ram3500-RCU

My Feedback: (221)

In all types of aviation, the KIS (keep it simple) principal seems to work well, doesn't it.

I gave those doors a lot of thought and considered many different ways to close them, but in the end, my first thoughts were what I used. These doors kinda had me stalled out for awhile. Nothing else mattered till I got them figured out.

Full speed ahead now. I hope to run the engines and maiden her Friday evening. It will be a long night of work. We have a large war bird fly-in at the Alliance Balsa Bees on Saturday. Not where I want to do a maiden. If I can't get it done, I will just put it on display at the fly-in, and fly my AT6 and F-16. My brother and I plan a 'heritage flight' with his Corsair and my F-16 in formation.

Glacier Girl

My Feedback: (4)

Well, best of luck Gary!!!!

Maidened a couple of mine last weekend. Hangar 9 Sopwith Camel and and HET F-20 Tigershark.

Talk about a different pair of flying machines.

ram3500-RCU

My Feedback: (221)

Man, had to step away for a break. I'm so frustrated right now. Fly-in is tomorrow and she is sooo close I can taste it.

Shot the matte clear on and everything is done on the outside. Can't get my new on-board-glow to heat up the plugs. Fiddeled with that for three hours and dicided to just install remotes and screw the system for now. OK, that is fixed.

Cycling the gear at just 30-40 lbs air pressure to insure it works, even at less than perfect pressure. Starboard main tire is hanging up on the port gear door when trying to come down, corrected with my trusty dremel. Nose gear door is hanging up a little, minor filing and corrected. All works good. Ok, lets take it to full pressure, run it up to 100lbs for the first time and I hear a small pop. Oh NO. Don't let it be the tank. Isolate the down circuit, still leaks. Isolate the up circuit, still leaks. Disconnect the tank and charge the valve directly, NO LEAK. NUTTS. The take has sprung a leak somewhere. A new, large size Robart tank, which by the way, is practically built into the nose of a now 99% complete aircraft.

Well, she has to come out, but how. Remove the nose gear, remove the steering servo, remove the receiver battery, remove the valve tray, saw it loose from its spray foam with a hack saw blade through the nose, great, its loose. But she aint commin out in one piece. Cut a hole in the side with my dremel and try to bend it. Nope. Try to cut the bottom off with my dremel and flatten it so it will slip through the front. Not as easy as it sounds. The bottom of the tank is like iron. I'm drilling a series of holes in it now and hope to get the bottom off and flatten it. I'm about ready to use my chain saw. Well, probably not. So far, not a scratch on her, but this isn't over yet. I'm going to get a cold drink and then, back down to finish this thing. Fortunately, I have another tank (smaller and tested) if I ever get this one out. You can be sure I will test the next one I buy for an airplane long before it is installed. What a mistake!!!!

I'll post some pictures of the mess.

ram3500-RCU

My Feedback: (221)

Nice 'heritage' flight. Anyway, good for you. Always a good feeling isn't it.

ram3500-RCU

My Feedback: (221)

FIXED. It took two hours to get the leaking tank out. All better now, and it all works great. Might fly today.

ram3500-RCU

My Feedback: (221)

How is that for a clue? I'll post some pictures later, but I will say, IT HAS ALL BEEN WORTH IT. To those considering mods on this plane, she is all that I could have hoped for and more, and well worth the effort. Man was it a hit at the fly in.

I have to go to my daughters for dinner, but I just wanted to post that all is well and SHE FLEW. Not without some work at the field, but how is this to ***** your curiosity, I had an engine quit ( the starboard engine) as I flew her at about 1/3 throttle with the gear up, came to 1/4 on the power, lowered the gear, flew the pattern making left hand turns , AND LANDED, to the applause of most who were there. It was one of the most exciting times I have had in this hobby. She flys great ON ONE ENGINE!!!!!! I could have flown it more I'm sure. The gear worked flawlessly (more on this later), and WOW does it look good in the air. Mine was the only P-38 at the meet, and as I suspected, just about everyone stopped over before and after and wanted to know, WHAT KIT IS THAT? I loved it. Some were heard to say, after I told then it was the Nitro Planes, "man, it dosen't look like that in the pictures.

I'll post the whole story of her first day at the field and how I got there with pictures of her on the ground and in the air.

ram3500-RCU

My Feedback: (221)

OK here it is. You already know about the air tank issue. Got everything back together about 5 in the morning. Had to wait for the HS to open to get the remote starter fixtures. Got to the meet later than I wanted. It was about 11:30 AM. Flew the AT6 and flew the F-16. My brother had already tip stalled his Corsair before I arrived. Re-kitted the outboard parts of both wings. OK, time for the P-38.

Fueled up and noticed a leak on the port side. It looked like a line. As the cowls were off, no big deal. Replaced the line and fired them up. After the usual adjusting, did some taxi trials and fast taxi to the point of getting light on her feet. Port engine sagging. Recheck it and find the stopper looked loose on that tank. Pull the engine and tighten. While my brother was doing that, I installed the remote glow on the starboard engine and the cowl.

Ok, she looks tight now, remote glow and cowl on the port engine. Restart. Starboard no problem, port won't start. Bad plug now. Change and restart. Run the engines some more and taxi. Top off and go for it. Just as the nose lifts off, port engine quits. Taxi back and readjust. Top off and go again. This time she lifted off, WOW, I'm holding right rudder, I'm holding right aileron, I'm holding a little up. I call for my brother to give me right rudder trim so I can get on the other two. He does and things start to get better. Now I can get it cleaned up. Gear goes up perfectly and she looks beautiful. I fly for about 8 minutes trimming and just admiring its majestic presence in the air, and, that wonderful multi-engine sound, but as I turn downwind, it is no longer a twin. I don't here the crowd, but I guess there was a collective 'you've lost one'.

As my concentration was all on the plane and those two Moki engines, this I already knew. I pulled back to 1/4 throttle as I had a ways to go yet, lowered the gear, and got ready for those two turns I was going to have to make. To my surprise, It just slowed down, the corrections I was giving it were fine and it flew great with plenty of extra rudder I didn't even need. I'm sure I could have flown just fine with more power, but why push it. I was already in the downwind. I made a totally normal approach, however I had determined to watch my flair so as not to come in too hard on that nose gear. The scale stance puts this bird in a perfect landing attitude already. All I had to do was fly it to the ground with a slight flair at 12" or so.

This all went out the window as I concentrated on the yaw, getting it straight before the nose gear hit, and keeping those wings level with just the one engine. She touched down on all three gear at about the same time, but a little harder on the nose gear. She bounced back up a few inches and came down even harder on the nose. That was all she wrote. The nose mount gave way and she squatted down on the nose and skidded to a stop, right in the center of the runway, on the folded back gear, and the gear door. I considered it a victory and the crowd did also, but I thought that nose gear door was toast. Well, I can say is, amazing. The hinges held, the door flexed and was undamaged and all it is is some epoxy on the gear mount to fix it.

After it was all over I concluded that this particular P-38 is a very good choice. At 90", it is a nice size, not too big or small, and with that almost flat bottom wing, and a couple strong engines, it can easily handle the added weight of the scaling process. I only used full power at take off. The rest of the flight was at about 1/2 throttle. It will be a very scale speed, gear up and at full power.

I also realized after we were done that my brother at been fueling it with his 15%, instead of my 5%!!!!!!! If I had used my 5%, those Mokis would have been just fine. What a blunder that could have been disastrous had it not been for the excellent flight characteristics of this plane. I look forward to my next flight, with the correct fuel, and using those flaps. I'm not worried about this plane at all now. I will wring it out next time and love every minute of it!!!!!!!

Sorry about the pictures. I was very disappointed in them. I guess my brother forgot to take the good ones and doesn't know what zoom means. Next time we will be better at that.

ram3500-RCU

My Feedback: (221)

BTW, CG was perfect with no added ballast. Slightly nose heavy with the gear down. Perfect with the gear up.

I did taxi trials with the cowls off, but flew with them on.

ram3500-RCU

My Feedback: (221)

I see what happened now to the nose gear. I need to add bracing straight through to the top of the cavity, and it will be as strong as the rest of the pod. The gear mounting plate held, it just broke loose from the structure. I'll need to make a couple changes to the patterns I have, before I send them out. Everything else has proved to be very good so far. It will just take an hour or so to make the repairs. I can't retract the gear yet, but it still looks like the nose gear door will be fine. I still can't get over that one. Wish you all could have seen her skid on it. I won't be having anymore problems like this again, on any landings hard or otherwise.

BTW, the steering was outstanding. I programed 70% expo on the rudder and it tracked straight as an arrow, yet could turn in it's own length like a 0 deg lawn mower. Very cool. I did a couple donuts for the crowd. I was glad for the dampened control when the engine quit. That may very well have kept me from over controlling it in the turns.

ram3500-RCU

My Feedback: (221)

Well, fixed the nose gear last night, and took it to my home field this afternoon. Fueled it up with the 5%, made the necessary adjustments (even had a tack this time) took off on runway 18 (in trim this time.....much better) got the gear up just after take off and turned north in a clime to cruse altitude , leveled off and then throttled back to 3/4, the starboard engine sagged, I throttle back but still lost the engine (the same one). HERE WE GO AGAIN!!!! This time I had to throttle back up as I had a rather large land fill mountain underneath me and had to maintain my altitude. She handled the power from the left side great, and flew well again in spite of the cross wind I was in. I lowered the gear, then made one long flat descending left turn to line up with the runway, came out of the turn right lined up on the center of the runway and got a good glide slope, even having to add a little power at one point with no problems. She touched down nicely this time and looked great doing so. Unfortunately, no one got any pictures. They all froze, and I was a little busy. I can't taxi on one engine in grass. I did find that out. Everyone shook my hand, after it quit shaking on its own. One guy said that this plane is 'blessed'. I think it just flys very well on one engine and was built right.

She won't leave the ground again till I have these engines sorted out and running perfectly every time.

WHAT A WEEK END !!!!!!!!!!!!

Ichy

[sm=thumbup.gif][sm=thumbup.gif][sm=thumbup.gif] Yeah!

ram3500-RCU

My Feedback: (221)

I have decided to pull the engines and run them each in a 60 size fun fly I have. the first one going in will be the starboard engine. I'll break them in completely and have them both running reliably for the P-38 this way. Should have been doing this while I finished other things. Oh well.

Glacier Girl

My Feedback: (4)

Gary, Congrats big time!!!!!!!! You survived a maiden in a P-38, with an engine out.
One heck of a piloting job I must say.

You mentioned the flying characteristics of her, and I've heard the same before. Any other P-38 would have ended up in a smoking crater, but the N/P version just tends to fly on, two motors or one.

And to make it thru a second flight and engine loss. [X(]

I'm glad you pulled the engines, twice saved is really pushing it on a 38. No need to tempt Mr. Murphy any more.


Oh, and by the way, she looks BEAUTIFUL!!!!!!!

WELCOME TO THE BROTHERHOOD OF THE P-38.



p.s. You stop shaking yet?

ram3500-RCU

My Feedback: (221)

Thanks Glacier Girl. Yes, the shaking stopped Yesterday evening. One thing I don't like is the mess this fuel is making of my handy work. Hard to keep a war bird paint job flat when it is covered in fuel oil all the time. I may just convert it over to electric over the winter, and repaint the flat clear. We will see how things go.

At any rate, she is grounded till these engines are fully broke in and totally reliable at a leaner setting.

I can't wait to fly her again. I haven't gotten to really enjoy her yet, but even with the short time at the controls, I can tell this is going to be a ***** cat to fly and it a real crown pleaser. I have yet to even use the flaps, which I used my 9303 to slow down to a very realistic speed as the deploy. I have them coming up faster than they go down for go-arounds, that I don't see ever having to do, she lands so nice. Once you fix the way she looks out of the box, this P-38 is one great airplane. It looked really good sitting next to my 1/7 scale AT6 also. Wish I had gotten that picture as well. My brother tip stalled the AT6 landing and all it did was cracked the cowl, and broke a wing tip (no broken prop or gear damage). That World Models AT6 is one tough little airplane.

fmattox11

My Feedback: (52)

It looks like I'm in the market for a new P-38 as I crashed my built-up Wing Aircraft version yesterday. []
A year and a half in the making, now scrap. I did salvage the working parts. It was electric.

A caution that others may know, but I didn't. It had counter-rotating props. On the bench during the
salvage work I discovered that all the screws on the engine mount and the engine, were loose a
turn or so.
Yes, I used locking coumpound . when I assembled it. Maybe not enough??.

So while looking for another kit/arf, I came across this thread and looked through it from the begining.
I did skip sections. Now the question.

Is the 53" kit from Nitro or the 90" version the better kit.??
And whats the final opinion of Nitro Models and their support.??

How about an opinion on AK Models.?

I'm wanting to just build a plan jane version (Electric) NO retracts.

Is there sufficient room in the fuseledges/engine nacelles to install the equipment that you need to
make the 53 or the 90" version electric.

Frank

By the way, what's the URL for AK Models??

ram3500-RCU

My Feedback: (221)

Frank, I can't say about the smaller version, other than I know it has been flown with electric motors. A search will find you threads on it. I can say first hand, that the 90" P-38, if built stock, is a very light airplane for its size, with a high lift airfoil. It is less expencive that most others and has exeptional flight charactoristics. Even if you don't want to make any changes, I think you would enjoy flying her.

fmattox11

My Feedback: (52)

How long has the lower price been up on Nitros Website??

Glacier Girl

My Feedback: (4)

Frank, I've had both versions of the P-38. Comparison wise I'd say quality in both was the same. As to which one to build, it's a question of how deep your pockets are.

Both are Puddy Cats in the sky. They do not fly like a regular P38. Much more forgiving as Gary found out.

The 90 is a lot easier to work on.

And honestly, like I've said before, price isn't always a guarantee of quality. My VQ P-38 at roughly 4 times the price of the N/P was way worse quality wise.

Soon as Gary gets the mod kits available, I'm ordering another one.

As for customer service. N/P does have a forum in the ARF section here on the gas side.
Contact John, and it normally gets taken care of. I've bought easily a dozen birds from them, and John's gone more then out of his way to handle any problems I had.

Glacier Girl

My Feedback: (4)

Something I almost forgot. You should have no problems as you've built before.
The build manuals are pretty much useless. "Chingrish" and a lot of missing steps.

ram3500-RCU

My Feedback: (221)

Yes. These are what we have started referring to as 'builders ARFs' because it takes some previous building experience to know, the basic construction procedures, and what needs 'fixed' and or upgraded. The 'manuals' are not worth the paper they are printed on. You can get as much info from the picture on the box.[] They are however, basically a good platform, well built and light.

fmattox11

My Feedback: (52)

What Mods are you talking about??

Frank

ram3500-RCU

My Feedback: (221)

They are specific to the plane being built in most cases, but in the case of the P-38, the wood frames for the wing covers, and the modification to the wing so it can be kept on the booms are two that I would consider a must for a long life.

TeamMuir1

My Feedback: (-1)

Ram3500
Let me know when I can ORDER one of the small kits you are offering.
I have been reading and I have to tell you I am VERY SURPRISED that
your plane flies as well as it does with only one motor under power.
that really gets me going knowing how well it flies.
Thanks again.

ram3500-RCU

My Feedback: (221)

When you add 8lbs to a design, performance has to be a question mark, but I expected this plane to do well because of the airfoil they used. I was right. Add to that the extra height you have on the booms and pod with my mods, and the fuselage seems to form three tall 'vertical stabs'. I'm sure this all figures into how well it flys on one engine.

The engines are 0 to the thrust. When they are both at full throttle, right aileron and rudder are needed to counter torque. On my first take off roll, she came up on the port main and nose gear, I aborted and was ready the second time with more right rudder and aileron. When airborn, I trimmed it level for 3/4 throttle with the gear up, and hold the rest for positive control at all times. It worked out great. The second take off in trim was perfect.

As far as the weight goes, she flys much lighter than she is, if you know what I mean. At almost 20 lbs, I made a perfect main gear landing, on the second flight, on one engine and without flaps. I'm looking forward to using the flaps to see how she likes them.

On that second flight, I needed to continue the clime to altitude after the right engine quit. I shallowed the clime and continued to pattern altitude with no problem with one Moki 61 at just under full throttle. Amazing. I will say, I was glad I didn't have any smaller engines on her. Balance is perfect with the gear retracted and no led needed. I liked that also.

Hope we can get a squadron of these modified P-38s going. Wish we could unite with some for a nice formation flight. Now I'm really dreamin.

Anyway, I got sidetracked on my retro kit work with a couple other jet projects for others, but am back on the case now.

ram3500-RCU

My Feedback: (221)

BTW, I have that pesky starboard engine mounted in another plane and have two tanks through it on the ground with no problems. Still needs more run time. The weather has been crappy this week, but hope to fly both these engines Saturday in my 3D plane, and have them back in the P-38 for another try Monday at our field.