You must Sign-in or Register to post messages in the Hobby Squawk community
Registration is FREE and only takes a few moments

Register now

Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Official Freewing 90mm F-16 Falcon Thread

Collapse
X
Collapse
First Prev Next Last
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • Hi, i am considering upgrading my F-16 from stock to the new 1835KV kit. Do i have to upgrade the ESC (130A) as well or only the motor and fan?

    Comment


    • Originally posted by Laksen View Post
      Hi, i am considering upgrading my F-16 from stock to the new 1835KV kit. Do i have to upgrade the ESC (130A) as well or only the motor and fan?
      No, the stock 130A ESC will work just fine. I installed the 1835KV on mine, but ordered the ARF version which does not come with an ESC. I installed the Castle 130A ESC along with the Castle 10A BEC, but only because the Castle ESC has a 5A BEC and thought it needed more. The stock Freewing ESC has an 8A BEC so you should be just fine. The 1835KV inrunner fits perfectly with no need for any modifications. Enjoy!
      Hugh "Wildman" Wiedman
      Hangar: FL/FW: Mig 29 "Cobra", A-10 Arctic, F18 Canadian & Tiger Meet, F16 Wild Weasel, F4 Phantom & Blue Angel, 1600 Corsair & Spitfire, Olive B-24, Stinger 90, Red Avanti. Extreme Flight-FW-190 Red Tulip, Slick 60, 60" Extra 300 V2, 62" MXS Heavy Metal, MXS Green, & Demonstrator. FMS-1700mm P-51, Red Bull Corsair. E-Flite-70mm twin SU-30, Beast Bi-Plane 60", P2 Bi-Plane, P-51.

      Comment


      • Originally posted by Phantom View Post

        So the 1835kv inrunner on 6s is enough to make up for the weight of the bird? I was going to throw in the 1390kv on 8s in her, over kill you think? Or is the added power null do to the added weight of the 8s system? I seem to remember when folks were complaining about the YAK-130 being heavy and under powered the 1390kv 8s system was Freewings answer...
        I have been flying mine on 8s for a couple of years now and love it! It has awesome vertical and the high alpha on landing works really well with the added thrust.

        Comment


        • I can't help but feel I got a deal today. A club member had a FW 90mm F-16, still unassembled, he wanted to sell. Had it for a couple of years and never did anything with it. I picked it up for $200 and was thrilled. I've been flying 70mm HH Viper and Hawk and had been looking at an Avanti as my next step but couldn't pass this up. After reading the posts, it sounds like it can be a handful if your not real experienced so it may sit at home for awhile before giving it a shot.

          It sounds like I should take the time to upgrade the motor and program in flaperons. I've never had to use flaperons before, how would I program them into my radio (DX9). I saw the "set uptake flap-aileron mix" in the manual but it didn't really tell me anything. Any help or suggestions on this or anything else I need to know about this plane would be appreciated.

          Comment


          • Question about the elevators. Are the supposed to lock in when you insert the rods into the holes where they attach? The only thing really holding them in place will be the push rod connecting to the servo. There's got to be more holding the elevators in place.

            Comment


            • Originally posted by Bellke View Post
              Question about the elevators. Are the supposed to lock in when you insert the rods into the holes where they attach? The only thing really holding them in place will be the push rod connecting to the servo. There's got to be more holding the elevators in place.
              Bellke Two screws anchor the pivot rod into its plastic mount on the fuselage, and the pivot rod's outermost tip (within the horizontal stabilizer itself) is fastened by way of a collar and screw. All these parts are visible in the picture on the spare parts page, linked below. I hope this helps! Since you bought the model used but unassembled, hopefully you're not missing any parts.



              Live Q&A every Tuesday and Friday at 9pm EST on my Twitch Livestream

              Live chat with me and other RC Nuts on my Discord

              Camp my Instagram @Alpha.Makes

              Comment


              • Originally posted by Alpha View Post

                Bellke Two screws anchor the pivot rod into its plastic mount on the fuselage, and the pivot rod's outermost tip (within the horizontal stabilizer itself) is fastened by way of a collar and screw. All these parts are visible in the picture on the spare parts page, linked below. I hope this helps! Since you bought the model used but unassembled, hopefully you're not missing any parts.

                https://www.motionrc.com/products/fr...ounting-pieces
                Thanks Alpha, I've got the collar and screws for each elevator, that's not the issue. It's the pivot rods themselves. I slide them into the holes in the fuselage but there doesn't seem to be anything that holds the rods in the fuselage. I push then in as far as they can go, with the elevator having maybe an 1/8" clearance, but nothing seems to be holding the rods in. They just slide in and out with no resistance. If I turn the fuselage on it's side, the elevator (with pivot rods attached) slides out. Right now the only thing that would keep it in would be the pushrod when it's connected.

                Looking at the manual, the 2 "cutouts" in the pivot rod go into the fuselage like something would catch them. But nothing on either side seems to be holding the rods with the elevator in. It just seems like something should be holding it in besides a pushrod.

                Comment


                • Originally posted by Bellke View Post

                  Thanks Alpha, I've got the collar and screws for each elevator, that's not the issue. It's the pivot rods themselves. I slide them into the holes in the fuselage but there doesn't seem to be anything that holds the rods in the fuselage. I push then in as far as they can go, with the elevator having maybe an 1/8" clearance, but nothing seems to be holding the rods in. They just slide in and out with no resistance. If I turn the fuselage on it's side, the elevator (with pivot rods attached) slides out. Right now the only thing that would keep it in would be the pushrod when it's connected.

                  Looking at the manual, the 2 "cutouts" in the pivot rod go into the fuselage like something would catch them. But nothing on either side seems to be holding the rods with the elevator in. It just seems like something should be holding it in besides a pushrod.
                  There are two small self tapping screws that go into the two holes per side, slide the rod into the fuselage mounts, then screw the two screws in, I usually take a black marker and make a stripe around each rod where the screws sit in the cut outs on the rods, easier to see the black lines when looking into the holes where the screws go to make sure everything is lined up.
                  Attached Files

                  Comment


                  • DCORSAIR is right, as usual . The product photo I linked to shows both the metal rod/hardware And the two plastic mounts (that are factory pre-installed on your PNP). One of these plastic mounts is on the fuselage side as seen in DCORSAIR's picture, with those two self tapping screws anchoring the metal pivot rod to the fuselage.
                    Live Q&A every Tuesday and Friday at 9pm EST on my Twitch Livestream

                    Live chat with me and other RC Nuts on my Discord

                    Camp my Instagram @Alpha.Makes

                    Comment


                    • Originally posted by DCORSAIR View Post

                      There are two small self tapping screws that go into the two holes per side, slide the rod into the fuselage mounts, then screw the two screws in, I usually take a black marker and make a stripe around each rod where the screws sit in the cut outs on the rods, easier to see the black lines when looking into the holes where the screws go to make sure everything is lined up.

                      Thanks DCORSAIR and ALPHA... I completely missed that part in the manual and didn't flip it over to look from the bottom side to see the screw holes. Oh Boy, I've got to slow down and pay more attention.

                      Comment


                      • Time for another dumb question. I ordered to upgraded motor (Freewing 90mm 12-Blade EDF 6S Power System w/ 4068-1835kV Inrunner Motor). The bottom cheater vent prevented me from just lifting the stock EDF out while it was plugged in, so I had to cut the foam to remove the cheater vent it was so well glued in. No problem fixing it, it's a clean cut and won't be noticeable. My question is installing the new EDF. The wiring leads come unplugged when I tilt the new EDF unit into place. The leads from the ESC stop right at the front of the EDF shroud and the EDF leads are about 1 1/2" from the front when bent around. The frustrating part is the leads on both the old and new EDF are the same length. I'm stuck trying to come up with a way to plug in the new EDF and then rotate it around to insert it into the plane w/o unplugging the leads.

                        Anyone else run into this that can offer any hints on how you made it work? I'm kicking around making short extensions but that can't be what everyone else is doing. How many people have the right size wire and plugs laying around? The other option I'm seeing is move the plastic part the screws go into. I can rotate the EDF into position but it's about 1" forward of the original one with only 1 screw hole lining up. Obviously I don't want to fly with only 2 screws (1 on each side holding it in) which means I have to cut a little more foam and move the plastic attachment point up because when I slide the EDF back to align up the other holes it comes unplugged.

                        I can't help but feel that would have been mentioned if everyone was having a problem installing their EDFs. If that's not what everyone else was doing, how did you get it to work?

                        I appreciate your patience for what will seem like another stupid question.

                        Comment


                        • Sorry for not making it clear on how to install the fan, the best way is to remove the vent, which you did, loosen both screws holding the ESC wooden cross piece but only take one screw completely out, spin the wooden cross piece out of your way, pull the ESC out so you can now pull it back a little to hook up the fan, but you have to have your fan on top as if your going to drop it in place with the rear tilted down into the opening so your wires are are longer, by doing that it should reach your ESC wires, needle nose pliers work great or hemostats if you can't get your hand in there, reach through the vent hole and hook it up, you may have to remove a little foam where the wires go through the foam channel, now once hooked up, pick up the front of the unit and push back and you should be able to wiggle it in and drop it down, the bad news is, you will damage a little foam doing it but nothing bad if you take your time and not lose your patience, I just removed a little foam where the front edge of the fan hits,makes it easier to install and take it out, you can move your ESC back a little as well to make the wires easier to plug in, spin your wooden piece back around and tighten your ESC back down and glue on your vent, I make it sound like alot of work but in a few minutes you can do it. I have only built like 5 of these F-16 so I have it down really fast now.lol

                          Comment


                          • Thanks DCORSAIR, I'm pretty much going about it as you describe, I have the fan facing backwards to I can plug the leads in. However when I start to rotate the fan to the correct position is where the problem comes up. It doesn't seem the wires are long enough with the ESC staying within the wooden tray. While the leads to each motor measure the same length, the leads on the original motor (the black housing) seem to wrap around easier than the upgrade motor (the silver housing). Right now, the only way I can get the connectors to stay plugged in is to move the ESC back almost a full inch, but then I can't fasten it down in the tray. It's starting to look like my only option is to cut the back of the wooden tray and remove some foam so the ESC fits flush again. That would allow me to swing the wooden cross piece back in place to hold the ESC. It won't be in the middle any longer, but only on the front 1/3. It should be enough to hold though.

                            I'm attaching pics so you can see the difference between the wiring of the 2 motors as they're folded back and the position of the ESC when the motor is aligned with the mounting holes.

                            Attached Files

                            Comment


                            • And while I ponder how to fix my issue with the upgraded EDF, UPS just dropped off my L-39, the camo version. All is right with the world!

                              Comment


                              • The joy continues. I decided to cut the wood tray at the back end and remove a little foam so the ESC would fit flush. Have everything hooked up and the new EDF temporarly in. Bound my receiver to make sure the EDF was blowing in the right direction before I buttoned everything up. Didn't want to have to pull eveyrthing apart to swap a couple of the leads from the EDF. After binding, I'm getting a rapid beeping from the ESC. Now to see if I can find what that error code is. sigh.

                                Comment


                                • Originally posted by Bellke View Post
                                  The joy continues. I decided to cut the wood tray at the back end and remove a little foam so the ESC would fit flush. Have everything hooked up and the new EDF temporarly in. Bound my receiver to make sure the EDF was blowing in the right direction before I buttoned everything up. Didn't want to have to pull eveyrthing apart to swap a couple of the leads from the EDF. After binding, I'm getting a rapid beeping from the ESC. Now to see if I can find what that error code is. sigh.
                                  That is strange that yours did no fit right, I just went out and looked at mine to make sure I didn't modify my ESC tray, I didn't have to do any cutting on it, but I do remember I did have to bend my wires coming out from the motor a little more to get a little more length out of them, and removing some of the foam where the wires come out of the motor and into the foam channel under the fan, it relaxed the wires when I opened that up, glad you checked your fan before you put it all back together, did that a couple of times and you learn real quick to check it the next time.............

                                  Comment


                                  • Originally posted by DCORSAIR View Post

                                    That is strange that yours did no fit right, I just went out and looked at mine to make sure I didn't modify my ESC tray, I didn't have to do any cutting on it, but I do remember I did have to bend my wires coming out from the motor a little more to get a little more length out of them, and removing some of the foam where the wires come out of the motor and into the foam channel under the fan, it relaxed the wires when I opened that up, glad you checked your fan before you put it all back together, did that a couple of times and you learn real quick to check it the next time.............

                                    Now I know why the leads didn't reach the ESC. The original came off to the side while the new EDF has the wiring coming out the back. That places the wires further back on the new EDF and also has them turning back 180* where the original is only a 90* turn. The pic will give you a better idea. I've lined them up where the fan shroud begins and both shrouds are the same length. It's how the wires exit the motor that's causing the issue of it not being a straight drop in replacement.

                                    Now if I could figure out the ESC, I'd rather not buy one and considering this is a "new" one I'm hoping I can trouble shoot it. I did find what I think is the correct manual online and it says: Trouble - "After power on, motor does not work, such an alert tone is emitted: “beep-, beep-, beep-” (Every “beep-” has a time interval of about 0.25 second)". Possible Reason - "The throttle stick is not in the bottom (lowest) position". I've tried it several times with the throttle at the bottom but I still get the beeps. I even put the original EDF back in just to see. The biggest difference was the beeps were louder and the "stutters" with the fan were more pronounced.

                                    If I do have to buy a new EDF, do you have a recommendation? It doesn't look like the original EDF is sold by Motion any longer, the closest Freewing EDF is the 150A for 8S power systems. Have you heard anything about the Geico EDFs? There's about. a $40 difference between the Freewing and Geico ESCs.

                                    Click image for larger version

Name:	IMG_0404.jpg
Views:	1065
Size:	88.7 KB
ID:	220471

                                    Comment


                                    • Ok, you got your throttle wire plugged in to your rx, and you have the BEC wire plugged into an open channel on your rx? Your throttle trim on your radio set to low? If your Futaba you will have to reverse the throttle channel.

                                      Comment


                                      • I sent you a message with my phone number if you want to call me about your F-16.

                                        Comment


                                        • Originally posted by DCORSAIR View Post
                                          Ok, you got your throttle wire plugged in to your rx, and you have the BEC wire plugged into an open channel on your rx? Your throttle trim on your radio set to low? If your Futaba you will have to reverse the throttle channel.
                                          For a moment I thought we had it, I didn't have the throttle trim set to low (Spectrum radio). Moved it down but still no luck. The BEC is direct wired into my battery cables as shown on this pic so I don't need to plug it into a receiver channel. I didn't do it, it's the way it came. Makes me wonder since you mentioned it, did some come like mine with the BEC wired into the battery leads and some needing to be plugged into the receiver?

                                          Click image for larger version

Name:	IMG_0405.jpg
Views:	952
Size:	62.3 KB
ID:	220518

                                          Comment

                                          Working...
                                          X