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 RCU Review: AirBorne Models, LLC P-47D Thunderbolt EP
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Research Airplanes Research Boats Research Cars Research Helicopters Research Engines & Motors Research Radio Equipment Contributed by: Mathew Kirsch | Published: October 2009 | Views: 9993 |
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Review by: Matt Kirsch Flying Photos: Papa Jeff Ring
Video Pilot: Ed Britton Specifications
Getting Started
Assembly
Flight Report Summary
Dealer Info Distributed exclusively by: AirBorne Models, LLC
2403 Research Drive,
Livermore, CA 94550
USA Support Phone: Tel: 925-371-0922
Fax: 925-371-0923
[email protected] Website: www.airborne-models.com The P-47 Thunderbolt is one of the most recognizable designs
from World War II, and the first in a line of successful, if not
legendary, ?thunder? designs from Republic Aircraft. Larger,
heavier, and more powerful than any single-engined fighter of
WWII, the P-47 isn't the most maneuverable plane in full scale,
but it is one of the fastest. In wartime conditions, the P-47 is
famous for its ability to take punishment, and became a
legendary ground-attack aircraft.
Fast forward to today, and the P-47 is one of the most popular
warbirds of all time in model form. While there are literally
dozens of different P-47 models ranging from plastic static
models up through giant scale radio control models, there
hasn't been a handy park flyer version, let alone one with
functioning retracts.
Phenomenal level of
prefabrication
Light, strong
construction
Scary pilot
Landing gear doesn't
like grass.
Kit Name: P-47D Thunderbolt EP Price: $119.99 retail price
Wingspan: 39.5"
Wing Area: 282 sq. in.
Flying Weight as tested: 32oz.
Airfoil: Semi-symmetrical
Motor: KM0283010 Outrunner Battery used: 3s 2200mAh JustGoFly
ESC used: 30A JustGoFly
Radio equipment: Spektrum DX6i, AR500 receiver, Tower Pro
9g servos
Square Hobby Knife Ruler Small Phillips screwdriver 1/16 drill bit Pliers Medium CA 30-minute epoxy Masking tape Every project starts out with
a plane in a box.
This is what came in the box.
It's a very complete kit,
including all the hardware.
The motor mount is designed
to fit Airborne's
recommended KM0283010
outrunner.
When you think of color schemes for a P-47, two colors come to mind: Olive Drab, and Natural
Aluminum. Earlier models were painted olive drab to provide a bit of camouflage over the forests and
fields of the European theatre. As the Allies gained air superiority over the Axis, newer planes were
painted only with squadron markings to save money and weight.
How does it come to be, then, that the legendary ?Jug? ends up as a model kit in metallic blue and
silver? I don't know, but I like it! First and foremost, it's different. Every other P-47 on the market is in
typical olive drab and/or natural aluminum and black. The plane's markings closely resemble an actual full-scale P-47D model that flew with the 86th Figher
Group in World War II, but they're done using the metallic blue anywhere you'd expect black. All the
scale panel lines and rivets are printed right on the LightTex covering in the metallic blue on a metallic
silver background, which makes them very noticeable from a short distance away. This may be the
reason for the color choice; the blue ?pops? out at you and really shows off the detail.
Pre-trimmed belly pan with
nice wide gluing tabs.
The center of the stab is
already stripped of its
covering, ready to glue!
The canopy has predrilled
Fuselage is all laser-cut balsa
mounting holes! This is going and ply, and the covering job
to be fun.
is excellent.
A striped tail, just like the
prototype 88.
Woah! That is one scary
looking guy. I'll have to think
about this for a while...
Retract Trigonometry 101
To make mechanical retracts work reliably, the servo needs to be set up to move the retract pushrod
far enough in both directions. If the kit manufacturer doesn't give you the distance, it's easy enough
to measure. Achieving the right amount of throw can be tricky. Key is installing the EZ connector the correct
distance from the center of the servo. Here's how you figure out that distance:
A regular servo moves through 90 degrees full travel. This sets up a perfect 45-45-90 triangle,
shown in blue on the diagram.
With a 90 degree triangle, the lengths of the sides relate to each other using the formula A 2 x B2 =
C2 , labeled in red on the diagram. C turns out to be the distance the pushrod needs to travel to
move the retract from locked up to locked down as the servo arm rotates through its 90 degree
travel. Because this is a 45-45-90 triangle, A and B are the same length, AND they tell you where to
put the hole for the EZ connector!
Rather than get into all the boring math, it turns out that if you divide the pushrod travel, C, by
1.414, you now know where to locate the hole for the EZ connector!
For the P-47, the instructions call for 16mm of travel for the retract pushrod. Using the formula, it
turns out that the EZ connectors need to be located 11.3mm from the center!
Installing the retract servo in its
recommended location. Turned out
to be too far to the left.
All the linkage hooked up. Notice
that I had to move the servo, and
clearance the sheeting so the servo
horn could rotate.
Setting up mechanical retracts can be tricky and frustrating. Getting both gear legs to lock up and lock
down securely, and at the same time, has caused the recession of many a hairline.
The retracts pre-installed in the P-47's wing have a quality feel to them. All the pivots are very tight
and move smootly. Lock-up and lock-down are very positive, with minimal gear wiggle in either
position. Starting with quality retract units makes the job much, much easier. These retracts also utilize a
standard servo instead of a retract servo, which turns out to be another advantage. Standard servos
rotate 90 degrees normally, and have adjustable travel, while retract servos rotate through 180
degrees, period. Here's how to do it:
Install the servo in the wing.
Make sure the retract channel is set to 0 trim, 0 subtrim, 100% ATV. Connect the servo to the
retract channel, and put the switch in the raise position.
Find a two-arm servo horn with holes approximately 11.3mm from the center (see Retract
Trigonometry 101 inset to see how I figured this out), and install two of the included EZ
connectors.
Install the servo horn on the servo at an angle as close to 45 degrees as possible (see photo).
Flipping the arm end-for-end will get you a different angle if you can't get close on your first try.
Use subtrim to get the perfect 45 degree angle.
Cycle the retract switch, and if the arm moves in the wrong direction, remove it, turn 90
degrees, and reinstall. Readjust the subtrim for that perfect 45 degree angle.
Install the retract pushrods into the EZ connectors. You may want to disconnect power to the
servo so you can move things around and get the pushrods installed.
The servo will be either in full-up or full-down position when you reapply power. Move the
retracts into the appropriate full-up or full-down position and tighten down the EZ connectors.
Cycle the retracts. Adjust the ATV on your transmitter until the retracts lock both up and down
without the servo buzzing.
I know, it seems complicated, but the alternative is hours of trial and error. It'll be a bit trickier
without the benefit of a computer radio, but the process will be essentially the same.
Three different mounting lugs The lugs plug into the aileron
cover most 9g-class servos
servo hatch like legos. It took the shortest lugs to
accommodate these Tower
Pro 9g servos.
A string is looped through the
wing from aileron bay to
Pre-bent pushrods are exactly
aileron bay to facilitate easy
the right length. servo installation. Same song, second wing.
The one-piece wing (No epoxy; gotta love it!) means that wing preparation is minimal. Once again the
prefabrication of this ARF really shines, with modular aileron servo hatches. Airborne has developed a
hatch system that they use on many models in their EP series that consists of the plastic hatch cover
and three different sets of mounting lugs for the aileron servos. Each set of lugs is a different height,
allowing many different types of ?9 gram? servos to be installed with the servo arm centered in the
slot. Using the TowerPro 9g servos, I needed the shortest lugs.
Threading the aileron wires through the wings was a snap using the string in the wing. With the
hatches secured in place, it's a snap to hook up the aileron pushrods because they're pre-bent and cut
to the correct length. I added short pieces of medium silicone fuel tubing, from the hobby shop, to the
clevises to hold them securely closed.
With the tail surfaces
pre-stripped for installation,
it's epoxy-mixing time.
Looks a little naked, but it's
coming along nicely, and
quickly.
This aileron joiner is unique,
with an integrated control
horn. Elevator assembly is quick
and painless.
Rudder installation is pretty
typical. Same goes for the elevator,
except it's ready to, um,
elevate I guess... Tail preparation is straightforward. The slots for the fin and stabilizer were almost dead-on, requiring
no adjustments to achieve a square tail. While the epoxy dried, I set about assembling the elevator. Normally the two elevator halves are
connected with a hardwood dowel or a piece of wire. Airborne uses a unique approach to this with a
custom-molded elevator joiner that integrates a control horn. Each elevator half slides into a slot, and
is clamped in place with a bolt. What I did notice here was that the elevator halves are a little thin for
the slots, so I slid a thin bit of cardboard in to make up the difference. With the bolts tightened down,
the assembly was very rigid and secure.
Just like the aileron pushrods, the elevator and rudder pushrods are cut to length and pre-bent. It
didn't take long to get the control surfaces CA'd in place, with both control horns and pushrods
connected.
Two TowerPro 9g servos
provide the motive power for
the tail surfaces.
More of the radio gear is in
place.
It's not a scale tailwheel, but
it's strong, light, and simple
to install.
Time to get busy with the
business end with the motor,
motor mount and a large pile
of small hardware.
Motor's mounted, and the
bullet connectors are
soldered on the motor and
JustGoFly ESC.
Attaching the motor to the
airframe is a matter of four
socket head cap screws.
It doesn't take much effort to
locate the cowl. Simply line
up the paint, and thread
small wood screws in through
the predrilled holes.
The folding prop is unusual
for this type of model, but
what can I say? It works!
Four predrilled holes in the
canopy make locating and
securing the canopy painless.
One more part left to install,
but I just couldn't wait to see
what it looked like with the
wing attached.
With the belly pan installed,
the plane is ready to fly.
Once the tail is finished, the rest of the assembly goes QUICK. The level of prefabrication on this plane
is truly impressive. Everything that needs locating has holes already drilled. It's a simple matter of
lining up the holes and threading in the appropriate bolts or screws. An interesting feature of this plane is the folding propeller. It's definitely a non-scale feature, and
something you normally see on sailplanes, not on radial-engined warbirds.
I just couldn't bring myself to install the pilot that was included with the kit. Scale pilots are just not
my thing, and quite frankly, they freak me out a little :)
The final step in assembly was installing the belly pan. After the wing is attached and aligned, the belly
pan is simply glued to the bottom of the wing. It's not structural, so there's no need to strip the
covering from the wing where the pan makes contact. I simply placed a small dot of medium CA every
1/2? down each mounting flange, and held the belly pan in place until it set in place.
The included decal sheet
includes this familiar
cottontail.
Even at a distance, the scale
detail stands out due to the
color selection.
The P-47D's squadron
number 88 prominently
displayed.
The battery hatch blends
right in. It's located directly
behind the cowl.
JustGoFly batteries use Sabin
cells, rated for 25C. After
dozens of flights, they're
easily outperforming the
budget-priced packs.
Even perched on a starting
stand, the P-47 looks
imposing.
So, how does it fly? In short, it flies GREAT!
Before I attempt to fly any plane, I do a completely unscientific
full-throttle pull test. It's one of those things that you can just
?feel.? You know if the plane is going to go or not. When that
big 11? folding prop spooled up, I knew this little P-47 wasn't
going to have any problem.
If a plane has landing gear, I always like to at least attempt to
take off from the ground. The field had just been mowed, but it
was getting on into the evening and the grass was getting sticky
from the settling dew. That grass grabbed on to the little wheels
like Velcro and held the plane fast when I goosed the throttle,
causing a nose-over and prop strike. A quick inspection of the plane yielded no signs of damage, so I
tried again. This time I was able to feather the throttle and get
the plane rolling. From there it was only a short scoot across the
grass before the P-47 broke ground and climbed out.
Long story short, that is the only shortcoming of Airborne's
P-47. If you want to use the landing gear, the runway must be a
hard surface, or extremely short, dry grass. I've resorted to
hand launching and belly landing with the gear up. This isn't as
much fun as scale takeoffs and landings, but it's a lot easier on
the plane.
Download/Watch in Windows Media Player here! Beyond that, I could find little fault with the flying qualities. This
scale P-47 really shines when being flown in a scale fashion, but
it has excellent sport plane and aerobatic capabilities too. Once the plane was trimmed out and flying straight, I made a
few laps around the field to get acquainted with the plane. LiPoly
batteries can vary greatly from brand to brand, but the Sabin
cells in the 3S 2200 pack I got from JustGoFly.com carry plenty
of punch to cruise at a bit more than half throttle. Full throttle speed is significantly faster than cruise, but not so
fast that the plane became uncomfortable to fly, or looked
ridiculously out of scale. Axial rolls need only a touch of rudder
correction, but a P-47 is meant to do runway-length victory
rolls! Not to worry, it excells at those too, along with all the
basics. Flipping the high rate switch on flips the scale switch off. The
little P-47 will do any sport plane aerobatics you ask it to do.
Vertical is good for 300 feet of altitude before it runs out of
steam, but add in full rudder, and the plane kicks over into a
perfect stall turn. I had my timer set for 6 minutes, and before I knew it, the
alarm was beeping. With plenty of power left, I made several
approaches just to get a feel for the slow speed handling. There
was nothing to worry about; the P-47 is rock solid right down to
stall speed. Of course, I tried to land gear-down the first time
out, and of course, it caught in the grass and flipped over.
Subsequent landings have been gear-up, and uneventful.
If anything, the power system is underutilized. Whether I fly the
P-47 scale, or tear a few new holes in the sky, the batteries
always come out cool as a cucumber. Since the plane really
doesn't need it, I haven't tried any different props to see what
happens.
Of all the planes I've flown this summer, I've flown the Airborne Models P-47D the most, even
ignoring the short time I've owned it.. I've literally flown it dozens of times, which for me, is some
sort of record. I only get so many flying hours in a summer and normally I like to fly as many
different planes as possible. This one got more than its fair share of attention, and it's easy to see
why: It's a handy size, uses inexpensive common packs, flies well, and looks good.
The World Models
Distributed exclusively by:
AirBorne Models, LLC
2403 Research Drive,
Livermore, CA 94550
USA Support Phone: (925) 371-0922
email: [email protected] Website: www.airborne-models.com JustGoFly
Support Phone: (585) 889-8789
Website: www.justgofly.com
Spektrum
Distributed exclusively by:
Horizon Hobby
4105 Fieldstone Rd. CHAMPAIGN, IL 61822 Support Phone: (877) 504-0233 Sales Phone: (800) 338-4639
Website: www.horizonhobby.com
email: [email protected]
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