Right?! It’s a really fun model and the sound is pretty crazy. 😊

Yup electric is really the way to go no more fuel stuff plus way too much money. These f16s are very nice love it freewing and fms been kicking ass but I love my freewing more then the eflite fms f16

@@Thercgeek awesome flying. Would you be willing to post a high alpha tutorial? Maybe just a clip where you talk us through your sticks on some existing footage. You really nail that on this model.

It’s a really fun ride! 😊

Same man.

Thank you!

Awesome, congrats! 😁

Thanks for watching!! 😊

Yeah, sounds so cool!

So glad it was helpful! 😊

Glad it helped! 😊

Thanks man! I’m sure you’ll enjoy this one quite a bit. 😊

Yes, this is true.

@@Thercgeek Hi Chris--I bought an AR8360T 8-ch AS3X receiver to put into this BNF (saving the stock RX for another project) so I can put complete flaperons and tailerons on this model and have AS3X operate better in turbulence than your experience. What are your thoughts on this and for what I have in mind with the RX?

I think the airplane will do well with a more full house control system. It does great stock, but if you want to really take advantage of the flaperons, it does need the tailerons to help augment the roll rate loss you get. A friend of mine did this on his freewing f16 and it worked really well.

Welcome to the channel and the hobby, very cool stuff!!

Thank you so much!!

It will do it somewhat, but not for a super long time. The gear are pretty much in the scale location and the landing speeds are such that the elevators don’t generate sufficient down force at slow speeds to really hold the nose up for a long time as it slows down.

The RC Geek Yeah. That make sense. Also since we use more forward CG for RC models for static stability vs the real Vipers relaxed stability CG.

@@motionsic you can enable the ESC on the F16 to reverse, allowing for thrust reversing. I’m not sure how well it would work on this particular model(cheater holes)

I do like the scheme choices they provided as a whole. I would consider doing one of the other schemes if I were to do it again. 😊

@@Thercgeek I got custom tail graphics from Callie Graphics. She's awesome, she'll custom make whatever you want. She already had what I wanted. The LF for Luke Field and 56OG for the 56th operations group at Luke Air Force base here just outside of Phoenix where I live. It's the primary training base for F16 and F35 pilots and crews for 28 nations. Gotta pay respects to the boys...and girls... put there. It's pretty cool being able to see them coming in at night on approach...and hearing them during the day...and night. You can totally hear the difference! F35s are so much louder!

Yeah, it sounds really authentic!

Thanks! I hear next week also, so hopefully you won’t have to wait too much longer. 😊

Yeah it does!

Nice!! 😊

Mine came this way too which i thought was odd as the heat sink you would think would obviously be getting the air blown over it to cool it! I just got back from the field and it got to 220 and started pulling power back! I backed off throttle and landed it quickly. And i was just cruising around 50-70% throttle when it got that hot as well! Im going to pull the EDF out and turn it over and i hope this cures my issues. I also turned the motor timing to 5 degrees from 15 it was set at from the factory.

Is this a common problem? And rc geek did you or anyone else have to do this?

Thanks dude!

Thanks!

Thanks! I know the feeling, haha

Nice!

Interestingly enough, there weren’t many folks at the field when we filmed this. Those who were there really liked it. Unfortunately fields have become pretty limited here in SD. 😕

@@Thercgeek No worries, thanks for your reply. I'm just starting out with jets on the Habu. I'm working my way up to to this one when I get confident enough. I can remember if you flew safe in the video, but how well did it work on this jet?

I didn’t fly it with safe at all. Honestly, I don’t usually think about it as I always fly without it. That being said, if you’re going to fly with safe, I’d recommend starting with 100% rates on everything as otherwise I may limit you more than you’d want it to.

Yea f16s get people really hyped more then other jets I have but this is a awesome field u have. I fly at apollo in lake balboa basin the best

Indeed!

Thanks!

Haha, well I don’t know about that. 😉 Personally, I’ve never had any issues with the stabs or stab attachments on the f18.

@@ThercgeekOh yea... seen a fair number of people on Forums and some YT videos having issues. If you get enough torque on a stab the peg (servo side) and slot (stab side) will seperated and well, on good stab,.,one flapping in the wind. Dirt nap for sure. Seen a couple guys have it fall in full throttle dives. Although...dunno why they are full throttle in a dive LOL. I had a pretty aggressive high speed snap roll, not two mistakes high...or even one. Showing off for my girl...doh! The gods of aviation smiled on me and she just belly flopped in the dirt. It did help to get me started taking the missiles off the fuselage like you did lol. Blue Angles don't fly with stores.😋. Eflite just painted the gray Marines on in Blue Angles livery...right. Pretty smart. I'm going to basically extend the peg with a ball joint so it can't pop out again. Seems a few videos of guys doing just that. I suspect that's why the design team at Eflite didn't do the same on the new F16. Was a good idea but..a widow maker for sure. I wasn't very thrilled with that model anyway. She did fly well...clean. but, it's an F18. Banking with full flaps, like base to final, with those huge gear hanging like an eagle fishing...banked like a stuck pig. Lots of rudder. And landing... flying with a 6000mah cause 4000 flight time were so low. Really have to keep speed up on approach. Just seems counterintuitive. Carrier based plane with flaps and need more landing speed what the F16 tbird. Then again, the tbird is so light and couldn't get bigger than 4000mah in it. The tbird was my first EDF and I think it spoiled me. She's such a light girl. So agile and very throttle responsive. I love to come in crawling with a high alpha approach and then goose that throttle just before touchdown. Like a simulated flair..lol. I was thinking about painting the Tbird this summer. Use it as a practice piece. But, Eflite came out with the beautiful new 80mm with the amazingly detailed gear...makes all the different IMHO. Guess I'll redo the F18 now since it needs some fixing. Cheers man...jealous of your weather right now. 😋😁 Have fun man!

Thanks!

Thanks! The tires are pretty small on this f16, so do keep that in mind. I’d recommend flaperons for takeoffs for grass ops. How thick is the grass you’re flying off of?

@@Thercgeek We cut it short. One member has the FW F-16 and manages it.

Might do fine then, especially with flaperons. I know they were flying from grass at one of the big events recently. The flaperons did help on the takeoffs.

Thanks! Glad you’re enjoying the F-16. 😊

Thanks! 😊. They should start shipping next week I think.

I’m sorry that happened, It’s been rock solid for me. Hopefully horizon support will help you out.

Thank you!

It does like the 5000. The lighter weight is nice, but the flight times are short.

Thanks! I haven’t had any issues seeing it personally. If you are wanting some markers, red would be the way to go. Maybe consider painting it up in qf-16 colors as the tails and wing tips are danglo orange. 😊

They do! It’s a pretty dirty fan installation, so you end up with a really authentic sound from it. It’s pretty cool

When the ailerons are cambered downward, they aren’t as effective at generating a roll and adding more camber isn’t as effective at as reducing the camber is when trying to roll. So, to try and make up the difference, I set it up to get more upward aileron movement than downward movement. It works ok, but ultimately the best way to accomplish this is to add in tailerons as well like I did here: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/g7OKpZal1rXLln0.html this provides no loss in roll control when using flaperons.

@@Thercgeek thanks! did you use the same switch as the flaps for the differential?

I did, yes

@@Thercgeek awesome! Thank you so much

The designs are the same. The defining difference with the tbird is that it comes with an 8ch receiver which opens up more custom programming opportunities. The is the vid I put together for the tbird kzfaq.info/get/bejne/i8maqJmfrZ2ydYE.html

@@Thercgeek Awesome! Thanks man, and I just had to throw this cool video in for good measure, the real deal. kzfaq.info/get/bejne/qdZ-qbKXvqiseqc.html

That is where it fell out for the 100% end points. Feels good there, so if you’re having to reduce the rate to match the 90mm, I’d recommend keeping it at the full 100% rate instead.

I do think if you are proficient with the 70, you can step up to this one. The key difference is that this one flies heavier than the 70, so the takeoff and landing speeds will be faster. Otherwise, it flies very much the same with the cg further back as recommended in my vid.

Yeah it does!

Thanks! Honestly, you can’t go wrong with either one. Both the rafale and the f16 fly similarly though I find this f16 a bit more nimble to fly but the rafale lands quite a bit slower.

Yes!!! 😁

I’m flying the airplane from a 300ft strip and it does well. It takes off in about 150ft and then usual uses the whole runway on the landing roll. I don’t think 100ft is enough. The full flaperon/taileron setup works really well (kzfaq.info/get/bejne/g7OKpZal1rXLln0.html) on this model. Being a low aspect ratio wing, it doesn’t stall like a traditional aircraft, so you can really push the nose up and slow it down and it won’t roll off like other aircraft will.

I’ve not explored reverse thrust on the f16, but would be worth a try. Glad you’re liking the f16, should look great with 56th FW markings! 😊

@@Thercgeek ok...gonna try this! Hope it works cause it will be cool as Hell. Gotta wait to turn back with those tricycle gear lol. Can keep you outta the grass at ur field lol. kzfaq.info/get/bejne/ith_jZukurzQn2Q.html

Thrust reverse is extremely effective with this model. As you gain experience, you will find it’s not needed. It will really slow down prior to the mains touching with the proper technique.

Thanks for you kind encouragement! There is a workaround that would allow you to setup the burner with the throttle but it ends up nuking the telemetry. In your channel assignments, swap the channel assignments between channels 1 and 2 such that your throttle channel is now assigned to channel 2 with your esc plugged into ch 2. That will default the esc into pwm mode which will allow you to use the burner with a yharness. I am actually working on a new design that will be compatible with smart in the future such that you won’t lose telemetry and can connect it via a yharness without any mods, but don’t have an eta on that just yet. Been a long road, but I think We’re finally getting close on it.

Sorry for the late response, just saw this comment. It really depends on your experience and proficiency. A proficient pilot with some high performance aircraft experience could probably jump into the 80mm F-16 ok. However, the 70mm version is a bit lighter and a bit more forgiving than the 80mm and would be better suite if someone had a bit less proficiency.

Thanks! There’s not really a major difference between the 8 and the 10 aside from the extra channels which opens up more opportunities for custom programming.

@@Thercgeek ok, thanks. I wasn’t sure, but that’s what I thought. I wanted the extra channels just in case. I definitely didn’t want the 8, then decide later on I wish I bought the 10…lol. I have no regrets. Thanks for your reply. Have a great weekend!

Honestly, unless you’re going to add in tailerons with the flaperons (kzfaq.info/get/bejne/pt96hthhyazQYHU.html ), It doesn’t buy you much IMO. You lose roll control when the flaperons are down which isn’t favorable. That being said, when I was experimenting with it, I had actually created a filter cable that blocked the srxl2 signal that allowed me to use a yharness with the throttle channel. Not a long term solution, haha

@@Thercgeek ok so then just nix the flaperons and use the 6th channel to do a mix for the burner.

That would be my recommendation, yeah.

@@Thercgeek thanks! You are always very helpful. Wonderful channel and blog.

Thanks man, I’m glad I can help!

Honestly, my go to recommendation for a first jet is the eflite viper. It’s a great first jet. The 70mm f16 isn’t a bad option either, but the 80mm does require some decent proficiency imo based on its speed and performance.

Thanks man! It does fine without the tail weight, but it does help with the 7k pack. It’s not needed for lighter weight packs. It does roll a long way, but I’m also flying from a 300ft runway. Should do just fine on a longer runway.

@@Thercgeek I saw that it’s avian ESC can be programmed to allow for reverse thrust. I wonder how effective that would be in this model(cheater holes might be a problem) Maybe you can investigate that, it would be sweet.

In talking with Jason at horizon, he mentioned they explored that but that with the aux air grates that it wasn’t super effective at stopping the airplane.

@@Thercgeek that’s too bad, perhaps JP brakes.

You can set it up that way if you have a spare channel. That said, the access to the mechanical adjustment is pretty easy to get to as well.

The pack that I use the most in it is the Roaring Top 6s 6250mah. It's kind of the best of both worlds IMO since it's lighter than the 7000 but more capacity than the 5000. It's placed most of the way back in the battery area at this point. E-flite did update the CG in the manual with the T-bird it appears as it corresponds to about where I've been flying the airplane.

@@Thercgeek Thanks for the response! I am looking forward to my maiden flight in next week sometime.

Right?! I still love my balsa though. 😊

Thanks! Yes, the weight was still in the tailcone.

On the transmitter, you have to assign channel 6 as throttle so that the burner operates with the throttle. Unfortunately using a y harness on throttle won’t work because of the smart telemetry. The controller is designed to read a pwm input, however when the smart telemetry is active, the communication type changes from pwm to srxl2 which the burner controller doesn’t know how to interpret. Setting it up on a separate channel is the work around. I’m working on a new design that will hopefully resolve srxl2 issue, but is a while off yet before it’ll be ready.

The expo is personal preference. Without the gyro, probably will want to bump that up a bit if that’s what you’re used to.

Thanks! I’ve not noticed anything like that on the f16. So far so good I would say.

So, jets are what you work up to flying. Flying rc is incredibly fun but takes some practice to get proficient. The easiest airplanes to start with are trainer type aircraft like this ranger kzfaq.info/get/bejne/l8iDdK-htby-g30.html I also recommend seeking out a local rc club as they typically have instructors who can help you get started out training the right habits to learn.

@@Thercgeek awesome! Thanks 🙏

Yeah, the sound of the airplane is pretty nuts!

@@Thercgeek and everything else, as 80s kid stuff like this existed only in the imagination crazy cool, looks awesome with the full itinerary of weapons, the whole package is, and it makes jets flight more realistic to more people. Because gas turbines aren't exactly affordable least of all scale f16s really good review and I watched it enjoyed it.

Yeah, shouldn’t be an issue.

I have not. Maybe we’ll see that some time down the road. They went the gray route because it opens up all kinds of opportunities for customization.

That’s an interesting one, I’m not really sure. I’d recommend updating the airware in the transmitter if you haven’t already. Otherwise, my understanding is that it should be fully dsmx compatible. What was the antenna configuration and was it different between the airplanes with the issue than without?

Tried the dx6i with a dsmx a410 and no problem. Just the silly ar671t in this jet cost me the plane. Would lock out then it crashed.

The model weighs about 92oz clean, no battery. I don’t have a measurement of amp draw and won’t be able to get one for a bit unfortunately.

@@Thercgeek Thanks very much!

Is the esc getting hot? What’s the orientation of it? Otherwise, do you have a different battery you could try?

@@Thercgeek doesn't matter the brand. I use Pulse and Hyperion in all my other jets without issue. The motor isn't getting hot.

They actually provide a similar experience though F-16 is a bit more of a hot rod compared to the rafale. The f16 is a bit more nimble in maneuvering which I find a bit more fun. The rafale lands a little nicer though.

F16 all the way. I wish fms.rafale was faster but it isnt a speed machine but the mirage 2000 is much faster and better

They are sounding so much better!!! Finally sounding more like actual turbines. Which one sounds the best? I do already have an F16, but IT IS on of my favorites

@@JackilusMaximus yes I love the f16 sound I only own the freewing and fms 70s and they sound real. I agree f16 is a much better edf to fly personally they have the delta wings and stabilizers and it's one if the best looking. Mirage 2000 is also a very nice airframe and a very fun one but f16 is much better

@@jeffarab4947 Thank you both!!!

In all honesty, I’d recommend maybe picking up something to dust the cobwebs off the thumbs and then going in on one of these. They fly great, but do I do recommend having decent proficiency to help protect the investment. You know?

@@Thercgeek absolutely makes sense. For planes do you prefer spektrum or futaba radios ? Also what starter plane would you suggest to work my way back up?

The gripen is a nice performer as well from what I have seen.

It’s all relative to the amount of full throttle useage. Cruising should be around halfish throttle or less if possible and full throttle reserved for high performance maneuvers. My timer is set at 3:30 minutes and I use that as an indicator to think about setting up for landing. I’m typically on the ground at around the 4:30 mark and the cells are showing around 3.76-3.78v/cell.

It’s when the ailerons are connected in separate channels. Has to do with the configuration in the receiver. If you want to take full advantage of flaperons, I’d recommend replacing the receiver and separating both ailerons and flaps for flaperons and tailerons like I did here kzfaq.info/get/bejne/g7OKpZal1rXLln0.html

The full flaperon/taileron setup really works great on the landings. Here’s flight video kzfaq.info/get/bejne/pt96hthhyazQYHU.html

@@Thercgeek Thanks for the reply, I guess my main question is if separate channels are used for the ailerons will both ailerons have as3x or only one?.

With the stock receiver only one aileron will operate with AS3X unless you go in, unlock it and reconfigure it.

So does eflite... 🤣

@@Thercgeek Eflite made by FMS

I know man, haha

I haven’t flown this one with tailerons other than with flaperons for landings. That said, I’ve seen plenty of f16 fly with tailerons and they roll decently axial. Not quite as good as ailerons/elevator though.

Honestly at this point, the F-16. The performance and maneuverability are better with it than the f-18.

@@Thercgeek i am leaning towards the F16 😃 thanks so much, your feedback is of value

No, safe is still available. You’ll have to set it to a channel higher than ch 6.

@@Thercgeek Thank you, i Fly the Freewing F16 70mm and I still take off and land on Safe Mode. So the Full safe feature is active with the Flaperons set up you just have to move the safe to a diffrent channel? Thank you

That is correct, yes.

@@Thercgeek thank you again for always helping, will try to set it up beforw i do my maiden.

Honestly, I’m not sure I would recommend that given the investment involved. Maybe start with the habu or viper jet and then consider moving up once proficient with one of those.

@@Thercgeek I have been considering the Habu pretty heavily. I am trying to justify this by saying its a free plane via the stimulus lol.

Haha, the habu is a great flying jet and quite forgiving.

Photos of what?

@@Thercgeek… my apologies, I was looking into your center burners and other accessories but there weren’t any photos or descriptions on the items. Only the option to purchase.

Ah, ok. You probably didn’t go deep enough. If you click on the image (or the buy now button), that takes you to the specific product page for each type and there are pictures there of the different designs.

What batteries are you using? Is surging as though it's hitting voltage cutoff with a soft cutoff or something different? Also, check the orientation of your ESC that the cooling fins are facing inwards to the exhaust flow.

@@Thercgeek I used HRB 50C batteries that I use and all my 90 mm jets that go fine And we tried My friend's brand new 50C battery and it did the same thing.

Trying to update my ix12 radio so I can see where they have the low voltage cut off set from my radio.

Yeah, def check the esc settings. It shouldn’t be doing that, especially with 50c packs. Could be faulty, you might want to contact horizon support about it.

@@Thercgeek Book says it could be too cold out but it was 50 none of my other jets were doing it.

When there’s a smart receiver tied with a smart esc, the burner needs to be run from a separate channel. The smart tech changes the communication type from pwm to srxl2 and the burner controller has difficulty interpreting the srxl2 communication.

@@Thercgeek ok, I can understand that, probably why mine never shut off. So, y ing it to channel 6 what do I need to do in the radio to set it up?

Simply assign channel 6 to throttle in the extended menus.

They are just tire balance weights. I got them from Amazon: amzn.to/3iHgc7I

@@Thercgeek thank you, I appreciate it.

I’ve not tried a 4000, just the 5000. I think you’ll prefer the further aft cg. I found the 90-95mm to feel quite nose heavy. I think I’m flying the model even further aft now even.

@@ThercgeekNice! Thanks, Chris. Yea, I had to crank up the throws as well. On first flight, she just didn't want to bank. Especially like a F16 wants to and can bank! I even moved and maxed out the control rods on alirons. Question...are you saying the flaparons are a no go WITH Safe? Guys like me with one weak eye... Safe is a nice insurance policy on the investment. Especially that gray plane on an overcast day! That weak eye man...had to give up my Proctology practice. No depth perception! 🤪🤣 Might just have to try a 5000. Got the Socokin batteries cause I had an HRB 4000 die and can't CG a 5000 in the Tbird. They were a good deal too...$50 on Amazon and 80c. Always looking for that great off brand battery and looks like I found one. Even though...most all batteries are made at like 3 Chinese factories with just different labels in them LOL. Cheers!

I do t know why flaperons with safe wouldn’t work but I haven’t tried it personally. I’d recommend setting it up how I did in this vid to get the full benefits though kzfaq.info/get/bejne/pt96hthhyazQYHU.html it would require a receiver change though. Are you flying up and away with safe also? Or just on takeoff and landings?

@@Thercgeek CHRIS! You magnificent b@astard! Can CG the 4000 all the way forward at around 105-107mm! Phew! Didn't wanna have to add weight and kill flight time even more to work it out. Ok... gonna rewatch your video. You said something about 60% on one Aileron/flaparon with Safe but... was watching at the field and those damn nitro heli guys and now... nitro dragsters at the field! Loud as hell lol. The dragsters.... Traxxas has a Christmas tree dragster start rig with sensor in it to detect false starts and which lane wins. Pretty neat really. Ain't into cars but...guys have a lot of fun. Lots of laughing and crashes and laughing at crashes. Especially track racing. But damn are they noisy! Thanks man! I gotta start buying some merch! You have the best advise and always responsive! Cheers!

@@Thercgeek ok... "only one aliron responds to AS3X". Gotcha. Ok... is that all the time in Safe or only with flaparon switch engaged? Know you don't fly in Safe constantly but still good to know. 😀

So after a little more poking around I realized that the BEC is plugged into channel 6. Since the BEC only supplies power to the receiver you can plug it into the bind port which will open up the 6th channel. Plug the center burner controller in the 6th channel and assign the throttle to channel 6. The center burner will work as it should.

Yep! That’s what I did here. The issue is with the Smart telemetry, the communication type changes from pwm to srxl2 which the burner controller doesn’t know how to interpret. So, when Smart telemetry is active, the burner requires being setup on a separate channel. I am working on a new controller that should resolve this, but due to the chip shortage, its release has been significantly delayed. 😢

My apologies, I just saw this comment. Unfortunately with the 6 channel receiver, it would require choosing between the burner or the flaperons. In all honesty, the flaperons aren't that great by themselves because you end up losing roll effectiveness. I ultimately installed an 8ch receiver and set mine up with flaperons and tailerons which makes up for the loss of roll with the flaperons down. This was my initial tests for that kzfaq.info/get/bejne/pt96hthhyazQYHU.html and then this is the runthrough on the setup kzfaq.info/get/bejne/g7OKpZal1rXLln0.html

​​@@christopherperry7110 Hello, on my f16 I have flapperons and using channel 6 for this...if you use flapperons are you still using the afterburner ring and if so how did you set this up? I would love to use it without going to a 8 channel rx. Thanks!

There is a workaround that would allow you to setup the burner with the throttle but it ends up nuking the telemetry. In your channel assignments, swap the channel assignments between channels 1 and 2 such that your throttle channel is now assigned to channel 2 with your esc plugged into ch 2. That will default the esc into pwm mode which will allow you to use the burner with a yharness. I am actually working on a new design that will be compatible with smart in the future such that you won’t lose telemetry and can connect it via a yharness without any mods, but don’t have an eta on that just yet. Been a long road, but I think We’re finally getting close on it.