Official Freewing 80mm A-4E/F Skyhawk Thread

[Petronio]

Thanks Hardway!:). Someone recorded my landing:

[RCjetdude]

Shots from NEFI. The one is with Dan Grossman's Bearcat Blue Angel.

[Hardway]

Congrats!!!!!!!!!!! Very cool!

[Petronio]

Had my maiden this afternoon, I had read so much about how well the model flies but you cannot realise until you fly it yourself. Flew beautifully, looks stunning and landed absolutely uneventful, really happy with the model. If I were to crash I would buy another one...

[Petronio]

So I thought I would contribute a bit here after having mounted my A-4 now (nervous for the maiden haha).
As I was mounting the model I found the flap servos were significantly misaligned. After making a search here and rcgroups I found that many ended up trying to mechanically match them or even ended up removing the servo to switch the servo arms.
Here is my approach to match them perfectly with no need to remove the servo:

In the manual you can check which pole of the ribbon cable that goes to the control board corresponds to the flaps. To doublecheck it was right I just removed that pin first and connected the lipo. I then had working ailerons and gear but not flaps..hence I knew that was the flap signal cable. Now solder a connector (either single pole or male servo connector if you have nothing else) and connect that to a spare channel on your radio. (Signal only is enough, they share Voltage and Ground so these are not really required).
In my case (Frsky Taranis) I had originally flaps on channel 6 so I duplicated that channel on channel 7. Now regardless whether the servo arms are not aligned you can program the center point and endpoint so they match perfectly and also the travel will correspond to each other. Lastly I copied the elevator channel and programmed a little mixing too (and also slightly slowed down the deploy of the flaps for a more realistic look).
Hope that is helpful to anyone in the future..

[Ron1950]

wow that formation stuff is a lot harder to do than it looks great flying... where did u guys set the cg anyway?

[dahawk]

Nice Vid !

[Ted7rns]

Wow, what a great little jet. We have 5 flights with the A-4, hope to have more and add a 3rd and 4th jet to the formation.

[dahawk]

Welcome to the Squawk Petronio! Very friendly forum.

[Petronio]

Thanks dude :)! You guys seem very kind over here in this forum and I like the FW products so it seems the right place to be :D

[Hardway]

Hmm you are right..much better to use a high end 80mm unit. Thanks for you input. I just purchased the A-4 a couple of days ago from Motionrc EU.. its great to have you in EU now. Look forward to mounting it! Graphics from Callie :).

Welcome to the Squawk Pet! Glad you are here bro!

[Petronio]

Hmm you are right..much better to use a high end 80mm unit. Thanks for you input. I just purchased the A-4 a couple of days ago from Motionrc EU.. its great to have you in EU now. Look forward to mounting it! Graphics from Callie :).

[dahawk]

Could try the FMS 80. 12B. Must have a different pitch cause it’s faster

[Ron1950]

I wonder if the f86 upgrade fan and 1820 inrunner would give some boost in power? ever though the a4 has a 1850kv out runner

[PikeStaff]

Hey guys...do you think the 8S upgrade unit from the F-4 could be fitted in the A-4? I know the Scooter flies great stock..so might be overthinking but what do you think?

Well, it depends. The Phantom is a 90mm powered EDF - the Skyhawk is 80mm. That 10mm might not sound like much of an obstacle, but you will need to do some detailed foam carving to make the bigger unit work as it should. The cheater would almost certainly need to remain, and possibly require enlargement so as not to need to hack up (enlarge) the inlets. So too would the exhaust end need some modifications, enlarging for the bigger fan. There will be a need for a new ESC, and battery weights/fitments should be considered before making the leap.

All in all, it’s not impossible - just not as simple as it would appear. You would be better off switching to another 80mm fan unit, like a JetFan, and a different motor if there’s some specific change in performance you seek.

[Petronio]

Hey guys...do you think the 8S upgrade unit from the F-4 could be fitted in the A-4? I know the Scooter flies great stock..so might be overthinking but what do you think?

[Boots Whirlygig]

I'm actually waiting on my first set of custom graphics from Callie. Using them on my Dynam Corsair. The A-4 has always had a special place in my heart. Back in the day I actually had a couple of, "Jet Hanger Hobbies" A-4's. Took me the most part of a year to build them, so I will order one of these in the not too distance future. I'm in for the Phantom too. But if I have em, I'm going to really want to fly them, and I just haven't recovered my piloting skills yet. It's not like riding a bicycle. Ya don't use it ya loose it. Seriously!!

Woody

Woody I’m with you buddy. I’ve also got a job that wants me there 24/7, no place to fly, haven’t joined a club, and family obligations, my two aging parents. All I seem to be able to accomplish in this great hobby is make purchases. I have the fms EZ trainer that I haven’t flown since 2017 NEFI, and two Opterra wings. On the side, mostly boxed, the FMS 1400: P-40B, A6M Green, A6M Tan and the FreeWing: 1400 P-51D Old Crow, F-16C V2 (maidened by Ryan at 2017 NEFI) and the 80mm A-4 Skyhawk, F-105 Thunderchief and P-15 parkjets.
in addition numerous edf units, 64mm thru 80mm all from Motion. New airbrushes and compressor and paints and thinners. All of it is just waiting for me to unleash my creativity that’s been bottled up for YEARS. :Silly:

[Hardway]

You will do fine. Just have to knock the rust off a little!! The Corsair will get you back up to speed...:Cool:

[Woodcock]

Thanks Wood! I used a Badger basic spray gun and a Paasche VL airbrush. Graphics from Callie...

I'm actually waiting on my first set of custom graphics from Callie. Using them on my Dynam Corsair. The A-4 has always had a special place in my heart. Back in the day I actually had a couple of, "Jet Hanger Hobbies" A-4's. Took me the most part of a year to build them, so I will order one of these in the not too distance future. I'm in for the Phantom too. But if I have em, I'm going to really want to fly them, and I just haven't recovered my piloting skills yet. It's not like riding a bicycle. Ya don't use it ya loose it. Seriously!!

Woody

[Hardway]

Nice work mate. Looks good! Man I guess I'm going to have to get me an airbrush. Ya know good decal work is priceless, not easy though.


Woody

Thanks Wood! I used a Badger basic spray gun and a Paasche VL airbrush. Graphics from Callie...