E-flite - F-15 - 64mm - Unbox, Build, Radio Setup, Maiden Flight with CRASH & Repairs 

Thanks for noticing.

Agreed 110% We have almost the same story Brian was one of the first RC plane channels I subbed to almost 2yrs ago He inspired me to want to get into the hobby I used his link and got a little cheapo T720 trainer It flew great It really surprised me how stable and responsive it was and it gave me the confidence I needed to pull off some pretty cool maneuvers and practice take offs and landings The only major flaw with that plane is the servos After several flights the elevator servo literally melted the motor overheated I swapped the rudder servo to the elevator I taped the rudder controls to keep it from moving and flew it using elerons yank and bank I flew it several times and the elevator servo motor burnt up I had a 20yr old 9 gram servo lol left over from my RC truck racing days I had to do some major surgery to install it and figure out where it needed to be to get the CG correct It flew great for several more flights and the elerons servo did the same thing lol I learned many helpful repair and flying tips from Brian I just ordered a Aeroscout 1.2 and 3 metal gear micro servos for the T720 I can't wait to get the Aeroscout and get my T720 fixed I feel like a kid waiting on Christmas lol Sorry I wrote a book lol I just wanted to point out if it wasn't for Brian and Camera Crew and a few others inspiring me I wouldn't have got into the hobby and missed out on having a lot of fun and excitement and kept me from being bored to death lol Happy flying mate ✌️ I'm going to go back to watching Brain repair his misshape with the tree almost eating his plane now 😁 ✌️

Thanks Eric! We wouldn't have the channel without you guys behind us, and we should be thanking YOU! Yep, crashing is a part of learning in model aviation, and the quicker you can get back in the air, the quicker you're going to be a better pilot from it ;) Glad you're here with us Eric!

Erric - Thanks to you for being one of our loyal followers ;) We really appreciate you being here to join along and really be a part of our experience! As you continue along in your progression, we'll be with you to help you along the way. There's so much to learn, and we're honored to be a part of you life, and the lives of so many others here in this RC community!

@@BrianPhillipsRC Your welcome guys 🔥👍✌️

It’s been 6 months . I just had to comment though . You spelled his name Brain. Hahaha! Autoincorrect got you

Thanks ;)

Glad you got some value out of it! This is what we strive for here!

Thanks! The camera crew has nerves of steel ;)

That's awesome! Very glad you have you along for the ride!

That's hilarious and awesome! Watch this video for a chuckle - ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-WZrgyk5EdYA.html - this was Esteban's plane.

@@BrianPhillipsRC that poor glider. It looked like it was in pain, lol!

Thanks! That tree has killed more than a few planes ;) (May have been pilot error, just maybe - LOL)

Awesome Joe! So glad we could give you the pointers to get you over the hump ;)

Glad we could encourage you! Fixing these foam planes is something that comes with the territory. Glad you didn't melt too much with the CA. Sometimes with kicker, you can even still melt some foams with FOAM SAFE CA, but usually with thin foam, like paper plate thick foam.

Nice! Glad you watched that one - it was cool to do it, and it turned out cool, but the former video was in the snow, and that too was VERY cool!!! The Red and Blue LED's made for a purple fog of snow dust - not sure if you caught that one...XK450, I think??? P.S. Thanks for your support with buying from the links - we really appreciate it. It is not un-noticed, this is how we build and keep clout with the manufacturers. If nobody bought anything we recommend, we would very quickly loose their attention, then we'd be able to cover about 1/10th of what we do now (not just about the commission, but that's a huge encouragement too)...so Thanks - REALLY!

Thanks!!! I keep hearing that it's good stuff, but I've never tried it. Are you saying the Gorilla Glue that's CLEAR, or the stuff that PUFFS up?

@@BrianPhillipsRC Clear Gorilla glue.. 'No Foam' about 8.00 for 3.75 oz.

Thanks Brad! I know a lot of newer pilots (and some older pilots too - LOL) need some pointers on how to slap these things back together, and get them back in the air. She flies great, and I'm still annoyed with myself, but she is back in one piece!!!

Thanks, and this plane is a blast to fly ;)

Well said Mike! I deleted your Duplicate comment - this happens sometimes, but not sure why???)

Yeah, me too. I wanted so badly to get a better landing in on the maiden - LOL ;) But she lived to see another day!

Did you use one servo OR two for your flaps, and what size servo(s) did you use, if you can easily recall. Asking for a friend - LOL ;)

Sorry to hear about your loss! Good news is that you can probably get it flying again with a few hours and several bags of hot glue ;)

@@BrianPhillipsRC I was gonna attempt to fix it but the edf busted it hit soo hard. Foam is really smashed not just broken. Ive got 100 dollars reward points with horizon soo. Lol

Thanks Jason! I'm very blessed to have a wife who tolerates my addiction ;) LOL Glad we can help you along, since there's a lot to figure out in this hobby, and I'm always learning myself, and want to help people over the hump when they're new. It's a tough and scary transition from wanting to fly to flying, but there's never been a time in history where we've had a better chance at success. Thanks for coming along side us with your experience!

I know that's why I like his videos

Thanks Marcus ;)

Good 💩

Thanks again! She lives to see another day. You wouldn't believe some of the planes we've taken back from the grave...one of which, it was in about 45 pieces, and almost every one of the pieces were broken and bent...we had it back together, but never got it flying again, and ultimately I gave it away for a few bucks to another enthusiast. He got it flying!!!

As a beginner, crashing is nothing to be ashamed of...you and I will do it many more times ;) The shame comes from failing to learn from the crash. IF you learn from it, you'll be a better pilot every time. As for the Habu, you're exactly right - she flies amazing! So much "easier" than I expected, and somewhat easier than the Carbon Cub 1.3m, which was pretty surprising to me. The 4S will kick it up a notch, but you'll still enjoy the easy flight if you want :) Enjoy!!!

I'll help you out with the Vampire Killing Zone - studio.ru-vid.comoFl7YJn1Xps/edit?o=U

True! I've heard a few comments about flaps and I must say, I'm a recovering Flap-oholic, so I don't appreciate you bringing this up ;(.... LOL, jk

@@BrianPhillipsRC BTW, it wasn't worth it, didn't slow it down enough and added too much weight. Still flies great but I miss the lightweight version. So, I bought another one! LOL

Our pleasure! Thank you for stopping in!

AWESOME! Glad to hear! Did you know there's a PUSH BUTTON on the top of the new Receivers? You can use that in place of the BIND PLUG if it's missing or lost. (not sure if you're in newer or older)

@@BrianPhillipsRC I didn’t until I watched your video. I had found my aeroscout bind plug and got it bind that way but then did it the way you did it just to make sure it is correct. There are a lot of wires in the battery area. Did you use the hook and loop for your battery or is the tight fit good enough without it so battery doesn’t fall out when going upside down? Yeah, I ready to fly it. Will be this weekend probably.

Nice! I was thinking of possibly installing flaps, if I get a lull in new planes flowing in, but I kinda doubt that's gonna happen ;)

It does, and I wish you guys the best of luck!

Cool! I'm excited to try her clean and see how she belly lands.

@@BrianPhillipsRC Just remove all the ordinance as she will be too heavy to hand launch.

Glad you enjoyed it Jake! Thanks!

Have fun! Watch out for those pesky trees that jump out from nowhere - LOL ;)

Excited for you John! Good luck, but do watch out for those pesky trees - LOL ;)

Awesome! Thanks Kade - glad we could help! Seems you're really starting to get your collection going!!!

True! I've been able to use hot water in the past, but we were pressed for time on this one.

Thanks! Yeah, trees always jumping out in front of my planes - LOL!!! I'll get the last laugh - I have a chainsaw ;)

@@BrianPhillipsRC 😂🤣😂🤣😂👍🏾👍🏾👍🏾👍🏾

Nice!

Awesome! Good luck, and enjoy!

Thanks!

LOL - I agree! Good luck!

@@BrianPhillipsRC Thanks! You too!

Cool, thanks! We love to share HOW to fix it, since we know so many others will end up in their very own "Eagle Killing Zone" - LOL ;) It's pretty crazy, actually, how easy it is to get these planes looking ALMOST like new ;)

Thanks Ben! Glad you enjoyed it!!!

You're welcome, and glad you watched. This F-15 is pretty good as a beginner plane, but just keep in mind, if you plan to fly in SAFE, you will need a pretty large area, other than that, you'll be good to go!

Glad we could help. I agree, its very annoying when battery location appears to be an afterthought.

This plane is super fun to fly. It can be fast, but can be slow too. I want another F-15 because of this beauty ;)

I know that Arrows RC just came out with a twin 64mm F-15. It would be cool if you featured that on your channel!

Nice! These jets always seem to get their nose out of joint when things so sideways - LOL!

AWESOME! We used to get the F-16's, but the Air National Guard moved them to another state ;( It was something we grew up watching in Des Moines, but they've been gone for a few years, and I personally miss seeing them.

LOL - I've crashed for the cameras many-a-time ;) You may not have seen the videos yet, but I'm plenty "human" to go around - just ask the Camera Crew ;) LOL!!!

@@BrianPhillipsRC Hey Brian, what color plane shows up the best when flying? Say for an average day. I've just started this hobby about 3 months ago in Kentucky, so weather hasn't allowed much flying time yet besides simulators. I've put blinking strobes on all of my planes to help see them but think I will paint them a brighter color too.

Thank you! Everyone crashes ;) It's not fun to "brag" about it, but it does happen...especially when you fly in bad weather, and in tighter quarters...but this plane was not to blame - she is EXCELLENT! I hope you'll get a chance to fly one, or even better buy one ;)

@@BrianPhillipsRC i get it , accidents happen... thats why they're called accidents and not purposes Your pilot skills are far beyond mine and its a bit comforting to know that even highly skilled pilots make mistakes. I'm sorry its at the expense of your two hundred dollar rig.. Great video nonetheless, its awesome that you're able to be humble enough to video and upload a crash instead of just deleting the video and pretending that it never happens.

True! Glad you learned something from your crash. I always take away a lot from each crash. One very nice detail about filming almost every flight I have, is that I can reverse engineer the crash, and see what happened. Sometimes this is super helpful, and other times it's not, but so long as we're learning from mistakes, we'll all be better pilots from our collective experiences.

Dang! Sorry about that Yang!

@@BrianPhillipsRC but I will but transmitter from your link if I need one in the future. You make good videos, keep going!

Totally! She's a great plane. I hope you get one soon and enjoy it like I am!

@@BrianPhillipsRC Do a second thoughts video on this 🙂

I bet it does! Surprising how much that little afterburner make the thing look real!

Glad you got her back!

Thanks Robert! We're glad you're here with us! Megan and I enjoy a good time, and we're not gonna let a 100+ foot tree that decided to grow up from a sapling in mere milliseconds, only to reach out and WHACK my innocent, near virgin plane out of the sky, stop any of our fun!!! LOL ;)

@@BrianPhillipsRC lmao

Thanks from Megan and I ;)

I appreciate your idea, but not sure I'll be repainting it ;) Belly landers don't usually fair quite as well as wheels up wheels down planes...so I suspect this plane will loose some paint in the next few months - LOL

The repair tips on this video is the only reason I am in this hobby still.

Enjoy! Watch out for those pesky trees that jump out from nowhere - LOL!

Thanks! I make more mistakes than I share ;) I sometimes crash them when they send early releases, and they don't want to share me crashing a brand new plane - LOL...but I would gladly share my screw ups. I'm not above showing what happens in reality-ville. Glad you enjoyed the footage!

She is SUPER FUN, and looks great up in the sky! I want to try to land her in the snow, no gear ;)

I've got many planes but the eflite f15 is the old faithful. It has no vices. Needs no rudder, needs no flaps, belly lands like a champ. If only eflite would build them with the new denser foam they could keep selling them forever.

Thanks Prittstift

Thanks, and I hope it goes very well for you!!!

I think that might not be a bad idea, but since I don't do it, I usually don't try to tell people to do it, since I don't typically. Not a bad idea though.

Thanks Jono! She's great!!! Can't wait to fly this, and about 10-15 other planes in no SUB ZERO TEMPS!!!

Yes, only issue is that the epoxy can get pretty heavy. Have you ever tried to thin the epoxy with alcohol? I've heard of guys doing this so they can brush it on almost THIN, then the coat is still pretty strong and lighter.

@@BrianPhillipsRC I use Gorilla 5-minute epoxy and apply a thin coat using my finger. This really strengthens the foam. With the nose cone it can be the difference disintegrating or just bending it. Also there is epoxy spray paint but it only comes in black - I’ve used it too. I got a Art-tech F14 from someone and he reinforced the fuselage with epoxy too. The wing loading on these foam jets so low I haven’t found that applying a thin coat makes any difference on the CG or flying.

Here’s one of the many trees that jumped in front of my F15: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-MPl8u4vLk3M.html

Nice! Glad we could help Johnny!!!

The BEC (Battery Eliminator Circuit) is just what runs the electronics like the receiver and servos. This has no impact on your EDF Thrust. What you're doing is using your 8 channel as an 8 channel, and everyone else is wasting a channel by consuming the 8th port. Still a very good idea. I sometimes "steal" power for LED's by using a "Y" Splitter. As for flying a 90mm EDF with limited experience, that might not end well ;) But good luck either way!

@@BrianPhillipsRC Yeah that’s what I was thinking of getting the 64 mm F-15 to practice with... but getting more thrust there’s a difference when I hook it up with the Y splitter at the Bein port in thrust when I hook it up into the Number eight slot and I go up on my throttle stick it takes longer for the trust to engage but when I hook it up to the first port with the bind fort and program slot the trust is Right away it’s weird it has 130 amp Esc on it ..Because that A-6 intruder I can cut throttle down pretty good and glide in then engage throttle before I land and the me-262 If you come in just right and perfect on good grass you can land on in the nacelle‘s which is pretty cool when the runway is packed and you have to come in but I know the air 15 even the air break won’t slow it down that it has on the back and you have to keep that throttle in and you have to land it flat almost if you come in with the nose too high you a scrape the back end .. thanks for the input Brian and that was awesome the way you put the plane back together and it flew like a champ again lotta people don’t take the time to work on their own stuff..

I was thinking in an extreme-tail heavy CG, I wonder If I could catch it???

@@BrianPhillipsRC You could catch it cause that jet slows down nicely being its so stinking Light.

LOL - YES!

Glad you enjoyed it

Thanks Tim! My wife used to cringe when I'd glue on the counter, but to be totally honest, I'm more concerned about glue on the counters, than she. So get this...our kids use crayola markers to color there (where I was fixing the F-15), you know the kind that are supposed to be water washable...and they've stained the granite a few different times! No big deal, only something like $7000 piece of stone (Maybe it was $5k or $9K, I forget, but it was a FULL piece for that island)!!! I was pretty pissed the first time it happened, but the builder claims it was "sealed". Actually, those first two marks were from food coloring. Our youngest got into it, and when Megan realized it was leaking on the wood floor, she freaked out and laid it on the counter, in stead of putting it in the sink... They tried every trick in the book, but they could never get it out. I mean, they had paste on it, covered looking like a counter-top tumor for WEEKS, and only got a small amount lighter, but there the marks live to today. It's like a new house "Birth mark" - LOL. Later we discovered some of the markers do the same thing! SO, now I just have to find the spots, and try to get them off, and if they don't come out, I cover it with a more natural looking color - seriously...but works, sorta...

@@BrianPhillipsRC We have to seal our granite once a year.

WHAT INNUENDOS?!?! I don't even know what you mean...we're clean and pure as the wind driven snow, just like in the video ;) Thanks Orr!

LOL - Sorry about your mishap B - I'd say I've heard of this before...but it's especially hard for a new RC pilot to understand and articulate all the variables that impact such an accident or failure. In my experience, when a plane goes STRAIGHT DOWN, that means something BROKE. It could be that the SAFE wasn't properly initiated, but you wouldn't have been flying if it hadn't... What EXACTLY were you doing when it happened.

@@BrianPhillipsRC Built plane. Binded plane to transmitter. Made sure safe was on. (It danced twice) and made sure before hand launching it was on. Powered up jet. Threw jet. Full throttle. Pulled back on stick. Aaaand plane went straight into the ground. Do you think it's possible my controls got inverted? She's all glued back together but now I'm afraid to try again! 😆

Yes we do

You're welcome Gavyn!

LOL - Thanks!

Here's a trick ;) Make a CLEAR rudder that you can mount on the NOSE GEAR. You will have rudder control without the complexity of the process, cost, and weight at the rear of the plane. I did this on my Cessna Citation Longitude UMX when I did my flap mod.

That's a huge bummer! Sorry you had that issue too. Did you try the dawn soap trick?

@@BrianPhillipsRC nah, set it and forget it, saw someone else gripe about the same screw, they widened the pilot hole to get a straight shot. Too late for me but it's tight. About to go debut it🤞

We didn't take a week off!?!??! We've been making videos like crazy, but the weather has been CRAP, so we've had limited time to fly the planes that are ready - we have 3 in the can, ready to publish, but we want to give them some "soak time" ;) The RU-vid algorithm punishes those who pump out the footage....so we have to "play the game" ;(

I'm almost 100% sure this was a pilot (my) error. I've run out of battery before, though, but I don't think this is what happened here. I did the other day with the new XFly T-7A...and got SUPER luck with a beautiful corn-landing ;) Sounds delicious, now that I say it out loud!

LOL!!!! I only plowed 6 times last weekend ;)

I want an F-14 soooooooooooo bad! I have the Hobbyking one that was pretty terrible, and was beat to death, and was super under powered...but even though my wife and I agreed I could get the Freewing F-14 when we "moved to the country", I still never have. I DID get the Carbon Z Cub SS 2.1m, the other plane, she said I could have when we "moved to the country"...and it is AWESOME!

Glad you enjoyed it! This is a super fun plane! I can't wait for better weather to get her back up!

Yep, I've done that a bunch of times too, and it's quite effective. We were up against the wire for time, but I could get that nose back to good with some more effort.

Yes, exactly - she is very good! I'd highly recommend it! Crashing is just part of flying RC planes, but this plane took it like a champ, to be totally honest!

@@BrianPhillipsRC Hi Brian! I think that one model that you would love to fly also is the Freewing Yak-130! What do you think :)

Yep, LOL!!!

It's totally okay to fly outside your comfort zone. This is how we grow. As long as you leave feeling BETTER about it each time, even when sometimes you have a crash, you're moving in the right direction. It's a process. Some of it comes from time with a plane, and some of it comes with time on ANY plane. Both are important to your muscle memory, and you psyche

@@BrianPhillipsRC I flew the wings off my Umx Turbo Timber and A10 without safe before I got the Eagle. Just a few months ago I couldnt fly the Timber WITH SAFE!. LOL

Thanks! This plane is a blast to fly, and really good!

@@BrianPhillipsRC I bet!

I'm glad to hear this Brandon! I cringe when this happens, but this is more or less part of the hobby that we all get to share, when a 100+ foot tree just JUMPS out of nowhere, and reaches out for the plane like Godzilla... Luckily, we have China-glue to save the say!!! ;)

TREE!!! Yep ;) LOL

The specific tube we used here was leftover from a Dynam build. These days we recommend Foam 2 Foam - bit.ly/3oB1PFz or Mucilage - bit.ly/3fdfzQp Both are currently out of stock, but Foam 2 Foam should be back soon and will give you a much longer shelf life. Hope that helps!

Yep, but if you're not crashing, you're not flying ;)

You read THIS... You CAN, and will after you follow these steps - I've had this comment from probably 50 or more, just as adamant as you, and they got theirs working ;) Step 1) Make sure you're BOUND with SAFE SELECT ON. If you're NOT 100% sure - DO IT AGAIN, and make sure the surfaces "Dance" through the mix TWICE at power up...NOT ONCE...Once means you're in AS3X only mode. Step 2) Go to MONITOR MODE, and watch the switch change the condition of the channel you THINK is assigned to the SWITCH YOU WANT TO USE - If it doesn't change state, go to System Setup and make the Channel Assignment to that switch. Now exit the menu and verify the changes took in Monitor Mode. Step 3) Now that you're 100% sure you're BOUND in SAFE Select, and you have an operational switch for channel (I think 5-8) assigned, go ahead and pull both sticks DOWN and IN, and then toggle the switch to a count to 10 (NOT 5)....most people don't count a FULL CYCLE of the switch...so they never get to 5 full back and forth cycles... On step 9 of 10, you'll see the surfaces twitch, and on 10 of 10 they'll "recenter" again. Here's PROBABLY what you're doing wrong...it's a super easy mistake to make, and you'll immediately get it if you are doing this wrong... Switch Up to Switch Down = 1 Switch Down to Switch Up = 2 Switch Up to Switch Down = 3 Switch Down to Switch Up = 4 Switch Up to Switch Down = 5 Switch Down to Switch Up = 6 Switch Up to Switch Down = 7 Switch Down to Switch Up = 8 Switch Up to Switch Down = 9 Switch Down to Switch Up = 10 When Horizon Hobby wrote those instructions they said 5 times, so this is what they meant, but it's confusing if not elaborated upon... Switch Up to Switch Down = 0 Switch Down to Switch Up = 1 Switch Up to Switch Down = 1 Switch Down to Switch Up = 2 Switch Up to Switch Down = 2 Switch Down to Switch Up = 3 Switch Up to Switch Down = 3 Switch Down to Switch Up = 4 Switch Up to Switch Down = 4 Switch Down to Switch Up = 5 ...pretty confusing, right??!?!? Step 4) The ONLY issue that might prevent this all from working is that your sticks are WAY out of calibration... if so, the Tx might not realize you're in the Lower Left or Lower Right position, thus preventing the designation when you hit flip 10... so if this ends up being the case, which I highly doubt, then you need to calibrate your sticks and then follow back from step 2 maybe. Good luck - you can do it!

@@BrianPhillipsRC I finally got it to work thanks! The instructions are really confusing lol

I would move the elevator to the middle or inside holes as long as you setup some expo to help, but if you'll be flying in SAFE, the plane will still limit the angles based on the actual position of the plane, not the position of the servo...so when you've progressed out of SAFE, you'll have a lot more elevator authority. Hope this makes sense, but also keep in mind, if you setup the plane per the manual, you'll have a good chance at success, but you need a HUGE area...and this plane like to "STICK" to the ground...IE you have to be faster than expected to get it to LIFT off the ground. This makes the plane a bit tricky to take off with. If you're up to it, you CAN actually hand launch it real easy. This can avoid the woes of the WHEELS UP, but you might want to see how it works where you're going to fly first, before you make any decisions based on my advice...since I don't know your flying environment.

Thanks! I would have liked it to be a BIT better ;)

Full throttle, and swing it like your gonna underhand toss it, then if you fail, it'll be close to the ground. If you use SAFE, it should be a no-brainer...since she'll fly level. Then you can basically throw her like a paper airplane, only bigger. I've never had an issue, and no exposed prop, should make it pretty easy.

We increased the elevator, and I bet you're elevator was not level when you started. Get it on level ground, initiate the plane, and LOOK VERY CLOSE... make sure you do this with SAFE OFF. When you get it mechanically trimmed, and you're satisfied, hold her, give her 25% throttle and then test the elevator...does it move a lot...NOW test the same in SAFE... You'll be amazed what you find - now solve your issue. If you can't get the elevator deflection more, then take and move the clevises to a more inside hole. If the hole doesn't exist, make a new one. Good luck - she rolls LATE due to gear being WAY back...but sounds like you might be nose heavy too... check this too.