Official FlightLine 1600mm B-25J Mitchell PNP Thread

[davegee]

Excellent job designing those scale wheels for the B-25. It makes a big difference over the OEM wheels!

[Fast N Light]

Thanks, Aros. We'll see what happens. The folks in charge will have to make a decision on my proposal for using the Flightline B-25 in place of a printed model. I can do small 3D printed projects for models, including some for this B-25 that I have on my current plane, but it is restricted to small items, way smaller than printing up a whole airplane to assemble. I think I can do a better job for display redoing the Flightline model over what I could come up with even if furnished with the printed airplane parts. We'll see...

I'll attach a couple pics of 3D printed parts for my personal B-25. The wheels for the main and nose gear are shown, plus the Robart hollow rubber tires for each. I think this looks MUCH better than the OEM parts, but certainly not necessary to change out if you're not doing a very detailed scale upgrade to the model.

Cheers

Davegee

Glad to hear you like the printed rims I posted. I was pleased with the outcome. It's the most popular design I have shared both by views and downloads. I put a lot of effort into my designs. Considerations include print-ability, durability/reliability, performance, ascetics/scale appearance, ease of installation and customization. Typical design optimization involves two dozen or more print iterations along with the time it takes to evolve the design. My quality/performance expectations seem to exceed those of the model OEMs.

See my stuff on:

Thingiverse

Cults

[tab28682]

Did anyone ever upload a file to print an 8 gun nose for the Flightline B-25? Cults3D, Thingiverse, anywhere?

I did some searching around, but nothing turned up.

Alternatively, does anyone have a file they would be willing to share?

[xviper]

Got my first bomber today. I picked up a gently used B-25J Mitchell. Person had a AR80000 RX in it. Going to updgrade to newer 8 Channell with safe. My main question is what version did I buy? Did FlightLine put out more than one. Says FMS Flightline 1600MM. However, I do not see the bomb door or detachable wings. The thing is prestige and I am hoping to get my hands on an original owners manual and any good advice. Love the lights and details. Wish it had the active suspension on the gear. These things all tell me this is not the latest version. Thanks for your help.

Where does it say "FMS Flightline 1600"? Do you have a picture? The FMS is a different manufacturer and was 1470mm (and only 1 version of it) - flew on 3s. As far as I know, the Flightline 1600mm only had 1 version and flies on 6s. Good idea to ditch the AR8000. These are very old RXs and I've gone through several of them. Only one ever really worked properly. All the rest were glitchy. Spektrum replaced them with a better model quite quickly.

[RRHandy]

Fms sold this in a smaller wingspan that are just as you describe, measure the wing and let us know.

[GINGERBREADPILOT]

Got my first bomber today. I picked up a gently used B-25J Mitchell. Person had a AR80000 RX in it. Going to updgrade to newer 8 Channell with safe. My main question is what version did I buy? Did FlightLine put out more than one. Says FMS Flightline 1600MM. However, I do not see the bomb door or detachable wings. The thing is prestige and I am hoping to get my hands on an original owners manual and any good advice. Love the lights and details. Wish it had the active suspension on the gear. These things all tell me this is not the latest version. Thanks for your help.

[davegee]

Got to fly my B-25J for several flights this morning trying to solve why my landings had degraded so much. I flew the first couple flights with the OEM wheels and tires on the plane. Landings were better, but still not whene I wanted them to be. Then I put the Robarts and printed wheels back on the plane. Still a couple similar landings, but after that, I decided to land maintaining a very flat attitude, but WITH POWER right down to full touchdown. That made all the difference in the world! I got about six very respectable landings before I called it quits for the day. Might be a combination of thin air and bringing the power back too much, along with too high a pitch attitude. Will fly again next week and continue to refine the landings, although if they don't get better than what I had on the final touchdowns this morning, I'll be happy with that.

Cheers

Davegee

As a contiuation of my work to make better landings, I took my B-25J out for more practice today. I was very happy to see that my landings have improved, even with a hot, bumpy runway and field elevaton of 5100 feet MSL. What I have found (for me, anyway) is to keep the power on maybe 10 percent all the way through the landing. What I found this does is keeps the nose up slightly, and the mains touch down followed very shortly by the nose gear.The body pitch attitude is very flat. This plane doesn't roll that much on landing, and if needed, having the reverse thrust is Very effective to bring it to a stop in short order.

I got three or four landings this morning, all about the same and I was satisfied with all of them. I don't know if this will help any B-25 owners with similar problems that I started getting on landings, but that's my two cents' worth. Happy flying!

Cheers

Davegee

[davegee]

Thanks, Dan. I have found that this airplane has a tendency to bounce on landing, and then sometmes go into an uncontrolled nose to tail bounce as it rolls out. I have almost 70 landings with it on the Robart hollow tires, and more often than not, it lands ok, although I know it definitely does NOT like to touch down in a nose up attitude on the main gear first. I think I am going to do some tests with putting the stock OEM tires on for a test to see how it lands with those on. The funny thing is that with my Corsair, P-51s and P-47s that use the same hollow Robarts, that dampens this oscillation on landings, basically "sticking" the landing almost every single time.

If the stock tires/wheels still do the same thing as the Robarts, I'll conclude the problem wasn't the Robarts alone, and maybe I need to refine my own techniques to make softer landings without the bounce.

The rest of the flying is "like buttuh" with very dialed in flying through standard OEM equipment and no gyros inside. It's like it's on a rail and I routinely do practice bomb drops from low altitude as the real aircraft did using regular bombs and "parafrag" bombs that come down on little parachutes. If there had been a scale ship or airstrip in the target zone that I had selected, it would have obliterated it almost every time. I only have 5 parafrag bombs that I made, but in practice they sometimes had almost 100 of them to drop, as the bomb itself only weighed about 20 pounds. But it was devastating to anything in the area when it hit and the parachutes slowed them down just enough for the plane to escape without "fragging" itself in the bargain.

If anyone has tips on smoother landings with this particular airplane, I would very much appreciate hearing suggestions. Everything else is great on this plane, no complaints. Actually, pretty darned fun to fly!

Cheers

Davegee

Got to fly my B-25J for several flights this morning trying to solve why my landings had degraded so much. I flew the first couple flights with the OEM wheels and tires on the plane. Landings were better, but still not whene I wanted them to be. Then I put the Robarts and printed wheels back on the plane. Still a couple similar landings, but after that, I decided to land maintaining a very flat attitude, but WITH POWER right down to full touchdown. That made all the difference in the world! I got about six very respectable landings before I called it quits for the day. Might be a combination of thin air and bringing the power back too much, along with too high a pitch attitude. Will fly again next week and continue to refine the landings, although if they don't get better than what I had on the final touchdowns this morning, I'll be happy with that.

Cheers

Davegee

[davegee]

Looks good Dave!

Grossman56
(Dangerous Dan)

Thanks, Dan. I have found that this airplane has a tendency to bounce on landing, and then sometmes go into an uncontrolled nose to tail bounce as it rolls out. I have almost 70 landings with it on the Robart hollow tires, and more often than not, it lands ok, although I know it definitely does NOT like to touch down in a nose up attitude on the main gear first. I think I am going to do some tests with putting the stock OEM tires on for a test to see how it lands with those on. The funny thing is that with my Corsair, P-51s and P-47s that use the same hollow Robarts, that dampens this oscillation on landings, basically "sticking" the landing almost every single time.

If the stock tires/wheels still do the same thing as the Robarts, I'll conclude the problem wasn't the Robarts alone, and maybe I need to refine my own techniques to make softer landings without the bounce.

The rest of the flying is "like buttuh" with very dialed in flying through standard OEM equipment and no gyros inside. It's like it's on a rail and I routinely do practice bomb drops from low altitude as the real aircraft did using regular bombs and "parafrag" bombs that come down on little parachutes. If there had been a scale ship or airstrip in the target zone that I had selected, it would have obliterated it almost every time. I only have 5 parafrag bombs that I made, but in practice they sometimes had almost 100 of them to drop, as the bomb itself only weighed about 20 pounds. But it was devastating to anything in the area when it hit and the parachutes slowed them down just enough for the plane to escape without "fragging" itself in the bargain.

If anyone has tips on smoother landings with this particular airplane, I would very much appreciate hearing suggestions. Everything else is great on this plane, no complaints. Actually, pretty darned fun to fly!

Cheers

Davegee

[Grossman56]

Looks good Dave!

Grossman56
(Dangerous Dan)

[davegee]

LOVE it! Anything that has to do with the Tuskegee Airmen warms my heart and I know you will do an amazing job.

Thanks, Aros. We'll see what happens. The folks in charge will have to make a decision on my proposal for using the Flightline B-25 in place of a printed model. I can do small 3D printed projects for models, including some for this B-25 that I have on my current plane, but it is restricted to small items, way smaller than printing up a whole airplane to assemble. I think I can do a better job for display redoing the Flightline model over what I could come up with even if furnished with the printed airplane parts. We'll see...

I'll attach a couple pics of 3D printed parts for my personal B-25. The wheels for the main and nose gear are shown, plus the Robart hollow rubber tires for each. I think this looks MUCH better than the OEM parts, but certainly not necessary to change out if you're not doing a very detailed scale upgrade to the model.

Cheers

Davegee

[Aros]

LOVE it! Anything that has to do with the Tuskegee Airmen warms my heart and I know you will do an amazing job.

[davegee]

I might be doing another B-25J, using the Flightline model as a static display for the upcoming exhibit halls at the NASM, opening in 2026. I say "might" as the person who had the contracts to do the B-25 ( a printed model, smaller with a 50 inch wingspan) and another resin printed model of a Soviet or Russian MiG-31 Foxhound with a guided missile on the belly of the aircraft has taken ill and may not be able to complete the models. They were to be done in 3D printing, but I have submitted an alternative proposal to do the B-25 using a repurposed Flightline B-25. The airplane would be all silver, not many markings on it. This is to show a part of history I was not aware of, being that the famous Tuskeegee Airmen formed a composite group, the 477th, which utilized P-51s and B-25s. The B-25s never made it over to the fight in Europe as it ended while they were in training to do so. But it was a raucous time for the military, integrating African Americans into the armed forces that finally came with a stroke of Truman's pen in 1948.

I'll know if my idea will fly or not at the end of the month or so. All the Program Managers are on vacation in August, which is a good idea due to summer heat in Virginia!

Attached is a photo of one of the crews training on their B-25J in 1945. Another of the Mach 3 Mig-31 Foxhound with Kirzhal guided missile.

Cheers

Davegee

[f4u ausie]

Good job x

[xviper]

At ~7:00 in this video, you can see inside the nose gear bay. Do fullscreen and freeze frame and you get the idea of how the servos are installed and how each one works.

Another one at ~37:00

If you're creative, there are likely many more YouTube videos that will show you what you need. It's just a matter of some searching and patience.

[xviper]

Can someone help me out with some photos of the inside nose gear area? I am trying to finish my rebuild after a crash. I purchased a new front nose gear and I have no idea where the two servos go. I know how to bolt the landing gear in and the doors its the steering servo for the front nose and the hatch servo, how they go in.

I also cant for the life of me figure out how to remove the bent strut on my old gear. I removed the two grub screws( set screws) but how do you take it off? I would have thought just by pulling it apart? Any help please.

Sorry, I can't help you with a photo of the nose gear bay. My B-25 is hanging is a hard to access place at the moment. From your own picture, I can see the 2 holes where the steering servo mounts. Mount it such that the arm points outboard (toward the plane's right side). The rod goes from the end of the arm to the steering tiller arm. I can also see the holes aft of the steering servo for the servo that actuates the gear doors. Reviewing the "photos" in this thread and the video of the B-25 build, I can see none that shows the nose gear bay. Maybe someone who has his B-25 handy, will take a picture for you.

As for the strut - If it's bent from the crash, it's (the pin) most likely bent inside the sleeve where you removed the 2 set screws. That means you'll have to hold one side (the part with the steering tiller bar) with some pliers and turn the strut back and forth as you pull. You'll know it's working as you'll see some movement. Eventually, it'll come all the way out. I assume that the new retract has it's own pin so you won't need to worry about straightening the pin. From the looks of your picture, the steering tiller is broken. You'll need a new one.

[f4u ausie]

From my recollection. A steering retract the. Main shaft comes out from the very bottom.. meaning retract needs to be disassembled. Will have a look after work don't have this plane so don't no about the servos

[Mike Dunn]

Can someone help me out with some photos of the inside nose gear area? I am trying to finish my rebuild after a crash. I purchased a new front nose gear and I have no idea where the two servos go. I know how to bolt the landing gear in and the doors its the steering servo for the front nose and the hatch servo, how they go in.

I also cant for the life of me figure out how to remove the bent strut on my old gear. I removed the two grub screws( set screws) but how do you take it off? I would have thought just by pulling it apart? Any help please.

[Elbee]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OYgtHD7SkxU

Great video of the Commemorative Air Force B-25 "Miss Mitchell" showing the 50 Cal feed motors/chutes for the Tail-Gunner position.

Beautiful engineering for the time and great restoration project.

Best, LB

[Elbee]

ST9

Nice work, Sir.

Great detail in the bombardier's office.

Best, LB