Mr.Pibb

Just wanted to share my experience as a completely new flyer with the FF. I've had great results with this thing so far. Of course, I have nothing to compare it to since I'm new to this. I've flown maybe 5 times so far, the only "major" crash was when the engine cut off from the battery being low and it was in a poor position to land. It was heading toward me and...well...being a newbie flyer (3rd flight) I banked left when I really meant to turn right and it cartwheeled off the left wing. Left a VERY small crease in the tail that hasn't seemed to change the flight characteristics. I've even gone so far as to attach a rigged up wireless camera to the bottom of it and it still flew great. I'll try to find a place to put my video so I can share it .

Anyway, I've been real happy with this thing so far, and in my opinion it has been a great beginner plane for me. We'll see what happens when/if I change to the lower holes on the tail. I did turn ACT off fairly quickly as it kicked in a few times I didn't want/need it to.

Also, I've had no problems with hand launching this thing. I toss it myself, and typically I don't throw it very hard. how "Vertical" are you guys that are having banking problems throwing this thing? I throw it nearly horizontal, maybe 5-10 degrees up.

What's the improved tail folks mentioned here? I saw something on e-bay but I'm not sure if that's what you folks are talking about.

Mr.Pibb

OK, here's a video. My first attempt, camera didn't have audio, was out of focus, and it was starting to get dark. Next video (when the weather clears) will have audio and the video quality should be better.
[link=http://s54.photobucket.com/albums/g93/Mr_Pibb/?action=view&current=RedBaron.flv]video[/link]


edit: funny thing is...looking at the video it does look like it banked left at the launch. I'll have to pay more attention to that the next time!

hellyeh

Can't view the video , need password .

Mr.Pibb

oops, I think I copied the wrong link. How about this:
http://s54.photobucket.com/albums/g9...t=RedBaron.flv

phr0zen81

Get battery booster pack that has a 12V car outlet that way u can take it to wherever u go.

rock ON

new in the skies

We are new flyers. I bought the Firebird Freedom for my husband for Christmas and we've been out twice trying to fly it. The first time, we experienced what sound like typical beginner problems. We could get it in the air for a bit, but eventually took a turn too hard or hit some wind and crashed. It held up for a few crashes, but then the tail broke. We went to our local HobbyZone store and bought a new tail. My husband put it on and now it won't fly at all. When we try to hand launch or launch from the ground, it basically nosedives. If we hand launch, it just comes right back down, nose first. If we put it on the ground, the tail goes up and the nose goes into the ground. Any suggestions would be much appreciated.

jcblough

It is the screws on the tail - check the manual for how to adjust them if you nose dive. I think you need to loosen the rear screw some. Go at a turn a time. A good heavy toss won't hurt either.

packyj

I've had a few great flights with mine... however now the motor turns on and off whenever it feels like it along with the servos.... hz told me to send it in so we'll see what that's all about

BubbaJoeLouis

MsgtRob , You are dead on. These wings are substandard. I am sure they enjoy selling replacements; hey who wouldnt for $15 for puffed nothing? I have a Freedom and another friend got one as well. The wings always fold up in the air. My friend's came straight down in a death spiral and collapsed the motor mount. I got "lucky" and only lost one wing and the tail

I dont mind if i land poorly and trash the wings, but for a wing to just crease in mid-air is unnacceptable. There is also an argument that no wing can be designed to handle hitting the ground, but these are sold as beginner planes and it costs a solid $25 to replace the wing and the tail each time you take it out.

These wings need carbon spars added, period. I am tempted to design my own wings out of foam poster board at the store for $2. Also I am thinking of adding a bit of aircraft plywood to the tail to prevent the crease that occurs each landing near the boom.

I hope to hear how HH responded to your call, and I plan to give them a call tomorrow too. They need to improve the wing design somehow.

BJL

Mr.Pibb

I have to chime in with my experiences since there seem be be some that have had some problems with this plane. I'm not saying you are doing anything wrong, I just want those considering this plane to hear my overall good experiences with this plane.

Wing durability: First, my experiences have shown that this plane is EXTREMELY durable. I've hit the ground VERY hard wing first, picked it up and flew again. I've been able to maneuver extremely well and after quite a few flights have become very comfortable that this thing can handle some tight loops and turns, even with a 3 oz camera attached. After probably close to two dozen total flights, I started to get cocky and thought I could perform an inverted loop yesterday. I sort of forgot the fact that, as it drops it gains speed, and as it gains speed the wings gain lift...I thought I was just going to make it, but I clipped a tree and saw pieces fly everywhere. The battery pack wound up about 8 feet in front of the plane, and the rod connecting the two wings was in shreds, but the only major damage to the wings was a notch on one of them apparently from the propeller. The tail was cracked so I did replace that (with my own home made wing made from corrugated plastic material). A little tape on the notch in the wing and a thin piece of plastic taped to one of the wings just to add a little reinforcement and I was off and flying still with the original wings and a replacement rod!
I must say, however, that I did had to add a small amount of reinforcement to the wings after some of the earlier crashes. Both wings had started to develop a crease immediately outside the plastic sheet on top of the wing. It was still flying, but it made me a little uncomfortable. I added a piece of thin plastic taped down with clear packing tape to each wing and they seem to be holding up just fine.

Guys, I've gotten to the point now where I really push this plane hard and my wings haven't folded yet. I'm certainly not saying that yours didn't, but for some reason I've not had the same experience as a few others. With my home made tail wing the plane turns even harder than it did with the stock wing. I've seen the wings bending when I turn, but they have been holding up fine. Where have yours been failing, right beside the plastic sheet on the top of the wing? If so, maybe you just need to add a little reinforcement in the form of a sheet of plastic film or something.

Flight instability: I've noticed a few things that have caused this for me.
First, and the most extreme: the batteries in the transmitter. I was having all kinds of strange control problems. I changed the batteries in the transmitter and not only did it stop glitching, but it was more responsive overall as well. If you are having problems with the plane pulling hard to one side or the other or behaving strangely, change the batteries in the transmitter first to see if that is the cause.
Second: Wind. This plane does not like wind at all. Avoid it until you are very comfortable flying, and even then use caution!
Third: Tail adjustment. I've found that the plane seems to behave the best when you have the tail adjusted such that when in flight at normal speeds you have to set the trim almost all the way forward to keep it from stalling. That seems to make for the best launches either hand or wheeled take off. Also, if you are having trouble flaring the plane at landing this adjustment seems to fix that.

My minor gripes: The plane does require more speed than I would have hoped for to keep it from stalling. It makes it tough for a beginner to land because you really have to give yourself a lot of space at first for a long approach. Also, when it does stall it seems to want to turn hard right if you have the throttle up. This is probably from torque, but it is awfully scary when you don't expect it!
Battery charging: Is it just me, or are these batteries awfully finicky on how they must be charged. If I don't go through the cycle of draining, then charging almost right before flight I get horrible performance from my battery.

In the next day or so I'll take a couple pictures of my wings, maybe there are some differences in how they are manufactured? Plus, you'll be able to see the plastic I added.

jcblough

I have found the same thing on all horizon packs. they are nimh and shouldn't require cycling but these do. My wings collapsed right at the edge of the of the plastic on the wing.

I think alot of the griping comes from the fact that people are having these problems from a $140.00 plane when for $110, they could have gotten a challenger that seems to be a very versatile plane that stays in guys hangars. As for me and my freedom, I'm done with it. After the wing collapse and subsequent crash, I've got like $60 in parts to replace on it and it isn't worth it. At the end of the day, I wish I had bought a challenger and I think if you read the threads here and on other e-flight forums, you'll find that is the general consensus on this plane.

vicfett

I don't know if anybody or somebody has figured out the problem of the motor starting and stopping back and forth. I believe that I have figured it out. It's something that HobbyZone could actually fix. There is a three prong transistor, I think that it's actually not a transistor but something similar. It sticks up high on the mobo (motherboard) inside of the plane. It's basically the only one on the mobo. Well, on mine the motor started stalling on me right after some serious hard hits. I changed out the motor and it still did the same thing. I then ripped everything out of the plane and found that transistor basically wobbling back and forth and had broken loose in the last impact with the ground. I put on some throttle and moved it back and forth, and sure enough, it would kick on and then off again. I seriously don't know why hobbyzone would have this electronic component sticking out so far from the mobo. Possibly to keep the heat it generates from the other components. I believe that this component is the actual part that controls throttle.
Just a heads up. It flew good for months, until the last really hard hit to the nose, knocking it loose.
[&:]

markind

HI ALL! I JUST HAD MY FIRST FLIGHT WITH MY FBF AND AM TOTALLY RUSHED!

Ok, it was really my third time out with it, but the first two times were cut short by my inexperience, WIND, and a TREE!! [:@]

After those first two brief attempts, I did some reading (and some repair - both my wings sheared out of their plastic toothed holders but I put them back together fixed them with white glue) and did some simulator time on FS One and Realflight.

I then spent some time with the mechanics of the FBF and maxed out my control surface throws on the V-tail. I assumed I needed the maximum amount of control throw to help avoid undesireable contact with the ground

Then I used Google Earth to find a nearby spot! And I found one very close by! A vacant lot over 800' x 800'! The ground was plowed but with small shallow furrows, hard packed, and topped with 3" - 6" of dried grasses. Easy to walk on, and easy to land on (without the wheels attached of course). Very little traffic in the area, and today was perfect. Wind gusts *****g out at maybe 6 mph.

I had learned from an old pro to 'keep the wings level' on these V-tail park flyers. This advice pays off well and I avoided those 'single wing stalls' that can get you cart-wheeling into the ground. My son gave the FBF a good push into the wind and I gave full throttle and nervously built up some airspeed and altitude.

I then could gently bank and come around in big leisurely circles. I was flying!! My adjusted FBF has really decent pitch authority, so I could maintain my desired altitude at any level of throttle - this was why I went with a 3-channel in the first place.

WIND - there was a couple tense moments when the wind was up to maybe (I'm guessing) 6 mph or so. I really had to 'fight' going into the wind and the FBF was really 'shaky' when flying with the wind. Still, I had conditioned myself to NOT PANIC and kept the wings level and bossed the nose up or down to maintain altitude. She did just fine! That was the max wind I would ever care to deal with. [&:]

NO WIND - for several minutes at a time, the wind actually died down to ZERO. Then, the FBF became a flying dream. Perfectly smooth, and relaxing. I actually took both thumbs off the controller and just watched it sail by a few times. Truly an excellent experience. I even pulled off a couple full clean loop-the-loops!! [>:]

After 5 or so good launches and landings, I was satisfied for the day! This was my first real flying of an RC airplane, and I'm very happy with the FireBird Freedom.

Santa also gave me an Aerobird Extreme this year but I'll save that for another post

~mArK

carguy1994ca

Hi all ! I bought the freedom for my 8 yrs old daughter and find it pretty cool. I fly at an rc club field and we took the freedom there for our fist flight. Very nice. She can do turns while at about 200 ft in hte air and i land it for her. She likes the slow control so if she gives too much input the plane does not respond too agressively.

We also tried the bomb module and its great. This week end i tried it on snow with dubro park flyer skis and i ROG very nicely. Touch and goes on skis are terrific !!

The only problem i encountered with this plane is when the transmitter batteries went low and i flew too far away: Lost contact and the plane went down. Very little damage escept for crushed motor mount but pulled it in place.

Very satisfied for the price.

boyercam

Hello All,

I have a firebird Freedom nd I must say it is a very neat R/C Plane.

However, My motor keeps cutting out at leas 15 secouds after a FULL CHARGE.
2 Years ago it did crash and got wedged in the ground, the motor acted like a drill and went strait through the black bit of the fuleslarge.

That is now fixed. Had a go with it today and after 15 secounds the motor cuts out. Put it on charge AGAIN, and this time it flew for 10 secs after 5 secs of PFC (pre- flight- checks) with the ATC on. So I put it on charge AGAIN and turned ATC off, This time it didn't acctualy get into the sky. So I checked it all again and the same thing. 15 secs worth of motor time!


The batterys in my plane were FULLYCHARGED
The batterys in my Transmitter were fine.

What's wrong,

I know the motor is to cut off if the battery gets too low, but this battery is FULLY CHARGED.

If anyone can help me, I would be estatic!!!

Please Reply or PM me

Boyercam.

Swift427

You say β€œit flew for 10 secs after 5 secs of PFC (pre- flight- checks).” So are you saying that with the plane within a few feet of you the motor/prop will still only spin at most for only 15-30 seconds at medium-to-full throttle? If so, one possibility is a damaged motor drawing too much current in which case the RX’s ESC cuts out after 15 seconds of flight or the ESC itself may be damaged. If this is the case then first try comparing (bench testing) another motor/prop combo of same/similar size/voltage that you know is good to see if it solves problem. If the problem still persists then the ESC circuit is more likely at fault. Or it could be as simple as a faulty antenna wire connection.

The following antenna wire trouble shooting assumes that during your β€œpre- flight- checks” the motor/prop will keep spinning much longer then 15 seconds at medium-to-full throttle when the plane is close to you.

Due to previous dart CRASH β€œ2 Years ago” the antenna wire may have been severed somewhere inside the fuselage or no longer attached to the circuit board ant. solder point … in which case the TX to RX range is drastically reduced.

In your preflight check get a buddy to first walk the FF 25’-50’ from you … does motor/prop spin within this range at low throttle/prop speed? If OK try at 50’-100’ … then 100’-200’. If everything is OK repeat again, but this time with throttle at medium to high speed. This trouble shooting should determine whether it’s a relatively simple problem to fix(antenna connection) or whether the RX/ESC (and or motor) has been damaged beyond repair.

Happy Trouble Shooting [8D]