Official Nexa 2108mm P-38 Lightning ARF Thread

[Aros]

Welcome Scott...Yes as I have mentioned previously the flaps are a giant pain due to the wonky mechanisms and slop. We never could figure out how to remove the slop and adjusting each servo to perfection proved futile. We finally gave up and just lived with the slop. It was by far the most challenging aspect of the build.

[ScottGantt]

Has anyone had difficulty with the flap system on this aircraft? I cannot get enough movement and there is a lot of play in the configuration. Like to see pictures of how anyone set up their servos on this one.
Thanks-

[bartje]

papa626
Look forward to see if you still have that opinion after completing the build.
Having been a long time twin operator, I disagree with the weight being outside of the fuselage as providing stability.
With a battery in each boom it is also setting you up to the dreaded dedicated power source for each motor which in the case of an unforeseen LVCO will induce the proverbial graveyard spiral.
Best of luck,

What's against running an extra pair of cables from left to right to interconnect the batteries to form an xS2P setup which enables both ESC's to draw power from both batteries?

[Aros]

If this version is anything like my Legend Models/VQ was, then getting the fowler flaps to work properly may shave months off your life.

[Twowingtj]

papa626 Thanks for sharing your pics of the P-38 so far. When you get to the point of checking out the nose gear, I'd like to find out what the retract body is made of and about how many degress of travel it has. It looks to be more than 90. Thanks

[OV10]

I don’t think you will need to flip it upside down to install batteries. The battery doors are all the way forward and will only require a tilt up in my opinion. I think it’s also good for stability of flight that batteries are located below the wings.

papa626
Look forward to see if you still have that opinion after completing the build.
Having been a long time twin operator, I disagree with the weight being outside of the fuselage as providing stability.
With a battery in each boom it is also setting you up to the dreaded dedicated power source for each motor which in the case of an unforeseen LVCO will induce the proverbial graveyard spiral.
Best of luck,

[papa626]

I don’t think you will need to flip it upside down to install batteries. The battery doors are all the way forward and will only require a tilt up in my opinion. I think it’s also good for stability of flight that batteries are located below the wings.

Aros
So I've been eyeballing this for a long time (d/l'd the manual over a year ago) and trying to determine how in the heck am I gonna get the batteries located out of the booms into fuse.
My biggest arse ache with how VQ did this is it was obviously designed for a petrol driven bird because having to flip a 80+ inch airframe upside down to load LiPo's in the bottom
of the booms is just such a huge inconvenience and goes against my long standing airframe setup of electric twins with paralleled power in the fuse.
Is there per any chance that this is being looked at by the factory to get the batteries relocated to the fuse??
If Alpha and FW had done this battery/boom design with the 1600 Lightning, I would bet it never would had been as successful as it is.
I would dearly like to join TJ in owning this but not if I have to severely mod it to make it a battery friendly bird.

[papa626]

The spinners came with the kit. Attached is everything that came in the box.

Subscribed!

@ Papa626, thanks for biting the bullet and being the first one to document the build/assembly of this wonderfull machine.
I saw you pulling out a pair of spinners in your video, did you order those separately or where they included in the kit?
The MotionRC site doesn't mention that there are any spinners in the kit, let alone three blade spinners and the correct three blade size options for this plane.

@ Aros,maybe you can answer this, I know in the early days this kit was sold in Europe for something in the region of € 600 - € 700.
Motion is selling it for about € 919 now. I assume the retracts have been added as a standard now, but are there other additions that where done between now and then?

[Aros]

Sorry no intel on a Marchetti...You never know! Good luck with the build when you get to it!

[bartje]

Hi Aros,

Thanks for the swift & clear answer!
I do remember from my early research that finding the correct retracts for the P-38 was indeed rather challenging, especially from Europe.
I never really understood why they shipped this aircraft with fixed gear to begin with, so big 👍 for the decision of Motion to include the retracts as standard!

A bit of topic, but do you guys have the Marchetti (with retracts of course) in the pipeline somewhere also? 😁

Back on topic then, I think the current pricing of the P-38 is more than justified. It's expensive for sure, but for what you get, more than reasonable. You're not buying a foamy park flyer with this one.

Now on with the builds! One more restoration to finish, a big old Graupner DA-20 that I parked in a tree a decade ago (the day I learned that self discharge in NiMH receiver batteries is a thing), and an old school wood kit (Aerobel PC21) before I can start thinking about the P-38. Although I might sneak that one in before the PC21. 🤫 Unless the Marchetti suddenly comes first of course. 😁

[Aros]

Here is our official response for the price increase, fyi...

"We would like to point out some very important key differences that justify any price difference you may see. First, we include electric retracts with all Nexa models that require retracts. This has never been done by anyone in the past. Our planes have the proper sized retracts pre-installed in the plane from the factory. This saves you from having to search out and find the proper sized electric retract for the plane. We wanted to take the hassle out of buying a balsa model. Additionally, all of our Nexa planes include upgraded shock absorbing landing gear which has also never been done by any other company in the past. That said, we know others sell this same shock absorbing landing gear as an upgrade for $100 - $200. We know people in this hobby do not want to fly a plane with a simple fixed wire strut for landing gear. This is the feedback we've heard from our customers over the years. Customer feedback is very important to Motion RC and the main reason we've included electric retracts and shock absorbing struts on the Nexa line of planes. When you price out a plane without these items and add the additional cost of a properly sized set of electric retracts and upgraded shock absorbing landing gear, you will often find Motion RC is actually less expensive. In addition to including pre-installed electric retracts and upgraded shock absorbing struts, you will find Motion RC has free shipping to all 48 contiguous states in the USA without any exceptions. You will also have the peace of mind knowing that your Nexa plane is backed by the best customer support in the industry."

[Aros]

Welcome bartje! I do not know the answer to that, I'll look into it and see what I can find out. Stay tuned!

[bartje]

Subscribed!

@ Papa626, thanks for biting the bullet and being the first one to document the build/assembly of this wonderfull machine.
I saw you pulling out a pair of spinners in your video, did you order those separately or where they included in the kit?
The MotionRC site doesn't mention that there are any spinners in the kit, let alone three blade spinners and the correct three blade size options for this plane.

@ Aros,maybe you can answer this, I know in the early days this kit was sold in Europe for something in the region of € 600 - € 700.
Motion is selling it for about € 919 now. I assume the retracts have been added as a standard now, but are there other additions that where done between now and then?

[Aros]

Nice! Hope the build is (virtually) stress free for you. I say virtually because what build is perfectly stress free? lol...Keep the vids coming!

[papa626]

Here is a short video of the unboxing.

https://youtu.be/RbAOg6qDo9c

[Aros]

Welcome papa626 and good luck with the build! Please post your progress when you get time.

[papa626]

So I hit the button on this one. Going to be an interesting built and experience.

[Aros]

It will be interesting to see when someone starts the build what the differences - if any - are to the one I had five years ago. I don't recall the gear doors opening via springs as any option for me at the time, but perhaps I am mistaken on that and we simply chose the servo route.

[Twowingtj]

Aros Thanks for the gear door pics.

The instructions have the gear doors open via springs and a mechanical close. That design could work well, if some minor tweeks were done.

The other option would call for three to five more (9g?) servos, and a gear door sequencer to have the gear doors functional. That would add some weight and complexity.

Loading the batteries in the booms from the bottom could be a bit of a PITA, but has other advantages, like keeping wire runs to a minimum.

If the build and finish quality is good, for the price point, it could be worth the effort for sure.

[Aros]

Twowingtj Here's a photo of the main gear door...It was driven by two servos...




























OV10, I hear you for sure but it's impossible with this model. I just learned to live with it. I had a custom stand for it I would transport it on and use when plugging the batts in, putting on the outer wing panels, etc...Actually wasn't that bad. Maybe took me all of a minute or two tops to have her ready to go.