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

[Shirty]

I'd agree. I don't think the a-10 will be a difficult transition from what you've flown, only thing I'd add is it's probably a lot heavier model then you are used to, so make sure you have a little throttle authority on landing. Stalling this one from a foot or two off the ground with deadstick landings isn't going to end well I'd think.

As for oranges and lemons... I had a few issues with a dx6i when I first started, swapped to use futaba after about a year when I was looking to upgrade to a better radio, and I've NEVER had a radio or receiver issue with futaba. However the vast majority of my club fly spektrum, (and I have another spektrum radio for buddyboxing students), and ive seen a lot of people had issues with the orange receivers and the new lot of ar800's. People flying lemons have had good things to say about them, so based on what I've seen for years at my club, I'd also recommend the lemon receivers as an alternative to the genuine ar series receivers.

Best of of luck with the maidens fellas. I'll be watching enviously whilst I wait for mine to come back across the pacific. Have fun!!!! :)

[ColtPilot]

I'd agree. I don't think the a-10 will be a difficult transition from what you've flown, only thing I'd add is it's probably a lot heavier model then you are used to, so make sure you have a little throttle authority on landing. Stalling this one from a foot or two off the ground with deadstick landings isn't going to end well I'd think.

As for oranges and lemons... I had a few issues with a dx6i when I first started, swapped to use futaba after about a year when I was looking to upgrade to a better radio, and I've NEVER had a radio or receiver issue with futaba. However the vast majority of my club fly spektrum, (and I have another spektrum radio for buddyboxing students), and ive seen a lot of people had issues with the orange receivers and the new lot of ar800's. People flying lemons have had good things to say about them, so based on what I've seen for years at my club, I'd also recommend the lemon receivers as an alternative to the genuine ar series receivers.

Best of of luck with the maidens fellas. I'll be watching enviously whilst I wait for mine to come back across the pacific. Have fun!!!! :)

Still like your videos the best Shirty.

[Fast Eddie]

Thank you all for your thoughts and recommendations. I appreciate it. Going to go ahead and get it ordered.
I'll most likely have our club's ace pilot do the maiden just to be safe.
Sound and powder cannon sounds like a must. Anyone have a link to a powder cannon setup? Thanks

[Shirty]

Thanks colt. Got a few new ones in the works, won't be long. I enjoy making them and comments like yours inspire me to do more. Cheers mate. :)

[T-CAT]

Those are always well made videos, man. Always fun to watch.

[1horse59]

Well, I guess I'm in now also, just ordered mine. A lot was cleared up about receivers and such, This will be my 13th plane and the wife said the last, although she's been saying that after the 5th or 6th-looking forward to your maiden videos, I get more from individual pilots than the seller. Not to offend you Pilot Ryan or Cpt Mike, lol. Anyone adding gyros?

[Shirty]

Thanks tcat. I got BIG plans for the a-10 vid I want to make. ;)

[dahawk]

stabalizer or no stabalizer ? Please opine. From what I've read, seems like this plane is not in dire need of one.

[MikeT]

stabalizer or no stabalizer ? Please opine. From what I've read, seems like this plane is not in dire need of one.

I won't be using one in mine. ETA Tuesday morning. To paint or not to paint that is the big question.

Mike

[TiredIronGRB]

stabalizer or no stabalizer ? Please opine. From what I've read, seems like this plane is not in dire need of one.

None for me...

[Mike_Then]

stabalizer or no stabalizer ? Please opine. From what I've read, seems like this plane is not in dire need of one.

Nope, no stabilizer for me either. The only stabilizer I've ever had in a plane was a rate mode gyro I installed on an E-Flite Icon A5. I put it on the rudder to eliminate the Dutch roll this plane was notorious for when power was reduced/off. I anticipate the A-10 to be very docile as far as an EDF is concerned.

[themudduck]

I've been using LemonRX (with satellite) for my larger planes without any problems. That's what's going into my A10.
Stabilizer? Not needed for this one. Big fat wing and a little dihedral... its a stable gun platform. Just use some expo and you'll be fine.

It's coming today! Oh boy, this is going to be great!

[Shirty]

Me neither. I'm not a fan of them personally. (That's not to say they aren't a good option for some planes/pilots, I just personally much prefer flying without one). But speaking generally for the a-10, it has a decent sized wing (designed for stability at low speeds), and she seems very stable and predictable in the vids to date. With the weight with two batts I'd expect she's pretty good in a decent wind too. I'd doubt there's much need for one with this bird imho.

[TomPatton]

Yes!!! On the truck,out for delivery!!!

[dahawk]

Expecting mine any minute. An eye out for the UPS guy. Thanks for the opinions on using a stab for this plane. I agree that there doesn't seem to be a real need for one unlike smaller, twitchy little edf's.

[Rosytime]

Shirty, don't start the Futaba vs Spektrum debate. We have this at our club on occasion. I too fly Futaba and have never experienced a problem that could be radio related. I currently have a 14sg but I'm going to upgrade to a 18sz. I also have a DX8 that I got for all the bind/n/fly planes that are available. We all get a kick out of watching a pilot, no matter what brand they are using, looking at his transmitter after a crash and thinking there was a glitch. 95% of the time it was dumb thumbs. The stabilizer debate flares up regularly also. I won't be putting one in my A-10 either at this time. I had the 64mm version and it flew great. Since our field is located on top of an old landfill, we do get some funny rollers and downdrafts depending which way the wind is blowing and a gyro does help in these situations but I'm used to it and you learn to adjust your approach on windy days. I will say that as far as the Lemon recievers, many in our club have them and have had no problems. The thing I don't understand is if you spend this amount of money on an EDF, why not spend a little more and a factory receiver? And one other option for those that want a gyro, if you buy an Aura gyro and fly Spektrum, you just add a satellite to it and go. No receiver needed. Unfortunately for us Futaba guys, we still need a receiver. Can't wait for mine to arrive, it shows on Monday. One of the few downsides to living in South Florida, further to travel from Illinois and UPS doesn't deliver on Saturdays.

[dahawk]

I have 19.70# package out for delivery. Yee Haw

[crxmanpat]

No stabilizer for me either. This is a big beefy plane and almost certainly won't need it.

[TSHobbies]

Thats one big piece of pork sausage! what a beauty!

[Pete Lane]

No need to reel them in...their jumping in the boat captain.....lol

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