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

[Phantom]

Looking for some direction, does anyone know of a retract with a metal case, that will fit the A-10's nose wheel strut assembly? Also looking for it to be the same bolt pattern for the mount. I have had worst luck with the A-10's plastic case. I crack the damn ears off the case on the take off roll! The last mod I did consisted of putting adhesive foam on both sides of the case, and then putting the screws through it. I thought this mod might prevent the transfer of any shocks or vibrations to the brittle case. I dare say I've gotten twice as many flights with that mod than I did with the original and the first replacement. This is the most inferior plastic/composit material I've ever come across. I just broke my third retract case today.

[RCjetdude]

I fly off of grass and unless I prang the nose gear really hard I have not had any issues with them. Do you have the metal plate in place?

[Phantom]

Yes I do, the retract mount itself isn't moving significantly, since it's sandwiched between the plastic mounting plate and the metal plate. That's why I added the peel adhesive foam. Since it wasn't movement that was destroying the ears on the mount, I figured it was a frequency or vibration. Like I've stated before, the mod did extend the number of flights prior to another failure. I fly off payment but it's ruff stuff. I've got over 100 flights on my stock 80mm FW F-86 on the same surface, with no failures.:Thinking:

[bbolz]

Interesting. I bought the upgraded nose gear but it has the same material and mounting arrangement. I'll let you know how it performs but it dosen't sound like anyone else has significant problems.
My problem is with the MSI Shockwave 3 sound card. I can't get it to work every time consistently and the last time I tested it it went bananas and quit on me. Dave Harrison is tired of getting e-mails from me so I am sending it back for him to test and either replace it or send it back as is if it checks out ok in his mind. I told him he then would never hear from me again when I get it back. This may have been a bad investment on my part. It did sound cool when it worked though.

[Phantom]

I haven't purchased the upgraded nose gear because of the issues with fitment and clearance from the aft gear door during the stroke of the strut. I am actively seeking an all metal replacement housing.

[bbolz]

I'd worry that something else would break in that case. Any excessive loading will look for the weak spot.

[Phantom]

Bbolz,

No doubt you are correct, but I am not dealing with excessive loading here. I am not experiencing failure due to a high G landing, or even the dreaded "bronco" oscillation. I am experiencing failure do to a rough surface on take off roll, that to me screams brittle. If I can bolt up a metal retract case that won't come apart from the vibrations that the runway surface is creating, I can manage dampening the vibrations with other mods to the aircraft, for the few seconds it takes to reach VR.

[garlandk]

https://youtu.be/vqSrbC9oJWY

Brought the A-10 back out after being in the hangar for a while. Love this plane.

[garlandk]

Attempting the Loop to landing maneuver with the A-10. Did it with no problem. :)

[crxmanpat]

Attempting the Loop to landing maneuver with the A-10. Did it with no problem. :)

That was awesome! Is that TRCC?

[Phantom]

Garlandk,

Are getting five and a half minutes flight time on your A-10? What batteries are you using? Nice flying by the way.

[garlandk]

Garlandk,

Are getting five and a half minutes flight time on your A-10? What batteries are you using? Nice flying by the way.

2 Thunder Power 5000 80c Packs. Its all about power management to get the most flight times out of the A-10. I barely ever went full power on that flight. I have gotten close to 7 minutes on the plane before.

[garlandk]

That was awesome! Is that TRCC?

Yep it is. It is my home field.

[Phantom]

Full power for the loops only then would be my guess. I need to practice more energy management, I was happy with four and a half minutes, not anymore. Some guys on here, and on YouTube stick with lower C rating on their batteries like 35c and 40c for longer flight times but you're using 80c and still getting those record times.

[Grover54]

WARNING! – WARNING! – WARNING!

This may be old news but if your research for products and supplies turns up a RC supplier called VampowerPro or Urban Products Inc. DO NOT I repeat DO NOT try to buy anything from them, not even a screw because that’s what you’ll get!!! I learned the hard way and though I didn’t lose any money (my CC company reversed charges) I wasted so much time chasing them for information. They don’t take calls; their mailbox is full and don’t return any emails and I just learned this has been going on for 8+ years. My bad for not conducting any due diligence on them. I’ve never seen any company as bad as these dirt bags and I’m surprised PayPal hasn’t shut them down so heed the warning!

[crxmanpat]

Yep it is. It is my home field.

Cool. I need to get back down there one day. Went to some events way back when, but it's been a while. I've been to TIMPA twice recently.

[thisguy65]

I keep beating my self up over FMS (suppose to come out with a new verison) and FW. Video on youtube of a Freewing A-10 is what got me back in this hobby in Nov. Since then I've got 20+ planes, mostly warbirds and jets that I fly fine. Favorite jet so far is the Eflite F-16 and Eflite F-4. I'm one of the pilots, so I'm told, that has good skill set but doesn't fully trust their skill set. If that makes sense. I bought a FMS A-10 yesterday, two servos are jittering and/or dead. Now I'm revisiting the idea of "should i Just pony up and get the fw"..if the FMS the one for me, should I wait for V2 or just pony up the money and get FW. My mentor, good friend, has had both and perfer FMS mainly due to the 1 battery.

FW
Pros:
Freewing quality
Detail
Grass ready

Cons:
2 batteriest
Price
__________________
FMS:
Pros
1 battery
cheaper
Just as big-ish

Con
Grass ops
Landing gear and skippy glue (can happen to any plane really)

[thisguy65]

Double post

[p51mustangman]

Maiden complete!

I needed to get it done, didn't touch the control adjustments as far as rates and they were WAY too sensitive. What is everyone running here? Upon the rough windy landing my right main rotated about 30 degrees off. looks like ill be taking the plastic off the gear area again to adjust them. The little triangle in nose gear also popped off, very minor and can't wait to get it back in the air. Flew it off paved runway with the upgraded landing gear, definitely need to land it with some speed. This thing flys great!

[Lon]

How much expo do you have dialed in?? I run the rates as stated in the manual. I'd recommend at least 30% expo to start and adjust to your liking.