There's something special about jets. The sound, the style, the sheer speed of the things. Freewing recently started producing small but very scale historical EDF jets that provide all three of these qualities in ample amounts. Their latest aircraft looks to be a welcome addition to their line up - it's the Lippisch P.15!
Many will recognise this aircraft, but probably because it looks like another airplane. Alexander Lippisch, also the designer of the ME-163 Komet, designed the P.15 as part of Germany's increasingly desperate bid to produce advanced jet aircraft to swing the balance of the war during the closing months of the WW2. Unlike the Komet, the newer design was to be powered by a turbojet engine to function much in the same way to modern fighter jets.
It was a resourceful design attempt in many ways: the P.15 reused components from other aircraft that already existed, such as the landing gear which was sourced from a BF-109. This was an inventive solution to the problem of Germany's limited resources and dwindling production capabilities. Practically, it meant that very few new tools or jigs had to be made specially to produce the P.15. This ensured the airplane could be put into production without much disruption or lost time.
Due to many circumstances, however, the P.15 never got off the drawing board - until now.
The Freewing model is a small but very quick reimagining of Lippisch's design. Judging by Motion RC's videos, it has superb efficiency.
It may not look like it, but this guy is the cousin of Freewing's other $100 scale jets that we reviewed. These were the F-8 Crusader and the F-105 Thunderchief. You can check out the other articles written about these jets here. The Lippisch uses the same 64mm power system but has a very different swept delta wing design.
Here's Motion RC's video showing you what the P.15 can do with a 3s battery. Check out how fast, or slow, this thing can go. The efficient swept wing design means that you have a very wide flight envelope for an EDF. If you're wanting an easy to fly DIY EDF with similar performance, check out our FT Viggen.
If you like jets and classic looking warbirds, this may be the model for you. Make sure you head on over to Motion RC's website page for the Lippisch P.15 to take a look at all of the features, upgrades and spare parts that they offer. If you want to build your own jet, check out our DIY section of the FT Store. If we get to test fly the Freewing jet for ourselves, we'll be sure to let you know what we think!
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Article by James Whomsley
Editor of FliteTest.com
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