Official Freewing T-33 Shooting Star 80mm EDF Thread

[Oxotnik]

it rained like crazy yesterday. The ground (grass field) will be saturated with some standing water to avoid, I'm sure. But, the Sun will be out, the temps mild, and the winds low. So, I'm charging batts and will take the T-33 to the field around Noon. I'm really looking forward to getting her in the air today!!

[flyinhigh042]

Almost all my 70mm, 80mm & 90mm EDF planes are equiped with a Lemon or Admiral (gyro) receiver. Just make sure you do a thorough range test with reduced power on your Spektrum radio. You should get at least 30metres with the plane on the ground. If you use a gyro receiver (stab, stab plus) read the instructions carefully and have a friend doublecheck the gyro motion of your control surfaces.

Thanks much for the info. I went ahead and installed the Admiral receiver. I watched and followed all the setup videos provided by Motion. That made it easy. I will do a thorough range test as you suggested before flying.
Thanks!

[vduniec]

Grrrrrrrrrrr!!!!!

[T-CAT]

I was all set to maiden my Shooting Star this morning -- at the club field just before sunrise, but found unusually dark gray overcast, and a gusty semi-crosswind. I thought about setting up and seeing if things improved, but then (for once) decided the smart thing to do was to turn around and go home. I'm out an hour of driving, but can proudly say I did not crash, nor damage my T-33 today, haha. Next few mornings look better.

To me, that's a sign of a smart pilot.

[Dwr302]

Got the T-33 delivered yesterday. Made the first 4 flights today. No drama on the maiden. Flies much like the L-39 and more efficient use of the 5000 Admirals. Tracks very well. Freewing has another winner!

[Elbee]

Grrrrrrrrrrr!!!!!

VDN, Yeppers, been there and it SBT. I started using post-its, yes, 3M Post-its for those types of masking. Quick spray and then pull up immediately. Mantra, "It's my hobby...it's my hobby...it's my hobby. Best, LB

[fastphil]

T-33 with six 5K lipos under her belt in the AZ desert, good power, speed, and run time with the new 80mm set-up...4-minute flights with about 40% remaining,..and although she can turn and burn, I really enjoyed flying her around the pattern at reduced power,.. half flap take-offs and full barn door landings for me, and I like this new class of jet that combines a nice sized airframe with the new power systems for the longer run times

[Alpha]

Dwr302 fastphil Thanks for posting your initial flight reports!

Fastphil, off topic, I really like your avatar photo. Beautiful helo and I'm envious of those mountains. I'm surrounded by city buildings for miles!

[Mark 2]

Grrrrrrrrrrr!!!!!

Wet newspaper cut to the line or shape you want and then pressed gently into position works well.

[Evan D]

Mine was delivered yesterday but I was out of town. Took me 2 1/2 hours to put together today and that’s including removing the blue box and re-wiring it. Four flights today all on 5200 hobby star batteries, 5 minutes (all my other 80mm planes are 4 minutes with the same pack) on the timer, flew absolutely wonderful. Motion has another winner.

I was thinking about repainting it but it has such a good presence and look in the air that I’m not going to.

I like speedy and maneuverable planes. The SS is fairly fast and very stable. I like the CG 1/4- 3/8 back from manual and for now am keeping the book rates. I did add a small aileron to rudder mix to have a smoother roll.

[fastphil]

Dwr302 fastphil Thanks for posting your initial flight reports!

Fastphil, off topic, I really like your avatar photo. Beautiful helo and I'm envious of those mountains. I'm surrounded by city buildings for miles!

Thanks Alpha, that's me at our club field in Sisters, Oregon, and we spend the winters in the Arizona desert,.. I really like flying that 700-sized Hughes, and was recently awarded Pilot's Choice with the award of this Roban 700-sized Bell 429, and i'm looking forward to the new tanks, which I already like to run on our garden railroad, ... I am taking the new T-33 to the upcoming Desert Warbirds, where last year I was privileged to win WW2 with the B-24, ..this is the Golden Age of RC !

[Marco Polo]

Beautiful models. Great to see an assortment of scale RC.

[Oxotnik]

Maiden, plus 3 flights this afternoon. Easy take offs, flights, and landings. On the Maiden, she was a bit quirky on the ailerons, even on low rates (I think I had low rates set at 65% for ailerons). I mechanically reduced the aileron throw and dialed in another 10% of expo and that really tamed her for the following flights. Even with full flaps, I was having trouble bleeding off her speed and she landed significantly upwind of me on all flights. Obviously, I'm entering the Base Leg with too much energy. Need to get used to flying a floaty jet. She does get small quickly on high-speed passes, too. I really liked the range of power/speed, from really slow to nicely fast. The sound of the EDF is great, too. I heard multiple guys in the pits commenting on that. The gear is really nice. One landing was a bit hard, but the bounce was very minor. SHe's a keeper for sure.

[Daiglo]

Still waiting for mine. Callie Graphics is making custom decals for it. Going with new livery as Mako shark Canadair CT-33 Silver Star. this plane is flown by Waterloo War Birds here in Canada.

[John Bergsmith]

Put the first five flights on the new T-33 with no issues. I was getting 4:30 flight times on brand new Hobby Star 5200 batteries. Might be able to get slightly more time, but was taking it easy on the new batteries. Moved the battery back slightly after each flight so overall balance point moved back roughly a 1/4”. Recommended rates were used and felt good.

The T-33 has nice speed and feels sporty. It has a very wide speed envelope with no bad habits I was able to find. It’s a lot of fun and really looks/sounds good in the air. I can’t think of one thing I would change at this point. Well done Motion/Freewing!

[GBLynden]

Here is my unboxing for the T-33!

[TBolt]

I am using the Admiral 6 channel receiver and satellite, could someone post pictures of how they placed theirs? it is a bit crowded in their with all those wires.

[Oxotnik]

I am using the Admiral 6 channel receiver and satellite, could someone post pictures of how they placed theirs? it is a bit crowded in their with all those wires.

I removed the blue box out of my T-33, but I don't think it mattered with where I placed my RX and satellite. I'm using an Admiral 10-channel RX. I mounted it with velcro on the slope behind where the blue box would've been if I hadn't removed it. I ran the satellite forward and stuck it just below the lip of of the battery hatch. All of the servo cables are zip-tied together and laid on top of and behind the RX, and it helps to keep the Battery cable a couple inches from the RX antennae. Thorough range test and 4 Flights today, with no indications of any RFI issues.

[Corsair nut]

Mine showed up today and i dug right in by adding speed brakes! Wasnt too hard. Only took me a couple hours. Then i got the rest of the plane setup. I removed the blue box and added some f14 tires too. I plan to redo the cockpit and add some detail painting. But first...i wanna fly! I did have 1 issue...my exhaust nozzle was crooked. Might want to take a look at yours.

[e4dragongunner]

Its a jet... so we all know it requires " RIGHT THRUST"

[e4dragongunner]

Please post pics of you mod... "Too KEWL man"