Official Freewing 80mm Avanti S Sport Jet Thread

[t33jetman]

WOW, that's some great paint job t33!!
I love the paint off mine, but only in a different way, new fuse and vertical stab and she's back in the air. Can't wait for Muncie with all that runway just to ease her in...……..:Sleepy:

Grossman56

Thanks Grossman.
That's the only way to love these planes properly.

[hotrod23t]

VERY NICE!!!!!

[t33jetman]

And the detailing goes on.
Looks better now.

[Shirty]

That's just awesome. Where's mine? ;)

[Grossman56]

Needs a Blue nose for you Shirty, hey there's a project! A blue nose Avanti

Grossman56

[t33jetman]

[Grossman56]

Pretty slick there T33

[Mach9]

It's been slow going, and here is the left side done. I'm getting there some day.
At least I won't get mixed up with someone else's plane at the field.
I was in the first group to get this plane when it came out, but , I hated it when it arrived. same size as my original Habu. but after a year seeing it sit in the corner, I decided to give it five minutes of my time. I think I love it now.

WOW, that is AWESOME!

[Mach9]

Well, my Avanti #2 ate the ground. #1 died due to aileron horns not properly glued. Lost control for some reason on the final turn before landing. No wind I could perceive but hot. I was at half throttle so I don't think I stalled. Suspect problems are: Radio interference (Highly unlikely at my private field.), receiver or transmitter failure (Also highly unlikely, transmitter has been used on other aircraft since and the receiver "seems" to test good. I have never had a Castle fail but there is always a first.), poor connection somewhere or BEC failure in the ESC. I do know for sure the BEC in the Scorpion spewed radio interference new out of the box and it is the same brand. The ESC W/BEC "seems" to be OK. I have not thoroughly tested anything yet. It was my third consecutive flight, it was hot and I flew mostly at half throttle. Lower throttle settings really heat an ESC. They work best WOT. That may have been enough to overheat the ESC. I may test it with a heat gun. I may never know for sure.

Avanti #3 is the ARF Plus. I used the motor and ESC from Avanti #1. I noticed it has the grooves for the wing fences so I installed them. I painted them black. I was fully prepared to install my horn support plates but noticed the new horns are at least 3 times the size at the base so I am taking a chance without them. The flap servo locations are the same and have not been corrected. They do work fine that way and it would be really expensive to change the wing moulds. They changed the elevator pushrods from 55mm to 63mm as needed but the manual still shows 55mm. This one is more like #1 with the balance spot on instead of #2 which was bad tail heavy for some reason. The servo horns are still off and the only way to really correct that is to rip out the servos and move them. You could wire for separate channels and do it electronically. You can leave them off (throws off the geometry) or have the rods different lengths. They really should have the servos in pockets like the Scorpion. Gluing in servos is so cheap and nearly unserviceable. Then again, the jet probably won't last long enough to replace worn or bad servos. ;) Of course I installed the front strut brace (This is so good it needs to be in the next revision!) with my added back bumper and a bumper on the strut shaft itself. Also added a zip tie and top plate to the front retract as well as the customary spring bungee and glue dabs to the door springs. At this point I am a bit afraid to fly it. Oh well, if you aren't crashing, you aren't flying as some would say.

Overall this is THE BEST foam sport EDF jet I have ever seen! The overall design, quality, performance and size is unbeatable at this time. It has it all.

[Rcfiddy1]

Printed the wing fences and a modified F4 phantom exhaust nozzle with an added lip to glue to back of Avanti. The nozzle does not restrict any airflow.
If you need the fence here is the copy from my stock ply fence.

https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2967164

[JeffinLV]

Hey guys,
I've got my new Avanti 99% ready... one question that I hope isn't too dumb - most guys say they are flying their planes balanced at 110mm - is that with the gear up or down? The manual just says to balance between 105 & 110, but doesn't specify gear up or down and the balance moves forward when the nose gear is up.

Thanks!

[Hemidoo]

I did mine with gear up .... It's a great flying EDF , it's not super fussy i've found so far .

[Twowingtj]

Hey guys,
I've got my new Avanti 99% ready... one question that I hope isn't too dumb - most guys say they are flying their planes balanced at 110mm - is that with the gear up or down? The manual just says to balance between 105 & 110, but doesn't specify gear up or down and the balance moves forward when the nose gear is up.

Thanks!

Welcome to the Squawk JeffinLV and good choice getting the Avanti. The Avanti balances best inverted with the gear extended as that puts the gear weight at the aft most position. I like the handeling with the CG in the 110-113 range. If you are fairly new to EDFs, it might be good to dial the ailerons throws down a bit. Set per the manual, they are a bit aggressive. Best of luck with your maiden.

[xviper]

I think it's all a personal thing as to "gear up or gear down". For me, I prefer to balance it the way I fly it, not the way I take off or land. When taking off and landing, my fingers are already working the sticks (way more and more often than when flying). A bit off the CG at those times is easily compensated for and not noticed when you're working the sticks anyway to get it off or onto the ground.
If I balance it with gear down, it's perfect for take off and landing. But then, when flying with gear up, the plane gets trimmed for neutral flight. Once trimmed and the gear comes down, it's going to be off again anyway. It's a matter of whether you like it balanced for one situation or the other. The only way to get around that is to put a little elevator compensation on a switch - one setting for gear down, another for gear up. It's just too much hassle. Of course, there are planes where it simply doesn't matter which way you choose. This plane is one of them. The difference is so miniscule. Updrafts and downdrafts cause more change and you learn to deal with that with your stick handling.

[Nalby]

I balance mine so that it knife edges with just rudder input, may be a little tail heavy for some but it fly's awesome

[Bajora]

LOVIN' that custom Navy scheme! Cool!

On another note ... I've been watching a couple clubmates practice tandem flying their Avantis for a while now ... anyone who has tried formation flying KNOWS how hard it is to keep them close. And I think it is even harder to manage to capture any decent media of them when they DO get close! :cool::p

Pretty sure I have some raw video of them that I can edit down into something short and enjoyable too?

[Grossman56]

Here's something that kind of back fired on me.
When installing the new fuselage, I thought I'd get one step ahead of the game and line the exhaust with flight metal so when I finally get the afterburner system from RC Geek, I wouldn't have to do it.
First flight at Nefi after the rebuild, I start me take off roll and suddenly there's a strange noise. Immediately shut it down to have a look see.
Turns out the motor blew the tape off the fuse!!
I had to peel it out if the nozzle in a big lump, just grateful I wasn't airborne when it happened.
Something to take note though, you might be better off painting the inside of the exhaust port rather than using tape.

Grossman56

[rifleman_btx]

Paint is definitely the way to go if you ask me. Cause I can surely see this happening again easily

[Hemidoo]

Yes , i had the clear gorilla tape that i used to hold the wires for my LED afterburner ring come blowing out on the 3rd flight after install .... made a wicked noise but lucky all ended up ok

[dkalwishky]

I picked up a used a Avanti, are any of you mixing elevator with your flaps? I also noticed that I can’t get the high rate settings even with mine set up with 125% throw. I can adjust the mechanical linkage if I want high rates.