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

[cruiser]

Hey guys,

Been off the list for quite a while. Family stuff and then flying the heck out of my P40 (Warbird Charlie modified), the Spitfire, and now the Avanti. All are going quite well. I'm looking at the A-10 as my next bird. Given my current flying stock, is the A-10 a reasonable next step?

[OV10]

Hey guys,

Been off the list for quite a while. Family stuff and then flying the heck out of my P40 (Warbird Charlie modified), the Spitfire, and now the Avanti. All are going quite well. I'm looking at the A-10 as my next bird. Given my current flying stock, is the A-10 a reasonable next step?

If your handling my P-40B power mod and the Avanti with little to no issues I would say go for that HOG ;)

[TiredIronGRB]

Hey guys,

Been off the list for quite a while. Family stuff and then flying the heck out of my P40 (Warbird Charlie modified), the Spitfire, and now the Avanti. All are going quite well. I'm looking at the A-10 as my next bird. Given my current flying stock, is the A-10 a reasonable next step?

Like OV said go for it, best flying jet I own.

[cruiser]

Thanks much!!! I appreciate the advice. Warbird, that P40 is a blast and my favorite flying plane. A friend of mine flies a scale Black Widow. I was more than able to fly cover and maneuver with him. Put it on it's tail wide open and...well you know!!!

[dahawk]

The A-10 fly’s like a big trainer. Very nice plane. You’ll love it.

[MikeT]

Hey guys,

Been off the list for quite a while. Family stuff and then flying the heck out of my P40 (Warbird Charlie modified), the Spitfire, and now the Avanti. All are going quite well. I'm looking at the A-10 as my next bird. Given my current flying stock, is the A-10 a reasonable next step?

You won't be disappointed it's a must have.

Mike.

[cruiser]

Thanks again for the encouragement. I like flying the larger planes. The Avanti is fun but I do have to keep my eyes glued to it or I will lose orientation. The A-10 being nearly the same size as my Spitfire will be much easier to see and enjoy.

[dahawk]

Someone say Brrrt? Starts at 1:52: https://youtu.be/WpH0syldOBM

Pretty cool.

[Medevac58]

Hi folks. I am looking from some advice please.

I have acquired an A10 airframe minus fans/motors, ESCs and noseleg. I bought a replacement noseleg, but the hole for the strut pin is waaaay too large for the pin in the retract unit that was installed. Has the previous owner installed the wrong retract unit I wonder??

I intend to buy the stock 80mm fan/motor combos and 2 x 100A Freewing ESCs as here:

https://www.rc-castle.com/index.php?...roduct_id=7457

https://www.rc-castle.com/index.php?...roduct_id=3452

My question here is will I need to disable the positive wire on the lead from one of the ESCs as per normal twin practice, or does the control board take care of this, therefore I can happily plug in without alteration?

Many thanks

Dave

[Elbee]

Hi folks. I am looking for some advice, please.

I have acquired an A10 airframe minus fans/motors, ESCs and nose gear. My question here is will I need to disable the positive wire on the lead from one of the ESCs as per normal twin practice, or does the control board take care of this, therefore I can happily plug in without alteration? Many thanks, Dave

Medevac58, Welcome to the Squawk! I know that the FW A-10 thread is 'gynormoose' but it seems I have heard this one before. The control board covers your concerns. If you have the original Instruction booklet, I believe there is a basic schematic of the setups. If you do not have the booklet, Motion has these as PDF's:
https://www.motionrc.com/collections...np#support-tab.

Best, LB

[Medevac58]

Medevac58, Welcome to the Squawk! I know that the FW A-10 thread is 'gynormoose' but it seems I have heard this one before. The control board covers your concerns. If you have the original Instruction booklet, I believe there is a basic schematic of the setups. If you do not have the booklet, Motion has these as PDF's:
https://www.motionrc.com/collections...np#support-tab.

Best, LB

Hi LB - thanks for your response. I have been trawling the A10 thread but to no avail (and yes, it is HUGE). From your reply it would seem that all I have to do is plug the 2 ESCs into the board as per the schematic and all will be well. I would have thought this to be the case,given the thorough design work. Just got to find the pennies for the edfs and ESCs now!

Cheers

Dave

[Elbee]

Hi LB -. Just got to find the pennies for the edfs and ESCs now! Cheers, Dave

M58, Copy that. ;)Best, LB

[bill34207]

I actually got a couple of halfway decent videos from the Soloshot 3 robot camera man today.

[rifleman_btx]

Not bad at all it just has a faster climb rate than the A10 in the vertical ;)otherwise awesome:Cool:

[Dirty Dee]

Did a few sorties today with another A10 buddy

[purduephigam]

Love it!

[Elbee]

Did a few sorties today with another A10 buddy

DD, Yep, that'll do. Best, LB

[RMatteson]

I hope to get some info on this great plane, first if I want to go to Callie graphics, what scale is this?
What is the best found cg?
On 4000ma 6s what kind of managed flight time are you getting, or should I start with 5000ma's?
Will stock gear due fine on grass runway or do I need upgraded struts?
IS there any thing found that improves over all flight performance, not speed?
Thanks a bunch for your help, I got lost in the size of thread to find info I need.

Rick

[Elbee]

I hope to get some info on this great plane, first if I want to go to Callie graphics,
1) what scale is this? Roughly, 1/11th scale. Tell the amazing Callie your graphics are for the FW A-10, she will know what to do.
2) What is the best found cg? 78cm to 86cm. I run at 83cm with full ordinance package and will probably move it closer to 86cm when I install stops for the batteries.
3) On 4000ma 6s what kind of managed flight time are you getting, or should I start with 5000ma's?. I use RT 6S 6250 mah and set my timer for 4 minutes. your flight time will be different based on weather, battery condition, and any other disclaimer you can think of. Consult a physician if symptoms worsen. LOL
5) Will stock gear due fine on grass runway or do I need upgraded struts? Reverse your main gear struts per Tired Iron. That is, LEFT strut to RIGHT L/G Servo and RIGHT strut to LEFT L/G servo. Nose gear upgrades have been discussed ad nausium and if the grass is your preference get the nose gear upgrade from MotionRC.
6) IS there anything found that improves overall flight performance, not speed? Not sure what you think is improved flight performance. So that said, I fly with the ordinance b/c I like the way it looks. The increased drag slows the A-10 more quickly and obviously, the speed is compromised and flight times are shorter. Flight performance is user subjective, but with the stock setup, I love this airframe. Thanks a bunch for your help, I got lost in the size of thread to find info I need.Rick

Rick, My answers are posted above in "GREEN" and are what worked for me. I hope I have helped. Post pictures when you finished your A-10. Best, LB

[themudduck]

I hope to get some info on this great plane, first if I want to go to Callie graphics, what scale is this?
What is the best found cg?
On 4000ma 6s what kind of managed flight time are you getting, or should I start with 5000ma's?
Will stock gear do fine on grass runway or do I need upgraded struts?
Is there any thing found that improves over all flight performance, not speed?
Thanks a bunch for your help, I got lost in the size of thread to find info I need.

Rick

Rick, a lot of this is going to be according to your personal preference. So you'll probably see more than one opinion here, since everyone has different preferences. So here's mine.

- Based only on the wingspan, my take is that the scale is 1/10.
- The plane is set up nose-heavy when set up as recommended, so most of us have moved the batteries back in the 2 trays. Some have even stacked both batteries in the back tray, but I wouldn't recommend starting with that. Just experiment and see what you like. A nose-heavy plane is more stable and can be easier to fly. You will need a little "up trim" on the elevator. If you move the balance back, it will become more responsive and will be easier to hold the nose up in the flare. But realize that this plane will fly very well either way. It's a really good-flying model.
- I started out using Admiral 5000's and my timer is set for 4 minutes, but I always have plenty remaining so I could go longer if I wanted. My guess is that with 4000's it won't be as nose-heavy but you'll generally get longer flights with the bigger batteries. The plane can handle even bigger batteries - I also use Roaring-Top 6250's.
- There are slots inside the nose section on each side of the fuse. Glue some CF tubes in there to reinforce the nose.
- Stock gear is fine on grass, that's what it was designed for. There's about 6000 posts here arguing about the nose gear - again, a lot of opinions about what's best so who is right? The upgraded trailing-link nose gear seems to be an improvement. This model has some weight and the nose gear does take a beating - and if you fly nose-heavy and come in fast, then you'll impact the nose gear first which will put extra pressure on the nose gear. This plane can bounce up if you smack that nose gear hard on landing, which can start making the model "pogo stick" down the runway and end up in a disaster. You'll find it helpful to let the model slow down when landing. If you do that, you will have fewer problems. As LB wrote, there's a modification to the main gear which can help reduce bouncing. I am sure everyone here will agree that if you order an upgraded nose gear strut and a spare nose gear connecting pin or two from MRC just to have them on hand, that it would be a good idea.
- This model is a really outstanding flyer as it is, stock. It's very easy to fly, and has a big wing and plenty of power. It will handle any maneuver you can put it through. The ordinance doesn't seem to affect it much. For best flight performance, just cruise! (high power isn't needed). Make sure you keep a little power on for landing when using flaps. It is a relatively large plane so keep power and weight in mind through your flight. I don't think anyone here has modified it to "make it fly better". (I modified my flaps to go down further, which definitely helped it slow down more for landing.)

Now you've opened a can of worms, and I'm sure others are going to post what they think! But that's what's fun about this forum, you'll definitely gain from what everyone else has learned.