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Official Freewing 64mm F/A-18 Hornet Thread

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  • Official Freewing 64mm F/A-18 Hornet Thread

    Motion RC is pleased to announce the release of the Freewing 64mm F/A-18 Hornet. This is the official message thread to post photos, videos, flight reviews and any questions about this iconic aircraft.
    My YouTube RC videos:
    https://www.youtube.com/@toddbreda

  • #2
    This is an excellent flying plane ! My original one was the 4s version with a 5 blade fan and 3500kv motor. I flew it for 3 years and had a blast ! Always hand launched it and belly landed. She was getting tired so I ordered a new one. Just received it yesterday, and to my surprise it had a 12 blade fan with 3300kv motor. I plan to use the landing gear on this one.

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    • #3
      Well, after 2 successful flights, I must say I'm not very thrilled with the new 12b power system. It takes a lot longer to rotate, doesn't have as much power, and draws more amps. So I'm going to put the 5b from the original one in it. I also drilled a hole in the bottom of the fuselage with a sharpened brass tube to aid in cooling the battery. The old version always landed with a very warm battery, and with the 12b it was even warmer. The sharpened brass tube really works well to achieve a nice clean hole.

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      • #4
        Got the power system swapped out. just waiting on the weather here to re-maiden. drawing 35a, so that should cool things down a bit, and hopefully re gain the power the original had.

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        • #5
          Nice, keep us posted!
          My YouTube RC videos:
          https://www.youtube.com/@toddbreda

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          • #6
            Re maidened today. Got the original power back, and the battery was barely warm after a 3 min flight. A lot of vibration though....must have damaged the impeller when the old one nosed in. I balanced, and changed the edf unit with a new one. will try again this weekend, but at least I know the battery has good air flow for cooling.

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            • #7
              I had the same results with the 12 blade fan. With the five blade fan it was easy to hand launch with or without the landing gear. I purchased the 12 blade fan as an upgrade. On my first attempt to hand launch it stalled and crashed. This jet can take a beating and still fly great! I upgraded to the 3800 kV outrunner. I highly recommend the 3800 kV outrunner and five blade fan.

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              • #8
                I had the same luck with the 12 blade..... switching to the 5

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                • #9
                  can I 70mm fit in this?
                  www.TSHobbies.com
                  Hobby Paint racks and acrylic display stands for collectibles.

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                  • #10
                    My friend has the f22 with the 12B and it's a dog. So what's the advantage of using the 3800 Kv ? My 5B has the 3500Kv

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                    • #11
                      Did you guys who had issues with the 12 blade fan have the Royal Maces version or the Tophatters version? In other words was your motor 3500 or 3300? It appears the Tophatter version comes with a lower RPM motor so it may not draw as many amps and the Royal Maces version maybe they just swapped the fan out and left the motor the same?

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                      • #12
                        I'm confused. Over on RCG watched a video showing easy hand launch and good performance on a 12 blade setup. On this thread"12 blade not as good as 5 blade" whats the difference?

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                        • #13
                          12 blade is inherently less efficient.

                          But, which 12 blade fan vs which 5 blade fan and what motors are used matter.
                          The ESC choice matters too.

                          So you can find a 12 blade fan power system that is more efficient than some particular 5 blade fan power system.

                          The 12 blade allows you to pack more blade area in the same space so you can get a higher peak thrust (again with the caveats of which fans, motors and ESCs are used being able to get opposed results)
                          FF gliders and rubber power since 1966, CL 1970-1990, RC since 1975.

                          current planes from 1/2 oz to 22 lbs

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Originally posted by fhhuber View Post
                            12 blade is inherently less efficient.

                            But, which 12 blade fan vs which 5 blade fan and what motors are used matter.
                            The ESC choice matters too.

                            So you can find a 12 blade fan power system that is more efficient than some particular 5 blade fan power system.

                            The 12 blade allows you to pack more blade area in the same space so you can get a higher peak thrust (again with the caveats of which fans, motors and ESCs are used being able to get opposed results)
                            The one on RCG was flying with the stock freewing 12b 3300kv on 4s

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                            • #15
                              It does not make sense here. The 12 blade fan supposed to have more thrust than 5 blade. So it may not be faster than the 5 blade fan, but hand launch should be easier, and good vertical performance. That is conventional wisdom. Unless the outlet of this F18 is not optimal for the 12 blade fan ....

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                              • #16
                                Size of the outlet is based on fan swept area (area of the circle with the radius of the fan minus area of the circle formed by the fan hub)
                                Generally the outlet should be 80% of that area, with the duct from the fan being a smooth transition from the back of the fan.
                                The foam models are usually pretty good about shape of the duct after the fan. They can often be short on intake area or may have a compromised intake shape to comply with the scale appearance of the aircraft.

                                More often the issue with hand launch is "stalling the fan" This is due to inadequate intake area and/or excess throttle. The fan can only pull in air so fast when the aircraft is not moving. Better intake shape and cheater holes help with this issue, but you really cant completely cure it with a high rpm fan. When the fan is spinning too fast for the air intake the blades of the fan stall, just like stalling an aircraft wing. They quit working as efficiently and are doing more to "beat the air into submission" (like a blender whipping a milkshake) than to move the air through the ducting.

                                The Art Tech F-18 is a great example of poor intake. Cutting and inserting foam wedges to make the scale intakes larger or cutting opening the cheater holes to 6X the molded area can reduce needed paved runway for ROG by over 70%. (with good throttle management to avoid stalling the fan before and after the modification)

                                Tie the tail of the plane to a fish scale. Slowly advance the throttle while watching the scale. At some throttle setting you should see the thrust measured suddenly drop off. Hand launch at just below that throttle setting.

                                You can do the same fish scale test with most models with a conventional prop and find that you can stall the prop. The huge blade area and our normal very high power:weight generally result in the conventional prop still giving enough thrust despite the prop being stalled.
                                Motocalc is pretty good at predicting prop stall for standard 2 bade props and will indicate it in the calculation results.
                                FF gliders and rubber power since 1966, CL 1970-1990, RC since 1975.

                                current planes from 1/2 oz to 22 lbs

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                                • #17
                                  Did the maiden plus 3 flights yesterday in15mph wind. This is the new version with 12b fan. Flew it with 4s 1800 batts. as that's all I had. Started with cg at 80mm, ended up at 70mm. Much happier at 70mm.Got 2 1/2 minutes of mixed throttle, 3.8-3.83 per cell on landing. It does have a thrust line issue, when throttle is chopped it balloons up, hit full throttle and it brings the nose back down. Other than that it's a nice flying F-18. Hand launches easily.

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                                  • #18
                                    4 more flights today. I paid more attention to ballooning, it only happens when throttle is completely shut down. 1/2, 1/4 throttle has no ballooning at all. Makes me scratch my head. I pulled the edf cover off and the edf was not secured, just sitting there loose and wiggly. Could this be the cause of the ballooning problem?

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                                    • #19
                                      Originally posted by Ks.jetflyer View Post
                                      4 more flights today. I paid more attention to ballooning, it only happens when throttle is completely shut down. 1/2, 1/4 throttle has no ballooning at all. Makes me scratch my head. I pulled the edf cover off and the edf was not secured, just sitting there loose and wiggly. Could this be the cause of the ballooning problem?
                                      I think I used the wrong term. It pitches up as opposed to ballooning. I decided to block the cheater hole on the bottom of fuse, made a foam plug to fit opening. Did 3 flights with it blocked. Didn't notice any negative effects. On positive side, the pitch up tendency was reduced significantly. Still an easy hand launch, gonna leave it blocked.

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                                      • #20
                                        Hey Guys, for you folks who are speed freaks like me, try this setup. I can get air born in short grass in under 100 feet, and this thing flies like a complete rocket ship. Upgrade the FW motor with an FMS 64mm 2840-3900, with the 11 blade fan. this is the motor they use in their 64mm F-35. You will need to upgrade the ESC to at least 60 amps, because you are also going to throw a 6S battery in her. With the huge wing on the F-18, the wing load is actually not that bad. The battery compartment is huge and leaves plenty of room to mount a 6S battery all the way to the rear and still leave room for your receiver. I use the gear, which is holding up ok. Landings a little hot but manageable. I will probably add flaps which i already did on my other stock motor FW F-18 64mm. it really dosnt need them but on this 6S it couldn't hurt. Don't waste your time upgrading any of the FW 64mm motors, as they must have an over voltage protection which, because they will only sit there beeping when hooked up to a 6S battery. Even on the 60 amp ESC, they still dont work. So far i have about 5 flights on this setup and if the motor burns out soon, well it will have been worth it. Especially since replacement motors for her are only $30. This thing has to do 125 MPH plus in a shallow dive and is maybe one of my fastest planes, and is a lot easier to fly and land in small areas like parks then the bigger ones which require a club field. the other FW EDFs In my hanger are the 80mm A-10, 80mm A-4, 70mm F-16, 90mm F-15, 80mm A-6, 90mm T-45, 90mm F-104, 70mm F-104, and 70mm F-35. I also fly my FMS F-35 on 6S, and it is super fast as well, but has a smaller wing and therefore higher load making it a real hot lander.

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