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

[Rcfiddy1]

Would be in for a gray ver with armament.

[Aros]

The hidden elevator linkage is my favorite tweak, plus the opened area between the intakes and the fuselage. It's actually an aerodynamic penalty (as is the intake splitter on our A-4/F-4/L-39, etc), but aesthetically it's really neat, and I like seeing skylight in between the intakes during a head-on pass.

That is a detail many wouldn't even notice but it's a super cool one!

[Aros]

The only thing missing is the airbrake but all is forgiven since the rest of the model looks so sweet! :Cool:

[Topshot19]

Those are some awesome trailing link mains !

[GBLynden]

This is a great release, but I am noticing that the "Yellow" on the top look more orange than yellow. I had a similar experience with my Banana Hobby F-18 back in 2011. I know that anyone shelling out $500+ on a plane like this will want that yellow to actually be the proper yellow.

Any word on the James and Alpha? While you're responding to that, can you also post the dimensions of the plane? I want to see if this will fit in my car in one piece and in my shelving system.

GB

[air-jon]

You guys did awesome Alpha! The legacy Hornet is a tough cookie between the gear and narrow fuselage which makes all the design packaging super fun;)

You nailed it and can't wait to get one!

So what is the Presale date? I want in on the first batch!

[Alpha]

Thanks, Air-Jon, our team worked hard on this bird for quite a while. We've been deliberating a new F-18 off and on for years now. The time was finally right where we could execute a Hornet that fit our ambition.

Good luck with your 12s mod; if anyone can do it, you can! I can post dimms later if you needed more information for planning. But suffice to say that in our experience this bird will cap out around ~135mph regardless of what power system you run in it due to the airframe's drag wall. Like many of our recent 80mm/90mms, the stock 6s PNP Hornet tops out around 100-110 level in many of our tests at ~50ASL. While lighter than the F-4, the F-18's main advantage is its balance of agility and speed. It's one of my favorite "turn and burn" models to fly recently. People who enjoy the L-39's flight envelope should feel instantly comfortable with tossing the Hornet around the sky.

The flight video shows it all. The other videos we'll be posting throughout the week will demonstrate the envelope even further.

Subscribe to this thread for the latest updates, everyone, and we're all grateful for your support!

[James]

This is a great release, but I am noticing that the "Yellow" on the top look more orange than yellow. I had a similar experience with my Banana Hobby F-18 back in 2011. I know that anyone shelling out $500+ on a plane like this will want that yellow to actually be the proper yellow.

Any word on the James and Alpha? While you're responding to that, can you also post the dimensions of the plane? I want to see if this will fit in my car in one piece and in my shelving system.

GB

Wingspan is 41 inches and length is 57 inches with the nose cone on

[Alpha]

This is a great release, but I am noticing that the "Yellow" on the top look more orange than yellow. I had a similar experience with my Banana Hobby F-18 back in 2011. I know that anyone shelling out $500+ on a plane like this will want that yellow to actually be the proper yellow.

Any word on the James and Alpha? While you're responding to that, can you also post the dimensions of the plane? I want to see if this will fit in my car in one piece and in my shelving system.

GB

Hey there GB, we used color references from actual BA Hornets. I've seen them up close in real life. In person, the yellow is quite accurate.


James posted the dimensions in his post on Page 3.

[JLambCWU]

The hidden elevator linkage is my favorite tweak, plus the opened area between the intakes and the fuselage. It's actually an aerodynamic penalty (as is the intake splitter on our A-4/F-4/L-39, etc), but aesthetically it's really neat, and I like seeing skylight in between the intakes during a head-on pass.

Looks fantastic! Noticed the hidden linkage and air gap before I got to the forum. Is there room above the exhaust tunnel to put an airbrake in for scale effect? Maybe F-15 actuator?

Congrats to the whole team. This jet is gonna be huge!
Nice to see a Hornet finally done right!

[James]

Hey Guys, our team had planned to release the all-new Freewing 90mm F-18C Hornet in Blue Angels markings first, followed by a Base Gray PNP version later this summer. However, based on some early customer feedback in this official thread asking about having a Base Gray version sooner, we're open to possibly having both available at the same arrival date. As always, we're happy to respond to our customer family's preferences, which is one of the reasons we opted to show the F-18 a little sooner than usual.

So the poll is open, you have 1 week to vote on it as we have to move fast with the factory in order to accomplish this!

https://www.hobbysquawk.com/forum/rc-airplanes/jets-and-edfs/186492-f-18-blue-angels-and-f-18-base-gray

[JLambCWU]

Thanks, Air-Jon, our team worked hard on this bird for quite a while. We've been deliberating a new F-18 off and on for years now. The time was finally right where we could execute a Hornet that fit our ambition.

Good luck with your 12s mod; if anyone can do it, you can! I can post dimms later if you needed more information for planning. But suffice to say that in our experience this bird will cap out around ~135mph regardless of what power system you run in it due to the airframe's drag wall. Like many of our recent 80mm/90mms, the stock 6s PNP Hornet tops out around 100-110 level in many of our tests at ~50ASL. While lighter than the F-4, the F-18's main advantage is its balance of agility and speed. It's one of my favorite "turn and burn" models to fly recently. People who enjoy the L-39's flight envelope should feel instantly comfortable with tossing the Hornet around the sky.

The flight video shows it all. The other videos we'll be posting throughout the week will demonstrate the envelope even further.

Subscribe to this thread for the latest updates, everyone, and we're all grateful for your support!

Loving the 1835kv inrunner 6S setup in the F-15 and F-16, and was impressed with the performance gains.

Was that unit tested in the bird, and if so can you elaborate on the change in performance.

Thanks!

https://youtu.be/b1amV-sYxok

[Alpha]

Looks fantastic! Noticed the hidden linkage and air gap before I got to the forum. Is there room above the exhaust tunnel to put an airbrake in for scale effect? Maybe F-15 actuator?

Congrats to the whole team. This jet is gonna be huge!
Nice to see a Hornet finally done right!

We tried to include an airbrake, but it wasn't in the cards. Beside the additional cost and weight, there isn't a lot of space there. An F-15 actuator could probably fit, but the geometry of the arm would be different. I'll try to post pictures later, but suffice to say it will be a challenge to DIY and I can't vouch for ease of such a modification.

I can say that we tried it on an early CNC'd prototype, and didn't like the pitching it lent during deployment. It's moment arm back there didn't play nicely with how the rest of the model was set up. We used it a few times after touchdown, but as the model's size was finalized and we saw the bills mounting to add that feature, the idea was scrapped. Plastic is expensive and as we always remind ourselves, the PNP's primary target is the mass market at an acceptable price. We could have added the airbrake and LEVs and a couple other scale bits, but we would have priced out the core chunk of buyers.

But there's always DIY, as the F-4's drag chute mods and F-22 canopy mods and A-10 mods have shown. We'll leave that to you experts. :Cool:

[Pogo]

Alpha, I spent many (many) hours building this Hayoye airframe into what I wanted, and was left very sad when I dorked it this past summer on an ill-advised takeoff roll. Repairable, but I just haven't been able to face it, so this new release is just what I needed! This scheme commemorates the 60th anniversary of the squadron and, as it shows up well in the sky, I'll probably do it again- Callie has it on file! It'll be a Xmas purchase, leaving the winter for the necessary modifications- cockpit, opening canopy, air brake....you know how it goes! Thanks man!:Cool:

[vdanger]

Any guesstimate on price?

[e4dragongunner]

My guess 529.00 pnp

[vdanger]

You are some wily SOB's! I was just getting ready to pull the trigger on an Eflite F4 Phantom. Now, I think I'll wait...............

[JazzmanB]

My guess 529.00 pnp

529 would be great and fair:) Im guessing $549. $10 less then the f14

[Elbee]

Alpha/James, Will there any 3DPUP parts or STL files available? Inquisitively, LB

[e4dragongunner]

I like you assessment better. I was trying to account for inflation and R & D. Any which way.... PayPal ready.. show me that preorder button, Already picked up 4 of the new 6000 admirals... so I am ready! Will use a Jeti assist receiver in her too!