Official FlightLine RC 1600mm P-38 Lightning Thread

[SoLongSidekick]

You can try it, but I can assure you, no one here has done that

Yeah I just realized I should probably pose that question in the RC Groups thread. There are way more FPV flyers over there, in fact I remember seeing your setup over there as well.

Can anyone help me analyze the kill markings that come on the Allied Green version? Besides the aerial victories and the one train, it looks like Bobcat has a few top cover missions but what do you think the squares are? Journey's End is a little more interesting. A broom symbol was often used for fighter sweeps, and that's the closest thing those markers look like except for the weird protrusion on the lower left side. Then it looks like some of those were top cover for a fighter sweep? What does everyone else think?

[SoLongSidekick]

Damnit. Now I really want to paint the plane in a tan bottom / woodland camo top livery. Has anyone ever seen an American P-38 wearing this style?

[Beeg]

Damnit. Now I really want to paint the plane in a tan bottom / woodland camo top livery. Has anyone ever seen an American P-38 wearing this style?

Unfortunately no. In my studys and research of the P-38 they were overall top color OD (color and shades varied quite a bit) through 1944 then you started seeing non painted examples mainly the “L”. The only other scheme was the overall light blue of the “PR” versions F-4,F-5 versions. these are my observations of my studies. Having said that if you do find something else I’d love to see it.

As a side note Olive Drab (OD) did not have an official FS number during the war years. It could vary from dark/medium green through dark/medium brownish shades.

Its your model. You can paint it anyway you want. It’s not like you’re going to enter it in an IPMS or Top Gun scale competition. Paint it the way that makes you happy.

[rifleman_btx]

Check this for mission symbols https://history.blogs.delaware.gov/2...ssion-symbols/

[MikeT]

Nice find. Thanks for posting.

Mikel

[SoLongSidekick]

Check this for mission symbols https://history.blogs.delaware.gov/2...ssion-symbols/

That's where I got the information in my original analysation. The markings on these models don't line up with the ones on that sheet or any other I've seen.

[rifleman_btx]

Well if you want to use the markings on the site, just contact Callie I'm positive she can hook you up with any of those you want to add. Other than that, it's not something I personally worry with, unless I'm building a ground up model of my personal design and labor. And when I do my next purpose built fpv P38, it will be a 120" twin 20cc gas engines beast. I'm going for an E model with it. Of course that's gonna be atleast a couple years down the line. And for the record, I can't use plans or do I draw any because like you I make changes in my head as I go all the time... here's my first homemade build, a P39 with motor in the correct position. Built it with a knife and palm sander. (Just turn the volume down, my army veteran buddy lost his language filter before filming lol.)

[SoLongSidekick]

Oh I've got a full custom sheet of labels being designed with Callie. That's why I'm trying to decipher as much as I can about the in-period kill markings; I want to design a set that fits this plane.

Has anyone tried turning the split flaps into real Fowler flaps? Is there really even a point beyond how cool they would look? My understanding is that most people find the flaps on this model more than adequate.

[rifleman_btx]

Yes they are. And as far as a point, there is none.
and the flaps are very good, infact need elevator mixing or it will balloon up on you pretty good. As for slow speed, depending on how much extra weight you add in, with mine the slowest I could take it without it stalling is around 25mph airspeed under the fpv hood, keep in mind that was also only with a single 5000mah battery. So running two 3000s or larger if you try to fit them, look for stall speeds around 28-30mph airspeed. (All with full landing flaps engaged) You asked why I went for the lighter packs. Theres your answer.

[rifleman_btx]

Just ordered my replacement! I can't wait!

[SoLongSidekick]

Nice dude! What color scheme and livery you going with?

Got my video stack together. This is going to be mounted on standoffs as pictured in the radio compartment. The camera will be on a pan/tilt gimbal in the cockpit. The WiFi module is shown attached, but it's only used when live previewing video.

[rifleman_btx]

Nice! That should work great, I got the silver one again, probably go with MJR. Mac again

[SoLongSidekick]

Mac as in MacDonald or McGuire? You know, after reading a few books about McGuire I'm actually kind of bummed I can't reproduce PudgyIII or PudgyIV. There's just something about his personality and life that resonates with me.

I need your opinion on a pathetically small detail. To hook up the video stack I can either use the Picoblade harness and solder them to the pads pictured, or as shown in the second picture solder from the pads on the vTx board to the pads on the Split board. Soldering pad to pad gives the advantage of picking the wire type and color (I could use stranded wire with the jacket removed then coated in clear conformal coating so the copper is visible) and a slight increase in durability. Using the harness makes separating the boards for inspection or cleaning much easier, and makes the initial wiring more simple. Plus orienting the board for the harness setup puts the cutout on the vTx board directly above the LEDs on the Split board. I think I just answered my question unless someone sees something I don't.

I am so beyond stoked to be able to capture HD footage from inside the cockpit. I wish the Connex live HD link was a bit more mature or I'd be rocking that. The first gen had good reviews, but I haven't heard anything from Connex since the first release and no other manufacturers have picked up the system.

[rifleman_btx]

McGuire, and I think the harness is better, most of all in terms of maintenance. Too many variables in having direct wire when it comes to having to move boards for any reason or another. I've always been a fan of simplicity.

[SoLongSidekick]

I kinda wish I could find more information on the plane that Tommy McGuire bailed out of on October 17th, 1943. He nearly died, as when he tried to exit the cockpit part of his rigging got caught on the cockpit interior and he was slammed around the exterior of the plane until he broke free damn near at the last moment. The plane was the personal plane of his commanding officer, Major General Franklin A. Nichols. There were standing orders that no one was to touch his plane, but when a massive bomber and fighter force was sighted over Oro Bay McGuire took it anyways (McGuire's Pudgy II was in for repairs) knowing the 431st Fighter Squadron would need all the help it could get. Nichols was originally mad but after seeing McGuire beaten and torn to shreds in his hospital bed he couldn't stay mad.

I can only find one single photo online of Nichol's P-38, and it's a closeup shot of him lounging outside the cockpit. Does anyone know the name of his personal P-38 or any of the specific livery details? I've been able to find out that the serial number of that particular P-38 was 42-66836, and found a website purporting that the included image is what that plane looked like. However, it also lists the date as fall 1944 and Nichols left stateside days after McGuire's downing and did not return until February 1944 and when he did he did so as the assistant operations officer for the 5th Fighter Command. So I don't know how much credence to put in that site. It is a P-38H though and Pudgy II was McGuire's second and last P-38H so the models at least line up. But again, I also just noticed that the Hell's Angels motif is missing from the nose and radiators on the image. Can anyone else help me?

[rifleman_btx]

I've searched, can't find very much in the way of pics of his plane, only the one you mentioned so far myself.

[SoLongSidekick]

McGuire, and I think the harness is better, most of all in terms of maintenance. Too many variables in having direct wire when it comes to having to move boards for any reason or another. I've always been a fan of simplicity.

Yeah that's definitely the way to go. Although I just realized the way I'll probably do it could be done in both orientations. I'm probably just going to solder male header pins to the pads and female connections to the harness. But using the already included Picoblade connector does keep things much more trim, and again keeps the LEDs lined up correctly.

To add more fuel into the kill markings debate, I found a high-ish resolution image of Skylark IV which shows some of the same markings with an important variation. On Skylark only some of the "broom-ish" symbols have the weird protrusions on the lower left side. This means the symbols almost definitely are brooms and meant to denote a fighter sweep (and the top variations definitely are umbrellas noting top cover for a fighter sweep), but now I wonder what the protrusions denote? My first thought when thinking about mission marker variations is a scrub, but that doesn't seem right in this case. Also of note, only the fighter sweep top cover variants show the protrusion. That might mean the protrusion denotes an interception, but I'm just guessing at this point.

[SoLongSidekick]

Has anyone tried using parts of either one of these FMS cockpit sets for their P-38? I've seen it stated before that a 1/10 P-38 is roughly scaled correctly to a ~1,00-1,700mm P-51 or similar. Obviously none of it is going to fit completely perfect or be detail-accurate, but the side panels in particular could add quite a bit if used correctly. Plus, both come with basic gun sights that I could easily modify for my use.

The P-47 one only has 3 in stock and I won't have cash in my account until Friday, you guys damn well better not buy them all! Haha

https://www.motionrc.com/products/fm...ckpit-fmmpt107
https://www.motionrc.com/products/fm...-scale-cockpit

EDIT - Found someone who made a DIY non-functioning gunsight for their P-38L. Depending on how the focal length works with the cockpit camera, I might not need to shave the dashboard back at all.

[Beeg]

I can only find one single photo online of Nichol's P-38, and it's a closeup shot of him lounging outside the cockpit. Does anyone know the name of his personal P-38 or any of the specific livery details? I've been able to find out that the serial number of that particular P-38 was 42-66836, and found a website purporting that the included image is what that plane looked like. However, it also lists the date as fall 1944 and Nichols left stateside days after McGuire's downing and did not return until February 1944 and when he did he did so as the assistant operations officer for the 5th Fighter Command. So I don't know how much credence to put in that site. It is a P-38H though and Pudgy II was McGuire's second and last P-38H so the models at least line up. But again, I also just noticed that the Hell's Angels motif is missing from the nose and radiators on the image. Can anyone else help me?

I looked through all my P-38 and 475th books and only found two photos of Frank Nichols. They are both of him sitting on the wing against the canopy. One photo shows the "Captain" Nichols, Aug. 1943, with the spade and kill markings and lists the aircraft as 42-66540 which would make it an H-1. The other photo doesn't show any unique details.

As for the Hell's Angels motifs, I can't be definitive but it looks like only some of the late L-5's had this on their nose and radiators. Haven't looked into it in depth so don't take my word for it.

Searching out photos to document a specific aircraft can be difficult if not impossible. I've wasted too many hours of my life doing just that. We all wish someone had that one photograph of a particular airplane to prove the scheme or markings. Outside of that you can only use what was generally used by the unit at the time and dare someone to prove you wrong with photographic evidence. Just ask any Luftwaffe enthusiast!

Just go with the profile you posted. Looks good to me.

[OV10]

Has anyone tried using parts of either one of these FMS cockpit sets for their P-38? I've seen it stated before that a 1/10 P-38 is roughly scaled correctly to a ~1,00-1,700mm P-51 or similar. Obviously none of it is going to fit completely perfect or be detail-accurate, but the side panels in particular could add quite a bit if used correctly. Plus, both come with basic gun sights that I could easily modify for my use.

The P-47 one only has 3 in stock and I won't have cash in my account until Friday, you guys damn well better not buy them all! Haha

https://www.motionrc.com/products/fm...ckpit-fmmpt107
https://www.motionrc.com/products/fm...-scale-cockpit

EDIT - Found someone who made a DIY non-functioning gunsight for their P-38L. Depending on how the focal length works with the cockpit camera, I might not need to shave the dashboard back at all.

SLSS.........If your going for ballpark scaling with those cockpits of the 1500 P-47 and the 1700 P-51 I think your gonna be disappointed due to the over size appearance in the P-38.
The scale of the FL P-38 is 1/9.9 whereas the scale of the P-47 is 1/8.3 and the 1700 P-51 is 1/6.6.
Those are considerable larger scales in comparison. Just wanted to throw that out there before you spring on the expense.