Official FlightLine RC 1600mm P-38 Lightning Thread

[xviper]

There may be coming issues for me here but so far it's working ok. It does initially on power up run a motor in reverse for some reason, but if I flip the reverse switch and throttle it up a little bit and then switch back to forward the motors run properly. I haven't seen any issues with wrong rotations after the initial power up. I will certainly be testing this more rigorously now before any flights. I have enough channels to run each motor on it's own channel. Maybe that would work better? Probably won't cure the telemetry thing though. Anyway, It's working ok enough at the moment...Knock on wood

Be very cautious with the reverse thing (in case it hiccups in the air). Mine never worked again after that first go. The reverse signal runs via a "ghost" channel (7) that feeds back through the throttle lead. I'm not sure about what would happen if you put the second motor on a different channel and do a mix to operate that second motor. However, if you have one of the newer IX TXs that have "multi-engine", then it may be OK. My problem was that it would not repeat the first operation. The motors got incorrect feedback signals for operating reverse to both motors at the same time. The signal for one motor or the other did not get through or it got scrambled on the way back to the ESCs. Another forum member had the same problem and he had to go with the dual RX method. Are you using one of the IXs?

[redbarn]

Tested reversing quite a bit this morning and haven't had any issues yet. I was wrong about just one motor rotating wrong on power up. It's both of them. It just powers things up in reverse for some reason. This thing really has a bunch of thrust. Xviper, these Avian esc's do have an extra lead that I assume is for reversing using a non forward programming transmitter? I don't know. Some esc's are programmed through an extra lead. If I run into any problems I will try the extra leads out. I like your thoughts on hooking the Hobbywings up the way you did. One of the more frustrating things with Horizon is they just don't seem to give out much info on their motors or esc's.

[xviper]

Tested reversing quite a bit this morning and haven't had any issues yet. I was wrong about just one motor rotating wrong on power up. It's both of them. It just powers things up in reverse for some reason. This thing really has a bunch of thrust. Xviper, these Avian esc's do have an extra lead that I assume is for reversing using a non forward programming transmitter? I don't know. Some esc's are programmed through an extra lead. If I run into any problems I will try the extra leads out. I like your thoughts on hooking the Hobbywings up the way you did. One of the more frustrating things with Horizon is they just don't seem to give out much info on their motors or esc's.

The Avians that I am familiar with and the ones that I've used don't use a separate lead for reverse (unlike the HobbyWings). Reverse on Avians work via a feedback signal through the throttle lead (via a ghost channel 7). That's how a basic 4-ch smart receiver can do it. Even though it only has 4 dedicated channels, it monitors and can speak to up to 9 channels. Any physical lead you find on an Avian is most likely for "wired" programming (for those who have an older TX that can't do forward programming).
That's another weird and interesting thing regarding powering up in reverse. I have one jet that also does that. I have to have the switch in reverse or the ESC will not initialize. Once it initializes, I switch to forward. I'm used to it that way now, so I haven't bothered to play with it, so I don't have an answer for why it does that. Additionally, on any of the latest Eflite planes that come with reverse, there is another quirk with reverse. If you start a new flight with the switch from the last flight set in reverse, it will initialize in "forward". If you don't cycle the switch at least once, you'll fly the whole flight in forward (with the switch in reverse), come in for a landing and throw the switch the other way, it will stay in forward and when you throttle up to slow down, it'll drive the plane off the end of the runway (or take off again).

[redbarn]

I'm using the forward programming function to reverse these Eflite ESC's. I don't have the extra wire connected. Too bad Horizon doesn't have a manual on these. I contacted them about using two of them together with reversing enabled and they said it was safe to do so. There just won't be any telemetry from them. So far that is my experience. knocking on more wood.

[xviper]

I'm using the forward programming function to reverse these Eflite ESC's. I don't have the extra wire connected. Too bad Horizon doesn't have a manual on these. I contacted them about using two of them together with reversing enabled and they said it was safe to do so. There just won't be any telemetry from them. So far that is my experience. knocking on more wood.

The only thing that lead from each ESC should be connected to is a Spektrum ESC programmer. If using forward programming, they are not needed and should be left unattached to anything.

The "manual" for these reversing ESCs is in the form of several YouTube video on Horizon's channel. I believe this whole "reverse" thing started out as a gimmick and a marketing tactic when the Eflite DRACO came out. It was so well received that they put it into the Eflite 90mm Viper. It became the "rage". When they brought out their 80mm F-16, they didn't even tell anyone it was capable of reverse and that plane came out without reverse being activated. By that time, owners of these F-16s discovered it on their own and just did it. A printed manual was then a bit of an after-thought and they just didn't bother.

The interesting thing about twin reversing Avian ESCs being hooked together and going through the same RX ...................... About the time I did my PJ50, someone else on this forum was trying to do the same thing and also could not. He contacted Horizon tech and someone there told him "This cannot and should not be done." It seems now, you've received a different answer. Perhaps the EDF scenario doesn't apply to your propeller example. I don't know.
As for "safe to do so" ............ that's a matter of perspective. If they work for the time being, then it's "safe". It's only if they hiccup while flying that "safe" is viewed from a whole different angle. I think the telemetry took a hit when pushing 3 signals back through the throttle signal wire. You have the usual throttle signal and then 2 more reverse signals going back via ch. 7 through the ch. 1 signal line. Telemetry uses a similar pathway and just can't make it back to the RX. In my case, 1 throttle signal and 2 reverse signals were too much. It's sort of like on some Eflite jets, you can't plug in their optional afterburner lights via a Y into the throttle lead. It's just too much. The plane manual even states it and another option must be used.

If I were you, I'd run that P-38 up and down the runway a few times just to make sure forward and reverse works whenever you need it to. Drive it down the runway and hit reverse to stop at the end, turn around, repeat 2 or 3 runs before taking to the air.

[redbarn]

First flight was successful. Only flew one flight because it was just too chilly outside. No issues at all. Reversing worked nicely. Plane flies pretty good. So far I'm enjoying the performance of these ESC's. Biggest complaint is the servos Flightline uses. A couple of them don't center perfectly and one of those is pretty jerky. Neither one are connected to the blue box so it's not related to that but I have had trouble with a couple of other flightline servos on my Tigercat. Maybe they need to check their servos better at the factory? Anyway, I'm not too impressed with that part of the plane. Is a nice P-38 though.

[Evan D]

And it's really the servos and not linkage or surface play? I haven't noticed much play in any of my FL or FW planes. I have heard of others that note it and even a person or two that replace servos with better/ more expensive ones. Some times more expensive is not better though and replacing servos in a plane like this can easily run over $200.

[xviper]

Reversing worked nicely.

Good to hear.

[redbarn]

Evan, I'm certainly not saying they don't ever have a problem but I've not had a Hitek servo with an issue yet. I have had other not so expensive servos do things like this, especially not re-centering well. My experience has been that with less expensive servos (which I do use) you just roll the dice and maybe get a couple extras just in case. Freewing servos are certainly a lot better than foamy servos used to be a few years ago. The control surfaces on this plane move nice and free and this is a well thought out, well built foam P-38. As with any plane I just should have paid better attention to the servos' and control surface operation while setting things up prior to the final assembly. I would have replaced those two servos while it was the easiest to do them and probably with new Freewing servos. Maybe just one extra detail to look at for anyone putting any plane together. It doesn't hurt to be sure things are working at their best so that the plane will fly it's best. I already know better but I must have been too focused on a lot of the extra things that I wanted to try out and I simply overlooked closely checking proper servo operation and centering until final setup of the control surfaces. Please don't misunderstand and think I'm down on Motion's stuff. They're as good or better than the other outfits out there. Things just happen sometimes and you just fix them. Happens with anything. At least the plane didn't fly bad. Could it fly better? Maybe. With only one flight it's probably too early to tell. I will be paying close attention to how well the elevator stays trimmed in future flights now that the stress of the first flight is over. By the way, I have 4 Freewing planes and this is the second one to have a servo issue almost right out of the box. My Tigercat had a flap servo that fortunately died while I was still setting up the plane. That's good for everybody else though, because I seriously am very good at getting the oddball defect that no one has ever seen before so that everyone else doesn't have to worry. Lol! Shoot! It snowed a bunch yesterday. Can't fly my new plane in this. I hate winter. Cheers and have a good night everybody.

[DaveG]

Looking for Real Flight Evolution (ver 10?) simulator programs for the P-38

[GrahamM]

Hello everyone, im new here and have tried searching but im robably typing the wrong thing in. I'm trying to find out the colour codes for the green version of the p-38 as i recently purchased one and while glueing the horizontal tail sections i used masking tape to hold it in place and low and behold took some paint off with it when i peeled it off so would like to touch it up. Thanks.

[Elbee]

Hello everyone, im new here and have tried searching but im robably typing the wrong thing in. I'm trying to find out the colour codes for the green version of the p-38 as i recently purchased one and while glueing the horizontal tail sections i used masking tape to hold it in place and low and behold took some paint off with it when i peeled it off so would like to touch it up. Thanks.

GM, Firstly, welcome to Hobby Squawk. Secondly, if you've searched through the thread and found nothing so far, you're likely just not gone far enough. I know that sounds terrible, but it is in here for certain. Now I am presuming you geo is UK. Here in the States, I would take a different part of the airframe that is portable to Home Depot and have them 'colour match' that section and purchase a 'sample sized' jar of exterior flat latex paint to use for touch up. Done this on four separate aircraft. Best, LB

[GliderGuy]

Welcome GM….

Please visit this post for TIPS you will need to fly her hopefully without problems.

https://www.hobbysquawk.com/forum/rc...123#post358123

-GG

[RcWarbirdNut]

New to this forum and have a question hoping someone can help with. Just to be clear not new to RC but not an old hand either. Bought the P-38 and I do like the looks of the bird and how easy it went to together. Not a big fan of the paint or that when trying to check the balance point on the plane my balancer and fingers both left dents in the wing. Wish the foam was a bit stronger in that area. So on to my question. I have two ZEEE brand 3300mAh 50c batteries for the plane shoved all the way to the rear of the plane to the point I have to jam the balance plugs between the batteries and still can't get the balance at 65mm as shown in the manual. I am trying to balance it with gear down like my other planes. Is that my problem? Have never had one that wouldn't balance before. It is showing way more nose down than I care for on a maiden flight. Don't really want to add weight on the rear of the plane if I don't have to and wondering if anyone else has had this same issue? The batteries are the same weight as recommended by Motion for the plane so at a loss as why it will not balance Can't even imagine what it would be like trying to balance it with larger batteries. Not going to fly with the tanks if that makes a difference. Thanks!

[GliderGuy]

Welcome RCWarbirdnut. There’s a ton of good info in this forum. I will address that later down.

I fly with 2 Admiral 3000 35C at 286 g each, and pushed as far FORWARD as they will fit. CG is good. But a little up elevator trim is needed. Even at this CG, she will invert, spin, snap roll, etc just fine. The CG is a couple of mm ahead of the mark with the gear down. That’s fine for your maiden flight. Note: Google RC airplane CG balancing tool. Several are on the market.

If you can’t get the CG pretty close to the mark, add weight to the tail. SHE HAS PLENTY OF POWER to handle a little extra weight.

To save you from having to dig, scroll up to post 4473 for a link to a lot of tips you REALLY SHOULD read.

As far as foam and balancing, I glue a small, thin piece of plastic (even a small button) on the marks to protect the foam. Other things=a piece of carbon sheet, or make a small button out of RTV silicon rubber on the mark and let it cure. There are lots of ways to protect the CG mark area from your finger tips. Be creative!

Set up the controls by the manual and use LOW rate deflections for the maiden. Last tip here….She has a thin airfoil and a fairly high wing loading. Don’t attempt to float her in slow. Land with flaps and keep your speed up. Otherwise, she will drop in.

Good luck! She is fun to fly.

-GG

Don’t spin with power off….she needs some power on to recover from a spin. This added prop wash provides the needed rudder authority to get out of a spin.

[xviper]

New to this forum and have a question hoping someone can help with. Just to be clear not new to RC but not an old hand either. Bought the P-38 and I do like the looks of the bird and how easy it went to together. Not a big fan of the paint or that when trying to check the balance point on the plane my balancer and fingers both left dents in the wing. Wish the foam was a bit stronger in that area. So on to my question. I have two ZEEE brand 3300mAh 50c batteries for the plane shoved all the way to the rear of the plane to the point I have to jam the balance plugs between the batteries and still can't get the balance at 65mm as shown in the manual. I am trying to balance it with gear down like my other planes. Is that my problem? Have never had one that wouldn't balance before. It is showing way more nose down than I care for on a maiden flight. Don't really want to add weight on the rear of the plane if I don't have to and wondering if anyone else has had this same issue? The batteries are the same weight as recommended by Motion for the plane so at a loss as why it will not balance Can't even imagine what it would be like trying to balance it with larger batteries. Not going to fly with the tanks if that makes a difference. Thanks!

It's been 6 years since I had one of these. I flew it quite regularly and don't ever recall having balancing problems. I used to use 3000mah and 3600mah, 4s LiPos. I balanced the plane with gear up and upside down. Different pilots have different opinions as to how to balance. Go with whichever feels best for you (upside down or right side up, since this plane has its wings close to the mid-section, ie - mid-wing plane). I found it was more stable and less "tetery" when upside down. Gear up or down? Again, different people will have their own ideas about this. I usually ask myself .................... When operating this plane, how much of the flight is with gear down and how much is with gear up. I want to balance it and trim it for the most amount of time the plane will spend with gear up or down. Usually, for me, most of my flight is with the gear UP. Gear is down only for take off and landing and that time is far less than the rest of the flight. I've seen guys fly their planes with the gear hanging down the whole flight. For what reason, I have no idea. To each their own.
This plane is quite large and heavy for a foamie, so where you put your fingers to balance can put dents. In such cases, I put a strip or big, round piece of clear Gorilla tape where you would balance it from to minimize the denting. The only other anomoly I found was that if the plane flies off bumpy ground, the retract struts can vibrate and bend backwards, causing the tire to press against the upper bulkhead in the wheel bay. The next time you want to deploy them, they get stuck and won't come down. With the gear retracted, see if it's easy to spin the tire. If not, it's pressing too much on the bulkhead. The simple fix is after a bumpy ground roll, check the tire back at the bench. If the tire won't spin easily, deploy the retracts. You may have to throw the switch, press down on the strut wire if it doesn't deploy on its own. Hold down the retract body over the cylindrical section and pull back on the wire strut to bring it back forward again. This will help prevent a stuck gear next time.
Sealing it with a couple coats of Minwax will help the paint finish.

[RcWarbirdNut]

Thanks to xviper and GliderGuy. After I posted this I got the plane off the celling, installed my batteries all the way to the rear, put the gear up, flipped it over with my fingers in the dents at the balance point, to late now what's done is done, and it balanced fine. 🙄 As I was asking the question of course I came up with the thing I didn't try. Will do the Minwax bit tomorrow. Just disappointed that it's already flacking in spots and just got it together. Only had that happen on one other plane and it was not a Motion plane but from another seller of planes I shale not name due to the very poor quality of the plane and the customer service. Never again.

[xviper]

I usually do the Minwax thing before I put it together. However, I do check all the servos, gear with a servo tester before the Minwax, in case I need to replace any components.

[xviper]

I seem to recall that this plane, when flying straight and level, it exhibits similar characteristics to most twin boom planes. It needs a few degrees (~3*) of UP elevator, so don't be too surprised if it does.

[GrahamM]

Anyone know of a replacement pin for the upgraded front landing gear or do I have to buy a whole new unit. Thanks.