Official Freewing 80mm EDF F-86 Sabre Thread

[Eddie P]

Good call Carlos, I know what you mean. The plan was to fly as is then see. If need be, the options are a slightly larger nosewheel (no gear door helps here) then also perhaps one spring loop cut out of the main gear springs, so it sits under weight, slightly shorter on the main gear. Also, the main gear struts are probably slightly too stiff for typical weights anyway so it may be an overall improvement.

this is a great flyer though. Aside from modding the battery bay to allow the pack to go way, way aft for proper CG (aft of the documentation) and a new pilot, she’s a great flyer right out of the box!

[Carlos G]

Hi JohnVH,

When I got my F-86 I was concerned about the canopy attachment. I selected the in-runner version and was worried about the Canopy blowing off due to the higher speed. What I did was to install a sliding latch at the back of the canopy to have a physical lock to keep the cockpit on. I used one from a previous model(F-4 Phantom). Motion also has the latch for sale as a separate item.

I have not had any problems with the Pilot ejecting prematurely :)

Carlos

[Carlos G]

Hi Eddie,

If you change the main gear tires, the stance of the plane will change as well. This could lead to problems during takeoff as the plane will have a nose down attitude. When the plane accelerates to take-off, the increase in speed will cause the plane to be stuck to the ground until the elevator has enough power ( Maybe) to lift the nose up. This causes the plane to suddenly pop off the ground and could lead to stalling. Changing the nose wheel can be a tough thing to do because there is so little clearance inside the wheel well.

To change to larger wheels, the gear struts will have to be shortened as well to keep the original stance. Let us know how it works out.

Carlos

[Eddie P]

Hello Sabre Jocks. I picked one of these up this summer to fly with a buddy who has one. It’s the inrunner version - it’s a sweet flyer in the air. I’m not super happy about the tires on this plane however, they are too small and don't manage uneven terrain well. Was looking to upsize them a bit. I may hog out the wheel wells a little to allow for some old 55mm MiG-21 main tires, for better, uneven surface ground handling. A little bit of silver paint on the hubs will go nicely. I think the nose tire can remain as stock.

[Evan D]

Looks like the metal loop for the battery strap was high on the battery edge maybe not letting the canopy set firmly. It doesn’t take much to negate the magnets or push on the pins at the front and loose a canopy. Been done by many. Doesn’t negate the other quality issues you’ve noted.

To me the Home things are gear related. Glue on the plastic gear pockets and set screws coming loose.

[JohnVH]

Maiden flight fail on my new F86! Fingers crossed this is the last issue I have with this thing!
Don't miss the ending also. haha.

[Elbee]

Here's a recent flightvid from one of my clubmembers.

I2, great video of the F-86. Good to have you posting something again. Thank you. Best, LB

[Icarus the 2nd]

Here's a recent flightvid from one of my clubmembers.

[Jerry's Flying Circus]

I have a like new full cockpit assembly for this airplane available. I will ship it to anyone in the US who needs it for $25. Just let me know. Thank you!

[Gilatrout]

I'm repainting an F-86 I inherited from another flyer. I'm upgrading it to the T33's inrunner power set up and want to add navigation lights.

I can't find any good reference info on the Sabre's light set up. The wing tips are obvious, as is the tail light just behind the rudder.

What I cannot seem to determine is if there is a ventral light or exactly where the dorsal strobe is located. Similarly I'm not clear on how the landing lights were set up.

I don't have access to the walk around book or other decent references, so if anyone has any information to help.

I'm also.looking for an stl of a North American ejection seat. I'm pretty sure I'll end up making something that sort of looks right myself. But if anyone just happens to have one???

Thank you
Teaser

[Elbee]

Evoman good observation, Sir. Best, LB

[Evoman]

Thank you for the ESC calibration, I did not know ESC's could be calibrated.

I bought the 6000 MaH 818 gram batteries because I want to make sure I wouldn't run out of battery for too long, but it sounds like it makes a small difference for the motor I have due to it taking a lot more power to keep my nose up. Ill take a look at getting 4500 MaH batteries, and maybe I can use my 6000 MaH batteries for my F-16C super scale. That plane should be able to fly with it well.

It seems like the original Sabers made by Freewing could be comparable to the real life F-86A and the later variants with the upgraded inrunner motors and ESC would be the F-86F.
It might be better in the long run to just upgrade yours to a F-86F variant. lol

[timmybeetle]

Pilots
For how is interested I posted also here https://www.rcgroups.com/forums/show...postcount=7563

Regards Hans

[Syntha]

Unfortunately with the SMC batteries, my ESC calibration and new balance test, plane still has a very hard time keeping altitude. Might be a defective motor. Not sure if repairs are worth the effort anymore.

[SanExup]

Thanks for sharing that, I am definitely going to swap out to the F5 trailing link. That will be an improvement for where I fly!

Fortunately and unfortunately I have been making some trips to Salt Lake lately and finally stopped at Hill AFB Air Museum. They have such a broad collection. To many great planes to mention in this thread but it's jets of all era's. And some great warbirds and prop planes. From biplanes, to a Mig21, to a F117, to a predator drone. It's well worth stopping if you find yourself in Salt Lake City!

[paulrkytek]

Welcome to the F-86. Unfortunatly this plane has some things you need to learn (either through your own flying it or by the experience of others).

As noted ALL ESCs need to be calibrated. They should be calibrated when you first set up any aircraft and recalibrated if you change set up, receiver, TX set up etc.

The book balance is not right for the F-86. We do a balance test called a tail sit test to get the right CG. To do it put the battery in the plane and put the canopy on. Lift the nose until the tail touches and let go. Adjust the battery until it will stay touching the tail to the ground if you let go. Once set touch the nose lightly and the nose should drop and touch the table. This is a stock plane with stock landing gear. Swapping out the main struts for trailing links changes this.

To get a proper balance many of us have had to reposition the ESC to be able to move the battery further aft. Be careful using large batteries as there is limited vertical height under the canopy.

The neutral positions of the elevators is critical too. Most align them along the line of the horizontal stab and then find they need a lot of up trim. The proper alignment is to have the top edge of the elevators evet with the top edge of the fuselage. I found this picture to show you.

While we are at it also do a good range check on your airplanes and please set a throttle kill switch for safety.

Good points on the F86 Evan. I used the sit test to set my F86 on the stock setup and also had the elevator set as your photo. The Freewing F5 Tiger trailing links have the axle vertical in line with the legs ( see photo below )and do not affect the sit test on a hard table as I tried it with my battery set as in my standard setup. Near as I can measure using my fingers, upside down with gear up this gives me the 195mm measurement so I included it in my post for clarification.( fingers may vary ) The trailing links I have installed do not deflect under static load with the plane all up weight at 2.8kg on the hard level table but they are more forgiving than the straight oleos. Not all trailing links are the same however so those with a more rearward axle would as you say not be good for the sit test .

[Elbee]

kallend Thank you for posting your design. Best, LB

[kallend]

A friend did a gear-up landing into the grass and broke the cheater grill on his F-86, so I made a replacement for him.

I have posted the STL file at https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:5394295

if anyone downloaded this when I first posted it, I made a minor improvement 2 days ago, so it's worth downloading the newer version.

[Evan D]

Welcome to the F-86. Unfortunatly this plane has some things you need to learn (either through your own flying it or by the experience of others).

As noted ALL ESCs need to be calibrated. They should be calibrated when you first set up any aircraft and recalibrated if you change set up, receiver, TX set up etc.

The book balance is not right for the F-86. We do a balance test called a tail sit test to get the right CG. To do it put the battery in the plane and put the canopy on. Lift the nose until the tail touches and let go. Adjust the battery until it will stay touching the tail to the ground if you let go. Once set touch the nose lightly and the nose should drop and touch the table. This is a stock plane with stock landing gear. Swapping out the main struts for trailing links changes this.

To get a proper balance many of us have had to reposition the ESC to be able to move the battery further aft. Be careful using large batteries as there is limited vertical height under the canopy.

The neutral positions of the elevators is critical too. Most align them along the line of the horizontal stab and then find they need a lot of up trim. The proper alignment is to have the top edge of the elevators evet with the top edge of the fuselage. I found this picture to show you.

While we are at it also do a good range check on your airplanes and please set a throttle kill switch for safety.

My F86 is very, very stable flier, however no matter what I’ve done, I need to use about 75% of my elevator servo to keep the plane flying level. CG is measured at 180 cm, exactly where the CG needs to be, but I think the problem is the batteries I use cause the plane to be too heavy. I have the regular F86 80mm, not the performance one. I know it’s not the performance f86, but the plane still flies sluggish and slower than my propeller plane.

I use a 6000 mah HOOVO 6S battery, weighing in at 818 grams, 25 ounces. Should I get a lighter battery? Nothing else has been installed in the aircraft, and battery is pushed up as far back as it can possibly go, and i don’t have any expos on my controller. Any ideas to try and lighten up the aircraft or make it fly faster?

[paulrkytek]

I think I'm going to plan to get the 4500 MaH Graphene V2 ones, they seem to be better than the extreme SMC batteries, performance and weight wise. The 4500 MaH batteries are 588 grams, and I think I'm going to try them in the F16 super scale, since the flight time for those is usually limited to max 4 minutes anyway. People are saying to stick with 4000-5000 MaH for the F16

You might as well spend the money on the FW 9 blade in-runner ( probably the same or less than a battery anyway ) which together with any battery 40c( real 40c) weighing around 720gmsor less will then give good performance off grass. The lighter the better, 4000 mah will give you 3.5mins flight time no problem, just vary your flying speed to give the battery a rest during the flight. My cg is set 195mm back and I use take off flaps.
Also for those who are interested I have just added Freewing F5E trailing link oleos,55mm dia wheels to mine using 25mm long pins. You will have soft suspension with the standard spring and the plane weighing 2.8kg all up incl 715gm battery. Photos below. I would not go any heavier with this set up