I think it looks nice with two blades. five stars to help balance out that bozos three star review on a plane that hasn't been released yet ??
You’ve got to be a special kind of stupid to leave a negative review on a plane that hasn’t even released yet just because you don’t like the prop?!?! Some people are just ridiculous.
It pains me to write this, I was so excited for this plane as I love the FT team and vids also enjoy Trent Palmers vids as well. That's where the excitement ends. build was easy, installed radio and batt within and hour of receiving....took pics, showed friends checked and rechecked function, CG, controls....she's ready. flew like utter dog crap! luckily landed it with sweaty finger tips and elevated heart rate. I thought it must need more weight up front because of the way it flew. put my 3S 2200 as far forward as possible and gave it a go, much better till a high speed irrecoverable spin happened and landed in a tree. to my surprise zero damage so i could try again. much more ready, I made a few circuits and landings but still not impressed. next day, new flight made a full flight with OK results still not confident in how the plane fly's. still had plenty of voltage and felt like I'm confident enough to give it another go, upon take off a severe right roll strait into the ground... I'm so pissed I almost stomped the plane into the ground. I feel this plane is not what it should be and not impressed with the flying characteristics at all. I'm not a new pilot as Ive flown for over 20 years, planes, heli's drone's, jet's. I feel it's safe to say I have the experience to have good flights and how to fly. waste of money IMO
Firstly, I hope the quality control issues get resolved as far as the finish goes. I have yet to experience any problems with the electronics. I installed the Aura 5 after having trouble handling this "scale" plane. I will say having a stability reciever makes a big difference and I now might have a chance of improving my skillset. The Kitfox has me on my toes but it's becoming more predictable to me. I love Flite Test and I thoroughly enjoy Trent's channel. Amain Hobby in Chico Ca ROCKS! Update 10/20...Definitely start by installing the Aura stabilizer. You wont regret it and its nearly a necessity to get familiar with this plane. Safe got me comfortable with it and now I dont need it. The more I fly it the more I like it. Im running a 2200mah 3s all the way forward and added a litte more nose weight. Plenty of power and my motor and esc never get too hot. Ive only flown it off dirt, had a few rough landings so the tires are getting beat up, and I've had to do some creative repairs to the gear. Its a fun plane, and looks and handles as good on the ground as in the air. Sorry my 1st impression of this kit was so harsh, I should have taken more time with the setup and reciever. Careful with those flaperons. Another thing, you will want to take the weather into consideration. Anything other than a light breeze just keep it on the ground and wait for a better day, at least till you get some time flying this plane.
Update 10/30 I was flying the Freedom Fox having a blast. As I landed it I noticed smoke, I got the battery unplugged just in time before my motor wires melted through the insulation on my battery which could have been really bad. It was fortunate that this did not occur mid-flight! The motor wires burned up along with the ESC. Last night I swapped original motor and ESC for the flight test power pack C. I'm going to fly today and see how it goes....and the power pack C does seem to be an acceptable replacement for the stock motor/esc. Flew fine.
This is an update. I had the plane for one year. I have never felt confident in the plane for the entire year. I have had maybe 2 or 3 good flights out of the plane. The landing gear is very cheap and it flies better without it. The paint is terrible and flakes off when you look at it. The CG guidance is terrible. Everyone saying they had to move the battery forward , but mine only few with the battery way back. It is very unstable and uncontrollable. It did hold up to some hard crashes, but finally had the one that did it in. I had several experienced pilots try it as well with bad results. My advice. Save some money and buy a Durafly Tundra. Very dissatisfied
I think very highly of Flite Test and Josh Bixler but this plane fall short of the standards I have grown to expect. The first thing I noticed was that the balck paint was chipping off at the leading edge of the Fuse. The black paint was also gone where the thumb screws attach to the Fuse to hold the wing on. The Landing gear spring fell out of the plastic housing on one wheel and the gear was gvery difficult to put into the provided slots. The blue paint on the wing tips, both of them, is not the same shade as the wing, The battery hatch is goning to show wear in a very short time as you have to press quite hard to grip the hatch to remove it over the hold of the rather strong magnets. The paint job is one reason i was attracted to this plane but upon close inspection I can see wear already and the plane has not even had a flight. Another problem is that I can't get the aura5to bind to my DX8 transmitter
I had the opportunity to do the maiden flight of my Flite Test Freedom Fox last Sunday. It was windier than I would have liked, but that's what it was. The flight was successful – the aircraft arrived and departed the field in the same number of pieces. More importantly, the pieces were in the same order!
Assembly was simple and could probably be done in just minutes, not counting radio setup. I installed a 7 channel Lemon Stabilizer Plus receiver and used a Spektrum 3S 2200 battery positioned roughly ¾ inch behind the motor mount. The center of gravity - measured at 44mm per the manual - was perfect with the battery in that position. I used the 'long' wingtips for the flight. I also programmed flaperons into my DX9.
Some of the reviews I've read mention sluggishness, a tendency to stall, and instability. I can only comment on my own experiences. I found the Freedom Fox to be an easy flier, stable and predictable. That being said, it does have its own flight characteristics. Of course, I have seven high-wing, 'bush-style' planes and no two of them fly exactly alike.
It was windy for the maiden flight and the plane needed more throttle than I expected heading into the wind. Rolls require elevator input or you lose quite a bit of altitude. Loops were clean and easy. Even without flaps, landing was fairly easy, though as I mentioned it was gusty so the maiden landing was rather 'bouncy'.
My particular plane - and others I've read – came with damage to the rudder/light caused by the fuselage shifting inside the packaging. The paint finish, especially the blue, is somewhat spotty and inconsistent. However, I must say, the overall impression you get of this model is very positive. All my flying buddies commented on the striking appearance of the Freedom Fox.
Because of the damage on mine, I mixed up a batch of touch-up paint. As it turns out the match was almost perfect. The match was so close that I decided to paint the rudder and elevator servos, pushrods, and control horns. As you can see in the picture showing the planes inside my car, the servos 'almost' disappear.
I have mixed thoughts on the landing gear. I fly off grass fields The gear seem sturdy and worked very well on the maiden and subsequent flights that day. However, the pivot points are plastic and the main support wire is rather thin. Time will tell how well the gear will hold up.
The price of the kit is high considering it does not include a receiver. Inexpensive but reliable receivers like the Lemon I used are available though.
As with any other R/C plane I've ever purchased, there are both good and bad aspect to the Flite Test Freedom Fox. I think Josh and the guys at Flite Test did a good job overall. It's not perfect, but I'm glad I bought it. It's certainly an impressive looking plane!
Pros
Impressive appearance
Flies well
Uses the ubiquitous 3S 2200 battery
Large Battery hatch
Interchangeable wing tips
Cons
Expensive for Plug-N-Play
Inconsistent paint finish
Plastic landing gear
Packaging needs revision to avoid damage
I bought the G-44 Widgeon and absolutely love it. That's why I bought the Freedom Fox. I'm sorry I did. On it's first flight, after 5 minutes of easy flying, the motor was burning hot... far too hot to touch. I'm working through getting it replaced, but I'm very disappointed.
Also, when I took the wing off after 1 flight, a lot of the black paint on the fuselage, front and back, came off. Overall, the finish is not very good. The finish is very easily scratched. For a plane at this price, it should be better.
Overall, the plane flies pretty good.
David
Have about 20 batteries on it. Plane flies well. However, you MUST get good ground speed before you rotate for takeoff. Too slow and you'll surpass critical angle and stall, resulting in an abrupt roll left or right. Alternately, let it gain speed, roll-out, and it will lift-off with almost no rotation required. Not very STOL-like but much less likely to stall. Choice is up the the pilot. I fly at 6600' so the air density is pretty light. Even so, the motor after an 8 minute flight (2200 mah battery) is quite warm, dare I say hot? I would think in the thin air the motor would not work as hard to turn the screw. Still functional, just something to watch. After 8 minutes the 2200 mah battery still has around 30% left, so I fly pretty casual on the throttle. Oh yes, I use the longer wing configuration.
It would be nice to include manufacturers' paint codes so the blue, red, and black could be touched-up when needed. It is a very good looking plane and it would be nice to keep it that way. The black covering does peel easily but a black sharpie does a pretty good job touching-up.
Landing gear is holding up well landing on un-maintained dirt road (rocks, washboard, divots) in spite of the plastic accessory parts. Tougher than they look I guess!
The rudder servo does not re-center well. Before you trim the aileron, try a "bump" of rudder correction. It may center better afterwards. I was huntin' trim all over the place until I figured that out.
Enjoy the flyn'!
I just purchased the freedom Fox without doing any reviews because the plane looks so beautiful after putting all together by the book CG by the book took off barely left the ground plane was uncontrollable teeter-totted to the left to the right to the left to the right and then crashed into the ground I do not recommend this airplane to anyone until they take care of all the issues they have made an awesome video of this airplane and promoted it very well but unfortunately it is not a good airplane until they take care of the issues when they take care of the issues it will probably be an awesome airplane please flight test please take care of these issues and please take care of the customers that have had issues with these airplanes
I feel like I deserve half my money back.... at the least... enough said
This RC aircraft is an awesome tribute to Trent Palmer and his sweet Freedom Fox bush plane. That's basically the only reason I can think of that someone should buy it. For me, that's a good enough reason.
I agree with all the reviewers which have suggested that this plane handles poorly and is impossible to land short, requiring a high approach speed to maintain directional control. It truly takes the "L" out of "STOL" .. I guess that makes it a "STO" plane, as in, you're mostly going to stow it on your shelf to look at rather than risk flying it at a small field. I tried configuring flapperons, but the extra lift doesn't help if low-speed handling is poor to begin with.
Like many reviewers, my kit arrived with a damaged tail light. Simple enough fix with some CA, but annoying.
I also agree with all the reviewers here who point out that the paint and decals are bare minimum and come off easily with even slight contact by your hands.
One thing I didn't see mentioned in other reviews was that I can't get the gear fairings to stay attached on my kit. They'll clip on, but the slightest bump on the wheels and they pop off. There's no way they would ever stay clipped in through a takeoff. It's very obviously a poor design. I think the idea was that it would be better in a hard bounce (detaching rather than breaking) but I believe that benefit is outshined by the constant frustration of them detaching when they shouldn't. A better design would have the fairing mounts be a complete circle with a sliding pin to lock them into the fuselage while allowing free rotation.
So, if you're a Trent Palmer fan, you should own this airplane. If you're a very good RC airplane pilot, you can consider flying it occasionally, but only if you have a long, wide runway. Sadly, this is not the STOL plane I was hoping for given its namesake.
Not sure why ppl are having sure problems even if you have (40 years on the stix) I bought this and basically flew right out of the box. From taxi to take off roll to climb out and flying around the experience was AWESOME right down to landing. I'm buying another for my son. If your having problems it may be you and not the plane. Thank you FLITE TEST for an AWESOME product yet again!!
In contrast to a lot of the sad stories about instant rolls into the ground and electronics catching on fire, my plane is actually superb! My setup: 3s 2200-2700, cg perfectly level at recommended location, ar620 reciever set up with flaperon control, STOL wingtips. I love how scale it flies! The first bank I tried out if a climb scared the crap out of me cause it looked like it was hanging on the prop and about to stall and lawn dart into the ground! After I started using rudder in my turns to coordinate, all is well! The plane is so awesome to fly, no problems with motor overheating and no problems with melting plastic of any kind! No adverse handling characteristics that I can find at all. The landings are my FAVEORITE! SO much so that I'm selling my eflite Maule M-7 because this freedom fox is just so much more fun to fly. 10/10 would be an awesome 2nd or 3rd plane for anyone as long as you know how to use your rudder in the air! GREAT JOB FLITETEST
I was very excited awaiting this release, i ordered it a day or so after it was released before it went out of stock. The kit was packaged horribly, unlike any model ive seen before. The fuselage was not reinforced to stop movement during shipping allowing the light on the rudder to be smashed. The paint scheme was fading or very thinly coated. Very small motor even for what it is qouted as, the same goes for the esc it was the smallest 30amp ive seen before. the engine mount was not sturdy or made in a way to easily except an upgrade. Servos were very cheap, the style ribs on top of wings were coming unglued. Without removing anything from its bags i could tell the landing gear would not tolerate many stol style landings with its mounting style. I waited a few days before i made my decision on if i would attempt to repair the broken pieces on my new kit or send it back, i saw others reviews of similar and more extreme issues and decied to return it. Very disapointed in this plane considering that for 229$ you can get a timber X pnp.
Wow I was pretty excited about this plane but after reading all these reviews I think I'll wait... they need to at least fix the problems or make it a better price like $160 for something that has visual issues and electronic issues. But maybe I'll stick to Horizon Hobby for now.
I was really excited to get the freedom fox from A-Main Hobbies, but even though it looks good, the light in the rudder was crushed and I was disappointed in the cheap hard plastic used in the landing gear that doesn't look very robust for a bush plane. I put a receiver in and adjusted the trim. Went to fly it the next day and when I set it on the ground the elevator servo went to full down and fried itself. Not sure whether I should spend the time and money to cut the cheap servo out and replace it with a quality metal gear servo or just bin the whole thing. I was hoping with flaperons I could at least get some really short landings, but it's not looking good so far. I have a Timber X with over a hundred flights and no problems. It was less money, has metal gear servos came with a receiver, and has landing gear more suited for a bush plane, and with the live wing setup it can do some crazy stuff.
I don't know how to review a model I have not flown but it looks great. It is neat to see something that unique offered as an ARF. For those who choose to criticise it because it doesn't have 4s or a scale prop, do a little modeling and make the plane yours. There are multiple motor and prop combinations that would help performance(if it needs it). Vendors rarely release a product that it perfect in everybody's eyes. Now they need to produce Steve Henry's Highlander!
I am giving it 5 stars just for the paint job! I will see the video reviews and just may order this to ship to Australia!
Well done boys.
Big fan of Trent Palmer. Was hoping that someone would model his plane. Was very excited when I got Amain Hobbies email. Ordered it right away. See attached video. Hope you enjoy it.
Wisconsin John
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WN82OLnDKOM&t=51s
