P-38 FT 3CH EZ Power Pack style

[Bandini]

I started with this hobby when I retired last year and this is my first scratch built plane. It uses the components found in the 3CH EZ power pack. The WS is 18" and the weight with a 300mah battery is ~63gm, which is similar to the ~21" WS and 62gm weight of the FT Airliner that also uses these components. It is based loosely on the "P38-52inchFullSheet" plans (scaled to 40%) found here-

https://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?124161-P-38-3F-design-project/page27

I did increase the wing area compared to the plans, and used the larger options for the horizontal and vertical stabilizer areas. Adams Readi-Board (DTFB) was used for everything except the horizontal and vertical stabilizers, which are 4mm meat tray material to save weight. All edges are ironed, including a crude airfoil ironed into the flat plate wings. The motor nacelles are reinforced with 1mm x 4mm carbon fiber strips glued to the top edges. The landing gear are from an FT Freighter.

One of the most challenging parts of this build was maintaining alignment of the motor nacelles and the center gondola during assembly so the dihedral could be set correctly. To help with this I designed and 3D printed an assembly jig (see photo). The saddles are separate pieces so they could be adjusted as needed and the red stuff are pieces of Duck tape which provide friction between the jig pieces and the foam board.

No video to post, but flying it feels very similar to the airliner. The take off roll is pretty long but once it is up to speed a little elevator and it is airborne. Turning is fine using low rates, and cruising needs about 75% motor speed. Landing is slow as expected, with no tip stall experienced.

 

[Merv]

Great looking plane

 

[wiz bang]

are there plans for this

 

[CrshNBrn]

That is a great looking plane. As a former Midwesterner with lots of Wisconsin roots, I can tell you Richard Bong would be pleased with your P-38 efforts!

 

[wiz bang]

I started with this hobby when I retired last year and this is my first scratch built plane. It uses the components found in the 3CH EZ power pack. The WS is 18" and the weight with a 300mah battery is ~63gm, which is similar to the ~21" WS and 62gm weight of the FT Airliner that also uses these components. It is based loosely on the "P38-52inchFullSheet" plans (scaled to 40%) found here-

https://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?124161-P-38-3F-design-project/page27

I did increase the wing area compared to the plans, and used the larger options for the horizontal and vertical stabilizer areas. Adams Readi-Board (DTFB) was used for everything except the horizontal and vertical stabilizers, which are 4mm meat tray material to save weight. All edges are ironed, including a crude airfoil ironed into the flat plate wings. The motor nacelles are reinforced with 1mm x 4mm carbon fiber strips glued to the top edges. The landing gear are from an FT Freighter.

One of the most challenging parts of this build was maintaining alignment of the motor nacelles and the center gondola during assembly so the dihedral could be set correctly. To help with this I designed and 3D printed an assembly jig (see photo). The saddles are separate pieces so they could be adjusted as needed and the red stuff are pieces of Duck tape which provide friction between the jig pieces and the foam board.

No video to post, but flying it feels very similar to the airliner. The take off roll is pretty long but once it is up to speed a little elevator and it is airborne. Turning is fine using low rates, and cruising needs about 75% motor speed. Landing is slow as expected, with no tip stall experienced. View attachment 192319 View attachment 192320 View attachment 192321

would you like to take place in a build of using the ft ez pack 2ch

 

[Bandini]

Merv, (and others), thanks for the thumbs up and complements!

CrshNBrn, I'm glad you mentioned Major Bong. I have been meaning to add some guns to my P-38 but keep forgetting.

wiz bang, I don't have real plans for this other than the link I posted above. I used this as a start, but since this was my first plane I made many changes along the way which were just sketches. For instance, I changed the wing shape several times before I liked the appearance and the loading was what I wanted for a beginner like me. The final WCL is about 9, which is a little less than the Flitetest P-38 which is about 11. As far as using the ft ez pack 2ch, that would be hard... The 2ch uses 716 motors and the 3ch uses more powerful 720 motors. The 716 motors are used on the Micro Freighter, which weighs about 50 gm with battery, whereas the 720 motors are used on the Micro Airliner, which weighs about 62 gm with battery. The P-38 weighs about 63 gm after the last mods, so I don't think it would fly with the smaller motors without a major redesign.