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Official Freewing 90mm F-104 Starfighter Thread

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  • Probably going with 1/10. Currently trying to decide if I am going to do USAF SEA camo (Snoopy) or a JG31 Boelcke bird.
    Meridian Aeromodelers, Meridian MS

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    • Well I decided to do up this paint scheme. It's a JaboG 32 bird. Looks like an easy mask job. Ordered a Castle 5 pilot from JHH for the cockpit.

      Do you guys feel that the gyro is required? I will probably make the first flight with the gyro at factory settings with an on/off switch programmed. But I am no fan of gyros in fixed wing birds.

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      Meridian Aeromodelers, Meridian MS

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      • Originally posted by seaviper View Post
        Well I decided to do up this paint scheme. It's a JaboG 32 bird. Looks like an easy mask job. Ordered a Castle 5 pilot from JHH for the cockpit.

        Do you guys feel that the gyro is required? I will probably make the first flight with the gyro at factory settings with an on/off switch programmed. But I am no fan of gyros in fixed wing birds.
        I was lucky enough to see the German guys fly 2 F-104s in an airshow back in 1986! They looked just like that but minus tip tanks... it is something I will never forget!!! Here is the video...

        Check me out on youtube at https://www.youtube.com/user/gooniac33
        I am an RC addict and innovator that loves to share my knowledge with those that need help. Ask me anything via PM if you need help! Check out my Website here https://www.gooniac33.me/

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        • Sweet!

          Currently I am in prime-sand-prime-sand mode.....dirty job but necessary. Hope to have the Widowmaker in the air soon. Graphics on order from Callie. Pilot on order from JHH.

          My fuselage nav lights were so messed up with glue that I could not clean them. Nor could I find any replacement lenses without buying the whole fuselage which is, in my mind, a bit over-priced for what you get. So I am going to blend them in to the fuselage and paint over them !@#$. I don't plan on flying without the tanks anyway.

          If anyone knows where I can get those lenses I still have time to put them and the nav lights back in before the paint goes on.

          Also, I want to make the nav lights steady.
          Meridian Aeromodelers, Meridian MS

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          • fuselage lights re-installed, tested, and lenses sanded and masked for priming. I plan on using a Freewing light controller in addition to the stock board to control the nav lights and the beacons. Can't stand those blinking nav lights. Lots of sanding and priming yet to do...

            Attached Files
            Meridian Aeromodelers, Meridian MS

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            • Buyer (Flyer) beware:

              RC Groups - the most active Radio Control model community: electric and fuel rc airplanes,rc helis,rc boats and rc cars. Features discussion forums, blogs, videos and classifieds.

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              • Well I checked mine as best I could. I have my intakes removed for painting. I tried putting force on the fuselage from the top and below with no signs of bending or weakness there.
                I suppose I could run a couple rods through that area. Any thoughts on that?
                Meridian Aeromodelers, Meridian MS

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                • I have 2 spare 104's beside the broken one I linked. All will get carbon rod reinforcement. I was really lucky the jet linked above didn't break in half during flight with just the two dots of glue holding it together.

                  You will absolutely want to beef up the elevator horn. I lost the 104 seen in the attached photo because the horn pulled out. Aileron horns are same weakness. The horn configuration is very sketchy for such a high performance jet. I nearly feel like a beta tester ..... sigh...............

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                  • Thanks GPJ. I will pay special attention to those areas. I will see if I can beef up that elevator. By the way, very nice paint job sir! Are those spare ones in the box? Do you want to sell one?

                    Tested all the flight controls, lights, and gear last night. I confirmed that the included gyro does in fact work great with the Frsky X8R receiver! So all systems go.

                    I think that, in general, Freewing does a great job of designing and manufacturing jets. They look great and fly amazing. Where they often fail is in the assembly and finishing.
                    The recent A-4 is an exception though. It is just great all the way around.

                    I know they don't sell as well as others, but it would be nice to at least have the option of buying an outright KIT version of these jets. Builders, as few as we are, would appreciate it.
                    OR, how about just offering a "basic gray" version of new jets. That way we don't have to prime!
                    Meridian Aeromodelers, Meridian MS

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                    • Hi Seaviper,

                      I have many Freewing jets and agree for the most part they are very good. The spares I have are future jets in case of mishaps along the way. I really rank the 104 as one of my all time favorite jet aircraft. Motion is still selling the PNP 104 at reduced price:

                      Freewing F-104 Starfighter Silver High Performance 90mm EDF Jet - PNP - FJ31013P Version Info: This is the High Performance which includes a powerful 3672-1900Kv inrunner motor with new 9-blade fan. Following up on their popular 70mm variant, Freewing has answered the many customer calls to scale up their F-104 Starfig

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                      • I checked out the controls horns and all are very strong. Maybe they addressed the issues at some point in the production. I don't know. But this one seems to be very strong.

                        Comparing some pilots. From left to right, FMS 80mm Hawk driver, Freewing 1/10 104 pilot (with mittens no less), JHH Castle 5 1/10 scale
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                        Just a little trimming and this guy will be perfect!

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                        Meridian Aeromodelers, Meridian MS

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                        • Paint on my F-104 Mount Olympus Hellenic AF is complete. Callie had to re-do the tail scene decal, so that is all that I am lacking. She is RTF otherwise.

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                          • Wow, that looks fantastic! But where is the Coors logo? ;)
                            Pat

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                            • That plane looks amazing!!!!!
                              Check me out on youtube at https://www.youtube.com/user/gooniac33
                              I am an RC addict and innovator that loves to share my knowledge with those that need help. Ask me anything via PM if you need help! Check out my Website here https://www.gooniac33.me/

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                              • Dude I was considering that scheme...nice job! I'm still painting my JaboG 32 bird.

                                Outstanding!

                                Re-painting these birds is a lot of fun.
                                Meridian Aeromodelers, Meridian MS

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                                • Still in the paint shop. But she is getting there...slowly
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                                  Meridian Aeromodelers, Meridian MS

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                                  • Waiting on some other tail graphics from Callie. Otherwise, she is pretty close now.

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                                    Meridian Aeromodelers, Meridian MS

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                                    • Looks great, make sure you get the CG correct on the maiden, a little nose heavy is a must on this one, too tail heavy and you won't get a second flight...........:Cool:

                                      I had 15 flights on mine and finally sold it to get some funds for the A-10, great flyer but landings take some work to get them right.......:Scared:
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                                      • Finally finished up the painting today. The revised graphics from Callie should be in soon. I will test fly her in the next few days if the weather will cooperate with me.
                                        I removed the "afterburner" when I had the tail cone off for painting. That should help a little in the weight and balance department.

                                        I will post the helmet cam when she gets airborne. Should be soon. I still have to put all the spaghetti back inside. Honestly I cannot wait to fly her.
                                        For the first flight I plan to run the gyro at very low settings and work it up from there. I have a gyro on/off witch set up as well.

                                        Any helpful comments before the first flight would be appreciated.
                                        Meridian Aeromodelers, Meridian MS

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                                        • I guess I'd suggest reading all the tips in this thread (start at the beginning).

                                          Here are a couple of helpful things I think are especially important. Everyone will have their own tips, I'm sure...

                                          a) ailerons are very sensitive! Cut back on the throws
                                          b) use very little flaps. They are extremely effective and cause the nose to pitch DOWN not up so you'll need "up" elevator trim if you do use the flaps
                                          c) The model isn't hard to takeoff or fly. Landing is the biggest challenge. NEVER close the throttle all the way off during your landing approach. Instead, lower the flaps a bit and reduce the throttle until the model is descending and don't go below about 25%. The model will fly with the nose up (high alpha) but don't let it go up too far. The F104 will do a "deep stall" if the nose comes up too far. It will also fall out of the sky if you don't keep the throttle up. The good news is that it will "sit" in a high-alpha and is very stable coming in as long as you use the throttle to control the descent.
                                          d) set your timer for 2.5 minutes and check it after each flight... so you can see how your battery is faring. Your times will depend on how hard you mash that throttle. If you take it easy you can get 3.5 minutes or more (depends on the battery you use too)

                                          If it isn't windy I'd suggest turning off the stabilizer. It tends to be pretty twitchy even at the low settings. I really haven't gotten used to the stabilizer yet.

                                          Don't mess with the speed brakes in the air.
                                          Marc flies FW & FL: AL37, MiG-29, T45,F4, A4, A10, F104 70 and 90, P38, Dauntless SBD, Corsair, B17, B24, B26 & P61, Lipp.P19, ME262, Komets, Vampire, SeaVixen, FMS Tigercat, FOX Glider & Radian XL.

                                          Rabid Models foamies, including my 8' B17 & 9' B36... and my Mud Ducks! www.rabidmodels.com

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