danthepirate

I have recently purchased a parkzone p51 and after checking the plane and hand launching it for the first time it crashed after moving about 10 feet. I was applying full back preasur on the stick with the low performace mode, mode a set. I am not sure what caused this problem. I had charged the battery on my own charged for a 15 hour trickle charge and it seemed to have enought power to get off the ground. after the first crash the ailerons began to move alternating from a right bank to a left bank position without any command from the transmitter. I reset everything by replugging in the battery and trimming the plane just a bit to make sure all the surfaces were working. The flaps all seeme to be moving in the correct direction and I decided to try to launch again. This time the mustang flew out 15 or 20 feet and seemed to be starting out on a perfect take off but then made a steep left bank and dove into the ground without me even moving the stick. Meaning in the amount of time it took to bring my hand back from launching the plane and onto the transmitter and begin to manuver the plane was diving into the ground with no hope of pulling out of the dive. Now none of the control surfaces will resond to any transmission from the transmitter but I can still control the engine with the throttle. I would like to know if anyone else has had some similar problems with the plane and if any one has some tips or suggestions or anything that I could do to try and fix this without needing to replace parts. I will do that if I need to but I would like to try to do everything else possible to fix it. Any help will be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

ea01bg

Have you removed the wing and checked all the wiring? The electroncs in this plane are junk before they hit the ground a few times, theres a good chance that they are scrap now. As far as the roll to the left goes the plane will have a tendancy to roll to the left slightly due to motor tourqe. Throw a couple of clicks of right trim in. How much experiance do you have with warbirds? This plane can be a handful to launch.

hawk3ye

If the flaps are all twitching like that if you aren't moving the control sticks - I venture to say that there's interference going on, or simply bad or br0ke electronics from the crash.

Have you attempted a range check? I know you said the the flaps were responsive and all but I'd also have someone stand a bit away as well and make sure they still responsive from a distance. A "bit" meaning like a football field apart.

Also, VERY important...check out the little tubes on the wings that the wire comes out of and attaches to the trim adjustment things - I noticed mine were loose and had become unglued. Basically with the guide tube unglued, my right wing was not getting the same amount of angle as my left one, hence all my turns were gimped.

To be honest, I flew on my stock battery all but once - a Lipo battery is more than ample juice at full throttle to have a successful hand launch but if you are stuck using the stock battery, I would suggest the following when hand launching...

1) definitely give the trim clicks so that it goes upward and also a bit off to the side like ea01bg suggests
2) Do not throw horizontal, aim at a spot slightly above horizontal so that the plane is thrown upward a bit, yeah sure you might stall but let the plane dip a bit so you can pull up and gain some speed
3) use low rates when hand launching
4) Use full throttle when launching as well
5) Check out the PZ P-51 thread for launching vids, they're pretty helpful

danthepirate

Thanks for the tips. I have flown a few warbirds before but they were my uncles gas planes and he only let me have the stick for a few minutes so I do not have much experience with them no. I have checked all of the wiring connections for the servos and esc but nothing seems to be loose. Oh well, I will have to keep working with it and perhaps new electronics are in order. I will try to use some of those tips however first I have to get the flaps actually moving so that I can have a chance of controling it if I try to launch it again. I'll also check out some of those videos. Thanks.

ea01bg

Also if you have the cash a lipo makes launching this plane a LOT less trouble and will greatly improve its performance. IMHO the planes performance on the stock battery is marginal at best.

As for myself I've sworn off buying any more of pz warbirds. There are MUCH better planes out there for the same price of less.

ea01bg

You picked a hard plane to learn on. THe pz Mustang is harder to launch than any other plane I've had and scard the heck out of me almost every time I luanched it. The radio equipment on mine died on the 6 th fligh and the plane was totaled! [:@] I still have my FW-190 but wont bother putting any more money into it. I'm looking at getting the venom p-51 from tower hobbys 200.00 but it comes with a brushless motor. I just finished my P-38 and have to maiden it first.

danthepirate

neat! I have been wanting to build a p-38 for a while. I also want to build a corsair, a pby and a few other planes. That comes in the future, much later when I have much more money. I sure have picked a difficult planes it sounds like. I am not to knowledge able about batteries despite the fact that I have been flying planes for over 2 years. These lipo batteries. What exactly are the advantages to using one? Thanks for the responses.

ea01bg

in a nutshell Lipo = more power and less weight. In my P-51 and FW-190 I ran a 3 cell 2100 mah Thunder Power Lipo. Off the top of my head I'd say its a good 30 % or more performance increase. You would need a Lipo compatable charger and a Lipo battery. If you look into getting one for the P-51 I'd suggest getting it at your LHS, the battery compartment on the mustang total sucks (pz fixed this foolish mistake in the FW-190) and will only fit a thin battery. Also remember to set the jumpers on the reciver for Lipo, its in the manual.

timothy thompson

My Feedback: (1)

dan please learn to fly on a trainer before you hurt someone. fighters are not trainers. i have 3 pz mustangs and have never had problems. heres how you launch. wait for a windy day 10-15 mph no more go to high rates . the battery is meant tobe charged for only 45 min utes! use the supplied charger. go to full ele up trim und hold aircraft from the front . go to full power and toss into the wind shell go right up. on calm days use the tip launch technique.

danthepirate

thanks ea01bg I'll look into that. And Timothy Thompson, I don't know what you think the statement "I have been flying rc planes for over 2 years means" but I do know how to fly, There was a slight breeze that day and I did launch the plane pointing just a bit over the horizon to allow it to take off batter. I know how to fly rc planes, and I am working on my private pilot ticket so I can fly real planes aswell. Don't worry about me and not knowing how to fly. I probably have more hours than many people here, real planes and rc. Thanks for the tips though. I took the plane to a friend of mine who works at the local hobby shop up here and he and I took a look at the inside of the plane and determined that there was something faulty withe the esc. I have sent the plane back to the company and they are sending a replacement plane, so hopefully there won't be any problems with this next one.

gunracer

just so we're all talking about the same thing...ailerons are ailerons...flaps are flaps...this model comes with ailerons not flaps...

* * *

danthepirate,

study up on lipo batts before using them...their volitatility is what enables them to discharge high currents...

when launching this model, throw her straight and level into the wind and with much more force than you think is needed...let her climb out straight and only when she's at least 75-100' in the air should any turns be attempted...if you try to turn her too soon after launch, she'll tip stall and go in...

danthepirate

hmm, ive always called them ailerons and elevators and rudder, all of them collectively being flaps, whatever. I plan to look into the lipos before using them. I am not too hot on cash at the moment so I will probably be a while before I actually seriously consider using one. Thanks for the launching tips, I will have to make sure I take all that into account when I launch the new one. My problem though was that the plane didn't start to fly even after being launching into the wind and took a left dive without me trying to turn the plane. I will have to be a little more careful and consiencious next time.

Spid

P-51's inherently have a higher wing loading so you really have to give it a good slight-javelin like heave at no less than 3/4 throttle and dial in a little right aileron to counteract the torque/dutch roll on launch (aim at something about 100 feet away). Once it gets on step, it a nice flying bird. Land it on the hot side, gradually backing off the throttle but still have a little airspeed until it's about 2 feet from the ground, cut throttle, smooth up elevator, nice flair landing. If you cut power too soon and try to dead stick it to land it will tip stall and you'll get a nice cartwheel landing

You might want to consider a GWS Corsair with a brushless motor or the E-Flite P-47, much tamer, real sweethearts to fly and look good as well.

danthepirate

Thanks for the tips. This is my first of I hope to be many warbirds and from this experience probably none of them will be from parkzone. I have actually always wanted to have a corsair and even if parkzone made one I would be sorely tempted into buying it despite the fact that it would probably be a hunk of junk.

ea01bg

danthepirate,
Park ZOne makes some good planes, the stryker (personnel experiance) and typoon ( everything I've read and most of the post) and as I understand it ther cub but the warbirds are not among them. Thats just the opinion of a guy thats owned 2 strykers, 2 P-51s , and there FW-190. I'd take my GWS F4U Corsair's quality and performance over the pz P-51 any day of the week and it's cost was less. Booth out of the box and over the life time of the plane. I have managed to get my FW-190 where I want it but I had to gut the junk electronics out of it and throw in an ANON brushless. When you put the upgades cost on top of the 175.00 pz charges it just isnt worth it. Thats not even mentioning that I'm still stuck with an airframe that will take far less abuse than any of the other planes I own. When you get around to your next plane / project PM me or post and I'd be happy to help throw ideas around. I'm constantly building , buying or flying ( the LHS owner love to see me walk through the door) .

danthepirate

I know what you mean. I got a great deal on my p51, I only paid 130.00$ for it. Still it seems over priced for the problems that I have had to deal with but better than paying 175.00. I have even seen people trying to sell it for around 200 which was suprising. I'm pretty sure that for the next plane I do I am going to try to find an arf corsair somewhere, preferably electric for now, perhaps someday in the future I will get into gas and that stuff but not for now. Does any one know of some other corsair arf kits that are not to expensive?

timothy thompson

My Feedback: (1)

there are no problems if you use proper technique. the pz stang has only ail and rud no flaps or rudder. i admit on calm days using the standard batt ive had some hairy launches but as soon as a breeze comes up she launches great. I fly 1/5 scale gas warbirds multis, helis, and jets. The pz planes are a lot of fun on the days when you dont feel like geeting the big stuff out.
Ive been doing this since i was 18 and im 46. self taught on a gentle lady glider then a senior falcon trainer. flew trainers for 3 years then got a p-47 and the rest is history. A p-47 is your best bet fir a first warbird. wide gear stance and lots of wing!

timothy thompson

My Feedback: (1)

oh i read your charging the flight batt 15 hours. if you are using the pz charger it has a flashing red led. when charging is complete the light stays red should take 45 minutes. you may have fried your pack and are no where near full pwr

ea01bg

timothy,
There are problems with this plane. a large portion of the pz P 51 thread outline them.Its flimsy , and has a number of design issues that park zone has ignored or fixed in subsquint planes. Hres a small list
1) and my personnel favorite PURE JUNK radio gear []
2) the plastice support structure is not stiff enough.
3) the control linkage tubes that are glued to the inside of the wings tend to come unglued resulting in poor control movment
4) slooow servo speed (BTW did I mention the JUNK electronics)\
5) pinions pinions pinions... they spin off the motor at an amazing rate
6) Battery compartment tiny, badly positioned and the cover snaps off during landings
7) did I mention the JUNK electronics?
8) PZ support has a BIG Companey attitude. if danthepirate had bought his bird from Hobby Lobby or a number of other companeys they would have just shipped him out a reciver. He wouldnt have had to wait for them to "check it out".
9) did i mention the JUNK they put in these birds for electronics?
10) reciver located above wings retaining screw. can you say screw my reciver?

Park Zones marketing for these warbirds reminds me of what Packard Bell did with computers.
Get a lot of them on the sheves and put them in pretty boxs and case's. SOme poor misinformed soul that doent know any better will buy them.

BTW Packard Bell went out of bussines

ea01bg

danthepirate,
GWS makes a solid coursair kit for aroung 50 bucks. It comes with a brushed motor that you will want to lose in favor of a brushless and a trip to the hobby store for better control horns isnt a bad idea. I've got my hands full right now but give me a shout when you are thinking of building it and I'll shoot you some links for parts (radio,servos and stuff )

timothy thompson

My Feedback: (1)

pinions are a problem i agree. get a metal gear from e flite and it works great! flown correctly its a great plane but you need at least a couple years flying experience. It is a warbird with all the nasty snaps at low speed. it to the point where i wont take it out unless we have a 10mph wind. then launch on full up trim is not a issue. Yes that batt compartment was not well thought out they fixed that on the 190. the wing screw is bad too but you only install once be careful. on one of my stangs the screw would not hold so i glued the wing on. plane crash free after two years flying. ive gone through pinons and batts and thats about it. i also launch from the front of the wing into the wind and give a little rt trim to compencate for torque. if dan is charging his batts 15 hours as he says thats why hes not getting performance. 45 min o n the pz charger works fine. I have a triton for my electric wing b-25 88" wing two e flite 60 motors.
fly on high rates it handles much better maybe that will help you out. low rates makes her sluggish. The e flite p-47 with a brushless outrunner and 2100mah pack is awesome. she is 4 channel and has LG

ea01bg

timothy thompson,
Gee I don't know if anyone else has bothered to mention this but your NOT the only one on the planet that knows how to fly. You may have been doing this since there was air and you very well may be Gods gift to the hobby but your NOT the only one that knows how to fly. For the price of pz P-51 there are simply better planes out there. At 175 the pz warbirds are over priced , under powered,poorly engineered JUNK.

timothy thompson

My Feedback: (1)

well thats your opinion i havent crashed mine and they fly great. 26 years experience helps. I gave some launch pointers and you got nasty! Well see ya ill go back to the warbird forum where i belong

gunracer

your comments are a bit harsh...i also tend to disagree with them...show us where you can get a better quality rtf package at a lower price...

the pz warbirds are different in construction than others i have encountered...the pz ‘z foam’ (thick depron covered in film) withstands hangar and belly landing rash better than exposed foam...the airframe only kit is comparably price to the eflite p-47 kit...both come prepainted with a brushed motor...the pz model goes together in 5-10 minutes...the eflite p-47 takes 2-4 hours...gws models can take days/weeks...would i pay a little extra for ease of construction?...you betcha...

underpowered?...there's enough video out there to show this model is not underpowered with the stock brushed motor and nimh batt...i think most of the complaints about the model being underpowered stems from one, some or all of the below...

- partially charged batt
- worn out brushed motor
- unrealistic expectations

poorly engineered?...in what way?...if you mean that the model will not survive a nose-in at 75', tell me which model would?...the only things i'd change would be the pinion gear and batt cover...the pz warbirds look great and as long as you know what you're doing, they'll fly great as well...

the big problem i see with the pz warbirds (and this has been mentioned countless times) is their attractiveness to relatively inexperienced rc pilots...

ea01bg

gunracer,
You are right about the fact that this is one of the few rtf warbirds in this price range. Me I'll spend a few hours building. I dont think that it take anywhere near a week build a GWS or E flight kit. And I dont expect any plane to take being nosed in a full tilt. But it will Take FAR less that that to send you to the shop for a whole new airframe. as far as this plane being trouble free, hope over to the pz P-51 or pz- 190 thread. I doubt that evryone thats mentioned issues and problems with this bird cant fly. And just for the record when my reciver gave up the ghost on the 6th flight I dont think that all the piloting skill in the world would have helped.

If this is the plane you want to fly the more power to you. I've got better planes to fly and build!