Official Freewing 64mm F-86 Sabre Thread

[chipset35]

Hello, This is my first Jet, My first try overhand throw it turn right into the ground, second try into the ground. Third time I moved my battery all the way back as far as I could (1600) and under hand throw. I did better still in the ground, but it slid in. Forth time, under hand tried not to over elev it, I let it build up speed only a few feet off the ground then up into the blue. Flew great land it add new battery just to see if i could do it again. Again underhand not to much elev and a way she went. Once you get it in the air it is to much fun. With the 1600 running at about 1/2 throttle i flew for 4 mins.

I had the same issues, and the damage from failed tosses caused me to shelve it.

[xviper]

Hello, This is my first Jet, My first try overhand throw it turn right into the ground, second try into the ground. Third time I moved my battery all the way back as far as I could (1600) and under hand throw. I did better still in the ground, but it slid in. Forth time, under hand tried not to over elev it, I let it build up speed only a few feet off the ground then up into the blue. Flew great land it add new battery just to see if i could do it again. Again underhand not to much elev and a way she went. Once you get it in the air it is to much fun. With the 1600 running at about 1/2 throttle i flew for 4 mins.

Hand launching an EDF can be tricky, especially if it's your first one. It's a matter of finding the right technique. The Sabre jet is not one that has high lift wings. It needs good airspeed to fly. Depending on how you throw it, you may need full throttle, give it a second or two to completely spool up before you let it go. I find it useful to have a little reflex on a switch (UP ELE) to keep the nose up on launch. Flip the switch to negate the reflex once it's flying.

[Mikecl]

My Jet Sled. Have not tried yet, Not sure how this will go but it was fun to build,Keep your finger crossed. Hopefully no more hand toss

[TiredIronGRB]

The Mig-15 and F-86 need to be thrown straight out and not up at an angle...about 1/2 to 3/4 throttle.

[Mikecl]

Hello all, I have some bad news. I am still having a problem getting my F86 in the air. The JLD works great with some wind but on a calm day long run out lol. I tried an over hand throw, but the plane took a right hand turn into the ground. Then I tried the sled again and up she went. She flew great right up until I made a hard turn at 20 ft off the ground. I think there was too much elevator and too much knife edge. BOOM lol. It split right down the middle. I should be able to get her back into shape. I did install a 40a ESC thinking I might try a 4 cell. Would it be harder to hand launch with more torque? Hopefully everyone else can still fly! It's 35 degrees and snowing in Michigan.

[xviper]

Hello all, I have some bad news. I am still having a problem getting my F86 in the air. The JLD works great with some wind but on a calm day long run out lol. I tried an over hand throw, but the plane took a right hand turn into the ground. Then I tried the sled again and up she went. She flew great right up until I made a hard turn at 20 ft off the ground. I think there was too much elevator and too much knife edge. BOOM lol. It split right down the middle. I should be able to get her back into shape. I did install a 40a ESC thinking I might try a 4 cell. Would it be harder to hand launch with more torque? Hopefully everyone else can still fly! It's 35 degrees and snowing in Michigan.

Upping the ESC to a 40A isn't necessarily going to produce the results you want. This plane has a very high KV motor (4500) meant for 3 cells. Pushing 4 cells through it may prove to be too much for it and it won't likely survive very long. Additionally, these little EDFs just don't have enough thrust to launch them via a dolly. Same goes for sudden banked turns. You gotta keep the revs and speed up. It shouldn't be any harder to launch with even higher rpms. You just have to wait a couple of seconds for it to spool up before letting it go. The torque effect is most prominent during rpm changes. Did you dial in some reflex? On my Lippy, I do an overhand throw at full throttle and I chuck it fairly briskly. On your F-86, you may need a stronger throw. The Lippy can float pretty good at low airspeed but the Sabre isn't like that at all. It needs good air over its wings.
The weather here today is the same as yours except the snow fell yesterday. We fly all winter long whenever the temps are greater than about 30F. We'll fly even colder as long as there's no wind.

[fhhuber]

7 to 10 deg AOA on the wing is what generally works best for a dolly launch. More tends to rise off before its ready, immediately stalling. Less and the dolly often prevents rotating for a lift-off.

Marginal power means you need a smoother runway and very freely turning wheels. We have a 300 ft pretty smoothly paved.

Our dollies, we usually rig for steering linked to rudder channel. You can do that with a second RX bound to the same model memory (Spektrum's model match works with multiple RXs bound to the same channel. Bind one at a time.)

You might find less than full throttle gives better acceleration from 0 airspeed. I test EDF models to find what throttle setting gives max "static thrust" using a fish scale. Small, with no wheels, hang it (STRONG string or web strap harness) and find the throttle setting where the pull drops off. Don't go higher than that throttle setting until it has 50% + of take-off airspeed. (and not more than halfway between that and max throttle before climb-out) will sometimes reduce take-off run by 20% to 50%.
It can help with hand launch to just use that max static thrust setting. Less torque effect due to less torque applied. (which keeps acting even at full throttle max speed, which is why many prop planes have thrust line offset)

Right turn on hand launch for a model made to be hand launched is torque and/or bad hand launch. (some models are just too heavy and need too much speed for a hand launch to ever work)

Going 4S is adding weight and adding more torque. That assumes the motor + EDF can handle it and you won't over-speed the impeller and make it shed blades. It will very likely just make hand launch issues worse.

[Race 22 Crew]

Yep, a bad hand lunch can get you into trouble quickly. I launched a bit crosswind in gusty conditions. Hard right roll on launch. Leveled the wings, but hit about 10 degrees nose down still. Plastic nose helped a lot. Still compressed behind it, but it took the brunt of the hit. All cleaned and what needed repairs are completed and back flying again. 4 flights the next weekend.

[rfriedersdorf]

I have the freewing 64m F86 and am having a terrible time hand launching. I have managed to get 2 flights, but I had a small amount of head wind. I am using the admiral battery 1600 and 1800 3s lipo. I was having trouble with it rolling over or just skidding in on a toss. I have even tried underhanded but that is worse yet. I finally installed a ar636 Spektrum receiver with safe. It keeps the plane level on a hand toss, but it still just settles in and skids down. Any help will be greatly appreciated. I don't have this problem with my Micro Mig 15 and micro F86.
Thanks.

[xviper]

I have the freewing 64m F86 and am having a terrible time hand launching. I have managed to get 2 flights, but I had a small amount of head wind. I am using the admiral battery 1600 and 1800 3s lipo. I was having trouble with it rolling over or just skidding in on a toss. I have even tried underhanded but that is worse yet. I finally installed a ar636 Spektrum receiver with safe. It keeps the plane level on a hand toss, but it still just settles in and skids down. Any help will be greatly appreciated. I don't have this problem with my Micro Mig 15 and micro F86.
Thanks.

Power to weight ratio is way different for both the 64mm and your UMX planes. You need a very hard throw at full throttle to have any sort of success with the big one. Best to have an experienced person throw it for you while you try to control it. It just doesn't have enough "poop" to get up to flying airspeed with a whimpy throw.

[rfriedersdorf]

I throw it as hard as I can. I have been watching you tube videos of these guys hand launching it, It looks like it just flies right out of their hand. I have the eflite F16 with safe, hope it will be much better taking off the ground. Been thing about installing landing gear on the F86 to see if that would help.

[xviper]

The problem with self launching and throwing it as hard as you can is that most of us when we throw hard, we tend to put a little spin in the object we're throwing. That's why it's better if someone else threw it so you can have your hands on the sticks right from the beginning. Even with a gyro, the plane can still roll a bit until it gets enough air going over the wings for the ailerons to work. Putting landing gear might help but that may require having a smooth surface to roll on. An underpowered plane rolling on grass won't get up to speed well. I have the P.15 Lippisch with a similar powertrain and it can easily take off with a good throw, however, I've learned to dial in a little "reflex" on the elevator (on a switch) to help keep it from dipping too much after you let go of it. You must also give it a couple seconds to fully spool up after you raise the throttle before you throw it. If you throw it while it's still spooling up, max thrust won't be achieved and the act of spooking up produces a torque effect. Also, the condition of your batteries may have a contributing factor.
Which Eflite F-16? They have a 64mm and a 70mm version. The 64mm is a 4 cell plane and should have sufficient power. The 70mm plane is a 6 cell and should not be a problem with respect to power.

[Crick3t]

Just got my F-86 Saber! Love the looks of this plane so much it makes me nervous to go maiden it. I've seen a lot of mixed reviews about hand launching this plane. Fingers crossed I can get a good launch and keep this looking good. I can't wait to get this in the air. This is my stepping stone EDF. Moving up to bigger and better after a few flights on the 64mm hopefully.

[Crick3t]

Maiden flight yesterday was GREAT! Used full throws on all surfaces. High rates 100% & 30% expo for aileron, elevator. Low Rates 70% & 20% expo for aileron, elevator. I used low rates except for during launch . I ran 5 packs through it after the maiden. Loved every minute of it. This is a truly great flying plane! I'll probably be getting the 80mm version in the future.

My only issue with this is the fuel tanks on the wings do not stay on at all. They came off on the maiden landing. I flew the rest of the day without them and had zero issues. Need to find a better way to secure those.

LOVE THE F-86 64mm

[Smitten4jets]

I’ve had one of these for a while and I’ve done some pretty crazy stuff with it. It’s one of my favorite planes. So, what did I do?
1. Place a Zohd flight controller in the little bird. With this device the controller will let you set the system to “return to home” mode when launching. So I can firewall the throttle BUT nothing happens until I hand launch. About 3 meters from my hand the throttle kicks in and the little bird flies itself in a circle while climbing to 130’. Then I take the controls and zoom around.

2. I took the Zohd out and place in an FPV camera with on screen display. I flew the plane from launch through landing wearing goggles the OSD like a heads up display was amazing

3. I’ve used a 4s 120C quad battery. It didn’t really fit so I used rubber bands to hold the canopy on. Fast as hell.

4. I Lost signal control of the plane once. It made a spiraling dive into grass from about 200’. Only the drop tank suffered structural damage. The nose showed wrinkling but that’s it. Plane was still humming and trying to fly when I got to the impact area.

this is an amazing model with tons fun things you can do with a small platform. This one just won’t break but, if it does, I’m getting another right away.

[Crick3t]

I’ve had one of these for a while and I’ve done some pretty crazy stuff with it. It’s one of my favorite planes. So, what did I do?
1. Place a Zohd flight controller in the little bird. With this device the controller will let you set the system to “return to home” mode when launching. So I can firewall the throttle BUT nothing happens until I hand launch. About 3 meters from my hand the throttle kicks in and the little bird flies itself in a circle while climbing to 130’. Then I take the controls and zoom around.

2. I took the Zohd out and place in an FPV camera with on screen display. I flew the plane from launch through landing wearing goggles the OSD like a heads up display was amazing

3. I’ve used a 4s 120C quad battery. It didn’t really fit so I used rubber bands to hold the canopy on. Fast as hell.

4. I Lost signal control of the plane once. It made a spiraling dive into grass from about 200’. Only the drop tank suffered structural damage. The nose showed wrinkling but that’s it. Plane was still humming and trying to fly when I got to the impact area.

this is an amazing model with tons fun things you can do with a small platform. This one just won’t break but, if it does, I’m getting another right away.

4S ? Did you change the ESC? I don't think the stock ESC is 4S capable is it?

[xviper]

4S ? Did you change the ESC? I don't think the stock ESC is 4S capable is it?

I don't think the motor can take 4s for very long. It's already a very high KV unit.

[Smitten4jets]

I don't think the motor can take 4s for very long. It's already a very high KV unit.

No change on the ESC. I run it the way it is. I don’t firewall it too often either. Soooooo..........
have fun! Fly em like you stole them.

Ill post some pics and vids when I get the chance.

Scott M

[Crick3t]

What size 4S battery are you using?

[Crick3t]

Took out the 64mm F86 today. Flew great. Decided it was time to see how it would do on 4S. I put in an Eflite 2200mah 4S pack. Fit perfectly! The jet launched easier with the additional power. For about 2min the F-86 flew amazing on 4S and then the great white smoke came from the motor around 2:15 seconds on my flight timer. I managed to dead stick to the runway with no issues and had a nice landing.

After testing. Motor 100% DEAD!!!! ESC & everything else still in great shape no problems.

I know another user said they have done this and had zero issues. I unfortunately can't report the same results as my motor died!

Without a doubt the F-86 flys way better on 4S. So i have ordered a new motor that will support the 4S setup. Can't wait for it to come in and try things again.