Official FMS 1400mm P-51D V8 Thread

[Dewey H Lee]

Just one last thing to think about if it makes any since. When under power either the gear door servos or the gear itself is making an intermittent noise . Almost like a servo being bumped but not actuated. Almost a twitching noise. Boy I'm tired. Thanks for all the help so far guys. You just don't know how much I appreciate it.

[wrongroad]

G'day Dewey,
Throw the blue sequencer as far as you can and do not look for it.:angel:
Mine was a shocker and I had to cycle the gear in quick succession for the thing to be even half reliable and it often would only deploy the doors. It became part of my pre flight to do this every flight.
Viper gives good tip and I just checked my EPA [Futaba 8J] and the retract is set at + 120%. On both up and down and I have a feeling that all my FMS birdies have at least + 100% configuration dialed in for the landing gear.
I have the later green sequencer and it has given me no issues but you may well have a dead one on your hands. It does happen.:@
I went back to an old six second unit that I had in my spare parts stock and guess what? This is fitted in the Shangri LA while the other two,Duchess Arlene and BBD run with the green.
It does not miss a beat. I think I purchased this about three years ago or at least just after the six second units came out as I swapped all the three second units in my three Mustangs and two Trojans [main gear only]. I also ordered a couple of spares in case. [RC Castle]
If you are worried about shorting out on the exposed pins, a couple of layers of insulation tape will sort that problem out and it will not hurt the cooling in any way. After all, it is wrapped in a fairly heavy heat shrink to start with.:p
Best way to run a test is to pull the sequencer out and test each system individually.
I mount my sequencer in the upper fuselage. There are several little nooks and crannies that the sequencer, receiver and sound module can slip into without interfering with the battery tray. Just look and you will find them, trust me. I did and if I can find a hole to hide these things in, anyone can A bit of blutac to help secure them and things should be cool.
I use use blutac to secure the aerials as well. Good stuff that blutac.

Make sure nothing is binding either. I know you have looked at that but it is just a thought, for just in case!
The final tip, once you have sorted out celebrate with an ice cold beer.;)
Regards and respect
Daryl

[Dewey H Lee]

Thanks Daryl. This thing is really frustrating. I guess it wouldn't be so bad if new parts that you purchase could be trusted but that's they way of the hobby I guess. I'll order another sequencer and get a couple of servo extension and get the sequencer out from under the board. Looking at Dan's in the picture I see that he had a different connector than I do. His is the older one. The one in the Snoot is the latest addition of the connector. I'm also going to remove 2 of the plywood spacers to get a little more room to slide the battery tray in and out. What version do you have in your planes. I have played with the tx with no luck. As soon as I can get another sequencer in I'll put it in and see what happens. I was just wondering if anyone could give me a procedure to check the voltage through the sequencer. The reason is I feel that through the rx it might not be getting enough voltage to operate the retracts where as with the servo tester it does. We had a hurricane come through this weekend and so my local hobby shop has been closed so I hadn't been able to get some extensions I need to localize the retracts,doors and sequencer. Plus the power has been down since mid day Saturday. Hopefully I can get at least the extensions today and then I'll at least report back the results from the retracts straight to the rx. Thanks again everyone.

[wrongroad]

G'day Dewey,
That Hurricane has been all over our news here.
That is bad news indeed. I hope you and all your family are safe.
It is what happens with gear. There is always a bad one floating around and I thought that I was the only one who got them:rolleyes:
I often get the one built at five to five on a Friday before a long weekend!
The V8 sequencer seems to be fine and the earlier bigger version of the six second unit have never missed a beat. Just that awful blue one. It seems to get lost in transit somewhere.
Stay safe and dry, mate.
I'll have a milkshake for you!
Regards and respect
Daryl

[Dewey H Lee]

Thank-you so much for the concern Daryl. It's been tough. Finally got power back on Wednesday but being in construction I hadn't had a chance to work on the plane yet. Alot of people that really got hit by the hurricane have had need of my trade. My heart really goes out to these people. It does something to you when your totting out all of there life's possitions throwing it away in a dumpster and then rip there house apart and start rebuilding it. Got an order in for a new sequencer and some extensions to get it out from under the board. I'll definitely post what I find next and really appreciate you taking the time to help me out. Enjoy that milkshake. I think I'm going to grab a Miller beer. Cheers🍻.

[Flying Squirrel]

OK << JUST GOT MY FMS 1450mm P-51's V8, ? zip tie mods, will you be able to see an increase in speed once it its donnan are there anymore mods available ???

[xviper]

OK << JUST GOT MY FMS 1450mm P-51's V8, ? zip tie mods, will you be able to see an increase in speed once it its donnan are there anymore mods available ???

Not quite sure I understand what you just typed but I'll take a guess.
The ziptie mod, if done with the proper thickness of ziptie will produce a noticeable (but not eye popping) increase in speed and "grunt". The better mod would be to install the motor from the FMS P-40B (latest version). However, don't do both mods. For a huge increase in performance, up the ESC to around 100A+ and put in the motor, prop, spinner from the FMS Olympus and fly it on 6 cells. For me, it was just a bit too scary fast and I went to the P-40B motor and back to 4s and stock prop.

[wrongroad]

G'day FS,
I would suggest that you fly her as stock on her maiden flight so you can get a gauge of what comes next.
My V7 came with a 540. I then upgraded to the 580kv. I noticed a difference but not stunning. Then I upgraded to the 650kv out of the P-40. Again, I noticed a difference but not stunning. However, more than enough to justify the money spent.
The reason for not seeing a huge increase was the simple fact that I had used a 580 before going to the 650. So the jump was not as great as going from a 540 to the 650. Hence, I did not see the bigger performance gain in one go.
All flying has been done using 4S 3000 / 3300 mAh batteries and stock prop configuration.
Now if I had gone 540 to the 650 in one hit, I may have been awestruck.
I have three of the Mustangs [starting life as a V7, V7.5 & V8] and all have been upgraded to the 650 'standard'.
There is a difference between the motors and the 650 mod is worth it for about $45 Aus. It is a big jump from 540 to 650.
I did think about robbing the motor out of my Olympus to test it all first but I did not have any good 5 or 6S batteries. In fact I combined two 3S to fly the maiden fright [yes, fright] of the Olympus.
FS, you do not need to spend big or make too many mods to make an already very good model into a great model.
Go the 650 way but fly her as stock first.
Regards and respect
Daryl

[wvrailfan]

I agree with the 650 motor on 4 cell assessment. I have two FMS Mustangs, a B and D, the 650 motor really woke them up, but it didn't take them to the extreme that they look unrealistic in the air or that I have to wonder if my prop assembly is going to explode. It is a straight forward upgrade that I think has proven itself now.

Jim

[Grossman56]

I went the 580 kv's and the zip tie mod, albeit, not an extremely thick zip tie. Both the D model and the B model are excellent with this system, but I'm 5000 feet up in the mountains so the zip ties make up for that in my opinion. When I get the chance, I'll try converting one with a 650 and remove the zip ties. currently run an 85 A ESC (no pun intended!)

Grossman56

[Dewey H Lee]

Hey Daryl I finally got in my order from motion. I was expecting it to take alot longer due to detours from the storm but it was as normal just 2 days. Great service. Had to come on when they came in and find out if you had any that had clear wrap on them. It's to late tonight and been a long day so I won't be trying it out tonight. Also I ordered an upgrade motor for Frankie. Man that is a big motor. I just can't get into the zip tie mode. There just seems to be to many variables there that can cause vibration and other issues. I'd rather just go the motor upgrade and try to keep things simple. I've seen a few 1700 mm birds go down on prop mods go down. We'll back to the 1450 snoots sniper. I hope the sequencer solves the problem. I can't wait to finally put it up. As you said earlier I intend to fly it stock and then go to the 650. I'll try and post a picture of the new sequencer but I sometimes have problems. Thanks for all the help to everyone.

[Dewey H Lee]

I hit the wrong thing before the picture.

[Sky Wolf]

Same here; I have the V7 with the original motor, moved to the 650k motor from the P40. I was actually blown away by the difference in noticeable speed. As noted already, it wasn't so fast that I feared blowing the spinner and prop off, but the unlimited power/pull was amazingly noticeable.

[Dewey H Lee]

We'll it looks like the problem with the retracts might be straightened out. Don't know for sure because I said that once before and after setting for a couple of weeks no joy. The original sequencer produced only the gear doors operating. The light green one done nothing at all. I ordered 2 this last time(a little gun shy)just to make sure I got at least hopefully a good one and it came the a clear wrapper with a green circuit board. When I put it in I was greeted with the doors closing and then the gear retracting. I had operated everything with a servo tester to get it to that position. It just seemed to be messed up in its mind. It just kept wanting to close the doors(of coarse at this time I had unhooked the rods) and operate the retracts. I kept going back to my tx adjusting things until finally I had remembered what Xviper had told me to try. On the 850 tactic you can only get 100% so the only option was to go down. It took 1% and it started to work perfectly. I'm dumbfounded. Thank-you so much Xviper. I then went back to ensure that the other sequencers were any good that I'd had in the plane before and they were still inoperative no matter where I adjusted my tx to. This has been a trip I don't want to travel again but a lesson well learned. I WANT TO THANK EVERYONE WHO HAS CONTRIBUTED AND HELP ME WITH THIS PROBLEM. After the doors wanting to close and then the retracts going up I was about to throw my hands up. To many new bad parts. Thanks again guys and we will see if it works tomorrow..

[xviper]

I'm so happy that it has finally worked and hope it will continue to work. I flew my P-51 a few times last week and it's just too good to have it benched with something so niggly.
I am currently have a similar problem with my Dynam Grand Cruiser's retracts. I'm fiddling with the servo travel % in both open and close limits on the TX. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. I feel your pain, however, the Grand Cruiser is not one of my top favorites that I fly so I'm not too broken up about it.

[Grossman56]

Congrats Dewey, nothing like a happy outcome. As for the plane, they fly like a dream. Best advice I can give you is to make sure your flaps are at 15 degrees for take off and 30 degrees for landing. peel off altitude and come in at about 1/3rd throttle, establish a good descent rate to just above the runway, two or three feet, level wings and let her sink, a slight bump of nose up elevator and she'll settle in like a dream. Works like a charm with both my FMS P 51's and the FMS 40.

Grossman56

[Dewey H Lee]

Thanks Dan. I'll do that. Never flew a foam p51 before and so I'm open to sound advice. Have a nitro version but it requires a good bit of throttle coming down and you better pray you have the motor tuned right or you will be gluying toothpicks back together. As soon as I get snoots sniper maidened I'll go ahead and get Ferouis Frankie together and hopefully up. It's more in comparison to my nitro plane. Before even starting on the 1700mm Ferouis Frankie I ordered the 5060 360kv motor. I'm trying to stay away from the prop MOD. My intentions with snoots sniper is to first fly it stock as Daryl suggested and then up grade to the 650 from the p40. Actually spoke to Farmflyer on the phone and he said the plane really needed more power badly. He was speaking from experience with his sons plane. I've been keeping up with your progression on your landings with your birds and I respect yours and the other guys advice. Thanks again so much.

[dkalwishky]

Before even starting on the 1700mm Ferouis Frankie I ordered the 5060 360kv motor. I'm trying to stay away from the prop MOD. My intentions with snoots sniper is to first fly it stock as Daryl suggested and then up grade to the 650 from the p40. Actually spoke to Farmflyer on the phone and he said the plane really needed more power badly.

I'm not sure which P-51 you are talking about with regards to power, I have the 1700mm Ferocious Frankie and out of the box it is under powered, so much so (in my opinion) I hated the plane and was ready to sell it at a loss then I ran across the prop mod, that made a big difference and I now like the plane. :)

The next time i order parts from RC (which should be today) I plan on getting the 5060 360kv motor and installing it and removing the prop mod. My best landings with it are to come in which a touch of power and as the main touch down give a little down elevator to keep the plane on the runway and then remove any remaining power. Trying to float it in with no power has not worked well (for my anyway).

[OV10]

I'm not sure which P-51 you are talking about with regards to power, I have the 1700mm Ferocious Frankie and out of the box it is under powered, so much so (in my opinion) I hated the plane and was ready to sell it at a loss then I ran across the prop mod, that made a big difference and I now like the plane. :)

The next time i order parts from RC (which should be today) I plan on getting the 5060 360kv motor and installing it and removing the prop mod. My best landings with it are to come in which a touch of power and as the main touch down give a little down elevator to keep the plane on the runway and then remove any remaining power. Trying to float it in with no power has not worked well (for my anyway).

DK,
That 360kV from the Pitts is the way to go versus a prop mod on the 1700 Frankie but make sure you bump up your ESC to a 100A.
And I can't say it enough to all that want to fly warbirds, trying to float in with no power will not work well.
Here's some real life proof ;)
https://www.rcgroups.com/forums/show...postcount=8695

Best regards,

[Grossman56]

I'm not sure which P-51 you are talking about with regards to power, I have the 1700mm Ferocious Frankie and out of the box it is under powered, so much so (in my opinion) I hated the plane and was ready to sell it at a loss then I ran across the prop mod, that made a big difference and I now like the plane. :)

The next time i order parts from RC (which should be today) I plan on getting the 5060 360kv motor and installing it and removing the prop mod. My best landings with it are to come in which a touch of power and as the main touch down give a little down elevator to keep the plane on the runway and then remove any remaining power. Trying to float it in with no power has not worked well (for my anyway).

No, not with a warbird, I keep about 1/3rd power on mine and then judge accordingly. Flap settings of 15 and 30 degrees really help as well.
Great example Charlie, looks like one of my landings before I caught on, thanks to you and the guys at Nefi. BTW, Charlie was the guy that recommended 15 and 30 degrees for flaps, and a little tool to help adjust them accurately, maybe he'll post the link to it. I got one and its the handiest thing I've bought this year.

Grossman56