Official Freewing Twin 80mm/90mm A-10 Thunderbolt II Thread

[RCjetdude]

So iam working on my a-10 and another project at the same time.. you cant walk in my hobby room :) but with all the photos going around i thought i would put one of mine up :) i dont have the detailing skills alot of you have and i have a long way to go but iam trying anyways... oh and colt pilot hope you grandson does well with all this

Ohhh man! Are you going with that dark Black Snakes livery? I saw that and thought it would be a really cool one to do. Looking good so far. :Cool:

[wvrailfan]

Well, I got mine together. The build goes quick, the decaling, not so much. But, it is fun.

Still need to do some detail work and weathering. Overall, I am very pleased with the fit and finish of this model. I used decals from Callie with some of the smaller Freewing decals. I'm working on the ordinance now, adding some fine print and color.

The weather is iffy here this weekend, so I'm not in a hurry to maiden.

Gravityworks, that Blacksnake scheme is coming along really nice. I look forward to seeing it completed.

Jim

[Shirty]

Awesome tcat, grats mate. :)

[RickVB]

TCat, how did you feel the nose gear behaved on your model? Am fairly concerned, as mine has a lot of slop compared to other models I have, so I'm wondering...

[Mike_Then]

Congrats T-Cat! I hope you had an extra helping of lasagna last night to celebrate; sounds like you deserved it!! LOL

I do have to ask about the 12-blade fans and inrunners. If I missed it, I apologize... which ones did you go with? And do you have any video? I'd love to hear what the 12-blade setup sounds like compared to the stock system

[T-CAT]

Awesome tcat, grats mate. :)

Thanks Shirty. I'm really looking forward to seeing how you like yours or did I miss the maiden report? This thread moves quick.

[T-CAT]

TCat, how did you feel the nose gear behaved on your model? Am fairly concerned, as mine has a lot of slop compared to other models I have, so I'm wondering...

There is no doubt the current models like the A-10 and Avanti straight out of the box have more nose gear retract movement at the trunion than in the past. I don't particularly like that, and I do realize why it was done, which seems to be in hopes of reducing failure of the retract unit during times they are put in unfavorable conditions, such as a very poor landing. However, I would rather be the one to be responsible for keeping my retracts in as good of health as possible, so I'm in favor of a retract unit with less unwanted movement, even if that increases chance of retract failure during harsh conditions.

With that said, I didn't notice any negative effects on steering of the nose gear. I used a tad below the manuals recommended Rudder Low throws, and it tracks fine and does not have a tendency to wander on takeoff, but that also has to do with finger sensitivity on the rudder stick and a little expo may also go a long way to success when steering.

[T-CAT]

Congrats T-Cat! I hope you had an extra helping of lasagna last night to celebrate; sounds like you deserved it!! LOL

I do have to ask about the 12-blade fans and inrunners. If I missed it, I apologize... which ones did you go with? And do you have any video? I'd love to hear what the 12-blade setup sounds like compared to the stock system

LOL, unfortunately no Lasagna was had, BUT I did want some LOL. Then again, when do I not! Ohhhhhhhhh, I should have had Pasta Carbonara last night to celebrate due to the delicious bacon :Drooling:.

For the 80mm 12-Blade Inrunner power systems, I used the Freewing preassembled units that contain the HET motor. They are just under $100 each (without ESC's, but the stock ESC's can be used, which is veryyyyyy nice and makes it a more reasonable upgrade). MotionRC is out of stock currently, but I know RC-Castle sells them as well, and that's also a great place to purchase from. The link below is the power system that is found on Motion's website.

https://www.motionrc.com/products/fr...20kv-in-runner

I hope someone can take video at the field with a good video recorder with quality sound, whereas a hatcam just never provides accurate sound depiction for comparison purposes, at least not to me. I think the stock power system sounds just fine as is, but it still doesn't compare to the 12-blade inrunner system. The inrunner already have a slight whine to them to add a little realism, but the 12-blade has a cleaner sound (once again, personal opinion :)) when balanced well and synced properly on a twin model like this. I also like the durability of the Freewing Inrunner EDF units being alloy as well, even if that comes with a weight penalty (I needed a bit weight in the tail anyhow due to the heavier batteries I'm using). The stock ducted fan unit housing is soft plastic that can be distorted too easily for personal liking. What may be a good option too is putting two Avanti S power systems in the jet, which will still allow you to utilize the stock ESC's, they have an allow EDF housing, and a 12-blade one piece fan with a more realistic round spinner.

[TiredIronGRB]

There is no doubt the current models like the A-10 and Avanti straight out of the box have more nose gear retract movement at the trunion than in the past. I don't particularly like that, and I do realize why it was done, which seems to be in hopes of reducing failure of the retract unit during times they are put in unfavorable conditions, such as a very poor landing. However, I would rather be the one to be responsible for keeping my retracts in as good of health as possible, so I'm in favor of a retract unit with less unwanted movement, even if that increases chance of retract failure during harsh conditions.

With that said, I didn't notice any negative effects on steering of the nose gear. I used a tad below the manuals recommended Rudder Low throws, and it tracks fine and does not have a tendency to wander on takeoff, but that also has to do with finger sensitivity on the rudder stick and a little expo may also go a long way to success when steering.

Do my mod in the other thread and it will take out the play.

[T-CAT]

Thanks TI. I'll look into that right now. How's it holding up?

[dkalwishky]

I did my maiden list night, the 9 bladed fans with the Nerf vortex whistles sounds great. I went with the medium and short whistles instead of the long and medium ones. I love the sound.

[TiredIronGRB]

So far so good...and I fly on grass.

[T-CAT]

So far so good...and I fly on grass.

That's excellent to hear. Most grass fields definitely aren't easy on the gear. Ha-ha

[T-CAT]

I did my maiden list night, the 9 bladed fans with the Nerf vortex whistles sounds great. I went with the medium and short whistles instead of the long and medium ones. I love the sound.

Congrats dk! This plane has such an amazing presence on the ground and in the air with its looks and its sound.

[RCjetdude]

Now we are talking a bit more contrast in the colors... My 90mm beast. I got the light and dark ghost grays in Model Masters and painted them on a piece of styrene which I then took to Lowe's who did a great job color matching them.

[Aros]

Well done T-CAT!

[T-CAT]

Now we are talking a bit more contrast in the colors... My 90mm beast. I got the light and dark ghost grays in Model Masters and painted them on a piece of styrene which I then took to Lowe's who did a great job color matching them.

Veryyyyyyyyy nice! Looks slick for sure.

[T-CAT]

Well done T-CAT!

Thanks! It was a perfect day for flying yesterday. I'm also used to going to the field on weekends when it's busy, so it was nice to be in the pattern all alone to have some extra fun flying the plane.

[T-CAT]

So iam working on my a-10 and another project at the same time.. you cant walk in my hobby room :) but with all the photos going around i thought i would put one of mine up :) i dont have the detailing skills alot of you have and i have a long way to go but iam trying anyways... oh and colt pilot hope you grandson does well with all this

Awesome! I've never seen that before. I'm looking forward to seeing it completed with anything else you're adding to it.

[ColtPilot]

Well well well, the day I've been waiting for, A-10 maiden day. Yeehaw! Let me tell ya, this jet didn't disappoint. Sometimes when a new jet is released and it gets good praise about its different characteristics, etc., I buy it and fly it, and don't see what the fuss is about. With this A-10, I'd like to say it's everything I'd hoped it would be and more. For a scale jet, this in my opinion is likely the best Freewing has produced thus far.

I had four flights on it today, one after another. The 80mm inrunner power systems I used push this jet amazingly nice, and good flights are still achieved with throttle management. The thrust is bananas and more than needed for amazing climb-outs, and it manuevars in the air with such grace, as well as authority, as I banked the living heck out of it to see what types of wing flex occurs with the higher loading I'm at (the inrunner systems weight quite a bit more than the stock units, and my 910g 6S 5000mah 65C batteries are very heavy), but it handled it like a champ. The takeoff distance is also something that pleasantly surprised me, as it was much shorter than anticipated even without takeoff flaps.

Each flight was without ordnance (that's for the second outing to see how it changes flight characteristics for comparison purposes), and it cut through the 10mph winds like butter. Just a tad below the recommended low throws on ailerons were perfect for me and still provided plenty of throw for quick rolls, the medium elevator throws I preferred for aerobatics and landing (plenty of throw for me to hold it steady on approach and touchdown), and the rudder at a tad below the recommended low rates was great for the air and for taxing (as long as you don't need to make very tight turns, but it's plenty of gradual turns and smooth on takeoff). This jet is border line trainer like in the air with its predictability. At my CG, even rolling it to an inverted state flies great without too much elevator pressure. There was no change in pitch with throttle response and that's a huge testament to the great engineering of the model. It can cruise very well at half throttle, and looks awesome performing its hog battle maneuvers. Personally, I like the look and sound of the 12-blade inrunner power systems better than the stock units, let alone the added power is nice to have on tap. The whistle that occurs at power off dives is just phenomenal, and the energy it carries to do so is mind boggling.

Each landing was done with flaps, half flaps on the first flight, and full flaps for all the rest of the flights. My full flaps were per manual specs, and half was greater than the manual. I personally noticed no drastic pitch changes at my CG of 84mm when flaps were deployed. The plane comes in MUCH slower than it seems it could/would. I tested slow flight in "dirty" condition and it takes a crazy low speed to get mushy control feel, so I knew this plane would be safe to be landed at slower speed than one may think. I was very impressed with the glide slope it held steadily with a little throttle, nose up, and guided to the ground.

What more can I say, honestly, as I'm really happy with the money spent and feel I got every bit worth of it. The Avanti I absolutely love and it's my top favorite jet with the Stinger, but for favorite scale jet, this A-10 is by far my preferred one out of the entire Freewing line-up. I wouldn't even flinch at the All Up Weight of it since the way it flies is so amazing that the weight becomes a lost memory. These days I'm much more strict on the planes I purchase because if I don't enjoy flying it much, it'll become a dust collector. This jet hit the mark, and will be flown A LOT, a whole lot. So, thanks again Freewing and Motion (as well as additional testers) for knocking this one out of the park.

Get a load of that rear end. :)