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

[davegee]

Here is a link to the clear acrylic domes: https://kitkraft.com/t/categories/acrylic-domes
The name of the company is Kit Kraft, out of Studio City, CA. They also have ellipse domes that could be used for various functions. They sent out to me about two hours after I ordered online, and was here (Denver) in just a couple of days. They have a great variety of sizes for modelers!

[JTClark]

This video is not for you if your expecting some fast and thrill flying, just boring touch and goes. Went out on Sunday morning and shot a video of some touch and goes, was hoping to help someone struggling with landings or if it's your maiden flight maybe this will help to show you just how nice this A-10 will land with no power and with a little bit of power, no need to bring it in hot.

Great video. Wished I had seen it prior to my maiden. Very well done with great landing info. I'm learning to cut power early and let her glide in with very little throttle to prevent a stall. Got another three flights recently with one on video thanks to Skywolf.

[ColtPilot]

would be pretty cool if you could stick a camera in there lol

I joined the sloppy nose gear/ triangle part coming off clubs today. thats all it takes is one not so perfect landing and you become a member... sounds more like a flaw to me if it requires 100% perfect landings 100% of the time. the mains may be robust, but that nose gear sure isnt.

I taxied mine around last Sunday to check ground handling and thought everything was fine. Retracted the gear and put the plane away until today. The nose gear wouldn't come down all the way as the rear gear door jambed against the strut. Looking at the book that triangle piece is nowhere to be found. I guess I'll have to fabricate one. Mine hasn't even flown yet. ???

[Pete Lane]

I asked Alpha and he said he would get back to me about procuring the prototypes original nose gear.
He is at the factory checking.

Plane

[T-CAT]

I had some fun with adding a green LED NAV light to simulate a HUD. I made a harness to tap power off the landing light port so the HUD light is only active when the landing gear is extended, so it gives a fun factor for folks seeing it on the ground during static power-on display, taxi to and from the runway, and during takeoff and landings.

I drilled the hole out with a large drill bit, painted the exposed foam, cut a piece of round plastic to cover the hole, and then embedded a plastic LED holder deeper down in the foam hole to hold the LED in place (the plastic holder is simply pressure fitted in and needs no glue). I then made a decal of heads up display markings to give a subtle effect on the HUD screen. It's silly and useless, but it sure is fun, ha-ha. :)

[ColtPilot]

Wanted to do my maiden today.:(

[davegee]

I had a friend put my A-10 together and do the maiden on it, and didn't even know about that white triangle on the nose gear until I had flown it a couple of times and my nose gear jammed when cycling it before a flight. I looked at someone else's plane and discovered that my part was missing. I did fabricate a piece of .040" thick white plastic that worked just fine, but I still removed it when I got a stock part from Motion that was meant to be there. But I can vouch that you can make a substitute part if you look at some pictures like I did that I took of my friend's plane. It does seem to be a weak spot on this model, though..

[Pete Lane]

This will help. Here are the dims. Maybe you can make a few tonite and try for Sunday ?
look in the shop...kitchen...junk drawer for styrene or sheet stock of suitable.

Pete

[Pete Lane]

Heat gun should make plastic plyable.
Tupperware...Folgers can...tin paint can top...etc
Gloves a must until deburred
LMK if you need any other measurements or pics

[ColtPilot]

Heat gun should make plastic plyable.
Tupperware...Folgers can...tin paint can top...etc
Gloves a must until deburred
LMK if you need any other measurements or pics

I ordered a new gear door. When it comes I'll fasten it with screws.

[Pete Lane]

Ok. Perhaps it will come in handy elsewise.

[RCjetdude]

I had some fun with adding a green LED NAV light to simulate a HUD. I made a harness to tap power off the landing light port so the HUD light is only active when the landing gear is extended, so it gives a fun factor for folks seeing it on the ground during static power-on display, taxi to and from the runway, and during takeoff and landings.

I drilled the hole out with a large drill bit, painted the exposed foam, cut a piece of round plastic to cover the hole, and then embedded a plastic LED holder deeper down in the foam hole to hold the LED in place (the plastic holder is simply pressure fitted in and needs no glue). I then made a decal of heads up display markings to give a subtle effect on the HUD screen. It's silly and useless, but it sure is fun, ha-ha. :)

Cool T-CAT.... get this over on the mod thread too.

[Kferros]

Maiden my A10 today and it rolled hard right off departure end. Impacted upside down. Broke wing off and front fuselage. Not sure why it rolled. Probably should have run servos to test. So I have gear parts since they didn't get touched. Pretty bummed. Not sure if I will get another.

[Pete Lane]

Oh man....pre flite stick wiggle was OK
before and after incident ?

[Clearblue]

Maiden my A10 today and it rolled hard right off departure end. Impacted upside down. Broke wing off and front fuselage. Not sure why it rolled. Probably should have run servos to test. So I have gear parts since they didn't get touched. Pretty bummed. Not sure if I will get another.

Sorry to hear that! I had a T45 do the very same thing? I have no Idea what happened? Just after rotation, it slow rolled right. And Done! A month later I maidened my A10, with no issues. Nervous? You're damn tootin! Just have to wonder about these boards? Or at least I do!
Jim.

[RCjetdude]

Here is a link to the clear acrylic domes: https://kitkraft.com/t/categories/acrylic-domes
The name of the company is Kit Kraft, out of Studio City, CA. They also have ellipse domes that could be used for various functions. They sent out to me about two hours after I ordered online, and was here (Denver) in just a couple of days. They have a great variety of sizes for modelers!

Thank you! Ordered...

[TSHobbies]

robust gear....sure, the main legs are..how bout the retracts ? not ...brittle white metal...oh well...at least theyre OOS too!

[DCORSAIR]

Well, I'm wondering about this white piece of plastic that everyone is talking about on the nose gear door, Sorry I didn't post this sooner. On my very first maiden flight I heard a fluttering sound when I pulled the gear up after I made my turn to get it all trimmed out, then I heard it again when I dropped the gear, I then landed and looked it over and didn't find anything, so the last time I went out I hear this noise again, decided I better find out before something bad happens, brought it by on a low pass with gear down and then I went to full throttle and retracted the gear at the same time, guess what I found??? The noise was flutter, the gear door is fluttering big time as it's retracting and you can actually see it in the air if you get close enough, it's catching air on the way up or down and slamming against the nose gear as it's retracting, wonder if this poor little white piece of plastic is taking a beating and this is what's causing this part to fail?? If I retract the gear right at takeoff I don't hear it, it's only at a certain air speed. I know it sounds crazy but I seen it with my own eyes and now I know what the noise has been since my maiden. The video I did for folks having issues landing the A-10, you don't hear it because I'm pulling the gear up as soon as I leave the runway before the air speed builds up. I will some how get a video of it fluttering, if possible, anyone else with this noise, can't miss it, kind of sounds like Brrrrrrrrrrttttttttt.LOL
I haven't been hearing this noise now because I have several flights on it at slower airspeeds and I'm retracting the gear sooner and dropping it at lower airspeeds, but after I started reading of this piece of plastic failure it got me wondering if this is the problem??

[TSHobbies]

yeah, and if it happens to come off when you take off...guess what happens when you try to land! your gonna be chewing that nose up big time

[Aros]

I've joined the ranks of those who have had a craptastic landing with this bird. I was working on my landings off a high approach over the trees, completely dead stick like that great video displayed, and it was great. Took off again and decided to get cute and try it from the opposite end of the runway even though it would be a tailwind landing (because the approach was much lower). I came around, made the base leg and dropped power. She came in and I don't know what I did exactly, but clearly I dumb thumbed it because I wasn't used to that angle and I thought she was going to go into a light pole so I banked her during the flare and the next thing I know she slammed down nose gear first and bounced so I tried to manage it with throttle but she bucked like a bronco given a hot cattle prod in the rear and it was all I could do to wait it out. Going around wasn't an option because there wasn't enough runway left.

Scuffed the wingtips and some weapons and annihilated the nose gear. Surprised the damage wasn't worse. Operation Ego Bruise a success.

:Angry: