Official Freewing 90mm F-16 Falcon Thread

[Hugh Wiedman]

I took mine up today after adding an afterburner setup and getting CG to 118mm. It took everything I had to get her back on the ground in one piece! It was if I was chasing the jet rather than controller it and boy was it a scary feeling. Felt almost like a tail heavy bird but at 118mm how could that be? Only thing I changed since last flight was the two hitec 85mg digital servos in the elevators and I'm using an S8R receiver with gyro built in. I did not actuate the gyro due to how horribly it handled but just figured I'd throw this bit out here. I did not have any ordinance on it during the flight and didnt dare to put her up again after the first flight.

Not sure what caused that, but I doubt it was tail heavy if you're at 118 mm. That's the book value, if I'm not mistaken, and I initially flew mine there but am now at 124 mm and it handles nicely. I do have a gyro in mine, the AR636 and fly it with full ordinance and it seems to me to be very stable. Is it possible that you have very little expo in and it is therefore VERY sensitive to any input? I fly mine on high rates but am using a lot of expo on the ailerons and elevator, 30-40%, as sometimes my hands shake from being nervous at that tends (after 1000's of flights I just sometimes get hand palsy) to calm the jet down. I know most don't like to use a lot of expo and I'm probably in the minority here, but it works for me and I'm used to it. Started using a lot of expo with my Extreme Flight 3D planes as recommended by the owner of up to 70% in super high rates, but that's a little different than EDF jets. Had a pilot out at our field recently with a new Avanti and he had 0 expo in and he just couldn't control it, the jet was always way ahead of him. Tried to get him to dial in expo but he crashed it before he had a chance.

So what are your expo and dual rate settings?

[dsmithwc04]

I took mine up today after adding an afterburner setup and getting CG to 118mm. It took everything I had to get her back on the ground in one piece! It was if I was chasing the jet rather than controller it and boy was it a scary feeling. Felt almost like a tail heavy bird but at 118mm how could that be? Only thing I changed since last flight was the two hitec 85mg digital servos in the elevators and I'm using an S8R receiver with gyro built in. I did not actuate the gyro due to how horribly it handled but just figured I'd throw this bit out here. I did not have any ordinance on it during the flight and didnt dare to put her up again after the first flight.

[Aros]

Always love your updates Hugh Wiedman always chalk full of good info! As for anyone flying her, I have been flying mine but unfortunately she met a sucky fate a couple weeks back. On takeoff I was in a different location than I normally am and my line of sight was off and she headed for a curb and I had to give max up and she barely missed the curb by inches...Only to meet the welcoming tree in her path. She smacked into it and fell straight down. The nose cone was embedded deep into the soil.

Luckily just the front was damaged. The gear and the rest of her is still intact. However, we don't sell the fuse in parts so I have to try to Frankenstein her together with a lot of spackle, sanding and prayers, lol.

2020 has not been a good year for any of us for obvious reasons, and it hasn't been a good year for me with a lot of jet crashes. I hate when I get in these patterns as they do seem to come in bunches.

I need to order a new nose cone and cockpit and hope I can spackle the front fuse back together enough to where it's somewhat respectable.

[Hugh Wiedman]

Looks like I'm the only one flying this baby any more, but I got another 5 flights in today on my F-16 (this time out used the Wisconsin Fighter Wing livery) along with the same amount of flights on 3 other aircraft. I now have 12 flights on the F-16 using the Hobbystar 8000 mah and it is now official, this is the permanent power source for me. At $180 per battery, they ain't cheap, but as Phantom had recommended, it just fits in and I'm now getting 5 minutes of aggressive flying and landing with 25-30% left. The key is the 12 blade 4068-1835 Kv Inrunner, it has loads of power and extra weight is a non-issue for it. And it does like to fly with the full load of ordinance (actually I like the looks of it in the air). It actually flies exactly the same (if not better for some reason) as it did with a RT 5500 or an HRB 6000, plenty of vertical and gets off the grass in less than 100'. But it is such a pleasure to be able to fly aggressively for that length of time and not have to worry about draining the battery to zero. I got enough self inflicted stress from other areas of my flying without having to worry about a dead battery in flight. I'm flying it balanced at about 124 mm, so I'm not even at the end of the CG range (118mm-126mm) and it still goes into a high alpha nicely and lands nose high easily.

I'm not sure how the battery will perform in the new upgraded "high performance" versions that come with the 9 blade 1900 Kv inrunner. I suspect this fan has less power on take-off, but will ultimately attain higher speeds once in the air, so if that's what you have, venture out at your own risk, cause $180 for a battery is taking a huge leap. I now have 6 of them, so if I had any brains I would have used those funds to buy the new Mig plus a 2nd aircraft of almost any other MRC product.



The smaller 450 mah battery is for a second LED afterburner, the more the merrier.

[Hugh Wiedman]

Always really liked the MRC 90 mm F-16, but after today that's gone to a new level and I am in love with it .

I've been flying it on a RT 5500 or HRB 6000 for the last 50 or so flights but finally grew a pair and put the HobbyStar 8000 100C in it that Phantom had recommended to me last summer (just barely fits, but no foam shaving necessary). I do have the 12 blade inrunner in it, along with a slightly larger nose wheel and flaperons (as I mostly fly it off grass), but that 8000 is outstanding. It is about 80 g heavier than the HRB 6000 and 110 g heavier than the RT 5000, but it actually flew just as well (maybe better) with that heavier battery. Take off distance was the same, about 100 feet (although it even seemed quicker) and had outstanding vertical performance. Landing was virtually identical and went into a nice high alpha orientation just the same.
I was getting about 3:40 + on the 6000 (depending on how many vertical maneuvers I'd put in) but with the 8000, I'm at 5 minutes, flying it much more aggressively and still coming in with 25%-30% battery. Man, you can't beat that on an EDF fighter jet!!!! No more take-off, fly around a bit, do a couple vertical maneuvers and get ready to land. Actually had plenty of time just to enjoy testing out it's flight envelope without having to rush to get the gear down and land.
It's going to be hard not to drop this in the truck each time out. Switching out the tail and nose cone tonight for livery # 2 of 4 so the next time out it's like going out with a new girlfriend. Got a bunch of flights in on the SU-30, Stinger 90, Spitfire and Extreme Flight 60" Edge Demonstrator, but the star of the day goes to the F-16 (The others, except the SU-30, have been flying great for a long time so nothing new there).

[Hugh Wiedman]

Got 6 flights in on my F-16 "Wild Weasel" along with 3 other aircraft. It's been a while since I last flew her, and almost forgot how well it flies and get's into a nice slow high alpha landing. The 12-Blade inrunner I put in is one sweet EDF, plenty of power and a real nice whoooooosh sound instead of the whine of an outrunner. Flew it fully loaded with an HRB 6000 and got 4 minutes of spirited flying. I actually think it flies better with the ordinance, maybe it's just easier to land with it since it slows down nicely.

I want to put that fan in my F-4's and my F-18, but need to hit a small lottery (or raid my kids piggy bank).

[Cape Jets]

A friend of mine just had a sudden impact with the Earth with his F-18.☹ Pretty much a total loss, but the 90mm- 9 Blade- 6S 3672-1900kV Brushless In-runner Motor and ESC are still mint. Tested and both work great. Now I have all the parts from this adventure. I have waiting in the hanger build a F-16 Thunderbird ARF -Plus. I also have a 90mm 12 Blade 3748-1650 out-runner from my F-15 Eagle (updated to FMS 8S system). Love the sounds of the 12 Blade and first thoughts was putting the 12 Blade out-runner in the F-16. After some research looks like most of you guys prefer the 9 Blade for the F-16. I would love to extend flight times for this bird, but like I said the 12 Blade sounds so good its hard to pass on this set-up, Thoughts from you guys who run both would be great... Thanks...

[Hugh Wiedman]

The Thunderbird F16's are for "air demonstration purpose" thus they've had their armament and various other related parts removed for public performance. I did read that they can easily be converted back to normal spec if necessary. That particular model does not carry any weapons, so they are not sold with that package. As for the extra $10 dollars; it likely goes to "Thunderbirds" licensing....

That's an interesting thought, seems to make sense, however, the F-18 "Blue Angel" and the F-18 base grey have the same cost, $499. Wonder why there would be no licensing cost added for that one. I thought maybe the "Thunderbirds" version cost more to make with the painting and decals, but then that would apply to the F-18 as well. Possibly a supply and demand issue.

[dsmithwc04]

The Thunderbird F16's are for "air demonstration purpose" thus they've had their armament and various other related parts removed for public performance. I did read that they can easily be converted back to normal spec if necessary. That particular model does not carry any weapons, so they are not sold with that package. As for the extra $10 dollars; it likely goes to "Thunderbirds" licensing....

You are likely correct, but that licensing fee is more like $60 since your not getting the $50 weapons set

[AirHead]

Anybody know why the Thunderbird version is $10 more yet doesn't include the weapon payload set? I must be missing something right?

The Thunderbird F16's are for "air demonstration purpose" thus they've had their armament and various other related parts removed for public performance. I did read that they can easily be converted back to normal spec if necessary. That particular model does not carry any weapons, so they are not sold with that package. As for the extra $10 dollars; it likely goes to "Thunderbirds" licensing....

[dsmithwc04]

Anybody know why the Thunderbird version is $10 more yet doesn't include the weapon payload set? I must be missing something right?

[rolandh0812]

rolandh0812 Looks great! what are you using to coat the fiberglass, epoxy, polycrylic, or something else? How many coats, etc?

The fiberglass is coated by a special polyurethane. I cannot tell you what exactly it is as i don‘t even know myself :D
i bought it from a special online shop called jepejets. That‘s basically a guy who loves to glass his jets and he tried many different coats etc and knows what is best. I just trusted him and made great experiences with all his products like PU, primers, glass etc. And he is very cheap, cheaper than my local stores :D
i just use one coat to glass the parts, let it dry over night and then prime it once. All the small pinholes that you can still see will be filled with lightweight filler. Than sanding everything down and prime it again. Depending on how good you worked you will need one time filling and sanding or more. At the beginning i had to do those steps 3 times, now one time is enough. It takes some time but i love the results.

[SanExup]

rolandh0812 Looks great! what are you using to coat the fiberglass, epoxy, polycrylic, or something else? How many coats, etc?

[Hugh Wiedman]

I bought a very old F-16 in bad shape and rebuilt it. All parts got sanded down to base foam, after that every single part got glassed with 25g fiberglass. All gaps have been cleaned and then the whole airplane repainted. This procedure gives you a hard and smooth surface, if you make it good there will not be any foam structure visible anymore. It is very easy to clean now, only a wet towel and she‘s perfect again (very useful on gras runways like ours :D)
If anyone is interested in doing something like this too just contact me for advices and so on. I will start doing this on an AL37 tomorrow. Looking forward to the result :D

Looks Lethal

[Itgordon00]

I bought a very old F-16 in bad shape and rebuilt it. All parts got sanded down to base foam, after that every single part got glassed with 25g fiberglass. All gaps have been cleaned and then the whole airplane repainted. This procedure gives you a hard and smooth surface, if you make it good there will not be any foam structure visible anymore. It is very easy to clean now, only a wet towel and she‘s perfect again (very useful on gras runways like ours :D)
If anyone is interested in doing something like this too just contact me for advices and so on. I will start doing this on an AL37 tomorrow. Looking forward to the result :D

Very nice. It looks great in black. I have always wanted to glass a couple of my foam jets but have not gotten around to it. Maybe this winter.

[Aros]

Nicely done rolandh0812 ! I really like the smoothness and clean look!

[rolandh0812]

I bought a very old F-16 in bad shape and rebuilt it. All parts got sanded down to base foam, after that every single part got glassed with 25g fiberglass. All gaps have been cleaned and then the whole airplane repainted. This procedure gives you a hard and smooth surface, if you make it good there will not be any foam structure visible anymore. It is very easy to clean now, only a wet towel and she‘s perfect again (very useful on gras runways like ours :D)
If anyone is interested in doing something like this too just contact me for advices and so on. I will start doing this on an AL37 tomorrow. Looking forward to the result :D

[Itgordon00]

I don't have my F-16 anymore, had 5 of them so far, I really enjoy them and will get another soon, I got back into large scale helis so I sold my EDF jets, but no my elevators at 115 were more like 5 mm, you need up trim if your CG is anywhere 118mm or less, I never used flaperons or tailerons, all miine were flown at the stock settings out of the box, no dual rates and no expo used, the fuselage acts as an airbrake, so when the nose rises when you cut power, hold elevator in the position needed to keep the nose up, it takes practice to get yourself to not let go of the elevator input and ride that cushion of air all the way in, so go up high with a fully charged battery and leave the gear down and throttle back a little at a time until you learn it's slow flight characteristics, then you will see what I'm talking about.

Thanks. We are on the same page. I am still in the early stages of feeling her out. I flew the HSD F16 105 for a few years (with it's 4 second delay on the ESC + 2 seconds to feel the thrust). This Freewing F-16 90 8S is her replacement as her (HSD F16) parts were hard to find and pricey. Having a responsive throttle is a luxury. I did some high Alpha's and stalls (No Video) but I can't remember at what CG. I figure that my next few flights will be testing the stalls etc with 110mm. I mostly did not want to reinvent the wheel with the hunt for the best CG and Elevator neutral. The book and reality often drifted back in those days. I spent days going through the thread and got info overload. (The thread is 5 years old and quite long). I gather that using Flaperons/Tailerons can improve the experience but I want to see if out of the box is doable....so far so good. I will post some more videos when I have them. She is a fun jet to fly!

[DCORSAIR]

Thanks for the tips. At your CG of 115mm are your elevators set at the factory angle (7mm above that fuse underside)? Are you using tailerons or flaperons?

I don't have my F-16 anymore, had 5 of them so far, I really enjoy them and will get another soon, I got back into large scale helis so I sold my EDF jets, but no my elevators at 115 were more like 5 mm, you need up trim if your CG is anywhere 118mm or less, I never used flaperons or tailerons, all miine were flown at the stock settings out of the box, no dual rates and no expo used, the fuselage acts as an airbrake, so when the nose rises when you cut power, hold elevator in the position needed to keep the nose up, it takes practice to get yourself to not let go of the elevator input and ride that cushion of air all the way in, so go up high with a fully charged battery and leave the gear down and throttle back a little at a time until you learn it's slow flight characteristics, then you will see what I'm talking about.

[Itgordon00]

I have flown the F-16 many many flights and have done a bunch of touch and goes with the F-16 and your doing a good job so don't take me wrong, but your approach looks long, maybe its the video not being up close or something, but try slowing it down some on the down wind leg and shorten your approach and as you turn to final pull power back in the turn and when you see the nose rise up, hold the elevator in that position and use throttle more than elevator to control descent rate, you will see that porpoise go away as you come in on final, the F-16 will lock in this approach AOA and it likes throttle burst to control your descent rate, it takes practice and many touch and goes but once you feel it, then it will look and feel right every time. Not trying to sound like a know it all and I did fly mine as well at 110mm but then ended up around 115mm, felt right for me anyway, were all different when it comes to CG.

Thanks for the tips. At your CG of 115mm are your elevators set at the factory angle (7mm above that fuse underside)? Are you using tailerons or flaperons?