Help Please!
 

I have now tried on 2 occasions to fly the P-47 thunderbolt that I bought from nitroplanes.com and it just will not fly. I get it up to speed on the ground and then I try and take off and it will get about 5 feet in the air and then crash back down. The last crash really did me in because the shaft that the propeller connects to got bent badly. I tried bending it back but it is impossible to get it perfectly straight. Since the plane is severely underpowered I was thinking of upgrading to a brushless motor and ESC. But looking at the motors I dont think they come with the harness and shaft as well. Can anyone clear this up for me? And if the motor does not come with the harness and shaft... where can I purchase that? I am really getting frustrated because this plane is supposedly RTF but it just will not fly with the stock setup. Any help whatsoever will be greatly appreciated. Thank you

RE: Help Please!
 

Is this your first plane, second? You say it's underpowered, and it may be, but what else have you flown that you are comparing it to?

RE: Help Please!
 

This is my first plane and the only thing i have to compare it to is the clips provided on the website of the planes flying. And let me tell you that this plane will never pick up enough speed to actually fly. The last flight attempt I put the throttle to full power, with the trim all the way up as well and tried taking off after about a half court basketball length and I got about 5' off the ground and then crashed. Does anyone know who I can talk to about maybe making an exchange for a better plane? Im not asking to get a refund, just store credit towards something that actually flies.

RE: Help Please!
 

If this is your "first plane". You need to put it back on the shelf & buy a " trainer type" plane With no experience you have just about done everything you can do when a "warbird" is your 1st plane. Taxi get it in the air for a couple of seconds then crash. Wait until you have more experience before you try to fly something like a P47. I know they are cool looking & all that. But, I'm sure if you you keep it up with the frustration with P47, before long you will give up on a VERY enjoyable hobby. Get in touch with your local R/C Club & get the help that you need to make this hobby enjoyable to you. This plane might be underpowered, however, an experienced pilot could probably get it in the air rather quickly. Believe me, I'm in NO WAY trying to be a smarta_ _ to you, just give you the help that you need Good Luck !!

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I agree, I would start with a trainer plane and then work my way up to this plane. I would also get with a club member who has been flying for a while and get their help with this.

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I'll ditto what they said above about getting a trainer plane. My personal recomendation would be a Hobbyzone Super Cub. But since you already have the p-47, you might try hand launching it and see if you have more success that way. Just don't pull back on the stick too much, let it climb at a very slow rate if it will.

RE: Help Please!
 

Thanks for all the input guys, I really appreciate it. I think I will take that advice and hang this one up for now and go with a trainer plane. However, I am still left with the problem that the motor mount and shaft on my P-47 are no longer usable. Does anybody know where I can get this replacement?

On another note, outdoorhunting, I see you are in bradenton, fl. I am fairly close to you in Palm Harbor... (just north of clearwater). I was just wondering what RC club you are a part of and if you know of any others in my neighborhood.

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I'm down here for the winter. I mostly fish everyday when the weather is good. I usually bring a kit to build when the weather is like it is right now. Most of the clubs around here are kind of expensive for me to fly for 3 or 4 months. Go to www.modelaircraft.org You can type in your zip code & all the clubs in your area will be listed. Just find one to your liking & find their location. Most clubs will have a " training officer to help you out. Good luck.

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Great, thanks alot for the info. Does anybody know where I can get the replacement shaft and motor mount though?

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Hobbypeople.net probably has something that will work, may not be an exact replacement, but should be cheap and easy to adapt.

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The advice on the trainer plane is good advice. Think of it this way, real pilots train on trainer planes before flying the warbirds because of the increased difficulty, most models are the same way.

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if you need a shaft for motor mount I can send it to you. what's your order number?

John
Nitro Planes

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My order number is 491662.

Thanks John!

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items sent.

John
Nitro Planes

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Awesome, thanx

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Unbelievable.....

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Yup, he does a pretty good job.

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I recently purchased this plane as well. I have experience with glow planes and thought that a little electric would help hone my skills when I can't get to my club field (30+ miles one way). I did all the normal routines, especially focusing on balancing the plane. I tried to take off from the parking lot of local school yard. The plane tracked straight and fast, but didn't want to lift off. Not having ever hand launched a plane I was reticent to try. My question to John at Nitro, am I and other pilots of this plane missing something that we can't take off from the ground or does the surface have to be "glass" smooth to do so? If I need to hand launch, what is the best way to do so? ( ie - full throttle and elevator neutral, half throttle and some elevator ).

Thanks - Mike

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I also just purchased this plane and am trying to balance to maiden where can I find info. Then i will let you know if I can get it to take off

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Which plane, we've discussed at least a couple in this thread?

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this is the Nitroplanes P-47 Electric RTF ( on site it is aka Dark Green ). On another thread on RCU, nitoplanes had posted a balance point image for several planes. For this one, it is show as 84mm from the leading edge - that equals 3-5/16"±. I believe if you are going to try a lift off from ground, the surface is going to have to be fairly smooth ( think of a gym floor ). It is my first electric and the thought of "throwing it into the air" seems a bit daunting, so any guidance with throttle settings and method of throwing would be appreciated.

RE: Help Please!
 

Different people probably have different methods, but here's what I do:
1. Hold plane securely in right hand
2. Hold Tx securely in left hand. Make sure all trim settings are in desired postion and the antenna is extended. Be sure to hold tx so that antenna does not hit plane!
3. Using left thumb, slide throttle to full while mainting grip on tx (easier said than done). If this tx has a throttle trim and the plane is under powered, you will probably want to slide the throttle trim all the way forward as well.
4. Launch plane as you would if throwing a ball or a dart, not too high, but with an upward angle at or less than 45 degrees.
5. Get tx in both hands and level off plane if it is still climbing, give some up elevator if plane is diving, etc.

Easier to show than tell, but I hope this helps

RE: Help Please!
 

Newbies to this hobby are unfamiliar with things that affect the plane's behaviour and flight characterisitics.

This is why the more experienced set at RCU, especially those who teach others to fly, recommend so STRONGLY that you seek help from preferably a qualified instructor, or at worst from a very experienced flyer.

The P-47 will RISE OFF GROUND ( aka "Take off" ), but because of the small wheels it needs a relatively smooth asphalt or concrete surface.
It also needs over 200-300 feet of working runway space.

The wheels must spin freely on the axles and the wheels must NEVER rub up against the struts when the plane is properly set up.

With all of this, the plane ( like most tail draggers ) has a tendancy to yaw during takeoff, something newbies cannot handle.

I would recommend that you purchase a plane better suited to a first time pilot, and save the P-47 until you have some flight experience under your belt.

RE: Help Please!
 

Thanks opjose - the parking lot I was using was asphalt, but no where near the 200-300 ft you advised - that is valuable information! Thanks to hugger-4641 for the hand launching input as well - that will be a help too!

Mike - AMA 659981

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JFM11: I just had my first flight with my nitroplanes P-47 (1400 mm). I am not new to this hobby. I watched the nitroplanes flt video and the young man had two P-47's. One with added weight and one without. He flew both planes with no trouble. My flt was not that great. After lift off, plane started porposing. I managed to keep it under control and flew for about a minute before I decided to get the plane on the ground. I landed the plane without any trouble and went home to recheck my CG. I had used my Greatplanes CG checker before the flt and had added about 1 ounce. With battery all the way in, it balanced level. I am going to add a couple more ounces to make sure it is a little nose heavy. My question is, does everyone agree with me that this is a CG problem. I have checked everything else out. Did notice that elevater control appeared to be slightly bowing when given full movement. Not sure this had anything to do with porposing. Anyones response would be apprciated.

RE: Help Please!
 

Bowing indicates the servo is moving beyond what the pushrods can sustain. You should set your TX endpoints to prevent this from occuring.

Once you have the endpoints set make sure that the elevator is held in place when you apply a light force upon it. If it moves easily, air movement may create a harmonic rise and drop ( much like VERY SLOW flutter ) causing the plane to waffle up and down.

You said your plane was "porposing", by that I take it you mean it was moving up and down.

Bare in mind that many different things could be in play.

The plane's pushrods may not be set up properly.
The elevator may not be holding position.
Downthrust combined with initial trims not being right, can cause the plane to pull down as you throttle up ( or up ) and up as you throttle off.
etc. etc.

A true C.G. issue is determined by flying the plane upright, then again inverted.

If the plane climbs both upright and especially inverted the C.G. is too far back.
If the plane maintains level both upright and inverted, the C.G. may be OK, but too far back for a Warbird ( great for 3D though! )
If the plane enters a slowly increasing dive from upright and a bit faster when inverted, the C.G. is fine.

RE: Help Please!
 

Thanks for the info. I will try the TX end points first. By the way, I tried calling Nitroplanes tech support several times. Never got to talk to anyone even though I was next. Not very impressed at all. This might be the last airplane I buy from them. I hope someone from Nitroplanes reads this and actually responds!

RE: Help Please!
 

They really have no tech support. They provide problem resolution help for issues with shipping in orders or damage, but that's it.

They've put up this forum and the ones over at rcdiscuss.com to let more experienced users help out others with problems.

There are also order resolution forums there too.

What you're experiencing falls more into the technical questions area, that they do not answer nor provide.

That's why the planes are sold inexpensively... there are no support staff salaries to pay...

RE: Help Please!
 

I appreciate the feedback. Have a good one!

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RCDiscuss has a pretty good area dealing with the foamies... you may find a thread on this plane there.