Official FlightLine RC 2000mm B-24D/J Liberator Thread

[TLewis95]

Rough day for Little Lil today... Climbing out from a low pass and at some point lost all motor and radio power and got to watch it coast up into a tail slide, and then slowly, but vertically, spiral straight in.

I haven't re-connected anything to try to duplicate it or see what failed yet, but everything seems to point to the UBEC to me since it was a complete, sudden lockout of everything for what had to be about 10 seconds of no-control before the impact.

I will certainly be getting another one once they are back in-stock, but I don't know if I have the patience to re-do that camo scheme again.

[JDill]

Great work JDill . Where do you fly in TC. Used to live there, actually out in the forest at Spider Lake for about 25 years before moving to Miami and the Keys. It's an absolutely beautiful area, definitely miss it in the summer, especially during cherry season.

Hi Hugh. I fly with the local RC club and they have 2 fields, one by the Interlochen airport and the other just east of Silver Lake in the "Chums Corners" area. I do a fair amount of kayaking and Spider Lake is one of my destinations! I paddled there twice this year and took an RC boat and floatplane on one of the trips. I moved here 7 years ago from the middle of the "Mitten" for the biking, hiking, kayaking, and cross-country skiing. I do love it here. We live near Long Lake SW of TC.

[JDill]

Thanks for sharing the prop tip, I'd like to do something similar. If I could mount it reasonably perpendicular to the work surface, wouldn't any rod/tube/bolt of appropriate diameter work instead of the motor to turn the prop on?

I'm sure that would work just fine if there's no slop and the prop is held down in place. I have spare small motors and used one of those with a prop adapter that was the perfect fit.

[Hugh Wiedman]

I used an idea from a Youtube video to cut down 4 3-bladed props on my B-24. In the video they made a 3d printed fixture. I just used two blocks of wood, one to mount a motor to and the other with a hole drilled to fit the business end of my Dremel. Then I clamped them to the edge of my work table with another wood piece between to get the proper height/spacing. It worked great to get an accurate cut on each blade. Then I just used a file to round the tips to their original shape and painted the tips. two of them were perfectly balanced and the other two were close. It was actually pretty easy other than there were 4 blades! Cut down was from the original 9.5" to 8.3".

Video link: https://youtu.be/MxHMUbuMAYs

Great work JDill . Where do you fly in TC. Used to live there, actually out in the forest at Spider Lake for about 25 years before moving to Miami and the Keys. It's an absolutely beautiful area, definitely miss it in the summer, especially during cherry season.

[TedP]

Thanks for sharing the prop tip, I'd like to do something similar. If I could mount it reasonably perpendicular to the work surface, wouldn't any rod/tube/bolt of appropriate diameter work instead of the motor to turn the prop on?

[Elbee]

JDill , Well Done. Looks great and balanced properly...super mod. Best, LB

[JDill]

I used an idea from a Youtube video to cut down 4 3-bladed props on my B-24. In the video they made a 3d printed fixture. I just used two blocks of wood, one to mount a motor to and the other with a hole drilled to fit the business end of my Dremel. Then I clamped them to the edge of my work table with another wood piece between to get the proper height/spacing. It worked great to get an accurate cut on each blade. Then I just used a file to round the tips to their original shape and painted the tips. two of them were perfectly balanced and the other two were close. It was actually pretty easy other than there were 4 blades! Cut down was from the original 9.5" to 8.3".

Video link: https://youtu.be/MxHMUbuMAYs

[xviper]

If you can't delete it, then you can go edit it (don't wait too long or it takes that feature away, too) by deleting all the typing and replacing it with a few of these "...........................", then save.

[Gringotuerto]

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[Gringotuerto]

,,, Use the rudders in turns. I mixed the rudder in with the ailerons. It will fly much better with rudder added because of the long wings (this is true with most planes that have long wings).

Agree, that is another distinguishing feature of the B-24. If you look at the ratio of wingspan to length, you will find the B-24 at the "short-coupled" end of the spectrum (wingspan/length is a very high 1.658). A pattern plane tends to have a long fuse, so the empennage is way back there, and consequently exerts great torque on the airframe and makes it very stable. Talking about scale planes, the P-47 is this way also - very stable (wingspan/length is a relatively small 1.128). But the B-24 is the opposite of this. If you make a table of wingspan vs. length of various planes and look at the ratio, you can see what I mean.

This makes the B-24 feel a little funny in the air. Obviously what is "good" or "bad" is a matter of personal preference, but there is no denying that this ratio is very high on the B-24 versus almost any other plane, and you can really feel it in the air. I am normally not a fan of automatic rudder/aileron mix, but if ever there was a plane that needed it, this is that plane.

The reason for this strange shape is the use of the "Davis wing." You can read about it on Wikipedia. Notice that the wing aspect ratio is very unusual - long wing with short cord.

Short legs, stubby body, pug nose, fat butt - it really is a beautifully ugly plane.

[TedP]

+1 for those MAS props. Took a bit of work to cut down the stock adaptors to fit, but even with the downsize of prop it's still hilariously over powered. Oh and i get about 8 minutes from a single 6200mah.

Can you please give details on cutting down the adapters, or point me if it's already posted somewhere? I might want to try the shorter props.

[themudduck]

Hey TedP, this plane is a really easy plane to fly and doesn't need any modification (my opinion).
You asked some good questions - every plane has its own quirks and this one isn't an exception to that rule.
To add to what others have already said (and to put in my 2 cents):

a) Read this entire forum thread from beginning to end
b) Prop strikes are a BIG danger and a complete disaster. So, fly it from a firm surface (not high grass), keep it level, and take off quickly. This plane will take off almost instantly, so do it. When landing, cut the power to zero at touchdown. This will help avoid prop breaks, but...
c) Order extra props. Inspect them each flight and replace your props if you notice any damage.
d) With 4-cell packs this bomber will practically fly "3D" style (hovering a B24 is fine, just not my style) But it will fly wonderfully with 3-cell packs (still overpowered), just be sure to balance it and you'll have no problem.
e) Use the rudders in turns. I mixed the rudder in with the ailerons. It will fly much better with rudder added because of the long wings (this is true with most planes that have long wings).
f) flaps are not an issue. Use them or not, it works great either way. Using half-flaps will help it take off even faster, and helps avoid stalls during landing.

[Gringotuerto]

Thanks everyone for all the good ideas, I appreciate them. Are larger tires/wheels an option or would that require too much change in the wheel wells or elsewhere?

Hmm...I doubt that would get you much room. You would have to change all wheels, and there isn't much clearance. I think it is better to learn to fly a dachshund rather than trying to make a dachshund into a greyhound. B-24 has stubby legs, that's just how it is.

[TedP]

Thanks everyone for all the good ideas, I appreciate them. Are larger tires/wheels an option or would that require too much change in the wheel wells or elsewhere?

[Gringotuerto]

I agree the prop situation depends a lot on the surface you fly from. I use the stock prop, but many people replaced them with shorter props. Also regarding gyros, I tend to use the Spektrum receivers with integrated gyros, like AR636 type. But I don't think it matters much, any gyro should work.

[MikeT]

Hi everyone, I’m new to RC planes and I’m just starting to learn with an Apprentice S 15e.
Planning for the future, I bought a second-hand NIB Flightline 2000 MM B-24. I already have a DX9 and a Spektrum 9 channel receiver (AR9030T) I plan to use with it.
I won’t be flying it right away, but I do have several questions:
1. Is the Flightline B-24 available for RealFlight or other sim? Or are there other models in RealFlight which would handle similarly?
2. Are there certain replacement or upgrade parts I should get? Upgraded main gear already came with it.
3. Are there any particular tips or problems I should be aware of while building or flying?
4. What would be a good gyro choice?
5. Are there specific YouTube videos I should see for tips on building, flying, etc.?

Thanks in advance for your help!

Fly it on 3S , 4S is overkill.
Mike

[mshagg]

+1 for those MAS props. Took a bit of work to cut down the stock adaptors to fit, but even with the downsize of prop it's still hilariously over powered. Oh and i get about 8 minutes from a single 6200mah.

[F106DeltaDart]

It’s also got plenty of power as is, so a plain old decrease in diameter isn’t a bad option either. I’m currently running MAS 8x6 3 blades and it works nicely.

[xviper]

Thank you. Is a shorter prop with more pitch any help? This may be a dumb question, but remember I'm new at this.

Yes, that would work, but it may give the plane an undesirable look. You could decrease diameter by 1" and increase pitch by 1". However, that will get your plane only 1/2" further from a blade strike on the ground. It depends on what kind of surface you fly from. If it's a smooth runway, blade strikes aren't as prominent. If on grass that's not even, a slightly smaller diameter prop might have marginal benefits. I think if you are proficient at ground handling both taking off and landing, you should be OK. Your point about a gyro is also a good option. The cheapest HobbyEagle A3-L is a very good choice for what you need. This will help stabilize the plane during all aspects of flight. Just get the instructions and follow them for success. If your taxiing on the take off and landing roll is a bit rough (ie, darting left to right along the runway), take a look at the Assan steering gyro. Available from RC Castle (about 18 bucks + shipping) and others. I've seen it work and it's very effective in controlling a "wandering" plane on the ground. It's primarily meant for planes with nose steering gear, which the B-24 is.

[TedP]

I have only one comment on the above. The B-24 has short dachshund legs, and so prop strikes can be a problem. Especially the outboard props are set wide, and so will strike the ground if you are not perfectly level on landing and takeoff. Maybe it is good to practice this with the Apprentice, and make directional corrections during landing with the rudder instead of aileron (which you should do anyway, but it is really important with the B-24). Anyway, best wishes, and hope you enjoy it!

Thank you. Is a shorter prop with more pitch any help? This may be a dumb question, but remember I'm new at this.