Official Freewing 90mm F-16 Falcon Thread

[Aros]

Yep, pretty much nailed it. She's a heavy gal but with a good inrunner system she really wakes up. Definitely for advanced pilots.

[Hugh Wiedman]

I just started in EDFs. Got the L39 and had a successful maiden and three more flight directly after that. This is a bird I definitely would want to add, however, I want to be smart about it. What would be the best path from the L39 to eventually get into the 90mm F16? I figured I’d get the 90mm first because my ultimate dream plane right now is the HSD 105mm F16 to go along with the 90mm

You've already gotten some great advice from DCORSAIR , so all you need now is some really bad advice, which I'm well known for providing. So I say, go for it now, you only live once. My first EDF was the F-4 (mistake # 239 but it looked awesome and I had to have one) followed by a 2nd F-4 to repaint in the Blue Angel scheme and then on to a Stinger 90 and then F-16. I have to say the early flights were completely exhilarating, wondering just what new mistake I'd come up with next. My biggest issues were getting used to the speed of EDF's, and of course trying to land at Mach 1. In the end, the "early" EDF's are still in one piece and I learned by the technique of "baptism by fire" (still learning today). I didn't get an Avanti (IMO the best "trainer" jet out there) after 5 other EDF's, but that should have been bought first.

The F-16 with the inrunner (I have the 12 blade 4068-1835) IMO is a thing of beauty! It flies great and actually slows down nicely with a high AOA for landing, if you let it. It loves to get it's nose up in the air (maybe it's just a little emotionally stuck up) when reducing throttle and handles high alpha flight as well as anything I have. Since you are getting experience with EDF's on the L-19, you will have absolutely no problem taking off and flying the F-16, the only issue will be landing. Once you figure out the landing approach throttle usage and elevator controls to come in with the nose up, landing the F-16 is quite easy. I programmed flaperons (primarily to help in take-off on grass) and even minimal flap deflection of about 17mm for landing helps tremendously. So I say go for it and have some fun. I learn as much about repairing these things as I do about flying them. Keeps me busy on a rainy night.

[RCJetFanatic89]

You've already gotten some great advice from DCORSAIR , so all you need now is some really bad advice, which I'm well known for providing. So I say, go for it now, you only live once. My first EDF was the F-4 (mistake # 239 but it looked awesome and I had to have one) followed by a 2nd F-4 to repaint in the Blue Angel scheme and then on to a Stinger 90 and then F-16. I have to say the early flights were completely exhilarating, wondering just what new mistake I'd come up with next. My biggest issues were getting used to the speed of EDF's, and of course trying to land at Mach 1. In the end, the "early" EDF's are still in one piece and I learned by the technique of "baptism by fire" (still learning today). I didn't get an Avanti (IMO the best "trainer" jet out there) after 5 other EDF's, but that should have been bought first.

The F-16 with the inrunner (I have the 12 blade 4068-1835) IMO is a thing of beauty! It flies great and actually slows down nicely with a high AOA for landing, if you let it. It loves to get it's nose up in the air (maybe it's just a little emotionally stuck up) when reducing throttle and handles high alpha flight as well as anything I have. Since you are getting experience with EDF's on the L-19, you will have absolutely no problem taking off and flying the F-16, the only issue will be landing. Once you figure out the landing approach throttle usage and elevator controls to come in with the nose up, landing the F-16 is quite easy. I programmed flaperons (primarily to help in take-off on grass) and even minimal flap deflection of about 17mm for landing helps tremendously. So I say go for it and have some fun. I learn as much about repairing these things as I do about flying them. Keeps me busy on a rainy night.

I like the way you think. And you’re correct, definitely great advice. However the way you just said all of that, really makes me want to at least buy it so I can have it and get it ready to go. Once I have a lot more time on the L39 and get really locked in and more precise with my flying, then I can bring it out. Just figures it maybe good to start with another EDF that was in between the L39 and F16. But I guess you’re right in the sense that you only live once lol. Just a matter of the landing.

[Hugh Wiedman]

RCJetFanatic89 keep working on the L-39 while you're preparing the F-16, then have someone at your field you REALLY trust or an instructor who has good technique and have them maiden the jet and set all the trims up first, that way when you fly it you're not worried about trimming it out first. Then take the first flight going around and coming over the runway maybe 70 feet high and reduce throttle to see how it reacts to slow flight. This will give you a feel of where the throttle needs to be for landing approach and landing, being mindful of how much and when to give it some up elevator to keep it from sinking with the nose up. Then you can pull out of it with some down elevator and increased throttle. Same practice with just about any EDF. If you can get the throttle to a point that it cruises slowly with a slight up nose angle without loosing altitude, your ready for landing approach, where you can keep the same attitude and reduce the throttle a bit more so it sinks with that same attitude. At that point, your elevator is now what determines speed, bring the nose down increases it and raising it even further slows it even more, but don't let it get too high or it will stall.

The F-16 airframe, and I would say the F-18 of the jets I have, get into that high AOA fairly easy, just be careful not to get it too high and leave the flare to about 6" off the ground. Good luck and have fun, isn't that what we are in this for?

[gooniac33]

A better look at my FMS 8s powered F-16

[e4dragongunner]

Was it me or was that a full 4 minutes on a 90 mm F-16 :-) ?? Nicely Done!

[Hugh Wiedman]

Was it me or was that a full 4 minutes on a 90 mm F-16 :-) ?? Nicely Done!

I'm getting 4 minutes on my 90 mm F-16, powered by the 12 blade 4068-1835 Kv inrunner and an HRB 6000, so not surprised gooniac33 with his superior piloting skills and 8S setup is getting that. I've also flown it with the HobbyStar 8000 and get over 5 minutes and frankly the F-16 handles the extra weight with no problem. The weight of the HRB is 824 g and the HS 8000 is only 890 g, so for me it's a good trade off for more flight time. The typical 3 minute flight time on these EDF's is a killer for me because it takes me almost that long for my nerves to settle down and my hands to stop shaking!

[gooniac33]

I'm getting 4 minutes on my 90 mm F-16, powered by the 12 blade 4068-1835 Kv inrunner and an HRB 6000, so not surprised gooniac33 with his superior piloting skills and 8S setup is getting that. I've also flown it with the HobbyStar 8000 and get over 5 minutes and frankly the F-16 handles the extra weight with no problem. The weight of the HRB is 824 g and the HS 8000 is only 890 g, so for me it's a good trade off for more flight time. The typical 3 minute flight time on these EDF's is a killer for me because it takes me almost that long for my nerves to settle down and my hands to stop shaking!

Its easy to do with this plane because it is so requires such low throttle to stay in the air! After those climbs the plane can just dive down with no throttle and still be screaming fast!! I am totally in love with the plane and am glad I waited until just the right power set up came along to liven it up! I am sure that the new HP inrunner will be awesome!

There is also an actual 8s pack that is available now that I plane to get in the future....

[DCORSAIR]

Its easy to do with this plane because it is so requires such low throttle to stay in the air! After those climbs the plane can just dive down with no throttle and still be screaming fast!! I am totally in love with the plane and am glad I waited until just the right power set up came along to liven it up! I am sure that the new HP inrunner will be awesome!

There is also an actual 8s pack that is available now that I plane to get in the future....

See what you were missing this whole time when you didn't have one. I love flying the F-16, had five of them so far, recently sold my last one to get into 800 size scale helis, but when I return to EDF jets again, first one to buy will be the F-16. It does nice no power landings as well, go vertical up high and cut the power and pop the gear out and glide her down to a nice flare landing, just for kicks..........

[gooniac33]

See what you were missing this whole time when you didn't have one. I love flying the F-16, had five of them so far, recently sold my last one to get into 800 size scale helis, but when I return to EDF jets again, first one to buy will be the F-16. It does nice no power landings as well, go vertical up high and cut the power and pop the gear out and glide her down to a nice flare landing, just for kicks..........

I have done a lot of that with this current set up! Blasting up until I can barely see it and then chopping throttle the whole way down. I haven't come in to land yet but love the fast silent fly by after the dive... I plan to take it out to fly this week and will try some different stuff with it...

[C17loadmaster]

I just started in EDFs. Got the L39 and had a successful maiden and three more flight directly after that. This is a bird I definitely would want to add, however, I want to be smart about it. What would be the best path from the L39 to eventually get into the 90mm F16? I figured I’d get the 90mm first because my ultimate dream plane right now is the HSD 105mm F16 to go along with the 90mm

The 90mm F-16 was my second EDF, which I maidened only after flying the F-86 a handful of times. It was pretty straight forward... the only thing I know helped me on the first few flights was moving the CG to forward limit which allowed for much better landings. I used a Flaperons/Tailerons mix when in landing or takeoff flaps. This is the oldest complete plane that I have... I only had to replace the nose gear and gear door once when I misjudged an approach. I impacted the ground on a hillside about 100 feet short. Which ripped the nose cone and gear off, bounced back in the air. I flew it past me with basically no front end before coming around and getting it on the ground

Also, I tried the older generation stock outrunner (terrible) then the 1680kv Inrunner, before using the complete FMS 1900kv outrunner setup. The weight loss made it a whole new airplane. After that, it basically had any scale details I would have made already installed on it.

[Mizer67]

How does this one behave on the newer 8S power system options in terms of flight characteristics? I've flow the 6S version on the older circa. 2016 motors and it seemed very....underwhelming and heavy.

I'd like a good large format F-16, always has been a goal to get one of mine, but the only real options in foam that I know of are the HSD and the FW.

[Hugh Wiedman]

How does this one behave on the newer 8S power system options in terms of flight characteristics? I've flow the 6S version on the older circa. 2016 motors and it seemed very....underwhelming and heavy.

I'd like a good large format F-16, always has been a goal to get one of mine, but the only real options in foam that I know of are the HSD and the FW.

Can't opine on the 8S version, but I will say the 6S version with the upgraded 12 blade 4068-1835 Kv inrunner, IMO performs very well. When I first got it, everyone said the same about the original stock EDF fan that it was underwhelming and heavy, so from the get go I decided to try the upgraded fan, even though it was quite pricy at some $160. I was not disappointed. I fly off of grass and she gets airborne in 100 feet or less and cruises very well at 50% throttle with plenty of punch for vertical and high speed passes. I use an HRB 6000 50C and get just under 4 minutes of fairly aggressive flying out of it. I occasionally also put a HobbyStar 8000mAh battery (weighing in at 900 g) and it still gets off in the same distance and I cannot tell any difference in it's flight characteristics with that heavier battery, but still get at least a minute more flight time. I would love to try the HSD F-16, but they clearly state it is not recommended for grass, so the FW 90mm F-16 is my only option at this point. You can see from the video below that I did with both batteries that it moves nicely. And it does seem to land very smoothly, at least most of the time.

[Mizer67]

Good landings on those Hugh Wiedman.

It does look like it settles in nicely. I have the 1835kv setup in my F-22 and while it'll never be a speed demon, for 6S it does most everything I could ask except it's somewhat inefficient. It is a heavy beast too, mine was over 500 grams. Things to consider. The 1900kv 9-bld Freewing motor in my F/A-18 (that's now in the F-16 too) does well once up to speed, but it's a bit lacking on the low end and in acceleration in comparison to the 1835kv and that's on a lighter air frame.

[gooniac33]

How does this one behave on the newer 8S power system options in terms of flight characteristics? I've flow the 6S version on the older circa. 2016 motors and it seemed very....underwhelming and heavy.

I'd like a good large format F-16, always has been a goal to get one of mine, but the only real options in foam that I know of are the HSD and the FW.

The newer 8s set up works really good! My buddy has one and I have watched his fly on many occasion. What impressed me the most was the new 1650kv outrunner with new rotor though! That was a big improvement in performance over all previous stock options! I thought it was the new inrunner when I first saw it! I am sure that the new High Performance 9 blade inrunner will be even better! My plane is flying with the new FMS 12 blade 1500kv inrunner set up and its better than all of those mentioned before from what I can tell! Its a little work to fit in the plane but totally worth the effort!! It has a much lower amp draw but higher thrust output than the freewing set ups..

[Itgordon00]

I am getting more and more comfortable with this jet. I love the CG at 110mm with gear down.
I will now mix in some up elevator with the gear up. This video shows my landing drills. This jet is about the same size as my 80mm Mig 21 but a lot heavier and carries its energy quite a bit more. Strong winds (15-18 Mph) with occasional cross wind gusts made landing exciting at times.

[Itgordon00]

This maiden video had a CG at 120mm which is ok with the gear up and forward, but when the gear is down and the weight shifts back (plus drag) it became pitchy....After a few flights of testing cg's 125 to 115mm, I decided to push the weight forward to see.. I love 110mm!

[DCORSAIR]

This maiden video had a CG at 120mm which is ok with the gear up and forward, but when the gear is down and the weight shifts back (plus drag) it became pitchy....After a few flights of testing cg's 125 to 115mm, I decided to push the weight forward to see.. I love 110mm!

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.

[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?

[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.