Official Freewing F/A-18C Hornet 90mm EDF Thread

[steven gubala]

Sweet plane, good luck on your inrunners

[Airguardian]

Finally, and air-to-air video with the Hornet... hope you dig the views!

[Aros]

Killer views bro! Would love some of my flight videos to have those kinds of views.

[starcop]

It would be really cool to see a group of RC pilots fly these together. That would be an amazing air show sight to see. Super cool aircraft!

[starcop]

Finally, and air-to-air video with the Hornet... hope you dig the views!

Great video! Super. Great job. Gave me a big smile.

[starcop]

Finally, and air-to-air video with the Hornet... hope you dig the views!

That would Win a Video award for cool, smooth flying!

[Airguardian]

Thanks!

I wish I had jet pilot buddies to fly with and perform team aerobatics!
There are not many jet pilots around here sadly. :'(

Guess I'm not in a position to complain though, I'm lucky enough to have people with whom to make these videos to start with! :D

[T-CAT]

Great video!

[Hugh Wiedman]

Thanks!

I wish I had jet pilot buddies to fly with and perform team aerobatics!
There are not many jet pilots around here sadly. :'(

Guess I'm not in a position to complain though, I'm lucky enough to have people with whom to make these videos to start with! :D

I have to add to the compliments, just gorgeous scenery, outstanding flights and just some of the best video I have ever seen (not to mention the actual piloting skills). Doubt you could find many pilots that fly as well as you to perform team aerobatics, so yes, you are lucky to have what looks like an entire production team, with a ground videographer, air videographer and music. I think I'll just hang up my TX for good, lite a stogie, grab my favorite bottle and sit in a recliner and enjoy living vicariously through you. I can't wait to see the video of the encounter with the tree, because until I see it, I won't believe that actually happened as I'm convinced you are immortal, must have been a flying tree using stealth mode!

[Airguardian]

I think I'll just hang up my TX for good, lite a stogie, grab my favorite bottle and sit in a recliner and enjoy living vicariously through you.

By all means... DON'T!
I want to encourage others to fly more and 'beyond', not to make them hang up their Txs!

I can't wait to see the video of the encounter with the tree, because until I see it, I won't believe that actually happened as I'm convinced you are immortal, must have been a flying tree using stealth mode!

I assure you it's real. I had three crashes in two consecutive flight sessions past month. JAS-39, F-18 and Su-29 went down.
F-18 is back up, JAS-39 will follow suit as it didn't take much damage but the Su-29 being a balsa plane... will take longer :'(

Rather than the tree, the problem was the F-18 itself becoming 'stealth' for a moment, how about that?
So much for invisibility...

[Aros]

I've been flying now (from micros to giant scale) for the better part of 25 years and I am still to this day humbled by crashes and "incidents" be it Dumb Thumbs, electrical issues not my fault, or just plain making poor choices at the worst times. The point is, it doesn't matter how "skilled" you are on the sticks, we can all be humbled from time-to-time, especially in those moments we get lazy or complacent which I am very guilty of at times. Last year was not a good year for me crash-wise with jets. It got so bad at times I was literally afraid to take my jet(s) out to fly, even though I had flown them dozens and dozens of times before without incident.

Sometimes I crash through no fault of my own and other times very much the fault of my own. It's the latter that I want to work on because those are times I feel that if I had done better, made a better choice, etc, I wouldn't have crashed. A recent example was when I flew my FW 90mm F-16. Second flight of the day, I decided to fly it from a different vantage point then I was used to. No reason, just made the choice due to where I was standing at the moment. So when I took off, I quickly realized my vantage point was poor because I couldn't "see" that the takeoff roll tracking was heading straight for a curb. As I panicked and almost plowed into said curb, it popped up (because I was giving it full up at that point) and smashed right into a tree that was right in the vicinity.

A classic example of making a poor, lazy choice that nearly cost me the entire jet (I was able to repair it but it's no longer pristine). Had I simply walked the 50 feet or so to takeoff where I usually stood at, it never would have happened.

The old addage is true, "If ya ain't crashin' ya ain't flyin'". It's true. But what also is true is a lot of times that crashin' could have been avoided. So I guess the moral of the story is it doesn't matter how skilled you are as a pilot. Some times things happen, fault of your own or otherwise. The best thing to do is learn from your mistakes and just get back on those sticks and take to the skies.

[Airguardian]

And since we're at it, I'll share what I believe my faults were that precipitated my recent crashes... again, like you mentioned, complacency is the key word here.

JAS-39 -> Maidened a new power system thinking it would not drain as much power as it did, so the jet hit LVC.
I could have landed at 2min instead of waiting to 3:30... or installed a voltage gauge, amp sensor with telemetry... or made some ground testing to determine it prior. I got confident and it bite me.

F-18 -> I usually do well with orientation and low light conditions although I know the Hornet is particularly tricky.
I took off too late, with too little light and blinded myself on landing, stalled, hit a tree and the ground. Could have flown earlier or not at all. Or disabled the landing lights.

Su-29 -> Again, I was rushing to fly and in very low light conditions which I think, led me to secure badly the battery.
I tightened it strong but it was probably overlapping the aircraft's wingspar, so the anti-slip velcro didn't make full contact. Then battery moved in flight and disaster ensued.
Could have thrown a light to check battery was properly fixed in place or just have been more careful, less rushed.

So there go some of my mistakes for all to learn :')

[Aros]

Cape Jets did a nice job brushing on the gloss coat. I want to do the same thing but I am concerned that I don't know how to replicate the same smooth finish of the stock satin, just with gloss instead. In other words, I feel that adding gloss really highlights all the imperfections of the foam surface. It's impossible not to really, since high gloss is going to pick up much more light and reflection so if there is any bumps or imperfections, those will naturally be highlighted. This is not about someone's lack of painting skill, but just the way gloss works on a surface.

Would love to hear comments on this topic. We all know EPO foam has it's surface limitations. It's not balsa, it's not composite where you can have a perfect finish. It has cells that can be highlighted with sun/temps and yes, gloss. This is the one thing that is keeping me from grabbing a brush and water-based polycrylic at the moment to complete the scale look.

[T-CAT]

Cape Jets did a nice job brushing on the gloss coat. I want to do the same thing but I am concerned that I don't know how to replicate the same smooth finish of the stock satin, just with gloss instead. In other words, I feel that adding gloss really highlights all the imperfections of the foam surface. It's impossible not to really, since high gloss is going to pick up much more light and reflection so if there is any bumps or imperfections, those will naturally be highlighted. This is not about someone's lack of painting skill, but just the way gloss works on a surface.

Would love to hear comments on this topic. We all know EPO foam has it's surface limitations. It's not balsa, it's not composite where you can have a perfect finish. It has cells that can be highlighted with sun/temps and yes, gloss. This is the one thing that is keeping me from grabbing a brush and water-based polycrylic at the moment to complete the scale look.

Gloss can accentuate any unsightly features or imperfections. However, for a Blue Angels livery, a gloss clear coat is an absolute must-have addition (for me). It is worth it, in my opinion. The only thing I prefer is that instead of a brush-on application, I like spray clear coat. The downside is the need to tape off specific areas, obviously. Both means of clear coating, spray or brush-on, look great, but I can’t help but love the very even coating a spray application leaves. There are some good brands of gloss spray that can be used and some are UV resistant and non-yellowing.

The way I look at is, EPO foam (at least at the time of this writing) has a way of not having a flawless smooth finish, especially when it gets sun exposure and darker paint colors makes that even more noticeable over time. This is true regardless of a EPO painted finish being flat, satin, or gloss. Therefore, I might as well gloss the paint on this F/A-18C Blue Angels livery to at least finish the more scale look of the livery. As secondary benefits, adding a clear-coat helps hide any of the hazy translucent areas of the waterslide decals, and protects/seals the stock paint in a way that lessens the chance or severity of the stock paint peeling/flaking. Some people like the added durability that clear coating may provide for hangar rash accidents on a foam jet, but I haven’t noticed that nearly as much as the other benefits described. All the added benefits of adding a clear-coat, gloss in this case, listed above far outweigh the negatives for me.

[Aros]

Well therein lies the issue...Some say foam brushing is the way to go and some say spray is the way to go. Is there really a better method, one over the other?

I naturally gravitate towards spray because that is how I have been painting my models for years with terrific results. When I think of brushing I think of streaks, but those who have used foam brushes swear by the technique and to be fair, again, Cape Jets brush job looks pretty darn good.

We both agree gloss coat is the way to go with this bird. A Blue Angel has a gloss coat and it should be a gloss coat. I just don't want to add the gloss and regret it because all I fear I would see are all the imperfections of the EPO foam especially in direct day light.

[T-CAT]

Well therein lies the issue...Some say foam brushing is the way to go and some say spray is the way to go. Is there really a better method, one over the other?

I naturally gravitate towards spray because that is how I have been painting my models for years with terrific results. When I think of brushing I think of streaks, but those who have used foam brushes swear by the technique and to be fair, again, Cape Jets brush job looks pretty darn good.

We both agree gloss coat is the way to go with this bird. A Blue Angel has a gloss coat and it should be a gloss coat. I just don't want to add the gloss and regret it because all I fear I would see are all the imperfections of the EPO foam especially in direct day light.

I already see all the imperfections in the foam with the eggshell sheen that it comes in from the factory, LOL. Since that’s the case, I figure I can’t lose with a gloss clear coat. Ha-ha

With regards to spray vs. brush clear, I figure I’ll never have the chance to see brush streaks if I spray it on, but there is always a chance to see them if I brush it on.

[Aros]

I already see all the imperfections in the foam with the eggshell sheen that it comes in from the factory, LOL.

Ah, yes grasshopper, but it stands to reason - and my point being - that you would see even more with gloss, no?

[T-CAT]

Ah, yes grasshopper, but it stands to reason - and my point being - that you would see even more with gloss, no?

Roger that. I definitely see your point of view, and it’s a good one, and definitely one to consider. It’s never fun to see more imperfections in something, and it’s possible that could happen after using gloss on the finish. My angle on that point of view was/is that since the foam finish is already imperfect straight out of the box, I wouldn’t mind adding gloss if it gave me a more scale livery even if it was found to show a tad more imperfections in the foam surface. Who knows, maybe the gloss will be so stunning that the extreme glare from all its awesomeness will be too much to look deeply at for too long .

I’d be okay with risking the potential for seeing more imperfections in the finish just to add a more scale look to the Blue Angels scheme by adding gloss to my jet, but that’s subjective. Some food for thought: If a person has ever painted EPO foam black, then any imperfections a gloss coat on this BA livery could potentially bring out, it likely can’t be any worse than the amount of imperfections (popcorn/bubbling/gatoring) brought about by black paint. Ha-ha

[Hugh Wiedman]

I've done 11 of my foam aircraft brushing it on and always use gloss as I like the sheen it gives, in the air as well. The BA needs gloss IMO. I use Varathane Spar Urethane exterior so no yellowing. I just got the same in spray, tried it out and have to say from now on I may use the spray exclusively, much more even coats.

I really like the added durability, however, you need to be careful and not leave it baking in the sun for long as it causes the unerlying paint to gator quickly, maybe a bigger issue here in Florida.

The gloss made my BA F4 really pop, as well as the red on my F18.

[T-CAT]

Those look awesome, Hugh.