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

[xviper]

I'm not sure if anyone else is having a problem with their flaps being misaligned, but my right flaps (inside and outside) deploy per the manual (low: 32 mm & high: 50 mm); however, my left flaps (inside and outside) deploy at low: 25 mm and high: 43 mm. I checked the control arms and they are at the same angle when in the up position and the push rods are all in the recommended holes on the control arms and horns. Any suggestions on how to fix this?

It would appear that the flap servos are not all the same. You can try to get new ones to replace lazy ones or you can put those servos on a separate channel(s) and do a mix to add more or less differential to make them the same. Will require some fiddling to get them the way you think they should be.

[RCAV8R]

I'm not sure if anyone else is having a problem with their flaps being misaligned, but my right flaps (inside and outside) deploy per the manual (low: 32 mm & high: 50 mm); however, my left flaps (inside and outside) deploy at low: 25 mm and high: 43 mm. I checked the control arms and they are at the same angle when in the up position and the push rods are all in the recommended holes on the control arms and horns. Any suggestions on how to fix this?

I had the same problem with my elevator servos. Both were in same holes, had the same measurement for the rods, but there was a distinct difference on the throws at full deflection. I tried to move the arm on the servo gear, but the spline was too much of a change. I ended up running the elevator inputs separately into my receiver so I could adjust them individually. That probably doesn't help with the flaps, but just sayin....Rob

[ParaCanary]

I'm not sure if anyone else is having a problem with their flaps being misaligned, but my right flaps (inside and outside) deploy per the manual (low: 32 mm & high: 50 mm); however, my left flaps (inside and outside) deploy at low: 25 mm and high: 43 mm. I checked the control arms and they are at the same angle when in the up position and the push rods are all in the recommended holes on the control arms and horns. Any suggestions on how to fix this?

My flap servos are like that and not matched perfectly. Doesn't seem to make a lot of difference if your transmitter supports modes or conditions. Your choices are

1) If your transmitter supports modes or conditions with independent trim settings then have a condition for flaps and re-trim
2) Fuss with the geometry of the linkages.
3) Put the offending servos on their own channel and adj throws in transmitter.
4) Replace stock servos with stock and take a chance you ;will get a matched pair.
5) Replace with HiTec digital servos that can be matched with programming the servo

[Xtraflyr]

Had a couple more flights on the A10 last weekend. First landing came in to hot and rolled into the beans. Second landing much better. This A10 will slow up so much without a hint of stalling with full flaps. I also took off with full flaps and it felt great! Second landing I used throttle control,first landing was more of a glide it in. See the difference it makes!

https://youtu.be/3F7ZfOqWhR0

https://youtu.be/zz8JvbjOQTM

https://youtu.be/RNtXiYPLYds

[themudduck]

You'll find that when the flaps are lowered all the way, they will actually hit the back of the nacelle on the bottom of the wing. I trimmed a bit off so that I could get even MORE flap deflection. Like 70 degrees, something like that. Like Extraflyr said, this jet handles super-well with the flaps all the way down, no elevator trim is needed, and it slows down to a crawl for nice easy landings. You just need to keep a little power on - if you glide in dead stick the elevator stops working!

My experience has been that when landing nice and slow with the nose up, I have no issue with bouncing, etc. (I purchased spare nose gear parts but still on the stock unit after about 30 flights)

[Xtraflyr]

You'll find that when the flaps are lowered all the way, they will actually hit the back of the nacelle on the bottom of the wing. I trimmed a bit off so that I could get even MORE flap deflection. Like 70 degrees, something like that. Like Extraflyr said, this jet handles super-well with the flaps all the way down, no elevator trim is needed, and it slows down to a crawl for nice easy landings. You just need to keep a little power on - if you glide in dead stick the elevator stops working!

My experience has been that when landing nice and slow with the nose up, I have no issue with bouncing, etc. (I purchased spare nose gear parts but still on the stock unit after about 30 flights)

Forgot to mention, only mods I did was stretched the main landing gear springs for some sag. Trimmed some spring from the nose gear and added some 20k weight diff oil to slow down its action a bit. Think I need thicker oil though. It does leak out pretty easy. Also added a thinker plate to the nose gear mount.

I did reverse the mains but decided to changed them back before I flew it. My field is too rough I think for that. Lands fine with the mods I have done.

[RCAV8R]

Hey Guys...Does anybody have a "Rescue" decal (the one with the arrow that goes next to the Ejection Seat warning) that they didn't use and would be willing to part with? Rob

[RCAV8R]

I should add that I need the one that goes on the port side (the letter "R" is on the far left, squared side of the decal). Rob

[downwindleg]

Hey Rob, I might have those. I'll check tonight and if I do I can just mail them to you. Brad

[RCAV8R]

Awesome...thanks Brad! Rob

[RCAV8R]

Today I had a heart stopping discovery. On my maiden a couple of weeks ago I experienced a tendency to roll right, to the point I thought it was going to tip stall. I was having difficulty reconciling the two elevator halves, and attributed the roll to that. So I ran the elevators into the receiver independently, and have trimmed them to satisfaction. But today as I was doing other trim adjustments I happened to re-adjust the push rod to the horn of the right aileron. In the process of tightening it back up I noticed a lot of unexplained movement. I played a little more and the horn came away, completely unglued except for the very front edge! It may not have come completely off in flight, but it certainly would have been virtually inoperable! I'm so blessed to have come across that...thank you Lord! Just a reminder as to the importance of pre-flights to discover all these potentially lethal details! Rob

[crxmanpat]

No matter which company makes the plane, I always tug on control horns, hinges, servos, etc. to make sure everything is glued down properly.

[TiredIronGRB]

Today I had a heart stopping discovery. On my maiden a couple of weeks ago I experienced a tendency to roll right, to the point I thought it was going to tip stall. I was having difficulty reconciling the two elevator halves, and attributed the roll to that. So I ran the elevators into the receiver independently, and have trimmed them to satisfaction. But today as I was doing other trim adjustments I happened to re-adjust the push rod to the horn of the right aileron. In the process of tightening it back up I noticed a lot of unexplained movement. I played a little more and the horn came away, completely unglued except for the very front edge! It may not have come completely off in flight, but it certainly would have been virtually inoperable! I'm so blessed to have come across that...thank you Lord! Just a reminder as to the importance of pre-flights to discover all these potentially lethal details! Rob

Amen!

[Dewey H Lee]

+1 amen.

[MikeT]

A couple of shots taken of a friends A-10.

Mike

[crxmanpat]

Those are some awesome shots! Thanks for sharing.

[Tsmith]

Today I had a heart stopping discovery. On my maiden a couple of weeks ago I experienced a tendency to roll right, to the point I thought it was going to tip stall. I was having difficulty reconciling the two elevator halves, and attributed the roll to that. So I ran the elevators into the receiver independently, and have trimmed them to satisfaction. But today as I was doing other trim adjustments I happened to re-adjust the push rod to the horn of the right aileron. In the process of tightening it back up I noticed a lot of unexplained movement. I played a little more and the horn came away, completely unglued except for the very front edge! It may not have come completely off in flight, but it certainly would have been virtually inoperable! I'm so blessed to have come across that...thank you Lord! Just a reminder as to the importance of pre-flights to discover all these potentially lethal details! Rob

Every flight I go through a control surface check to make sure everything is functioning properly and in the correct direction. Using Futaba and flying multiple planes during a day at the field I have forgotten to change planes on my transmitter a couple of times...not good! After about 20 flights or so on the A-10 I was going through my pre-flight check and I noticed one of the elevator halves wasn't operating...upon closer look the servo was jammed. Thank God I noticed that or it could have been an ugly take off. I ordered and installed a new servo, problem solved. I took the old servo apart out of curiosity and couldn't find anything wrong...hmmm, very odd.

[Alpha]

Update for our friends out there wanting to order OEM drop in Oleo main struts and/or a TL nose strut: We finally got the supplier to finalize the run. We'll be listing these online in the A-10's Upgrades page after the struts ship in a 2-3 weeks. More info will be published once they're en route, but for now the mains will be sold in a pair sans wheels and the nose strut will be sold by itself with a wheel installed (due, to the C-clip design). Unless there was significant outcry for main wheels to be included in the main strut pair set as well...

I believe TiredIron already posted the render of the TL nose. Here's a photo of the Oleo main.

[bill34207]

Oh yeah. That's what I'm wanting to see on mine. Thanks Alpha.

[dahawk]

Scha-weet ! Thanks Alpha.