Spitfire76
Well-known member
Yes, it was great to get some stick time on the F16 even it was only in the air and for a short time, hoping to solo next time.
Spitfire76's Build Log of Ben's XF-16
- Thread starter Spitfire76
- Start date
CappyAmeric
Elite member
Finished and maidened Ben's excellent design. Mine is done in IAF F-16i Sufa (Thunderstorm) livery. Tail number is the same as the celebrated F-16i that has over 6 air-to-air kills as well as bombed Iraq's Osarik nuclear plant.
70mm EDF, 80 amp ESC. 6s LIPO. CG is about 15mm forward from the plans, most likely because the 6s 70mm gives some nose up thrust. Even with the CG more forward, the 2200 mAh LIPO was tucked into the front of the wing. I extended the canopy plate back about 30mm to accommodate the aft battery placement.
Because these foam board pointy noses never survive first contact, I use a 3d print nose attached with magnets.
It flew very nicely, self-launch. EDFs are always hope and pray for the maiden if you have to self-launch. The FT F-16 is almost too big, and the F-18 looks that way too. If it is too big, there is not enough airflow over the elevator with an EDF. Ben's chosen size is just right. It just takes a good overhand toss and it barely sinks.
Roll authority is not great except for circuits, so I may add ailerons so it rolls more like an F-16.
All in all, very pleasurable build and flight. I will post a video, but this sucker is so fast I had to swing wide and it is hard to see it in the video. At least the launch is represented well. Thanks for a nice design Ben! @Mid7night
70mm EDF, 80 amp ESC. 6s LIPO. CG is about 15mm forward from the plans, most likely because the 6s 70mm gives some nose up thrust. Even with the CG more forward, the 2200 mAh LIPO was tucked into the front of the wing. I extended the canopy plate back about 30mm to accommodate the aft battery placement.
Because these foam board pointy noses never survive first contact, I use a 3d print nose attached with magnets.
It flew very nicely, self-launch. EDFs are always hope and pray for the maiden if you have to self-launch. The FT F-16 is almost too big, and the F-18 looks that way too. If it is too big, there is not enough airflow over the elevator with an EDF. Ben's chosen size is just right. It just takes a good overhand toss and it barely sinks.
Roll authority is not great except for circuits, so I may add ailerons so it rolls more like an F-16.
All in all, very pleasurable build and flight. I will post a video, but this sucker is so fast I had to swing wide and it is hard to see it in the video. At least the launch is represented well. Thanks for a nice design Ben! @Mid7night
CappyAmeric
Elite member
Maiden flight of Ben's F-16 design.
Yankee2003
Well-known member
That is super nice.
Thank you for the details, pictures and video. After watching the new HH SR71, how it flies, and what you get for $250…plus tax, this Ben Harber F16 is that much sweeter.
Very nice job my friend.
….”..people’s Republic of NC..”.. ?
Spitfire76
Well-known member
That’s looks really good. How long were you flight times on a 2200mAh 6s battery?
CappyAmeric
Elite member
About 4 minutes down to 3.8 per cell. I am pretty aggressive on the thrust.
Yankee2003
Well-known member
Who is going to be the first with a Ukrainian Livery?
Spitfire76
Well-known member
That's really good I am only getting just over a minute with a 4s 3300mAh battery, 80A esc and 3400kv 70mm EDF. I have a battery sensor that sends each cell voltage in the telemetry to my TX and have a low battery alarm set to 3.7v. It goes off far too quickly. The plane flies really well but the last flight after the battery alarm I was trying to come into land and got a critical RSSI signal followed by loss of control. Fortunately, it stayed level bounced a few times when it hit the ground but hasn't suffered any serious damage. It must have lost signal from the TX but it wasn't that far away. I have an Aura 5 Lite installed and the failsafe on the RX is set to cut the throttle and switch to level assist mode which may explain why it glided in so well. I did some bench testing, and the battery voltage does rapidly fall off after a minute to 3.7v but then bounces back with no load. I placed a watt meter to check the amps drawn and on full throttle its 70A. So even with full throttle I should get:_
(3.3 x 0.8/70) x 60 = 2.2 mins.
Maybe I just have bad quality batteries or is the capacity just too low.
The loss of signal and control is more concerning at the moment but the problem maybe related.
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CappyAmeric
Elite member
I get down to 3.8v per cell in 4 minutes on 6s. After I land, it bounces back up to 3.9v per cell pretty quickly. I suspect you have a cell that is getting ready to go. EDFs are more like quads in the way they draw down LIPOs - you need overhead because when you go more than 2/3 throttle, it is going to sag. A good LIPO will sag across all the cells, thereby your overall voltage stays in the range you need.
Spitfire76
Well-known member
I purchased 2 of these batteries just for this plane so they have only been used in about 4 or 5 flights. I'll do another bench test monitoring each cell to see if one goes low more than the others. I plane on building another one of these at some stage so maybe should go to 6 cell. Can you let me know what make and model of battery that you are using as well as the ESC and EDF you used - thanks.
CappyAmeric
Elite member
6s EDF with 80 amp: Zee 6s LIPO. Notice these are 120c: Zeee 6S Lipo Battery 2200mAh 22.2V 120C Soft Case Battery with XT60 Connector for RC Airplane Helicopter RC Car Truck Tank Drone Racing Hobby(2 Pack)
C rating is largely a joke, however if something is less than 50c on the packaging, it may be an issue if you are running a heavy model powered by EDF.
Spitfire76
Well-known member
Thanks for that information. I too have Zeee batteries but the C rating is much less, just 50c do you think a higher rating would help ?
CappyAmeric
Elite member
Not sure. The fact that you are drawing 90 amps is a concern, although 6s would help that.
Spitfire76
Well-known member
Actually, it was 70A on the bench with full throttle.
Spitfire76
Well-known member
Rather than building another foam board F16 I may try my hand at this 3d printed one by
owlplane.com
Looks like its about the same size and has the same power requirements.
3D Printed RC Plane from OWLplane
We sell digital products to print our models with your 3D printers such as Prusa i3, Creality, Tevo, Anycubic and many more.
owlplane.com
Looks like its about the same size and has the same power requirements.
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JetCrafts
Active member
whats the thrust on thoseI'm still evaluating which EDF, ESC and battery to go with but since I've only used 3s on my planes until now a gentle step up to 4s seems preferable to a leap to 6s.
This is the only EDF that FT sells on their store and recommended for the master series F18 (2 of course)
70mm EDF 12 Blades Ducted Fan with RC Brushless Motor 2300KV
Experience a new dimension of flight with the 70mm EDF 12-Blade Ducted Fan coupled with a 2300KV RC Brushless Motor. Designed specifically for RC planes.store.flitetest.com
This is the EDF/ESC combo that's recommended for the master series F16
Spitfire76
Well-known member
Looks like its 2240g for the 6s version but the specs for the 4s version that I used its 1810g.
Spitfire76
Well-known member
During the last flight I was getting low and critical RF alarms resulting in loss off control but with the Aura set to level assist if failsafe occurs it helped the plane down to the ground with a bouncy but undamaged crash landing
Turns out that there was a problem with the RM161 receiver that suddenly had very low range. I’m currently moving to ExpressLRS so will be replacing it with one of the rp2 receivers that I recently bought
Turns out that there was a problem with the RM161 receiver that suddenly had very low range. I’m currently moving to ExpressLRS so will be replacing it with one of the rp2 receivers that I recently bought
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Spitfire76
Well-known member
Welcome! So glad that you decided to join. Will this be your first EDF powered plane ?
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