Official Freewing 90mm F-16 Falcon Thread

[Alpha]

Question about the elevators. Are the supposed to lock in when you insert the rods into the holes where they attach? The only thing really holding them in place will be the push rod connecting to the servo. There's got to be more holding the elevators in place.

Bellke Two screws anchor the pivot rod into its plastic mount on the fuselage, and the pivot rod's outermost tip (within the horizontal stabilizer itself) is fastened by way of a collar and screw. All these parts are visible in the picture on the spare parts page, linked below. I hope this helps! Since you bought the model used but unassembled, hopefully you're not missing any parts.

https://www.motionrc.com/products/freewing-f-16c-90mm-elevator-mounting-pieces

[Bellke]

Bellke Two screws anchor the pivot rod into its plastic mount on the fuselage, and the pivot rod's outermost tip (within the horizontal stabilizer itself) is fastened by way of a collar and screw. All these parts are visible in the picture on the spare parts page, linked below. I hope this helps! Since you bought the model used but unassembled, hopefully you're not missing any parts.

https://www.motionrc.com/products/fr...ounting-pieces

Thanks Alpha, I've got the collar and screws for each elevator, that's not the issue. It's the pivot rods themselves. I slide them into the holes in the fuselage but there doesn't seem to be anything that holds the rods in the fuselage. I push then in as far as they can go, with the elevator having maybe an 1/8" clearance, but nothing seems to be holding the rods in. They just slide in and out with no resistance. If I turn the fuselage on it's side, the elevator (with pivot rods attached) slides out. Right now the only thing that would keep it in would be the pushrod when it's connected.

Looking at the manual, the 2 "cutouts" in the pivot rod go into the fuselage like something would catch them. But nothing on either side seems to be holding the rods with the elevator in. It just seems like something should be holding it in besides a pushrod.

[DCORSAIR]

Thanks Alpha, I've got the collar and screws for each elevator, that's not the issue. It's the pivot rods themselves. I slide them into the holes in the fuselage but there doesn't seem to be anything that holds the rods in the fuselage. I push then in as far as they can go, with the elevator having maybe an 1/8" clearance, but nothing seems to be holding the rods in. They just slide in and out with no resistance. If I turn the fuselage on it's side, the elevator (with pivot rods attached) slides out. Right now the only thing that would keep it in would be the pushrod when it's connected.

Looking at the manual, the 2 "cutouts" in the pivot rod go into the fuselage like something would catch them. But nothing on either side seems to be holding the rods with the elevator in. It just seems like something should be holding it in besides a pushrod.

There are two small self tapping screws that go into the two holes per side, slide the rod into the fuselage mounts, then screw the two screws in, I usually take a black marker and make a stripe around each rod where the screws sit in the cut outs on the rods, easier to see the black lines when looking into the holes where the screws go to make sure everything is lined up.

[Alpha]

DCORSAIR is right, as usual . The product photo I linked to shows both the metal rod/hardware And the two plastic mounts (that are factory pre-installed on your PNP). One of these plastic mounts is on the fuselage side as seen in DCORSAIR's picture, with those two self tapping screws anchoring the metal pivot rod to the fuselage.

[Bellke]

There are two small self tapping screws that go into the two holes per side, slide the rod into the fuselage mounts, then screw the two screws in, I usually take a black marker and make a stripe around each rod where the screws sit in the cut outs on the rods, easier to see the black lines when looking into the holes where the screws go to make sure everything is lined up.

Thanks DCORSAIR and ALPHA... I completely missed that part in the manual and didn't flip it over to look from the bottom side to see the screw holes. Oh Boy, I've got to slow down and pay more attention.

[Bellke]

Time for another dumb question. I ordered to upgraded motor (Freewing 90mm 12-Blade EDF 6S Power System w/ 4068-1835kV Inrunner Motor). The bottom cheater vent prevented me from just lifting the stock EDF out while it was plugged in, so I had to cut the foam to remove the cheater vent it was so well glued in. No problem fixing it, it's a clean cut and won't be noticeable. My question is installing the new EDF. The wiring leads come unplugged when I tilt the new EDF unit into place. The leads from the ESC stop right at the front of the EDF shroud and the EDF leads are about 1 1/2" from the front when bent around. The frustrating part is the leads on both the old and new EDF are the same length. I'm stuck trying to come up with a way to plug in the new EDF and then rotate it around to insert it into the plane w/o unplugging the leads.

Anyone else run into this that can offer any hints on how you made it work? I'm kicking around making short extensions but that can't be what everyone else is doing. How many people have the right size wire and plugs laying around? The other option I'm seeing is move the plastic part the screws go into. I can rotate the EDF into position but it's about 1" forward of the original one with only 1 screw hole lining up. Obviously I don't want to fly with only 2 screws (1 on each side holding it in) which means I have to cut a little more foam and move the plastic attachment point up because when I slide the EDF back to align up the other holes it comes unplugged.

I can't help but feel that would have been mentioned if everyone was having a problem installing their EDFs. If that's not what everyone else was doing, how did you get it to work?

I appreciate your patience for what will seem like another stupid question.

[DCORSAIR]

Sorry for not making it clear on how to install the fan, the best way is to remove the vent, which you did, loosen both screws holding the ESC wooden cross piece but only take one screw completely out, spin the wooden cross piece out of your way, pull the ESC out so you can now pull it back a little to hook up the fan, but you have to have your fan on top as if your going to drop it in place with the rear tilted down into the opening so your wires are are longer, by doing that it should reach your ESC wires, needle nose pliers work great or hemostats if you can't get your hand in there, reach through the vent hole and hook it up, you may have to remove a little foam where the wires go through the foam channel, now once hooked up, pick up the front of the unit and push back and you should be able to wiggle it in and drop it down, the bad news is, you will damage a little foam doing it but nothing bad if you take your time and not lose your patience, I just removed a little foam where the front edge of the fan hits,makes it easier to install and take it out, you can move your ESC back a little as well to make the wires easier to plug in, spin your wooden piece back around and tighten your ESC back down and glue on your vent, I make it sound like alot of work but in a few minutes you can do it. I have only built like 5 of these F-16 so I have it down really fast now.lol

[Bellke]

Thanks DCORSAIR, I'm pretty much going about it as you describe, I have the fan facing backwards to I can plug the leads in. However when I start to rotate the fan to the correct position is where the problem comes up. It doesn't seem the wires are long enough with the ESC staying within the wooden tray. While the leads to each motor measure the same length, the leads on the original motor (the black housing) seem to wrap around easier than the upgrade motor (the silver housing). Right now, the only way I can get the connectors to stay plugged in is to move the ESC back almost a full inch, but then I can't fasten it down in the tray. It's starting to look like my only option is to cut the back of the wooden tray and remove some foam so the ESC fits flush again. That would allow me to swing the wooden cross piece back in place to hold the ESC. It won't be in the middle any longer, but only on the front 1/3. It should be enough to hold though.

I'm attaching pics so you can see the difference between the wiring of the 2 motors as they're folded back and the position of the ESC when the motor is aligned with the mounting holes.

[Bellke]

And while I ponder how to fix my issue with the upgraded EDF, UPS just dropped off my L-39, the camo version. All is right with the world!

[Bellke]

The joy continues. I decided to cut the wood tray at the back end and remove a little foam so the ESC would fit flush. Have everything hooked up and the new EDF temporarly in. Bound my receiver to make sure the EDF was blowing in the right direction before I buttoned everything up. Didn't want to have to pull eveyrthing apart to swap a couple of the leads from the EDF. After binding, I'm getting a rapid beeping from the ESC. Now to see if I can find what that error code is. sigh.

[DCORSAIR]

The joy continues. I decided to cut the wood tray at the back end and remove a little foam so the ESC would fit flush. Have everything hooked up and the new EDF temporarly in. Bound my receiver to make sure the EDF was blowing in the right direction before I buttoned everything up. Didn't want to have to pull eveyrthing apart to swap a couple of the leads from the EDF. After binding, I'm getting a rapid beeping from the ESC. Now to see if I can find what that error code is. sigh.

That is strange that yours did no fit right, I just went out and looked at mine to make sure I didn't modify my ESC tray, I didn't have to do any cutting on it, but I do remember I did have to bend my wires coming out from the motor a little more to get a little more length out of them, and removing some of the foam where the wires come out of the motor and into the foam channel under the fan, it relaxed the wires when I opened that up, glad you checked your fan before you put it all back together, did that a couple of times and you learn real quick to check it the next time.............

[Bellke]

That is strange that yours did no fit right, I just went out and looked at mine to make sure I didn't modify my ESC tray, I didn't have to do any cutting on it, but I do remember I did have to bend my wires coming out from the motor a little more to get a little more length out of them, and removing some of the foam where the wires come out of the motor and into the foam channel under the fan, it relaxed the wires when I opened that up, glad you checked your fan before you put it all back together, did that a couple of times and you learn real quick to check it the next time.............

Now I know why the leads didn't reach the ESC. The original came off to the side while the new EDF has the wiring coming out the back. That places the wires further back on the new EDF and also has them turning back 180* where the original is only a 90* turn. The pic will give you a better idea. I've lined them up where the fan shroud begins and both shrouds are the same length. It's how the wires exit the motor that's causing the issue of it not being a straight drop in replacement.

Now if I could figure out the ESC, I'd rather not buy one and considering this is a "new" one I'm hoping I can trouble shoot it. I did find what I think is the correct manual online and it says: Trouble - "After power on, motor does not work, such an alert tone is emitted: “beep-, beep-, beep-” (Every “beep-” has a time interval of about 0.25 second)". Possible Reason - "The throttle stick is not in the bottom (lowest) position". I've tried it several times with the throttle at the bottom but I still get the beeps. I even put the original EDF back in just to see. The biggest difference was the beeps were louder and the "stutters" with the fan were more pronounced.

If I do have to buy a new EDF, do you have a recommendation? It doesn't look like the original EDF is sold by Motion any longer, the closest Freewing EDF is the 150A for 8S power systems. Have you heard anything about the Geico EDFs? There's about. a $40 difference between the Freewing and Geico ESCs.

[DCORSAIR]

Ok, you got your throttle wire plugged in to your rx, and you have the BEC wire plugged into an open channel on your rx? Your throttle trim on your radio set to low? If your Futaba you will have to reverse the throttle channel.

[DCORSAIR]

I sent you a message with my phone number if you want to call me about your F-16.

[Bellke]

Ok, you got your throttle wire plugged in to your rx, and you have the BEC wire plugged into an open channel on your rx? Your throttle trim on your radio set to low? If your Futaba you will have to reverse the throttle channel.

For a moment I thought we had it, I didn't have the throttle trim set to low (Spectrum radio). Moved it down but still no luck. The BEC is direct wired into my battery cables as shown on this pic so I don't need to plug it into a receiver channel. I didn't do it, it's the way it came. Makes me wonder since you mentioned it, did some come like mine with the BEC wired into the battery leads and some needing to be plugged into the receiver?

[DCORSAIR]

For a moment I thought we had it, I didn't have the throttle trim set to low (Spectrum radio). Moved it down but still no luck. The BEC is direct wired into my battery cables as shown on this pic so I don't need to plug it into a receiver channel. I didn't do it, it's the way it came. Makes me wonder since you mentioned it, did some come like mine with the BEC wired into the battery leads and some needing to be plugged into the receiver?

Yes, you have to plug the wire coming off of the BEC into an open channel for it to get power, the BEC should light up red. You should have a green ferrit ring, which is a noise filter basically and a male plug on the end of that wire that will plug into an open channel on your rx.

[Hugh Wiedman]

Now I know why the leads didn't reach the ESC. The original came off to the side while the new EDF has the wiring coming out the back. That places the wires further back on the new EDF and also has them turning back 180* where the original is only a 90* turn. The pic will give you a better idea. I've lined them up where the fan shroud begins and both shrouds are the same length. It's how the wires exit the motor that's causing the issue of it not being a straight drop in replacement.

Now if I could figure out the ESC, I'd rather not buy one and considering this is a "new" one I'm hoping I can trouble shoot it. I did find what I think is the correct manual online and it says: Trouble - "After power on, motor does not work, such an alert tone is emitted: “beep-, beep-, beep-” (Every “beep-” has a time interval of about 0.25 second)". Possible Reason - "The throttle stick is not in the bottom (lowest) position". I've tried it several times with the throttle at the bottom but I still get the beeps. I even put the original EDF back in just to see. The biggest difference was the beeps were louder and the "stutters" with the fan were more pronounced.

If I do have to buy a new EDF, do you have a recommendation? It doesn't look like the original EDF is sold by Motion any longer, the closest Freewing EDF is the 150A for 8S power systems. Have you heard anything about the Geico EDFs? There's about. a $40 difference between the Freewing and Geico ESCs.

My recommendation is to stay away from the Gecko ESC. I purchased the F-16 ARF version 4 months ago and the upgraded inrunner along with the Gecko 150 amp ESC. The ESC had major timing issues and every 3rd or 4th time reducing power to zero, it would not engage again and needed to "recycle". Never flew it with that ESC and returned it to Motion and they told me that yes, some of the Gecko ESCs have timing issues, my luck to get one. The only cure is to buy the additional Gecko programming card and reset the timing until it works properly-way beyond my mental capabilities, so I just returned it and replaced it with a Castle 130 amp Phoenix with 5amp BEC , which works outstanding. Added a Castle 10amp BEC for extra safety, but if you stay with the Freewing 130 amp ESC it will work fine with the inrunner and includes an 8 amp BEC, enough for the F-16. The Castle comes without the bullet connectors soldered on, so I was able to make the cables the right length to fit. Others in this thread that have the upgraded inrunner have used the stock 130 Freewing ESC and say it works perfect and is a drop in fit so not sure why yours is not.

If the Freewing ESC 's cables are too short, another option may be to add extensions to the cables, although this requires getting a set of 4mm male & female bullet connectors and some 13 AWG wire, all of which Motion has and solder yourself 3 extensions. I think DCCorsair's "fix" is the most prudent. I also cut a new wooden plate and removed some foam to the front of the fan casing to mount the Castle ESC but not because I needed more cable length, but because the existing wooden plate had spaces in the wrong place to mount my ESC.

Let us know what you finally decide, but spending extra bucks on another ESC seems to be a waste.

[Phantom]

Well I purchased the ARF plus 90mm F-16C T-Bird. Then I placed a 9bladed 6s 90mm 3748-1750kv outrunner. I was hoping by saving a couple of ounces on a lighter setup, 9 blades instead of 12 for a little more efficiency, l would have a somewhat scale flight profile minus full blown aerobatics...

Let me start off by saying, DAMN this bird is heavy! It was heavy when I took just the fuselage, absent of a power system out the box.

I spoke here before about going to 8s... I've got a couple of re-power options coming. One 6s and two 8s...

The current power system, is good for take off after a very long ground roll at 100%, and limping around the pattern at 70% or greater once she's in a clean configuration, anything less results in a descent. I'll keep you folks updated...

[DCORSAIR]

Well I purchased the ARF plus 90mm F-16C T-Bird. Then I placed a 9bladed 6s 90mm 3748-1750kv outrunner. I was hoping by saving a couple of ounces on a lighter setup, 9 blades instead of 12 for a little more efficiency, l would have a somewhat scale flight profile minus full blown aerobatics...

Let me start off by saying, DAMN this bird is heavy! It was heavy when I took just the fuselage, absent of a power system out the box.

I spoke here before about going to 8s... I've got a couple of re-power options coming. One 6s and two 8s...

The current power system, is good for take off after a very long ground roll at 100%, and limping around the pattern at 70% or greater once she's in a clean configuration, anything less results in a descent. I'll keep you folks updated...

I've had five of these so far, I tend to wear them out, put the 1835kv in it and fly it, it is heavy no matter what you do really, the thing is with the F-16, give it a chance and put as many flights on it as you can, move your CG around until you get it right, usually around 118mm-120mm is good, yeah it is nose heavy but flies better I think and landings are so much easier. This jet takes time to understand how it wants to be flown, I take off and do rolls with it as the gear is coming up and it loops right after takeoff as well, I know this sounds kind of strange, but when you watch the full scale demos it actually likes to be flown like that and it is faster than you think, do a high speed pass and pull vertical, that is with the 1835 installed and see, its not bad and you can do a few rolls on the way up, I just love the looks and the gear is nice and scale, don't give up, put some flights on it and get used ot it and I bet you will begin to like it......

[Aros]

Freewing (with Motion's guidance and partnership) have made great strides in improving these EDF jets with each passing year. What I would really like to see in the next generation of EPO EDF jets is improving overall AUW. The 90mm F-16 is a looker but as pointed out, she really needs to go on a diet. It has kept me from getting another one since I bought one when it first came out years back. I think the F-22 and F-4 are great examples of two new gen jets that have the size and looks, but not the weight. In the prop world, I feel the same about the FlightLine P-38. Wonderful model in many ways but the wing load/weight is too high for my preference.

There are so many factors that contribute to heavier models I understand. I can only imagine the difficulty in providing world-class EPO jets with the scale looks and features we love while maintaining a lower AUW. But I have seen many advancements over the years and I am convinced if anyone can do it Freewing can.