FMS P-40B Warhawk Flying Tiger 1400mm

[jobinseattle]

I am not really a warbird fan but this looks like a cool plane. I have a question for those who own it.

Do the blue decals come already in place? If not I prefer to leave them off. Looks like a nice flyer. Those low passes look really cool.

From what I read it does really good on grass which is a plus.

[OV10]

Hello Jobinseattle,
The decals on FMS birds are already in place. The Flying Tigers, known officially as the 1st American Volunteer Group (AVG), were a unit of the Chinese Air Force thus the blue Chinese star and the pilots were recruited from U.S. aviators. From late 1941, the P-40B was used by the Flying Tigers. They were divided into three pursuit squadrons, the "Adam & Eves", the "Panda Bears" and the "Hell's Angels. Without the blue star you should also remove the remaining "Flying Tigers" scheme that was emblematic of the AVG. It IS a cool looking warbird but please don't disparage the Flying Tigers by removing just the star because you don't like the look of the Chinese star.
Best regards,

[jobinseattle]

Thanks, If already there I would just leave it. I like the plane. Watched many videos online and it looks good in the air.

[Grossman56]

Just waiting to maiden mine, the wind was up a bit, until the sun went down of course! So, this morning, driving to work, it was ideal, I was out at the club meeting lastnight, and of course there was no wind then either. So tomorrow, I'm up with the sun!!!
As for the airplane itself, its a great plane for ground handling, a super easy build and a plane that screams for detailing!

Also with that 650 kv motor, she should be a slouch in the air, but she also looks like she has great slow speed handling characteristics as well.
I'm taking mine to Muncie in June for NEFI at AMA HQ, the wings come off pretty easily compared to other 1400mm Warbirds, so I should be able to get 4 planes plus luggage plus wife all in the truck.

Grossman56

[Veltro]

Before Horizon Hobby became the distributor of FMS a few weeks ago, you could have bought a replacement fuselage and wing at a decent price. They don't have the markings applied. Now that Horizon is involved and the prices have been jacked up, it's no longer worth the expense.

The AVG P-40Bs came from aircraft that were being built for the British. Consequently, they are in a British camouflage scheme using DuPont's version of British colors. Curtiss used rubber templates to apply the camouflage. The templates even had cut outs to assist with the placement of the standard British markings.

You could always put British markings over the Chinese markings on the wings (they are the same size), buy a replacement fuselage, and now you have a RAF Tomahawk. Or you could take it one step further, paint over the Dark Green with Middlestone, and now you have a Desert Air Force (British/Australian/South African) Tomahawk.

[Mizer67]

This is my new favorite plane.

You nailed it Grossman when you said it has good slow speed characteristics. I think it's the easiest plane I have to land and easier than the FMS-51D which held that honor for me previously. The ground handling once the mains are down is easier as well. The only negatives are a slightly greater ability to nose over and the narrower gear track, of which neither have caused any issues for me.

You can really tell FMS learned some lessons with this one. Pushrods are secured properly, ball links take out much of the rest of the slop, the elevator joiner is really solid so it doesn't flex, even with only one pushrod, the props are stiffer and they're secured better in the spinner.

The build is easy and for me it was the easiest build I've had. Everything fit easily and well with no sanding, trimming, etc.

I bought a 550kv motor and 85A ESC and had planned to run this plane on 5S or 6S like the Mustang, but honestly the 650kv motor pulls it along quite nicely and I haven't had the desire to change it yet. Granted, I do use the top end of the throttle range almost exclusively for regular flight, but it zips along pretty good on only 4S power with good, but not unlimited vertical. I don't have the desire to change at the moment with how well the plane flies on 4S.

I do think it needs a 4S 5000 mah in the nose to balance well and takes the extra weight very nicely with no bad habits.

My main gripes with it are about the decals. Mine aren't on very straight and the eyes shouldn't be slanted at a 60 degree angle.

[Grossman56]

Yeah, I hear you, I got rid of the yellow pupils in the eyes as well, and I agree that the slant isn't enough, they're almost vertical!
The one thing I really didn't like was the Tiger emblem, they got that wrong. I had Callie make me new ones that are much more accurate as you can see from the before and after picture.
As for the stock ESC, from the spare parts page, it will handle a 5s battery, so I'm thinking that route as well.

Grossman56

[Mizer67]

^ That is much better. I need to work up an order as well. I plan on fixing the eyes and it looks like the tiger as well. That and I need to find a solution for the gear door chattering. Maybe a rare earth magnet or stronger spring.

How'd you get the decals off without lifting any paint? Or so it appears...

[Grossman56]

Oh I lifted paint, but I'm also a landscape, portrait painter, so mixing paint isn't anything new to me. I started with an olive drab and added a little brown, white and whatever to get it to match. From a paint mixing perspective, the brown and the green aren't much different, the white just fades the color out so that's the last step.

Grossman56

[Grossman56]

FINALLY!
The wind let up for about an hour today and I managed to get in two flights on the P40!!!
Very smooth airplane, I did the setup carefully and needed hardly any trim. I admit my warbird landings are not the greatest, I have a problem getting them to slow down, even with full flaps, mind you I was dealing with a crosswind as well, but all in all a great couple of flights with no damage.
Plenty of power from the 650kv and I ran 4000's in her for both flights, all the way forward, I think I can get away with about a 1/4 inch back with a 4000 so I'll try that next time. I put a gyro in her to deal with the Cody breeze, but I felt she really wasn't in need of one, so I'll try leaving it off in good flying conditions.
Looks great in the air and on the second flight, I tried a couple of rolls and a big loop, handled it fine.
So one maiden down and one to go!!

Grossman56

[boomer108]

Nice to hear Gman! Still waiting for the Chicago winds and rain to let up. Good flying!

Roy B.

[Mizer67]

FINALLY!
The wind let up for about an hour today and I managed to get in two flights on the P40!!!
Very smooth airplane, I did the setup carefully and needed hardly any trim. I admit my warbird landings are not the greatest, I have a problem getting them to slow down, even with full flaps, mind you I was dealing with a crosswind as well, but all in all a great couple of flights with no damage.
Plenty of power from the 650kv and I ran 4000's in her for both flights, all the way forward, I think I can get away with about a 1/4 inch back with a 4000 so I'll try that next time. I put a gyro in her to deal with the Cody breeze, but I felt she really wasn't in need of one, so I'll try leaving it off in good flying conditions.
Looks great in the air and on the second flight, I tried a couple of rolls and a big loop, handled it fine.
So one maiden down and one to go!!

Grossman56

In low wind conditions, with full flaps (have mine set about ~45 degrees down), I'll cut throttle to just where my transmitter's set to beep at 25% and with the gear down, mine will pitch down slightly and basically land itself with little elevator input required before the flare.

It's not a bird that I like three point landings with, however. I'll keep enough speed to run on the mains for a bit before planting the tail, much like any full size landing I've seen of these. If I slow down enough to try to 3-point, I'm on the edge of a stall and mine's got a pretty good left tip stall tendency.

In a (stiff) crosswind, I'd carry more speed too just to handle the wind better.

[Grossman56]

Thanks Mizer67, any advice is welcome!

Grossman56

[Racer686]

Has anyone installed Mr RC Sound 4.1 into their P40? I am test fitting it currently while using a Xicoy CG calculator. I can attain the 70mm CG with the transducers beside the Rudder and Elevator servos by using my Turnigy Graphene 5000 4s battery pushed all the way to the nose of the plane. The total weight with everything in the plane is 6.9 lbs. If I fly without the sound system and use my Admiral 4000 battery, I'm flying at 6.1 lbs. What are the opinions of the group?

Thanks,

Pete

[Mizer67]

I fly with a ~480 gram 4S 5000mah battery centered on the tray currently.

While I could likely attain the CG needed with a sound system, I think the plane would be too heavy to perform adequately for my tastes on the stock power system.

Going to 5S draws too many amps on the 650kv motor (110 static) and going to a 3600mah 6S and the 550kv motor adds another ~150 grams of weight, which makes it fly and land pretty heavy. If you're OK with that characteristic, or the performance impact, I say go for it. I really like my sound system in my Mustang, in spite of the weight penalty, but I'm running that one on 6S and it's a lighter airframe to start with.

[Grossman56]

Boy, I'll tell you, at the stock setup using a 4000mah 4s battery, I find it to be a great combination. I love those great big loops! I'm just fine tuning the battery placement now as I started with it full forward, but I'm thinking to back it off about 1/4". Great airplane.

Grossman56

[crxmanpat]

I run the Admiral 4S 4000 40C in mine, and it is placed back on the battery tray almost covering up the finger grab. I find that the perfect location for CG. Never once tipped on the nose during ground handling. I also have a 3600, and it goes further towards the front of the tray.

[Mizer67]

I like the stock power system with my 4S 5000. It's probably even sprightlier with the slightly less weight of a 4000. When you start adding in heavy stuff like a sound system and you're at 6.5 lbs.+ the you start to run out of thrust though, even if you can CG.

[Racer686]

I like the stock power system with my 4S 5000. It's probably even sprightlier with the slightly less weight of a 4000. When you start adding in heavy stuff like a sound system and you're at 6.5 lbs.+ the you start to run out of thrust though, even if you can CG.

I think you're right. I have shelved the sound system and CG'd it with my Admiral 4000's almost at the finger hole and my Pulse 3700's about a half inch behind that.

[Racer686]

I also CG'd it at 70mm with the gear up, and tied a flight mode to the gear coming down so that I can trim with the gear down independently to counter the nose heavy condition.