NEXT LEVEL P-40 Group Build

Marty72

Elite member
Great looking plane there. The ironing really wasn't much extra work, less than i imagined anyway, and I do like the look of it when finished.

not much progress on mine today. got sidetracked diagnosing what turned out to be a bad Rx. new one on order and now some clam music and time away from the project is in order. :)

Where did you get the brown paper FB and is that the water resistance stuff?
 

Marty72

Elite member
Most do color the bottom different from the top. It could be as simple as your Scout for example, just paint the bottom of the wings solid red and keep the crosses on the top. Or use a different color all together. Black and white stripes do help as well, maybe just on one wing.
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In your case with the Scout you have now, you said you wait till you get your bearings, It happens to me sometimes. What I do is just pull back on the right stick and see which way it pitches, mind you it could go south quick. Mind you if you are inverted with your hands of the sticks it will dive to the ground anyway lol
Sold, the P 40 the underside of the wings will be a different color.
 

buzzbomb

I know nothing!
What can I do in the future to help me keep orientation?
Keep in mind also that differentiating by color really doesn't work in the air unless the colors are high contrast. A red wing and a blue wing both look brown at a distance in the air. Bold stripes work for me. I normally run more on top than on the bottom. If left/right is a problem, having stripes on one wing helps a lot. I'm also too lazy to paint and just use cheap 'ol wing tape. ;)
 

Zetoyoc

Elite member
Where did you get the brown paper FB and is that the water resistance stuff?
oh sorry forget to answer that question. yes the brown FB is the flite test water resistant foam board. It was a bit of an impulse on my first order from the flite test store that got me to the free shipping mark. It is nice to work with and I do have some dollar tree stuff to try and ill decide after that if it is worth buying more flitetest stuff.
 

Zetoyoc

Elite member
oh a question. there isnt a deflection guide in the cutouts and the build sheet states a deflection of 12 deg. that seems low to me. and is that for all control surfaces? What control surface angles are people using for the p-40? maybe my mind is just playing tricks again. stop listening to the voices jesse..
thanks
 

BATTLEAXE

Legendary member
The reflection of 12 degrees is just a guideline. The warbirds are typically meant to be flown scale and are also meant to be set up as trainers. The Spitfire and P-40 weren't meant to be aerobatic during the war, even though there were dog fights they were made for speed, efficiency and firepower. The small deflection reflects this. You will also notice the ailerons are set to the last half to 1/3rd of the wing instead of the whole tail edge like the Bushwhacker or Cub, this also keeps the flying characteristics scale. Slower rolls and loops are tendencies the real planes had.

Really the great thing about FB is you can set it up however you like, and if you don't like it, just build a new one
 

The Hangar

Fly harder!
Mentor
@Marty72 the brown stuff is the ft waterproof stuff. I bought three sheets at my lhs for my simple cub, but all my previous planes were dtfb. I just bought a 25 pack and I’ll say it’s worth every penny. I like the feel and look better, plus now it’s always damp here unlike the summer and my planes warp unless it hasn’t rained several days and I go late enough that it’s not wet all over the ground still. It also is made for these fb planes and the foam is easier to pop out of cavities and the paper comes off in one piece easier. I’ll probably always get the ft stuff for now on except when I am trying something huge or sketchy that has a high crash risk, then I’ll go with the $1 sheets as opposed to the $2 sheets.🤣 I usually do black stripes on the bottom of the wing for orientation, and in my ft-3D I also added a black canopy and painted one wing yellow and the other wing red. I’ve never lost orientation with it yet! @Zetoyoc I never “listen” to the throw gauge😉. I go crazy on the throws for my crazy planes and dial in dual rates in my transmitter. If I have something that I plan on flying slower and scale like my commuter, then I don’t go crazy on the throws, but like on my spitfire and ft-3D I went crazy and it lets me do some fun stuff.😉 Just add dual rates (or triple rates like I do) and expo. I use 30 percent expo, but for 3D I’ll use 40% for high rates. Good luck and have fun!
 

buzzbomb

I know nothing!
oh a question. there isnt a deflection guide in the cutouts and the build sheet states a deflection of 12 deg. that seems low to me. and is that for all control surfaces? What control surface angles are people using for the p-40? maybe my mind is just playing tricks again. stop listening to the voices jesse..
thanks
I'm not sure about the P40. I have neither built nor flown one. Not yet anyway, @BATTLEAXE! :LOL: 12 degrees is a pretty common throw for FT planes, though. The Mig3 is a recommended 12 degrees on all control surfaces. The throw gauge however, is 11 degrees on the low side and 15 degrees on the high side. It really doesn't take much deflection to have a huge impact! Third hole out on the servo arm and the top most hole of the control horn are usually a good place to start.
 

Zetoyoc

Elite member
Thanks for the info. Though the deflection is the least of my worries now. It hasn't been a good day for plane building. Fought with receivers. And now I found my plane is twisted. I was just finishing up the servos. Actually quite please with those. First time using a collar stop instead of double z bend. And well I looked at it and saw a significant offset from wing to stabilizers. I'll go ahead and fly it but maybe I won't put much more effort into it untill I see if it flies well.
Any experience with this? How will it affect the flight characteristics? Sitting on its belly the wings are near equal distance tip to table . The hstab is about 2cm different left to right.

:(

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IMG_20191126_230522_resize_92.jpg
 

Zetoyoc

Elite member
Thanks for the info. Though the deflection is the least of my worries now. It hasn't been a good day for plane building. Fought with receivers. And now I found my plane is twisted. I was just finishing up the servos. Actually quite please with those. First time using a collar stop instead of double z bend. And well I looked at it and saw a significant offset from wing to stabilizers. I'll go ahead and fly it but maybe I won't put much more effort into it untill I see if it flies well.
Any experience with this? How will it affect the flight characteristics? Sitting on its belly the wings are near equal distance tip to table . The hstab is about 2cm different left to right.

:(

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A reply to my own post. The wings and stabilizer issue is not as easy to fix as first thought. Both are square to the fuse. The fuse has twist
 

BATTLEAXE

Legendary member
Haha this is awesome, not to laugh at your issue, but it really isn't that serious to the flight tendencies of the plane. It is actually amazing how well these things will fly even through the adversities of build errors or crashing and fixing over and over again. For me, just knowing it will still fly isn't enough because the twist in the fuse would be the first thing I look at every time I pick the plane up, being that I am a self diagnosed OCD that way. Really it is just aesthetics at this point. Of coarse we try to get them as square as possible but you won't notice it by just flying it. Personally I would build a new one but I deal with strictly DTFB and not FTFB so it is really easy to toss a messed up fuse and start new.

Just finish it and fly it and if you like it and want to make a pretty one you still have that option. Most issues like that will be compensated for in slight adjustments to the trim and such. Did you make any headway with the Rx?
 

Zetoyoc

Elite member
Haha this is awesome, not to laugh at your issue, but it really isn't that serious to the flight tendencies of the plane. It is actually amazing how well these things will fly even through the adversities of build errors or crashing and fixing over and over again. For me, just knowing it will still fly isn't enough because the twist in the fuse would be the first thing I look at every time I pick the plane up, being that I am a self diagnosed OCD that way. Really it is just aesthetics at this point. Of coarse we try to get them as square as possible but you won't notice it by just flying it. Personally I would build a new one but I deal with strictly DTFB and not FTFB so it is really easy to toss a messed up fuse and start new.

Just finish it and fly it and if you like it and want to make a pretty one you still have that option. Most issues like that will be compensated for in slight adjustments to the trim and such. Did you make any headway with the Rx?

I will finish the plane but I might actually wait to paint it till I see how it flies. It might have a bit of roll but I should be able to trim that. But yes it bugs me to see it. Not enough right now to cut the wing free and shim it but, well maybe if I get bored. Lol

The rx is dead. Or at least possessed. It will bind sometimes and not at all other times. More not lately. No idea. The one identical to it but older works fine. Once bound it seems to work fine but I no longer trust it. So time to order another I guess.
 

BATTLEAXE

Legendary member
Since I got the new Tx I have one Lemon Rx that won't bind, won't even blink with the bind plug in. Worked fine on the old Tx but I haven't tried it since.
 

buzzbomb

I know nothing!
Thanks for the info. Though the deflection is the least of my worries now. It hasn't been a good day for plane building. Fought with receivers. And now I found my plane is twisted. I was just finishing up the servos. Actually quite please with those. First time using a collar stop instead of double z bend. And well I looked at it and saw a significant offset from wing to stabilizers. I'll go ahead and fly it but maybe I won't put much more effort into it untill I see if it flies well.
Any experience with this? How will it affect the flight characteristics? Sitting on its belly the wings are near equal distance tip to table . The hstab is about 2cm different left to right.

:(

View attachment 149250 View attachment 149251
Yep. Experience. Use a scalpel to free the underside of the horizontal stabilizer on the right side of the plane, looking back to front. You need a small piece of foamboard, the size is unimportant. Push everything squared, and glue it under the HStab so it holds everything in place. Done. It really is that simple. :)
 

Marty72

Elite member
I woke up, can't sleep, so.... Yeah, everything I've read/heard is that it will all trim out without issue, just like Chris (Battleaxe) says. I too suffer from OCD a bit. I'd say, I'm a perfectionist, who is far from perfect, so I get a bit frustrated with my work at times. But then I crash the plane and wonder why was I obsessing over small imperfections? Look at the plane now..... ha

I watched all of Chris's videos on the ironing edges now. I stopped last time when I saw you had to cut the paper for the corners, but after watching the whole thing, I'm thinking about doing the wings on the P 40. Too late for the elevator and vertical stabilizer (minwax and painted). I'll play around with some scrap fb and see how it goes for me. I really like the hinge ironing, if that works for me, I'll be doing that. I don't like gluing the hinges after cutting the bevel like the FT videos show. I get mixed results scraping the glue off, stiffens up the hinge too much sometimes.

Oh yeah, I watched your Bush Wacker video Chris, that's a cool looking plane, love the paint job.

And other thing, when I upgrade the Scout to 2.0, I'm going to increase the throws in particular, the elevator. That should make the plane a little more snappy. I should probably stiffen up the elevator too. If it's too much, I'll take it out with the tx.
 

BATTLEAXE

Legendary member
With the ironing of the edges it does take time to do it but the results are so rewarding. I used to coat the edges with glue almost like gluing the hinges and really to iron them doesn't take any more time then the glue, finish is so much nicer, stronger, and adds no weight.

The glue on the hinges is something I still do to keep the paper hinge from delamination. As far as the stiff hinge which tends to be inherent, I open up the glued hinge like you would to bevel it and use either a scrap piece of FB to rub the pivot point of the hinge. Seems like the glue directly on the hinge pivot tends to heat up some and thins right out, kinda balls up a bit, easy to wipe off with your hand. But loosens up the motion of the hinge. Little tip for you
 

PoorManRC

Master member
I am late to the party but I got a bug to build a slightly more advanced plane and I started cutting out a p-40 yesterday. I have a few days off and my wife game me some free time so I didn't waste much time and started working. I am afraid it will be mostly to spec. I am not quite up to going off book yet. I'd like to know how they fly as designed before I change too much. I did stall a bit when the plan was to use Popsicle sticks for a part of it. paint sticks i had. but no popsicle. luckily i have scraps of all sorts laying around and trimmed down some cedar and made my own :) most of the build has gone well. the canopy gave me a bit of trouble so i kind of just bashed it on there. ill make it pretty
later.

day one was print, paste, cut and trim
day two was fold, bend, and glue
tomorrow. the plan is to install servo rods, power pod, and get it ready for paint. maybe if i am ambitious ill actually start that bit too. but who knows. I have to take advantage of my free time while i can :)

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That was the FASTEST Build Series I've ever seen!!! 😜😆😄

Seriously, looks good. 👍👍
You don't have to go off the Stock Plans until YOU'RE ready to!
 

PoorManRC

Master member
Haha this is awesome, not to laugh at your issue, but it really isn't that serious to the flight tendencies of the plane. It is actually amazing how well these things will fly even through the adversities of build errors or crashing and fixing over and over again. For me, just knowing it will still fly isn't enough because the twist in the fuse would be the first thing I look at every time I pick the plane up, being that I am a self diagnosed OCD that way. Really it is just aesthetics at this point. Of coarse we try to get them as square as possible but you won't notice it by just flying it. Personally I would build a new one but I deal with strictly DTFB and not FTFB so it is really easy to toss a messed up fuse and start new.

Just finish it and fly it and if you like it and want to make a pretty one you still have that option. Most issues like that will be compensated for in slight adjustments to the trim and such. Did you make any headway with the Rx?
ADD ME to the OCD Club!!! 😜😳
I may be the only one here, using a MICROMETER to build Foam Core Board Aircraft!!

@Zetoyoc I'll second the suggestion to do some trimming and Shimming...
A twisted Fuse isn't a Death Sentence.

Just try to get the Tail Feathers lined up with the Main Wing as best you can.

Chris is right! These FT Aircraft are quite forgiving. I almost think they were DESIGNED for a little user error!!