RE: How to Kit Bash to a Twin
 

The red stripe has been added and aside from touching up a couple of boo boo's (hide as weathering?) the center pod is pronounced done. I will tackle the weathering after the rest of the project is painted

RE: How to Kit Bash to a Twin
 

You have my vote for the P-38 flyin.......and you already have the trailer!!!
Twinman

RE: How to Kit Bash to a Twin
 

In profile it does resemble a P38f5 photo recon variant

RE: How to Kit Bash to a Twin
 

Been hard at it over the holiday weekend, repaired themost damaged boom, layed down the cloth, envirotex, polycrylic, panel lines and 1st coat of primer, got to get into wet sand mode now, bet ya can't guess what I'm doing new years day

RE: How to Kit Bash to a Twin
 

Got some catching up to do here, both booms, the rudders, the stab and elevator have all been painted

RE: How to Kit Bash to a Twin
 

Have started rebuilding and stretching the wing

RE: How to Kit Bash to a Twin
 

Wing is done, after a long day of working out the preflight bugs. Had to replace the stoppers in both fuel tanks, apparently Sullivan gas conversion stoppers are not very gas proof. I had one of my throttle servos fail so had to replace it. I did some taxi tests in the street beside my house, hit a pot hole and broke the steering arm so I replaced it. Anticipating the plane to be nose heavy I had made a weight box in the tail and had put some weight in it. I got my buddy to come help me balance the beast, had to take the weight out of the tail and ended up with 3 LBS in the nose. I could have moved the batteries from the tail to the engine compartment, the 4 batteries weigh appx 1 LBS so moving to the front would probably save 2 LBS of weight but I would have to remove the custom made wiring harness and make a new harness and maybe even move the 4 switches and charge jacks so for now we will fly with the extra weight. With the extra nose weight and tanks full of fuel we have a rtf weight of 50-1/2 lbs, overshot the target weight by 5-1/2 lbs. Have run the engines about 5 tanks full now, they are with in 50 rpm at idle and 100 rpm at the top and seem to transition fairly evenly. Idle is very good and can be firewalled after prolonged idle with out coughing, GENTLEMEN I think we are ready to go to the field, where is the good weather???? The next report should be Paul's flight report on RCwarcirds.com as he will be there to take pic's and witness the maiden flight

RE: Rudder Redo
 

Bill:

About time! It';s only been 14 months since you told us about this project! You are almost as slow as I am!

Haw.

Keep us posted, please.

Bill.

RE: Rudder Redo
 

nobodys that slow, or old:D
took 8 months off after the planes near death experiance, moved, built a new workshop, built a new airfield for the club and read stories to my daughter, I think that is all the excuses I have.

RE: Rudder Redo
 

Bill:

The only good excuse you've given is reading stories to your daughter. Treasure the moments, too soon she will be gone.

Bill.

RE: Rudder Redo
 

Typo on my part, should say daughters, they are getting big already.

Well put the darn thing in the air yesterday, winds calmed to 10-15 and blew right down the runway. Was so nervous (excited) that I did everything wrong that I could and still got it up and down. Pre-flight elevator up/down, rudder right/left, ailerons right/right up, flaps up/down. Battery check, all 4 green, start port engine, starts fine, start starboard engine, it's being cranky, tach wheres the blasted tach, must be on the bench at home, let engines warm up a little, engines sound fine. Taxi test, taxi out to runway, get on centerline, apply a little power(1/4 throttle), accelerates quick, go to idle turn around taxi back, do this a few more times, it gets light at about half throttle, a few more taxis oops starboard engine quits on turn around. Fires back up easily, adjust idle trim tab up a couple of clicks. (Here is a small detail, during engine test previous days prop sucked a rock off the ground and split a blade on my 20x8 3 blade prop, the only other available pusher prop is an 18x6 2 blade.) Do or Die time, line up on centerline at end of runway, slowly accelerate to full power, hold her to the runway till about 3/4 runway are gone and let her climb, wow wants to climb need down elevator, need left aileron trim, more down, more left, more down, make a few laps, engines screaming, my god this thing is slow, suddenly plane starts to crab to the right and then the unmistakable sound of 1 engine gone south (dead), plane does not snap and holding the rudder about half stick straightens the crab, so left power to full (had good altitude), now we try the one engine turn, made it very gradual and did not lose much altitude, now going down wind, time to turn again, not turning as well but does come around, start pulling out the power to lose altitude, am now over the field (but not runway) pull down idle trim and power to kill other engine, now it sinks like a rock, flare, flare, it hits a little hard, (not as hard as I did once it stopped). Damage report: starboard main wheel axle bent. GO over to pick up plane, Hey why are the flaps down? Pygmies, no wonder the thing is so slow and needed so much down, I just flew the entire flight with the flaps down (45*). Get some proper pitch in the props and put the flaps up this thing might just be fun.

RE: Rudder Redo
 

Bill:

Congratulations. The P-3/8, the Somewhat Lightning has made it up and down.

Now if you can keep the engines running and remember to raise the flaps... Haw.

Glad to hear it (almost) went well.

Let us know how the later flights go with everything working. Or maybe you better not, Twinman will have to build one if everything goes well.

Haw again.

Bill.

RE: Rudder Redo
 

It probably does not need the flaps at all as the chord is so thick just have to remember on my check list to do flaps down/flaps up not verse vicey. I also need bigger props to try again

RE: Rudder Redo
 

Got the take off photo from Paul

RE: Rudder Redo
 

Bill:

Wow

Looking at the alpha, I think you either have a large scrotum to hold its gigantic contents, you already had a lot of speed up, or you just didn't think about the possibility of an engine going "Splut" on the climb out.

Hope it gives you much pleasure.

Bill.

RE: Rudder Redo
 

Speed was in abundance, I immediatly pushed the nose down after it jumped up like that, it is a little hard to tell in that shot (kinda low rez) but you can tell the flaps were full down. Paul has better pics and he sez the flaps were full down. Issue for debate did the fact that the flaps were down help hold the plane up when the engine quit or was it a hinderence because of the extra drag slowing the air speed? I was able to maintain altitude on one engine but had to use 1/2 - 3/4 rudder stick to correct yaw. Suprisingly it did not try to snap. Turns were difficult as I tried to keep them shallow and gentle (made 2 of them). Preliminary post motum on the dead engine indicates that the ignition module failed, so much for the reliability of electronic ignitions.

RE: Rudder Redo
 

Really looks neat. Good point on the engine failure. Many people think that just because it is gas, there are no reliability problems. Glad you got it down. Obviously you have improved upon the standard P-38 airworthiness on a single engine. Congratulations.
Twinman