Cox powered P-38

rsv1cox Sat Jan 28, 2017 10:31 am

I didn't mean to step all over Fred's Sanding Idea's thread with my P-38 exposure but I guess I did. Gotta apologize for that.

But new222 asked about how nice it would be to see what a 40 year old plane saw at the time. So thought I would revisit it here.

It would have noticed a 30-40 year old guy with a full head of hair in the center of a circle pulling it around on 30' lines. Did that on at least two Naval bases and a few school yards. "Pulling" a key word as this is a heavy model with little wing area. I built it to scale, not to fly. But once those two Golden Bees (at the time) were synced together it was a wonderful sound to hear and provided plenty of motive power for straight and level flight.

I flew the pants off it. Literally, I had wheel pants on it at first. It was just pure fun. I scuffed it up a few times but never crashed it probably because all it would do was fly in circles. Someday I will spruce up the engine covers, maybe paint it to match "mini-me" and fly it once again on a very soft grassy field.

Cox powered P-38 P-38_o12

Prior to building the P-38, I built this:

Cox powered P-38 P-38li10

Perhaps the worst flier ever conceived and put to practice. Sad

Bob

Edit add: I have to thank Fred though for the memory prompt. Recovered it from the loft and placed it on my display stand where I can see it.

Cox powered P-38 Nib_vi11

fredvon4 Sat Jan 28, 2017 11:00 am

Rsv1Cox...AKA Bob---the old phart....with real cool stuff and experiences

No sir ....your post was not even close to being a hi-jack
There is no way you could ever come close to the hi-jacking I manage on these web forums....grin

As much as I dearly wish to attend (not fly) Brodak's this year I am very much more interested in diverting my travel to drop in on you and your beautiful retirement home, (OK I get it about NO BEER) but just hanging out and telling grand lies, and "True" stories would be such a treat.

There is a dear place in me for almost all war (military) aircraft...I am actually very hard pressed to define a Favorite....
Living in Formosa (Taiwan) you might think the P40 and true, I do love that plane and history ...but riding in a F-104 on the island was magic... but hen, we as a family, had dear friends piloting the F-4 Phantoms and more than one POW... Later I was close to uncles who flew F-111 Wild Weasels, then my dad just had to be part owner of a P-51 Reno racer but also owned a Cessna 310Q... ( that he let me fly a few times) about the time I was cross training with AF A-10 crews as a Army Helicopter guy in awe of OUR stuff

I suppose if I ever had to declare a favorite ----it is the Thunderbolt A-10 and I still have a plan in my head to take a Foam ARF Wart Hog and make it control line

I am probably the only aircraft model guy who does NOT have any affinity for WWI aircraft...I dig a lot of WWII and Korea/ Vietnam era aircraft

I am a super lover of the Bell UH-1H Huey as well as the AH-1 Cobra and have nice RC model versions....I can NOT fly and keep tinkering with ideas to make THEM Control line models to play with

OK Bob, how is that for a 9 thought and 3 diversion off topic post? That has not much to do with your beautiful model P-38

GRIN

rsv1cox Sat Jan 28, 2017 12:16 pm

Paybacks are hell Fred. Smile

But I was on to you a third of the way through. Smile

You know from past threads that the A-10 is also a favorite of mine "I would like to fly one someday" I have related. But my all-time is the P-38, maybe it's those love handles on either side of the pilots module, or the fact that it just looks evil. I dunno.

But I am partial to the WW1 Bi's too. See my avatar picture.

Bob

Couple more things. The paint is two part Hobby Poxie blue and silver airbrushed on, lines and bell crank are internal, and the canopy is scavenged from somewhere. I always filled the inner engine last, but still it wasn't unusual that it quit first and "flew" on the outside motor. Overheating in that enclosed area never was a problem.

roddie Sat Jan 28, 2017 1:22 pm

I've loved your P38 since you posted the first photos of it Bob. I've always loved the P38. I have an old Comet "print-wood" kit (Tower Hobbies-1993) to be built. I didn't realize that it wasn't a die-cut kit until I opened the box.. What?

.....

I originally envisioned twin Golden-Bee power.. by substituting some key balsa parts with spruce-wood and lite-ply for either C/L or RC. I've since obtained a Dremel scroll-saw.. but cutting all those little parts out isn't something I've wanted to jump into.. and talk about sanding; that's a lesson in patience, that I'm not sure I'm up to learning just yet.

Around the same time that I bought the Comet kit; I bought my dad a Sterling kit S17 C/L profile P38.. which he re-gifted me several years ago. I haven't done anything with that kit either. A pair of OS .10FP's I think would be ideal for it though. I have one un-run .10FP RC. Hmmmm.. it would be interesting to have a third-line for throttle-control of the outboard engine.. in case the inboard one quits first..

Cox powered P-38 P38-st10

I do have a 3-line handle. (check-out the Martin "Mauler" in the Sturdi-Built ad)

Cox powered P-38 J_robe10

rsv1cox Sun Jan 29, 2017 7:31 am

My Waterloo is this old Cleveland print kit roddie, I bought awhile ago with the F4U Corsair. I opened it up an instantly knew that I would never build it.

Cox powered P-38 Gas_en10

I am starting on this Blackhawk Mosquito kit shortly. No spindly stringers to fool with especially with my twitchy fingers. Ought to be able to place adhesives with some degree of accuracy given the construction. I'm going to hang a couple of CL Enya .09's on it and paint it camouflage as shown on the box. My P-38 got me all hot to do another twin. Smile

Love that sound when they both are running.

Cox powered P-38 Mosqui10

Also, I love that P-38 kit, I have come close to buying the Sterling edition several times but always backed out.

I just retired my U Reely from the display case (needed the room) to the loft. I can't find the airplane unit anywhere, periodically checking ebay. The handles are all over the place, but the control in the model just flies away. I had one once, sold it many years ago. Sad

Bob

rsv1cox Sun Jan 29, 2017 8:15 am

I found some more pictures of that poor flying scratch built twin.

I got the angle of incidence all messed up and it kind of mushed through the air nose high and tail low. Took a lot of up to keep it flying. Probably the horizontal stab was way out too. The engines survived and were sold on ebay, the plane? I have no idea.

Cox powered P-38 Lanier10

Bob

roddie Sun Jan 29, 2017 8:28 am

I really like that little twin Bob. Looks like a LOT of work went into it.

Regarding the print-wood kits; it would be nice if there was a laser-cutter that could scan the outlines and cut the sheets. I think I'd pay for that service if it was available.

That Blackhawk kit is cool Bob! Yes I agree.. multi's are very cool to hear running. My very first self-designed C/L model had a sheet-wing of 180 sq. in. (6" x 30" constant-chord) which actually flew (off the ground..) with one GB on the nose. I later added twin radial-mounts to the wing's L/E and mounted two GB's. I actually flew it once with three engines.

Here's what's left of it.. Shocked

The nose broke-off at some point.. along with the tail and a piece of the belly where the gear was mounted. Notice that there's repair-crutches all over the place.. Laughing

NEW222 Sun Jan 29, 2017 10:05 am

Wow. Thanks so much for posting the great pictures and descriptions of days past. Also thanks to all for the little short stories, past experiences and pictures.

fredvon4 Sun Jan 29, 2017 10:22 am

Roddie

What a grand Idea... scanning the print wood and laser cutting

Of course I know that is not the whole process as the CNC machine needs much more info for the software

I finally traded away all the various print wood kits... ( did not have many)
I attempted, way back when to cut 1 out, to build.
I got totally frustrated when I needed to cut across the grain....sheesh, all day and many new blades, to get 26 little parts off a sheet of balsa

Back then, I was very happy for a die crushed kit...

I am super spoiled today with precision Router or laser cutting...not to mention today's wood KITs (to me) seem to have far superior wood selection

I still have a rack full of of TopFlite and Goldberg kits to sluff on on e-bay once I am done copying all of them

roddie Sun Jan 29, 2017 1:50 pm

fredvon4 wrote:Roddie

What a grand Idea... scanning the print wood and laser cutting

Of course I know that is not the whole process as the CNC machine needs much more info for the software

I finally traded away all the various print wood kits... ( did not have many)
I attempted, way back when to cut 1 out, to build.
I got totally frustrated when I needed to cut across the grain....sheesh, all day and many new blades, to get 26 little parts off a sheet of balsa

Back then, I was very happy for a die crushed kit...

I am super spoiled today with precision Router or laser cutting...not to mention today's wood KITs (to me) seem to have far superior wood selection

I still have a rack full of of TopFlite and Goldberg kits to sluff on on e-bay once I am done copying all of them

Given current technology, I'm sure that it's possible to have print-sheets machine (laser) cut.. there's just no call for it.. yet. If a plan/drawing's outlines can be scanned and converted to a plot-file for cutting, then why couldn't a printed sheet of balsa be? Maybe provide registration-marks on the sheet for orientation. Roger Harris could probably answer that question for sure.

The 34" span Comet P38 kit would be a nice RC platform for a pair of .049 glow engines fitted with exhaust-throttles. Radio gear weighs next to nothing today. Cox reed-valve engines could be set-up for counter-rotating props too.

Hey Bob, did you ever try running L/H props on your C/L version? It would be fun to scale-down the Sterling Profile P38.. for 1/2A power.. maybe even with a sheet-wing. Throw a couple of "Sure-Starts" on it and have some fun!

MauricioB Sun Jan 29, 2017 2:34 pm

rsv1cox wrote:I found some more pictures of that poor flying scratch built twin.

I got the angle of incidence all messed up and it kind of mushed through the air nose high and tail low. Took a lot of up to keep it flying. Probably the horizontal stab was way out too. The engines survived and were sold on ebay, the plane? I have no idea.

Bob

How about Bob ?, could you tell me which model is the one in the yellow circle where I indicated in the photo ?, is there any plane ?, thank you.

Cox powered P-38 Lanier10

Marleysky Sun Jan 29, 2017 3:17 pm

I'm on my phone can't type for turds. Fred & Roddie: do a quick google of "brother scan and cut". I used my wife's to cut out 1/16 balsa ribs for the "poolboy" I'm workin on. The ribs were in the background of my EOM picture a while back. I think with a little more experience that type of craft machine could duplicate those print wood parts. I know Jacob cuts reeds out on a Cricut machine.

https://www.coxengineforum.com/t10163-cox-engine-of-the-month-submit-your-pictures-october-2016#128554

rsv1cox Sun Jan 29, 2017 3:36 pm

It's a scientific model Mauricio called Zipper. Mark Boesen knows it well.

Cox powered P-38 Zipper11

I knew these old plans would come in handy someday. Smile

Got a whole book full of them that I built many years ago.

Cox powered P-38 Plans_10

I repainted it a couple of times.

Cox powered P-38 Zipper12

Bob

roddie, love your model. Wing tips, skid, re-enforced fuse, color scheme, the cut of the vertical stab.. I wish others would post pictures of their original designs.

MauricioB Sun Jan 29, 2017 3:52 pm

Ohhh Bob thank you very much .... it is a beautiful model !, it will be possible to turn it into radio control ??? .... it would be good to find some plan!

rsv1cox Mon Jan 30, 2017 7:30 am

Going through some old pictures this morning I found these taken about 18 years ago in Florida.

I think I only ran LH props on the P-38 buying what was available at the time. But I think these were available RH too???? Looking for some now. Not sure of the benefits of torque cancelling props in this model though.

Cox powered P-38 Pb190010

Also I used to sell a lot of items on ebay in bundles, most now regretted. I had talked about missing the U relly in plane 3 wire control in another thread. Found it here. Sad

I don't think I ever flew it with the BW's, might have but don't remember. Just the GB's that it was originally configured with.

Cox powered P-38 P7090010

PS - The Zipper is a tiny model Mauricio but I like the design. I imagine that it could be scaled up.

Bob

getback Mon Jan 30, 2017 7:53 am

That Zipper is a Smart looking plane , it should make a RC version with some modding of the fuse ? RC Plane

stuntflyr Mon Feb 27, 2017 9:17 pm

I always thought the Zipper was a great looking model and was a rip-off of the beautiful Top Flite Taurus.

Here's my son Michael's P-38 built from a Sterling 36 inch wing and tail and a optimized profile pod and boom set-up with Norvel 061's and a JRoberts throttle system.
Chris...

**RknRusty** Mon Feb 27, 2017 11:38 pm

You guys have given me the multi engine bug. One of my flying buddies, Bob, always brings some sort of twin or tri-motor plane to the field. He had an inboard engine shut off over the tarmac in Huntersville last spring. Or Fall, I forget. It was one of his most proud builds as far as I know, and it was a complete disaster. The Jezebel.

The Twin engine Jezebel
https://youtu.be/t_pdTVOdDN4

The tri-engine Colibri
https://youtu.be/gZG35VGjBY0

Oldenginerod Tue Feb 28, 2017 4:12 am

Here's one that our diesel man Ian will appreciate. Don't sound like typical diesels- these things really scream. Good lesson in why the outboard engine needs to cut first.

ian1954 Tue Feb 28, 2017 5:41 am

Those are 1.5cc Parra Wasps.and made in the same factory as Fora and Profi tp Albrt Parras requirements.

http://www.control-line.eu/about-wasp-15.html

They are not "beginner" engines. I have never owned one of these but have assisted in running one in and getting it set up.

They are capable of revving much higher than that! Those were screaming on 7x4 props.

I like all of the Parra engines but they are produced in small batches and not easy to get hold of.

Do not be tempted to buy a Wasp from Fleabay - they are performance engines and need TLC to set them up. A good one will have been snapped up long before Fleabay time!

rsv1cox Tue Feb 28, 2017 6:30 am

stuntflyr wrote:I always thought the Zipper was a great looking model and was a rip-off of the beautiful Top Flite Taurus.

Here's my son Michael's P-38 built from a Sterling 36 inch wing and tail and a optimized profile pod and boom set-up with Norvel 061's and a JRoberts throttle system.
Chris...

Your son did a great job on that P-38 Chris. Actually modeled after the P-38M "Night Lightning" correct right down to the radar pod under the nose. There are plastic kits that modeled the same aircraft.

Looks like he added on his own turbo superchargers too? I made mine out of foam, wire, and brass tubing.

Bob

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