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

[ryramZ]

Excellent point!

And I believe it’s all info that’s well-considered as it’s being communicated. Looking forward to more communication on the upgrade usage and experiences.

I just ordered the scale mains. Curious myself.

[janmb]

What if all this discussion of A-10 bounciness is just the howl of a speaker/microphone in positive feedback?

You sir, are far closer to the truth than most people like to admit. In the life time of this model, we have had many pilots paint a picture of the model being a real pain to land, even to the point of keeping potential buyers from going for it. I'm not very happy or impressed by that at all.

Sure, the model may have room for improvement on its gear geometry, I don't deny that, but the level of focus this issue has attracted is hilarious. And unfortunately it also often prevents pilots from taking responsibility for their mistakes - which in turn prevents learning and improvement. Lets just admit it: None of us are perfect. We make mistakes. And for most people, this model is a significant step up in size and more importantly, weight. Something that sets far more requirements to landing technique and soft touch than lighter models do.

Most bounces I've seen in videos this far have been landings with way too much energy, coasting and using elevator only. That works on a 1-2 kg model without too much issue, but when you are getting into the 6+ kg range, stuff like that is typically penalized fairly harshly. Which is exactly what happens with the A-10. The same would happen with most other, heavier models too.

[OV10]

I just ordered the scale mains. Curious myself.

They are just oleo mains Ryan. not scale straight scissor link oleo's.
They look like a beefed up version of the FW Mustang gear and are actually half inch shorter than them.;)

[Hardway]

When I am landing my 1/4 scale FW-190D9 at 40lbs
good flight management is pretty important! :Cool:

[Hardway]

So yes, you have to fly the A-10 like a big bird. Kinda.. LOL

[john2kx]

Good question Gringo: I wonder if anyone has done this too?

Hey John, did the plane have any tendency to want to bounce with the new NG before you limited the travel?

No, not one bounce at all in 15-20 landings. Even tried experimenting with different glide slope angles, speed at touch down, stretching the glide etc. In other words, I became comfortable with the TL nose strut immediately after just a few flights. On grass, I am very impressed at how the new TL nose strut performed.

About the bushing I made to limit travel on the new TL nose gear, I agree, there is potential it could pop off due to the vertical slit I made to it. Still have not had a chance to test but hope to this weekend. No matter if the bushing stays in place, I will make another and eliminate the slit.

[xviper]

No, not one bounce at all in 15-20 landings. Even tried experimenting with different glide slope angles, speed at touch down, stretching the glide etc. In other words, I became comfortable with the TL nose strut immediately after just a few flights. On grass, I am very impressed at how the new TL nose strut performed.

About the bushing I made to limit travel on the new TL nose gear, I agree, there is potential it could pop off due to the vertical slit I made to it. Still have not had a chance to test but hope to this weekend. No matter if the bushing stays in place, I will make another and eliminate the slit.

Could you use a couple of wide zip ties?

[downwindleg]

O.K. just installed the mains and have no intention of replacing the nose gear. I'm with Ryan on that. It took less time to put them in than it did to peel the old glue off the gear shroud. BTW an APC prop trailing edge works really good at getting that glue off. One thing that was of concern was the set screws holding the strut into the trunion were only finger tight. When I put the new struts in I used thread locker and cinched them down good. Anyway they are in and the shrouds replaced and waiting for the rain to subside. Might still be a week or three but if anyone else gets the new struts in the air, let us know how it goes. I'm ready for some actual experience on these instead of hypothesizing. The horse is clearly dead.
Brad

[brrzee]

Just wondering if anyone uses Turnigy or Zippy lipo packs with this jet. If so details on battery size, how the performance is and if the batteries are holding up.

Cheers

[MikeT]

Just wondering if anyone uses Turnigy or Zippy lipo packs with this jet. If so details on battery size, how the performance is and if the batteries are holding up.

Cheers

Not a fan of either the Turnigy or Zippy Lipo's due to past experience. My battery of choice is HRB's. I use a 6s-6000ma in the A-10. I have a few flying buddies that are also using the Admiral's from Motion with good luck.

https://www.ebay.com/i/263398159585?chn=ps&dispItem=1

Mike

[Shirty]

I'm using the turnigy graphenes, no dramas so far (about 30 cycles each), they've been great.

[Sky Wolf]

Just wondering if anyone uses Turnigy or Zippy lipo packs with this jet. If so details on battery size, how the performance is and if the batteries are holding up.

Cheers

My short and limited experience with Zippy batts was not a good one either. Mine didn’t hold up very well from the start. I definitely wouldn’t recommend in a jet. Now my experience with Turnigy was a bit better. I have one batt that lasted 3 years with a consistency better than some of my other batts. However, the Turnigy batt has a history of not having a consistent level of construction...kind of hit or miss.

Unless SS this has changed over the past 2 1/2 years, that was my experience with them.

I never jumped into the Graphene batts because of the above. Was a little nervous about spending extra on a Turnigy brand that was also heavier. Might be worth it to try it out someday though, if it performs the way it’s touted.

[Pogo]

What I did find in my research is that there was a TL strut used early on in the initial production stages, and I just noticed the amount of stroke on that piece appears to be 1/2 of that on the latest TL strut. Having issue with posting pics right now. Will try later.

edit: attached pic is of early TL gear

John

I just saw this and you're a bit confused John. That's a photo I took of my A-10 last year after installing a strut made by Phoenix Models. I was bending pins like crazy with the stock straight strut on our much less than unimproved runway and this did the job. I've put on the new FW TL strut though for the upcoming season as it's much lighter.
Tom

[Pogo]

I just installed the cool exhaust nozzles Dirty Dee designed and a friend printed for me- I really like the look of them, much closer to scale.:Cool:
Tom

[crxmanpat]

Here's a pic of the nose gear that was on the prototype.



And here's a pic of what is now offered for sale.



It does appear that the strut piston is a bit longer on the production version.

[brrzee]

Thx for the battery input. Now wanting to do some touch up painting. Any recommonds?

[crxmanpat]

If you are in the US, take a flat part (like one of the ordnance rails) to Home Depot and have them color match it. Get the Behr Marquee 8 oz sample in flat (matte) finish. If not in the US, maybe your local hardware or paint store can do this.

[Twowingtj]

One possible fix for the tire hitting on the bottom of the nose gear door with the trailing link gear:

I've got the new gear, but don't have the bench space to change the gear yet, but I was thinking of the above issue. I like the idea of having full piston travel on the nose gear. I think if the white triangle piece on the rear gear door was enlarged to have about 2mm more height from gear door to strut contact point, it might clear the tire at full strut compression. It would angle the rear door back further. Running the TL gear, I'm more concerned with good function vs. scale fidelity.

As an extra bonus, the additional spring tension between the gear door and the strut "might" stop or reduce the flutter or chatter on the gear door as it closes in flight.

I wouldn't increase the height of the triangle piece too much or it might not allow the rear door to close all the way before the main door closes.

If someone with bench space/time and has the CAD and printer to print one up and test it, I would buy one for sure. :Cool:

[john2kx]

I just saw this and you're a bit confused John. That's a photo I took of my A-10 last year after installing a strut made by Phoenix Models. I was bending pins like crazy with the stock straight strut on our much less than unimproved runway and this did the job. I've put on the new FW TL strut though for the upcoming season as it's much lighter.
Tom

Sorry about that Tom.

John

[gravity tester]

+1 on the Home Depot Behr paint. I took a vertical fin into the store and as far as I can tell, it is a spot on match.