I started my next build and decided on the Parkzone P-47D Thunderbolt AKA the JUG. I planned on building this plane similar to my Parkzone Corsair, with plenty of power and speed. The Thunderbolt should be able to reach 90mph without difficulty.
The plane arrived in great shape with all the hardware included in the airframe kit. It comes with all the decals, the wing and fuselage are already applied so you have two decals to apply to the underside of the wing if desired. The Thunderbolt airframe is very pleasing to the eye and the build process went smoothly. I used the stock plastic motor mount in addition to a plywood mount I made. The plywood mount fits between the stock motor mount and the Brushless motor. In the past I ordered and used mounts from CustomRC. The motor came up a little short out the cowl so I then used my Dremel to grind off enough of the cowl’s center to fit the motor.
With everything in place, I charged my brand new 4s 2200mah 40c battery and connected my Turnigy Wattmeter for some testing. Here are the results.
Plenty of power and way over spec on the motor but I was ready to maiden it at this point so off I went. I brought along my radar gun and met a friend to help get some mph readings. On the second flight we got 94MPH on 2 separate runs. The plane is very stable and a real pleasure to fly. Very smooth two wheel landings that carry a lot of momentum down the runway until I finally place the tail wheel down. Very precise and it’s a lot of fun to fly. My old Corsair has gotten heavy and worn over the years so this new Warbird is exactly what I needed.
Update – New Paint, Prop and Wattmeter Test and new MPH Record
Big Foot 15 /APC 10x10E / Turnigy 4s 2200mah 40C
58.72a
888.4w
P-47D Thunderbolt Weight
36oz without battery
AUW = 45.5oz using 4s 2200 40c lipo
Here is the new MPH record video and she certainly isn’t finished yet -
Painted
More Radar Fun – 7.14.2011 – P-47D Thunderbolt 110mph !
Nanoplanes sells kits of mini size pylon racers and other airplanes made of either Depron foam/Balsa mix or Balsa entirely. I decided to purchase the Babyshark which is a foam/balsa mix that comes as a pre-cut ARF kit. I purchased the power package and all other electronics separately. Since the Babyshark is comprised of mostly foam I was curious as to how the airframe could possibly resist the loads when at full speed straight and level and then pulling back on the elevator instantly going vertical. Nanoplane’s videos of the Babyshark where impressive and now that I have many flights on the Babyshark I can attest to it’s structural integrity.
The nanoplanes kit requires a little building experience but flying the fast small plane should be reserved for those that are comfortable at these high speeds. The little babyshark disappears pretty fast at 95mph+
The Nanoplanes videos can give potential owners a glimpse of the madness to come. These are very nimble fast mini pylon racers that will require your full concentration in order to keep orientation. The videos do not fully depict the speed and capability of the plane!
original post with parts list for my AJ Slick 51 HERE
I was able to put a few more flights on the AJ Slick and work on getting the CG (center of gravity) more to my liking. It was seemed to balance on the ground well using my fingertips but in the air it was a different story and was nose heavy. Flying inverted under power with a slight up angle the plane would then drop immediately when I was off elevator. What I am looking for a is slow hesitation before the plane starts to nose over and lose altitude. This would be a good 3D setup for me. So with the two short flights I had it was flying much better than previously.
The CG range with the battery position in the Slick 51 is very forgiving. When trying different 3d maneuvers I wanted the plane more neutral or a tad tail heavy. I was at first changing the battery position in .25 – .5 inch increments which barely had any effect. I settled on a position that I am satisfied with that was nearly 2″ inches from the original start point! I’ve never had a plane where the CG range is so varied. My friend who owns the AJ Slick 70 also confirms his wide CG range as it relates to his battery position. This also confirms what a lot of owners have stated when they are flying heavier batteries and the Slicks performance and traits hardly change. With my 2600mah 4s and 3000mah 4s I’m unable to notice a detectable difference in flight characteristics. So now with a more 3d capable balancing the 51 Slick is a tumbling machine. It tumbles with ease when put into a negative inverted snap and hovering, knife edges are much more consistent. We were able to fly up to 6pm which we haven’t been able to do for the longest time were looking forward to the longer summer days.
Another Update: New Props and Wattmeter Test
I received a couple new props for the AJ Slick 51″ and installed them and ran some Wattmeter results.
1. First prop was a Wood Master Airscrew 14×8 ( MASBA1480B). This propeller was the most un-balanced prop I’ve ever purchased. Very surprising how out of whack it was. This is also my very first wood prop to try. The balancing was corrected using my Du-Bro Tru-Spin Prop Balancer and some Scotch Tape on the lightest end of the prop. This is more or a temporary fix as I would like to use clear nail polish or other permanent means to balance. Regardless the prop is now very balanced but needed a lot of strips of tape. I then added my testing battery and Wattmeter and got these crazy results. They were shocking to me being that I only went up in pitch size on this propeller. I was using a APC 14x7e that gave 876.5 watts @ 56.84 amps.
I really enjoy my smaller scratch built 32″ Yak 55 as it really can’t be beat in the price vs performance category. If you haven’t built one yet just read the following link and get going! ( Yak 55 32″ EPP Build Guide, Videos, Free plans ) Also in this size range, the TechOne Hobby Swift 3D EPP Plane is now my favorite (nitroplanes now carries).
Now On To The New Plane. The 48″ Red Eagle Happy EPP plane was purchased through Hobby King (HKing) and is called EPP-3D unbreakable EPP foam model Kit on their site. It was previously available through an importer in the USA and was called Red Eagle Happy. With the introduction of HKing’s new USA warehouse they are now stocking larger size items that were previously not cost effective to ship internationally. So I made my purchase through the USA warehouse and I already had the motor and other parts to outfit the new plane.
Before the build I read the owners posts on RCgroups forum which point out some failures of the manufacture that need to be corrected and also some ideas on the build. The main modification that needed to be addressed was the tail feathers. Specifically the elevator did not have enough clearance to move freely since the horizontal stabilizer was installed to far forward. It was a fairly easy fix which necessitated new holes be drilled further back in the aluminum bracket that allows the stabilizer and elevator to be moved further back towards the tail. I also choose to mount the servos for the elevator and rudder a little differently that allowed for a better angle with the linkages. My servo placement isn’t necessary and would probably work just as well if you installed normally, plus the plane would be lighter. The build was completed and the weight of the plane came out a lot heavier than I liked but I have plenty of power with the setup.
I haven’t had the chance to maiden the plane yet and the battery positioned isn’t set yet permanently but I’ll update this post with new information shortly.
UPDATE !
Maiden went well!
Got up early in the morning and headed out while the wind was calm. Even with the plane being a lot heavier than I would’ve liked it is very floaty. I only had the chance to fly 2 batteries with about 7-8 mins on a 2200mah 3s lipo.
Hovers with ease on this setup and there isn’t a need to prop up to a 13″. I may try a 13″ prop in the future just for the heck of it and like always will add results here. The throws on the control surfaces were tremendous using the curved carbon fiber servo arms. The elevator had to be dialed down big time as well as the ailerons. The rudder was left at maximum with no exponential programmed to it either. I have 30% expo on the ailerons and elevator. I will dial back the elevator expo to allow for my own preference of faster response. The plane is a axial roll demon even with the larger aileron control throws and surface. Knife edged a little, very easy, again very floaty. Flat spin was just as easy. Flies a lot like my EPP Yak 32″ just a little slower in doing maneuvers . I need to further work on the trimming and battery position. The pic below was nose heavy when testing inverted, power on with a slight up angle the nose was dropping pretty quick. This was surprising as my finger balance test had me thinking that I had a tail heavy plane. So the battery now in placed further back towards the leading edge of the wing.
Landing After First Flight(batt to far forward)
Upon arriving back home I cut out the zip tie landing gear support in an effort to reinforce the landing gear. The gear has a tendency to twist on landing and the wheel was toeing in. I added 2 pieces of Basswood and then drilled out the Plexiglas holes to allow for thicker zip ties. This was all put back together with a coat of White Gorilla Glue. Feels a lot more solid and should hold up to landings much better.
Landing Gear Reinforcement
While in a low knife edge I hit a fence and the fuselage was bent. I straightened it out pretty well but the carbon spars were not even. I should’ve been more careful but I cracked one of the carbon fiber spars. Wasn’t able to repair it so I then set out to find a replacement. In the meantime since the foam is EPP so I took care of the cosmetic small tears in the foam with Welder Glue which I always us for my other EPP plane. I used my digital calipers due to determine the Outside Diameter (od) of the carbon fiber spar which was 8mm. I found what I believed to be a good price and similar spar at hobby lobby and picked up a couple as well as some other parts waited for delivery. The new replacement spar is a little less thick in the inside diameter but should work.
Once the carbon fiber tube arrived I tested it for rigidity and felt that it was certainly enough to work as a wing spar. I installed the spar with new metal washers and placed a good amount of thick CA glue on it and the washers and installed on plane straight while hitting it with ca accelerator. The wings are straight and level and test flights were completed and the plane is back in the lineup. The aluminum that is installed in the fuselage is a little dented from the re-bending and I can see this getting to a fatigue point rather easily if I have to do it again.
after carbon spar replaced
June 2011 Pics and video below
Update – Elevator Snapped, Balsa and EPP layer seperation
I wish I would’ve taken a picture of the problem but the balsa pulled away from the epp foam. In addition the foam layers also pulled away from themselves causing complete loss of the elevator while in flight. It thankfully wasn’t a hard crash but it did break the motor mount completely off, prop snapped and bent the airframe.
I finished my 3D Hobby Shop(3DHS) – AJ Slick build and so far have a very limited amount of flights (three total) due to high winds we’re experiencing. This is my first plane from 3DHS and I can see why they’re very popular with so many owners. They have quite a large following on the RCGroups forum and the owners contribute a lot of helpful tips and discussion which has helped me decide not only the model to purchase but also the power plant and battery best suited for the type of flying I plan to do.
The Slick is a good looking, very lightweight, 3D performer that is a great value for those just entering the 3D market or those with a lot of experience wanting a smaller highly transportable plane. 3D Hobby Shop (3DHS) has since discontinued this particular model and it will be replaced with a new scheme very soon. 3DHS will continue to stock parts for the older model as it is typical for them to keep parts for a few years on older models. The new model will be the AJ Slick 51″ and will come in Red and Orange only. You can visit 3D Hobby Shop’s homepage here. Update – The new AJ Slick 51″ revised version is online HERE $229.99 (2-4 weeks out)
Here are the parts that I am currently using in the 3DHS AJ Slick 51:
Weight of my AJ Slick 51 without battery is 1430 grams (3.15 lbs or 50.44 ounces)
4S 3000mah weighs 365G / 4S 2650 weighs 327G
Here are a series of Build Videos for the 3D Hobby Shop AJ Slick 51″ that are useful if you’re considering purchasing this plane. They are created by Kevin (IPSmotors) and he also covers other 3D Hobby Shop planes.
