Skyshark P-40N Build
04-26-2014, 07:55 AM
#101
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Bad Weather
Well, No maiden this weekend. Rain and more rain. 
Hopefully in a week or so the field will be dry and I can get someone to buddy box with me.
Will post pics and video when she is in the air.
Keith
Hopefully in a week or so the field will be dry and I can get someone to buddy box with me.
Will post pics and video when she is in the air.
Keith
06-22-2014, 06:18 PM
#103
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Maiden - Well it was good and bad. Could have been worse and should have been much better.
The wings today weren't bad around 11-13 so I flew my 74" Cub and she flew just fine so I thought what the heck lets get the P-40 in the air today.
The field was nice and i was alone so I filled her up to max and she fired right up.
Taxied around for about 5 minutes to let her warm up plus see how it would track with power applied. No crazy problems so I brought the plane over and ran it at high throttle - nice and smooth up and down. Just once did I hear a little burp around mid range but picked up as I went to max power.
Nice smooth idle at zero throttle using my trim to keep her running nice and smooth.
Pointed her into the wind nice easy throttle up to about 45% little right rudder and almost no elevator. The tail came up and the plane tracked nice and slowly lifted off on her own.
I added a little more power to about 70 percent and climbed up. I had to add a little up trim and rudder trim but only one or two clicks. She was flying nice so i backed the throttle down a little and made two circuits around when I heard the first BURP..... I added a little throttle and i could hear the loss of rpm so backed the throttle back down with the same result then it just died.
Luckily I have a huge area to fly in so no problem landing if I can see that far and I was heading into the wind. However, the area where i was heading was nothing but thick clay mud from a big rain storm last week. I didn't have a hard surface so when I came in to land, which I was very proud of myself that i had her just cruising about 1 foot off the ground at a good speed then let her down slowly right into the mud.
We we all know that soft mud just grabs things so when she touched down the wheels went about 4 inches down into the mud and the plane did a nose over. The rudder broke out and split the vertical stabilizer right down the seam.
Lucky again that the soft mud did help cushion the nose over but if the ground had been hard I think she would have landed and rolled out just fine. Maybe a bounce or two.
Anyway - the tail shouldn't be a hard fix - hopefully.
It literally took me over an hour to clean the sticky clay mud off the wings, spinner, gear, etc. I still have to take the gear out and take them apart to clean them as the mud went into every nook.
Once I cleaned it up I tried to start the plane and it would not start at all. I don't know if my ignition circuit died or I lost a spark plug. If I had to guess it is the ignition.
Will take it all apart tomorrow and do some test.
It did fly but I think the power was much less than normal so there is something with the motor - I will try richer and check RPM again once I get her running.
Keith
The wings today weren't bad around 11-13 so I flew my 74" Cub and she flew just fine so I thought what the heck lets get the P-40 in the air today.
The field was nice and i was alone so I filled her up to max and she fired right up.
Taxied around for about 5 minutes to let her warm up plus see how it would track with power applied. No crazy problems so I brought the plane over and ran it at high throttle - nice and smooth up and down. Just once did I hear a little burp around mid range but picked up as I went to max power.
Nice smooth idle at zero throttle using my trim to keep her running nice and smooth.
Pointed her into the wind nice easy throttle up to about 45% little right rudder and almost no elevator. The tail came up and the plane tracked nice and slowly lifted off on her own.
I added a little more power to about 70 percent and climbed up. I had to add a little up trim and rudder trim but only one or two clicks. She was flying nice so i backed the throttle down a little and made two circuits around when I heard the first BURP..... I added a little throttle and i could hear the loss of rpm so backed the throttle back down with the same result then it just died.
Luckily I have a huge area to fly in so no problem landing if I can see that far and I was heading into the wind. However, the area where i was heading was nothing but thick clay mud from a big rain storm last week. I didn't have a hard surface so when I came in to land, which I was very proud of myself that i had her just cruising about 1 foot off the ground at a good speed then let her down slowly right into the mud.
We we all know that soft mud just grabs things so when she touched down the wheels went about 4 inches down into the mud and the plane did a nose over. The rudder broke out and split the vertical stabilizer right down the seam.
Lucky again that the soft mud did help cushion the nose over but if the ground had been hard I think she would have landed and rolled out just fine. Maybe a bounce or two.
Anyway - the tail shouldn't be a hard fix - hopefully.
It literally took me over an hour to clean the sticky clay mud off the wings, spinner, gear, etc. I still have to take the gear out and take them apart to clean them as the mud went into every nook.
Once I cleaned it up I tried to start the plane and it would not start at all. I don't know if my ignition circuit died or I lost a spark plug. If I had to guess it is the ignition.
Will take it all apart tomorrow and do some test.
It did fly but I think the power was much less than normal so there is something with the motor - I will try richer and check RPM again once I get her running.
Keith
06-23-2014, 02:35 PM
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Radfordc, I will for sure do that in the future. I totally forgot that area had mud in it so I just brought her down normally. If the gear had been up she would probably been fine except maybe the prop.
I did some test today and the ignition is deader than dead. The hall sensor works and power is in but no spark.
I am ordering a new CH ignition with all new parts just to be sure. Funny that it happened while flying and not on the ground plus i have run the motor multiple times breaking it in. I guess Murphy was out there with me.............
Keith
I did some test today and the ignition is deader than dead. The hall sensor works and power is in but no spark.
I am ordering a new CH ignition with all new parts just to be sure. Funny that it happened while flying and not on the ground plus i have run the motor multiple times breaking it in. I guess Murphy was out there with me.............
Keith
06-27-2014, 06:45 AM
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My new ignition should be here today- YEA!!
I did some more testing on the old one and it was dead. Switch is fine so I hope this is just plug and play.
Will start repairs on the horizontal this week also. I have to be careful and not add any more weight to the tail as I will have to add more to the front and she is a little chunky now ..............
Will post some pictures of the damage and repairs this weekend.
Keith
I did some more testing on the old one and it was dead. Switch is fine so I hope this is just plug and play.
Will start repairs on the horizontal this week also. I have to be careful and not add any more weight to the tail as I will have to add more to the front and she is a little chunky now ..............
Will post some pictures of the damage and repairs this weekend.
Keith
06-30-2014, 08:42 AM
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The new ignition fixed the problem. I have a nice spark now. The sensor and magnet seem to be fine so I will run the plane on the ground first just to be sure.
I also need to do a little more research as I am using two LiFe batteries 6.6 volts and my servo's are Hitec HS-5465 which say 6.0 volts. I need to be sure I am not running them with too high of a voltage.
I did put in a 7.2 volt NiMH battery 1500 mah just for the ignition circuit. This way I don't have to worry about the servo's or Rx.
Work on the Vertical Stabilizer continues this week.
Keith
I also need to do a little more research as I am using two LiFe batteries 6.6 volts and my servo's are Hitec HS-5465 which say 6.0 volts. I need to be sure I am not running them with too high of a voltage.
I did put in a 7.2 volt NiMH battery 1500 mah just for the ignition circuit. This way I don't have to worry about the servo's or Rx.
Work on the Vertical Stabilizer continues this week.
Keith
06-30-2014, 10:48 AM
#108
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Your 6volt Hitecs will be fine with the LiFe 6.6volt batteries; been running that set up for quite a while with my jets and giant scale airplanes and no problems at all. You have to remember that a 6volt NiCd fresh off the charger will show over 7volts and they don't hurt the Hitecs...
06-30-2014, 04:08 PM
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Ram, that is what I was worried about - off the charger they are 7+ and I thought it might hurt them. I read a post and they guy said he had the same servo's and had problems.
Just to be safe I will contact Hitec and see what they say.
I am paranoid after my maiden mishap.
Keith
Just to be safe I will contact Hitec and see what they say.
I am paranoid after my maiden mishap.
Keith
06-30-2014, 04:38 PM
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A discussion following Mike at Hitec's reply: http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2010087
Plenty of info on Google about LiFe 6.6v and standard voltage servos. I wouldn't use the batteries with the old 4.8v servos but no problem with 6v servos... However, I use OLD, OLD 94102 Airtronics servos (on throttles) with LiFe 6.6v batteries and they have worked fine for many flights. Please, listen to what people have actually used, not what people say they heard happened!
Plenty of info on Google about LiFe 6.6v and standard voltage servos. I wouldn't use the batteries with the old 4.8v servos but no problem with 6v servos... However, I use OLD, OLD 94102 Airtronics servos (on throttles) with LiFe 6.6v batteries and they have worked fine for many flights. Please, listen to what people have actually used, not what people say they heard happened!
Last edited by RAMFlyer; 06-30-2014 at 04:44 PM.
07-01-2014, 08:46 AM
#112
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Thanks Guys - I should be fine then.
I have dual pack LiFe tied into my Rx and now have NiMH on the ignition - so I don't see any problems with power or noise.
Have to get the Vertical fixed - hopefully today and then put a little 3/4 oz to beef it up then fill in the small holes and cracks with Easy Sand and she should be ready to go back up again.
I will test the engine on the ground again and make sure it is tuned properly with the new ignition. I don't think there will be any difference but will check to be sure.
Keith
I have dual pack LiFe tied into my Rx and now have NiMH on the ignition - so I don't see any problems with power or noise.
Have to get the Vertical fixed - hopefully today and then put a little 3/4 oz to beef it up then fill in the small holes and cracks with Easy Sand and she should be ready to go back up again.
I will test the engine on the ground again and make sure it is tuned properly with the new ignition. I don't think there will be any difference but will check to be sure.
Keith
07-24-2014, 09:46 AM
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The repairs are just about done. I have the gear all cleaned up and lubricated and all the mud out of them...............what a mess that was.
New ignition which I am going to test today. Have replaced the balsa in the vertical with basswood and added 1 layer or 2oz fiberglass inside the whole vertical section. I know it will add some weight but that tail is very thin.
Used Easy Sand to fill in the cracks and holes - that stuff works great and sands down to a nice finish. I cut a hole in the Rudder where the linkage goes through and added a dowel rod so that when I put the linkage back on it won't compress the balsa.
I will finish the sanding then mount the rudder and take the plane outside to run the engine and do some taxi test.
Will post pictures soon.
Keith
New ignition which I am going to test today. Have replaced the balsa in the vertical with basswood and added 1 layer or 2oz fiberglass inside the whole vertical section. I know it will add some weight but that tail is very thin.
Used Easy Sand to fill in the cracks and holes - that stuff works great and sands down to a nice finish. I cut a hole in the Rudder where the linkage goes through and added a dowel rod so that when I put the linkage back on it won't compress the balsa.
I will finish the sanding then mount the rudder and take the plane outside to run the engine and do some taxi test.
Will post pictures soon.
Keith
07-30-2014, 07:46 PM
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I thought it was funny also.
Repairs are done ran the engine and taxied up and down the street for 20 mins with no issues. All i need to do now is another balance check and hopefully i can fly her this weekend.
Video to follow
Keith
Repairs are done ran the engine and taxied up and down the street for 20 mins with no issues. All i need to do now is another balance check and hopefully i can fly her this weekend.
Video to follow
Keith
08-10-2014, 02:08 PM
#120
This morning I maidened my Skyshark P-40 that I had bought 90% complete from a flying buddy, in total I put 4 flights on it today.The arf was the white primer version then painted with latex house paint.
The plane flew good, my DL 50 has plenty of power for the plane and has a rich burble at full power that needs to be tweaked out. Landings are ok though I seem to running out of aileron effectiveness on approach to touch down and I getting some adverse yaw coming out of a right hand turn to final.
Fun plane just needs some tweaking to get it flying 100%.
The plane flew good, my DL 50 has plenty of power for the plane and has a rich burble at full power that needs to be tweaked out. Landings are ok though I seem to running out of aileron effectiveness on approach to touch down and I getting some adverse yaw coming out of a right hand turn to final.
Fun plane just needs some tweaking to get it flying 100%.
08-11-2014, 11:18 AM
#121
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Nice looking plane - glad your flights went well.
I have mine ready to go. I just need to do another Balance to make sure all is good since I added some weight in the tail but I also added another battery up front so I hope it all equals out.
If the weather is good I should be out this weekend.!!!!!
K
I have mine ready to go. I just need to do another Balance to make sure all is good since I added some weight in the tail but I also added another battery up front so I hope it all equals out.
If the weather is good I should be out this weekend.!!!!!
K
08-19-2014, 04:09 AM
#122
I was able to spend this past Thursday to Sunday flying the Skyshark P-40 at our local Modelfest event, 14 flights in total, and the P4o- came home intact, yipee. I was able to fly a few good flights together with a buddies TF P-40, I'll get better photos but here is one for now. His has a DLE 55, mine the DL (E) 50, I'm about 5 mph slower than him.
Landings have been consistent and go well, the Sierra gear has worked flawlessly to date, the engine not overheating, snags have been minor like my air tank coming loose.
I'll bring the P40 into the shop this week and give it a good look over.
I'm using the Jtec P-51 warp around muffler http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXZUK0 so far it's holding up but this same model of muffler just broke apart this week. cheers,
on my TF P-51.
Landings have been consistent and go well, the Sierra gear has worked flawlessly to date, the engine not overheating, snags have been minor like my air tank coming loose.
I'll bring the P40 into the shop this week and give it a good look over.
I'm using the Jtec P-51 warp around muffler http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXZUK0 so far it's holding up but this same model of muffler just broke apart this week. cheers,
08-19-2014, 09:58 AM
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Kenair,
I am so jealous of you. Nice picture. I bet that was fun flying with your friend in formation. All my flying friends are all 3D guys so I keep trying to get them to purchase a warbird.
My P-40 sits in the shop waiting to go back up. We have had big rain storms here and my flying field is 1/2 under water. I could try and fly her but I am afraid if I come in long I will end up in the water - not a good thing................
For now I can only fly my cub.
I really want to get many more flights before it gets too cold so I can get all the detailing done this winter. Right now she looks horrible with all the sanding and bondo.
Keith
I am so jealous of you. Nice picture. I bet that was fun flying with your friend in formation. All my flying friends are all 3D guys so I keep trying to get them to purchase a warbird.
My P-40 sits in the shop waiting to go back up. We have had big rain storms here and my flying field is 1/2 under water. I could try and fly her but I am afraid if I come in long I will end up in the water - not a good thing................
For now I can only fly my cub.
I really want to get many more flights before it gets too cold so I can get all the detailing done this winter. Right now she looks horrible with all the sanding and bondo.
Keith
08-21-2014, 02:54 PM
#124
Hi, I'm sure your field will dry in time for more flights. I was not all that keen on buying and flying this warbird but after this past weekend the Skyshark P-40 has grown on me, so far it has not shown me any bad habits. Another photo to share. Cheers. Ken
08-22-2014, 09:50 AM
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My short flight of 1 minute was fine also. I was really worried on the torque with that size of motor but I throttled up easy and added just a tad of right rudder and it tracked nice and straight and the tail came up just perfect.
It flew great until the stupid ignition went out.
Should be fine now so need some dry weather and low winds...................
I have my cubs I can fly for now.
Have a good flight this weekend!
Keith
It flew great until the stupid ignition went out.
Should be fine now so need some dry weather and low winds...................
I have my cubs I can fly for now.
Have a good flight this weekend!
Keith