Official Freewing 90mm T-45 Goshawk Thread

[seaviper]

My elevator is actually set up to the high rate value in the manual. I think I said it was 100%. Hope to get some more flights in today and some better video.
It would be nice to see videos of others T-45 flights.

[seaviper]

Experimented a little today with CG and the new slimmer Admiral 6s 5000 packs. Slid the battery back about 5mm or so from the front bulkhead and she was just not too happy. I didn't like the feel of it.
Put the battery back up tp the bulkhead and locked her back in for some good flying. After cycling the new packs 4 to 5 times, she lifted off the grass runway with no problema. Couldn't be happier.

I ordered the inrunner unit for it, but honestly I do not think she needs it. I may see if I can get Motion to cancel that order for me.

[gooniac33]

Maidened the T-45 today! (yesterday now I suppose)

Winds were mostly calm and temperature about 85F.

Stock PNP outrunner, Admiral 6s 5000 50C (new version), FrSky Taranis X9D plus with X8R receiver and FLVSS voltage sensor.

Flight 1 I held the nose on the runway which delayed takeoff and caused an over rotation. No trim required. Felt comfortable enough to do a low pass. Almost hit a pine tree later in flight.

Flight 2 was 2 aborts and a short flight due to a fresh battery that had not been cycled. The battery was quite warm on landing. Changing to a battery with more cycles for the third flight made a big difference.

Flight 3 saw a better takeoff due to proper soft field technique and plenty of power and speed.

I flew the Admiral 6s 5000 all the way forward against the nose gear bulkhead. She required ZERO trim. I could not be happier. Planning to fly her tomorrow and Sunday before the weather goes bad here again.

Super big congrats!! Love this plane but hate the paint scheme...

[gooniac33]

Experimented a little today with CG and the new slimmer Admiral 6s 5000 packs. Slid the battery back about 5mm or so from the front bulkhead and she was just not too happy. I didn't like the feel of it.
Put the battery back up tp the bulkhead and locked her back in for some good flying. After cycling the new packs 4 to 5 times, she lifted off the grass runway with no problema. Couldn't be happier.

I ordered the inrunner unit for it, but honestly I do not think she needs it. I may see if I can get Motion to cancel that order for me.

Nice flight and that field is cool!! The grass is like and arrestor hook on landing. I too feel as you do about the inrunner set up with this plane. I know a few people that have it and don't feel like it is worth the swap. You need to change the timing on the esc to low in order to make the battery last anything near what stock does and when you do that it loses performance. As I stated on the other thread... The FMS inrunner is looking really good! They don't consume too many amps at half throttle but still move lots of air which is what is needed. Gonna keep fiddling.

[seaviper]

You know I just went with the ESC settings out of the box. What timing should I be running on the stock motor?

[gooniac33]

You know I just went with the ESC settings out of the box. What timing should I be running on the stock motor?

With the outrunner I think that it is ok to leave it on default. But when you upgrade to the inrunner there are people that have had issues. It isusually on high timing which just causes it to more amps and heat up. Lowering it helps with amp draw big time.

[seaviper]

Got a couple good flights in on the T-45 yesterday.

On flight #8, the 4,5,and 6 minute callouts are actually 1,2,and 3 minutes. Forgot to reset my timer.

[me109pilot]

Got a couple good flights in on the T-45 yesterday.

On flight #8, the 4,5,and 6 minute callouts are actually 1,2,and 3 minutes. Forgot to reset my timer.

Hey Seaviper your T-45 looks great! I've got mine assembled and setting up the throws. Did you mix some down elevator with the flaps and if so how much for say low rate flaps vs high rate flaps. I'm running the stock PNP setup for now. Any other recommendations or suggestions are welcomed!

[seaviper]

Hi 109pilot! I don't have any mix at all as far as flaps to elevator go. Don't think I need any. I am running 15% expo on the ailerons.
You will find that the T-45 is very easy to fly and to land. In my case I have to get the nose off the ground and let her accelerate out of the grass. I use 1/2 flaps for takeoff. Full flaps + slats for landing. The sound is awesome. Mine is bone stock PNP. If you are flying the new long Admiral 6s 5000, then push it all the way up to the nose gear bulkhead. It's a lighter battery. My old 5000's were about an inch back from that bulkhead. But they were heavier.

I have a video on my channel about the setup I use. Good luck with your first flight! let us know how it goes!

[me109pilot]

Hi Seaviper!
Thanks for the info! I think I'll set mine up identical to yours since you've had such great success! I was going to put the flaps on a 3 way switch and mix the slats in. I'm hoping to maiden once everything looks good and checked twice. I have the big P-38L and love it as well.

[jpjet]

My T-45 went in today after 10 previous uneventful flights. As it reached an attitude of 10 feet the motor quit and all control was lost. It went in as I had no control over power or control surfaces. The plane is basically a total lost with maybe gear and a few other parts salvageable. After picking up the pieces I plugged in the battery that had been fully charged this morning and began to check out the controls for a response. All surfaces responded to transmitter inputs as well as the motor/fan!!
Now, the question is WHAT could it have been to cause this crash. The RX, Battery were working fine in the two prior flights today. The batteries had been carefully broken in with 10 previous gentle 3 minute flights to date. I'm at a loss for an answer and am reaching out to fellow T-45 Motion RC pilots!
Thanks, John

[seaviper]

Sorry to hear that jpjet. I would try running that motor/battery/esc combo on the bench at full power for a few seconds and see what happens. On my ship I use an onboard voltage monitor (Frsky FLVSS) which gives me a visual indication of each cell prior to takeoff and then it reports back to the transmitter. So I have voice alerts for low cell issues. Could have been a battery issue or a connector issue. I would look into my connectors and /or solder joints for the power cables.

[jpjet]

Thanks for the feedback, Seaviper. More discussion with the guys at the field suggests a failsafe issue! And a 2 second lapse is an eternity at low altitude and no control or power! Got the plane back home and again hooked everything up and all systems, fan and controls, worked without a problem. It seems that what caused the crash is a lockout due to going into failsafe for whatever the reason.

[JLambCWU]

I have had two T-45s and both crashed after losing control to apparent brownout with the same Spektrum AR9020 reciever. It’s known to have problems but I didn’t research any of it until the second crash. I regained control of the second one at maybe 20ft it just ripped the gear out. Was able to repair it and fly it again with a new 8channel Spektrum receivers. Flys great now, just a little heavier with wing repairs.

I need to contact Spektrum and tell them I want the receiver exchanged. For now I use it as a test receiver doing ground ops/gear cycling/taxiing setting up new models when waiting for a new receiver.

The T-45 seems to be sensitive to brownout with this and another Spektrum receiver I saw on another forum post. If you have a Spektrum I’d look into it.

[JLambCWU]

[seaviper]

First let me say that I am sorry to see that you lost a T-45. I know what that feels like.
As far as the loss of control goes, it doesn't sound like a brown out to me. The T-45 has a nice BEC that can handle anything it has on board. On the T-45, however, you have to be careful where you put your antennas.

Do you have some way of range checking the aircraft and looking at RSSI numbers?

I don't fly Spektrum any more. My radio is a Tarannis X9D. On my radio I can see a readout of radio signal strength as seen from the receiver. My radio also has a feature where you can reduce the range to about 1/30 for range checking on ground. This allows me to walk out 100ft, check the numbers (usually around 49 to 51db for the T-45) instead of just wiggling controls, then switch back to normal mode. I then know that out to 3000ft I will have 49-51 db signal strength. The accuracy of this test has been proven time and again in the air. I log these readings in real time as I fly. In the air I will get a warning if the signal strength goes below a certain point that I designate. On the ground, I can see maximum and minimum RSSI values for the flight. The range check feature on the Tarannis has proven to be very accurate. But I am sure other radios can do the same or similar thing to help you range check. I'm pretty sure Spektrum can show you RSSI values.

Also, depending on your antenna placement in the aircraft, you may want to re-orient your antenna on the transmitter if you have that option. I know on my A-4, if i rotate my transmitter antenna to the side, then I get a little better signal strength than if it is vertical. It all depends on your installation and transmitter of course. But I would do some tests with the old and the new receiver to see if that is what it was.

[Fraskojones]

Fran,

Ahhh...yes...Costa del Sol. My wife and I vacationed there several times...very beautiful! I made several trips to the Málaga airport dropping off or picking up my wife when she travelled to Germany for work. I could reminisce about Spain all day...I hope to get back there again someday.

Now, back to the T-45. Careful if you fly off a gravel runway. You could "FOD" (foreign object damage/debris) the fan. It wouldn't take much for your gear to kick up a small rock and it get sucked into the cheater hole, then tear up your fan. You may want to consider adding screen material over your cheater hole if you do end up flying off gravel.

Sean

Thank you for the tips. I was thinking of putting something so that no little stones can be sucked by the fun. Because the runway of my RC aeroclub has a gravel runway :-(.

By the way, Sean. I work at Malaga Airport VIP Lounge. Feel free anytime you fly out to visit it, at least to say hello to me.

[seaviper]

Just flew mine yesterday off grass. I got in two flights. It's a wonderful bird.

Recently I had to repair my bird. So I completely rebuilt and repainted her. I replaced some servos, cleaned up the wiring, re-arranged my radio gear for a stronger rssi signal.
Couldn't be happier with her. She flies like a dream.

[seaviper]

Here are some photos of my current T-45. My Mobius went Tango Uniform on me. So no video as of now.

[EDFjetpilot]

Thank you for the tips. I was thinking of putting something so that no little stones can be sucked by the fun. Because the runway of my RC aeroclub has a gravel runway :-(.

By the way, Sean. I work at Malaga Airport VIP Lounge. Feel free anytime you fly out to visit it, at least to say hello to me.

If I ever get back out that way I'll definitely look you up!

Sean