Tired-Iron's P-38 Build

[TiredIronGRB]

Milling out the strut was my first plan but was afraid it would be too weak.

[PlaneCrazy]

Milling out the strut was my first plan but was afraid it would be too weak.

I don't think so TI. If it can be reamed out straight, that will leave 0.050 walls which, when bonded to the steering tiller will become one solid piece. I can't see that much sideward force being exerted on this strut. Anyway, we'll find out. I'm not sure we'll mill it out or just drill it out because I have access to a good drill press as well and some sharp drills. Can't drill too deep though because the spring cavity about dead ends at about the same depth as the strut wire so gotta be careful there.

[TSHobbies]

I clipped the spring on mine,whcih worked fine, but when the plane lifts off, the stryt would extend to full length,making it too long to retract,so I had to tie the scissor at to keep it from extending too far..it still works..it just wont extend further than I want it to.

[PlaneCrazy]

I just got done modifying my nose gear strut and it came out perfect. The mod uses the stock steering tiller and a Robart 2-1/2 wheel with the suspension rod re-drilled to shorten the compression stroke by 1/4". I'll take some pictures and post them later. Oh, I'm using the Freewing 1400mm P51 strut for the nose gear.

[TiredIronGRB]

I clipped the spring on mine,whcih worked fine, but when the plane lifts off, the stryt would extend to full length,making it too long to retract,so I had to tie the scissor at to keep it from extending too far..it still works..it just wont extend further than I want it to.

I drilled the center strut shaft and put a roll pin through it to keep the strut from fully extending.

[TiredIronGRB]

I just got done modifying my nose gear strut and it came out perfect. The mod uses the stock steering tiller and a Robart 2-1/2 wheel with the suspension rod re-drilled to shorten the compression stroke by 1/4". I'll take some pictures and post them later. Oh, I'm using the Freewing 1400mm P51 strut for the nose gear.

Cool, I'm glad you got it finished.

[PlaneCrazy]

How do you upload pictures?

[Trobinson99]

I was not happy with the increase in length of the NG. I was especially worried about the higher AoA.

So I dismantled the nose gear, removed the centre pin and drilled a new stop hole halfway down the shaft,(3/8-1/2") tapped it to 3mm, clipped the spring back by about 1/4 and re-assembled.

I think this is much better.

[Grossman56]

How do you upload pictures?

When you are typing a response, click the camera at the top left of the box. It will give you two options, click the upload tab and direct it to you pictures. The pictures have to be within a certain size. I use Photo Shop Elements from Adobe and resize my pics to around 1500 pixels and then save them in a folder called web shots. Then when I want to upload, I just go to that folder and select the picture and the computer does the rest.
Just like that.

Grossman56

[PlaneCrazy]

Thanks Gman!

[Grossman56]

Any time!


Grossman56

[PlaneCrazy]

Ok, thought I'd share how I modified the FW P51 Strut for use as the nose gear in this plane. I cut off the stock nose gear strut at the bottom of the steering tiller. Then I drilled out the top of the compression cylinder of the P51 strut to the depth of the stock wire. Then I opened up the side of the cylinder enough to slide over the tiller arm. This gives a length that is about 1/4" longer than the stock nose strut. I then drilled a hole in the spring shaft that shortened the length of travel when there was no weight on the nose gear. I found a spring that was the same weight material but about 1/4" which works just fine. I then JB welded the cylinder to the steering tiller and re-assembled the whole strut and it fits just fine with the Robart 2.5" tire. A pretty simple exercise with minimal change. Forgot to say that I used a roll pin in the compression shaft rather than bothering to drill and tap like the original.

[Ocalavol]

I'm new to the site, so please forgive if this question has already been covered. Has anyone looked for struts mounting the main wheel from the side instead of the center-offset P-51 struts? Having the suspension is worth doing, but the look isn't quite right. Regardless, great job improving an already top-notch ARF.

[TiredIronGRB]

Yes, Brandon Moon used P-40 struts but had to us part of the stock strut with the Z bend in it.

[OV10]

I'm new to the site, so please forgive if this question has already been covered. Has anyone looked for struts mounting the main wheel from the side instead of the center-offset P-51 struts? Having the suspension is worth doing, but the look isn't quite right. Regardless, great job improving an already top-notch ARF.

Hello Ocalavol and welcome to the Squawk.
Brandonmoon who contributes a lot of good mod info over on the RCG forum just recently started contributing here on the Squawk but I can't seem to locate his FMS 1400 P-40B strut mod for the FlightLine P-38 so here is a link to it over on RCG.

http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2580046&page=204&highlight=p+40+strut#post34537409

Best Regards,

[BadBob]

Hi guys.
New to the site. A little off topic here. Just got my '38 and going through the manual. On P.11, Integrated Circuit Module and receiver set up. It shows that the Ailerons, L/G and flaps plug into the RX from the ICM, but isn't clear as to where. Do they go into the standard plugs, I.E., Ail=Ch.1, L/G=Ch. 5 and flaps=Ch.6? (Forget why the Ail channel is in Ch. 1 and the Thr. is Ch.3 on this plane). I plan on adding the MrSound Sound System V4.1 W/TT-25 later. Motion tells me that I will need 2 of these even tho there's an option in just 1 for 2 speakers. Also I'll need an extra channel I guess if I want the machine gun sound effect. I'm using a Graupner MZ-24, 12 ch. TX and I have an extra 12 channel RX.

[BadBob]

Been doing a little detailing waiting on my HotRod pinstriping guy to come do my nose art...

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Painted the nose, haven't decided what to do with the spinners and cowl.

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Cut some aluminum screen for the cowls, will probably do some for the rear air intakes as well.

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Like most kits the guns come with solid ends so I drilled them out.

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Went to Lowes and matched the paint colors, the sample paint comes in a low sheen which matches nicely.

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Nice fit.

May have missed this question somewhere, but how much average flight time do you get from your 2-5200's at 10C? Just want to be sure I'm seeing 2 of them before I order a set. Thanks. Love your build post!

[BadBob]

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Painted the clear plastic around the lights.

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I did the gear rake mod using two washers under the rear of the mounting flange.

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It's a good idea to glue the washers together to prevent a cussing fit.

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These were a job to cut out.

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But they turned out nice.

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I primed the spinners and cowls with an alkyd olive drab to cover the yellow, once they dry for a day I'll paint them with the same acrylic paint I used on the nose.

How did you cut away the air intakes to get the screens in? I'm considering using a hot wire cutter and gluing them back on with foam-cure and micro balloon filler.

[TiredIronGRB]

I didn't cut them, I just cut out the screen to fit tight and pushed it in.

[BadBob]

A little more paint work...and some of the decals modified/applied

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No more yellow, can't wait to get my nose-art done.

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Had to cover up all that clear plastic.

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Just curious, but does painting the prop spinners effect the overall prop balance?