Official Freewing 80mm MiG-21 Fishbed Thread

[AceMigKiller]

That is way awesome!

[GBLynden]

This Freewing MiG-21 80mm EDF Jet Fighter Performed High Alpha Maneuvers at Warbirds Over Whatcom and was piloted by a Canadian Airline Pilot named Sebastian.

[Capt G]

New innrunner - 77A on 35% battery. Ready for maiden

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7H8vCaVVyZA

[Husafreak]

Jumping in at the end here but has anyone put the Freewing 80mm 9-Blade EDF Power System w/3658-1920kV Inrunner Motor from the T-33 into this jet?
I have been completely blown away by that fan in my T-33. For years it was SOP for me to replace Freewings fans with FMS fans so I don't have really high expectations for the stock fan, I expect good but not great. But I would like to put the factory T-33 fan in all my 80mm jets now! FWIW I don't have the Mig-21 yet and they only have the motor less version in stock right now...

[Alpha]

Husafreak The 1920kv inrunner will make this MiG-21 a rocketship, even more spritely than it already is with its current PNP setup. The MiG-21 has a larger battery bay with more fore/aft leeway for CG adjustments if you go with a bigger pack to feed the power system.

[Husafreak]

Sounds promising... I run 5000 6s. In my T-33 with voltage telemetry those are good for 5 mins of hard and fast or 8 min of taking it easy. Which is crazy! That is a great fan. Powerful AND efficient is the new normal, wanting both!

[yf22raptor]

Here is my mig , just finished painting and weathered and she is turbine powered with a x-45 micro turbine ...

[Husafreak]

It would be cool to see the turbine installation. I think the Xicoy X-45 is a great spec turbine. Let us know how it flies.

[Husafreak]

Looking forward to collecting mine. A flying buddy decided to sell me his. It's in mint shape. I'll get together with gooniac and make sure the throws and CG are reasonable before I fly it, plus I'm going to need another firebooty! I did see your recommendations are all pretty consistent, just have to avoid too much aileron throw or an overly forward (or aft) CG. Actually the scariest flight I ever witnessed was a turbine Mig-21 maiden with aft CG, it was only controllable at high speed, every time my buddy pulled power to slow it would loose control, LOL, needless to say we all ended up hiding behind our cars until it finally bought the farm in a spectacular crash, nothing left. I checked out the MRC video and was a little disappointed that it was gulping down a 5ooo mAh pack in 3 minutes. The only other EDF I have that gets a 3 min timer is my FW 90mm F-104. I have some 6200 mAh packs too but never thought they would be in an 80mm EDF. I won't know exactly which power system is in it till I get it. Was this jet ever offered with different power systems? Or are all the stock PNP set ups the same?

[Mizer67]

Looking forward to collecting mine. A flying buddy decided to sell me his. It's in mint shape. I'll get together with gooniac and make sure the throws and CG are reasonable before I fly it, plus I'm going to need another firebooty! I did see your recommendations are all pretty consistent, just have to avoid too much aileron throw or an overly forward (or aft) CG. Actually the scariest flight I ever witnessed was a turbine Mig-21 maiden with aft CG, it was only controllable at high speed, every time my buddy pulled power to slow it would loose control, LOL, needless to say we all ended up hiding behind our cars until it finally bought the farm in a spectacular crash, nothing left. I checked out the MRC video and was a little disappointed that it was gulping down a 5ooo mAh pack in 3 minutes. The only other EDF I have that gets a 3 min timer is my FW 90mm F-104. I have some 6200 mAh packs too but never thought they would be in an 80mm EDF. I won't know exactly which power system is in it till I get it. Was this jet ever offered with different power systems? Or are all the stock PNP set ups the same?

If you're looking for efficiency in a stock FW fan, buy the new 9 bld 1920kv inrunner.

From what I've read, it's the most efficient FW 80mm setup they've offered (with decent performance). It might be tough to get a CG aft enough with the lighter EDF though.

It's new , so I'd expect that unless it's a very recent purchase it won't have it in there already. If it's the 1857kv inrunner (or pretty much any other EDF this plane has had in it), I wouldn't expect more than ~3 min.

[Husafreak]

Maybe if the used Mig-21 is inexpensive enough I'll buy it a 9 blade 1920kv fan. That power system is the single best reason to buy a T-33 IMHO. Superlative performance. I have my T-33 timer set to 5min and with pack voltage telemetry as a back up I regularly fly it for 7 minutes and land with 25-30%. It would be very interesting to see if that 1920kv fan can perform as well in other 80mm airframes. The T-33 is very slippery and a great glider so a lot of the flight can be done at very low or no power. Delta types like the Mig-21 typically require more thrust to keep them moving.
I'm pretty happy with MRC, it used to be an FMS fan was a nice upgrade for a lot of FW EDF's but lately they have upped their game.

[Mizer67]

I like the direction. I have no experience with that power plant so far but do want to try one soon. While I'd like more flight time, more flight time is not my goal. I go for greater performance first, either speed or thrust. I have the FMS 2100kv Pro in my Mig-21 and it's a good combo. 2850 grams of thrust at peak for about that weight in the plane, which really helps it out as the performance I had out of the 1857kv 12-bld was not impressive. Made me not enjoy the Mig initially.

Top speed of low ~110's, with ~650ft of vertical with the FMS fan, which is respectable. Makes the Mig much more enjoyable to fly, even if it's only ~3 min. of useful throttle on a 4000.

[Quickstop]

Maybe if the used Mig-21 is inexpensive enough I'll buy it a 9 blade 1920kv fan. That power system is the single best reason to buy a T-33 IMHO. Superlative performance. I have my T-33 timer set to 5min and with pack voltage telemetry as a back up I regularly fly it for 7 minutes and land with 25-30%. It would be very interesting to see if that 1920kv fan can perform as well in other 80mm airframes. The T-33 is very slippery and a great glider so a lot of the flight can be done at very low or no power. Delta types like the Mig-21 typically require more thrust to keep them moving.
I'm pretty happy with MRC, it used to be an FMS fan was a nice upgrade for a lot of FW EDF's but lately they have upped their game.

I popped the motor out of my t-33 and put in in the mig21, more umph but the flight times I was getting in the t-33 just weren’t happening in the mig. I not sure if it would be worth the expense to replace the inrunner it comes with. I think the T-33 gets great flight times because it’s a t-33, not so much the fan, I totally agree about the delta needing more power.

[Husafreak]

Thanks for that real world insight! I'll just fly it with the stock fan then, at least I know the T-33 flight times are not achievable with just any jet.
I picked up my Mig-21 today, got a good deal for a mint Mig, but the seller realized only after handing it over that the drop tanks are "in storage" somewhere, maybe, not sure :( He said he would look for them. Anyway he's a good friend so I said fine but I kinda doubt that I'll ever get them. Soooo, do you guys prefer the jet with or without them? Surely it is faster and more efficient without the drag, but they look cool, but are they something you generally like or need or don't care about them? Kind of a personal preference question but I would like to know how it flies with or without them.

[Quickstop]

Thanks for that real world insight! I'll just fly it with the stock fan then, at least I know the T-33 flight times are not achievable with just any jet.
I picked up my Mig-21 today, got a good deal for a mint Mig, but the seller realized only after handing it over that the drop tanks are "in storage" somewhere, maybe, not sure :( He said he would look for them. Anyway he's a good friend so I said fine but I kinda doubt that I'll ever get them. Soooo, do you guys prefer the jet with or without them? Surely it is faster and more efficient without the drag, but they look cool, but are they something you generally like or need or don't care about them? Kind of a personal preference question but I would like to know how it flies with or without them.

I never fly with wing stores, maybe once and then they go into the closet. The extra drag means you need to use more power and then less flight times. Most of the times I dont even put on the racks

[Mizer67]

I never fly with ordinance. Any performance impact is a big negative in my opinion. I'd only fly with it if I needed additional help orienting on the plane for some reason, and then only in specific conditions. Or perhaps a couple of show passes.

[Husafreak]

Cool, thanks, how about wing rock with this one? Do you guys consider a gyro necessary, nice but not necessary, or not necessary. Generally I only use a gyro if it noticeably helps stability.

[Mizer67]

Cool, thanks, how about wing rock with this one? Do you guys consider a gyro necessary, nice but not necessary, or not necessary. Generally I only use a gyro if it noticeably helps stability.

This one does have some wing rock in slow flight, more than say the Mirage but nothing excessive. I think a gyro helps cure that, but it's not necessary at all. I use an A3S3 right now set on 35% gain and 3D. It helps on-center with the rocking without completely numbing the feel of the plane. It's a rock solid airplane in any situation with this combo.

I fly it in any conditions and it handles them all with aplomb. Initially, I flew it into tighter spots because I didn't care for it much, so I wasn't concerned if I busted it up. But it's stability and low speed handling have really grown on me. I can drop it into any field, particularly on grass and get it stopped in ~50 ft. or so. For a max performance T/O on pavement I've gotten that down to 75 ft. and I think I could get it off in a few feet less. I did replace the EDF though, which helped it with more thrust and vertical.

[the snake]

Freewing Mig-21 3 year anniversary flight

[Husafreak]

So, do you guys think this is the inrunner motor? I guess it must be there’s a housing around it...