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

[ben1272]

Just purchased my 80mm A-10....new to this forum. Since it seems to be the thing to do, I'll announce my interest in the gear leg upgrades, mains please! I will be flying off a grass strip almost solely, so this kit is a god send.....I have been wondering how far I would have to drive to reach a nice enough field/location to fly off of pavement. The A-10 is possible my favorite of all time, maybe only second to the F-117, which I think I read, sourced many of its first pilots from those who had or were flying A-10s.....I may be wrong though!

I am still making my way through the 340+ posts, so apologies for ignorance in advance. How many of you all fly this beast with a flight stabilizer system of one kind or another (gyro, etc)? It seems like it will be enough of an investment that any additional bit of protection you can get would be money well spent, and certainly the plane has the spare payload capacity. Any suggestions here?

Last, would brakes be beneficial, if so why? If not why?

Nice to find myself in with such an enthusiastic group! I am looking forward to this build and the flying to come.

Sincerely,

Ben

[crxmanpat]

Welcome Ben, and congrats on the A-10!

My opinions:

For grass ops, I'd leave the mains stock and get the trailing link nose gear when it comes out.

No stabilizer. At 13 pounds and a long straight wing, she flies like she's on rails, even in wind.

My opinion is brakes are not needed. With full flaps on landing she slows down very nice. Roll out is 100' or less. Save the weight and expense.

Put the CG at around 86mm. You can remove the 4 screws from the wiring junction box and move it back so that the front of the board is attached to the rear screw holes. This will help you move your batteries back further to get to 86mm.

[downwindleg]

Thanks Alpha, I did the T.I. main reversal for less bouncing but I noticed when taxiing, there is virtually no shock absorption with this setup so I'm still hoping for the strut upgrades in the near future. Thanks again, Brad

Alpha, my apologies, I failed to notice that you had already posted the news about the strut upgrades......great news and greatly appreciated. Brad

[RCAV8R]

Hi Ben! I got my A-10 in the second batch of the pre-order , but due to a lot of things only maidened a couple weeks ago. Six flights total, and still learning.

I would not recommend gyros just because it's my personal bias. I don't want anything second guessing me.
I fly off a runway, and the oleos seem to be more designed for that. I would recommend at least giving the trailing links a try first, and as Pat said, you probably would want the NG. The consensus here seems to be that it is too stiff.
I have lots of runway, so I can't speak to brakes.
This is an awesome model...I have never experienced anything that allows so much creativity on the build and so much potential on the flight side! Happy flying!

Rob

[dahawk]

+1 in Pat’s advice. Of all my edf’s this one doesn’t need a gyro. She’s a hoss. Fly’s like a big trainer. No brakes needed either . She’’ll slow down to a fast walking pace. I fly off grass albeit relatively short grass.

I will be ordering the TL NG when it arrives. No issues for me on the mains but just for sheets and grins, I did the Tired Iron switcheroo mod.

Best of luck. You’’’r’e in for a pleasant surprize !

Hawk

P.S. Another gem is the new 80mm A4 Skyhawk. Can’t go wrong with that one either.

[ben1272]

Anybody we know of flown one of these FPV? I would give my eye teeth to fly the real thing, but flying one of these from thepilot's seat could be a close second. Well, maybe not close, but as close as I am going to get! I'm talking line-of-sight FPV with spotter, not out of sight.

I may just have to try this. I recently used a set of fatshark dominator HD3 goggles and thought the image and field of view was not half bad.

Dont worry, I wont try this on my first flights!

[OV10]

She’’ll slow down to a fast walking pace. Hawk

Gotta blow the BS horn on that one Hawk LOL

[dahawk]

I can walk pretty fast ! Lol

[ben1272]

Your input has me second guessing my readiness for flying this plane....I cancelled my order to rethink what I should be considering as a trainer to this jet. I'm worried that I'll wreck it quick and be out big $$$.....I don't want to be stupid.

i have flown a 6' piper cub many years ago, and more recently I've been hovering a foamy Xane v-22 osprey but haven't flown it in forward flight yet. Other than that, I have only recently been flying quadcopters. What would you all suggest? I should have asked this first!

[downwindleg]

Hey ben, get yourself a funcub and get really comfortable with it. When you finally reach the point where you can do every maneuver in the book, then I would get a Warbird like a P-51 or a Spitfire and get comfy with that. Then you'll be ready for A-10 IMHO Brad

[RCAV8R]

I agree with Brad...I would just add that when you feel ready to transition to jets (EDF's) I'd get a Stinger 90 (Freewing). It's a very forgiving, but fun and reliable jet. They are a bit different than other fixed wing planes. Rob

[dahawk]

The Stinger 90 for the longest time has been FW’s signature jet. Big, strong, fast enough, etc. I ended up selling mine to help fund the A-10. Lol. The A-10 is as easy to fly as the Stinger IMO. Not too fast. Forgiving.

My buddies Avanti S is a sweet flying 80mm. Very smooth and easy to fly.

If you fly off grass, the lighter 80’s and 70’s do better in general than the heavier 90’s.

But it if you want to transition and don’t have any Warbirds yet, perhaps take a look at the Flightline 1600mm Spitfire ir F7F TugerCat. Both great planes but the Spitty is a tail dragger. At least you can sign up to attend Warbird events- Lol

Or go with something like the 70mm BAe Hawk . Fly’s good slow or fast. Less downside $$$ if you prang it.

[ben1272]

Now I bummed that I dont have an A-10 on its way! I need to prove to myself that I will be OK flying this and get it ordered again. I think this is going to be my plan:

- Lots of flight sim flying of high performance models. It helped me a ton flying helicopters, so I imagine it has to be worth something!
- get my large cub back in the air with electric motor. It is a 6 foot wingspan and will give me some flight time with a larger model that I will be stressed about crashing. Should help dealing with jitters I would think. It is not a clipped wing, but it has ailerons.
- get confident with my V-22 osprey in forward flight, which I have heard is fairly quick.

Does this sound reasonable to you all? It is a path I can take while spending the least amount of $$. As it is I will have to buy a motor, ESC, receiver and batteries for the large cub (which I am open to suggestions about, incidentally!)

If I can avoid spending the $$ on a trainer or other fast jet, I would like to save it for the A-10. Great suggestions from you all, and I appreciate the help.

[OV10]

Now I bummed that I dont have an A-10 on its way! I need to prove to myself that I will be OK flying this and get it ordered again. I think this is going to be my plan:

- Lots of flight sim flying of high performance models. It helped me a ton flying helicopters, so I imagine it has to be worth something!
- get my large cub back in the air with electric motor. It is a 6 foot wingspan and will give me some flight time with a larger model that I will be stressed about crashing. Should help dealing with jitters I would think. It is not a clipped wing, but it has ailerons.
- get confident with my V-22 osprey in forward flight, which I have heard is fairly quick.

Does this sound reasonable to you all? It is a path I can take while spending the least amount of $$. As it is I will have to buy a motor, ESC, receiver and batteries for the large cub (which I am open to suggestions about, incidentally!)

If I can avoid spending the $$ on a trainer or other fast jet, I would like to save it for the A-10. Great suggestions from you all, and I appreciate the help.

Your trying to short cut the time necessary to build your skill set. Can't tell ya how many times I have seen pilots trying to run before they learned to walk.
A six foot cub and an Osprey are still a leap away in preparation to flying that A-10.
If your stressed about crashing a cub then your not ready for the A-10.
Slow down and take what Hawk and Brad said in earnest.
Best regards,

[purduephigam]

Your trying to short cut the time necessary to build your skill set. Can't tell ya how many times I have seen pilots trying to run before they learned to walk.
A six foot cub and an Osprey are still a leap away in preparation to flying that A-10.
If your stressed about crashing a cub then your not ready for the A-10.
Slow down and take what Hawk and Brad said in earnest.
Best regards,

Wise man. Listen to him. I learned the hard way.....twice on a warbird I had confidence in after mastering the Hawksky. I have an A-10 sitting in my basement as motivation and have since, bought a FW Pandora, F86 64mm, and FW Rebel as trainers to get into jets. You could cut a corner by avoiding $170 on a trainer, but it could cost you a $600 airplane. Invest in your training as I am, and these others have and you'll get there. You at least have past experience. I'm still working on my blank canvas. And no need to cancel the A-10, just get it, put it together and tinker with it. When you're ready it'll be waiting.

[crxmanpat]

Same here. I started with a Firebird Commander II, thought I was pretty good with that and went with the Parkzone P-51. I was told not to fly it until I got more skill, but did it anyway and pranged it on the maiden. I'm also agreed to at least get one intermediate trainer or easier jet before stepping up to the A-10.

[themudduck]

Good advice here. Well I guess I will chime in. Ben, the big A10 is not a difficult plane to fly, compared to most jets it's gentle and forgiving but it does take some learned skill to handle. And yeah, it's definitely a pretty big investment. I agree with OV10, if you're stressing then you're probably not quite ready and you should at least get to the point where you're comfortable flying an EDF before you start flying the A10 by yourself.

Are you a member of a local flying club? You could get the A10 and then have an experienced instructor take you up with the buddy-box, so that he's the "pilot in command" and you're the co-pilot. You can let him takeoff and land the plane for you, and you can fly it around after its up and get used to it, and practice doing things with his hands on the stick as your backup (like landing approaches for example). I'm an instructor at my club and this is what I do. Its a great way to get used to a model that's a bit out of your comfort zone. The only hard part is resisting the temptation to take it up by yourself when the instructor isn't around!

Also you can consider this: you could get the 64mm Dynam A10 for $180. Get used to that, fly the snot out of it and then sell it after a year -- and moving up to the larger A10 won't be quite as much of a shock because you'll have a better idea what to expect and you'll be used to the way it looks in the air. I mean you'll gain some HOG experience to calm your nerves. However the Dynam is much smaller and doesn't have flaps (or rudders), and you definitely need experience flying a heavy bird with flaps. Having an instructor help you on a buddy box is a great way to do that. The challenge is to find an instructor who's skillful and whom you trust completely. My 2cts.

[downwindleg]

One more thing, the good news is you'll be having a great time while improving your skills and that really is what it's all about right? :) Brad

[Pogo]

O.K. I finally got the nerve up to fly the A-10 again with the T.I. main gear reversal!! First flight was kind of a hard landing as I cut the power too soon and it dropped like a stone. Second flight was smoother as I held the power on through touchdown, nose up. Third flight was a greaser....nose up 20% power on and let it settle in and cut power on touchdown. This plane has turned from a monster I feared to the beginnings of a *****cat. Hoping to fly again tomorrow to get more comfortable and of course some video. It was SRO in the peanut gallery which added to the stress level but I got it done. WOOHOO!!!!! Brad

I'm late with this but way to go Brad! Believe me, I understand the nerves thing. A few more flights and you'll be groovin'- it really is a nice airplane. :Cool:
Tom

[dahawk]

You may end up being let down once you fly the A-10 . There are a lot of edf’s much more difficult. What helped me was learning to fly things faster. I souped a an Flight T-28 with a Powerup 25 running in 4S. Cool thing you build a new T-28 from spare parts for about $100.00

Then I upped the ante with a Roc Hobby Voodoo Reno racer eventually running 6S with a 10x10 prop. A rocketship. That plane can still out run most if not all of my edf’s. Scary fast. Just don’t need to spend a lot of money for a plane that is challenging and teaches new skills.

Not knowing what to expect when I first flew the $600 A-10, I too was nervous as I am on any maiden. Everything right? Did I forget anything? Checklist? What a pleasant surprize. She’s rock solid. No gyro needed. Just an easy flyer. Just hope it’s not a let down once you finally get one.

Speaking of maidens, I maidened my new 70mm BAe Hawk today in some weird, snarly wind. A3L gyro installed. Another easy flyer. In fact, I didn’t need even one click of trim. Now that’s a plane you take out of the box, build and program in less than 2 hours and be flying. No major drama . They just keep getting easier in every way.

Best,

Hawk