E-scale P-47

[Tim Mackey]

Just wonderd if we knew which flavour of 2.4G it uses.... Spektrum ??

[andy watson]

I would presume so- I can't think of a single bind N fly plane that uses anything else.

 

This is the 1 significant advantage of Spektrum over Futaba in my opinion (please lets not start that again!)

[Tim Mackey]

Andy, I am sure you're right, and if David or someone could confirm it, I / we will add that little factoid in to the article - may help some folk to decide

[David Ashby - Moderator]

No, only products from Horizon (Parkzone, Hobbyzone, E-flite) use Spektrum as far as I'm aware. This is a stand-alone system branded E-Scale and desribed as FHSS (frequency hopping). The RX in the model has two pretty long antenna.

[Tim Mackey]

Ah so its not Spekky then Andy

[Tony Read 2]

Anyone know where I can get a razor-back style canopy that would fit this bird? I really fancy an early P47. The rear fuz can be built up from foam, but I need a suitable 'office'.

[DAVID CLIFFORD]

E-Flight did a razorback. i had one, nice plane. not sure on scale though as it was only 30 odd inches wingspan

[Vinno]

Alfa do a nice razor back , very nice looking very good flyers indeed, just a ,little on the pricey side for what they are though

[Tony Read 2]

On opening the colourful box I discovered that nearly all the foam parts had some form of scratch or blemish on them caused by clumsy handling/packing in the factory. Annoying, but only really noticeable close up. The fuselage is held down by plastic tie wraps and these have been known to crack the engine cowls, mine was fine but the rear tie had left a bit of an indentation. I would recommend that you check the box before buying to make sure all is well.

 

This plane is a RTF in the true sense of the word. The retracts, control surfaces, linkages etc are already fitted. All you have to do is to glue on the tail feathers, bolt on the wing, add your Rx (depending upon which version you buy), charge and fly. Maybe. The horizontal stabiliser and fin have double sided tape to secure them but the instructions mention epoxy. Dump the tape and get that epoxy out. The four bladed prop is a visual treat and can be adjusted in pitch, although I would recommend leaving at the factory settings.

 

I connected the battery and it became obvious that some of the linkages needed adjusting. The steerable tail wheel push rods were hopelessly long and caused binding. The clevises were wound in a long way and all was well. One of the retracts was a bit limp requiring the linkage to be adjusted. I then tried the motor. The prop showed it had a distinct wobble to it. I ruled out the prop driver, so it was a case of balancing the blades. I have not run it up since, but I hope this has cured the problem.

 

When I first ran the (unbalanced ) prop up I noticed two things. One was that full throttle was at about 90% of stick movement on my Spektrum Tx (I tried to re-program the ESC but no joy), the second was that the motor cut out after a few seconds at full throttle. Now, reading other forums about this plane some people have tested the factory setup and have found that at WOT the motor pulls 29 amps, whilst the ESC is rated at 25 amps. Mine probably pulled a bit more due to the prop. There well may be a burst capability built into the ESC but this was too close a call so I have fitted a 40 amp unit. A UBEC will also be required if you add the flaps. I now get full throttle at full stick movement and no cutting out.

 

It has been noted on other forums that the battery compartment has no cooling, so I took a piece of brass tube, heated it up and pushed it through the foam bulkhead to make a couple of holes. I did the same for the rear of the supercharger exhaust to promote better cooling through the fuselage. I have also painted the faux radial black, covered the wing servo wires with grey electrical tape and added a bit of carbon fibre rod to the underbelly cover so I can change batteries without getting finger nail marks all over the foam. I have a servo slower on order for the retracts, they do slam up and down and I’m worried about the servo arm stripping its thread.

 

She now sits resplendent in her Hun Hunter markings waiting for the maiden flight. She does look a corker! I’m thinking about adding a pilot but will probably get a few flights in first.

[Tim Mackey]

I found some similarities in mine Tony, but  only some. My plastic cowl was lightly "crazed" just where the tie down was applied in packing, but a dab of acrylic green and its not really noticeable, the airframe was unmarked. I too glued the tail feathers rather than DS tape!

I put a small "bridge" across the inside of the fus to tie down the neds of the sterrable tailwheel control rod tubes, and also anchor the ends of the rudder and elevator tubes. I also glued the other ends of these tubes where they exit the fus, because as they werre, the outers simply moved with the innners ! One or two other minor issues, but all in all I reckon a very good ARTF - one of the absolute simplest of any I have come across to assemble, and looks pretty darn good for a foamy I reckon.

i was very tempted to chuck it off the Orme yesterday and see how it slope soared, but I resisted, and shall simply have to wait for the strip to get dried out and cut.

I have a servo slow for mine too..... MUCH better.

Pilot already installed, as I need someone in the office to blame if it all goes wrong on the maiden!

( Grant at foamyjets has the servo slowers for a few quid )

 

 

 

 

Incidentally, I saw no way of adjusting the pitch of the prop blades.... mine have a hole drilled through the blade root, which line up with a pin in the hub, and are then locked in place with a screw on each blade? perhaps I didnt look too hard

No issues with the powersetup as yet, all ran up fine on the bench.

Edited By Timbo - Administrator on 18/01/2010 13:02:39

[Tony Read 2]

Hi Timbo!

 

To vary the pitch you need to round off the square root (sounds like a maths lesson!) of each blade. The screw hole is slighly slotted so the blades can rotate. Tightening the screws should lock the blades in place. You need a guage to check the pitch. If you buy the prop on its own it may come with a guage.

 

What was the closest green match you got? Tamiya silver seems spot on for the body/wings etc.

[David Ashby - Moderator]

Remember the prop will pull a few less amps in the air too Tony. You'll be unlikely to require full power as it's nips along pretty smartish. Be interesting to see what you make of her in the air. My batt is warm after a flight but not enough to give concern.

[Tony Read 2]

Hi David,

 

Can you tell me whether you are using the stock battery and what sort of flight times you are getting? Thanks!

[David Ashby - Moderator]

Yes the 1650mAh supplied, about 8 mins Tony but I'll be using 1800mAh packs too next time I fly.

[Tim Mackey]

Hi Tony...not gonna mess with the blade roots - cant see the need TBH, especially as David confirms she flies fine as stock. The green I used was " medium green" from a small pot of acrylic sourced from gawd knows where now....its about 10 yrs old

Its not a great match by any means, but close enough.

[Tony Read 2]

Fitted a servo slower this weekend, a great improvement. Deploying the u/cart now makes me smile rather than wince! A highly recommended mod and will probably prolong the life of your servo.

 

One thing that I did notice was that before the slower was fitted the u/cart locked down fine, but after it didn't. A few seconds adjusting the travel on the Tx had it sorted though.

[Tim Mackey]

Had my maiden at last yesterday in the lovely conditions at our strip.

Plenty of power with stock setup, she wanted to head for the ground rather sharpish on first launch ( hand launched due to long and rough grass at the moment ) so about 10 clicks of up trim were added. May be slightly nose heavy, although pitch response was sensitive, more like tail heavy? I think I recall David saying something about elevator sensitivity / trim ? Have removed the 10 gram tail weight and will try that.

Overall, a great looking and flying model. Easy 5 minutes on the stock 1650 X  3s too!

Edited By Timbo - Administrator on 08/03/2010 11:23:26

[David Ashby - Moderator]

Glad it went well Tim, yup I added a few gramms at the nose

[Richard Wood]

Hi Timbo,

Nice looking model - always fancied a P47.

Did you hand launch the model yourself, or did you get a helper?

I've read that some flyers use an underarm technique.

Just wondering 'cos I've got a couple of hand launch models in the shed &

not sure of the best launching method.

 

Cheers

Richard

 

 

[David Ashby - Moderator]

This one's a bit big for underarm Richard - 40" span and the fus' is too wide to get hold of safely.  Normal overarm launch is fine.

Edited By David Ashby - RCME Administrator on 08/03/2010 12:03:35

[Richard Wood]

Ok, cheers David.

 

[Tim Mackey]

Yep... normal and fairly gentle overarm launch is the way. As this was a maiden flight, I did get a helper to launch, but all subsequent launching will be easily a solo job.

[Tony Read 2]

Unlike Timbo my maiden didn't quite go according to plan.

 

I'd read that due to elevator sensitivity you did not want the slightest up elevator otherwise it would climb like a Saturn 5. So I ensured it was neutral or even with a little down. Bad mistake.

 

First I tried a rolling take off, but the grass, even as short as it was, was wet and the prop just kept pecking the ground due to the resistance offered by the grass. Full up failed to hold the tail down.

 

So then I tried a hand launch. I dropped the u/cart down and used the wheel wells as a handy place to hold the model. Now I've solo hand launched hundreds of times but I can only put it down to not enough airspeed coupled with a tad of down 'caus she went straight it after about 50 feet. Kaboom! Just about every part of the airframe re-kitted itself. It needs a new airframe now.

 

Ah well, if we never fly em we'll never crash em.

 

[Tim Mackey]

Oh Tony sorry to hear that mate

I suspect that unless it was real girly throw, then the problem was "down elevator".

My launcher used the space between the underbelly battery cover pan and the fuse to hold her - I kept the wheels safely tucked up out of harms way! 

Mine did head for the deck somewhat alarmingly, but as I had both hands on the sticks ( always a good idea for a maiden flight ) I was able to catch it and climb out, then feed in the up trim needed. Sorry to here so much damage

Edited By Timbo - Administrator on 08/03/2010 15:34:55

[Tony Read 2]

Part of the problem is that I'm so used to launching my PZ stuff and my EF Sea Fury that just about fly out of your hand that I probably did not give it enough airspeed. This coupled to the lower thrust from the 4 bladed prop and a tad of down meant that it was doomed, DOOMED!