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

[xplaneguy]

Thanks gents! I'm so impressed with the performance and handling in extreme conditions. In this case, flying in 15 mph wind with strong gust loads! She is rugged, with plenty of power to boot.

[Alpha]

Thanks for posting that, Tony! I was there and confirm that my anemometer consistently read between 15-20mph at various times throughout the flight. The lowest recorded was 13mph, the highest was 22mph. The grass' movement underscores how the wind was not just strong but very turbulent, yet the A-10 shrugged it off. Imagine if the wind was 10-15mph less. I hope this helps to demonstrate that our A-10 is not just a fairweather bird. Tony and I were committed to not letting windy conditions prevent us from flying yesterday. The Avanti ate up those conditions as well, obviously even better than the A-10, but then again the Avanti weighs half as much as is much cleaner than a scale Hawg armed to the teeth.

Also, it may be a small dot in this video but realize that's a 67" behemoth moving through those conditions with ease. Stock power system, 48% remaining.

[T-CAT]

Great video! I've been waiting for a jet that I can take up in that type of wing and have it shrug it off, ha-ha. What capacity batteries on those flights were used?

[xviper]

Gutless, that was NOT! WOW! I don't want to fly a plane "scale" because it barely has enough power to get out of its own shadow. I don't want to fly a plane scale because some people think that's how it should be flown (because in their hearts, they know that's the only way the thing will fly). This thing is FAST and I like it that way. I may have to forget the other FL planes on my wish list for the time being. This one is really pulling me.
Just curious, the FMS and the LX seems to require considerable UP elevator (as a manual adjustment) just to fly level. Does this one? My LX needs about 3 to 4 degrees of UP as does most other LX's.

[xplaneguy]

Great video! I've been waiting for a jet that I can take up in that type of wing and have it shrug it off, ha-ha. What capacity batteries on those flights were used?

Thanks T! Two Admiral 6S 5000 packs.

[xplaneguy]

Gutless, that was NOT! WOW! I don't want to fly a plane "scale" because it barely has enough power to get out of its own shadow. I don't want to fly a plane scale because some people think that's how it should be flown (because in their hearts, they know that's the only way the thing will fly). This thing is FAST and I like it that way. I may have to forget the other FL planes on my wish list for the time being. This one is really pulling me.
Just curious, the FMS and the LX seems to require considerable UP elevator (as a manual adjustment) just to fly level. Does this one? My LX needs about 3 to 4 degrees of UP as does most other LX's.

Little to no up elevator needed on this Hog.

[T-CAT]

Thanks T! Two Admiral 6S 5000 packs.

Awesomeeeeeeee, that's what I was hoping ;).

[T-CAT]

Little to no up elevator needed on this Hog.

Good, ha-ha, that indicates a heck of a lot of attention went into the proper the thrust line . Giddy-up!

[xviper]

Little to no up elevator needed on this Hog.

Perfect! They really thought this one through. I always considered the need for so much UP elevator as a normal set-up had something to do with overlooking a key ingredient in the design phase.

[YLFlyer]

Coming along real nice you guys! That will be a great seller and I will have one even if I can't make it on the pre order phase. I suspect this will be one that sells well for years.

[Alpha]

Nice to see you here, YLFlyer, welcome!

Perfect! They really thought this one through. I always considered the need for so much UP elevator as a normal set-up had something to do with overlooking a key ingredient in the design phase.

Xviper2, you're right about that. I recall covering this topic earlier but I can't remember if it was in this thread or the thread on RCG. Either way, it is worth repeating. In the context of the A-10, an incorrect thrust line and related incidence angles can have very obvious effects, including needing up elevator, being pitch sensitive or CG sensitive, needing a throttle to elevator mix to avoid hunting, pinning to the runway then leaping off suddenly, etc. At least one of these characteristics plague every RC A-10 model I've flown. Freewing's smaller 64mm A-10, which I was not involved in, exhibits some of these characteristics, as does Dynam's 64mm A-10, and LX's 70mm A-10. Even big expensive turbine model designers aren't immune --Skymaster A-10 owners have well documented the woes of their expensive A-10s having some of these same problems. Forget $500... imagine spending $5,000 on an A-10 and it not flying right!

Having had experience making the A-10 before, Freewing knew that eliminating the negative incidence would be a design hurdle, and I having flown all those A-10s mentioned above before, anticipated that it was a hurdle we NEEDED to solve. And solve it, we did. Attached is a picture showing the elevator's trim. The surface is level ;)

[xplaneguy]

Coming along real nice you guys! That will be a great seller and I will have one even if I can't make it on the pre order phase. I suspect this will be one that sells well for years.

Welcome YLFlyer!

I've waited a long time for a great A-10 like this one and at the projected price point, I'd like to add two to my fleet...though I will only order one at pre-order. Sharing is caring! :)

[Alpha]

Good, ha-ha, that indicates a heck of a lot of attention went into the proper the thrust line . Giddy-up!

Adding to what I posted a few minutes ago, I'll add as well that at work here is the wing, horizontal stab, intake angle, and outlet angle. Their incidences, relative not just to the fuselage datum line but also to each other, is a quirky interplay. Dissecting RC A-10 models of the past, it's easy to see how each designer approached the challenge. I'd post our CAD cross-sections to show how we did it, but I'm reminded that there are more than just current and potential customers out there reading this. Suffice to say, proof is in the pudding.

[T-CAT]

Very very very cool, and once again, this is the type of detail that makes me part with my money. I appreciate the engineering, and it's only fair to speak with my wallet to reward the folks who made it ;).

[xplaneguy]

I'm just thrilled to read that T-CAT is located on Planet Earth! ;)

[T-CAT]

And I love Lasagna that's from out of this world! Hahahaha :p:cool:

[bill34207]

Great flight Tony and great camera work Evelyn.
Looks like the ordnance package is not even noticeable in flight performance. Should handle the extra weight of a powder canon and sound system for the brrrt sound well.
Looking forward to the pre order button appearing on the Motion website and even more to the actual delivery. With a little luck it will make me a nice birthday present.

[Mike_Then]

Awesome video!! Thanks so much for posting! That large loop was quite impressive, especially with a full loadout. It's obvious how much power it has and should fly quite scale-like with ease. Can't wait for more!

[Alpha10]

Very very very cool, and once again, this is the type of detail that makes me part with my money. I appreciate the engineering, and it's only fair to speak with my wallet to reward the folks who made it ;).

Absolutely! Pretty soon guys! : )

[T-CAT]

I am making lots of room for this jet :D, and clearing out much of the stuff I don't use. Minds well pick up some room and funds, along with making owning this one that much easier.