How would you rate the overall quality of the product?
Very Low
Okay
Very Good
How would you rate the value of the product for the money?
Very Low
Okay
Very Good
How difficult or easy is the product to assemble, use, or operate?
Very Difficult
Average
Very Easy
How well does the product perform / function?
Very Weak
Okay
Very Good
“I overlooked this jet because it was an older model but I finally decided to try the inrunner high performance version and I'm glad I did. I did reinforce the fuselage with some CF rod to prevent flexing and the canopy from intermittently popping loose. Like some others I also permanently attached the nosegear door and cut out the wheel and strut outline with a dremel to eliminate the nose not retracting properly at times. No problems at all now after dozens of flights.I've had this plane for just 12 days now and logged flight number 40 this morning! I'm in Oklahoma and it stays pretty windy here with only an occasional nice day for flying but this little plane equipped with an S8R receiver with gyro handles it fine. The plane does prefer a gyro, at least in the wind. I don't think I've had it out on a really nice day yet.... Last weekend the weather turned out with too much crosswind for most of the pilots at the field that morning so I was discharging their packs with the F-5 and having a blast doing touch and goes in that crosswind. Guys at the field including myself were amazed at how well the little jet was doing in that wind. I am running Admiral 5000s and other lightweight 45C 5000mAh packs and getting 4-5 minutes flights. This is mostly 50-60% throttle because the jet is fast even at mid throttle. I usually make a couple of full throttle passes during my flights with lots of touch and goes and pretty much always touch down at 4:30 to 5:00 minutes with cells 3.76 to 3.78 volts. I use throttle% timer set to 2:30 min. on the Taranis. I've had several guys walk up and ask me if I knew how fast it is and I reply I don't know but I'm only flying 60% throttle right now.... I've had a lot of jets but this is the first one I've owned that I can consistently hold at 3-4 feet altitude over the length of our 500+ foot runway then through the field until I have to pull up for the fence and power lines. It really tracks SO NICE and the lower you go, the faster it looks.... ;-) Someday it will meet some bad air during a high speed low pass and the crash will be spectacular but I'll order another F-5.”
How would you rate the overall quality of the product?
Very Low
Okay
Very Good
How would you rate the value of the product for the money?
Very Low
Okay
Very Good
How difficult or easy is the product to assemble, use, or operate?
Very Difficult
Average
Very Easy
How well does the product perform / function?
Very Weak
Okay
Very Good
“I had been waiting to pull the trigger on this model for a while. Boy am I glad that I did!!! This is my 4th Freewing model but my 7th EDF. I wanted something that would fit in the trunk of a sedan, use my existing 5000mah 6S batteries, and be impressively fast. For having been on the market since 2015, this is considered and “older” Freewing model. I think this one will stand the test of time however. As far as the build and fit/finish quality goes, the only reason that I gave it 4 out of 5 stars in that category was the canopy didn’t fit well out of the box. After some research, it found it was a common problem and after shaving a few millimeters of foam in the right area, it fit perfectly. I would suggest reinforcing the vertical walls of the fuselage joint as well with some scrap ply or carbon rod. Nothing major there.I added the hobby eagle A3L gyro to mine and it works perfectly with the gain at the 10 o’clock position. It really smoothed out the wing rocking that the plane exhibits in windy conditions or when blipping the throttle on approach. This thing was locked in on the second flight. I did all by-the-book high rates and they’re spot on. No trim needed! For the flaps, I used the book takeoff flaps as my landing flaps and just eyeballed a setting in-between for my takeoff flaps. I ended up using the book CG and no flap to elevator mix needed! The nose does come up slightly with full flaps, and I find that it is the perfect AoA for landing attitude. Just manage throttle for your touchdown point. It does come down quickly at idle with flaps, and requires about 25-30% throttle just to maintain glideslope. Just be ready for that. It’s not a floater unless the flaps are up.Performance- I was blown away with the performance out of the box! This is without a doubt the fastest EDF that I have ever flown and I also have the F/A-18C HP and the F-14 with an inrunner setup. I haven’t held the F-5 vertically in my hands with full power yet to see if it is over 1:1 thrust to weight ratio, but by the way it flies I believe it is! It will go straight up after takeoff and just keep going! On a fast pass followed by a pull into the vertical, it’s the only one of my jets where I have to throttle back before it gets out of sight! And that’s with a heavy 725g 5000! Should be even more ridiculous with a light 4000. For reference, there was a pilot at the field on maiden day who had the older outrunner version. Mine blew the doors off of his! The climb performance was the most noticeable difference. I could go straight up on takeoff, and the outrunner was limited to about a 20 degree climb.The jet really has no bad tendencies either. I expected it to have a nasty stall with those stubby wings, but it never bites! It kind of reminds me of the 90mm F-22. You can keep pulling and pulling at the stall and it just comes down like a pancake. You can high-alpha this jet all day long too. It really likes nose-high landings and stops in about 150’ on a runway. I thought it was going to land like a freight train, but I was pleasantly surprised that it doesn’t! What a treat to fly!I should have bought this jet a long time ago!!! If you’re on the fence, get it!”
How would you rate the overall quality of the product?
Very Low
Okay
Very Good
How would you rate the value of the product for the money?
Very Low
Okay
Very Good
How difficult or easy is the product to assemble, use, or operate?
Very Difficult
Average
Very Easy
How well does the product perform / function?
Very Weak
Okay
Very Good
“This thing is a missle! Half throttle flys great with lots of potential when you go full. I use a 6s 5000. Floats in nice on landings. Gear is solid and tracks nicely on take offs and landings. Only negative I have to say is that the paint is peeling around where the canopy meets the fuselage. Easy fix. Not a first EDF”
How would you rate the overall quality of the product?
Very Low
Okay
Very Good
How would you rate the value of the product for the money?
Very Low
Okay
Very Good
How difficult or easy is the product to assemble, use, or operate?
Very Difficult
Average
Very Easy
How well does the product perform / function?
Very Weak
Okay
Very Good
“I have owned two of the F-5s & I must say it's a nice little scale bird. It looks great & flies on rails. Just make sure to glue the forward battery tray/nose of the jet on real good. It seems to be a bit flimsy & could use an upgrade. Other than that, I give it two thumbs up for speed & looks!”
How would you rate the overall quality of the product?
Very Low
Okay
Very Good
How would you rate the value of the product for the money?
Very Low
Okay
Very Good
How difficult or easy is the product to assemble, use, or operate?
Very Difficult
Average
Very Easy
How well does the product perform / function?
Very Weak
Okay
Very Good
“Not for the beginner, this jet is a 70mm size airframe with an 80mm power plant which means it flys heavy, it flys best with 6s lipos in the 500gram weight range to perform its best, I use 3300 mah 6s lipos that weigh 505 grams and it floats in on landings, 4000 and up and it flys like a brick and difficult to land, aside from that it’s fast and agile and fun to fly, one thing to note when glueing the nose half together, be sure and put the canopy on otherwise if you glue it without putting it on it may be either to tight or to loose of a fit, the canopy will actually align everything nicely, just be careful not to glue the canopy on by accident when attaching the two fuselage halves together”
