Official FlightLine RC 1600mm P-38 Lightning Thread

[Delizar]

Not to beat a dead horse....but I have a tire question. It is about the roll out and landing characteristics. For those that have used both the original foam rubber tires and either the Dubro or Robart tires, other than looking better, do they perform better? Better ground handling? Smoother landings? If better,why? Simply the larger size, or do the tires materials play a part?

[fhhuber]

Tire performance varies with the surface you are taking off/landing on.

A tire that is great for grass may be very poor on concrete and the assorted surfaces possible with concrete/asphalt/pavement sealers will also change tire performance and longevity.

So you can expect different answers based on what surface people have at their field.

The field I fly from most often has an asphalt runway seal coated with a very abrasive "runway sealant" compound making it almost like landing on 80 grit sandpaper. On that surface tires wear out quickly and even hard rubbers that slide badly on smooth concrete would have plenty of grip. Thus the hard rubber compounds are best because they survive longer.

[Grossman56]

I think Phil is on to something there. The biggest concern I have with this plane is getting it to the field. Obviously, most of us would have to pull the wings and deal with the wires accordingly. I agree, Phil's idea is pure genius, gone are the wires, just slide in and lock them in place and you're off!
Great idea Phil, I call it the Phil mod!!
V2 should take a serious look at this as well as the L/G mods. This terrific plane could become the all time standard of what foamies should aim for if they do these mods in V2.

Grossman56

[Chalredline1]

Checked HK this morning and the MPX connectors are on backorder on both US sites. Next weekend is a big scale fly-in here in Calif. so hoping some vendor there has some.

[Arycon]

I think Phil is on to something there. The biggest concern I have with this plane is getting it to the field. Obviously, most of us would have to pull the wings and deal with the wires accordingly. I agree, Phil's idea is pure genius, gone are the wires, just slide in and lock them in place and you're off!
Great idea Phil, I call it the Phil mod!!
V2 should take a serious look at this as well as the L/G mods. This terrific plane could become the all time standard of what foamies should aim for if they do these mods in V2.

Grossman56

That really is a fantastic idea. Im surprised they didnt implement this from the get go. I am lucky, my wife has an SUV so I can fit my P-38 in sideways. But it would be awesome to have that capability to remove the wings with 4 screws and simply pulling them away from the main wing seat. Hooking up all of the wing connections and tucking them back into that little gap between the wing panels is a pain. If you have to frequently remove the wing, I can see the wires wearing out over time and potentially causing a bad connection. A single connector would be a great addition.

[Aros]

Love the wing connectors!!

[Flyer Phill]

I'll post a few more details and pics on how fit these mpx connectors when I mod the other side this morning. It does require a dremel, soldering gear and epoxy.

Also be aware that the modification is permanent. So please ensure that your soldering skills are up to the task as a cold or dodgy connection can't be fixed once the plug/socket has been mounted.

[Flyer Phill]

A short tutorial on how I added the MPX connectors on the P-38's wings.

First you need to dremel out the wiring connection pockets on both the wing and fuselage. I decided that the socket would be mounted on the wing and the plug in the fuselage.



Test your connections then label your wires. I just scrap F for flap and A for aileron into the plastic connector shells. Cut all the servo positive wires and all of the black/brown ground wires and solder them together.



You can also sketch up a simple diagram that will help with what goes where.





Solder and insulate all connections.





I then applied some epoxy inside the connection mount of the wing and pushed then mounted the socket flush with the pocket. I added more epoxy around the edge of the socket to ensure it was securely attached.

The plug on the fuse is mounted flush. I slid the wing on and used the socket to locate the plug in the correct position. I then dribbled epoxy in the back of the plug which secured it to the fuselage. I then used some gorilla tape to tidy things up.

[Lon]

Not to beat a dead horse....but I have a tire question. It is about the roll out and landing characteristics. For those that have used both the original foam rubber tires and either the Dubro or Robart tires, other than looking better, do they perform better? Better ground handling? Smoother landings? If better,why? Simply the larger size, or do the tires materials play a part?

With my 38. The first 10 flights was with the standard struts and tires. I then put on the Du-Bro Low Bounce treaded wheels. 2.75" on the mains and 2.5" on the nose. I had the Du-Bro tires in hand before the plane arrived, but wanted to try the stock first, specially since there was a significant weight difference. I have not switched back . The Du-Bro's make a big difference in landing, ALOT less bounce/shock. Most the time i'm landing on Geotech or grass. The Du-Bro really absorbs alot of the shock/vibration you will have on grass, which you can see and hear. So, alot smoother landings. The weight difference as far as the trim of the plane...could hardly tell...maybe 1-2 clicks elevator. If i remember right, i only ended up doing 1 click down. I have a FW P-51. So all the talk about mods with the FW P-51 struts has been tempting(have had the spare parts hanging on peg board before the P-38 hit the market) But decided to give the stock ones a chance, and wheels. But i'm very happy with all the positive differences the Du-Bro tires give.

[Grossman56]

Good to hear Lon, not everyone can afford to go the other route so simple mods are great as well, less bounce is always a good thing!

Grossman56

[Delizar]

Thank you Lon. Just the info I was looking for, and clearly stated. As I am a green pilot my P38 is a long way from seeing the skies. So if I want to play with my new toy it will have to be tinkering with her. However in tinkering with planes I am also new to the game. Paint, decals..etc all new ground for me. But I have a plan, after my trip to home depot for color matched paint....my AXN is going to get an Allied Green makeover.

Fhhuber,
Some solid information there. And for a newbie like me, much of it I hadn't even considered. Thank you.

[rtwatkins]

Love the mod and write-up Phill, going to have to try that out!

[TSHobbies]

got some more time on this one today...wifey took some great shots too!

[roys001]

Flyer Phil, I'm looking into the same type of modification however, I noticed you have taken 10 pins and brought that down to 6 pins. I'm curious which leads you combined? The lights, that's easy. The servo's have 3 leads each. I'm not sure which ones can be common and which ones cannot. Can you clear that up for me?

[Trobinson99]

I got out Saturday morning to one of the local clubs that was hosting a fun fly. The local photographer was there and captured some photos. This is not my club, as I fly off grass. Was a nice opportunity to bring her in on some asphalt.

[Flyer Phill]

Flyer Phil, I'm looking into the same type of modification however, I noticed you have taken 10 pins and brought that down to 6 pins. I'm curious which leads you combined? The lights, that's easy. The servo's have 3 leads each. I'm not sure which ones can be common and which ones cannot. Can you clear that up for me?

All ground (Black and Brown) connections tied together and all power (Red) tied together. All signal connections (White and Orange) are on their own.

[Delizar]

Flyer Phil, I'm looking into the same type of modification however, I noticed you have taken 10 pins and brought that down to 6 pins. I'm curious which leads you combined? The lights, that's easy. The servo's have 3 leads each. I'm not sure which ones can be common and which ones cannot. Can you clear that up for me?

Here is a video on using the mpx connector.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=HVe5srJrDmo

[roys001]

All ground (Black and Brown) connections tied together and all power (Red) tied together. All signal connections (White and Orange) are on their own.

I assume then for the lights that the ground (black) are included with the others and the positive(red) are the "N" and "L" correct?
BTW, I found the plugs in stock at Dreamworks Model Products.

[Aros]

I got out Saturday morning to one of the local clubs that was hosting a fun fly. The local photographer was there and captured some photos. This is not my club, as I fly off grass. Was a nice opportunity to bring her in on some asphalt.

Great shots!

[mr.frankenjet]

Maiden flight yesterday,
CG came out about half way between the middle and the front of the front fuel circle. On the bottom it's right around middle of the square hole feed through for the wing wires (wheels up, tks FLTRI, Brandon)
The roll outwent long , nice not to have a p factor, little to no rudder required. Used 1/2 flap for take off, plenty of power. Got her trimmed up, 1 gentle, slow roll (need a little more ale throw) and 1 loop ( need a little less ele) CG felt correct, I'm using the low rate throws as a starting point. 4mm up trim in the ele was about right. Plane slows nicely and she is a gentle predictable flyer. I'm amazed how slow she will fly given her weight (I used to think my 1450 fms P-51 was heavy, NOT). She did balloon up a bit under full flap (flaps are really effective and the plane), gained allot of altitude and had to re-trim, will add 5 clicks of down ele with the flaps.
Came in a bit hot and bounced a little but for a first flight I'm stoked, I can tell she can come in a bit slower. The fms struts performed fantastic and have passed the thump test . I did a few touch and goes with my mustang to warm up a bit and tried Cub crazy's tip of cutting the throttle on final briefly then bringing it back up, this works GREAT as it gives you reference of the stick bottom and it's easier to find the min power required for level flight when your throttling up instead of down (will be using this one THANKS)
Maiden short but I have a few things I like to get done on the first flight, trim ,cg, throws, slow and landing speed and battery consumption.

https://vimeo.com/168183252