Official Freewing 80mm Avanti S Sport Jet Thread

[Shirty]

Nice!

[Aros]

Looks good!

[xviper]

I'm sure these guys are unique ...................................

[Shirty]

Lol, I like his style though. Who doesn't want a hot blonde in the back seat??? ;)

[toyhog]

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.

I had the same problem with the flaps. Speeding them up fixed it.

[Porkster]

I had the same problem with the flaps. Speeding them up fixed it.

Good to know, thanks, I'll try that as soon as I get home.

[xviper]

Re: flaps .................................. I have mine on a 3 second deployment. They seem to work fine. One thing of note, when I first got the plane put together, both flaps worked. The next time I powered it up, one flap did not work. Checking everything, I discovered that one of the mult-plugs in the circuit board was not fully seated. After wiggling it and pushing it down all the way, the dead flap started working. The other plug also had some movement although not as much. You guys might want to double check these plugs. A poor seat could result in a servo not working if deployment is too slow. In any case, I'm keeping mine at 3 seconds.

[toyhog]

Good to know, thanks, I'll try that as soon as I get home.

Also be careful with to much elevator throw. I pulled to much elevator in a loop and it stalled at the top. It shot off in a direction i didn't tell it to go. Reducing elevator input fixed that issue. When i come up with a max elevator spec. i will post it.

[toyhog]

Re: flaps .................................. I have mine on a 3 second deployment. They seem to work fine. One thing of note, when I first got the plane put together, both flaps worked. The next time I powered it up, one flap did not work. Checking everything, I discovered that one of the mult-plugs in the circuit board was not fully seated. After wiggling it and pushing it down all the way, the dead flap started working. The other plug also had some movement although not as much. You guys might want to double check these plugs. A poor seat could result in a servo not working if deployment is too slow. In any case, I'm keeping mine at 3 seconds.

Thank you. I'll just use a y-harness and plug directly into the receiver.

[HellHathNoFury]

Re: flaps .................................. I have mine on a 3 second deployment. They seem to work fine. One thing of note, when I first got the plane put together, both flaps worked. The next time I powered it up, one flap did not work. Checking everything, I discovered that one of the mult-plugs in the circuit board was not fully seated. After wiggling it and pushing it down all the way, the dead flap started working. The other plug also had some movement although not as much. You guys might want to double check these plugs. A poor seat could result in a servo not working if deployment is too slow. In any case, I'm keeping mine at 3 seconds.

I have mine at 5 sec delay & all good.. Definitely check those connections if there is intermittent issues with any servos.. Can't trust a factory worker who has been installing connectors especially at the end of a long day..:)

[Porkster]

Also be careful with to much elevator throw. I pulled to much elevator in a loop and it stalled at the top. It shot off in a direction i didn't tell it to go. Reducing elevator input fixed that issue. When i come up with a max elevator spec. i will post it.

The rates were way too much on all, I like a responsive plane, high rates, delicate stick movements but this was on another level. I have dialled it all down already, but thanks again for the heads up.
sounds like the inboard connectors could do with a little hot glue once firmly seated. I like to do this on the rx servo plugs to body of the rx so nothing can wiggle loose in flight. I could even do the wing plugs just I case as mine will travel complete.

[Aros]

Unless I get a model that everyone unanimously says to go with the recommended throws, I always eyeball my throws on all my models. So far so good. I am conservative for the maiden and then once I see how she is in the air I adjust accordingly.

[T-CAT]

Yep, I eye ball my throws as well after seeing what the manuals recommended throws look like visually on the model. On the first flight, I'm more gentle on the sticks to see how fast the jet is reacting to pitch and roll on either low or medium rates. It's good to be on the safe side with things until you know how the jets reacting to inputs. After the first flight, things are adjusted further to personal liking, so I don't have to worry about accidentally forgetting to put the throw switch where it's needed for a comfortable flight, as all my throws on low, medium, and high will be without my personal liking anyhow :).

[Alpha]

That's a good catch! The window in the wing root is intended to give pilots a view of the connector. The plane is light enough... flip it over before flying and visually inspect the connector. If it's loose, you'll be happy you checked. For my Avanti, this visual inspection is part of my pre-flight check and post-flight check. It has yet to work itself out after a flight, but I'm more concerned that while assembling the aircraft at the airfield I'm distracted by people asking questions and I neglect to firmly seat the connector. If you're easily distracted like me, double-check. ;)


Regarding throws, we provide a High and Low that is tested as an upper and lower limit. If it's too high on maiden for your liking, toggle to low, or vice versa. That being said, as we know, a manual's Throws are all still just a starting point from which pilots can then adjust to their own liking. Let's not forget that while we and other manufacturers provide Throws, that is still just one part of the equation. Expo is purely preferential, and that part is up to an individual pilot. For example, 70% Throw at 0% Expo can feel very different from 70% Throw and 50% Expo. The second half of that equation is provided by the pilot, which is why any instruction manual cannot give the entire picture. For sport jets, we're assuming pilots know what Expo they like. Personally, I maiden on high rates so I can have all the throw possible in case I need it for rotation or turning or bailout or ensuring I have enough elevator for landing. Upon a safe rotation and ten seconds into a flight however, I can tell if I want to toggle to low or keep it on high. From there, as others have said, it's just about refinement to my personal preference of responsiveness in the relationship between throw and expo for that specific aircraft.

To avoid the risk of asymmetric deployment, as a general rule, I personally don't recommend slowing servos. Deploying them at normal servo speed while at a correct airspeed will prevent sudden attitude change. I mentioned this in the F7F and MiG-21 threads, which uses the same servos as the Avanti. Remember, they're not "flap servos" --the servos used for the flaps are the same for the ailerons and other areas-- and yet based on our Customer Service Team data, the lowest common denominator with reported intermittent servo problems on the new Freewing servos for the past ~10 months is that those servos were being slowed by the user's transmitter. We've conducted lots of tests with lots of radios and hundreds of blind samples, and nothing is consistent enough to be conclusive. Our sample size is also tiny... less than 0.0001% of the servos during this time period have ever been reported to have this issue. Still, I don't want my servo to be one in 10,000 that does exhibit that tendency, so... I choose normal speed to be on the safer side.

While I'm here I'll also add that part of our testing regimen includes evaluating how aircraft can fly with only one aileron plugged in, and even to what degree one aileron can be stuck in one position and still be landed by holding opposing aileron. We do the same with flaps. Each model has an asymmetric flap deployment ratio that we identify as safe margins. As an example, the Avanti's ratio is expressed as 1:+/- 19% on low and 1:+/- 22 on high, with the aircraft still being controllable enough to land safely by our test pilot group. Of course these figures are all in case of emergency. But, for peace of mind I think people should know that we do test a wide range of bad situations. We dedicate several aircraft of each new model during pre-production as "Killers". Of course we cannot simulate every possible condition, and of course even if we could, faults can still occur, but our overall goal is to minimize those chances from a statistical point of view. If we're the unlucky one on the bad side of an equation one day, there's always Customer Support standing by to take our call and get it sorted on a case by case basis!

[Btpalc]

I would like to give my AvantAvanti a few layers of minwax polyurethane to protect her. Does anyone had good or bad experiences doing that and what would be the best product to use. I don't want her to change color later on. I'm afraid the white could become yellowish with time if I don't use the right product. I appreciate any advice.

[Beeg]

I would like to give my AvantAvanti a few layers of minwax polyurethane to protect her. Does anyone had good or bad experiences doing that and what would be the best product to use. I don't want her to change color later on. I'm afraid the white could become yellowish with time if I don't use the right product. I appreciate any advice.

Two schools on this one. Some of us are happy with Minwax Water Based PolyUrethane and others insist on Varathane with UV protectant. I've covered a few foam models with the Minwax in Satin and Gloss with no problems. I did have a bad experience with trying to use the Minwax Satin from a spray can. Went on sort of milky and setup that way. So, recommend either a quality brush with multiple thin coats or use an airbrush.
The Minwax WBPU I've used comes in the light blue can.

[Shirty]

Great advice and info alpha. I've always started a new plane with 3 rates, followed by lots of flight testing and experimenting to get it where I like it. I always encourage my students to experiment with rates and expo, as way too many ppl stick to the manuals recommendation like it's set it stone, and may be missing out on a better flight experience. Explore the envelope and see what suits you and your flying style, and the plane in question. You'll almost always end up with a nicer performing plane, (for your preferences), then just sticking to what the manual says - though manual recommendations are always the best place to start. Just my two cents...

btpalc - I've only recently gotten into applying some minwax on my foamies, and I'm a complete convert. Every foamy plane I get nowadays gets a coat of minwax. I like it because it seems to stiffen up and smooth the surface a little, and protects from small dents, finger dents/marks etc. however, I did have the tb f16 go yellow over a few years. But no others. It seems to be a white paint thing in my experience, but guys who have more experience with the clear coats might know better. I don't think it'll be a issue with the avanti, as the white is unpainted. I'm definitely a newbie when it comes to clear coats, but I very much like the product and would recommend it.

[Grossman56]

I have three coats of Varathane on mine and several other planes.
As stated numerous times,

This is what I've been using, basically because it has Some UV protectant in it and I prefer it over Minwax, I've used both btw and both work very well. I've heard of guys saying that the Minwax will yellow over time, but I have a couple of planes that are three years old and show no signs yet.
Just don't leave them in the sun and you should be fine, especially if they're a dark colored plane.

Minwax after two years

Brand new with Varathane.
Up to you.

Grossman56

[toyhog]

I use minwax water based Polycrylic protective finish. Clear satin. I cleared a old model freewing 70mm f-16 eps foam jet many years ago. Way over a 100 flights on it. No discoloring at all. It still looks like it did the day i cleared it. It was getting very dirty so i gave it a sponge bath with warm water and a little bit of dish soap last year. The can is dated 2011. Used it to clear a sky-angle 50mm t-45(little red) last weekend. 6 years old and little red looks good enough to eat. The best time to apply is on a sunny calm morning before the bugs all come out. Three or more light coats. Do not let sit to long between coats. As soon as the milky look goes away,hit it again.

[Aros]

Just got back from some nice sunset sorties. This bird and my FW 70mm V2 F-16 are my two favorite jet girls...But the advantage goes to the Avanti just for being so dang sweet and smoooooooth!