Official Roban 120mm A-10 Warthog V2 EDF Jet Thread

[dusmmdb]

Alpha

Will motion end up carrying v2 gear as a replacement ? I have one of the original versions that i haven't completed since all i had read were issues with gear and the main wing.

[Alpha]

dusmmdb I don't see why not! Please call the CS Team at 224-633-9090 (8am-6pm CST) and request for them to submit a New Parts Request. They'll be happy to get that process started.

[jinkrat4791]

I'm in the process of building one of these. SN# 47, so im pretty sure it the first or second production run, before any upgrades were made. I was assured that wasn't the case when I purchased it from the previous company that was selling them at the time.
I followed the thread on rcgroups from day 1. I knew exactly what I was getting into so I'm not going to complain. The video of the wings blowing off of this thing bothered me at first until I watched it a few more times. My opinion was he had no idea how handle this type of model and overstressed the airframe. I know that there were several of these put together basically stock except for electronics and a wing retaining system and flew fine. This is not a sport jet and it has to be handeled differently. Most of these are coming in around 32lbs. That's with electric brakes as well though. I fly mostly off grass so I'm not using brakes to save a few lbs to do some structural reinforcement. This can be a really nice airplane if you willing to put some time and of course the money. Im putting this much money into a model aircraft I want reliable electronics and I want the landing gear to come down when they're supposed to. I had mine rebuilt by Down & Locked and would reccomend you do the same, even if the gear has been upgraded. This thing is not small either. Practically, you really need to have a trailer to haul it around. It will fit in a full size SUV with the seats down and the nose between the front seats. Im happy with the way it's coming together, more comfortable with the airframe after several mods, I'm sure it will fly great. I don't think it's a project for someone without a fair amount of building experience.

[Aros]

Welcome jinkrat4791! We look forward to your progress reports when you get a chance. I am living vicariously through those of you with this model since it's currently beyond my budget and build skill level. Good luck to you!

[jinkrat4791]

Welcome jinkrat4791! We look forward to your progress reports when you get a chance. I am living vicariously through those of you with this model since it's currently beyond my budget and build skill level. Good luck to you!

Thanks Aros. This model turned out to be beyond my budget as well. I paid $1200 for the kit thinking I would use the retracts and all included hardware. I've ended up replacing most everything. Like I said though, mine is one of the early versions before the changes were made. My initial thought was this would be the next best thing to a skymaster, but for what I have in it I wish I would have went with the skymaster. When I get a chance I'll try to post some pics of the mods that I've done. I don't have them on this phone

[scootergenie]

I couldn't imagine spending this kind of money on an edf. I would be a nervous wreck flying it, and think it would cease to be fun at that point..... For me anyway.

[jinkrat4791]

I couldn't imagine spending this kind of money on an edf. I would be a nervous wreck flying it, and think it would cease to be fun at that point..... For me anyway.

I agree with you scooter, and in my 31 yrs of building and flying rc aircraft, this will be my most expensive project to date. This will not be a model that I drag to the field every weekend but at the same time I don't intend her to be a hanger queen as well. I've wanted to do a big A-10 for 20 plus years and found myself in a situation at the time where I could work it into my budget. I enjoy building and tinkering with complex aircraft as much as I enjoy flying and I intend to make this into an exceptionally nice airplane. Im adding quite a bit more scale details and doing my own snow cammo over the existing grey. Not a full repaint but just adding the two additional greys over the existing base grey. I can guarantee that this one will be an attention getter at any field and if I ever want to sell it i shouldn't have any problem.

[jinkrat4791]

The challenging part of this build for me is this will be my first edf. I've just switched to electric flying less than two years ago and this will only be my 4th electric airplane. Jets I have experience with but not since the nitro powered ducted fan days. I'm not worried about being successful because every piece of equipment I'm using is proven quality and I've asked for advice when necessary. It's going to be a slow build because I'm taking my time, I don't enjoy rushing a project like this and the end result is be always better, for me anyway.

[Aros]

Yeah, this is definitely not a model ARF I would want to rush in any way, shape or form. Good call. I've had a few high $$ composite giant scale RC aircraft before and proper research, testing and due diligence is paramount. Crashing a $3,500 RC airplane might not be a big deal to some but it sure as hell is to me!

[jinkrat4791]

It would be a big deal for me to crash it as well. As long as it's built right and properly maintained the thought of crashing it doesn't worry me much. I intend to give it the attention to detail and respect it's due. For one thing an airplane like this can be dangerous as well if not handled properly. I know accidents happen but short of a bad landing here and there I haven't flown an airplane into the ground for quite some time. If something were to happen I will have all the necessary equipment left to put another together or even two single engine aircraft if I decide I want to go that route. My next dream project would be a big twin F-15 so I would be able to take on that project with most everything but an airframe on hand. I've already been looking for a good set of balsa plans in a pdf format that I can enlarge for a while with no success. If anyone knows of any I'd really appreciate being pointed in the right direction

[Twowingtj]

jinkrat4791 What is the actual length of the plane. The specs shown here indicate that it's the same length as the 80mm Freewing A-10. That seems short given the wingspan.

[OV10]

jinkrat4791 What is the actual length of the plane. The specs shown here indicate that it's the same length as the 80mm Freewing A-10. That seems short given the wingspan.

Good call TJ. The spec apparently was copy/pasted from the manual which is wrong. Given that it is a 1/8.5 scale the length ought to be about 75 inches.

[jinkrat4791]

jinkrat4791 What is the actual length of the plane. The specs shown here indicate that it's the same length as the 80mm Freewing A-10. That seems short given the wingspan.

its actually 79 inches if I remember right, it's only a few inches shorter than the wingspan and that's 81 1/2 inches. She's a big bird. It gets real the first time you put it together in the living room. Not the biggest airplane I've ever had but it's big, especially for an edf jet

[Aros]

Please let me know whenever you get a chance and I will be happy to make the correction on the product pages. Thanks!

[sisaksen]

jinkrat4791 What is the actual length of the plane. The specs shown here indicate that it's the same length as the 80mm Freewing A-10. That seems short given the wingspan.

It is 75 inches give or take a quarter of an inch. Measured mine standing on its nose with laser. 😊

[jinkrat4791]

It is 75 inches give or take a quarter of an inch. Measured mine standing on its nose with laser. 😊

I wasn't 100% sure on the length. I'm 6 ft tall and it's several inches taller than I am standing on it's nose. I see yours looks to be fully assembled. Has it been flown, and if so, what has been your experience with it. It seems to vary between the people I've seen take the project on

Thanks

[OV10]

Good call TJ. The spec apparently was copy/pasted from the manual which is wrong. Given that it is a 1/8.5 scale the length ought to be about 75 inches.

sisaksen Didn't even have a physical one to measure and called it spot on Thanx for the verification

[Aros]

Thanks sisaksen I have updated the specs on the product pages.

[sisaksen]

Hi guys!
I bought it fully built but unflown. Picked it up a week ago.
It's built "by the book" as per the manual without any modification.
The wing is glued together in one piece with Hysol.
My plan is to try to split up the wing again.
I fear i just might destroy the wing in the process.
I feel the wing is built too weak and i want to beef it up with a carbon tube spanning from aileron to aileron.
I also want a three piece wing because then i can transport it standing on the wheels.
The details on this kit is superb.
The only bad thing about this beauty is the center wing section which is too weak for yank and bank flying. Easily fixed by a 20mm carbon tube.
The plan is to use 20mm carbon tube as outer tubing as it fits perfectly in the hole in the center section behind the original wing tube. In the outer sections of the wing ribs with 20mm holes will have to be made.
Then a 18mm carbon tube will be acting as wing tube spanning from aileron to aileron.
After this upgrade i won't be concerned overstressing the wing.
Here is a few pictures from when i picked it up.

[jinkrat4791]

Sisaksen, that's exactly what I've done is add a 20mm carbon tube right through the center section. It's easy to glue it to the two outer ribs on each side. I also plan to fill the center part of the wing to about 6 inches on either side of the wing saddle area and the entire leading edge cavity with a ridgid expanding foam after all my wiring is in place and tested. I believe that should add a good bit of strength.
As far as your one piece wing, if he hysoled the wing tubes into the sockets on both sides I don't see you being able to get them apart without destroying them. Anyhow she's a nice looking bird. And it looks like good electronics were used in the build, that is an upgraded retract controller I thought I saw. It's definitely not like the factory one I received with my kit. For what it's worth I spoke directly with the roban factory and they we're willing to sell me a new wing center section, I was considering buying one and opening it up and try to rebuild it but I decided against it. I'm sure you could get a wing from them if you wanted to start with a new one. In fact i believe there was someone on the rc groups thread that had a bunch of extra parts they were trying to sell. It's a long thread and would probably take forever to find the post. Whatever you decide to do I wish you the best of luck, we need some more good success storys about this model.

And BTW, what fan and motor combo are you using

Thanks