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

[t33jetman]

One more step in my progress the RED Devils side. They arrived today.

Looks GREAT !
Are those water transfer or stick on ?

[ColtPilot]

Looks GREAT !
Are those water transfer or stick on ?

Callie vinyl graphics. No water slide.

[slamdance64]

Callie vinyl graphics. No water slide.

Wow, your A-10 is a piece of art now that the Devil is on! It turned out way better than I thought it would.
Brent

[TSHobbies]

Is that why I see guys talking about covering the plane with a coat of Minwax? Is that before or after the decals installed?

before...the decals will look best if applied OVER a gloss surface. once dry apply brush some more gloss over them, allow to dry and the follow up with a dull coat.

[Pete Lane]

[Pete Lane]

I still have a few hours of work left on mine.

Plane

[OV10]

Those are SWEET 401 :Cool:

[Sonicman]

Awesome work Pete!

[WAY BAD]

before...the decals will look best if applied OVER a gloss surface. once dry apply brush some more gloss over them, allow to dry and the follow up with a dull coat.

Yeah, that makes more sense. Is this process you're referring to with Minwax as well?

[Pete Lane]

Colts A 10 is awesome !
Thanks....with the gloss surface the nose took less than 5 min. I was thinking this is way to easy !.
This jet was painstaking to get right by MRC and the more I work on it, the more this rings true.
The thing about my fun scale is that it just has to be close.....different in another way. Can't miss the yellow...lol


Plane

[xviper]

Re: Cooling mod for batteries.

I'm talking about punching out that hole in the black spot in front of the cockpit a larger exit in the belly. I know that some folks believe it's necessary but those who haven't done this, what do you experience? Do the batteries get that hot? Perhaps those fellas who have done the mod are using older low C batteries that naturally get warm? I'm not averse to punching holes in a plane, just maybe not this one.

[dkalwishky]

Re: Cooling mod for batteries.

I'm talking about punching out that hole in the black spot in front of the cockpit a larger exit in the belly. I know that some folks believe it's necessary but those who haven't done this, what do you experience? Do the batteries get that hot? Perhaps those fellas who have done the mod are using older low C batteries that naturally get warm? I'm not averse to punching holes in a plane, just maybe not this one.

I haven't made any cooling mods to mine (yet). If I fly around half throttle with some full throttle low passes my batteries come down warm but I can still hold them comfortably. I did one flight that was closer to 100% throttle the whole time and they came out very hot, almost too hot to hold.

Outside air temps that day were in the low 90's.

I'm using Admiral 5000's 50C.

[RCjetdude]

I have not made the cooling mod on mine. On my Tiger Shark 80mm I run either Roaring Top 6S 5800 35C packs or 5000 70C packs on my Blacksnakes 90mm I run the Roaring Top 5S 6600 70C saddle packs. If I push it hard I do notice the 35C packs are warmer but nothing I would be alarmed about. The 70C packs definitely stay cooler by comparison. I tend to try and fly more conservatively with this plane overall anyway. The biggest issue is if I would have to run the packs longer which I try very hard not to do. Timer on my 80mm is set for 3:30 and on the 90mm it is 5:00. I try to keep the wheels up to wheels down to those time limits.When the 1 minute warning goes off I am setting up to land.

[Pete Lane]

Its tricky. By the time they heat up....3 min its time to land in another minute and they can't cool down that fast. Also heat rises so the vent should be on top and you just can't do that. Best to use high C rate and manage the amp draw. Stacking the packs complicates cooling even further.

[xviper]

Thanks for the candor. I think I'll just leave it alone. Fly conservatively with lower C bats and use high C ones for "pedal to the metal" flying. This A-10 is just too nice to punch holes in it.

[OV10]

Re: Cooling mod for batteries.

I'm talking about punching out that hole in the black spot in front of the cockpit a larger exit in the belly. I know that some folks believe it's necessary but those who haven't done this, what do you experience? Do the batteries get that hot? Perhaps those fellas who have done the mod are using older low C batteries that naturally get warm? I'm not averse to punching holes in a plane, just maybe not this one.

XV...........You most likely hit the nail squarely on the above bold comment.
The design of the inner fuze for cooling is getting the intake from the nose wheel well which forces it over the battery section and out the two belly exits.
The majority of flyers apparently are not having issues including myself. I'm using 4500 40C Admirals and they come down the normal warm.
Agree with your comment in post#5195...........it is too nice a bird to punch holes in it............especially in the top of the nose :Scared:

[Pete Lane]

Yep.....can only do so much....and fans are heavy
but that's what the big castle ESC have.

[401 FOOT CEILING]

Radar pod removal mod

(pre-flat clear spray)

[t33jetman]

Made my refuel port functional.
Also made a black template for static shows to cover opening when it's sitting on the ground for you purest out there.

XV...........You most likely hit the nail squarely on the above bold comment.
The design of the inner fuze for cooling is getting the intake from the nose wheel well which forces it over the battery section and out the two belly exits.
The majority of flyers apparently are not having issues including myself. I'm using 4500 40C Admirals and they come down the normal warm.
Agree with your comment in post#5195...........it is too nice a bird to punch holes in it............especially in the top of the nose :Scared:

[Twowingtj]

Re: Cooling mod for batteries.

I'm talking about punching out that hole in the black spot in front of the cockpit a larger exit in the belly. I know that some folks believe it's necessary but those who haven't done this, what do you experience? Do the batteries get that hot? Perhaps those fellas who have done the mod are using older low C batteries that naturally get warm? I'm not averse to punching holes in a plane, just maybe not this one.

In my experience with elect powered birds, most often the air exit ports are too small, this bird included. I took a 3/4" copper coupler pipe and used a Dremel to sharpen the inner diameter. Then used it to cut the existing vent ports larger. Using a twisting motion, follow the same angle as the original ports. It made nice smooth cuts. I fly 4 minutes at mixed 1/2 - 3/4 throttle using Admiral 5000mah 50C batts and they come down barely warm.

General rule of thumb is that the air exit should be 2X that of the intake. Has always worked for me.