rob737

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hey guys......is anybody flying one of these? happy with it? (easy to rog, durable, good electronics, etc). also, wondering just who makes this plane? it shows up on both the freewing and riccs websites. thanks to all who reply! rob

giddyuperic

Do you have a link so we may see what you are talking about please. That would help.

rob737

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sure, thanks for asking. here it is:

http://ultimaterchobby.com/product/t...plane-rtf.aspx

a few other retailers are selling it, too. bananahobby posted a flight video, it looks sweet.......but worried about the "riccs" connection (from prior bad experience).

aviator24

I got one today! Put it together in an hour. It is pretty impressive. Cannot wait to fly it...

rob737

My Feedback: (3)

i just saw your post..........congrats! please post a flight report as soon as you can! thanks....rob

aviator24

I sure will!!

[email protected]

There are differences between the two airplanes.

aviator24

Finally...flew this rocket! Well, I went out to a small airport I fly full scale from. I wanted all the runway I needed to get this new T-38 in the air and back down with no trouble. I took my sidekick with me armed with a digital camera to get some in flight action. Take off was nice and smooth. What little correction I needed was easily accomplished with the steerable nose wheel. It was only about 25 yards of runway that required more than sufficient speed to lift off. This jet accelerates unbelievable fast. Once airborne, all that was needed was a bit of left aileron trim and the T-38 was flying beautifully. The speed was extreme. After leveling off I brought the jet around for a photo pass. Well, I am sorry to report, my photographer was UNABLE to keep this jet airplane in the frame!!! As I was flying all I could hear was, "I cannot get it, it is too fast!" I tried another pass, then another. Not much I could do as my attention was focused on having a blast flying this High Powered Electric Ducted Beast.
Just a touch of aileron was all that is need and it rolls with such precision and speed. This is by far the quickest roll rate I have ever experienced. Straight and level flight was not a problem as well. Even with half throttle, this jet was very fast. What a sight it is to see it fly.
Since this was my maiden flight, I limited it to some high speed passes, rolls and only one loop. It turns as if it is on rails. The dual servo action on both the aileron and elevator is quick and precise. There is just no lag whatsoever. The response is instant and very secure.
My flight was done in no wind so this was never a factor. From what I am able to tell, wind will not be much of a concern for this very aerodynamic airframe. It simply flies as good as it looks.
Landing was uneventful as the landing gear are more than adequate for a model of this size.
Well, as I speak, my battery is charging, getting ready for another awesome flight. I cannot wait.
For the next flight, I will have my digital camcorder ready to document this bird in flight. I promise to have nice video footage showing just what I have described.
Stay tuned...

aviator24

Well...flew the T-38 a few times today.
I took off the landing gear and did a hand launch. I do not recommend doing this all by yourself. I was the only one at the field and was too impatient to wait. To my surprise, I launched it and got on the controls and did OK. First thing I must admit, the roll rate on this is ridiculously FAST! Even with the servos and linkages at the lowest settings, this jet will do a roll or five in the blink of an eye. It is as responsive as anything I have ever flown. Not saying this is a bad thing, but this is no trainer. When it is screaming through the sky, it is a very cool sight. No photos or video can truly do this jet justice. It simply has to be seen to believe how fast and sweet it looks ripping through the sky. It is that fun to watch. It sounds as good as it looks. Of course, for this flight, there was not a person around to enjoy it with me.
Later on the field began to get crowded. Finally, the Lipo was charged and ready to go. It felt like all the field suddenly became quiet and all eyes were on me and the T-38. Everyone wanted to see it fly. Well, I choked! In my haste to hand launch it and jump on the controls, I gave a bad toss. I pretty much threw the plane into the ground! It snapped in half just in front of the wings! DANG IT! How embarrassing. Well, I had some quick drying CA glue with me and 10 minutes later, it was all ready for another try! A fellow RC flier took pitty on my solo efforts and offered to do the hand launch for me. That was all I needed to get this jet screaming through the sky yet again. By this time the sun was setting and it was beginning to get dark. Well, this combine with a totally black Jet Rocket did not make for a good combination! I was having a very difficult time determining the orientation of the plane. In the future, I will paint the bottom Yellow, this would have helped greatly. But by the time I realized it, I was in trouble. I was able to make few nice high speed passes. Next thing I knew, I thought I was heading for the ground too fast. I pulled up, only up was down. The T-38 did a nice job of nose planting in the ground at a very high rate of speed. The nose cone was actually stuck about 3 inches into the ground. The fuselage was destroyed from the wings forward. All the electronics were fine, I was lucky. Well, as SOON as I can get a new airframe from my friends at RICCS, I will be back in the air. It cannot come soon enough. Till then...

koolaid535

aviator24,
I quick question, I thought the t38 was crash resistant. does yours say that or is it a different model.
I have a f-16 from famous and on my maiden flight it crashed, nose broke off, left wing broke and one of the elevators broke off.
so im looking at getting this jet. but reading your post it looks like its not crash resistant.

aviator24

It is definately not crash resistant. There is a similar model on the market, may be that one? You can go to http://www.riccs.cn/product_show.php?type_id=&id=87 and get the details of my T-38. I would be very skeptical of any ducted fan jet claiming to be "crash resistant". I have seen a few trainers that have a couple crash resistant features, designed to prevent the plane from smashing into the ground using sensors.
The RICCS T-38 I have was pretty tough during a crash. When I snapped the fuselage in half due to my bad hand launch, I had it back in the air in under 10 minutes!

koolaid535

http://www.bananahobby.com/1707.html
take a look at this and tell me what u think.

aviator24

It looks very similar to RICCS. RICCS has a narrower body. Plus thier T-38 has two servos on both the tail elevator and main wings, one on each aileron. It looks fine otherwise. Check out http://www.raidentech.com/arffoamplanes.html they have a ton of jets cheap! Never ordered from em though, but a friend of mine has had good luck with them...

koolaid535

Thanks, Im going to keep looking,
I think im going to get a prop plane first seeing im not good at flying planes.
I fly heli's.

aviator24

Wow, I fly helis too, into the ground
You will be sorry if you get a ducted fan as your first plane. Do yourself a favor and start with a trainer...

aviator24

Well I received my new T-38!
I have it all together! The fan was making contact with the outer engine shroud under power. It would not do this when I hand turned it? I have read this has happened to another person on a different RC thread? Also been hearing I need to put a bigger ESC in it as well?
I want to make sure it is 100% perfect before I fly. I do not want to crash another one.
On a positive note, I did put some Yellow Stripes on my new T-38. It looks really nice and will be much easier to see when I fly it!

mhbirdfd

I have the T-38 Talon made by Freewing and have it built and ready to go, the only thing is that the manual does not mention travel adjustments for the control surfaces, what did you use for the ailerons, elevators, and rudder. Did you use any dual rates or exponentials ? Thanks Dennis

rchobbytime

You guys convinced me, I just bought the T38 from ultimaterchobby, I bought from them before, around 3 day shipping, so I plane on having it around Monday! Can't wait to get it. Feel free to post any advice prior to flying, I don't want to do my typical up and down, then back to repair!

aircraftking

One thing I remember from the short time my friend had flown his, it is fast so just respect the speed of it and you should be ok. You definitely need throttle management. On your first flight I would fly it for about 5 minutes and start your approach, that way if you come in bad you will have enough battery to go around for another pass or two. Good luck!

MarKEC

The Freewing T-38 performs well right out of the box however with the 20mm installed i was limited to 4-5 min flights. This plane was built to fly fast flybys with impressive profile. My motor has been replaced with a X-Fan Jetscreamer and the outrunner performance is assuring.
aviatar24 post a good review and T-38 performance and attached a nice Pic. I'll have to paint my bird to look as good as his since i received the thunderbird scheme and want a new look.