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

[seaviper]

My scoot flies just fine out of the box. No need to go and re-design it.

[TomPatton]

I don't remember which one of the Motion guys said as to time in developing this bird. I thought it was 2 years, not sure. But personally, I don't think they would have engineered it into the final model if it didn't benefit it some how... Just my opinion...

[tcatalon]

Home Security by Freewing

[dahawk]

Home Security by Freewing

Holey Moley ! I have a 5 bedroom house but only really use one. Yet I was banned from the house and relegated to the garage 5 years ago because I spilled one little stinkin drop of CA on the kitchen table. Big deal. So what that it burned through lacquer finish? LOL Now I take up about half the garage and of course, that's too much. I share it with box after box of Halloween and Christmas decorations. And displaying planes? Lucky you. I do have one little 50mm edf F-16 hanging on the wall in my office and a Model of the Month plaque.

[Kloverzero]

So, I had the opportunity to take my scooter to the field last weekend for the maiden!! I was so excited, that I defaulted to my normal 80mm battery, the 4000 mAh PRO. VERY UNWISE DECISION!! The plane jumped off the runway (grass BTW), the tail dropped, and I knew immediately that I was in trouble. I managed to get some altitude, and the plane was ultra pitchy, and was acting like a hornet in a cage. I flew it for about a minute to get used to the pitch sensitivity, and headed in on approach. I do not know how, but I made a picture perfect landing with a tail heavy tiger by the tail!

I switched the batteries, and (after my knees and hands stopped shaking) started the takeoff roll again. With the 5000 all the forward, kissing where the board used to be ( more on that in a minute ) she broke ground and a smooth, beautiful climb out ensued. I proceeded to wring this thing out!!! What an incredible flying plane, just absolutely crisp and perfect in all of the maneuvers I could throw at it. 3 minutes later, on final again, another spot on perfect touchdown without touching the flap switch. We did have a 15 mph wind as the maiden was going on, and it steadily increased throughout the day, so that was unfortunately the only flight I got on her.

Now, as for the board. I took the battery board off to run the wires from the tail under it to keep the compartment neat. As I started hooking up the receiver, I wasn't happy with any antennae arrangement I could get in the space that was existing. I took the battery board back out, and there is a HUGE cavity under there. I put a 4 inch extension on the steering servo and the retract, and moved the board and the receiver under the battery board. This makes for a perfect installation. More than enough room to orient your receiver antennae and even add a satellite if you wanted to. I used double sided foam tape to secure the board and the receiver. When the battery board goes back on, there are zero wires in the way, and the whole area is wide open, with no clutter!!!

If you are on the fence about this one, jump off, burn the fence down, and get you an A-4!! You will not regret it.

[xplaneguy]

I don't remember which one of the Motion guys said as to time in developing this bird. I thought it was 2 years, not sure. But personally, I don't think they would have engineered it into the final model if it didn't benefit it some how... Just my opinion...

Alpha stated three year development of this A-4. The cheater is staying in place on both of my Skyhawks. During one of my aft CG test flights, I experience a very low & slow 90 degree pitch up and the stock power system with cheater saved the jet. For me, appearance doesn't trump performance and efficiency. Better to have additional air to the fan in a pinch than not and risk the appearance of your Skyhawk. ;)

[RanGee]

Here are few pictures of my custom painted Israeli A4

[TomPatton]

Looks great, you did a fantastic job!!!

[RanGee]

Looks great, you did a fantastic job!!!

Thank you!

[Starck Mad]

Alpha stated three year development of this A-4. The cheater is staying in place on both of my Skyhawks. During one of my aft CG test flights, I experience a very low & slow 90 degree pitch up and the stock power system with cheater saved the jet. For me, appearance does trump performance and efficiency. Better to have additional air to the fan in a pinch than not and risk the appearance of your Skyhawk. ;)

Yep. Leaving mine alone as well. I know Alpha is a stickler for details and I trust that if there was any way to delete a cheater hole he would have. If he put it there it has to be for a good reason. This thing looks so good anyway!! Waiting on a few extra graphics from Callie and my wife Heidi has a bit more paint work to do on the tail and mine will be done! Callie is adjusting the size of the BU number and the squadron symbol and making a graphic of my brothers name and call sign. Can't wait to show him his plane from his Marine corps days!! I'll post some pics of the finished product next week.

[The RC Geek]

Alpha stated three year development of this A-4. The cheater is staying in place on both of my Skyhawks. During one of my aft CG test flights, I experience a very low & slow 90 degree pitch up and the stock power system with cheater saved the jet. For me, appearance does trump performance and efficiency. Better to have additional air to the fan in a pinch than not and risk the appearance of your Skyhawk. ;)

I hear you, however I noticed no difference in aircraft acceleration with and without the cheater covered. The airplane is off the ground in 150ft or less either way. This is a big model for an 80mm with plenty of inlet area and so I wanted to try it. I've tried it on other Freewing models and seen the performance decrease, so I was interested to see what it would do mostly for my own curiosity. It's all about personal preference. For me, if I can improve the looks a little bit, I will, but it's a small detail that is barely noticed either way, haha!


Chris

[The RC Geek]

Here are few pictures of my custom painted Israeli A4

Beautiful work on the IAF A-4! Gotta love the Isreali camo.

[RanGee]

Beautiful work on the IAF A-4! Gotta love the Isreali camo.

Thanks Chris, I got inspired by you ;)

[TomPatton]

Thank you!

I have to say, I was on the fence as to the Israeli camo scheme or the Lady Jessie, and, well, the Lady won out. Really like the story of the planes history and how it came about...
Almost done. Need to weather right side and apply decals to ordinance and put a few coats of Minwax clear satin verathane on and will be complete...

[RanGee]

I have to say, I was on the fence as to the Israeli camo scheme or the Lady Jessie, and, well, the Lady won out. Really like the story of the planes history and how it came about...
Almost done. Need to weather right side and apply decals to ordinance and put a few coats of Minwax clear satin verathane on and will be complete...

You did a great job with the Lady!

[crxmanpat]

Weathering looks great so far Tom!

[xplaneguy]

I hear you, however I noticed no difference in aircraft acceleration with and without the cheater covered. The airplane is off the ground in 150ft or less either way. This is a big model for an 80mm with plenty of inlet area and so I wanted to try it. I've tried it on other Freewing models and seen the performance decrease, so I was interested to see what it would do mostly for my own curiosity. It's all about personal preference. For me, if I can improve the looks a little bit, I will, but it's a small detail that is barely noticed either way, haha!


Chris

Indeed Chris! That's the beauty of these models, plenty of room to experiment and make it your own. Heck, I may drop a P20 turbine in one. Haha!

Ran/Tom - Great job on your custom schemes.

[TomPatton]

Weathering looks great so far Tom!

Thanks...

[ryramZ]

Great looking A4s guys!

[TomPatton]

You did a great job with the Lady!

Thanks, still in progress...