Official Freewing 90mm F-4 Phantom II Thread

[Evan D]

Yes, good news. 👍

[locharrow]

Took off on an empty park and this is what confronted me coming in!! About five dog walkers and their dogs. Wouldn't be so bad if there was not a doggy trail all round the perimeter that they are supposed to use!!

[Evan D]

Looks like a public park with soccer fields... we have a special use (for model aircraft, only park where anything can be flown in the county) park here and get dog walkers walking down our paved runway yelling obscenities and that they pay taxes...

[locharrow]

Looks like a public park with soccer fields... we have a special use (for model aircraft, only park where anything can be flown in the county) park here and get dog walkers walking down our paved runway yelling obscenities and that they pay taxes...

It's actually the school playing field but the schools are shut. The doggy path is signposted but it seems most dog owners are blind and some are definitely stupid. A pair of them walked in front of me while I was bringing it down to land.It was only about 3ft above them ....

[The43rdHammer]

Just finishing off painting my phantom in No43 squadron RAF leauchars, Scotland 1974,


In memory of my first airshows here in scotland

My favourite scheme ... I have a Skymaster F-4 in XT874J ... I'd pay money to have you do mine, what an amazing job you've done!

[BenAtkinsonUK]

BA, Very glad to read you are getting back on the horse that threw you. It is really a superb flying model and simply beautiful in the air and on the ground. Post pics and thoughts as you rebuild her. All the best, LB

Absolutely ...I'm weirdly looking forward to the process. I've only ever totalled 3 models. This being the 3rd. The first I splatted into a lamppost! Ha. Though at least I knew what caused the issue. I won't rush this...I will do a lots of testing and will update my progress.
So far..

- Plane successfully dismantled (including glued bits)
- THE MULTI BURNER arrived as is working
- Servos tested (the elevator control rod was a little bent which worried me what that might have done to the servo but I've run that on a servo tester for a while and seems fine!!)

- Ordered control rods, new steering servo, fuse, nose cone and cockpit (I tried to repair original but was so tatty....I'll use that for the first flight tho!)
- I've also ordered a satellite RX (will test without to make sure im not masking a problem)
- and ordered ferrite reducers as recommend on this thread

The power system seems very good indeed on ground testing. Though maybe a little slow to spool up as I've mentioned previously but that doesn't seem to be an issue.

Hopefully update you next week

Ben

[GliderGuy]

Absolutely ...I'm weirdly looking forward to the process. I've only ever totalled 3 models. This being the 3rd. The first I splatted into a lamppost! Ha. Though at least I knew what caused the issue. I won't rush this...I will do a lots of testing and will update my progress.
So far..

- Plane successfully dismantled (including glued bits)
- THE MULTI BURNER arrived as is working
- Servos tested (the elevator control rod was a little bent which worried me what that might have done to the servo but I've run that on a servo tester for a while and seems fine!!)

- Ordered control rods, new steering servo, fuse, nose cone and cockpit (I tried to repair original but was so tatty....I'll use that for the first flight tho!)
- I've also ordered a satellite RX (will test without to make sure im not masking a problem)
- and ordered ferrite reducers as recommend on this thread

The power system seems very good indeed on ground testing. Though maybe a little slow to spool up as I've mentioned previously but that doesn't seem to be an issue.

Hopefully update you next week

Ben

Hi Ben,
I posted this in the past. Reposting for your consideration. Some of this is NOT applicable to you, but it is probably worth your time to read.

Good luck,
-GG

===
Take heed of the below, and you will VERY MUCH enjoy your F-4! I've ordered 3 of them (crashed 2 of them). The below will help you avoid the things that caused my 2 crashes. Bird #3 has been flying over a year with hundreds of flights on it:

• As a beginner EDF pilot, it is strongly suggested that you have an experienced EDF pilot do the maiden flights. The bird typically has a tendency to roll left after lift off. I set mine up by the book (no expo), and I am satisfied with the handling and response after I added some right aileron trim to account for the left roll tendency.
• The critical set-up is the amount of elevator/flap mixing....don't overdo this mixing.
• Ensure both elevators are aligned as the same angle each side and verify the amount of nose-up when the stick is neutral (nose up = leading edge of the elevator is down. Set this amount by the book.).
• Double check that the elevator servo is securely glued in. Some folks remove the elevator servo and add a bit of plywood around it then screw it to the plywood. I crashed bird #1 because the elevator servo came out of the socket (there was no glue in the socket...factory QC and I missed that one). Luckily, the crash damage was repairable.
• The elevator push rod and ball link have a propensity for breaking/bending which will cause a fatal crash. I have updated to a 4-40 threaded push rod and automotive grade/beefy ball link for the elevator. I lost the F-4 (#1 bird's second crash) because the elevator ball link broke.
  • If you don't want to wait, at least epoxy some carbon fiber tubing to the push rod and add some layers of hot glue to the outside edges of ball link structure to strengthen it and fill the "Y" gap in the ball link with hot glue (this is where it breaks). Also, put some heat shrink tubing around the servo arm end's white plastic retainer clip. This white clip can break and/or bend under flight stress and allow the push rod to disengage from the elevator servo arm.
    • Lots of stress on this elevator push rod during flight...so it seems and so others have reported in this blog.
  • If you lift the nose and smack the elevators on the ground, you can cause the servo arm's plastic teeth to slip on the servo actuator. I put a dot on the fuselage at the leading edge of the elevator so I can visually check the alignment prior to each flight. Also, any smack on the tail when loading/unloading can cause this to happen. I can tell you by experience, slipped teeth on the elevator servo arm will make your next take-off very EXCITING!
• Balance it by the book
• Order some extra Freewing 80/90mm EDF Nose Landing Gear Connecting Pin / you'll need these as they break on hard landings
  • On bird #3, I added a small steel skid plate to the bottom of the under-nose radome.
• Approach on final with a tiny bit of power then ease the power off once in ground effect....be prepared that if you chop the power the nose will drop. Chop the power close to the ground and things get interesting until you get used to this characteristic. Ease off the power as you enter ground effect.
• Add some hot-glue striping to the main landing gear doors (add this where it does not interfere with the fit of the gear door against the wing). Failure to do this will have you picking up pieces of the gear doors after a hard landing. The hot glue striping can be added to the "inside" of the gear door, if you are careful and pay attention to the gear closure fit. Or...put the hot glue on the outside of the door and not worry about where you put it.
• Check each/every control horn attachment to ensure they are securely glued to the control surface. Put some pressure on them. If you find an insecure control horn, add some hot glue to secure it.
• Take-off with no flaps and land with full flaps.
• If you are using a 5000 mAh battery, expect a 3 min to 3.5 min flight so you'll have reserve for a go-around....4 min is pushing it and you won't have much of a go-around reserve. This is with 1/2 throttle cruise and some acrobatics.
• Keep it fairly close initially because it will blend into the sky making it hard to keep yourself oriented to the bird's profile. You will have precious little time to re-orient yourself....it scoots along pretty fast.
• Add some clip-on RF chokes to each of the power leads going to and coming from the ESC. These high-current ESCs can generate common mode radio interference which might interfere with the hand-shake between the transmitter and receiver. Any length of wire between the ESC and the RF choke is an RF radiator. So, keep the chokes as close to the ESC as possible. I lost bird #2 due to a transmitter/receiver hand-shake loss. Since I've added the RF chokes to the bird #3, I've had ZERO radio issues with bird #3 and have flown bird #3 hundreds of times for over a year. Get the clip-on RF chokes from Amazon.
  • From Amazon.... Cedmon 20 Pieces Clip-on Ferrite Ring Core RFI EMI Noise Suppressor Cable Clip for 3mm/ 5mm/ 7mm/ 9mm/ 13mm Diameter Cable, Black

A little extra time setting-up per the above precautions will keep your bird in the air trouble free, and you won't be buying three of them.

[paulsnapp]

I have a question regarding the ESC that comes with the Flightline F4 Phantom 6s. Is there a programming manual or maybe a programming card for this ESC. When I plug in I get the 6 beeps for the 6 cells then a single beep which on my other planes means the brake is on. On my other planes two beeps would mean the brake is off. I have asked MotionRC this question but I do not get any answers. I would think that for EDF you would want the brake off. So, my question is, is there a programming manual or a programming card for this ESC? Thanks!

[GliderGuy]

https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/10...iles/fwesc.pdf

this is from


https://www.rcgroups.com/forums/show...ewing-130A-esc

1) Don’t forget to calibrate the throttle. 2) 6 beeps followed by a single beep is correct.
-GG

[themudduck]

Glider guy, you're absolutely spot-on with the advice you wrote, very good job with that writeup. Although, the F4 doesn't make for a good glider so what's up with that!

I wanted to mention that for years I have had difficulty handling this bird on landing, for some reason. Possibly nerves, because I've put so much effort into adding a LOT of added details, but I've had problems landing and yes I did break the nose-gear pin at an big jet event last year which was really embarrassing. Hop, hop, BAM.

ANYWAY - I installed Motion's Eagle A3-L V2 3 Axis Airplane Gyro this weekend and tried flying it yesterday after my club's Jet-Jam was over. I don't have much experience with gyros and I was REALLY nervous, like a maiden flight. But OMG, this really made SUCH a difference. As we know, this is a big heavy jet and with the gyro my impression was... I was flying a train locomotive on tracks. There's a video of the real F4 from Vietnam that I've seen, I think two of them, which shows them rolling in and making a missile run coming in downhill like hell on wheels... and that is exactly what it felt like. Super smooth and locked in. I was really totally pumped with the way it handled. It was also locked in on approach and I made a perfect landing. I had so much fun that I put in another battery and did it again, and the second landing was even more perfect! I left the field exhausted (I flew all of my jets and it was a 10-hour day) but I was on a cloud all the way home, So yeah, In would recommend the gyro!!

EDIT: I found the video clip, start at time 12:21. This was me yesterday!! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JqjCFsLfmGs


This is a pic from two years ago. I repainted the camo version and used Callie Graphics.

[GliderGuy]

Hi TMD, Thanks....If even one crash is averted, it was worth the time to write.

Your F-4 is a beauty!

The #3 bird had a battery cell connection fail about 200 ft up and in the down wind leg area of the pattern. There was control, but not much power being generated by the EDF (like...not much at all).

I nosed it over into a reasonable glide angle, flew between two tall trees, planted it on (going with the wind), did some “S” turns to bleed the energy, and cleaned my pants. It will glide! Don’t wanna do it again, however!!!

-GG

[Elbee]

GliderGuy Super Write Up. Somehow I had missed reading it. Thank you, LB

themudduck Great looking Phantom, Sir. Would like to do some formation flying with our liveries. Best, LB

[BenAtkinsonUK]

Yeh superb effort, thanks for taking to time to post that Glider guy.

The parts came in the post this am. All looks good and I’ll keep you updated.

Hopefully I’ll update soon 👍

[Johnnyrabuse]

Had ten great flights today at my AMA flying field with my FAA numbers and AMA card on flight eleven a police helicopter decided to fly behind the treeline pop up scare the crap out of me at about 200 ft

My jet also happened to be at 200 feet so I cut throttle it stalled and crashed nose first into the brush

Now I follow all the rules and believe me I'm not hitting no helicopter I'm not into calling the FAA

But RC pilots are not the only ones who can be irresponsible ....

Real pilots can be looney tunes as well

Anyhow I'm still shook up

Coulda been a real disaster

My jets fixable need a fuse for the front end cockpit and nosecone

[locharrow]

Had ten great flights today at my AMA flying field with my FAA numbers and AMA card on flight eleven a police helicopter decided to fly behind the treeline pop up scare the crap out of me at about 200 ft

My jet also happened to be at 200 feet so I cut throttle it stalled and crashed nose first into the brush

Now I follow all the rules and believe me I'm not hitting no helicopter I'm not into calling the FAA

But RC pilots are not the only ones who can be irresponsible ....

Real pilots can be looney tunes as well

Anyhow I'm still shook up

Coulda been a real disaster

My jets fixable need a fuse for the front end cockpit and nosecone

Did the AMA ever get the FAA to water down the demands they were making on fixed wing or did the drone guys bring it all down on them ? In the UK we only sit a small and very simple online exam,pass and its all good to go, a reg number is issued and covers f/w and drones.

[Johnnyrabuse]

Did the AMA ever get the FAA to water down the demands they were making on fixed wing or did the drone guys bring it all down on them ? In the UK we only sit a small and very simple online exam,pass and its all good to go, a reg number is issued and covers f/w and drones.

Actually no and things don't look good here I read the fine print in current regulations and it's really unrealistic I also use the FAA app b4 ugly honestly I think we in the states here are done in under four years ....

Then I'll take up knitting

[Johnnyrabuse]

Ordered a new arf today .... My first I stalled last year test flying too slow I got 200 plus sorties on it my second had fifty till the government helicopter shot it down
third time's a charm I know all the settings

A fuse cockpit and nosecone is 160 the kit 220 more and has decals

I'm not into repairing a crash like this because of the possibility of servo failure etc

[GliderGuy]

Ordered a new arf today .... My first I stalled last year test flying too slow I got 200 plus sorties on it my second had fifty till the government helicopter shot it down
third time's a charm I know all the settings

A fuse cockpit and nosecone is 160 the kit 220 more and has decals

I'm not into repairing a crash like this because of the possibility of servo failure etc

Good show...nothing beats the fresh smell of new EPO right out of the box and in preparation for getting back on the horse. Look at the positive, you have a readily available source/pile of spare parts. 😉

-GG

[BenAtkinsonUK]

Ordered a new arf today .... My first I stalled last year test flying too slow I got 200 plus sorties on it my second had fifty till the government helicopter shot it down
third time's a charm I know all the settings

A fuse cockpit and nosecone is 160 the kit 220 more and has decals

I'm not into repairing a crash like this because of the possibility of servo failure etc

I thought about doing the same and in reality it’s the best option (realistically something I may even do in the future)...but for me it turned £150 damage into essentially spending nearly a grand on the thing in total.

I’ll see if I can get it up running well with what I have and then see how we go with stuff I think!

[locharrow]

"I thought about doing the same and in reality it’s the best option (realistically something I may even do in the future)...but for me it turned £150 damage into essentially spending nearly a grand on the thing in total."

Where are you buying your parts Ben. I bought my F4 kit from Flit Models and the fan from Along RC through Ali Express....seemed way cheaper than other suppliers, very good to deal with, great communication and fully tracked delivery.