All Us intermediate pilots, Lets Share

[Dewey H Lee]

Thank you Lon for being 100% truthful. There are so many times that pilots here on the community and just in general speek of greesing there landings only to see vids showing bouncing hard landings. The ones that get me are the ones who do this and then talk how crappy the retracts are. I don't greese all the time and when i screw up i fix my retracts amd go back to flying not blaming the gear for being :Poo:. I salute you sir.:)

[Lon]

Thanks Dewey!!... You are so right about the "Crappy retracts"....but i must say, I'm spoiled with my runways..smooth. Not putting the stress on retracts that you get flying off of grass. I've flown off of grass alot too..And boy, that will let you know how robust your gear is.

[Oxotnik]

Yep, I pretty much fly exclusively off of grass. The struts get worked really hard, especially when I don't set the plane down gently.

[Grossman56]

Unfortunately, ours needs some work as well. We have a lot of cracks in it and every once in a while,...
Last night, the Bearcat got caught a wheel caught on one on landing and peeled the gear out. Easy fix and she's ready to go again, but just a P.I.T.A.
Had both the Bearcat and the P-40 up last night and it was just so much fun albeit 46 degrees, but still, the season has begun!!

Grossman56

[Grossman56]

Hey guys!
I noticed that CNC Smallparts had a new set of retract sides specifically for the P-40, so I scooped a couple of sets for mine. Now originally, I had installed a set designed for the Corsair and they worked fairly well, but I had to add shims to either side of the trunion to get the wheels to stay fairly straight. It still allowed some toe in/tow out movement but it was livable.
Anyway, I just swapped out the Corsairs for the new P-40's. I couldn't see the difference visually, but what the heck and installed them anyway. They do seem better, no shims and they put just a bit of toe in on the wheels. Taxied her around and she's straight as an arrow, so well worth the effort.
If you go this route, don't over tighten the screws that hold the plates on, snug and that's all, no torque on one side for sure otherwise they gear tends to bind. I also had to adjust (read bend) the little pivot arm that makes the wheel turn while retracting. Just a bit to stop it from digging into the retract side and not fully retracting. After that, I reinstalled the struts and she works just fine!
A couple of tips on this plane. Since you have the retracts off, check those pesky two screws that hold the wheel fairings to the wing, I had mine back off. Also, check those grub screws that hold the strut to the retract pin, they just love to back off as well. A little Foam-Tac in the threads will smarten them up!!

Grossman56

[Dewey H Lee]

Hey Dan now you need to get a Corsair for the side plates;).

[Grossman56]

Yep, two side plates isn't a new airplane, it's a restoration isn't it?

Grossman56

[Dewey H Lee]

You got it. Perfect argument for a Corsair:Devil:. Just a little friend sitting on the shoulder whispering.

[Grossman56]

You just never know when you might be in need of a Corsair!
I was curious to see if the Corsair retract sides would work with the P-40, why wouldn't they just use the same retracts since they are so close to each other. But apparently, there is a difference, so, good to know.
Anyone who hasn't wrapped the fingers around this P-40 yet is missing out on a sweet plane and so much fun to paint. The beauty of this plane is that the more little dings and dents, the more authentic it becomes when in Flying Tiger scheme. If I do some repairs or the paint chips a bit, I just paint it silver so it looks as if she's pealed even more paint. You have to remember that the Tigers were flying what would be considered flying wrecks that would have been hauled off to the nearest junk yard if they were in the States.

Grossman56

[Dewey H Lee]

I hear you Dan. I do have the P40 still in the box. So much work and sickness has kept me from getting it together
Does small parts have the side plates for the P40. If they do ill get a set for it to go with the snoots sniper. Want it right.
Get you a gull wing Dan there beautiful coming in for a low pass or landing. Ive always loved them like you and your Mustangs.:Cool:

[Grossman56]

Yes, Dewey, Small Parts has them for the P-40, just installed them and they seem better than the Corsair's were.
You gotta get that bird in the air!!
Great flying airplane and so easy to build. I was just getting into build mode, looked around and I was done!!

Grossman56

[Grossman56]

Okay all you fellows
Who are taking the time
To check on Ol' Grossman
Who's now talking in rhyme
What happened you may ask
Too much Dr. Seuss
Or did his senses finally come loose
Heck no I replied to friend and to pal
Just approaching post 3800
Isn't it swell?

[Grossman56]

3800 !!!

[STOOPIDMONKEY]

Hey guys I am Back! And the Stoopidmonkey Got A Box!

https://youtu.be/DXXf-cCC4qo

[Grossman56]

Welcome home SM, good to hear from you

[Grossman56]

I guess I can take it as a hint that I haven't posted anything on this thread in over 400 posts!
Lots has happened this Summer, all good things I might add. First and foremost, got to hang with the guys at Muncie which, like last year, was awesome!! It was also great to see some new faces attached to familiar names, like Boots Whirlygig and Steve the Rcjetdude.
Made the step into EDS this year and bought an Avanti which has proven to be, at least to me, the BEST plane to come out this year. Mind you, I don't have an A-10, so that's arguable!!
Still have the occasional bumpy landing but I got much better at it after hanging around Mike, Ryan and Charlie, etc. I never fail to come away from Nefi a wiser pilot.
Had the Avanti and the Pitts up today as its been unusually clear of smoke and the wind was down. Had an interesting thing happen to the Avanti, after the first flight one of the main retracts was loose and swiveling inwards and outwards (toe in and toe out) checked the grub screws at the base of the strut, they were fine, so I left it until I got home and put three flights on the Pitts instead. I pulled the retract when I got back home and found that the grub screws on the retract itself had come loose, easy fix and she's as good as new, except for all the dents and scratches, better know as winter projects.

So all is well in Wyoming now that the fires in Montana have dissipated, hopefully, and we're looking forward to a decent Fall.
I know I'm not alone in wishing all our friends in Texas and Florida the best of luck and sending you all our heartfelt prayers for your safety and recovery, take care and be safe!!

Grossman56

[Grossman56]

Hey, what the Heck! Coming up to post number 6000, so dug through the archives and found one of my old threads. This was the one that replaced "All Us Newbies Lets Share" if any of the new pilots here in the Squawk want a great source of reading material by the guys who were going through the crawl stage with me, most of whom are still here and flying, look it up by using the search bar on the home screen. Both these threads are a hoot to me to revisit. So without further ado, let me post my .......

[Grossman56]

6000th POST!!!
Here on the Squawk and my sixth season of flying and posting!
A trip down memory lane......
And of course, I had to include Diane taking pictures at Nefi, she's been in the AMA magazine more times than anyone else who is not a regular contributor, at least that I know of!

Thanks to all for the fellowship and kind words of encouragement throughout the years. Thanks to Motion RC and guys like Alpha and Todd who have been great fellow moderators in the early days. Thanks to my buddy Charlie Brown, the miles between mean nothing and thanks to Jerry 'Hardway' a true friend who came through unbelievably for me. Appreciate it guys and that means all of you. Back when I was in rock bands all you had to do is say you were a guitar player in a band to another guitar player and you made an instant friend. The same is true in the R/C community.

Grossman56

[BluesDragon]

6000!! Wow.. congrats Gman! Nice compilation of photos there too. I can say, your posts have been helpful as well as inspiration for me since coming here. Most definitely a valued Squawker from where I sit behind this monitor. So 'thanks' for all 6000 of your contributions here!

[Elbee]

Grossman56, What BluesDragon wrote and 'here's to 6000 more posts over the next 6 years. Congrats and Bravo Zulu, Sir. Best, LB