Official FlightLine RC 1600mm P-38 Lightning Thread

[Dual Prop Dave]

Hello All, Newbie here. Purchased my P-38 NIB from a fellow who couldn't decide if he wanted the silver or the OD. I am now the proud owner of the silver version. Just ordered the strut upgrade. I've read this thread from start to finish, and my first question is....the instructions call for 4mm of up elevator. Is it needed? I plan on using the Admiral 3000's for power, so is the CG going to be correct if placed according to Pilot Ryan in his flight review? Not that I doubt him, but I'm an intermediate Pilot and I believe he could fly a brick if someone would put a motor on it. Is there any Querks or anything I should be aware of at maiden? Thank You all in advance for any answers.

[OV10]

Hello All, Newbie here. Purchased my P-38 NIB from a fellow who couldn't decide if he wanted the silver or the OD. I am now the proud owner of the silver version. Just ordered the strut upgrade. I've read this thread from start to finish, and my first question is....the instructions call for 4mm of up elevator. Is it needed? I plan on using the Admiral 3000's for power, so is the CG going to be correct if placed according to Pilot Ryan in his flight review? Not that I doubt him, but I'm an intermediate Pilot and I believe he could fly a brick if someone would put a motor on it. Is there any Querks or anything I should be aware of at maiden? Thank You all in advance for any answers.

Hello DPD and welcome to the Squawk,
Ya must have done the speed reading course and missed all the conjecture about why with the 4mm early on in this thread back in the 1660 posting range.
Yes the 4mm up elevator is needed. The last time this question came up again I summarized these events here.

https://www.hobbysquawk.com/forum/rc-airplanes/propeller-airplanes/1978-official-flightline-rc-1600mm-p-38-lightning-thread?p=51144#post51144

And yes the CG per Ryan is good. Go with the 4mm and the CG recommended and have a blast with it.
Best regards,

[downwindleg]

Hey Dual Prop Dave welcome, I can only add that she has a pretty good sink rate on landing approach so hold some power on 'til you touch down. Brad

[Tsmith]

Hello DPD and welcome to the Squawk,
Ya must have done the speed reading course and missed all the conjecture about why with the 4mm early on in this thread back in the 1660 posting range.
Yes the 4mm up elevator is needed. The last time this question came up again I summarized these events here.

https://www.hobbysquawk.com/forum/rc-airplanes/propeller-airplanes/1978-official-flightline-rc-1600mm-p-38-lightning-thread?p=51144#post51144

And yes the CG per Ryan is good. Go with the 4mm and the CG recommended and have a blast with it.
Best regards,

What he said! I would add that I have shifted my admiral 3000s around quite a bit experimenting with the CG and I find that exact location is not that critical. I find landing with full flaps and power is the easiest way to land. Not enough power and shell hit the runway hard. I probably have 50 plus flights on her and it's still a blast to fly! Enjoy

[WW2rcpilot]

I have to say I started out with the 4mm up and found it unnecessary, as every time I went to full throttle she shot straight up. With full flaps she will crawl along but will drop hard if you don't maintain some power on. I am using a single 5000mAh battery to fly with and she balanced spot on. Just got the struts, and I see the springs on the mains are really stiff. Ant body have any issues with the stock springs?

[downwindleg]

Yeah WW2rcpilot, I thought they were pretty stiff too. However, it wasn't an issue for me because I used the Castle RC mains. They work much nicer and they have the scissor on the oleo. I know that doubles the expense of the gear, but I really wanted the "scale" look of the scissors and ,as a bonus, the springs aren't so stiff. Brad

[Aros]

Yeah I plan on grabbing both sets myself for the same reason as you Brad. Freewing really missed on the upgraded struts not ALL having oleos. (face palm).

[crxmanpat]

Two more beautiful flights on the P-38 yesterday, and still gets oohs and aahs from the crowd. Still using a single Zippy Compact 4S 6200 in mine, and balances perfectly with the pack at the rear of the battery tray.

[Dual Prop Dave]

Thank You OV10 for posting the page for the 4mm up elevator. thanks to all who answered my questions. I not sure how I missed all of that, Maybe happened when the Mrs was blabbing something about a list and honeydew melons! LOL
I will be installing the new struts Tomorrow, and hopefully get the maiden in this weekend. Out of all the twins I own, this one is by far the sweetest looking! Has anyone else found the props to be so far out of balance?

[BadBob]

Two more beautiful flights on the P-38 yesterday, and still gets oohs and aahs from the crowd. Still using a single Zippy Compact 4S 6200 in mine, and balances perfectly with the pack at the rear of the battery tray.

How much flight time do you get on the Zippy Compact 4S 6200 on average?

[Tsmith]

Thank You OV10 for posting the page for the 4mm up elevator. thanks to all who answered my questions. I not sure how I missed all of that, Maybe happened when the Mrs was blabbing something about a list and honeydew melons! LOL
I will be installing the new struts Tomorrow, and hopefully get the maiden in this weekend. Out of all the twins I own, this one is by far the sweetest looking! Has anyone else found the props to be so far out of balance?

Good luck with your maiden...I was very comfortable almost immediately with her flying characteristics on my maiden. She really grooves. I did find my props out of balance and added some red paint to the tips to balance. Check and recheck all your screws to make sure nothing vibrates loose on those first few flights. Also, don't use locktight on the spinner screws or near any plastic. I learned the hard way that the locktite makes the plastic brittle. I now use foam tac to keep screws in place

[crxmanpat]

How much flight time do you get on the Zippy Compact 4S 6200 on average?

My timer is set for 6 minutes, and that usually leaves me about 30% left in the pack. I'm sure I could go 7 minutes safely and still have enough left for a few go-arounds if needed. But I like to land at 30% left so that the packs can go right into storage without doing a storage charge.

[Plastic_Aviator]

Hey guys, finally started the build yesterday and was scratching my head for about half an hour trying to figure out the screw placement. Seems they left that part out of the manual and unfortunately the print on my package of hardware is unreadable.

I did manage to hopefully figure it out. I got the tailboom assembly done but unfortunately one of the screwheads for the outside elevator literally broke off about halfway through... Hopefully I have no issues with this in the future while in flight or something.

Anyone else have issues like this that new builders should be aware of?

[WW2rcpilot]

Watch the video much more useful. I had the same issue with one of the screws breaking off. Other than that it went together very easily.

[Tsmith]

Hey guys, finally started the build yesterday and was scratching my head for about half an hour trying to figure out the screw placement. Seems they left that part out of the manual and unfortunately the print on my package of hardware is unreadable.

I did manage to hopefully figure it out. I got the tailboom assembly done but unfortunately one of the screwheads for the outside elevator literally broke off about halfway through... Hopefully I have no issues with this in the future while in flight or something.

Anyone else have issues like this that new builders should be aware of?

so weird, I had one of the screw heads break off also on the tail assembly and 50 plus flights later, no issues

[Plastic_Aviator]

so weird, I had one of the screw heads break off also on the tail assembly and 50 plus flights later, no issues

lol... Yes, very weird. Must be a small batch of cheap hardware used. Im convinced I'll be OK. Thanks for the info guys.

[Plastic_Aviator]

Really confused guys...

When reading through the thread before buying this beautiful bird so many of you were using the Admiral 3600's so thats what I decided to get. Only today, come to find out they dont look like they'd fit at all. The only thing I can assume is that maybe the company changed the shape of them? I noticed they seem very square in shape. :/

The only thing I can think of is trimming the inside but I dont really want to do that.

[Grossman56]

Get in touch with Customer Service. They have just changed the batteries and the dimensions are different. I'll forward this post as well to the big guys.
Are you trying to install them side by side as in the picture ? I'm assuming that the batteries go in the same way as the Tigercat as I don't have the P-38, if so,
they stack, one in the lower tray and one in the upper tray. The battery straps wrap around them.
I notified the guys, if you have any problems get in touch with them.

Grossman56

[Plastic_Aviator]

Get in touch with Customer Service. They have just changed the batteries and the dimensions are different. I'll forward this post as well to the big guys.
Are you trying to install them side by side as in the picture ? I'm assuming that the batteries go in the same way as the Tigercat as I don't have the P-38, if so,
they stack, one in the lower tray and one in the upper tray. The battery straps wrap around them.
I notified the guys, if you have any problems get in touch with them.

Grossman56

Yes, trying to fit them side by side as shown in the instructions and by other pilots. Unlike the Tigercat, these do not fit in a line.

Speaking of the Tigercat, will these new ones fit in that bird? I was intending to share them with it.

[Aros]

Yes some of our newer gen Admirals have indeed changed in dimensions. Some are smaller, some are wider, thinner, longer, shorter...It runs the gamut. If are recommended batteries (new gen) are not fitting, we need to fix that pronto. Go ahead and contact our Customer Support Team first thing Monday and they will fix the issue for you and I will be sure to edit the product page accordingly.