The Republic P-47 Thunderbolt, also known as the Jug, was the largest single-engine Fighter of its day, and a vast improvement over the Curtiss P-40 Warhawk, its predecessor It was one of the main United States Army Air Force (USAAF) fighters of World War II, and also served with other Allied air forces. The P-47 was effective in Air combat but proved especially adept at ground attack. It had eight .50-caliber machine guns, four per wing. When fully loaded the P-47 could weigh up to eight tons. (From Wikapedia)

Great Planes introduces their version of the famous fighter, in a smaller size of course, perfect for a .25 size Glow engine or Electric. As in the full scale version, this P-47 follows in the same size P-40 also by Great Planes.

Kit Name: Great Planes P-47 Thunderbolt GP/EP ARF
Price: $119.98 retail price
Wingspan: 39.5 "
Wing Area: 290 sq. in.
Flying Weight: 41-45oz.
Motor: Electrifly Rimfire 35-36-1200kv
Battery used: 3s Electrifly 3200mah
ESC used: Great Planes Silver series 45amp Brushless  ESC
Radio equipment: Futaba S3115 Micro Precision servos

• Square
• Hobby Knife
• Ruler
• Small Phillips screwdriver
• Drill bits
• Pliers
• Thin and Thick CA
• 5 or 30 minute epoxy
• Canopy Glue
• Allen drivers

The aileron hinges are already glued in place so that timesaver allowed me to move to the Aileron servo mounting. The Aileron servo plate was laser etched for the proper position to mount the wood mounting blocks, I glued them in with 30 minute Epoxy.

The recommended Futaba S3115 Precision Micro servos were used and the only thing I did before mounting them was add some double sided servo tape to the bottom of them, its just a little insurance I like to add in case the blocks would ever come loose.

The Wing joiner was test fit in both wings to make sure there were not any gaps, then the Wings were glued together with 30 minute Epoxy.

When the Epoxy was hard the wing mounting bolt plate was glued in place with thick CA, after removing the covering of course, and the wings were now complete.

The Tail sections were next, and the small piece of balsa in the rear of the fuse needs to be removed so the Horizontal stab can be slid in place. The people at Great planes were nice enough to make a laser etched mark on the firewall that is the center mark for using a piece of string to locate the Horizontal stab evenly on both sides. It was also checked to make sure it was level with the Wing. When it was aligned and level the covering was removed from the stab and it was glued in place with thin CA, you could also use Epoxy if you desired.

The Rudder was glued in place next, making sure to install the bottom CA hinge first. It was checked to make sure it was 90° to the Stab and then glued in place with thin CA as well. The wire pushrods were slid in place inside the Fuse and the control horns were mounted in place. The Z bends of the rods need to be inserted into the horn before mounting them or you won't be able to get them in the horn.

The Futaba servos were a perfect fit in the radio tray and the linkages were slid into the E/Z connector and that was all that was needed for the Elevator/Rudder setup.

The Power system used was the Electrifly Rimfire 35-36-1200 Outrunner motor, Electrifly Silver series 45 amp ESC, and the Electrifly 3 cell 3200mah Lithium Polymer battery. The connections between the motor and the ESC did not use the same size bullet connectors, no idea why they weren't. A set of Electrifly 4mm to 3.5mm adapters were used between the Motor and ESC.

The Manual provided excellent instruction on mounting the cowl, after gluing the mounting blocks in place some spare cardboard is used to align the holes, then slide the cowl underneath the cardboard and drill your holes. They also provided the Aluminum spinner nut as well!

You can fly your P-47 with the landing gear or without it, I chose to install mine since I fly from a paved runway. It just bolts in place as seen in the picture. The tail skid is a piece of ply with a washer glued in the middle of it, I mounted it in place with thick CA.

The belly pan was assembled and then glued to the bottom of the wing with thick CA, I also glued the canopy on with Canopy glue, and the cooling exit with thick CA. The Machine guns are small carbon rods and once I slid them in place in the correct order I used thin CA to glue them in place. These finishing touches didn't take long at all and there were no difficulties in mounting them.

Take the time to install the included Decals as they really make the plane look great. The decals were also pre-cut so the time to install them is drastically reduced!

That's it! the P-47 was now complete.

I assembled the P-47 to check the CG and I noticed the included wing mounting bolts were only long enough to screw in about 2 turns, which I was not comfortable with so I replaced them with longer ones I found at my Local Hobbystore, they are Metric.

The balance came out perfect, at 2 1/4 back from the leading edge of the wing, with the 3s Battery pack right in the middle of the tray, the control throws were setup per the manual as follows.

Rudder low rate - 11/16" right and left

These are suggested starting rates and can be adjusted to your flying style, I later bumped all of the throws up a bit.

I took the P-47 out on a windy day, but it was the nicest day we have had in Months. The battery was hooked up and all the controls checked and it was ready to fly. Since there is no steerable tailwheel, taking off in a crosswind can be a challenge as it will go where it wants to. The power of the Electrifly motor pulls the P-47 off the ground in about 10 feet so I just hit full throttle to quickly get it off the ground.

In the Air the P-47 is a very smooth flyer, I didn't notice any tendency to tip stall or snap and it cut thru the wind with ease.

Full throttle passes were in the 70mph range I would guess and it was really quiet. I used a APC 9x7.5 Electric Prop on the P-47, the manual calls for a 9x6 but I did not have one available. Either one will work just fine. The power system pulled right around 35 amps so it was within the ESC's limits and possibly a little larger prop could be used but I found the P-47 to fly very well with the 9x7.5 I didn't see a reason to change it.

Aileron rolls were very axial and loops were no problem as well. I flew for around 6 minutes before landing, with some throttle management they could be stretched a little longer.

Landing the P-47 was easy, but it can come in a little fast, a good trick is to let the prop "idle" at low RPM as this will create drag to slow the plane down. I let one a friend of mine fly it for the video and he commented it was one of the nicest flying planes he has flown!

After 3 flights I noticed the tail skid had lost its washer and was wearing down, I decided to replace it with a Dubro Micro Steerable Tailwheel and used a pin stuck in the rudder for the steering.

The hatch is held in place with magnets but with all the wire under it from the battery and ESC it can be a tight fit. My Hatch popped off twice in the air but the P-47 fly's fine without it. I now use a clear piece of tape as well, but you could add more or stronger magnets.

See the Great Planes P-47 in action!

Broadband	24.3 MB
Dialup	3.55 MB

                              

 

Great Planes
P.O. Box 9021
CHAMPAIGN, IL 61826
Support Phone:
1-217-398-8970
Website: http://www.greatplanes.com