BAC Lightning F6 64MM

[kallend]

Please let us know when this is up on Thingiverse.

Should be up now. It was a LOT of effort and fiddling around to get it in there and correctly aligned - be warned!

The weight is negligible and if aligned properly it just fairs in the rear of the motor and I could detect no change in performance.

[Husafreak]

The afterburners were a lot of work. First, the EDF unit is glued in place and it took a lot of pulling and tilting and twisting to get it out without damaging the fuselage.

Then the outrunner makes it almost impossible to use a "normal" lamp mount to the back of the motor, and running the mount around the outside to fix it to the fan case would make it excessively obstructive to the airflow, so I decided not to do that.

So I made a lamp mount that goes right behind the motor, streamlined with it as best I could, and located in the exhaust duct itself rather than attached to the motor like a normal installation. Because of space constraints on the 64mm I went with a single lamp (I normally use two on a twin).


.

Limited access to the space made it a challenge to measure the dimensions needed, and to get everything aligned and glued in place. It took four attempts until I got one that fit properly and aligned exactly. After that, running the wires to the controller in the battery compartment was a piece of cake.

Please let us know when this is up on Thingiverse.

[Husafreak]

Thanks for some nice informative posts here! kallend nice job on the afterburner, this jet really cries out for one to show off its unique engine arrangement. Does the afterburner assembly noticeably affect performance due to loss of thrust or weight?

I flew mine 4x on day one with no gyro. It flew well and is very stable. Amazing power with this fan. Long flight times, like 6 minutes easy or 5 pushing it. I think this is a clear step up from the older 5 blade fans and the Toss and Boss jets like the cheaper F-105 or F-8. After that I decided I wanted a gyro for this one not because it is unstable but to help maintain orientation, like anytime you are off the sticks it holds its attitude a little better. It's hard to describe but it works for me. I bought the Lemon 7 channel stabilization one from MRC and had another day out, calm winds, 6 flights. I could not be happier with the way this little jet flies. Dialing in the rates took a while, gyro ended up at 30% all axes. It will do a credible high alpha, you almost can't stall it, mine yaws right and slowly rolls away if I get too slow at high angles. Knife edge passes and point rolls with the best of them. Great climb and power. Sounds great. Looks killer. Just wow :) Hand launch is a breeze and the tendency to roll then being held in check by the gyro is nice. Gentle elevator pulls are clean but hard pulls cause roll, As mentioned earlier the mechanics of the stab are too aggressive, with the low rates and slop we are getting some unwanted "taileron" effect.
I used "chassis protector tape" for RC cars instead of the supplied plastic pieces for belly protection, but it is great that they provide those. Landing on a real concrete runway surface is terribly abrasive. The protection did its job except for the very tail so I added a small piece at the very aft burner section. One of the fuselage strakes tore out intact but glued right back in, maybe give yours a pull. I found I could hold it off the runway almost to stopping and release back pressure to settle level onto the ground. Sllde to a stop in 6 feet so great for short fields.

I know I bashed MRC but I received both packages quickly. It's just that not having tracking and not knowing if packages have shipped is not good. They should fix that!

[Cantab]

Any of you guys have one of these little marvels yet?
I've waited forever for someone to produce one.

I remember seeing these at an airshow in the '60s, but I can't recall if it was at Biggin Hill or Waterbeach. Very impressive.

[kallend]

Great subject, never produced in foam by anyone as far as I can see. Its a shame it didnt also launch in the UK for obvious reasons. Good to see the 3D print guys are all over it already, I think someone is offering clear canopies already. Certain a twin 80mm will appear at some point.

In previous models Lippisch etc i used a cheese wire to remove the edf unit slices through glue easily but wear gloves

I tried to get a wire around the EDF unit but couldn't get it around the lip at the front, and the back end is inaccessible.

I heard someone was planning a clear canopy but have not seen any evidence of one yet.

I put all my 3D print stuff up on Thingiverse (search under my name).

[Wrongun]

Great subject, never produced in foam by anyone as far as I can see. Its a shame it didnt also launch in the UK for obvious reasons. Good to see the 3D print guys are all over it already, I think someone is offering clear canopies already. Certain a twin 80mm will appear at some point.

In previous models Lippisch etc i used a cheese wire to remove the edf unit slices through glue easily but wear gloves

[kallend]

The afterburners were a lot of work. First, the EDF unit is glued in place and it took a lot of pulling and tilting and twisting to get it out without damaging the fuselage.

Then the outrunner makes it almost impossible to use a "normal" lamp mount to the back of the motor, and running the mount around the outside to fix it to the fan case would make it excessively obstructive to the airflow, so I decided not to do that.

So I made a lamp mount that goes right behind the motor, streamlined with it as best I could, and located in the exhaust duct itself rather than attached to the motor like a normal installation. Because of space constraints on the 64mm I went with a single lamp (I normally use two on a twin).


.

Limited access to the space made it a challenge to measure the dimensions needed, and to get everything aligned and glued in place. It took four attempts until I got one that fit properly and aligned exactly. After that, running the wires to the controller in the battery compartment was a piece of cake.

[Scots_rubz]

Does anyone know when these will be available for European customers??

[freakbrother]

Can you give details of how you did the afterburners?

[kallend]

Afterburners were tricky:

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/LAvjVTHbaEg

[kallend]

I did the aileron horn mod. This is how it turned out.

[kallend]

There are a few items for this Lightning up on Thingiverse now:

https://www.thingiverse.com/kallend/designs

[kallend]

I was excited to see that FW had done such an interesting jet in 64mm. Have always liked the Lightning! A very iconic cold war jet.

I ordered one the day the model was announced on Nov 7. It arrived on Wed Nov 12, on the third day after it was shipped. I very consistently get my MRC orders 3 working days after I order. No signs of MRC slipping from my viewpoint.

The instant response from many people is that this jet is too small and should have been an 80 or 90mm offering. I respect that opinion, but still like this small hand launch version. Very fun and affordable.

The price is a little more than the previous 64mm hand launch jets, but it has some nice upgrades. 4s 64mm 12 blade fan system instead of the old school 3s 64mm 5 blade fan. Includes the landing gear, so no need to order it separately if you need to use it.

FW did decide to not include a clear canopy. That is my only design complaint. There are some minor scale deviations here and there, but the model is great looking overall. In any case, you can't see the cockpit in a 90-100 mph flyby...:)

My only cosmetic complaint is that it arrived with a lot of mild to moderate gatoring. The theory is that the factory sometimes removes the foam parts from the mold without enough cooling time, causing the gatoring. My flying buddies Lightning had far less, practically zero, gatoring.

The model was VERY quick to assemble. You do have to apply the upper wing roundels and wing walk lines.

I used a 4s Zeee 2200 120c lipo. Control is via a AR400 RX and my DX9 Black TX. No gyro at this time.

The only setup complaint is that FW has the elevator linkage as installed moving the full flying tail far to much. I rated it down for now and will improve it linkage wise later.

Ended up doing the first two flights yesterday.

My Lightning was easy to hand launch and had plenty of power to get up and away easily.

My first flight at the factory low rate throw suggestions was overly sensitive on ailerons and elevator, IMO. After landing, I went to 40% expo and reduced the low rates a little. Second flight was great, very groovy. Did the usual small jet aerobatics. The stab is powerful and the model loops with ease.

Landings are a non event in the grass.

The model presents well in the air, as you can see from my pics as well as the ones on the MRC web site. My flying buddy Mike R. (F106DeltaDart) took some awesome flying pics of my model on flights one and two yesterday.

All in all, a great little model and lots of low stress scale EDF fun!

Nice photos.

I have a bunch of flights on mine now. I'm very impressed that such a small light model flies so well. Only change I've made to its flying setup is to reduce the aileron throws. It climbs like a rocket, flies inverted and knife edge pretty well, seems quite stall resistant, hand launches easily, and lands easily.

It's fast and small, so letting it get too far away is a concern.

I've put a 3DP Firestreak missile file scaled for it on Thingiverse.

[tab28682]

I was excited to see that FW had done such an interesting jet in 64mm. Have always liked the Lightning! A very iconic cold war jet.

I ordered one the day the model was announced on Nov 7. It arrived on Wed Nov 12, on the third day after it was shipped. I very consistently get my MRC orders 3 working days after I order. No signs of MRC slipping from my viewpoint.

The instant response from many people is that this jet is too small and should have been an 80 or 90mm offering. I respect that opinion, but still like this small hand launch version. Very fun and affordable.

The price is a little more than the previous 64mm hand launch jets, but it has some nice upgrades. 4s 64mm 12 blade fan system instead of the old school 3s 64mm 5 blade fan. Includes the landing gear, so no need to order it separately if you need to use it.

FW did decide to not include a clear canopy. That is my only design complaint. There are some minor scale deviations here and there, but the model is great looking overall. In any case, you can't see the cockpit in a 90-100 mph flyby...:)

My only cosmetic complaint is that it arrived with a lot of mild to moderate gatoring. The theory is that the factory sometimes removes the foam parts from the mold without enough cooling time, causing the gatoring. My flying buddies Lightning had far less, practically zero, gatoring.

The model was VERY quick to assemble. You do have to apply the upper wing roundels and wing walk lines.

I used a 4s Zeee 2200 120c lipo. Control is via a AR400 RX and my DX9 Black TX. No gyro at this time.

The only setup complaint is that FW has the elevator linkage as installed moving the full flying tail far to much. I rated it down for now and will improve it linkage wise later.

Ended up doing the first two flights yesterday.

My Lightning was easy to hand launch and had plenty of power to get up and away easily.

My first flight at the factory low rate throw suggestions was overly sensitive on ailerons and elevator, IMO. After landing, I went to 40% expo and reduced the low rates a little. Second flight was great, very groovy. Did the usual small jet aerobatics. The stab is powerful and the model loops with ease.

Landings are a non event in the grass.

The model presents well in the air, as you can see from my pics as well as the ones on the MRC web site. My flying buddy Mike R. (F106DeltaDart) took some awesome flying pics of my model on flights one and two yesterday.

All in all, a great little model and lots of low stress scale EDF fun!

[Evan D]

They cut and paste often. I've seen more than a few times info for one plane that was for the plane they copied from.

[CF-105]

I think sometimes they forget. The Nexa Aichi Val has a similar blurb in the product overview, but still has no “official” thread…

[Evan D]

If they made one it would have a link on the Motion page.

[freakbrother]

From the Overview on the MotionRC web site:

Visit the Official Freewing 64mm BAC Lightning Discussion Thread on HobbySquawk.com for additional photos, videos, reviews, and customer Q&A.

So where is this "Official" thread?

[kallend]

I could not resist this offering either. Expensive for a 64mm but the performance and size seems a step up from Motion RC's other "toss and boss" offerings.
Unfortunately their new website is a total mess. I haven't ordered in a while so... I had to make a new password, after receiving my order confirmation I checked back using the link and it shows no purchases by me. I called order support and they confirmed the purchase but couldn't give tracking info even several days after the order. It looks like they have screwed up a very good operation?

Not my experience at all. I ordered the Lightning last Saturday and the box was on my doorstep by Tuesday. Maidened it on Thursday.

What is strange is the spare parts list on Motion's site. They show a pilot figure (??) and an F-22 canopy (??) but no Lightning specific parts, so be sure not to break anything. They do show an EDF unit but I don't know how you'd replace the one that's glued in place without destroying the fuselage.

[kallend]

Working on Firestreak missiles right now.