Wow! ....another great day for flying the F35. Put another half dozen trips on her today, 5 of which were on high rates with a little pitch vectoring involved. It was a bit windy but, she handles it just fine. I prefer to land on low rate so the ailerons are not as sensitive. They are large and very effective at slow speeds.

I was challenged to an impromptu race down the runway today by a fella flying some sort of nitro sport plane (size 90 engine I think) ...anyway, the F35 left him in it's wake turbulence. I really enjoyed that.

Looking forward to another opportunity to fly my favorite airplane.

RJ

Thinking of getting one for my first EDF for this Christmas and flying her with out the TV system till I get the hang of her. Anyone think this is a bad Idea alot of people I know have recommended it to me I just want to get a second opinion.

Thanks, Geirsen

One of the best planes to start EDF. Leave TV for later.

Originally Posted by slyfoxflyer66

Thinking of getting one for my first EDF for this Christmas and flying her with out the TV system till I get the hang of her. Anyone think this is a bad Idea alot of people I know have recommended it to me I just want to get a second opinion.

Thanks, Geirsen

This bird, with the TV off, would be a great first EDF but, not a first airplane. You should be a competent pilot with 4 channel experience before tackling one of these.
If you are an experienced pilot just follow the directions in the manual to set her up ...especially the low rate throws and expo, and you'll be very happy. She has a high roll rate with those big ailerons and you need to tame them down in the beginning.
You'll need a 7 channel xmitter and receiver for this one if you want to be able to turn the vectoring on and off. There is a way to rig the controls for a 6 channel radio but, the TV is on all of the time (not recommended for EDF beginners).
Good luck.

RJ

Hey guys thanks for the help! Now I just have a few more questions; What is the top speed? and what connectors does it use stock?

Originally Posted by slyfoxflyer66

Hey guys thanks for the help! Now I just have a few more questions; What is the top speed? and what connectors does it use stock?

Top speed? - don't know but, plenty fast for me for the time being ....guessing around 65 or 70mph. Don't expect to set any speed records with this bird in stock configuration.

Connectors? - standard servo connectors and a Deans on the ESC

RJ

OK sweet thanks for the help would the battery charge on a Habu 3s-4s charger? is it the same balance leads?

I ordered one of these from Hobby-Lobby 6 weeks ago, it arrived yesterday. I also got a Spektrum DX7, so will be able to set the plane up as described.

I started putting it together last night. I'll be posting (somewhere :-) ) a complete personal review of the kit and my experiences with it, but for now, I'd like to mention a couple of points:

1. The ESC is very poorly installed; it is supposed to be held in place with a strip of velcro. But the velcro was only held on with a few spots of glue (see first 3 attached pictures).

2. The velcro attached to the ESC is reinforced with a couple of tie wraps, but the lock on the tie wraps is positioned so it hits the side and prevents the ESC from being pushed in fully. I redid the wraps, and added an extra wrap to hold the two together (see attached pics)

3. Based on some other comments, I decided to not use the 5 minute epoxy which was supplied with the kit. I got some 15 minute epoxy, and am successfully building it with the 15 minute epoxy. Keep in mind that the times listed on the epoxy are estimates and can vary by a lot; the 15 minute epoxy I am using has a working life of about 5-7 minutes after I finish mixing it.

4. Some other people have commented that the hinges were loose. Mine aren't, but I'm not happy with them, they look and feel too flimsy. I'll be replacing them with Robart hinge pins (#308).

5. Not having a lot of space, I bought a stand which will help during assembly and at the field; the Robart Super Stand II (see pics). I had to move each end in about 5" for it to fit properly.

6. The only real problem I came across had to do with the screws holding the fan in place. When I reinstalled the fan after fixing the ESC I saw that the screws had been over-tightened, causing the wood to be slightly stripped/splintered. A simple fix was to harden the wood holes with superglue (make sure it is foam safe). Once the superglue has dried, reinstall the fan.

Overall, I'm pleased with the quality of the kit; the few problems I came across are easy to fix.


JBB

Originally Posted by linuxgurugamer

I ordered one of these from Hobby-Lobby 6 weeks ago, it arrived yesterday. I also got a Spektrum DX7, so will be able to set the plane up as described.

I started putting it together last night. I'll be posting (somewhere :-) ) a complete personal review of the kit and my experiences with it, but for now, I'd like to mention a couple of points:

1. The ESC is very poorly installed; it is supposed to be held in place with a strip of velcro. But the velcro was only held on with a few spots of glue (see first 3 attached pictures).

2. The velcro attached to the ESC is reinforced with a couple of tie wraps, but the lock on the tie wraps is positioned so it hits the side and prevents the ESC from being pushed in fully. I redid the wraps, and added an extra wrap to hold the two together (see attached pics)

3. Based on some other comments, I decided to not use the 5 minute epoxy which was supplied with the kit. I got some 15 minute epoxy, and am successfully building it with the 15 minute epoxy. Keep in mind that the times listed on the epoxy are estimates and can vary by a lot; the 15 minute epoxy I am using has a working life of about 5-7 minutes after I finish mixing it.

4. Some other people have commented that the hinges were loose. Mine aren't, but I'm not happy with them, they look and feel too flimsy. I'll be replacing them with Robart hinge pins (#308).

5. Not having a lot of space, I bought a stand which will help during assembly and at the field; the Robart Super Stand II (see pics). I had to move each end in about 5" for it to fit properly.

6. The only real problem I came across had to do with the screws holding the fan in place. When I reinstalled the fan after fixing the ESC I saw that the screws had been over-tightened, causing the wood to be slightly stripped/splintered. A simple fix was to harden the wood holes with superglue (make sure it is foam safe). Once the superglue has dried, reinstall the fan.

Overall, I'm pleased with the quality of the kit; the few problems I came across are easy to fix.


JBB

Welcome to the Freewing F35. You're gonna love the way this bird looks and flies. I had none of the problems you describe but, I did have two faulty servos to replace before I could fly it. Both TV servos were bad ...the pitch was stripped and the yaw would center in a different position everytime I plugged the battery in. Good thing I had some decent servos for replacement on-hand.

I'll probably replace the gear servos with metal gear servos when the first one strips out. I have them on-hand so, just waiting for the stock junk to go bad.
All else works well but, beware the DX7 programming instructions. They aren't exactly right but, I can't remember what the issue was. It must have been fairly simple if I figured it out on my own.

Enjoy,
RJ

I've been waiting for them to be in-stock since late August, ended up happening yesterday, and I snagged one. I will probably steal a 6ch RX from another plane, and get used to flying it, then sometime after Christmas I'm looking at getting a DX8, and will use that reciever in it. It could do tailerons with switchable TV, or mixed tailerons/flaperons with TV and steering Y-ed to the rudder channel, not sure how much quicker it would make it handle, but others I have set up similarly really wake up, and have a lot more bite at slow speeds. Also, what batteries are people putting in these without modifying the tray? I have had good luck with Zippy 2800mah 30C batteries, they are just a couple mm larger in length width and height, and tend to fit well in spots made for the 2200mah 4 cells.

Originally Posted by rowdyjoe

Welcome to the Freewing F35. You're gonna love the way this bird looks and flies. I had none of the problems you describe but, I did have two faulty servos to replace before I could fly it. Both TV servos were bad ...the pitch was stripped and the yaw would center in a different position everytime I plugged the battery in. Good thing I had some decent servos for replacement on-hand.

I'll probably replace the gear servos with metal gear servos when the first one strips out. I have them on-hand so, just waiting for the stock junk to go bad.
All else works well but, beware the DX7 programming instructions. They aren't exactly right but, I can't remember what the issue was. It must have been fairly simple if I figured it out on my own.

Enjoy,
RJ

For the money it is a good kit. I fell in love with it via the videos, and love the large wing area which will let it float in.

I'll keep in mind what you said about the servos. So far the only servos I've activated are the landing gear, and that was so I could turn it over.

I'm hoping to be able to fly it this Sunday, that will depend on any other issues I come across.

The tail fins are a very tight fit in the slots in the fusalage. The biggest thing I have to do is to replace the elevator hinges, and that shouldn't take more than an hour or so to do a good job.

I'll plug in all the servos this evening and see if there are any problems with them; if so then I'll have time to get to a hobby store to get replacements.

JBB

Originally Posted by alucard0822

I've been waiting for them to be in-stock since late August, ended up happening yesterday, and I snagged one. I will probably steal a 6ch RX from another plane, and get used to flying it, then sometime after Christmas I'm looking at getting a DX8, and will use that reciever in it. It could do tailerons with switchable TV, or mixed tailerons/flaperons with TV and steering Y-ed to the rudder channel, not sure how much quicker it would make it handle, but others I have set up similarly really wake up, and have a lot more bite at slow speeds. Also, what batteries are people putting in these without modifying the tray? I have had good luck with Zippy 2800mah 30C batteries, they are just a couple mm larger in length width and height, and tend to fit well in spots made for the 2200mah 4 cells.

I've been running Zippy and Turnigy 3000mah 20C and they do very well ...."warm" when they return from a flight. However, I plan to buy 30C + in the future. I'm anxious to try the new Turnigy nano-tech batteries. I hear they perform very, very well.
There is a moderate improvement in handling with the lighter batteries (2200mah) compared to the heavier 3000mah but, flight time is reduced to about 4 min. with moderate throttle management. 3000mah give me about 5 min. and pretty much fill up the length of the compartment.
I did modify the battery tray to take out the "lip" (very simple). I also installed a strip of velcro on the bottom of the tray to help hold the battery in place. CG hasn't been an issue because the larger batteries extend to the rear so she stays in balance. However, I do find that she needs a click or three of up trim with the larger battery.
I used double sided tape to hold the AR7100 receivers to the inside top of the fuselage.
If you read back through the posts on this thread you'll find that several folks have used a DX6i to control this bird and they explain how they did it. On fella says he rigged his so he could turn the TV on and off.

RJ

linuxgurugamer,
So far, I've only had one hinge on a stabilator loosen up. I put a couple of drops of CA in the hinge pocket and all has been well since. I may want to replace the hinges if I ever decide to increase the speed of this bird but, I'll probably buy another airplane instead and build it for speed from the start.
A couple of drops of epoxy at each hinge attach point should do the job for now.

I'm taking my camera to the field today specifically to get a good doppler pass. I want to know how fast she goes.

RJ

Well, I went flying today but, forgot the camera. Dang it!

Another great day of flying the F35. I always come home with a smile on my face after flying this one. However, I had a hard landing (let it run to LVC durn it) and broke the nose wheel activator rod ....again. It broke in a different place this time which tells me my original repair was good.
I may have to wait until the new gear set gets here before I can fly her again. Don't know if I can fix this one as it broke right at the attach point inside the gear box (the "plow" looking part).

RJ

Originally Posted by rowdyjoe

Welcome to the Freewing F35. You're gonna love the way this bird looks and flies. I had none of the problems you describe but, I did have two faulty servos to replace before I could fly it. Both TV servos were bad ...the pitch was stripped and the yaw would center in a different position everytime I plugged the battery in. Good thing I had some decent servos for replacement on-hand.

I'll probably replace the gear servos with metal gear servos when the first one strips out. I have them on-hand so, just waiting for the stock junk to go bad.
All else works well but, beware the DX7 programming instructions. They aren't exactly right but, I can't remember what the issue was. It must have been fairly simple if I figured it out on my own.

Enjoy,
RJ

Well, after reading your message I decided to test the servos. Like you, one of the TV servos is stripped, so I'm going to have to replace it. I'll be calling Hobby-Lobby in the morning to see if they can overnight me a replacement.

Speaking of which, how do you get the old servo out?


JBB