I Almost Wrecked It! ✈️ 8S Freewing ARES Maiden Flight, Crazy Stunts!

Watch my first four flights with the Freewing/Sebart ARES, 8S 90mm EDF rc jet!
Me flying a sport jet? What are you sayin'... ? No, never!! Lies, obviously... fake news! ...Nothing to see here, keep doom-scrolling through your feed! :DDD

Ok, jokes aside, this RC airplane was designed to please extreme 3D flight rc pilots that value post stall maneuvering... how could I not get such an aircraft? And to top it off, it's hover capable thanks to its very lightweight build, while also featuring a new generation of TV nozzle... I just had to have one to thrash around! :D
Mine can't hover yet, due to using subpar and old batteries, but bare with me, I'll get there... ( :

Now, that said, the base design and layout of the jet is still that of a pattern bird, first and foremost, so despite the added capability enabled by the very large control surfaces and the TV nozzle, this is a jet that doesn't 'so happily' perform in the post-stall regime, if you compare it to other post-stall monsters like the Su-35, the F-22 or virtually any delta or tailed delta that you may think of... the ARES ends up being quite a handful in that department. Consequently, I'll need to do a bit of mental readaptation and grow accustomed to its own peculiar set of quirks. Notice that the model wing rocks like crazy when pulling it out of its comfortable envelope. One way or another, can't wait to put some hours on it and see what can really be accomplished!

Back to the video, I'm just getting started with this model, so the flights were rather meh, mostly trimming work and me getting used to the very different reactions that this model features when compared with my usual fighter-jet-style deltas and tailed deltas... but even then I still managed to sneak in a few crazy post-stall moves here and there! :D

The thing that totally caught me off guard is that under some conditions, when adding negative angle of attack, the plane sometimes rolls instead of cleanly pulling through in pitch alone. That was pretty offsetting and almost made me crash the jet at the end of the video; when doing a negative loop, the jet suddenly rolled onto itself. I quickly transitioned to a normal exit, but barely made it out in time to dodge the ground... phew!

FWIW, I'll further increase roll expo and set a larger rudder gyro gain... just in case. The large washout built into the wing probably isn't helping in the negative alpha maneuvers, hahaha... :p

Unrelated: Gotta love just how easy this one is to assemble and disassemble, with no screws needed to secure the wings... !

These were flights 1st to 4th on 'Arisa', as I decided to name my AreS... for Obvious reasons, lol. ;)

Pilot: RC4ever
Ground video: Luis Ibáñez
Airfield: RACBSA
Music: Michael McCann / Ice Tiger

Chapters:
00:00 - Highlights (0,7x Slowmo + Music)
07:53 - 1st Flight (CG 130mm)
14:40 - 2nd Flight (CG 135mm)
21:20 - 3rd Flight (CG 140mm)
28:03 - 4th Flight (CG 140mm)

ARES SPECS:

Wingspan: 1156mm
Length: 1400mm
Flying Weight: 3470g (with 2x ballast cylinders)
CG: 140mm (18mm behind manufacturer recommendation)
Ducted Fan: 90mm, 12 blade
Motor: 8S Brushless Inrunner 4075-1350Kv
ESC: Freewing 120A w/ 7A UBEC, thrust reversing
Servos: Stock (Digital Hybrid Gear, except the nozzle servos being metal gear)
Receiver: Jeti REX10A Assist (Gyro stabilized)
Additional gyro: HobbyEagle A3Mini (controlling the nozzle servos)
Current sensor: Jeti MUI200
Main battery: HRB 8S 4200mAh (2x 4S) 800g

This is the 8S version which comes with a 90mm 12-Blade EDF with a 4075-1350Kv inrunner brushless motor and a thrust reversing 120A ESC. The Freewing AreS is a breakthrough in EDF jet design, built for pilots who want to push beyond speed or scale into the world of 3D and post-stall aerobatics. Developed in partnership between champion aerobatic pilot Sebastiano Silvestri and Freewing Model, the AreS is purpose-built for insane aerobatics!

At the heart of its extreme capability is Freewing’s second-generation dual-axis thrust vectoring system. Using a redesigned nozzle structure, thrust loss has been reduced from 35% to less than 6%.

Practical innovations like quick-release wings with auto-connect wiring, a bright 7-light LED system, and durable CNC machined landing gear struts make the Ares both easy to transport and a joy to fly. This jet delivers brute force and fine control in equal measure — opening the door to a new level of EDF aerobatics!

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