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

[Elbee]

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

[Hugh Wiedman]

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.

Sounds good. MRC upgraded the F-18 and the camo F-4 with the 9 blade 1900 Kv inrunner, but for some reason left the "Ghost Grey" F-4 with the original outrunner, at least for now. I put the 90 mm 12 blade 1835 Kv inrunner in my F-16 and love the performance of that one, but at $158 (vs $89 for the 9 blade), it's a little pricey, although IMO worth it, at least on the F-16.

[Raptor3596]

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.

[Hugh Wiedman]

New to HS. I have about 10 flights on my A-10 80mm, and after using a lot of great tips from this forum, during the build and setup, it flies great. I let my 13 yro son take it up and bring it in and he greased the landing better than I ever have. I will admit he has much better skills flying than me.

Now he wants one of his own to fly the same time as dad.

I ordered the parts for the 90mm upgrade from Motion RC, what a great company compared to a few others I have experienced lately. Excited to see the difference in size, and in-runner vs out-runner set ups. Might also go for a new paint scheme with the 90 upgrade.

Great work, I'm very interested to hear how she flies with 90 mm fans. It has plenty of power with the 80's, gets off the grass quickly, climbs forever and rarely do I use full throttle so this must be a "wild beast" with the 90's. With over 10,000 posts, can't say I've ever heard anyone weigh in on the upgraded 90 mm fans, although I'm sure several have, so very curious to learn what the difference is. Are you going with the 9 blade inrunner (the one that now comes with the F-4's and F-18), or are you going to try the more expensive 12 blade inrunner, my personal 90 mm EDF favorite?

[Elbee]

New to HS. I have about 10 flights on my A-10 80mm, and after using a lot of great tips from this forum, during the build and setup, it flies great. I let my 13 yro son take it up and bring it in and he greased the landing better than I ever have. I will admit he has much better skills flying than me.

Now he wants one of his own to fly the same time as dad.

I ordered the parts for the 90mm upgrade from Motion RC, what a great company compared to a few others I have experienced lately. Excited to see the difference in size, and in-runner vs out-runner set ups. Might also go for a new paint scheme with the 90 upgrade.

R3, Welcome to "The Squawk". The Freewing A-10 is a really great flyer. It's gratifying to see your son following you along in the hobby. Best, LB

[Raptor3596]

New to HS. I have about 10 flights on my A-10 80mm, and after using a lot of great tips from this forum, during the build and setup, it flies great. I let my 13 yro son take it up and bring it in and he greased the landing better than I ever have. I will admit he has much better skills flying than me.

Now he wants one of his own to fly the same time as dad.

I ordered the parts for the 90mm upgrade from Motion RC, what a great company compared to a few others I have experienced lately. Excited to see the difference in size, and in-runner vs out-runner set ups. Might also go for a new paint scheme with the 90 upgrade.

[Gringotuerto]

BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRT !!!

Reminds me of this story - new software "feature" gives unexpected result when trigger is pulled:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strafing_of_the_Little_Egg_Harbor_Intermediate_School

Good to know that we RC pilots are not the only ones who do stupid things.

[Joehockey]

lol Public school kid lol , did not get this joke in its full written talent until I read it twice lol

[Aros]

It had to be done.

[themudduck]

...I am pulling the trigger on the A 10

BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRT !!!

[Joehockey]

Guys thanks for the great advice and kind words. On the budget lipos I was looking at Liperior brand but he was constantly out of stock, perhaps after the holiday rush he will restock. I did have some email conversions with the owner and he seems like a straight up guy selling reliable products. At the low cost its seems too good to be true, amazing cost !
I am pulling the trigger on the A 10

[RudyD54]

OMG, what do you mean USED to be a builder. That Zero is way over the top with the oversized rivets, operating canopy and the scratch built instrument cockpit. If you're just a basher, I'm a crasher!

Regarding Value Lipos, I assume you are speaking about the G-Force Lipos from Value Hobby. If you're game and they don't get back in stock for a while, I've found the HRB 50C lipos on Amazon an excellent value and they test out with an actual tested C (on my Progressive IR meter and GT power meter on the motor) the same as the Roaring Top 70C batteries, which I also like. The HRB 6000 50C is $75 each and weighs 824 g and the 5000 50C costs $68 (not sure what the weight is on that as I don't have any). The RT's are a little more expensive but seem to be decent batteries as well (although I'm told that some people have had issues with them after about 40 uses-none yet for me on some 20 batteries and at least that level of use if not more). The RT 5500 70C is around $125 and weighs 796 g and the RT 6250 35C is around $93 and weighs 794 g.

A flying buddy of mine, RudyD54 , uses another brand on his Mig 29, Gripen, F-22 & P-51, forgot what it is so hope he chimes in here, which tested better than the HRB's and RT's and if I'm not mistaken, are priced less than $65 for the 6000 and even lower for the 5000. Doesn't hurt to have options, but looks like your definitely "in the right groove". Can't wait to see what you do with the A-10, I think you will absolutely fall in love with it. Since it first came out, I never felt like I would get one, it just never "blew my skirt up". The only reason I finally did get one was because I wanted to do something in the Arctic Camo livery and that one seemed as good as any since I already had an F-16 in other liveries. After flying it, I have to say it is my favorite EDF, with the Corsair as my favorite prop warbird, both very hard to leave out of the truck when I'm off to the field, but the others need some love as well (who am I kidding, like my children, can't really say I love one over the other).

Hey there Hugh!

I’m using Liperior 6s 5000 45c in my MiG and 2x Liperior 4s 5000 45c in my 8s F-22 and I’m blown away by their performance. The price is a bonus and I’ve paid more than double for batteries with half the performance. I believe they were ~$50 for the 6s and mid $30s for the 4s. I read about them in the following thread which is full of absolutely all the Lipo information you could ever want/need:

https://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?1767093-Battery-Load-Test-Comparisons

I believe their new stock has arrived and they’re just waiting on customs release. The website is rcbattery.com.

I also HIGHLY recommend the SMC flight packs if you’re looking for all out performance. They blow everything else out of the water at less weight but they’re a bit more expensive. I frankly don’t know how they do it.

[Hugh Wiedman]

Thank you Hugh ! I use to be a builder ,now just a basher, hoping to be a builder once again very soon ! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5CqQ3EBmdok
On the Value lipos I have tried but they seem to always be out of stock

OMG, what do you mean USED to be a builder. That Zero is way over the top with the oversized rivets, operating canopy and the scratch built instrument cockpit. If you're just a basher, I'm a crasher!

Regarding Value Lipos, I assume you are speaking about the G-Force Lipos from Value Hobby. If you're game and they don't get back in stock for a while, I've found the HRB 50C lipos on Amazon an excellent value and they test out with an actual tested C (on my Progressive IR meter and GT power meter on the motor) the same as the Roaring Top 70C batteries, which I also like. The HRB 6000 50C is $75 each and weighs 824 g and the 5000 50C costs $68 (not sure what the weight is on that as I don't have any). The RT's are a little more expensive but seem to be decent batteries as well (although I'm told that some people have had issues with them after about 40 uses-none yet for me on some 20 batteries and at least that level of use if not more). The RT 5500 70C is around $125 and weighs 796 g and the RT 6250 35C is around $93 and weighs 794 g.

A flying buddy of mine, RudyD54 , uses another brand on his Mig 29, Gripen, F-22 & P-51, forgot what it is so hope he chimes in here, which tested better than the HRB's and RT's and if I'm not mistaken, are priced less than $65 for the 6000 and even lower for the 5000. Doesn't hurt to have options, but looks like your definitely "in the right groove". Can't wait to see what you do with the A-10, I think you will absolutely fall in love with it. Since it first came out, I never felt like I would get one, it just never "blew my skirt up". The only reason I finally did get one was because I wanted to do something in the Arctic Camo livery and that one seemed as good as any since I already had an F-16 in other liveries. After flying it, I have to say it is my favorite EDF, with the Corsair as my favorite prop warbird, both very hard to leave out of the truck when I'm off to the field, but the others need some love as well (who am I kidding, like my children, can't really say I love one over the other).

[Joehockey]

Thank you Hugh ! I use to be a builder ,now just a basher, hoping to be a builder once again very soon ! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5CqQ3EBmdok
On the Value lipos I have tried but they seem to always be out of stock

[Hugh Wiedman]

I Appreciate the comments of the C ratings but I fly all my warbirds on 6s or 12s Graphenes with zero, nada, never dead weight.
On the Flightline Corsair, I use the 6cells 5000 graphene and removed all the dead weight that comes with the model at the factory. That plane flys so well, so dead on CG that its actually boring lol !
Every model below is 6s or 12 s Graphenes using the lipo during the bash/assembly or conversion from glow to epower with the goal of zero dead weight for CG. With care you can use the lipo to achieve CG and not add dead weight . Top Flight P40, CMP Zero, TF Bearcat, Corsair, Flight Line Corsair

Absolutely outstanding squadron, tremendous work and that cockpit on the Corsair rivals the real thing.

[xviper]

Hugh Wiedman I used to swear by Graphenes until I was put onto HRBs (thanks Hugh and others) and ChinaHobbyLine, both of which are just as good LiPo's and for much less money. I still have all my Graphene's and all of them still perform well.

[Joehockey]

I Appreciate the comments of the C ratings but I fly all my warbirds on 6s or 12s Graphenes with zero, nada, never dead weight.
On the Flightline Corsair, I use the 6cells 5000 graphene and removed all the dead weight that comes with the model at the factory. That plane flys so well, so dead on CG that its actually boring lol !
Every model below is 6s or 12 s Graphenes using the lipo during the bash/assembly or conversion from glow to epower with the goal of zero dead weight for CG. With care you can use the lipo to achieve CG and not add dead weight . Top Flight P40, CMP Zero, TF Bearcat, Corsair, Flight Line Corsair

[Hugh Wiedman]

Graphene and Graphene Panthers in 6s, 5000mah weigh much more than the RT 6250s - 858g and 920g respectively. They will work but it may be necessary to move the control board as far back as possible (up against the rear bulkhead) and perhaps a new battery strap installed if the heavier Graphenes are used. (Since that's what he has and doesn't wish to buy different brands of batteries.)

xviper I agree, I think you are right about moving the control board to the back bulkhead. I even had to do that with the 2 RT 6250's and move the straps back because of the extra weight of the modified cockpit. Graphenes are outstanding batteries and give a more consistent and higher discharge rate (C) than standard Lipo's, but the trade off is more weight and cost. IMO, after testing a lot of batteries on my various prop and EDF aircraft, they usually don't really need an extremely high C, with the exception of some of the EDF inrunners and therefore I feel the extra weight and cost is not warranted. Maybe for heli's (which I do not fly so this is a guess), the higher C would offer a bigger benefit. All of my prop and outrunner EDF's give almost the same initial thrust on a 35C battery as they do on a 70C battery. My EDF inrunners show about 5%-8%% more thrust from a 70C than the 35C, but that only is significant at take-off and if I can get off the grass with the 35C-50C battery, I'd rather have more flight time and less weight. I fly my Corsair and Spitfire on a standard Admiral 5000 mAh battery, weight around 720 g, and get 8 minutes or more and rarely use full throttle, not even on take-off. A 920 g graphene 5000 mAh battery in those, IMO would be like putting a Sumo wrestler in a box car racer. I think the same analogy will fit on the A-10, but there a lot of ways to skin the cat and whatever each pilot likes and feels comfortable with, that's the real answer.

[Joehockey]

Guys thanks for actually listening, all great advice. My packs come in at 858 grams vs the stated packs above at 795 grams per pack. That is a 126 grams of total gain vs your examples but with your advice I can move onboard system around to play with the weight.
As stated weight is not your friend in foamy and its not your friend in epower period. If you go to RCG ( Giant Electric Plane forums ) you will see my zero conversion. The model had a G62 gas engine + 3.5 lbs of dead weight. I was able to make the conversion with tons of reallocation and achieve CG with zero added weight.

My concern with the A10 is that many of the components will not be movable outside of the board and lipos. Usually I move servos when needed to change the CG as a final task.
Its sound like this model can handle the weight of the Graphenes, I just did not want another grass mower like the L39 .
Not one member at my club can get their L39 off a normal cut field !

[xviper]

Graphene and Graphene Panthers in 6s, 5000mah weigh much more than the RT 6250s - 858g and 920g respectively. They will work but it may be necessary to move the control board as far back as possible (up against the rear bulkhead) and perhaps a new battery strap installed if the heavier Graphenes are used. (Since that's what he has and doesn't wish to buy different brands of batteries.)