I originally did a review of this model for RCGroups' Ezonemag wayyy back in 2009 (HERE). She has been lurking in the back corner of the hanger for about a decade now? SO dusted her off, bound her up to my DX9 and took her out for a few flights this morning. Though admittedly more of a stand-off scale model, she flies pretty nicely IMO. And I was able to squeeze two 5:00 minute flights out of one 6S 4000mAh pack. 
Are there any other pilots still flying one of these old school ARFs? Original offerings included a Spitfire, a Corsair and a FW-190.
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Are there any other pilots still flying one of these old school ARFs? Original offerings included a Spitfire, a Corsair and a FW-190.
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Looks like FMS may soon be releasing an updated version of their J3 Cub ...
Adding a few photos of this upcoming model flying on floats!
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Adding a few photos of this upcoming model flying on floats!
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Kudos to Freewing for releasing a new series of smaller 64mm powered EDF jets. If the first two models to be revealed, the F-8 Crusader and F-105 Thunderchief, are any indication of how cool this series of jets is going to be, 2018 is going to be a very exciting year! The stock power system, a five bladed three cell based 64mm fan, places an emphasis on keeping the model as lightweight as possible. The thrust and power produced by the stock fan pushes the F-8 around the skies at a very respectable 60-70 MPH. Pilots who enjoy the thrill of the bash though may want a little more! FMS has a pair of eleven bladed 64mm EDFs. We decided to swap out the stock system for one of FMS' four cell 64mm fans.
The overall diameter of the FMS shroud is a millimeter or two larger than the stock Freewing shroud, requiring pilots to carefully remove a little of the foam inside the fuselage. Using a Dremel with the flexible wand attachment and a sanding drum makes short work of it. We had a Castle Creations Talon 35 speed controller lying around the hangar and so pressed it into service ... even though FMS rates their fan as needing a 40 amp ESC! Let's just say that Castle's controllers are legendary for their quality and performance ... and that they are slightly under-specced.
Here are the weight specs of both the stock and aftermarket power systems:
Freewing 5 Blade 64mm EDF Power System: Fan=2.7 oz - ESC=1.6 oz - Total weight=4.3
FMS 11 Blade 4S 64mm EDF Power System: Fan=4....Continue Reading
The overall diameter of the FMS shroud is a millimeter or two larger than the stock Freewing shroud, requiring pilots to carefully remove a little of the foam inside the fuselage. Using a Dremel with the flexible wand attachment and a sanding drum makes short work of it. We had a Castle Creations Talon 35 speed controller lying around the hangar and so pressed it into service ... even though FMS rates their fan as needing a 40 amp ESC! Let's just say that Castle's controllers are legendary for their quality and performance ... and that they are slightly under-specced.
Here are the weight specs of both the stock and aftermarket power systems:
Freewing 5 Blade 64mm EDF Power System: Fan=2.7 oz - ESC=1.6 oz - Total weight=4.3
FMS 11 Blade 4S 64mm EDF Power System: Fan=4....Continue Reading
Finally made it up to Reno for the races ... first time I have ever attended! And it was of course amazing. I shot a bunch of photos and will be posting them up here in my blog as I wade through them.
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I recently received this pre-release production sample of the upcoming and new 70mm EDF powered A-10 Warthog from FMS. It features EPO40 foam composition and an amazing level of detail, right down to properly sized individual rivets! A full load out of under-wing armaments, four panel mechanically coupled flaps, electric retracts with a landing light on the nose strut and CNC aluminum suspension equipped struts are all sure to please pilots interested in a larger model of this exciting military jet. Jump in on the ongoing discussion of the model HERE.
Pilots interested in pre-ordering this jet can do so over at FORCERC.COM
Here is a short video teaser, as well as several in-flight and studio photos of the model.
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Pilots interested in pre-ordering this jet can do so over at FORCERC.COM
Here is a short video teaser, as well as several in-flight and studio photos of the model.
| FMS_70mm A-10 Thunderbolt II (2 min 0 sec) |
| FMS 70mm A-10 Full Flight (3 min 47 sec) |
Still enjoying this Corsair! Love what E-flite is doing with their 1.2m warbirds.
And the video we did for the review:
And the video we did for the review:
| Model Aviation Magazine: E-Flite 1.2m F4U-4 Corsair BNF Basic (3 min 33 sec) |
Those of you whom are enjoying this little red speedster like I am may also have found themselves yearning for slightly better landing gear than the includes steel, coil sprung gear? RC Castle added a very nicely priced (US $25.88) set of aluminum, trailing link style suspension struts:
Top Design CNC Suspension Strut Set for Freewing 70mm Yak 130
They are described as being CNC machined out of 6061 aluminum, with the side note that they are also suitable for other 64-70mm EDF jets. Shipping to the West Coast of the US was around 5-6 dollars. It took about two and a half weeks for them to arrive from Hong Kong, including an almost one week stay in the SFO ISC.
I thought I would photo-document how I installed them. This is not necessarily the right way or the best way to do it but nonetheless the way that I did it.
It is easiest to first remove the white plastic gear overlays that cover all three gear openings. They are attached with a contact glue style of adhesive and all three of mine peeled off without damage, though I did work slowly and deliberately while pulling them off. The next step is to remove the electric retract for each gear as you start the swap out. This is necessary to access the grub screw(s) that hold the existing steel legs in the retracts. One of the grub screws can be seen in the photo below, in the brass colored insert. There are two per gear, one on each side of the retracts.
I did the nose gear first. Once removed, I used this existing...Continue Reading
Top Design CNC Suspension Strut Set for Freewing 70mm Yak 130
They are described as being CNC machined out of 6061 aluminum, with the side note that they are also suitable for other 64-70mm EDF jets. Shipping to the West Coast of the US was around 5-6 dollars. It took about two and a half weeks for them to arrive from Hong Kong, including an almost one week stay in the SFO ISC.
I thought I would photo-document how I installed them. This is not necessarily the right way or the best way to do it but nonetheless the way that I did it.
It is easiest to first remove the white plastic gear overlays that cover all three gear openings. They are attached with a contact glue style of adhesive and all three of mine peeled off without damage, though I did work slowly and deliberately while pulling them off. The next step is to remove the electric retract for each gear as you start the swap out. This is necessary to access the grub screw(s) that hold the existing steel legs in the retracts. One of the grub screws can be seen in the photo below, in the brass colored insert. There are two per gear, one on each side of the retracts.
I did the nose gear first. Once removed, I used this existing...Continue Reading
We attended the 2015 Heli Scale Masters in Woodland, California this year and put together a coverage article that appears in the newest issue of RC Heli Pilot Magazine ... which according to the editorial intro is now the only magazine remaining that is 100% dedicated to all things RC heli related.
The Osmo might be the ultimate B Roll clip generator?! Here I get up close and personal with my Osmo, as my buddy flies his Durafly Bravado:
| Durafly Bravado 3D Hybrid (2 min 35 sec) |
What a great plane! Took my new Carbon-Z T-28 Trojan out for a few early AM flights this morning. With my pal Josh Bernstein (an amazing pilot) on the sticks for the third flight, I was able to shoot a few photos.
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If you like your Rally Cars on the bigger size, take a look at the November 2015 issue of RC Driver magazine.We had some fun with the new Hobby King Basher BSR 1/8 scale 4WD Ready-to-Run Rally Car!
I added a few more helis to my ever-growing collection this past week. For some reason, I feel a special fondness for the Walkeras? They are pretty honest flyers and fairly easy to repair. My latest two are circa 2010-2011 but both are in great shape and fly nicely! A collective pitch 4F200 with a brushless power system upgrade and five bladed head joins my 4F200L scale heli. I also now have a fixed pitch 4F180, also upgraded to brushless.
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I was recently able to pen a review the 280 sized E-flite Viking biplane for the AMA's Park Pilot Magazine. Man, this little model blew my socks off! It is a ton of fun and capable of more moves than my thumbs can muster. I was especially thrilled to see it featured on the cover, with my flying pal Jeremy hanging it in a hover for me as I snapped away gathering media for the article. Park Pilot is a pretty nice little magazine IMO; lots of quality content packed into its pages!
Here is the video we worked up for this project:
As well as one of Jacob Holländer in his full size Model 12-S “Viking SE-XZA biplane!
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Here is the video we worked up for this project:
| E-flite Viking Model 12 Biplane (3 min 1 sec) |
As well as one of Jacob Holländer in his full size Model 12-S “Viking SE-XZA biplane!
| Jacob and the Viking - The man and his machine in 4K. (4 min 2 sec) |
