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

[Evan D]

My understanding is the older Predator ESCs (red label I think) were made by some one other than Hobbywing and had issues. Then the HH companies, FMS etc went to a different ESC (blue label) and those are made by HW. Supposedly the older ones had poor reliability.

[xviper]

My understanding is the older Predator ESCs (red label I think) were made by some one other than Hobbywing and had issues. Then the HH companies, FMS etc went to a different ESC (blue label) and those are made by HW. Supposedly the older ones had poor reliability.

You may be right about that. The one I got from AliExpress could have very well been old stock and one of the older ones.

[jasmith41]

Spektrum is very proud of their stuff, no doubt, and while I'll never buy another battery from them unless I absolutely can't avoid it, I really do like their Avian ESCs and smart receivers...

[xviper]

Spektrum is very proud of their stuff, no doubt, and while I'll never buy another battery from them unless I absolutely can't avoid it, I really do like their Avian ESCs and smart receivers...

I agree. Their batteries .................. poor value and performance. The rest, although pricey, is miles ahead of the game. I started RC with Futaba and other brands a gazillion years ago. This latest go round, is with Spektrum stuff and as much I hear about people who hate it and how other brands are far superior, I've never regretted going with Spektrum.

[BBriBro]

More testing. Hooked up the HW FlyFun 120A V5 ESC to a few more EDFs. I tried a Hobbyking Dr. Mad thrust 50mm 4800KV on 3S. A Freewing 64mm 2627-4500KV on 3S (out of the little Mig-15). and a 64mm 2836-3300KV on 4S (upgrade for the little Mig-15) And most importantly, I unboxed the Saab Gripen and hooked up the HW ESC right away. It's a 3658-1920KV Inrunner. All of these EDFs worked just fine with the HW ESC! I'm pretty convinced the issue is compatibility with certain motors and not any TX or RX issues or settings. The question now is; do I put the stock ESCs back in the A-10 or continue my quest for reverse thrust, and get a couple of these in-runner EDFs?, I'm pretty sure they will drop right into the A-10 and probably give a little performance boost as well.

[jetpltrich]

Reverse thrust 🤔 … depending on what type of surface one flies off of It would have some benefits.

[themudduck]

Flew my A10 at the Cleveland airshow (first pic) over Labor day and then last weekend flew a bunch of different jets at the TORKS E-jets event near Columbus. This year we had three 80mm A10s (3rd pic) in the air at the same time, a video should be coming after Pete Foss (2nd pic) gets back from NEAT. We also flew several other gaggles including Phantoms and two F-14s. My bud Jetman (William Jackson) won the "best scale jet" award for his F4 (4th pic - congrats!).





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[Elbee]

themudduck great pictures. Looks like a great event. Good to read your voice again, Sir. Best, LB

[lt1pwr]

Good morning! I just ordered the 80mm A-10 and I'm curious now this model has been out for a good while if it's still recommended to replace the front landing gear to the trailing link and leave the main landing gear stock for grass runways? Just to give you a good idea about my grass runway, it's cut very low like a golf course fairway and my AL37 has no problems taking off on it.

Thanks!

Jay

[crxmanpat]

Good morning! I just ordered the 80mm A-10 and I'm curious now this model has been out for a good while if it's still recommended to replace the front landing gear to the trailing link and leave the main landing gear stock for grass runways? Just to give you a good idea about my grass runway, it's cut very low like a golf course fairway and my AL37 has no problems taking off on it.

Thanks!

Jay

Yes, get the "upgraded" nose gear, especially for grass. Ignore the book CG of 78mm and go with 85-90mm instead. Don't miss the instruction in the manual about setting about 5mm "up" in the elevator for neutral.

[lt1pwr]

Yes, get the "upgraded" nose gear, especially for grass. Ignore the book CG of 78mm and go with 85-90mm instead. Don't miss the instruction in the manual about setting about 5mm "up" in the elevator for neutral.

Thanks Pat! Can you think of any other upgrade I should consider?

Thanks,

Jay

[crxmanpat]

Thanks Pat! Can you think of any other upgrade I should consider?

Thanks,

Jay

If you look under the battery hatch, you'll see some molded channels in the foam on the sides. Some have glued in CF reinforcement there, but I never have. Up to you to do, more for peace of mind. A nose gear brace is also a good idea. If you have a 3D printer there are files available. If not, check with Wildvortex as he sells them. Check this thread:

https://www.hobbysquawk.com/forum/classifieds-and-vendors/rc-products-for-sale-or-trade/340588-edf-nose-gear-braces-many-models

[RAFALR30]

Where can I buy a water decal - service inscriptions. Or maybe they are available for free on a website - ready to be printed yourself?

[jetpltrich]

A-10 missile shoot version 2 is up! Enjoy

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=11wHV5ThipY

[Hugh Wiedman]

A-10 missile shoot version 2 is up! Enjoy

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=11wHV5ThipY

Very Cool! It seemed to track fairly straight.

[jetpltrich]

Very Cool! It seemed to track fairly straight.

I think it did as well being that rocket was a hastily put together design of my own. I launched an Estes Bullpup earlier in the day and that was simply amazing. The speed at which it launched was outta this world, unfortunately the Runcam batteries died and the film crew wanted to sleep in and I lost that rocket, it’s in some farmers cow pasture.

[lt1pwr]

If you look under the battery hatch, you'll see some molded channels in the foam on the sides. Some have glued in CF reinforcement there, but I never have. Up to you to do, more for peace of mind. A nose gear brace is also a good idea. If you have a 3D printer there are files available. If not, check with Wildvortex as he sells them. Check this thread:

https://www.hobbysquawk.com/forum/cl...es-many-models

Thanks Pat! I’ll definitely get the nose gear brace.

Jay

[rkh_78]

My new Graupner MZ-16 radio has a lot of options during model setup to choose from including how many engines the model has. Now, I know that although there are multiple flaps, ailerons and elevators in the radio it will be set up as 1 Flap and 1 Aileron due to Freewing's control board. Would that be the same for the engine selection? Most people say it's best to calibrate the ESCs separately, but just wondering if in the radio setup it should be set to 1 engine instead of 2?

Thanks!

Also, I am just about finished with my conversion to INDIANA BLACKSNAKES 100th Anniversary Scheme. Pics coming...

[crxmanpat]

My new Graupner MZ-16 radio has a lot of options during model setup to choose from including how many engines the model has. Now, I know that although there are multiple flaps, ailerons and elevators in the radio it will be set up as 1 Flap and 1 Aileron due to Freewing's control board. Would that be the same for the engine selection? Most people say it's best to calibrate the ESCs separately, but just wondering if in the radio setup it should be set to 1 engine instead of 2?

Thanks!

Also, I am just about finished with my conversion to INDIANA BLACKSNAKES 100th Anniversary Scheme. Pics coming...

I have an MZ-24 and MZ-16. Calibrate the motors separately, but put it in the radio as 1 motor as 1 channel controls both.

[rkh_78]

I have an MZ-24 and MZ-16. Calibrate the motors separately, but put it in the radio as 1 motor as 1 channel controls both.

thank you very much!!