E-flite - F-16 Thunderbirds - 70mm - Unbox, Build, Radio Setup, & Maiden Flights (+ Harvest Footage) 

true!

NICE! You must have a nice clear approach? Glad you're flying so good with only 75 flights!!!! Keep at it Matthew and soon you'll pretty much never use SAFE again (expect for loitering with sail planes)

Holy cow! That's a lot of flights!!! I bet you can do just about anything with that F-16!!!

@@BrianPhillipsRC yes we basically share one brain. Lol.

We're very close to Altoona....minutes drive from our place ;) Very cool! Thanks Dennis!

I recently bought a few 25+ yr old balsa planes from an estate sale. (Another friend bought out an old timers estate. He kept all surface stuff, i got dibs on all air. $20 each! 👍😁🤯). My 2 faves are a team smooth & a 3ch courier. Both were 10 sized, I converted to brushless. Theres a few more. I made him a 'lot price' on everything left.

That would be very cool! Maybe I can get that done for you. I have a Sig plane I want to pep up a bit with a motor from a crashed plane...

She is good! Camera Crew deserves an award!!!

Central Iowa, USA

Glad it was helpful! We put our hearts and souls into these videos, and try so hard not to leave stuff out. I can turn a 5 minute explanation into a dissertation, if left to my own devices. It's refreshing to hear you enjoy the detail. We try to strike the balance between breezing through the HARD parts, and digging in deep to really HELP the new pilot. thanks

Thanks! We're glad you're enjoying it!

Free labor?!??! LOL ;)

Nice! Glad we could help encourage you into the air!

Thanks!

I'm really curious, what makes it easier? People always seem to recommend the Viper as a first big EDF.

Oliver - I love both, but think the Viper 70mm is easier to land. These gear are so close together.

@@BrianPhillipsRC everyone at my field has crashed their vipers . All of them have flown for years. In the time at the park I have seen 3 viper crashes. Zero f16 crashes on landing. Not sure why we have hot thin air so planes drop harder on landing down here in FLA.

That's pretty good!

SWEET! Good luck Jeff! Can't wait to hear how things go for you ;)

Glad you enjoyed it!

Thanks Kevin! I'm getting better, but this plane is fairly easy to fly...landings are WAY easier than on the 80mm!

Thanks Bill! She is a great plane. I hope you love it like I do!

This plane looks goooooood ;) Thanks for sharing that pass - it was nice! 6S jets are just like 3&4S EDF's except you ACTUALLY have power! Seriously.

LOL - Calculated risk ;)

LOL - They have tail hooks on these F-16's ;) But they don't use them I guess - LOL - the Navy want's redundancy, hence the F-18 ;)

@@BrianPhillipsRC Yeah. . . . . i would like to see a "tailhook" & launch bar on an F-16. . . . lol. The F-16s to my understanding, used the same powerplants as what the Navys F-14 Tomcat had. Ive gottuh lot of time aboard 2 Navy flight decks. . . . chasing birds, lol

COOL!

Nice! Sometimes the scream of the EDF will wash that beep out though, so make sure you make a 0% throttle pass when you're thinking you're close to avoid a dead stick landings ;)

Thanks!

Thanks!!!

Glad I could help!!!

yes, but the ailerons are only so effective while on the ground. I already have a bad habit of doing this, but I "coordinate" so this would exaggerate the tipping ;)

You should! Great plane! F16 bit.ly/3bUUxXv

I want too do it, but we might make it longer, and don't want to do it "right" just to "redo it"...BUT they do that on REAL runways too...soooooo

True!

100%

Telemetry is a wonderful thing

It's a great plane - I still love my 80mm F16 more, but it's not a fair fight with the price difference ;)

@@BrianPhillipsRC No doubt Sir! Yeah I am really considering trying my hand at my 1st edf, but haven't decided yet if should go with the Umx A10, Eagle F15, or the Habu. I am thinking probably the Eagle though as it's way cooler and lot less than the Habu, and the UMX planes seem way too cheaply made for the money. But saw how you hit the tree with the Eagle, so it has has me a bit shy about pulling the trigger just yet. Right now got a preaty good line up of prop planes, but still getting back into the hang of things. BTW thanks for the replies, I really appreciate it! 🙂

Thanks Tom!

I wish I could get hooked up with MotionRC for these planes, but to be honest, they have told us no a few times, and I get tired of begging to do free marketing for them, when we can hardly keep up as it is. BUT, if they said yes tomorrow, we would say HECK YEAH!!! ;)

@@BrianPhillipsRC oh bummer, I had no idea motion was being like that! They are missing out by not letting you fly their birds! I wondered why I had never seen you do a freewing bird!!! O well, thanks for the videos you do!

It's great!

That would be cool!

LOL - You will love it!!!

That's a good idea!

This plane is still excellent, but agreed. The F-16 80mm is a totally different echelon.

I personally like the grey too, BUTTTT the gray is a bit harder to see ;)

LOL - I'm a lucky guy ;)

I want to see the cliff ;)

@@BrianPhillipsRC ok. Maybe a sliiiiight exaggeration. Hahaha.

Yes, but the way a diversity antenna works, is by making a comparitor between the two antennae. If your plane were static, you would have a very good point, but they are very dynamic...so the direction it points is less important than what it's sitting next too, and what types of material they're made of...BUT if you have diversity, get then 90 degrees from one another to minimize potential of what you're trying to avoid...signal loss from the tip ;)

@@BrianPhillipsRC Antennas don’t work very well when they’re right next to other wires, especially when those wires are carrying high current to an ESC. Getting the antenna away from everything and putting it vertical fixed the problem. Since we can only go 400’ up and we fly quite some distance off each end of the runway, it makes sense that neither antenna should be pointing at the pilot when we’re furthest away.

We were sick for a couple weeks, but we had stuff going up still...maybe we're falling of your recommendations???

@@BrianPhillipsRC hope you're all ok now

So far, very good, but I do need to clean my SCROLLER button, it's kinda "skippy" right now

Agreed. V2 was JUST before Avian's were getting plopped into every other plane. I think it might be worth the effort on this beauty.

Trimming - When it rolls to the left, trim to the right....when it's pitching down, trim back (like you would move the elevator stick)...and when it's yawing over to the right, trim rudder to the left. The hardest part of trimming is that you need to be level and mid speed...but this all happens so fast when you first maiden the plane, that it's HARD to actually show it. Sometimes it's a very quick "SAVE" and other times it's a minor adjustment when I'm out lallygagging around....the latter are times I can share, but the former would be hard to share...

Hi from Central Iowa, USA ;)

I would like to plop a 90mm Power system in my F-18 ;)

Did you find it ;)

I love them both for different reasons, but the 80mm is MUCH MORE SCALE and much more expensive too... If you have a good flying site, and good skill, GET THE 80mm ;) It's a lot more amazing...BUT the 70mm is more of an "everyday" flier. F16 bit.ly/3bUUxXv

That plane came out JUST before the updates, but I wonder if we could update firmware?

I drilled everything to 4mm and made my own pin after replacing my 5th one. Been fine since, I fly off grass bumpy field

@@naveda08 I have two other guys at our field break the nose pin as well. They’re the engineering/machine shop type. One guy made his own pin out of titanium. I went the other direction- Learn to land better, try landing in Safe, etc. I’m hoping with Flaperons I can slow down, get some Ground Effects going and stop the awful 3 point landings. It’s a shame the nose pin is a weak link on the F-16, is such a good/fun EDF to fly. Instead, it just gets passed over in the hangar even loading up the truck. The Eflite a-10 is who’s paid the price. It has to go to the field every time out.

@@jeffhenderson934 I used a bolt lol from an RC car. I broken half of them taking off

@@naveda08 guys like you are amazing. How in the world did you put those two pieces together mentally? I just looked at crashed plane nose gear servos looking for a pin the same size. Nada… Nada one matched. Just kept sending $47.50 plus shipping to Horizon Hobby since they didn’t sell the pin separately. (Had to get the entire servo and strut) I really hope the Flaperons allows me to slow down, stay level and get some ground effects going and land like a butterfly with sore feet.

@@jeffhenderson934 this is what i used Button Head Screw 4x40mm (4) Item No.ARAC9868 from Arrma Kraton EXB working great for my bumpy grass field

Only $30 more for a safe/as3x reciever on most HH planes.

@@old-rcplane-phart yea but some planes just comes in bnf just becuase of the safe technology . I don't use safe so I buy fms most of the time

Agreed, sadly HH is trying to force everyone to use only there transmitters, receivers, batteries, so they will offer less PNP as time goes on particularly with foamies. I just buy the BNF if that's all there is, take out there overpriced SAFE/AS3X which I sell and then use the money to buy an FRSky S6R gyro which does the same thing as AS3X/SAFE only for half the price and it works better IMO.

I don't understand why not offer both...but I love their Rx'es! I always thought the BNF was a GREAT value.

Done...but we're just THAT far behind on comments.

Good question! I've used CA and China Glue with TAPE to keep them in...but depends on how heavy the magnet is, and when the glue is cured you can sometimes take off the tape.

Working on the connection with FMS...we have a direct contact now, but it's still a bit slow going with FMS. We have some stuff coming in the very near future from FMS that will be AMAIZNG!

Maybe

I'd like too!

Family is busy. We are running like maniacs. Just closed on some new land ;) We have a lot of new releases so we dedicate a bit more time to each of them, and we just started working with Arrows...so that's exciting! Still jealous of your pond ;)

Are you using an NX6 by chance??? If you are...when you change the assignment FROM flaps, it goofed up on earlier versions of firmware. I don't know if it's fixed yet. If you're running something else...ask again. Sorry for my very slow reply. We're just finally getting CLOSE to getting caught up!

Keep up the good work?

Anything horizon that has an avion esc, u can program brake/reverse.

@@old-rcplane-phart Thanks for that information. 👍

@@RichieRich980215 I discovered that with my 1st 3d plane, the eflite ultimate biplane. Birds like the nite timber x, etc. Even the inexpensive avion esc's u can do reverse. Lots more fun in the air! 😁 (Just be sure to get back into forward b4 its too late!)

@@old-rcplane-phart LOL before you forget! What I asking Brian is, do any of the Jets he has put together, do any of them have Wheel brakes, or Spoilers? I've seen other big Dollar Jets that have them. But a lot of these planes that he is building are cheaper then those I'm sure. Really just curious. I have the Night Timber with the reverse thrust on it, so I know what you are talking about there. But Thank you for your reply!

I don't have any with Spoilers or Wheel Breaks yet...but some have done it as an adder. The Thrust Reverse is nice, since it's so simple, and less moving parts, but I agree, wheel breaks, spoilers, and air breaks would be very cool. I also would opt for slats and flapperons on all these warbirds, to closer mimic the big birds, but these smaller planes get a bit too heavy to tolerate such mods in my experience.

nope, not without upgrade - I know BUMMER ;)

If I could get MotionRC to work with us, sure!

LOL - YES!

This plane, no...on some planes YES. You have to control it, but you don't have to modify the plane if it comes in the plane...like the Habu SS

@@BrianPhillipsRC thank you for answering

JUST the Rx...but also that adds telemetry data and WAY better Froward Programming interface.

You could, but I think you might find it a bit challenging. Here's my thoughts...if you can stomach the looks of the Habu, you will enjoy the way it flies a lot better, and be less scared to get it in the air. That being said, the F-15 is also a WAY better entry point into EDF's. EDF's do take a certain higher level of skill for a few reasons...1) They don't give thrust as fast as a prop plane. 2) They're often times lower power to weight ratio - somewhat of a misnomer, but it's true. 3) Most of the jets they're modeled after land faster. 4) Battery demands are higher in EDF's so you're more likely to be in a dead stick landing situation Other than that, they're the same ;) That being said, this F-16 is not hard to fly, it's just a lot harder to land than some other choices...especially for a beginner. If you want to take the plunge, I totally get it, but just be ready for lots of hot glue and CA...you'll probably need it :( Better options... Habu bit.ly/38Kilv1 Viper bit.ly/3eLqcMX - I think it lands easier, but this would cause some to argue otherwise... F15 bit.ly/30RrnlG OR... F16 bit.ly/3bUUxXv ....some people think it's a good first EDF... I don't agree - sorry!

@@BrianPhillipsRC great! Thank you very much!

Don't worry, we can hear them coming (seriously) ;)

I guess I could...or I could just not suck at landing ;) LOL

I wonder if you're too far back on your CG?

@@BrianPhillipsRC you must be joking man? One of the main issues with this lil bird is getting the cg back far enough. The gears stance is too narrow it’s tippy, all F16s have this tendency. Posting my 8s Thunderbird flight today, sounds soooo awesome dude!!!

They're a bit strange on this F-16. I'd rather like to see RAILS on a F-16 Thunderbird so we could remove or add the missiles for realism. I've heard a few guys saying it's the wrong type of missile...but they are longer, so helps when the plane tips over on left and right corrections on high speed roll outs. Great plane, still ;)

@@BrianPhillipsRC I’ve got 3 flights in mine and have an ar8360t waiting to be put in. It flies so well on the ar631 and I’m tempted to leave well enough alone but I want the battery voltage call out.

Just bought this I’m debating getting smart batteries so I can use telemetry to monitor battery levels as I fly

And to use telemetry do you have to use a smart battery? Sorry for all the questions new pilot here

On the V2...yes, but there's still not an Avian, so it would be better if there was an Avian, then you could have FULL telemetry and Thrust Reverse!!!

@@BrianPhillipsRC Awesome! Thank you for the response so just to be clear if I’m using normal battery’s (Not Spektrum smart batteries) I will still be able to read the battery levels with telemetry while I’m flying just will not have Full Telemetry with Avian? Your the best Brian!!

I think you could. Only issue with bigger is fit...they'll go, but you might have to modify wiring to make it work

Gotta work REAL hard sometimes to get it in ;)

@@BrianPhillipsRC Wait til you get to age 80,, then you will take great care to get it in,,, hehheee

I can't say. I would like to do the FMS F18 V2, but haven't yet.

I understand what you're asking, and why you're asking it. This is an all too common issue. We help people all the time with this very REAL dilemma. 1) You can choose to "take my word for it" and get the NX8 or get a RTF plane and work you way INTO an NX8 soon. OR 2) You can watch a few of our thousands of videos and then pick up on some of the lingo....then get the NX8 or get a RTF plane and work you way INTO an NX8 soon. Here's what you SHOULD be thinking about as a new pilot... A) I don't know and will need a lot of help; Who is willing to help? B) An I a natural, and will surpass the capabilities of what Brian uses in 6 months??? C) What is my budget? Can I afford the NX8? Do I want to buy something cheaper then upgrade later wasting earlier spending??? D) Do I like Horizon Hobby branded planes (Eflite, HobbyZone, Hangar9, anything that's got DSMX or DSM2 protocol - the way the transmitter and receiver work together), at least for a few years worth of learning? E) Do I want to learn a way harder, "opentx" platform, or a very highly adapted platform that Spektrum uses, and Brian Phillips will help me to get up to speed using. Do I want to use this platform with millions and millions of users, or a much smaller platform where I have to dig, using terminology I don't even know, so I can't ask? I think the answer is obvious... here's some RTF (ready to fly...comes with everything you need, but maybe a usb wall adapter) Description - Purchase - Videos Habu STS 70mm RTF - bit.ly/38Kilv1 - ru-vid.com/group/PLXTH0DstRDc5fYbIobNAtMUz2EoT7FGLl Apprentice 1.5m RTF bit.ly/2OIjVHd - ru-vid.com/group/PLXTH0DstRDc4LA2ldEUZQMVWkJpCslxRc Carbon Cub S2 1.3m RTF bit.ly/3bS2r3O - ru-vid.com/group/PLXTH0DstRDc4Y9gQ5S22B_3SXmtqylcmM T-28 Trojan 1.1m bit.ly/3eOh9Lk - ru-vid.com/group/PLXTH0DstRDc6-_gHuXM6a1Nf_2nRxrmlc Apprentice 1.2m RTF bit.ly/2OIjVHd - ru-vid.com/group/PLXTH0DstRDc43Qw4KNOOfzt14n6ZBo3LS Sport Cub S2 UMX bit.ly/3cDYUW1 - ru-vid.com/group/PLXTH0DstRDc5gY8qX_x8kAJq3glGMXjDy AeroScout 1.1m - bit.ly/30MNn1c - ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-vfZZQXx7jU4.html Then when you KNOW you're in for a while, you can spend about $1000 and get the Transmitter, NICE charger, and a few GOOD Lipos that you can use for the first 3-5 planes, and Transmitter for ALL of your planes for the next 5 years! You'll never look back. You will NEVER regret it. You will probably get OTHER transmitters, but this will always be your first "Real" transmitter. Things you will be buying soon, if you get hooked. You can wait on some of it, but if you KNOW you're in it for a few years...just get it NOW before the next price hike (I KNOW IT IS ABOUT TO HAPPEN BTW...but can't say any more) NX8 bit.ly/3fffqyx - This is the Transmitter I use and walk through in MOST of my videos. Bigger Tx Pack - 6000mAh (stock is 2000mAh) 3.7V - bit.ly/3bZ0nHW (This will allow you NOT charge your Transmitter as often, but you can UPGRADE to this later too...no problem at all) S2200 bit.ly/398ohO6 - Awesome charger (dual so you can do two batteries at once - don't go cheap on your charger...you will use it for-ever even if it sucks bad...trust me...I'm cheap, so I will struggle through using garbage for a decade...don't punish yourself like that) XBC100 bit.ly/3hgnHQT - This is a tool to test packs in the field, and to setup SMART Lipos and test servos. You can also test NON-SMART batteries with adapters where necessary. S44 4X 1S Charger bit.ly/32tpGx3 - Small battery charger that works 100X better for when you get random Chinese planes in RTF format (that won't work with NX8) Now some batteries, but you need to know what plane they will be for. Get 2X SMART batteries when you get a new plane, and when you're setup with 3S and 4S of a particular size, you can fly MANY planes on these. Then when you get into 6S (bigger batteries) you can buy 1-2 of each per plane and you will build up about 10 - 15 batteries of the sizes you need ONLY...they are CRAZY expensive. Same is true from above...don't buy it if you don't needed it, but price hike is NOT in question. It IS about to happen. Good luck...we're here to help you. We make small commissions on what you buy, but we really just want you to be happy with what you get. This is how we fund our channel. If you ever find that our advice is helpful, this is how you can help us back. We will be answering tons of questions - I promise ;) I'm planning on it. Good luck. Don't miss the mortgage payment or get divorced over this stuff, but it is very pricy for the first few months of the hobby, so don't think it'll stay this expensive... after the initial wallet drain, it slows down for most...maybe $250-500 per month for a pretty avid flyer, or $1500 a month for a MANIAC - and there are a LOT of them. Just keep in mind, you will need help. We're here for you.

I agree...I should separate the two - LOL ;)

Time stamp when I used it so I can see where you're referencing, Then I can try to answer for you, Slav. Thanks!

Me too, but I think it's DC'ed, isn't it???

OH, you mean the FMS F-16 64mm?

Congrats Erric!

I need to get more - it's so hard to high alpha into our flying bowl :)

I have a couple real short ones coming you way ;)

It's all good, still shorter than the P 47 LoL.

I use rubber shelf liner attached to the tray with double-sided Scotch tape. No more Velcro for me..

I did this on our last two planes...worked really nice!

As far as you want it to fly in 3.5-4 minutes

Different receiver..

$50..

@@txkflier Haha... yep. Good point. Its the excuse for the price increase. V2? Lol

@@paulhope3401 I bought a V2 just before they went up from $300. I sold my 2 year old V1 and decided I wanted another one. I’d rather have the AR636, but I have the new one tuned to my liking now..

Receiver is now an AR631 vs the AR636B which was before.

I love the YAK, but partially because I just think it's easy to fly, and the flaps make it easier to land. The F-16 needs to alpha into a landing to get it right, and the Yak can be done either way, but easier and better power to weight ratio, BUT the F-16 is a BNF, which makes it easier overall, and still an amazing plane. Yak 130 bit.ly/3B6pAg6 | bit.ly/3dkobII + AR631 bit.ly/3v0w3Fy F16 bit.ly/3aSp4Yl

@@BrianPhillipsRC i but all my stuff through your links my friend.. Appreciate your input, have the Yak-130, just wasn't sure if the Eflite or FMS version was almost the same or a moe better version 🤔

in the about tab on the BrianPhillipsRC (Click on the round face icon as a shortcut)

I hope she flies well! Please do share when you get it done!

Thanks!

I like this one better than my first, but I have the CG so much better now and it makes a HUGE difference.

yes

As long as you follow the link, yes. So we very much appreciate you following the links. It's hard when trying to advise people to buy 3-4 items...you only really need to go through the first link, and then the rest will stay in your cart anyway. Thanks Ruger 14!