Official Nexa 2108mm P-38 Lightning ARF Thread

[Aros]

Welcome Bato79! Looks like you are victim #128,954 in regards to the awful flap setup, lol. You look like you are doing a fine job putting the wing together but unfortunately the flap design from the manufacturer is poor. It's by far the weakest point of the entire build. My buddy who is an aeronautical engineer for Boeing built mine for me and even though he is incredibly diligent, meticulous and excellent at builds, even he struggled getting the flaps to work like they should, so don't feel too bad if you never quite get there with them.

Even with all the slop, they still functioned and didn't create any bad habits in flight.

Looking forward to the rest of your build videos!

[Bato79]

Haha. Thank you Aros. I had that model before and had burned 2 flap servos due to bad flap design. However this time I am hoping I've learned something and will do better job.

[Bato79]

Here we go next video.... centre fuselage..... i don't mind any constructive comments and suggestions. Thank you for watching.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B9E1CwU_2Bc

[Bato79]

An centre fuselage update...

https://youtu.be/W4xIaXfLf6g

[Aros]

Nice stuff Bato79 keep the vids coming! Love that custom work to the center fuse...

[Bato79]

Happy Easter fellas! New video. Check it out:)

https://youtu.be/NWGd_zlYXik

[Twowingtj]

Bato79 Coming along nicely!

[Bato79]

thanks

[Ron Dyrda]

Hi Aros I have a question on the p-38, who makes the elect. retracts, I am installing servos for the doors and I purchased a Down and locked control for the gear and doors. I also changed the mounting for the flap servos which was very bad and eliminated some slop.

Thanks Ron

[Bato79]

Here it is a first complete to my Nexa P-38 Lightning.

https://youtu.be/X2E_m6G5QTw

[Bato79]

Btw if you’ve missed the link in description on ideas for scaling your cockpit. Enjoy the video.

https://youtu.be/uD4mcNNL83k

[Aros]

Hi Aros I have a question on the p-38, who makes the elect. retracts, I am installing servos for the doors and I purchased a Down and locked control for the gear and doors. I also changed the mounting for the flap servos which was very bad and eliminated some slop.

Hi Ron Dyrda, This is what I had in my P-38 for gear and struts:

2x Robart #670 1/2" dia Straight RoboStrut (main struts)
#663L 7/16" dia LH Offset RoboStrut 3 3/4" - 4" (nose strut)
630RSE 90 Degree HD Mains RoboStrut Electric 24LB (electric retract system).

They worked nicely in this model for me. Good call on the re-mounting of the flap servos!

[Aros]

Here it is a first complete to my Nexa P-38 Lightning.

https://youtu.be/X2E_m6G5QTw

Nice job! Flaps are always going to have some slop...I found it impossible to remove all the slop from mine. The gondola was my least favorite area of the mold. Just a terrible fit and design overall. But looking beyond these issues you will be rewarded with a wonderful flying P-38. She's made for the skies!

[Ron Dyrda]

Hi Aros I needed to know the make of the elect. retracts that come with the Nexa P-38

Thanks Ron

[Aros]

Oh sorry Ron, that I am not sure of. I'll have to do some digging.

[Bato79]

It's time to put her out and see it in all her glory.

https://youtu.be/dmPBaMNsjUo

[Ron Dyrda]

HI Bato 79 I really like your gear doors how they operate , I really could not see to much on the video, could I get the info on the servos and linkage used..

On the flaps issue outer wings I used HS 5125 thin wing servos mounted with screws I have no slop.
The center section is a different story, I used a low profile servos HS 77BB mounted with screws, I cut out the plywood for the original mounting with two way tape and plastic try wraps and installed side rails on the ribs for mounting, It is a lot better but still some slop like you said earlier the linkage is bad very sloppy I will try to remove the plastic linkage and remake.

Thanks Ron

[Bato79]

Hi Ron.

Maybe you’ve missed this one regarding gear doors...

https://youtu.be/NWGd_zlYXik

in the Youtube video description you have links of the items.

HI Bato 79 I really like your gear doors how they operate , I really could not see to much on the video, could I get the info on the servos and linkage used..

On the flaps issue outer wings I used HS 5125 thin wing servos mounted with screws I have no slop.
The center section is a different story, I used a low profile servos HS 77BB mounted with screws, I cut out the plywood for the original mounting with two way tape and plastic try wraps and installed side rails on the ribs for mounting, It is a lot better but still some slop like you said earlier the linkage is bad very sloppy I will try to remove the plastic linkage and remake.

Thanks Ron

[StanBr]

Hi Guys, Mine is also (finally) ready for the maiden! A bit worried about the cg though... 😬 I balanced the P-38 with the wheels up but with all three gears moving forward when selecting gear down you end up with a nose heavy aircraft. If you balance it with the gear down you end up with an aircraft that will be tail heavy when selecting the gear up. Hopefully the elevator has enough authority to compensate this...

[OV10]

StanBr Just a little advise, the standard protocol for CG of an aircraft that all the gear swings aft on retraction is to do it with retracted gear.
The airframe designers of full scale airframes with aft retracting gear did it this way because the primary flight mode is gear retracted and you want
to be basically neutral elevator for level flight. Trimming in up elevator when the gear is extended is expected for the nose heavy shift in CG and
the neutral elevator in retracted gear has less impact on the higher airspeed control dynamics.
As you mentioned tail heavy, that is the last place you want to be in your primary flight configuration (gear up) fighting it with ALOT of down elevator.