Official Freewing 80mm Avanti S Sport Jet Thread

[toyhog]

Hello pilots;

So I got my Avanti S Friday and I'm going to start with the bad stuff first to get it out of the way. I must be the Bruce of the USA because I seem to get all the bad product. I was a little disappointed in my kit because of the problems I found and very uncharacteristic for Freewing.

First my rudder servo must be in back words or my linkage is to short because I cant get it to make it to the rudder with out it giving me 30% of left rudder. The servo is in with the arm forward of center, if it was flipped around so the arm was aft of center I think it would fit the linkage so the fix is either mess up the decal rip the servo out and flip it or punch a hole in the tail to take out the servo arm screw and index the arm back one spline. Either way it's going to mess up a beautiful airplane and I don't want to do it. Indexing the arm is not the best choice in most cases because you could end up with a differential left right movement because the arm is not 90* to the servo at center but because it's the rudder and I'm not going to need full deflection on the rudder I chose to go that route. (see photo) next problem is I have a similar problem on the left elevator as the arm is not 90* but one spline forward so again the linkage is to short so AGAIN i have to poke a hole in the foam to loosen the servo screw and index the arm back one spline. (see photo) OK so two holes down what else could go wrong:Confused:
I'm so glad you asked:) so I'm hooking up the elevator linkage and I'm having to screw the ball links out farther then I'm comfortable with as there is not much thread left holding the ball link on the rod and I'm also getting a slight binding in the servo arm making the connection so I oped to switch the ball link to the inside rather then the outside of the horn to make the rods straighter to the horn. This involved some miner damage to the upper part of the fuselage. (Again see photo) OK; so two holes and two dents in my brand new plane before I even get it off the bench, not a good start.

Yes I too have the miss align nose gear doors and the loose ball links a minor wrinkle on one wing tip and a wrinkle just aft of the canopy but I'm OK with that and everything else seems OK.

So now the good stuff and some advise for you new Avanti pilots and would be Avanti pilots: I'm probably the "the Pappy Boyington" of this forum as I've been flying RC for 44 years now so I can help with some of your questions. / hope to work for Motion RC one day as a service rep (Shameless plug) ;)

This is a GREAT flying plane! very stable very predictable; I would not say easy and not for beginner pilots but it would be a very good choice as your first jet. Does it need a flight stabilizer? No but It would make it fly even better then it does already. The overall quality fit and finish (less my problems) is typical Freewing quality and I think it's just a great plane to have.

rpellicciotti be very careful using Deans connectors on a high amp draw model like a jet ; they can't handle that much load: my first jet I used Deans connectors and they came unsoldered in flight.

toyhog Some servos don't like being slowed down that much so try speeding your flaps up a little bit and see if that helps

I'm Fly mine with a FrSky Taranis Plus with telemetry and a GPS installed and a 3300mah 6S Turnigy 30C battery yes not a good choice on the battery but It works if you're careful. Hit 101MPH level flight full throttle but can't keep it there with that battery and I like long flights rather then fast ones so I fly it at 40% throttle and she still fly 55-70 MPH at that settings and I get a 6-7 min flight. she does 80 MPH at 50% throttle so if you don't burn holes in the sky at WOT you can enjoy the flight for longer. Weight is your enemy! bigger batteries does not always equal longer flight time. It takes more power to carry the extra weight so think about how you want to fly it when making your battery choice.

Expo / duel rates

When I started flying, radios did not have expo / duel rates / mixing etc. so I leaned to fly with everything 100% and just adjusted linkage on horn to get the right throws. later in life I tried duel rates and didn't like it because with the rate cut down you don't have 100% of the throw and you just might need it in an emergency. I was fling a P-51 one day forgot I had the duel rates on and try to fly inverted and flew right into the ground because I didn't have enough down elevator to keep the nose up. as I was walking out to the crash sight I was thinking what went wrong and then it hit me DUEL RATES. Now Expo is great because you can adjust it to feel like duel rates but you still have 100% of the throw and I don't put it on a switch it's just always on. The setting in the book are fine to maiden your new plane but they're just a suggestion of the opinion of the guy that test flew the plane. everyone has different tastes so you don't have to do it his way. I like a touchy plane so I maidened mine 100% no nothing. WOW! It took off perfect no aileron trim needed a couple clicks of up elevator and she was perfect. but boy what a hand full.. touchy was an understatement. half flaps was not enough to slow it down so my first landing was a little hot and she bounded and floated in. 6 flights now 50% expo and now full flaps on landing and she is just perfect.

I will be posting up a video of a flight so you can see my speed and flight time so you can choose batteries accordingly; I'm thinking Gens Ace 3300-4000 60C will be perfect.

Blue skies and safe landings

Kenny

Thank you kind sir. I thought my cheap key board typed in invisible ink and no one had a lemon kicking around. This is the same speed i use on the yak-130 70mm and T-45 flaps and they work just fine. The difference is the yak and T-45 have analog servos. I use a 9xer. Full throw and 60% expo. No silly dual rates. Give my full control of my plane or give me dirt! Because that's where its likely headed without enough throw if something does wrong. thanks again. I also had the same issue with the rudder. I used sub trim to center the rudder servo. I lost a lot of throw by doing so. Also the elevator servos wouldn't work evenly so i removed the elevator wires from the main board and put one servo on channel 2 and the other on channel 7 and did a mix. All good there.

[GMB]

hanger: The rudder push rod is the shortest of all the rods. I was able to unscrew the ball link enough to reach outside hole to outside hole. Granted there is not much room left on the threads but you can coat the end of the rod with glue and then screw it on for extra security. My servo is installed the same as yours with the arm forward of center so I don't think that was a mistake. Another fix is to simply replace the ball on the rudder with a 2/56 ball and then use a 2/56 ball link and a 2/56 threaded rod cut to length. The white safety snaps come in 2/56 so simply replace everything with 2/56. No need to punch holes but I see from the picture you already did.

[urrl]

Morning flight Memorial Day. I use velcro to attach my very light vertical stabilizer cam.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Mini-DVR-808...3D180937263580

[TiredIronGRB]

Morning flight Memorial Day. I use velcro to attach my very light vertical stabilizer cam.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Mini-DVR-808...3D180937263580

I love your videos...the owls are a hoot!

[wolpertinger]

Morning flight Memorial Day. I use velcro to attach my very light vertical stabilizer cam.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Mini-DVR-808...3D180937263580

Got to love those Mad Owl Productions.

[Aros]

I wish we had owls! I love owls...

[Porkster]

Another great video urrl, I've had an issue with the flaps as well. Luckily it's only happen once it landed but going from full flaps to up either one or both will stay down? I'll try reducing or removing the slow deployment and see how it goes.
All in all though a great jet with bags of vertical performance. Really like it. I brought my sabre out at the same time and I would still say the sabre is more forgiving but the narrow gear means it's more prone to wing scuffs than the Avanti. I'll never replace the sabre though it's a real looker once up in the sky.

[KC135Driver]

Maidened mine yesterday, flew lighter than the Stinger and I think it's def faster. Sounds real good in the air. Takeoff climbs are impressive. Only few negatives I have are; I don't like some of the slop on the ball links, so I added Allen bolts with washers to prevent ball link from ever popping off. I found the forward section of the fuse to have quite a bit of flex, so I added some carbon rods, and stiffness along battery tray to make it much more rigid. Also, ensure all screws are loctited, and screws into wood are CA'd, all the screws into wood over time could easily back out, fan unit especially as mine were not very tight at all. Spend the extra time going over everything and you'll have zero issues. I always put light weight spackle into all the slots in the foam from the manufacturing process as well, especially along the hinge points, gets rid of unnecessary drag and looks better to. Overall, the fit and finish of this jet is outstanding!!!!

[rpellicciotti]

Looks like you & I have the same issue regarding the Sebart Mini Avanti S on 10s rotating off grass .. Hard enough when it's dry but when wet there's no chance... Totally different story with this Freewing Avanti though.. As you stated no issue at all rotating off grass ... Love this bird .. I can see the Sebart one taking a back seat ..:)

Yes, one thing that helps with the Sebart Mini Avanti is to get the weight aft as much as possible. You want to be at the aft edge of the CG range and get as much weight off the nose wheel as possible.

[Shirty]

Well, popped another 4 flights on the avanti yesterday, think I've got it pretty much dialled in where I like it. Settled on nearly full throws for elevator and rudder, and small throws for ailerons. (She rolls plenty quick on low). Found I needed pretty much full throw on rudder to hold a knife edge with the nose up in high alpha, though the faster you go the easier it is. All my clubmates are jealous lol. Really enjoying the avanti, flies great. :)

[Shirty]

Couple of pics one of my clubmates took on the maiden day. :)

[Aros]

Great pics Shirty! This jet will stay in my hangar for a very long time.

[Grossman56]

I'm with you. I've been very lucky with the last three birds I've bought. The Bearcat, the Tigercat and now the Avanti, all excellent birds. So much for certain banned members slagging them on other forums.

Grossman56

[Topshot19]

How are you guys painting your cockpit? Those of you who are leaving the canopy clear.

[rpellicciotti]

Well, popped another 4 flights on the avanti yesterday, think I've got it pretty much dialled in where I like it. Settled on nearly full throws for elevator and rudder, and small throws for ailerons. (She rolls plenty quick on low). Found I needed pretty much full throw on rudder to hold a knife edge with the nose up in high alpha, though the faster you go the easier it is. All my clubmates are jealous lol. Really enjoying the avanti, flies great. :)

Sounds like your settings and mine are about the same. If you look at the size and shape of the vertical fin/rudder on this Avanti compared to the Sebart ones, this one looks to be a little small.

[xviper]

Sounds like your settings and mine are about the same. If you look at the size and shape of the vertical fin/rudder on this Avanti compared to the Sebart ones, this one looks to be a little small.

It's an optical delusion caused by the color scheme.



Mine's arrived and the pieces are sitting on the table waiting to get tested and assembled. :Goodbye: Nose gear door, as with many others, is warped a bit and doesn't fit right when closed. I'm OK with that. All other parts appear to be in good shape.

[rpellicciotti]

It's an optical delusion caused by the color scheme.



.

I am pretty sure my tape measure is not thrown off by the color scheme. :)

[Grossman56]

Strap it together XV, you're going to love it. It was one of those planes that on the maiden flight (and this coming from a Jet pilot virgin) was just like she'd flown a hundred flights. I had the CG pegged at the Factory settings which put the battery (4000) at the rear of the tray. I advanced it forward about 3/8" without any significant difference, but I thought it might help a bit with the landings. Of course, figuring out how to land a jet might help with the landings as well, it's more like getting used to tricycle gear. Instead of pinning the tail, you raise the nose, the order of input changes slightly. I have no problem with the Tigercat, so I think it's just the idea of flying a jet. I LOVE this plane !!
As mentioned before, I also demonstrated the 'off road" capabilities to the guys at the field as their eyes popped out.
I'm thinking there may be a few more sold to the club in the future...
Can't wait to take her to NEFI, the boys will straighten me out as to landings, who knows I might turn into a jet jock.............hmmmm, no, I love my Warbirds too much, but then....

Grossman56

[xviper]

Grossman, I'm trying. I'm trying! :Whew: The weather here has been unusually fine for flying and with 40+ planes, I'm out every day. No time to build. I'm also fairly meticulous about checking everything out to make sure all servos are working, all gear is firmly glued in and screws in tight, fan spinning relatively smoothly and mounted solidly before a do the assembly.

[Topshot19]

Painted my cockpit! Hopefully there are none alike.