FMS 1400MM P40 BUILD

[Grossman56]

I'm wondering about Flex Seal....It is a rubber of sorts, I have some here and I think I'll see what it turns out like.

Grossman56

[seaviper]

I am sure the flex seal will do the trick. I flew three times today with nothing on the battery other than the straps and the spray coating.

I got the Cg dialed in for my tastes. Basically my battery (Admiral 4000) is even with the forward end of the tray.The battery tray coating worked well. The battery did not shift even after nosing over in a rough patch on the runway (dug up by an armadillo we suspect).
The bird flies nicely. On the maiden last Sunday I torque rolled her on a go-around. Had to replace the wing. But today she flew very nicely even in the gusts and turbulence. We get a lot of turbulence from the tree line.

I think the spray coating did great. It did flake off in a couple spots. So I am thinking of trying another few coats of spray. If that doesn't hold up, then I will try the liquid stuff.

Now the bird is in the detail shop. I plan on removing some stickers, mixing some paint to change the scheme slightly, and making some custom decals.

Unedited video of the CG test flight. Bird goes out of camera for a few seconds but camera person recovers. Very bumpy day.

https://youtu.be/66ICCC3DeuM

[Grossman56]

Looks good Seaviper, too bad about the wing. I had the same thing at Muncie, tried for a touch and go, she touched and angled in toward the crowd, I fed in full power immediately and she did the torque roll and danced on her gear, lost a prop and a couple of minor scrapes. I did get the Small Parts CNC retract side replacements for her though, which really helps. I've been in touch with Terry because I found that in order to get the gear locked in place, you need to shim the outside of the trunnion slightly. These aluminum sides really add to the strength of the L/G, so its a worthwhile investment. When the weather turns for the worse, it will be a project to keep me busy through to flying season.
I have since stocked up on prop blades and a spare spinner for all my birds as it took months to get replacements so she sat out most of this years flying season.
Here's some shots of her nose, repaired and ready ( a plastic disc would be a great mod here) you can see how close I got the paint to match and I tried to place the decal over the old spot as closely as I could. I created an armor plate by using canvas board from some old oil painting stock I had that got ruined due to moisture, there was still enough good pieces on it for that. I moved my new pilot back further, looks more accurate to me, then built a shield for the front of the cock pit out of cardboard, The green is a little bright, so I may go back in and repaint it, but hey, for now its fine.
I also painted the inner gear wells green and the wheels got dressed up as I mentioned before.

Grossman56

[seaviper]

Nice. I need to paint the spackled area behind my spinner and touch up some wingtips. I also plan on painting over the control horn bases that show on top of the ailerons too.

Yesterday I completely fogged my wingtip lights and LEDs by using CA gel to glue the light covers on. Removed the covers, sanded the CA off, then touched the lenses with some "Break Free" gun oil on a swab. Completely cleared them up. Also swabbed the LED's and this morning they are still clear. So, I plan to use silicone to glue those covers back on. Then I will paint around them.

Probably the only way to do what I want with the paint scheme is to strip the bird with acetone and repaint it with oil based paints from an air brush. But I don't have a paint booth yet.
So I'll touch-up this paint job as much as I can, then refinish her later in another scheme. Good ship.

I feel much better about the P-40 after flying her yesterday in all the wind. The stock retracts are ok. Made several flights on a rough field yesterday including running into some dug-out holes. The gear held up fine. FMS gear has a lot of play in it. They need to address that play in the wheels and struts. But my bird tracks good on the ground.

[seaviper]

Just a side note...I am really happy with the rubber spray on the battery tray. I put on a heavy coat today. Hope it lasts. Last three flights I did not have to put any shelving liner or velcro on the batteries. Just strap em in an fly.

Also I re-glued the light covers with a thin layer of clear silicone brushed onto the wing where they mate. Attached right away and looks way better than the stuff they did at the factory.
Now I got to paint around them.

[seaviper]

Now that I got her tuned, it's time to start a little detailing.

[Grossman56]

Now, you got me wondering what scheme you're going for, looks interesting though!!
One of the things I did as well is bought some Testors Chrome model paint and painted the L/G struts, looks much better!
The beauty of this plane is that so many countries flew it, so the field is wide open for paint schemes!!

Grossman56

[seaviper]

No scheme in particular at this point. Just trying to doll her up a little. Have to wait until I get an airbrush and a spray booth before I re-paint one.
When she starts to look all worn out then I will strip the airframe and re-paint.

[seaviper]

This is how she looked today before she went and slung a blade then chewed her own nose up. I successfully dead sticked her to a belly landing in grass. Nothing really damaged other than the nose and the now loose motor mount.

Feeling rather discouraged with the P-40 now. Today I do not think I am going to repair her. Not having much luck with FMS birds as of late.

[Grossman56]

I did some similar damage to mine on the nose. I'm thinking of getting a piece of plastic, maybe an 1/8th thick and cutting it to act as a big 'washer' at the end of the nose. Once anchored in, I think it would give better strength and would be a great platform to rebuild any missing foam. In your case, I would think that would be the perfect answer.
Personally, I love my FMS P51D Mustang, I upgraded to a 580 kv and an 85 Amp ESC and its a dream to fly. The B model is just about as good.

Grossman56

[seaviper]

I am definitely considering an FMS mustang in the future. I love their T-28. Also FMS sent me a free mouse pad and some other goodies after I ordered some stuff from them.
Pretty cool I think.

[Grossman56]

Wow, I tried ordering from them but they didn't take orders from the US, last time I looked.
Had my P51B up for three flights yesterday right after work as the wind was finally cooperating, a breeze right down the runway, can't beat that!!
Man I did some of the prettiest landings with her! right on her mains. Got so excited, I momentarily forgot to pull the power all the way off,so she did a very scale landing, the things you do when you don't have a camera!!
Hopefully tomorrow will be as good as the P40 is going up.

Grossman56