Freewing 90mm F-16 - Thoughts anyone?

[gooniac33]

Nice video. Thanks for sharing.

Which paint job do you recommend, the standard gray or the Thunderbird?

Thanks!

I almost got the thunderbird... but they both look really good! You can't lose with either scheme

[AZFlyer]

Nice video. Thanks for sharing.

Which paint job do you recommend, the standard gray or the Thunderbird?

Thanks!

[seaviper]

Outstanding!

[gooniac33]

I agree with Gooniac. The old school .91 nitro DF models I flew were great flyers. You just had to keep your speed up and manage your energy.
The full sclae F-16 flies the same. It needs speed since the majority of lift at cruise anyway comes not from the wing but from the body. It's a lifting body design. This is why they have such great stall characteristics,
BTW,,,the full scale birds push for like 310kts ASAP after takeoff. They can fly slower, but they are bricks when they get slow.

I personally would be flying an F-16 now but we have a rather unforgiving field which would probably not be very nice to the Viper. Plus I think I have spent my airplane allowance for the year already.

It is all in the way that you fly it. You do need to manage the energy with the slightly higher wingloading planes. The F-16 is a good example of that. As is the F-104 which many have called under powered when it really is not. here take a look from yesterdays flight...fan was balanced by me and is my best balance job to date...also not that this is the older 1450kv outrunner set up. it is even better with the newer 1550kv outrunner.

[Alpha10]

Hey, I will be the first to say it is a brick but well worth it, you just have to fly it like a brick is all.:p I had three, finally sold my first one but kept the other two. I love flying the F-16, after you get past 20 flights or more you start to understand how to fly it and enjoy it for 3 minutes or more, yes there is lighter and better EDF jets out there but if you love the F-16 like I do then it's a must have.

I can agree with that... I suppose I've just been spoiled by all the other great Freewing models that are far more nimble and light on their feet like the Venom and the 80mm class jets. :)

[seaviper]

I agree with Gooniac. The old school .91 nitro DF models I flew were great flyers. You just had to keep your speed up and manage your energy.
The full sclae F-16 flies the same. It needs speed since the majority of lift at cruise anyway comes not from the wing but from the body. It's a lifting body design. This is why they have such great stall characteristics,
BTW,,,the full scale birds push for like 310kts ASAP after takeoff. They can fly slower, but they are bricks when they get slow.

I personally would be flying an F-16 now but we have a rather unforgiving field which would probably not be very nice to the Viper. Plus I think I have spent my airplane allowance for the year already.

[DCORSAIR]

Hey, I will be the first to say it is a brick but well worth it, you just have to fly it like a brick is all.:p I had three, finally sold my first one but kept the other two. I love flying the F-16, after you get past 20 flights or more you start to understand how to fly it and enjoy it for 3 minutes or more, yes there is lighter and better EDF jets out there but if you love the F-16 like I do then it's a must have.

[Alpha10]

If when you go into a turn and the plane falls out of the sky, that means that you are flying way too nose heavy. Most of the recommendations for CG on the Freewing birds are off. The F-15, F-5 and F-16 fly better when you adjust the CG to a different point. The planes should hold altitude pretty easily in a turn even when modified. My F-15s CG is as far back as possible and it now flies as it should. I will get my friends fave CG point for his plane.

It wasn't that... I was much further back than the stock CG (125-127mm IIRC) and it rotated BEAUTIFULLY.

It tracked great hands off even inverted. It was just too damn heavy. : /

[gooniac33]

Quick question to goniac33: That video of the T-bird F-16 you posted on a few posts....is that modified or stock? Thanks

That one is stock. My buddy and I will be flying today and I will get a video of his Stock Thunderbird F-16 with his fan that was balanced by me. It is an impressive bird when you fly it right...

[gooniac33]

Definitely the difference between scale flying and the aggressive flying that makes this hobby fun (To me)

Even modded, it just wanted to fall out of the sky in the turns at half throttle...

On a hot 8s JF90 setup I maybe got 3-4 downwind passes out of it while conserving throttle everywhere else and was at 2:10 min flights.

I'm glad you're enjoying this one, but for me it was a just a show piece and not a good flier.

It's a shame because it's a GORGEOUS plane.

If when you go into a turn and the plane falls out of the sky, that means that you are flying way too nose heavy. Most of the recommendations for CG on the Freewing birds are off. The F-15, F-5 and F-16 fly better when you adjust the CG to a different point. The planes should hold altitude pretty easily in a turn even when modified. My F-15s CG is as far back as possible and it now flies as it should. I will get my friends fave CG point for his plane.

[AZFlyer]

Quick question to goniac33: That video of the T-bird F-16 you posted on a few posts....is that modified or stock? Thanks

[Alpha10]

The benefit to the higher KV set ups in this bird are that you can move lots of air at half throttle and use less amps. Take off and get up to altitude and then cut throttle to half. When you do this it does allow for 3+ min flights. You just can't be a full throttle jockey. I used the 3674 1700kv set up in my F-15 and it worked great! Just a little high amp draw at full. In the F-16 it works even better! I am actually going to try it out in my F-104 or T-45. Throttle management is the key to it all but yes you can do it. I have done it with every flight that I had with that combo. I too have flown almost all of the models that Freewing makes.... Take a look at the channel in my signature and you will see what I mean...

Definitely the difference between scale flying and the aggressive flying that makes this hobby fun (To me)

Even modded, it just wanted to fall out of the sky in the turns at half throttle...

On a hot 8s JF90 setup I maybe got 3-4 downwind passes out of it while conserving throttle everywhere else and was at 2:10 min flights.

I'm glad you're enjoying this one, but for me it was a just a show piece and not a good flier.

It's a shame because it's a GORGEOUS plane.

[gooniac33]

I was talking about when you go to a 1700kv+ 12 blade setup... It's impossible to get any more than super short or anemic and boring flights when upgrading to even a decent power system.

This plane just isn't a performer, plain and simple. It's a flying brick just like the big Yak.

Believe me, I've owned at least one of every FW EDF they've made and I wish it weren't the case, but it is.

The benefit to the higher KV set ups in this bird are that you can move lots of air at half throttle and use less amps. Take off and get up to altitude and then cut throttle to half. When you do this it does allow for 3+ min flights. You just can't be a full throttle jockey. I used the 3674 1700kv set up in my F-15 and it worked great! Just a little high amp draw at full. In the F-16 it works even better! I am actually going to try it out in my F-104 or T-45. Throttle management is the key to it all but yes you can do it. I have done it with every flight that I had with that combo. I too have flown almost all of the models that Freewing makes.... Take a look at the channel in my signature and you will see what I mean...

[Alpha10]

NO WAY!!!! You can get 3-4 min flights My buddy flies his stock and gets over 3 mins of flying easy. I am gonna have to get a video of him flying. Not to mention all of the flying URRL has done as well. You need to adapt to every plane that you get. With a heavier plane you use momentum to keep the speeds up so that you can make the most of it. The F-104 is kind of the same. You need to fly it a certain way to get it to perform. here take a look at these stock F-16s

I was talking about when you go to a 1700kv+ 12 blade setup... It's impossible to get any more than super short or anemic and boring flights when upgrading to even a decent power system.

This plane just isn't a performer, plain and simple. It's a flying brick just like the big Yak.

Believe me, I've owned at least one of every FW EDF they've made and I wish it weren't the case, but it is.

[gooniac33]

Right, but you're talking what... 2:20 min flight times for even mediocre performance? IDK... It just takes too much power to get going, just like the Yak 130.

It's a shame because they're both BEAUTIFUL jets. If only they were 500-900g lighter.

NO WAY!!!! You can get 3-4 min flights My buddy flies his stock and gets over 3 mins of flying easy. I am gonna have to get a video of him flying. Not to mention all of the flying URRL has done as well. You need to adapt to every plane that you get. With a heavier plane you use momentum to keep the speeds up so that you can make the most of it. The F-104 is kind of the same. You need to fly it a certain way to get it to perform. here take a look at these stock F-16s

[Alpha10]

This is a flight from a couple weeks ago. I am flying my Modified 90mm F-15 and my buddy is flying his modified 90mm F-16 and there are other freewing 80mm F-86s in there as well. My F-15 has a Leopard 4092 1730kv inrunner in a freewing fan running on a 6s 40c 5000mah pack. My buddy is running a Leopard 3674 1700kv motor in a freewing fan on a 6s 5000mah pack. A pretty significant boost over stock but still using the same 6s battery. I need to take a video of my friends stock Thunderbird F-16 as well because the plane flies wonderfully in stock form if you get the CG right! I also balanced his fan and it sounds amazing!! But here take a look at this video... 6s can be made to perform really well if you use a different set up.

Right, but you're talking what... 2:20 min flight times for even mediocre performance? IDK... It just takes too much power to get going, just like the Yak 130.

It's a shame because they're both BEAUTIFUL jets. If only they were 500-900g lighter.

[Alpha]

The Freewing 90mm F-16 was the first super scale jet we became directly involved in. At the time, almost four years ago now, Freewing's only previous super scale jet was the Yak-130 for $599. Which, frankly, was overdesigned and turned out to be really heavy and underperforming for many people's expectations at that price point.. Since then over the past 3 years, we've worked with them to tweak the performance/weight/scale/price factors of their aircraft, amounting to the MiG-21 and A-10. That all being said, the Freewing 90mm F-16 is on the heavier side in terms of wing loading. The outrunner PNP continues to be a huge seller, though. An inrunner improves the vertical, as well. The aircraft's beautifully scale looking but narrow landing gear isn't the best on grass, but for paved runways, the aircraft can land really slowly even without flaperons and rewards a pilot who finds the balance between throttle setting, AoA, and approach speed. I use my throttle to manage my rate of descent, keeping the nose up until the last second.

As Gooniac33 said above, make sure you nail the CG. Smooth takeoffs without a sudden leap, and slow landings with a steady rate of descent, are what you're looking for. Do yourself a favor and dial down your steering rate as well, and don't try to turn after landing until you've bled off lots of speed.

[gooniac33]

The F-16 is great stock but you just have to set it up right. It is just better with the set up that we have used!

[gooniac33]

Here are a couple more of my 70mm F-16 flying with the 90mm F-16 with the setup I mentioned above.

[gooniac33]

This is a flight from a couple weeks ago. I am flying my Modified 90mm F-15 and my buddy is flying his modified 90mm F-16 and there are other freewing 80mm F-86s in there as well. My F-15 has a Leopard 4092 1730kv inrunner in a freewing fan running on a 6s 40c 5000mah pack. My buddy is running a Leopard 3674 1700kv motor in a freewing fan on a 6s 5000mah pack. A pretty significant boost over stock but still using the same 6s battery. I need to take a video of my friends stock Thunderbird F-16 as well because the plane flies wonderfully in stock form if you get the CG right! I also balanced his fan and it sounds amazing!! But here take a look at this video... 6s can be made to perform really well if you use a different set up.