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

[flyAA]

Got the 90mm EDFs put together. The 1900KV inrunner motors and 130amp esc fit perfectly. I wasn't sure about the aluminum spinner caps, but they add good contrast.

I found out I didn't need to purchase the esc mounts or the tail nozzles separately. They were included with the Nacelles.

good stuff! Did you have to extend the esc battery wires at all or were they long enough stock?

[Raptor3596]

Good idea!

Anyway, I was looking at MotionRC site and see that the newer 80mm jets come with an inrunner. The A-10 specification page says:
2x 3530-1900KV Brushless Outrunner Motors w 9 blade fan

But the 80mm Mig-29 and the Avanti specs say:
2x 3658-1920kV brushless inrunner motors w 9-blade fan

So an intermediate option might be to keep the same nacelles and just change to the new inrunner motors...? I would guess that the external dimensions are the same so they fit without much work, but I didn't verify that.

I thought about just upgrading to inrunners and staying 80mm, but I had a 90mm set up alread sitting on a shelf wanting to get put back into the air. Im curious to see the performance and power comparisons between a 90mm and 80mm inrunner set ups.

[xviper]

Good idea!

Anyway, I was looking at MotionRC site and see that the newer 80mm jets come with an inrunner. The A-10 specification page says:
2x 3530-1900KV Brushless Outrunner Motors w 9 blade fan

But the 80mm Mig-29 and the Avanti specs say:
2x 3658-1920kV brushless inrunner motors w 9-blade fan

So an intermediate option might be to keep the same nacelles and just change to the new inrunner motors...? I would guess that the external dimensions are the same so they fit without much work, but I didn't verify that.

The A-10 came out quite a bit before the MiG. The later releases in the MiG era elected to go with the inrunners for more grunt. That's why the specs are different.

[Gringotuerto]

I know, I wish Motion would change their name on the boxes to "Acme Supplies"

Good idea!

Anyway, I was looking at MotionRC site and see that the newer 80mm jets come with an inrunner. The A-10 specification page says:
2x 3530-1900KV Brushless Outrunner Motors w 9 blade fan

But the 80mm Mig-29 and the Avanti specs say:
2x 3658-1920kV brushless inrunner motors w 9-blade fan

So an intermediate option might be to keep the same nacelles and just change to the new inrunner motors...? I would guess that the external dimensions are the same so they fit without much work, but I didn't verify that.

[SanExup]

I know, I wish Motion would change their name on the boxes to "Acme Supplies"

[Raptor3596]

Outstanding report and great looking "hog", you are my new hero. The stock version is such a pleasure to fly and all I could think of was "how can it be any better than it already is", but after reading your analysis, I rescinded my initial wish list to Santa and changed it to twin 90's. Doubt it will get there in time and I did hear the sound of someone rolling on the floor laughing from all the way down here in South Florida, not a good sign. And BTW, those aluminum spinner caps look sharp! But I guess the real question is what does the top pilot in your family (obviously your son) think about the conversion.

The aluminum spinners do look cool. I sprayed a light coat of aluminum on the fan blades. Another contrasting color idea. I want to do the Nerf whistle mod, but I'm not buying two $15-$20 nerf balls just to tear out the whistles. Maybe the Dollar Store has some knock offs I can use.

My son's desire to get an A-10 for himself hasn't changed. As you can see in one of the photos, he took flight with it and had a constant grin. I'm trying to coax him into doing better in school with his distant learning Zoom schooling, that I have to say is absolutely damaging kids social skills and learning abilities. Kids need more social interaction than adults. Another conversation for another day though.

Maybe Motion or Freewing would "Poster" my son, and give or discount an A-10, showing a 13 year old can even "Maverick" this jet. He flies it inverted, which I still haven't mastered yet. I would put it on a credit card, but the wife saw all the Motion items I have purchased on the card since July. I'm not trying to sleep on the couch this winter.

[Hugh Wiedman]

Finished up the 90mm A-10 this weekend. I was frustrated because my airbrush gun failed as I was almost finished. Resorted to brushing the last few patterns on the bottom under the nacelles.

I liked the Arctic Camo, but decided at the last minute to go with the "Flipper" scheme. The contrast was nice with the dark and light greys.

In order to achieve the same CG as I had before, I needed to stack the HRB 6000s ontop of one another for now, but offset a little. With the 80s I had 5000s lined up.

I flew it today, with 6000s and also with 5000s. The efficiency and power of these inrunners over the 80mm outrunners is very noticeable. At a 4 min flight time on the 80mm with 5000s, I was coming in at 30-40%, depending on throttle management.

With the 90s I was at half throttle most of the time, and cruising at near the same speed as the 80s at full throttle. The throttle was much faster and I had a vertical climb that wouldn't stop. I came in the first flight with "light throttle" around 3:30 to check the 6000s and they were at an impressive 64% still. Next flight I bumped up to 4:30 with more aggressive throttle and I was 51%. After running out of 6000s I swapped over to my 5000s and at 3:30, I was coming in around 50-55%.

Landing was much easier with the 90s. The added weight, needed constant throttle, which if you're like me and tend to throttle down to early, it teaches you fly all the way in.

Im so glad I did this swap. Now to find some wider batteries to disperse the weight a little more in the fuse.

Outstanding report and great looking "hog", you are my new hero. The stock version is such a pleasure to fly and all I could think of was "how can it be any better than it already is", but after reading your analysis, I rescinded my initial wish list to Santa and changed it to twin 90's. Doubt it will get there in time and I did hear the sound of someone rolling on the floor laughing from all the way down here in South Florida, not a good sign. And BTW, those aluminum spinner caps look sharp! But I guess the real question is what does the top pilot in your family (obviously your son) think about the conversion.

[Raptor3596]

Finished up the 90mm A-10 this weekend. I was frustrated because my airbrush gun failed as I was almost finished. Resorted to brushing the last few patterns on the bottom under the nacelles.

I liked the Arctic Camo, but decided at the last minute to go with the "Flipper" scheme. The contrast was nice with the dark and light greys.

In order to achieve the same CG as I had before, I needed to stack the HRB 6000s ontop of one another for now, but offset a little. With the 80s I had 5000s lined up.

I flew it today, with 6000s and also with 5000s. The efficiency and power of these inrunners over the 80mm outrunners is very noticeable. At a 4 min flight time on the 80mm with 5000s, I was coming in at 30-40%, depending on throttle management.

With the 90s I was at half throttle most of the time, and cruising at near the same speed as the 80s at full throttle. The throttle was much faster and I had a vertical climb that wouldn't stop. I came in the first flight with "light throttle" around 3:30 to check the 6000s and they were at an impressive 64% still. Next flight I bumped up to 4:30 with more aggressive throttle and I was 51%. After running out of 6000s I swapped over to my 5000s and at 3:30, I was coming in around 50-55%.

Landing was much easier with the 90s. The added weight, needed constant throttle, which if you're like me and tend to throttle down to early, it teaches you fly all the way in.

Im so glad I did this swap. Now to find some wider batteries to disperse the weight a little more in the fuse.

[Hugh Wiedman]

Got the 90mm EDFs put together. The 1900KV inrunner motors and 130amp esc fit perfectly. I wasn't sure about the aluminum spinner caps, but they add good contrast.

I found out I didn't need to purchase the esc mounts or the tail nozzles separately. They were included with the Nacelles.

Nice looking set-up. Can't wait to hear your report on the 90 mm fans. I did move the sat way up front with the active end as far away from the front end of the carbon tubes as possible and the RX main antennae going aft as far as possible away from the back end of the carbon tubes. I'm using 2 RT 6250's, each about 30 g lighter than the HRB 6000's your using (love those batteries though for my inrunner in the F-16) and removed the control board and put it on the port side fuselage wall so I could get the batteries all the way back to achieve the 92 mm balance point. But then my 3D cockpit and JHH pilot added about 130 g of extra weight up front so I needed all the aft battery position I could get. No doubt your 90 mm fans will add a little tail weight from the stock 80's so you should be able to balance nicely anywhere you want with the control board out of the way. Right now I'm getting almost 6 minutes with those batteries (or 5 minutes if I'm pushing it extremely aggressively) and still coming in with 30%. On second thought, maybe I don't want to hear about how great the 90's perform and how much time you'll get cause sometimes, ignorance is bliss!

[Raptor3596]

Got the 90mm EDFs put together. The 1900KV inrunner motors and 130amp esc fit perfectly. I wasn't sure about the aluminum spinner caps, but they add good contrast.

I found out I didn't need to purchase the esc mounts or the tail nozzles separately. They were included with the Nacelles.

[Raptor3596]

Thank Hugh, that's great information and very much appreciated.

I believe she already has the upgraded gear, i will need to look into the carbon fibre reinforcement and other items.

I've never flow my FW Fulcrum with the ordinance on, but there is no way i was going to remove the A-10's its amazing.

I'll be using an AR637T with a Sat right up front. Thanks again.

Careful with the AR637T & Sat. I was using the same one and I'm sure the carbon fiber rods installed affected my Range/Holds/Fades. I was lucky a friend checked it at the field prior to flight. I moved it up front and as far from the carbon fiber as I could and it improved. It still worries me, so I might change to an 8 channel with multiple Sats.

I also second the 90-92mm CG. Take offs and landings are so much more controlled.

I'm currently running HRB 5000s, but I moved the control board to the nose above the gear, so I can put two HRB 6000s in and as far back as I can in the bay. Hoping to get more flight time with the 90mm EDFs.

[Hugh Wiedman]

Thank Hugh, that's great information and very much appreciated.

I'll be using an AR637T with a Sat right up front. Thanks again.

That's the same RX and remote sat I am using as well, works outstanding. For what it's worth, I programmed the gains as follows with no oscillation: Flaps Up, FM1 50/55/60 (R/P/Y), Take Off Flaps FM2 60/70/80 and Landing Flaps FM3 70/80/90. Sounds like a lot of gain but it works well and keeps it "steady as a Rock". BTW, I don't ever use heading gain and I set the priority at 160 for all three modes, but that's just me. Enjoy it!

[Necroscope]

Thank Hugh, that's great information and very much appreciated.

I believe she already has the upgraded gear, i will need to look into the carbon fibre reinforcement and other items.

I've never flow my FW Fulcrum with the ordinance on, but there is no way i was going to remove the A-10's its amazing.

I'll be using an AR637T with a Sat right up front. Thanks again.

[Hugh Wiedman]

Good morning guys,

Wow 538 pages and a 34 page mods page...

I picked up a very tidy pre-loved A-10 yesterday. I am currently looking into the nose gear mod.

Is there anything else i should check for or be aware of?

Many thanks.

The nose gear upgrade to trailing link, but only if you fly on grass. If you fly on a hard surface, leave the nose gear as is and upgrade the main to the "shock absorbing" struts. Additionally, you probably should put carbon fiber tubes in the empty channels on each side of the fuselage in the front section from where the foam wall starts aft in the battery bay to as far forward as the channel goes. I would also suggest some RF chokes on all wires/cables coming from each ESC as they tend to carry a lot of signal interference which might disrupt your RX signal. Lastly, balance it around 90-92 mm instead of the book recommended 78 mm, which is way too nose heavy and makes for difficult landings and the ability to keep the nose up, which can lead to nose first landings and the dreaded "bucking bronco". And always fly with all the ordinance, it's sacrilegious to fly this bird "naked", and besides the fully loaded package seems to have little to no affect on the way it performs.

[Necroscope]

Good morning guys,

Wow 538 pages and a 34 page mods page...

I picked up a very tidy pre-loved A-10 yesterday. I am currently looking into the nose gear mod.

Is there anything else i should check for or be aware of?

Many thanks.

[Hugh Wiedman]

Here is my parts list from Motion RC. I have a 1900KV and 130A ESC already from an F-16 that had a less than successful flight. Thats why I went with the same set up so I can put the motor and esc I have already to good use. I needed to get another EDF though since the original in the F-16 was cracked.

If you're going to do a re-paint, I suggest the "Arctic Thunder" version, it looks outstanding in the air and the visibility is superb. With those twin 90 mm inrunners you'd have one outstanding little beasty.

[Raptor3596]

Here is my parts list from Motion RC. I have a 1900KV and 130A ESC already from an F-16 that had a less than successful flight. Thats why I went with the same set up so I can put the motor and esc I have already to good use. I needed to get another EDF though since the original in the F-16 was cracked.

[flyAA]

I went with the 9 blade in-runners from the F-18 and I think the F-16 Performance 90mm. Should arrive this week sometime.

On the Freewing F-16 70mm I have, I noticed a huge difference in power from the out-runner to the stepped up in-runner.

Super interested to hear about your upgrade experience as I’m planning on doing the same to mine here soon.

which esc are you going to use?

[Raptor3596]

Some A-10 shark mouth graphics would be cool, but maybe a little much for my style. Old story of you always want more HP, have the Scatpack, but now I want a Hellcat!

[Hugh Wiedman]

Hugh Wiedman and Raptor3596 , "there is no substitute for horsepower." Best, LB

You got that right! Just finishing the initial restoration of my mom's '68 Firebird 400 convertible, only 36,000 miles on it (I could never drive it cause I kept getting speeding tickets). Kinda looks like my Stinger 90 repaint now, but with a 400 hp V8, just a little more guts.