Just built and flew the Freewing 80mm Super Scorpion. Normally I am not a sport jet (or sport anything for that matter) pilot. I have always flown scale models ever since my first .40 trainer way back in 1993.
But let me tell you, this little Scorpion is nice.
We fly off a cut, yet still rough, grass field that is about 500ft long. The Super Scorpion only used about 200ft with half flaps before she was airborne. The power system provided positive acceleration in the climbout as gear and flaps were retracted.
The sound of the 80mm 12 blade fan cannot be described. It's an impressive plane, both in the air and on the ground. Landings are straightforward and uneventful. She can bounce if you have any appreciable sink rate. My recommendation on the bounce is go around and set-up again. The gear make grass field ops really stress free.
The build went as good as any I have ever had. Freewing has upped their game on this one I think. She built quickly and easily. I did have to glue a seam in the fuselage that appeared to have no glue. Also, the screw-on nose is great, especially if one needs to transport the ship in a small space. But I decided to glue the nose on for more strength. I also had a small issue with the collars holding on the stabilators. I replaced the collars with zip ties for a smooth and secure installation. The collars were binding the stab inside the opening where they mount. I think they were turning on the shaft. Perhaps they are the wrong size. Anyway the zip ties worked better.
I set the controls as per the manual with the exception of the elevator which I set at 50% throw. This worked out to a little more than book value. Flaps are 40mm full and 20mm half. A little expo on the ailerons might be a good thing as she is rather sensitive to roll. I needed some up trim with the Admiral 6s 4000 60C pack located abeam of the intake lips (see photos).
Flight 1 took a pretty long roll on our rough grass field. She needed a ton of up trim with the batttery (Admiral 6s 4000 60C) aligned with the intakes and the stabilators neutral. After some nail-biting trimming while flying against a dark gray overcast, she gave me a near perfect landing.
Flight 2 had the stabilators in the correct position for much shorter takeoff roll, positive acceleration in the climbout, and some basic aerobatics. Landing this time I did get the bounce. Poured on the power and did a go-around. Next time around I got a smaller bounce followed by a nice touchdown.
Flight 1 was 3:18 and flight 2 was 3:04 on different Admiral 6s 4000 60c batteries. The batteries were at 3.8 v/cell after the flight. I think I hit the pattern at like 2:30. She seemed to fly nicely on these packs.
This is one plane that I thoroughly enjoyed building and flying. Overall a real winner!
But let me tell you, this little Scorpion is nice.
We fly off a cut, yet still rough, grass field that is about 500ft long. The Super Scorpion only used about 200ft with half flaps before she was airborne. The power system provided positive acceleration in the climbout as gear and flaps were retracted.
The sound of the 80mm 12 blade fan cannot be described. It's an impressive plane, both in the air and on the ground. Landings are straightforward and uneventful. She can bounce if you have any appreciable sink rate. My recommendation on the bounce is go around and set-up again. The gear make grass field ops really stress free.
The build went as good as any I have ever had. Freewing has upped their game on this one I think. She built quickly and easily. I did have to glue a seam in the fuselage that appeared to have no glue. Also, the screw-on nose is great, especially if one needs to transport the ship in a small space. But I decided to glue the nose on for more strength. I also had a small issue with the collars holding on the stabilators. I replaced the collars with zip ties for a smooth and secure installation. The collars were binding the stab inside the opening where they mount. I think they were turning on the shaft. Perhaps they are the wrong size. Anyway the zip ties worked better.
I set the controls as per the manual with the exception of the elevator which I set at 50% throw. This worked out to a little more than book value. Flaps are 40mm full and 20mm half. A little expo on the ailerons might be a good thing as she is rather sensitive to roll. I needed some up trim with the Admiral 6s 4000 60C pack located abeam of the intake lips (see photos).
Flight 1 took a pretty long roll on our rough grass field. She needed a ton of up trim with the batttery (Admiral 6s 4000 60C) aligned with the intakes and the stabilators neutral. After some nail-biting trimming while flying against a dark gray overcast, she gave me a near perfect landing.
Flight 2 had the stabilators in the correct position for much shorter takeoff roll, positive acceleration in the climbout, and some basic aerobatics. Landing this time I did get the bounce. Poured on the power and did a go-around. Next time around I got a smaller bounce followed by a nice touchdown.
Flight 1 was 3:18 and flight 2 was 3:04 on different Admiral 6s 4000 60c batteries. The batteries were at 3.8 v/cell after the flight. I think I hit the pattern at like 2:30. She seemed to fly nicely on these packs.
This is one plane that I thoroughly enjoyed building and flying. Overall a real winner!
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