No pictures from last night but I'll grab some tonight. I worked a bit on the inboard nacelle structure and I think I'm going to redesign them a bit and rebuild in the next few days. The version on my rough plans doesn't really account for retracts and was intended for a different main wing spar design. I'm glad I built one out to check fit and placement and it gave me a lot of good ideas, so I'll start knocking out v2 tonight.
I DID pull the trigger on power system parts, although there will still be some searching for the perfect prop. Vario Prop doesn't have anything off the shelf that will work (I've emailed them about custom work). Same thing for Solo props (BEAUTIFUL but $$$). I heard back from the Solo prop folks and they are actually planning on releasing something for the Jerry Bates 1:9 B-17 so I'll keep my eyes open for those. Not sure I want to go $200+ PER PROP though
So for now I'm going to play around with a few Master Airscrew props. The REAL scale diameter would be 15.44" and I want to be close enough that it doesn't catch your eye. I also need CW and CCW props. MAS has a 15x7x3 in both CW and CCW that I'll start my testing with. They also have a 16x10x3 in both CW and CCW and I've picked up a pair of these for testing. I'll likely need to cut it down to avoid overdrawing the motors, but we'll see. I don't need/want blistering speed. Just looking for that sweet spot with a decent speed envelope and plenty of thrust to get out of trouble. I think with a little modification to round out the tips they will look close enough for now, particularly if I paint them appropriately.
So for the motors... I was impressed with
@willsonman 's testing of the FT monster radial, and it has a slightly higher KV than the eflite power 60 I run everywhere else. That will likely pair well with the 15x7x3 on 6s. Size and weight look good too, and the price is right compared to the eflite as well.
So I bought 6 of the FT monster radials. 2 for spares, one of which will be beat on for prop testing.
Also picked up 6 YEP 100Amp ESCs.
@willsonman loves them and the one I ran worked great. LOADS of nice options too. Again this gives me 2 spares, one of which will get beat on for prop testing. (
https://hobbyking.com/en_us/hobbyki...ugmgaVqFo0sq2h5CFi8aAvZjEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds )
I realize I'm going a bit nuts with spares, BUT here is my reasoning. I LOVE my P-40, but on too many occasions I've gone to the trouble to haul her to an event and set her up, only to be grounded by a failed part (usually landing gear). Hauling this beast, and setting her up, will be a real chore. She will be traveling with enough spare parts and tools that, in theory, I should be able to handle almost any failure in the field and not lose a chance to fly because Murphy's law struck again.
I've got some other surprises that are being worked right now too. The next few months of the project are going to be really exciting!
