Official Freewing 80mm EDF F-86 Sabre Thread

[Evan D]

I shove mine between the ducting and the outer skin behind the cockpit.. odd but works for me.

[Carlos G]

Nose gear problem

Hi all, I have had my F-86 for a while now and the nose gear is not working now. Motion list two types of retract units for this plane but does not identify which is the nose gear. The parts lists shows a type "C" and a type "D". Has some one figured this issue out? Also how does one remove the nose gear when the doors block access to the retaining screws? Fun times....

Carlos G

[xviper]

Nose gear problem

Hi all, I have had my F-86 for a while now and the nose gear is not working now. Motion list two types of retract units for this plane but does not identify which is the nose gear. The parts lists shows a type "C" and a type "D". Has some one figured this issue out? Also how does one remove the nose gear when the doors block access to the retaining screws? Fun times....

Carlos G

If you click on both retracts and read the descriptions, one of them says "rotating shaft pin". We all know that the nose gear needs to rotate, while the main gear is fixed. You want "Type D".

There are some ways you can approach how to get the nose retract out. First, determine if the retract is actually dead of if some other electrical reason is why it's not working. Unplug the nose retract lead from the harness and use a servo tester. If it's not working, then examine pictures of the part itself. The gear doors is a replacement part and you can see a picture of what it looks like on the product page. Also, take a look at all the pictures provided in this thread. There is a "photo" tab at the top of this page. One of those pictures may help you in take the door off.
See the two tabs (hooks) that are at the front lip of the door? You'll need to carefully bend one of the tabs and lift the pin out of the hole. That will get the other side out and you can lift up the door from the front. Now you can peer inside and see how the rest of it is held on and figure out how to remove the whole hinged door.

[Carlos G]

HI Xviper,

After carefully studying the nose gear I did pretty much what you suggested. I found the rotating shaft the strut pivots on had bent back. The strut was binding in the "up" position. I was able to get things apart and straighten the shaft. The gear now cycles okay. I will still order a couple of new pivot shafts along with the "e" clips. I also have a T-33 and it seems to suffer from the same issues, just not as bad.

The shaft is 4mm and due to the flats ground into it for set screws, the shaft seems to bend at the flat cut for the steering arm. Is there someone making these with better material?

Thank you for the info.

Carlos G

[xviper]

If you have a friend with a metal lathe, he could make a couple for you out of hardened steel rods. Other than this, having extra shafts on hand is the only way. Additionally, you now know that if you thump down hard on the nose gear after a landing, that shaft will bend. Therefore, after such a landing, look at the strut and bend it straight before it binds up the next time.

[Pete914]

What are the longest flight times (and which packs?) you all are getting with your Sabres? I'm trying to set up an FPV jet platform and I would like at least 6-minutes at moderate throttle. Does this beautiful jet cruise at partial throttle?

[Evan D]

With the current inrunner version on a 5200 my timer is 5 minutes. I stick to that when not FPV and usually will go over a half minute or more when flying it FPV.

It cruises great at partial throttle.

[rifleman_btx]

That sound spot on, as I make around 4 minutes on 4000 packs.

[Pete914]

Thanks guys. Hard to pick which jet to use!?

[Laury415]

After fixing the flap servos the jet now flies really well and lands at a decent slow speed, but unfortunately the nose retract is just too small and weak for this size plane. Even though I've had some almost perfect landings the nose retract collapses and the retract case develops cracks that eventually cause the retract to not work. This is the second retract I had and the same thing occurred even though I've been landing pretty good on a paved runway.

I got tired of the front nose retract constantly failing so I changed it. I decided to install a new larger retract. I went with one that is just slightly bigger and seems to be a standard size. It did take quite a bit of work to make it fit but I'm happy with the outcome. I've attached three pictures. One shows the modification I did to open up the pocket, and the other 2 show the retract installed both up and down.

To make this work I had to remove material to accommodate the slightly larger retract housing. There is plenty of material to work with so I wasn't concerned about the structural integrity. I also had to make a new pin shaft, and a new linkage for the front gear door. In addition I was very surprised that the original retracts are configured reverse of every other retract I have. I'm not sure if that was done on purpose to get you to buy Freewing or if it was just carelessness. Because of this I now have the nose retract on its own channel so it works in unison with the main retracts.

Overall I do like this jet a lot but I'm very disappointed in the crap that Freewing puts in (bad flap servos, bad nose retract). Prices keep creeping up and you'd think for the price we're paying we would get good components and not have to replace with something different.

[Evan D]

Answered in the other forum...

[rifleman_btx]

If you want to talk about shady retracts, look at the flex inovations F100. That nose gear is was too small for a 90mm fan unit. Bends way too easily on grass fields.

[SanExup]

Laury415 Which retract unit did you use as a replacement?

[Laury415]

Laury415 Which retract unit did you use as a replacement?

It was one I had in my spare parts. It was a couple mm wider then the original, and built stronger.

I think this one will work: flight-model.com, PZ-15090SN
total price with shipping to the US is less then the original replacement from Motion RC.

I had a couple flights with it today, worked great.

[socalengineer]

What are the longest flight times (and which packs?) you all are getting with your Sabres? I'm trying to set up an FPV jet platform and I would like at least 6-minutes at moderate throttle. Does this beautiful jet cruise at partial throttle?

Well if you fly FPV, you have added weight from the FPV gear so keep that in mind. I fly with a 4000 pack and get 3-3:30.

[socalengineer]

ob1 i installed the flightline hp 1920 fan and fly it off grass with no problem its really a powerfull 9b fan

Could you link to this fan?

[socalengineer]

What is the best option for upgraded landing gear? My tires developed flat spots, and the nose gear and main gears have all crapped out on me at least once (probably some hard landings ;).

[Evan D]

On Motions site there is a search window. Type 1920 and enter and it comes up. Here is a link.

Freewing 80mm 9-Blade EDF Power System w/3658-1920Kv Inrunner Motor [E72313] Motion RC

Could you link to this fan?

[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

[socalengineer]

On Motions site there is a search window. Type 1920 and enter and it comes up. Here is a link.

Freewing 80mm 9-Blade EDF Power System w/3658-1920Kv Inrunner Motor [E72313] Motion RC

Got it... I already bought mine with the upgraded power system so I think this should be in mine already...