Flight B/C

[pumptato-cat]

I'm back again with yet another question...
What are your opinions on Freedom Flight? I was deciding between J&H's Stinger or the 2023 FF kit, and both are around the same cost. I'm so confused right now and I've done a ton of research+spent a lot of time on this. I still have not come to a conclusion and I'm running out of time.. Thoughts?... Any help would be much appreciated. (context: I have experience w/ gluing delicate pieces from bridge, I'm patient, but I'm not sure if I can build FF without screwing up. I don't want to waste 79$, but J&H is so expensive...)

[bjt4888]

I'm back again with yet another question...
What are your opinions on Freedom Flight? I was deciding between J&H's Stinger or the 2023 FF kit, and both are around the same cost. I'm so confused right now and I've done a ton of research+spent a lot of time on this. I still have not come to a conclusion and I'm running out of time.. Thoughts?... Any help would be much appreciated. (context: I have experience w/ gluing delicate pieces from bridge, I'm patient, but I'm not sure if I can build FF without screwing up. I don't want to waste 79$, but J&H is so expensive...)

Cat,

Kits from both companies are not that difficult to build. My teams have ordered and used parts from both companies kits in the past. This year, the two companies C division kits are using different strategies. The Freedom Flight kit has a longer wing span that sits angled in the box and the J&H wingspan fits in the box sitting flat. The FF kit comes with extensive written and pictured instructions and the J&H (typically in the past; haven't seen an actual copy of the kit this year) comes with a less detailed instruction set, but posts extensive and good quality build videos on their website.

Both should perform well, just a matter of deciding which strategy and instruction method you like.

Brian T

[pumptato-cat]

Ok, thank you so much!! Looking forward to flying this year

[danxmemes]

Hi, I'm having some issues with flight, and I have a few questions,

While trimming the plane, everything goes relatively well. However, I cannot get the rubber to perform as it seems to do for others.

1. The rubber band keeps snapping, what seems to cause this?

2. How far should I stretch it before winding?

3. How many turns is optimal? I try to do around 70 but it keeps snapping before even reaching that

4. Is it something with the making of the motor that causes it to snap? if so what can I do in order to fix this?

If you can answer this that would be great!! Thanks

[NewFlyer20002]

Hi Danxmemes,

You are using the wrong "rubber". The rubber bands (office supply rubber bands) used to keep newspapers etc. rolled up are not the correct ones. The "rubber" referred to in free flight modelling is FAI Tan Super Sport. The FAI Tan super sport can be stretched 7-11 times its length without snapping/breaking. These are the ones included in the kits.

As mentioned in earlier posts, you can buy pre-cut widths from many of the kit builders (J&H, Freedom flight, Guru, Lasercut). All are very pleasant to interact with. One "order" of a specific size will be sufficient for many motors. However, I suggest you try to get 2 or 3 sizes to test out.

As for your other questions, the link provided by bjt4888 in his posts above will answer your other questions and give additional insights.

Good Luck!

NewFlyer20002

[bjt4888]

Hi, I'm having some issues with flight, and I have a few questions,

While trimming the plane, everything goes relatively well. However, I cannot get the rubber to perform as it seems to do for others.

1. The rubber band keeps snapping, what seems to cause this?

2. How far should I stretch it before winding?

3. How many turns is optimal? I try to do around 70 but it keeps snapping before even reaching that

4. Is it something with the making of the motor that causes it to snap? if so what can I do in order to fix this?

If you can answer this that would be great!! Thanks

Danx,

Yes to all that Newflyer wrote.

Once you are tying motors and winding using the procedures I detail in the attachment and YouTube video above, if you are still breaking motors, let us know. The doc I attached has an equation in it for calculating maximum turns you can wind a motor. The video is me demonstrating how to wind a rubber motor.

Brian T

[danxmemes]

Thanks for all the info. I am currently using rubber from J&H. When I am stretching it I notice the tension is very high at around 4x its original length, and I am afraid to go further. I have also read your guide for rubber motors. I found it very helpful, but I do not understand how the motor can possibly get to 4.7k winds when we can barely even get to 1600. What else am I doing wrong here?

[pumptato-cat]

Hey bjt4888, medium “gap filler” CA from Zap is 18.90$ with shipping... does old CA glue make a difference? because I don't want to spend that much on 1oz of CA glue

[bjt4888]

Thanks for all the info. I am currently using rubber from J&H. When I am stretching it I notice the tension is very high at around 4x its original length, and I am afraid to go further. I have also read your guide for rubber motors. I found it very helpful, but I do not understand how the motor can possibly get to 4.7k winds when we can barely even get to 1600. What else am I doing wrong here?

Danx,
Read the document carefully. You’ll see that, for that year the rubber motors were around .060” wide rubber strip and the example motor was 26” long. A typical motor for this year will be .094” wide strip and 15” long loop. Using the equation in the document, you will see that maximum turns for a 15” loop of .094” (reallly this is .0624 g/inch more exactly) is 1,963 turns. As the document explains, these are turns required to break a motor. So a reasonable target for turns for a first use of a motor would be 1,500 to 1,600, or 100 winder turns using a 15:1 winder. Note that as a motor is “broken in” by using several times it improves in energy storage and is permanently stretches slightly and takes more turns. My teams shoot for 82% of breaking turns for the first use and up to 90% (or 95%) on the third use. Best use is usually the third or fourth if winding like this.

Brian T

[bjt4888]

Hey bjt4888, medium “gap filler” CA from Zap is 18.90$ with shipping... does old CA glue make a difference? because I don't want to spend that much on 1oz of CA glue

Cat,

We bought three 1/2 ounce bottles for that price. This is enough for construction and repair of the 18 airplanes my teams will build this year. Yes, fresh matters a lot.

Another possible good source for good CA are Fly Fishing shops. If you have an Orvis shop that stocks fly tying supplies in your area or a real hobby shop (not Hobby Lobby) you can ask them if the CA on the shelf is new this season.

Brian T