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

[Sky Wolf]

Ya, lets not fall in love with these fantastic paint jobs we've all have done. I've seen many of men cry over the loose of a jet before. So lets fly like we stole it and just don't care !

Like my friend Tim Reddelman , told me once just before on my first turbine power jet flight.........Take her out to the runway,........point her into the wind............give it full power.......... count to six.............pull back on the stick ..........and...........I'll help you pick up the pieces buddy. What a buddy, but the flight went perfect.

What a great, but funny quote? I'll have to use that one on someone soon. LOL

[TiredIronGRB]

My buddy John's comments on me whining about landing jets...this is after reversing the struts.

[Pogo]

Shirty, your Oz scheme looks terrific- good on ya! I've been picking away at my (similar) scheme, still lots more to do on the fuse, wings and vert. stabs etc. but wanted to show you that though a world apart we're thinking along the same lines! . Mine is an experimental scheme the Flying Razorbacks of Arkansas never knew they tried ;)
Anyway, I'm glad your first flights went so well- great airplane, eh?
Tom

[downwindleg]

Shirty, your Oz scheme looks terrific- good on ya! I've been picking away at my (similar) scheme, still lots more to do on the fuse, wings and vert. stabs etc. but wanted to show you that though a world apart we're thinking along the same lines! . Mine is an experimental scheme the Flying Razorbacks of Arkansas never knew they tried ;)
Anyway, I'm glad your first flights went so well- great airplane, eh?
Tom

Nice paint scheme Tom........might help with orientation. I painted four of the ordinance group under the wing to help also but not flying the A-10 again 'til the new oleos arrive, Brad

[Shirty]

My buddy John's comments on me whining about landing jets...this is after reversing the struts.

Gold! Lol

[Shirty]

Shirty, your Oz scheme looks terrific- good on ya! I've been picking away at my (similar) scheme, still lots more to do on the fuse, wings and vert. stabs etc. but wanted to show you that though a world apart we're thinking along the same lines! . Mine is an experimental scheme the Flying Razorbacks of Arkansas never knew they tried ;)
Anyway, I'm glad your first flights went so well- great airplane, eh?
Tom

Looks awesome tom, very cool. Keep us updated with some pics mate. And yeah, she's a beauty. Freewing nailed it with this one imho.

[JTClark]

One Tough Bird!

If anyone needs evidence of how tough this A-10 really is I can provide testament to that affect. I flew last weekend at my old flying field which has a grass runway with two other buddies that have A-10's. We were dealing with a slight crosswind but the real challenge was that at times it was gusty and unpredictable. Take off was much smoother than I expected being used to a paved runway and I quickly settled into the usual flight pattern enjoying how well this plane flies. On my first pass over the runway I wanted to make a low flyby and descended down to the deck. I thought I had plenty of time to level off but with the naked eye I swear (and several others afterwards made the same observation) that it looked like a gust of wind slammed the A-10 downward. The plane hit the deck so hard docking out all of the weapons and catapulting the canopy off the plane. At this point I had full up elevator and the jet kept flying. After how hard she hit the deck I was fully expecting it to fall from the sky in several pieces. I was amazed that she kept flying as if nothing happened. I flew around for an emergency landing just hoping to get her back on the ground in one piece. The plane still flew rock solid with only a slight movement due the the missing canopy. She came in and landed smoothly with just one small bounce and then taxied back to the hanger. The front end was wrinkled a bit, gun was missing, a couple of chunks of foam missing from the bottom of the vertical stabs, the landing gear had chunks of grass caught in them, and the bottom was scraped up a bit, but other than that she not only survived but most likely could have been flown again that day if I wanted, but common sense kicked in to do a full inspection later. After reviewing the video I couldn't confirm the sudden gust of downward wind that I felt was the cause of hitting the deck. I can only conclude now that it was a case of slow thumbs. :Angry: But it was the best touch and go ever! :)The good news is the repairs are minimal and she will be back in the sky very soon. I'm not the owner of the video but I'm sure it will be posted somewhere for your viewing pleasure. Love this A-10.

[bcrc]

CENTER of GRAVITY (CG):
I have a couple of CG questions. From reading the threads, it seems to be consensus that a more rearward CG is better. The manual says 78mm. I see most people have been having better results at 84, or even 86. In general, I agree with the more rearward CG for better landings.
Question 1: has anyone had any bad effects from the CG at 84-86?
Question 2: Should I be measuring the CG with gear up or gear down? Obviously, the CG will shift forward when the gear goes up. WHICH - measure CG with gear UP or gear DOWN???
Thank you.
BCRC

[RCjetdude]

I am good at around 86mm. Balance it with the gear down. Just keep back pressure on the elevator as you flare for landing and a little power. I have not noticed any bad effects of a more rearward CG.

[Xtraflyr]

CENTER of GRAVITY (CG):
I have a couple of CG questions. From reading the threads, it seems to be consensus that a more rearward CG is better. The manual says 78mm. I see most people have been having better results at 84, or even 86. In general, I agree with the more rearward CG for better landings.
Question 1: has anyone had any bad effects from the CG at 84-86?
Question 2: Should I be measuring the CG with gear up or gear down? Obviously, the CG will shift forward when the gear goes up. WHICH - measure CG with gear UP or gear DOWN???
Thank you.
BCRC

I'd like to know how it flys at the suggested CG,also.
Frank

[ColtPilot]

CENTER of GRAVITY (CG):
I have a couple of CG questions. From reading the threads, it seems to be consensus that a more rearward CG is better. The manual says 78mm. I see most people have been having better results at 84, or even 86. In general, I agree with the more rearward CG for better landings.
Question 1: has anyone had any bad effects from the CG at 84-86?
Question 2: Should I be measuring the CG with gear up or gear down? Obviously, the CG will shift forward when the gear goes up. WHICH - measure CG with gear UP or gear DOWN???
Thank you.
BCRC

Gear down, with 5 flights on mine, I haven't even done a CG check and it flies great even with the installed Model Sounds Inc system. I'm leaving it alone for now with battery placement per the manual.

[RCjetdude]

I'd like to know how it flys at the suggested CG,also.
Frank

It flies fine at 78mm but requires a little more up elevator trim and may require some flap to elevator trim as well. When I moved my CG back it did not need the flap/elevator trim anymore and the elevator trim was more neutral.

[Sky Wolf]

One Tough Bird!

If anyone needs evidence of how tough this A-10 really is I can provide testament to that affect. I flew last weekend at my old flying field which has a grass runway with two other buddies that have A-10's. We were dealing with a slight crosswind but the real challenge was that at times it was gusty and unpredictable. Take off was much smoother than I expected being used to a paved runway and I quickly settled into the usual flight pattern enjoying how well this plane flies. On my first pass over the runway I wanted to make a low flyby and descended down to the deck. I thought I had plenty of time to level off but with the naked eye I swear (and several others afterwards made the same observation) that it looked like a gust of wind slammed the A-10 downward. The plane hit the deck so hard docking out all of the weapons and catapulting the canopy off the plane. At this point I had full up elevator and the jet kept flying. After how hard she hit the deck I was fully expecting it to fall from the sky in several pieces. I was amazed that she kept flying as if nothing happened. I flew around for an emergency landing just hoping to get her back on the ground in one piece. The plane still flew rock solid with only a slight movement due the the missing canopy. She came in and landed smoothly with just one small bounce and then taxied back to the hanger. The front end was wrinkled a bit, gun was missing, a couple of chunks of foam missing from the bottom of the vertical stabs, the landing gear had chunks of grass caught in them, and the bottom was scraped up a bit, but other than that she not only survived but most likely could have been flown again that day if I wanted, but common sense kicked in to do a full inspection later. After reviewing the video I couldn't confirm the sudden gust of downward wind that I felt was the cause of hitting the deck. I can only conclude now that it was a case of slow thumbs. :Angry: But it was the best touch and go ever! :)The good news is the repairs are minimal and she will be back in the sky very soon. I'm not the owner of the video but I'm sure it will be posted somewhere for your viewing pleasure. Love this A-10.

AMEN to how tough this bird is. It's a true A-10 tank killer. I was there when it happened and can attest to the fact that we all thought this thing was coming back down after that impact was made. It flew back around as if nothing ever happened. Tom, you left before I got to fly anything at all, but the same exact thing happened to me while flying the Carbon Z. The winds coming off the lake were causing down drafts over tree line. It slammed me onto the runway really hard at my landing approach. Was going along smoothly when all of a sudden, "Boom". Good thing it has those large inflatable tires.

I don't think it was your slow thumbs.

[Xtraflyr]

It flies fine at 78mm but requires a little more up elevator trim and may require some flap to elevator trim as well. When I moved my CG back it did not need the flap/elevator trim anymore and the elevator trim was more neutral.

Thank you sir!!

[crxmanpat]

At 78mm CG, I think this bird is just a tad nose heavy. I have moved mine back to 86mm and it seems to have an easier time holding a slight nose up attitude during landing. I need to move my battery straps back a little further as I still have room to move my batteries to the rear. Eventually I'd like to set it at 90mm and see how well it does there.

[Xtraflyr]

Are you guys running Velcro to hold the batteries or just the anti slip stuff and the strap? I'll probably use Velcro since I'll be using the 6s batts in other planes.
Frank

[OV10]

Are you guys running Velcro to hold the batteries or just the anti slip stuff and the strap? I'll probably use Velcro since I'll be using the 6s batts in other planes.
Frank

Have been using that anti-slip(RV shelf mat) for years. When the batteries heat up the adhesive on the Velcro it tends to let loose.
You can get a roll(1ft x 6ft) of that anti-slip at Wally world for dirt cheap and it is a little thicker than what the manufactures have been providing as of recent model releases.

[themudduck]

At 78mm CG, I think this bird is just a tad nose heavy. I have moved mine back to 86mm and it seems to have an easier time holding a slight nose up attitude during landing. I need to move my battery straps back a little further as I still have room to move my batteries to the rear. Eventually I'd like to set it at 90mm and see how well it does there.

I think it was more than just a tad nose heavy at the 78mm position. It was like a brick and was impossible to pull the nose up during landing. I've moved my batteries all the way back (in the two tray positions) and I think its still nose-heavy. With the batteries back, I've had much better landings... I'm able to hold the nose up about 1 inch off the ground (coming in a low power). And I don't need any trim mixed with the flaps like I used to, and its not bouncing as badly either. So I agree with the others, I think that the 84-86mm cg position is much better and it may do better even further back than that. I'd like to get the nose up.

[downwindleg]

At 78mm CG, I think this bird is just a tad nose heavy. I have moved mine back to 86mm and it seems to have an easier time holding a slight nose up attitude during landing. I need to move my battery straps back a little further as I still have room to move my batteries to the rear. Eventually I'd like to set it at 90mm and see how well it does there.

Hey Pat, what size batteries are you using and could you do location measurements at the 86mm CG? Also, do you still have the nomenclature for the ordinance available? Would love to buy a set from you, Thanks Brad

[Xtraflyr]

I have a set of 5200mah in mine. I have them in about the center of the battery mount,and my CG is about 1/4" behind the recommended area.