matched to the onboard electronics. To ensure reliable performance and prevent damage, always power the aircraft's receiver and electronics through the installed ESC using the main flight battery. Do not use any power source other than the main flight battery to power the model, otherwise damage will occur to the electronics.

The receiver, servos, and other onboard electronics included with this model are rated for a maximum input voltage of 5.5V. When selecting your ESC and power system, verify that the BEC output supplied to the receiver and onboard electronics does not exceed 5.5V. Using a higher voltage will damage the aircraft's electronics.

[400driver]

May just be an anomaly with that particular Betaflight receiver.
Jandro, I will see if I can emulate your landing style next week.

[Evan D]

Betaflight receiver? "bad line of programming"

You seem to have a complicated set up.

May just be an anomaly with that particular Betaflight receiver.
Jandro, I will see if I can emulate your landing style next week.

[kallend]

Another month goes by and still no V2 wings.

[400driver]

Betaflight receiver? "bad line of programming"

You seem to have a complicated set up.


The setup is pretty straightforward in that it is a 14Ch ELRS receiver that due to an anomaly that the pins are not powered until a connection is made between the receiver and the radio. On my single engine jets this doesn’t cause a problem , just with the twin ESC’s of the F14 when one of the ESC’s does not initialise on power up! Very strange and I don’t have this issue on the Radiomaster ER 8. i just have to remember to disconnect the REV cable on battery disconnect. I have ordered more RadioMaster receivers!

[Evan D]

Thanks, do you have a link to the receiver? I don't see any that are branded Betaflight, just controllers with them.

[Airguardian]

Good luck on the landings!
As always, test the setup first at higher altitude before attempting to come down with it! :D

As for Motion's warning message, I can't say for sure 100% but it totally reads to me like they are oversimplifying stuff like always, explaining recipes without actually telling the complete reasons why.

My guess is the warning is there to prevent people from plugging in their own external power supplies before first removing the red wire from the ESC to disable the ESC BEC. Of course you'll fry things if you have the two power sources competing, short of adding shottcky diodes to both supply lines.

And yeah, FW electronics are sadly fragile, not taking any more than 5.5V. It's one of my biggest recurring gripes with their component quality. Everything should be HV capable from factory, and we'd have a lot less problems.

But I'm fairly confident that running your own BEC at the right voltage and having previously disabled the included ESC one should be perfectly fine. I have been doing it for years on most of my models.

They didn't provide a single reason why this one would be any different from the rest of their jets.

Anyway, don't blame me if you end up burning something, everybody gotta take their own risks! :)

[Evan D]

The warning is on the page for all their jets. I'm positive it was because of people asking for warranty replacement after plugging in an external power source.

[Airguardian]

Yeah, gotta be that.

I don't like this 'obscure' way to treat things.
Just state the problems outright:

"If you plug your own power supply without disabling the ESC BEC, you'll fry stuff. Components rated for 5.5V max."

There, two short sentences. How hard can it be?

[kallend]

How hard can it be?

Too hard, apparently.

Like a lot of things these days.