Official Freewing 80mm EDF F-86 Sabre Thread

[Alpha]

Hi Dutchwhite001, I'm glad you like your F-86! That was our first 80mm project with Freewing, almost five years ago now. The A-4 is our most recent 80mm project with Freewing from just last summer, so if you like the F-86, you'll like the A-4 too as it adds several key design elements such as a single ribbon wire harness for the wing connections, larger landing gear, and a more refined power system. That being said, the F-86 remains one of my favorite flyers in the 80mm class. Its large size makes it a joy to fly. I never landed with flaps, just for reference. Keep an eye on your landing gear, especially the mains, as they'll probably be the first point to fail during a hard landing.

You'll love the 90mm T-45 and F-4, also. Keep us posted!

[dutchwhite001]

Finally got my F-86 in the air!!!!! Had to wait for all the rain to quit. Got 4 flights in before wind and storm front moved in. Maiden was really surprising, short roll on takeoff, up quick and level flight. Turns were wonderful, though they can happen fast at high rate. This is really a beauty to fly. First two landings were with extra power and maybe a bit of a long roll out. Last two landings I had a bit of a head wind so added less flap. I wont say they were perfect, but didn't prang anything either. I purchased the A-4, T-45 and the F-4 from MotionRC to add to my EDF fleet. If the others handle as well as the F-86 and construction is as easy, I'm looking forward to getting them all out. What a great plane to fly. Many thanks to MotionRC. BTW, and as a side note, has anyone who owns and has flown the F-86 ever experienced an aileron stall? Last flight I may have been deep into a turn with lots of power, about halfway through the plane departed flight and rolled inverted and out opposite. Anyone ever experience same? I'm at a loss for what it could be. I recovered fine and landed with no damage, and everything checked out okay on the ground.

[scootergenie]

I think the Chinese contact cement that comes with the planes is excellent. I use liberal amounts on both surfaces....press them together, then pull them apart and let it tack up for a few minutes, then press them back together. simple. Of course, be sure to keep a bottle of Ronsonol lighter fluid in your tool box. It desolves the glue, but wont harm the foam, in case you have to remove a part to repair or replace later. you can't do that with foam tac.

[fhhuber]

The glues that come with the models is OK if you use it exactly correctly. Its a contact adhesive with no instructions....

Apply very thin to both surfaces. Let dry till its just tacky. Immediately join the parts.

Its the same glue used for assembly at the factory.

[Oxotnik]

Personally, I never trust the glues that are sent in the kits. I'd rather use an adhesive that I trust. So, I used Foam Tac. Now, I'm confident that the pieces are glued together well.

[PlaneDoc]

I'm ready to start assembling my F-86 and I'm wondering about the glue for the rear fuselage to front. Is the glue sent with the plane adequate?

[Porkster]

No problem, it'll make all the difference.

[Mark 2]

OK thanks I must do that with mine. I’m limited to 4500mah batteries at the moment and even then she needs 20g of tail weight.

[Porkster]

It is dropped down so the battery can sit above it.

[Mark 2]

I have flown mine on a zippy compact 6200mah 40c but its not very nice. A decent high c 5000mah is the biggest you'd really want to go. I normally set mine so with the battery installed but not the canopy it will just sit on its tail and stay there when the nose is lifted, about and inch before the tail touches it still wants to return the nose wheel to the ground. When you fit the canopy the nose drops back to the floor and won't sit on its tail when placed on it.

Is this with the ESC in the stock position or did you drop it down so you could push the battery back further?

[Porkster]

I have flown mine on a zippy compact 6200mah 40c but its not very nice. A decent high c 5000mah is the biggest you'd really want to go. I normally set mine so with the battery installed but not the canopy it will just sit on its tail and stay there when the nose is lifted, about and inch before the tail touches it still wants to return the nose wheel to the ground. When you fit the canopy the nose drops back to the floor and won't sit on its tail when placed on it.

[Oxotnik]

The larger C 5K batts are a very tight fit. I have. CNHL 6S-5K batts and they only fit if I scrape foam off the bottom of the battery hatch. However, my Admiral 6S-5K (50C, IIRC) batt fits just fine. Also, read back through this thread about the CG problems. The suggested CG is too far forward. It's tough on grass to get up to takeoff speed with that CG and the stock EDF. Much les of a problem on a hard surface.

[TiredIronGRB]

Thanks for your prompt response....I'm placing my order now.

I'm looking forward to flying the F-86 and learning more from tips like yours on the forum....

Regards...Bob C..

I love mine, my TiredIron Aviation guys bought it for me to celebrate my year of daily flying so it's a very special plane to me. RCJetDude is the one presenting it to me (it was his idea):Cool:

[RPC]

Thanks for your prompt response....I'm placing my order now.

I'm looking forward to flying the F-86 and learning more from tips like yours on the forum....

Regards...Bob C..

[TiredIronGRB]

Hi....... I'm placing an order today for the 80mm F-86.....I'm currently flying with Turnigy 4000 and 5000 6s 60C batteries.....can someone tell me if these batteries will fit in the F-86 without modifying the fuselage.....please advise.....Thanks.

They should fit, huge battery tray...I run the old and new style Admiral 5000 is mine with plenty of room.

[RPC]

Hi....... I'm placing an order today for the 80mm F-86.....I'm currently flying with Turnigy 4000 and 5000 6s 60C batteries.....can someone tell me if these batteries will fit in the F-86 without modifying the fuselage.....please advise.....Thanks.

[seaviper]

Man I'm sorry to hear of the Sabre going down. I know how that feels. Looked like a stall to me. It was quite slow in the turn. Typical of swept wing birds. Live and learn.
I stalled my F5 at low altitude in a high G turn earlier this year.

[Model jet juggernaut]

Flight from two sundays ago

https://youtu.be/n1xqbKXPUrM

[Evoman]

I know the feeling of wanting to know what went wrong. When it first happened to me in the simulator I did not understand what had gone wrong. But after several stall spins I learned not to bank the F-86 too much at lower speeds or sudden banks and dives that would suddenly reduce airspeed. When ever I get my Freewing F-86 I will be mindful of this tendency and try not to upset it. From what I hear the Mig-15 was notorious for this type of tendency if flown near its stall speed and then banked.
Here is a good video of a Mig-15 flown in the DCS simulator demonstrating this tendency and how to recover.

[Oxotnik]

Evo,
I've watched the video a zillion times. The gear dropping, caused the problem. There's no doubt in my mind about that. When the gear deploys, the nose noticeably drops. I'm now agreeing with you. I think that dropping my gear while in a steep bank, triggered an unstable event. I think that I enetered a spin, as you'd suggested. I was so low and dropped behind the trees so quickly that I couldn't see the plane long enough to stabilize the descent.

Thanks again for the thought/pointer. Even though it's a bit embarrassing to admit to dumb-dumbing, I'd rather know what happened and learn from it.