Greg Covey

The new E-flite P-38/F-5E Lightning 400 ARF is a highly pre-assembled replica of an F-5 variant that served in the European theater during the invasion of Normandy. It includes many details like invasion stripes, cockpit details, appropriate squadron markings, removable drop tanks, counter-rotating props and spinners, functional scale elevator mass balances and much more!

The P-38 ARF has multiple easy-access magnetic hatches that allow you to get to the elevator and rudder servos as well as the nose hatch for quick access to the battery, ESC and receiver without the need for tools. The kit comes highly prefabricated with all parts factory painted, along with hinges and control surfaces installed, so you don’t have to wait long to get flying. The wing panels slide easily in and out of the booms using the factory-installed carbon tube spars. Each panel is secured with just two wing screws making assembly easy. All that’s left is about 2 to 4 hours of minor assembly and electronics installation to get flying, making this one of the most detailed and quickest to assemble P-38 models ever available.

Specifications:[ul][*] Wing Span: 48 in (1219mm)[*] Overall Length: 35 in (889mm)[*] Wing Area: 307 sq in (19.8 sq dm)[*] Flying Weight: w/Battery: 33-40oz (936-1134g)[*] Motor Size: Park 450 BL 890Kv (EFLM1400, Requires 2)[*] Radio: 3-channel w/3 sub-micro servos (4 channel w/6 sub-micros w/optional rudder and landing gear)[*] Servos: Sub Micros[*] Speed Control : 25 Amp Brushless (EFLA1025, Requires 2)[*] Recommended Battery: 3S 11.1V LiPo (EFLB1035)
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Features:[ul][*] 95% factory built, painted and assembled[*] Can be flight ready in just 2 to 4 hours with little to no glue required[*] Fully detailed, factory-installed cockpit, pilot and canopy[*] Factory installed hinges, control surfaces and control horns[*] Plug-in wing panels for easy transport[*] Functional scale elevator mass balances[*] Includes 10 x 8E counter-rotating props and spinners[*] Factory-assembled, optional landing gear with steerable nose wheel[*] Flyable with a single 3S 11.1V 2000–2200mAh Li-Po pack
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calvino

Greg, you doing a review on the thing, cool. Looks so cool in photo's, hope it flies well. Love it how you start each vid with "hi I am greg covey and this is the ________..."

Greg Covey

The light foam parts were well secured in the box using bags, tape, and some custom cardboard fittings. As usual with E-Flite designs, the ARF comes with a very well written manual that leaves little to no guesswork. Very few parts exist in the kit as the P-38 is highly prefabricated and nearly finished right out of the box!

scoooper

Greg; careful with those counter-props as NO ONE (not even E-Flite ) has replacments for them, I wanted some for my new build( I use only E-Flite props,) your bub, scoooper

Greg Covey

Thanks for the heads-up but Horizon has them in stock now. You can order them on-line [link=http://www.horizonhobby.com/Products/RelatedParts.aspx?ProdID=EFL6025&Category=Parts%20Listing]here[/link].

Greg Covey

A closer look at the P-38 fuselage reveals some amazing detail and completeness. E-flite has thought of just about everything, including multiple easy-access hatches. Getting to the elevator and rudder servos is a cinch with the easy-access magnetic hatches located on the bottom of each tail boom, while the magnetically secured nose hatch offers quick access to the battery, ESC and receiver without the need for tools.

The hinges, control surfaces, and horns are all pre-installed. The wing panels slide easily in and out of the booms using the factory-installed carbon tube spars. Each panel is secured with just two wing screws making assembly easy. The factory-installed cockpit, pilot, and, canopy, are fully detailed and ready to fly!

scoooper

Greg: Thanks, good post'in my bub, scoooper PS mines a Hugh's X11,

calvino

nice looking allready. E-flite shure makes some sweet planes and heli's. Any photo's to compare yourself to the plane (when finished????)

scoooper

Greg: I'm prob'ly preach'in to the choir but E-Flite's stuff is all first-rate, And their sevice dept's great too! their lipos out last all my others, This P-38 just another in a long line of winners they've had though the years, I have no association with E-Flite, just like their products, your bub, scoooper

Greg Covey

I'll post my full review findings here including flying photos and a video. For now, this promo image will work for a size comparison of the P-38.

Greg Covey

The power system for my P-38 will be made from two E-flite Park 450 Outrunners, two Castle Creations Phoenix 25 Brushless Motor Controllers, and a single ThunderPower eXtreme Series 25C 3-cell 2070mAh LiPo pack. Note that the Park 450 motor comes with mating connectors for the ESC and a collet prop adapter.

The electronics are completed with high-tech, low weight parts like the Spektrum AR6100 receiver (3.5 grams) and E-flite S75 Sub-Micro servos (0.28oz/servo).

calvino

lookin good, how long till she flies??? I have to say, E-flite makes some durable stuff, with my BCX I can't tell you how many times I have crashed the stpid thing, picked it up and flown again. they shure make nice stuff [8D]

zac dady

I just finishe my p38 my set up is similar to yours. Ididn't add the rudders or the operational nose wheel. i'm going to hand launch it and hopefully land it on the wheels. The hardest part for me was soldering everything together. Hopefully tonight after work i'll be able to fly it. The plane looks sweet sitting next to the e flite p47 thunderbolt.

octane-link

Two questions:

1) Is this REALLY a park flyer? I fly a HZ Super Cub in a decent sized (Football) field, and that is great. But I like this plane a lot!

2) Is it a good twin-engine/motor 1st motor? I have the SC as mentioned, and a H9 F-22 that I am still learning on (just flew it for the 1st time).

Thanks!

Greg Covey

From what I have seen of this plane, it will fly just fine in an open park field. As always, play it safe and don't fly it when others are around.

The elevator installed with ease. Once the servo wires are connected to a 12" extension, they can be fed through a hole in the servo bay to the wing opening and on to the center pod via the access panel attached with hook and loop material.

Note the clean installation using the Spektrum AR6100 receiver.

calvino

lookin good, that is one micro size reciever (it looks like). How long till you (or someone else) do the Mini Ultra Stick???? calvin

Greg Covey

The E-flite P-38 has several options that you can choose from depending upon how you plan to fly it and over what type of terrain. Since I fly over grass, I choose to not install the landing gear and optional steerable nose wheel. I have also seen feedback from other P-38 owners suggesting the need for rudder control in certain situations.

I choose to initially install one rudder servo on the opposite side of the elevator servo. In this manner, the plane will be very light and maintain a side-to-side balance. Optionally, you can install both rudder servos, one on each side, if desired. I'll reserve this option if one rudder does not provide sufficient yaw control.

Unlike the pre-installed elevator hinges, the rudder must be cut away from the fuselage and have the supplied hinges glued in place. I really like the two-piece fitted control horns. They are easy to install and create a secure controlling arm on the foam surface without using any glue.

Greg Covey

The outrunner motors are attached to the supplied plastic motor mounts using spacers and machine screws. Before pressing them onto the sticks, they are first cut to a 1-1/4" length for the Park 450 motors.

The ESCs are prepared for installation by soldering 12" extensions on each power wire and also adding a 12" extension to the control line. On my Phoenix 25 amp controller, no programming is needed before flying since the standard settings will work for most applications.

The wires are fed though the pod and into the center section as before. I soldered both red and black wires to a single Dean's Ultra connector. The control cables are plugged into a Y-harness and fed to the throttle channel. Note that you must disconnect one of the red (+) wires on the ESC control cable going into the Y-harness so that only one BEC is used to power the receiver and servos. The BEC from the other ESC is not needed.

The motor to ESC connectors were left accessible at first so that I could swap any to wires, if needed, to get the proper rotation as described in the manual. The plane's left side motor spins counterclockwise when viewed from the front.

Greg Covey

After drilling the props and backplates to fit the adapter shaft that comes with the E-flite Park 450 motors, the installation was quick and easy. I tested the motor rotation before mounting the props and again afterwards. Both props spun very evenly and in the proper directions.

The final wire run was a E-flite (EFLRYH3) 3" Y-Harness plugged into the aileron channel of my Spektrum 6100 receiver and a JR (JRPA096) 9" servo extension added to each end of the Y-Harness. The long ends are routed through the bottom channels to the outer pods to connect to the plug-in wings.

The wires are covered with a custom plastic piece and held with hook and loop. I added some clear tape to seal the leading edge so air would not force it open during flight. The fuselage bottom looked very clean when finished.

cjg

I am interested in a second step from a supercub, and this p-38 looks really cool. Would it be a good next step? Is it fairly docile for flying, or is it prone to instability?

octane-link

So am I understanding that I need to snip the red wire on the "servo" wire on one ESC?

I am just trying to make sure that one of the ESC's only needs ground and signal. I am gonna power both units from the same battery.

Greg Covey

cjg,

I prefer not to comment on what is a "good next step" for you. I simply report my findings in text, images, and video so you can use the information to decide yourself. Perhaps you can wait for my test flight video to make a choice.

octane,

Yes, that is correct. One ESC's BEC will power the servos and receiver in my P-38. The other ESC, with the clipped red wire, will power itself from the battery connection but have a common ground to the receiver for monitoring the throttle line.

octane-link

Thanks Greg. Did you have any issues getting the aileron servo panels to stick down? The double sided tape on mine keeps peeling up. I am thinking about putting a bit of CA if I can't find some more tape.

Greg Covey

No problems with the initial stick on the panels buy I haven't flown it yet. Try some Scotch double-sided clear tape or regular tap on the outside along the leading edge so air doesn't leak in during flight.

The servos are press fit into the foam bays after applying some pre-cut servo tape squares from the kit. The panels come with double-sided tape and a few hook-and-loop areas already installed. You simply pull of the paper covering and stick the panels down.

The wing is pressed into the fuselage opening while aligning the carbon rod into the tube. Each wing half is secured by two long metal screws.

calvino

hate to sound impatient, but how long till it flies[8D]