Official FlightLine RC 1600mm P-38 Lightning Thread

[SoLongSidekick]

Nice, I wish we could find some honeycomb screen.

Have you seen this? https://www.iflytailies.com/store/co...-for-exterior/

Not sure if they hole size would look right on this model though.

[TiredIronGRB]

Have you seen this? https://www.iflytailies.com/store/co...-for-exterior/

Not sure if they hole size would look right on this model though.

Pretty cool stuff there...hey, welcome to Hobby Squawk!

[seaviper]

After the P-40, my next bird will be the P-38. Green one. With struts.

[Oxotnik]

After the P-40, my next bird will be the P-38. Green one. With struts.

I don't think you'll regret getting/flying the P-38. It's a wonderful flyer and has such a great presence in the sky.

[Dual Prop Dave]

Am about to get this model after 2 years of drooling over it. I can not even relay how excited I am. I have a few questions for those of you who already have it.

I'll be installing a headtracking FPV system, and am trying to figure out how I'll need to set it up. First, how far from where the pilot sits can I install equipment downward? I ask because I'd like to be able to countersink the pan/tilt setup a bit so it has the right POV.

Also, how much of a difference does it make flying with the drop tanks versus without them? Normally I wouldn't even bother installing them, but I was thinking about concealing my FPV antenna inside one of them.

My other thought was to set up my P-38 like the P-38M night fighter. That way I could conceal the FPV antenna inside a fake radar pod.

Thoughts?

Hello SoLongSidekick and welcome to the Squawk!

I measured mine from the center of the Pilot to the opening underneath him, and at a minimum, its 2 inches to the front of the opening to the inside of the center pod.
The pilot on mine sits just forward of the aluminum wing spar. Flying with the drop tanks ads drag so its necessary to keep the speed up in the turns and upon landing, which should be done anyway with this bird.
Hope this helps.

Regards, Dave

[RRHandy]

The person to talk to is Rifleman, he put a system in his P-38, I'm sure he will be along shortly. R.

[rifleman_btx]

Here's my setup in action, I used a fatshark pan and tilt 700tvl cam. The osd is a Cyclops breeze sold by foxtech.com. I used a 600mw tx and installed everything in the canopy. I bought a second canopy so I could use the plane both as fpv and Los flying platforms without modifying anything internally. Anyways it died while flying Los when my battery lost power way before my timer said it was ready. Sucked. But one day I'll build a new one and set it up again.

[rifleman_btx]

Right on..............no thinking about it rifleman, just do it and fly that beast.

Yes! That's the plan

[rifleman_btx]

[SoLongSidekick]

Pretty cool stuff there...hey, welcome to Hobby Squawk!

Thanks man! Do you have any recommendations or tips that you wish you heard before purchasing your P-38L? I'm planning on purchasing 2x Admiral 3,000 mAh batteries as my flight packs. I thought about going for the 3,600 mAh Admirals but saw so much conflicting info regarding pack size vs flight time ("I use 1x 5k pack and I get 8 minutes!", "I use 2x 3k and I get 7 minutes!" what?) that I figured the 2x 3k packs will give me an adequate flight time without making it hard to install the packs each time. One thing that is very new for me is the price per flight with this model. I am selling my backup racing quad to finance this purchase, and that quad costs about $30 to get in the air (1x 4S 1,300 mAh battery) whereas this P-38 costs ~$70-$80. How many sets of batteries do you guys have? I can't imagine only owning one set (driving to a field, flying one 7-8 minute flight, then having to drive home to charge), but with each set costing so much it's freaking rough to buy more.

What was your opinion on the hex screen? Does it look the right size for this model? Most of what that company sells are accessories for 1/4 - 1/6 scale planes/jets. I wouldn't mind being the guinea pig to buy and test it out, but I would like to at least know it's close to the right size before throwing money at it.

Also, did anyone see this? https://image.jimcdn.com/app/cms/ima...5611/image.jpg

Pretty freaking slick. But even for a LOS model (and especially for my FPV model) an artificial horizon really doesn't look right (especially locked slightly cocked off to the side) plus the tech is way newer than the P-38L obviously. I have a laser engraver, so I've been thinking about making a custom version for the P-38. It would be modeled after the k14 gyro gunsight, but I'm not quite sure which direction to go regarding the actual reticle. I'll either go for an accurate, albeit kind of boring, version like this or go with a slightly more exciting gunsight variant like this. Depending on how it all looks when done I might just cut a slot on top of the cockpit console for it to fit in (like the original is designed to do), or 3D print a mock housing for it that looks like the OG k14.

Thoughts?

[SoLongSidekick]

Here's my setup in action, I used a fatshark pan and tilt 700tvl cam. The osd is a Cyclops breeze sold by foxtech.com. I used a 600mw tx and installed everything in the canopy. I bought a second canopy so I could use the plane both as fpv and Los flying platforms without modifying anything internally. Anyways it died while flying Los when my battery lost power way before my timer said it was ready. Sucked. But one day I'll build a new one and set it up again.

Dude awesome! So is there any reason your pan servo is not mounted all the way down into the canopy to its tabs? Is there not enough vertical clearance below it? Is that just the right height for the POV? I'm doing a pretty similar setup to yours, except I'm going to mount the vTx horizontally where the scale radio is. That way it's kind of like new tech inhabiting the space of old tech.

That's a pretty impressive OSD setup. I don't have the capital to get something like that, but I do have a few MinimOSD boards sitting around so I'll probably just have to use that. I'd really love to get a full graphics OSD because that would be freaking epic. Someday.

Also, I plan on taking the old canopy and using some clay to make it perfectly smooth on the outside. So I have the exact same shape, but without the raised "metal" ribs from the frame. Then I'm going to vacuum form a new canopy over it, so I'm left with essentially a bubble canopy of the exact same size and dimensions. That's really the only option I see for really having a clear FPV view but without adding extra drag.

I'm also hoping to add a fake-maneuvering HOTAS system (I have no idea what to call it, I'm basically going to add a fake yoke and throttle with G.I. Joe arms attached, that are rigged up to their respective flight surfaces so it looks like there's actually someone in there flying the plane) but I think that's way down the line.

[rifleman_btx]

As for the reason i installed the servo flush it was for pov hight correctness as I used the pilot figure eye level. The osd I used was a cheap $99 unit. It is essential in the standpoint of voltage left in your batteries. That one point alone saved me a few times. Also keep a close eye on your time in the sky, with such a cool view you can get carried away and forget, lol like I did in the above video. I forgot to shoot practice approaches, so I brought the plane in way too steep and fouled up my gear. And yeah if I had bought a smaller video transmitter I would have done the same mounting you plan to do. Plus this 600mw unit gets pretty hot and needed to have open air for cooling. Keep that in mind when you lay out your components. The reason I did the frame cutout was three fold, one was heat, two was visual effect, and three was clearance. Also what made it a nice fpv platform was the ability to fit all the components inside the canopy lid itself. So when I wanted to fly LOS, all I had to do was unplug the pan and tilt, and the voltage sensor from the esc lead. Once that's done it all pulls free and you just stick on the LOS canopy lid and you're ready to fly. Didn't have to modify any foam on the plane at all. It all fit and all worked.

[cbaker65]

As for the reason i installed the servo flush it was for pov hight correctness as I used the pilot figure eye level. The osd I used was a cheap $99 unit. It is essential in the standpoint of voltage left in your batteries. That one point alone saved me a few times. Also keep a close eye on your time in the sky, with such a cool view you can get carried away and forget, lol like I did in the above video. I forgot to shoot practice approaches, so I brought the plane in way too steep and fouled up my gear. And yeah if I had bought a smaller video transmitter I would have done the same mounting you plan to do. Plus this 600mw unit gets pretty hot and needed to have open air for cooling. Keep that in mind when you lay out your components. The reason I did the frame cutout was three fold, one was heat, two was visual effect, and three was clearance. Also what made it a nice fpv platform was the ability to fit all the components inside the canopy lid itself. So when I wanted to fly LOS, all I had to do was unplug the pan and tilt, and the voltage sensor from the esc lead. Once that's done it all pulls free and you just stick on the LOS canopy lid and you're ready to fly. Didn't have to modify any foam on the plane at all. It all fit and all worked.

I know one thing ,it sure does look cool looking at it ,it looks like a real one in a cockpit of a fighter plane!....:Cool:

[rifleman_btx]

I know one thing ,it sure does look cool looking at it ,it looks like a real one in a cockpit of a fighter plane!....:Cool:

I'm planning a simular setup for a carbon z t28 my buddy here is letting go to me. And of course I will do the same frame cutout as I did here. Here's a word about trying to keep the glass closed in front of the camera. It never works well for a clean view. Here's an example...

[cbaker65]

I'm planning a simular setup for a carbon z t28 my buddy here is letting go to me. And of course I will do the same frame cutout as I did here. Here's a word about trying to keep the glass closed in front of the camera. It never works well for a clean view. Here's an example...

I see what you mean ,does the servo moving create static interference ?

Lol.....the first vid. ,I thought it was coming from a flight simulator!...

[rifleman_btx]

No not really, I feel like the main issue with the static was at my Bastrop field we have a high powered wifi system in the building just west of the bus barn, and on my property, the static comes from the high voltage lines that run near my pond I fly from. Also even a little wind can cause small amounts of static in the feeds.

[rifleman_btx]

Here's what I was talking about having everything packed inside the canopy lid

[SoLongSidekick]

Here's what I was talking about having everything packed inside the canopy lid

In those images it looks like you still have the "glass" panels in. I really like the way you did that. Thanks, I'll make sure to pick one up when I place my order.

As far as the canopy goes, yeah that's why I'm making my own out of a very clear and low glare material that's specifically made for this application. I can't remember the name of it right now though. But if for some reason the shape of the canopy does make it too hazy I probably will just cut out the "glass" like you did.

I'll have to over the radio compartment, because I'm going to install a TBS Unify transmitter there horizontally. The circuit board will still look cool and "radio-ish", and with the pigtail I can route my TBS Triumph Antenna anywhere I want.

I went back through my previous notes on setting up an FPV plane, and I was looking at the EagleTree MicroVector flight controller plus OSD. It's a full graphics OSD, which is freaking awesome. I sent them an email asking whether a uBlox M8N GPS unit will work, or if it's locked in to their GPS unit. I really don't need the standard GPS functions, so I also asked them what OSD functions I lose if I don't use a GPS unit. So many choices.

**EDIT** Haha that's me asking what OSD you used in the comments section of that video you posted. Stumbled onto your video last week without realizing who's video it was.

[rifleman_btx]

With the vector systems you will loose the ground speed, direction compass, and location relative to your launch point. You will still have battery stats and altitude. You will also loose any loiter and return to home functions. (To your edit) Haha nice! How the internet makes the world just that much smaller lol

[SoLongSidekick]

Do you mean I'll lose those things without the GPS? Or I'll lose those things vs your system? Or I'll love those if I use a GPS but not their GPS?

I do really like the Vector radar function, but the main things I care about are battery stats and an artificial horizon.