F117 stealth fighter

[petefoss]

Rule number one of bungee is hook WELL forward of the CG!

[the snake]

I remember when I originally posted about having the F-117 and the SR-71 done up right by motion on rcgroups I really hope it does happen I would seriously buy both of them! I know Tommy says still gator but I don't care, bring on the gators!

[Aros]

Love me some stealthy Gators! (well except in Florida waters) LOL

[T-CAT]

Maybe I’ll have to coat the whole jet in epoxy, sand, then repaint matte black and replace decals. LOL. If not, those jets will cook in the sun in no time.

[Aros]

I've had the F-117 and several SR-71's and while yes it doesn't cook here in the Pacific Northwest like it does in some other areas of the country, I never had any real issues with gatoring. As long as you take precautions (keep in the shade when not flying, etc) it's really not that big a deal.

[tclaridge]

I have always wondered when we will see "skinned" foamies. Just a thin layer of plastic to give it sun resistance to gatering and finger nail hanger rash. Please tell me they are working on it?!?

[RCjetdude]

It is only the LX F-117 64mm but it should be fun. I have always loved the plane. Saw one fly over once.



Such a sinister look..... reminds me of the Nautilus from 20000 leagues under the sea.



I am installing a 12 blade 4S fan.

[RCjetdude]

Goes together fast.



If Freewing could come out with a large good quality one of these in a skinned foam to resist gatoring that would be incredible.

[tclaridge]

+1

[F106DeltaDart]

Goes together fast.

If Freewing could come out with a large good quality one of these in a skinned foam to resist gatoring that would be incredible.

Looking good! I've been reinforcing the gear on my LX 70mm today, and would love to see a better Freewing version. The maintenance to flight hrs ratio has been pretty poor, but it looks really good in the air! Sounds like a leaf blower though, I need to put a 12 blade in sooner or later.

[RCjetdude]

Stink bugs rule! Definitely looks good in the air.

[tclaridge]

That looks awesome in the air. How are the flight characteristics?

[F106DeltaDart]

That looks awesome in the air. How are the flight characteristics?

It is rather strange, but overall flies like a delta. Light and floaty, with rather sloppy roll control. But, if it stalls it immediately goes into a flat spin. Guys on RCgroups say that a more forward CG will reduce this tendency, but I have yet to test it. Takeoffs are easily the most terrifying part due to the slop in the LX struts. Sometimes as takeoff speeds builds, a lateral shimmy develops and before you know it its skidding down the runway on its back.. I'm going to be testing some mods to help this, but its been a real pain for the moment.

[Bearcat]

I had the LX -117 as well, the carcass is still in the attic awaiting fixing or final decommissioning. I also had the SR-71. The Blackbird was whole lot of fun to fly, but I had an infinite amount of trouble from the power system. I originally ordered it from (gulp) General Hobby in a kit format, but it arrived PNP. After not being able to get anyone to answer emails or the phone, I said the hell with it and assembled the plane. It had a bad ESC out of the box. As I had already tried and failed to contact them, I ordered two 100A Red Brick ESCs from (gulp) HobbyKing and put those in it. On the second flight, one of the motors EXPLODED!! Magnets and bearings everywhere. So, I ordered the Freewing 12 bladed fan units and installed them. Now on the fourth flight, one of the ESC caught on fire. I managed to save the plane, but that bird does NOT like to fly on one engine!!! So I then ordered two Mantis 65A ESCs (determined that this was the last money I was putting into this plane) from Motion, and the plane flew great from that day forward. Now there is no good story that does not have a moral, and the moral of the story: BUY FROM MOTION TO START WITH AND SAVE YOURSELF A LOT OF HEADACHES AND EMPTY POCKETS!!!

I am with you though Aros, I want a Super Scale SR-71, twin 80mm...Somebody tell Alpha to find a black that will work!!!!

ODD-- My SR-71 has Don's Wicked 4000kv motors and two HK 60amp escs and I have never had any issues with the power system..
HK does make good ESC's but the key is knowing which ones to buy..

My F-117 is the 64mm stock fan but a 50amp Durafly ESC, the stock one I had issues with that would leave the plane with no power at the worst times!!!!
thought about upping the fan to a 11 or 12 blade unit and see how that would bounce from there.