Assembly & Flight Review -- E-flite SU-30 Twin 70mm EDF (The RC Geek)

As mentioned last week, here's my full assembly and flight review for the E-flite SU-30 twin 70mm EDF. In short, this is an amazing airplane that looks incredible and flies really nicely. It's a large airframe with a great finish and incorporates good quality components into the design. It's not the fastest EDF out there, but it has great overall performance and flies extremely scale and really looks beautiful in the air. I have really been enjoying this jet considerably! I have a full writeup along with my dx file available at thercgeek.com/SU30 #SU30 #FighterJet #TheRCGeek
E-flite SU-30 ► bit.ly/EfltSU30
6s Smart 7000mah Battery ► bit.ly/Sptm6s7000
Spektrum Dx8 Radio ► bit.ly/SpktmTx
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[@LigthningII]

Thanks for the video Chris. I have not flown mine yet and the suggestions for the CG are most useful. I have the burners as well and think this add some realism to the model . Many thanks again.

[@ret737]

Always appreciate your videos Chris!

[@Thercgeek]

Thank you very much!

[@IJustGotHere]

Great video Chris! I recently started into the jet action after several years of prop flying. I never thought I would like it this much!

[@Thercgeek]

Thanks! Jets are my favorite aircraft to fly. I love warbirds too, but there’s just something about jet flying. 😊

[@reasonitout9087]

Thanks for another great review. The hard work, care, experience, and planning shows. Your videos are the "go-to" videos for helping me decide what to get and how to set it up.

[@Thercgeek]

Thank you so much!! 😊

[@JeffsCustomRC]

Excellent video Chris, love this jet, if only I could find time to get it out of the box and in the air, thanks for all the great work👊🏼👊🏼👊🏼🔥🤓🤓

[@Thercgeek]

Thanks! You should assemble that thing man! 😉

[@mrt1035]

Awesome Chris, burners look sweet in mine, thanks

[@raminkt4466]

Excellent video Chris like ever.Thanks

[@Thercgeek]

Thank you!

[@rcpatriot2704]

Good information video on the nice overall looking SU-30.

[@Thercgeek]

Thanks!

[@charlesrestivo870]

The best videos continually Infromation first A flight with no BS while flying Then a recap All the YT should take a class on how this fella Does his videos.

[@Thercgeek]

Thank you for your kind feedback!

[@hechtspeed]

Excellent review!

[@Thercgeek]

Thanks mah dude!

[@winairfpv1072]

very interesting video! this model is fantastic, I have one ! thank you for this very detailed review (without forgetting the website!👍)!

[@Thercgeek]

Thank you for the kind words!

[@jeffbrundt7740]

Great review. I just ordered one today...probably the last one in stock anywhere. Looking forward to flying it. Was originally going to go for the F-16 but i think I'll like this better.

[@Thercgeek]

Nice score!!

[@jbrundt]

@@Thercgeek what is your preferred battery for this EDF? 5000/6000/7000? I have 5200 and 6000's packs but waffling on if I should get any 7000's.

[@ratelmike8825]

Love the sound....

[@Thercgeek]

It is a good sounding bird for sure

[@chrisdavis3642]

Your something else mr wolf 😲🧐

[@JetAlfred57]

Perfekte Präsentation 👍👍👍👍👍😀

[@gavstreet8976]

Love it also we got the maiden flight in

[@Thercgeek]

Nice, congrats!

[@SpecialAgent454]

Well Done !!

[@Thercgeek]

Thanks!

[@valerijuskaniusas5349]

Great!👌Hope to see your vid comparison between Eflite SU-30 and Freewing SU-35😄

[@Thercgeek]

Haha, well i don’t have the FW and am not planning on getting one at the moment. 😉

[@TangyLlama]

JEALOUSY

[@chrislefty9354]

Awesome video and as always, love the in-depth review you provide. Would you think that this plane would be a good step up after flying the E-flite F16 70mm? I am still working my way up to this kind of EDF and I’m hoping the skills I build with the E-flite F-16 70mm will help me have the confidence to fly this one, because I just love the way she looks. Great work, brotha 😎🤙🏼

[@Thercgeek]

Thank you! I do think following the f16 if you’re flying it proficiently that the su30 would do fine. It is a bigger and heavier model and it’s not quite as nimble as the f16, so do keep that in mind when the time comes. But it’s a nice flyer and it looks fantastic!

[@blakemcreynolds1456]

@@Thercgeek hi. Sorry I’m doing this reply long time after the video. Would you recommend the f18 80mm as a step up from the f16 70mm

[@Thercgeek]

I think if you’re quite proficient with the f16, you will do ok with the f18. Just know that it’s not quite as forgiving as the f16 in the slow speed arena.

[@BinderDundat]

Looks awesome and I finally decided to order one today. Do you have a link on how to do the afterburner light setup?

[@Thercgeek]

My friend put together an installation video that I have posted on my website at thercgeek.com/centerburner. It’s really quite simple.

[@EDF_FANatic]

Holy crap that is a big bird. Good on horizon for making it all screw on rather than glue on so that you could pack it in the box again.

[@Thercgeek]

Very true!

[@aaywaz1]

Enjoyed your video. Since our club has a short paved runway I would like to upgrade to mechanical brakes to my SU30. Can you recommend make and measurements. Thank you.

[@Thercgeek]

Folks tend to go with the jp hobby electric brakes. My recommendation would be to take a measurement of the stock tire and then order a set closest to that size. Looks like efflux rc stocks them.

[@lindenstewart4404]

RC Geek I love your demonstration of this E-Flite su 30 twin 70mm EDF mines will be arriving in a months time, I live in Georgetown Guyana 🇬🇾 in South America, do you have a video of the radio setting for this su 30 twin 70mm EDF would like to used your radio settings, also

[@Thercgeek]

The control deflections and cg are all listed in the video. 😉. I also have the written out on my website at thercgeek.com/su30. My dx file can be downloaded from my site too.

[@bohan9957]

It'll be nice if we can get blue afterburner option in the future. Many Russian jets have a bluish hue to their afterburner. Su-30, Tu-22, Tu-160 are good examples.

[@Thercgeek]

Right. Unfortunately to combine different colors would require a whole new PCB design. Different colors have different voltage drops and so having amber and blue in the same series doesn’t work because of the voltage drop that occurs. The brightness is greatly affected and some leds don’t even light up.

[@richardpena355]

Great video Chris!! Which wing deflection meter is it that you used in this video? Thanks!!

[@Thercgeek]

Thanks! It’s called an accuthrow meter from great planes. Unfortunately, it’s not made anymore. 😕

[@richardpena355]

@@Thercgeek ugh...can I have yours?? Lol...just kidding. Thanks Chris!!

[@Thercgeek]

Haha, sorry this one is spoken for! 🤣

[@nirlachman007]

Chris, would you mind sharing your Dual Rates in percentages please? I’m using NX8 Thanks

[@Thercgeek]

Honestly, I couldn’t tell you off hand and I don’t have this model anymore. I do have the dx file available for download on my website at thercgeek.com/dx-files I’d recommend simply downloading and installing that and recentering the trims before first flight.

[@nirlachman007]

Hey Chris! I was wondering what’s your opinion on flaperons for this one instead of using the speed brake (I only have 6 ch RX). Will it helper more on landings speed wise? Thanks

[@Thercgeek]

I think flaperons combined with tailerons would work really well. That combo is great on the 80mm f16

[@nirlachman007]

@@Thercgeek can I do it using 6ch receiver only? Thanks 😊

[@Thercgeek]

No, unfortunately not. You’ll need 8 channels to do that. 9 if you want to keep the speed brake.

[@nirlachman007]

@@Thercgeek thank you so much! Appreciate your help. 🔥

[@BinderDundat]

Just got mine today. This thing is incredible. So no flaps, speed brake deployed, how many feet do you need to land this beast. First jet, and I’m looking for a good place to fly.

[@Thercgeek]

300ft paved with available runoff at a bare minimum I would say. It’s a decently large model with some weight, so it will roll quite a long ways on the landing.

[@BinderDundat]

@@Thercgeek Thanks, now I just have to find that landing strip.

[@frank-vq4mx]

I'm using the Spektrum Smart 5000 battery. If it is pushed all the way back, the c.g. is past the limit of 150 mm from l.e.

[@Thercgeek]

The 5000 is quite a bit lighter than the 7000 I’m using, so I’d recommend moving it forward so you are within the recommended cg, seeing how it feels in the air and then incrementally moving the cg back to where you like it if you feel it’s necessary. As they say, nose heavy airplanes fly poorly, tail heavy airplanes fly once.

[@frank-vq4mx]

I removed the steel bar that is glued into the rear of the fuselage. Am now able to balance the plane throughout the recommended c.g. range.

[@Thercgeek]

That’ll do it! Note that if you do go to a larger capacity pack, you’ll need to add that steel bar back. Expect pretty short flight times with a 5000.

[@DeucesWildRC]

This is a beautiful jet, between this and the Freewing 6s 90mm F/22 which is faster?

[@Thercgeek]

The details on the su are pretty insane. I will say though, I do think the f22 is a bit faster.

[@The43rdHammer]

Hi Chris, can I ask which afterburner lights you're using as I'd like to use them on my Super Bee F-18? Cheers Andy

[@Thercgeek]

These are the 28mm inrunner miniburners I offer. Thercgeek.com/centerburner

[@The43rdHammer]

The RC Geek thanks, they look awesome! Nice work. So I'm going to maiden her and see if she'll take the extra weight and then order some from you (I have an F-4 on 8s as well). It's there a regulator I can use to step down the main flight pack?

[@Thercgeek]

You should be able to use a bec set to 7-8v to pull power from the pack.

[@The43rdHammer]

@@Thercgeek That's perfect then... now I just need to find one, the YEP ones seem to jump from a selectable 7v to 9v. Sometimes the 7v is slightly less when selected.

[@craigbeaven8445]

Chris , how can I hook up on some of your Burners for this model or other models ??

[@Thercgeek]

They are all available through my website at thercgeek.com/centerburner I have all versions for all kinds of fans and sizes of fans/motors. Installation is pretty simple and they can be connected to the radio via a yharness. My friend put together an installation video for this specific model which is here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/oXyTXnWohMuIftk

[@octane2099]

do you know what i can do from keeping it from puffing and killing my batterys i ran power hobbys 5,200mah 50C do you think ill have better luck with some top roaring 5,500mah 45 and or 75c ratings

[@Thercgeek]

I would recommend either bumping up your battery capacity or shortening your flights a bit. This model can suck up the charge on a pack pretty quickly, especially a 5000. Even with a 7000 pack, I needed to be pretty cognizant of the flight times.

[@rmvb4flt133]

Do you know of any online stores who has this EF SU30 in stock. Wanting to purchase but can't seem to find it anywhere! 😢

[@Thercgeek]

Unfortunately I don’t. Looks like this one has been discontinued. 😕 I’d recommend putting out a wanted ad on rcgroups.

[@MaxSupercars]

I fly the Admiral 6S 6000mAh with full throttle all the time and ends with 2,5 minutes of flight time with 30% left for go arounds...

[@calaiscruiser]

So this E-Flite is the very same to the FMS yes?

[@Thercgeek]

Yep! Only difference is the fms doesn’t have the AS3X receiver and of course the paint is different.

[@janmb]

Really important to get the CG far enough aft on these models. Any level of nose heavy bias makes these go from the most awesome aerodynamics you will ever find to something that is really meh, and worst case outright nasty. Elevator trim should not need to be biased up at all - if the CG is right. We have two pilots in my club who recently acquired this model, and their went from ok to fantastic with a bit of lead in the butt. Regarding speed, we found that impressions can be really, really deceiving. This model has a huuuuge presence in the air, and one of the side effects of that is that it appears a lot slower than it really is. We tested them against stuff like the e-flite 70mm F16 (which we all know is REALLY powerful for a stock foamie EDF) as well as the FW F-104 70mm. Both of those smaller models look really quick when viewed alone, but when flying formation with the SU, the "fast" models were the ones having to punch it, while the SU had to do the waiting. Was really surprised, but looks can be deceiving for sure.

[@rotormasher]

How much lead? Thanks

[@janmb]

@@rotormasher Not sure, and also obviously depends on the weight of the battery you are using. I'll ask.

[@janmb]

@@rotormasher 70 grams. I believe that's with 5000 mah HRBs

[@rotormasher]

@@janmb thanks, that's a lot wow

[@shanethepain2009]

I want one no doubt , unrelated but how do you remove water slider decals on epo

[@Thercgeek]

Water slide decals are tricky and I’ve not really found a good way to remove them. Sometimes they lift up with masking tape, but when they don I just do all my prep work over the decals.

[@toysforboysrc]

The SU-30 vs the SU-35…. 30 has nicer landing gears but the 35 has vectored thrust. How would you compare the both? Have you flown the 35?

[@Thercgeek]

I haven’t flown the 35, so can’t really say. It’s a pretty old model at this point, but is readily available. The 30 looks pretty amazing, but has been discontinued. 😕

[@toysforboysrc]

@@Thercgeek … I found a used 35 in really great condition for under $300.. would that be a steal of a deal? Or is discontinued planes not preferred? I just bought a plane so I’m unable to buy another so I’m willing to share the link if it sounds desirable.

[@Thercgeek]

You found the freewing su35 or eflite su30? Either way, that’s a good price!

[@dalerbsr.5061]

Maybe a version 2 with 80mm and reverse thrust...

[@paulballard4243]

Did you use the 28 mm or 30 mm CenterBurners for the su30?

[@Thercgeek]

For the eflite su30, my 28mm inrunner mini burners are the ticket.

[@paulballard4243]

@@Thercgeek awesome thank you. I just ordered a few different ones and the Rafale exhaust nozzles 👍

[@Thercgeek]

Thank you!

[@jareddakid2]

Does the Milli Falcon fly?

[@Thercgeek]

If it’s the one I think it is, it’s a plastic model.

[@icantfly]

Can you please do one of ur awesome paint jobs on this thing.. That bare foam is awful. Would look 1000% better with a refinish!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@Thercgeek]

Yeah, I do wish the white areas were painted. An easy fix if someone were so inclined. I’d love to do a repaint, but if I do it’ll be a while. I’ve got stacks of projects right now. 😬

[@johnmueller3573]

What radio are you using ?

[@Thercgeek]

Of late I’ve been using the nx10 and really like it. In this video however I was using a dx8.

[@Rippin-Rich]

Any idea what the flight weight is?

[@Thercgeek]

Oh man, I don’t know off hand and don’t have the model anymore to weigh it.

[@antoniobianchi5689]

what diameter of afterburning led lights...70mm?

[@Thercgeek]

My twin 28mm inrunner miniburner system is what fits the fans in the eflite su30. Thanks!

[@daveliz5014]

Nice. Do you think flapperons would be worth the effort. Cheers

[@Thercgeek]

I think flapperons would be cool, but I don’t feel that they’re necessary. The airplane lands quite nicely without them.

[@sotirismiaris421]

😘👍

[@trcam3152]

Su-30 or Viper by eflite?

[@Thercgeek]

Well, those are two very different choices. The su-30 is kind of a brute force fighter experience in a decently large package where the viper is more of an edf powered pattern airplane. Really depends on what you’re looking for.

[@trcam3152]

@@Thercgeek it will be my first edf, I like how big the su-30 is. Is there a jet on rf 9.5 that is similar in flight to the su-30?

[@Thercgeek]

For a first edf, the viper is hard to beat. I think you’d be better off starting there and moving on to the su30 after.

[@sergiocostaRJ]

Nice video, is it possible to airbrush the plane and turn it into a Ukrainian digital camo? Thank you.

[@Thercgeek]

Yep, you can paint directly over the stock paint if you choose. Or, you can do a full refinish too. 😊 kzbin.info/aero/PLwbLS16akD_4r0Jbj-fGZ1QC9QicLdqMW

[@sergiocostaRJ]

Thank you so much!! 🤙🏻

[@winnerwolf9546]

Best part of that jets the burners the rest of it well I won’t be buying HH anytime soon IMOF I’ve been giving them away to fellow club members for free let them wait for parts

[@nothingpromised2569]

Lol. The decals say 69 & bbc

[@ps4kidgaming56]

air break motor is crap, second one died

[@Thercgeek]

Dang, sorry to hear that! So far so good on this one.

[@ironmover5800]

So far of all the reviews , no one has mentioned the ugly green wheels ? They don’t match any color on the plane , why dark green ?

[@Thercgeek]

They’re dark green because that is scale to the airplane and what’s on the full scale. 😊

[@ironmover5800]

@@Thercgeek just got the last 30 in the area H stores spoken for. Hope to gain the skill and courage to fly by end of summer ….that’ll be 1 year into flying

[@mdkopiluddin2811]

welcome very good Russian baby fighter jet experience.... hi my sweet action..... very beautiful super star... 🇧🇩🇧🇩🇧🇩❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️💘💘💘🌹🌹🌹💗💗🌻🌻🌻💔💔💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙

[@EricJaakkola]

4 minute of flight time? simulating a turbine.

[@Thercgeek]

Yeah, this one can chew through a battery pretty quick. 😉