That shark mouth may have been a German invention but it fits the P-40 better than any other airplane (above). Another of those classic P-40 photos: pulling away after a kill (at right), looking for the next victim.
not move the c.g. any further rearward than 5.5 inches. Using the JR 12X transmitter allows sep-
arate receiver channels for each servo. The airplane uses nine servos. If your transmit- ter has eight channels, “Y-cord” the ailerons (and elevators if using IBEC) as this air- plane has very minimal adverse yaw. The control movements were set per the book ex- cept the ailerons. Above all, never exceed the recommended elevator or flap deflec- tions. Separate flap channels are required to insure that flap movement is equalized throughout its range. Try to employ a flap switch that allows proportional movement rather than just up/down. These flaps are very effective. The airplane balanced laterally as is. The propeller is Zinger’s 22–6-10. Using this pro- peller, the P-40 has fabulous acceleration and climb but top speed is probably reduced. I am going to try a carbon fiber 22–10 next season but that’s because I am somewhat of a per- formance nut. This also proved to be an ide- al break-in propeller and I recommend it for the first 20 or so flights. The DLE idled all day at 1500 rpm and topped out at 7200 rpm.
Flying With an airplane like this, there are real-
ly two types of flying: sport/scale and high- performance. For most sport/scale flying at the local field, this is almost a perfect air- plane. It is easy to fly, responds immediate- ly and has few in-flight handling problems. Full-power takeoffs use less than 50 feet of runway. There is torque so keep some right rudder in during liftoff and climb out. The airplane tracks extremely well and is awesome in the air. Even full elevator de- flection in tight, 60-degree banked turns is a non-event. There is no tendency to snap out of any inside turn even at slow air- speeds. The airplane will fly any inside loop size up to about 200 feet without concern that it could snap out of a tight pull out. In fact, the wing seems happiest when flying in the high, positive “G” regime. At speed, this is one of the most forgiving scale fighters I have ever flown. However, there is significant roll and
pitch coupling. There is a lot of dihedral— very scale—meaning the airplane banks well on just rudder. Rudder application also causes the airplane to pitch downwards. These make slow rolls and point rolls diffi-
FLYING MODELS
cult to fly. If not trimmed out, the twin cou- plings also require deft handling during full- flap landings. No-flap landings are routine and the light, 41.1 ounces/square foot, wing loading keeps landing speeds to less than 20 mph. This airplane does not want to stop flying.
Full-flap landings require a different tech-
nique as is true of many scale fighters I have flown. Keep the nose about 10 degrees below horizontal. If not, the airplane dramatically slows while the ailerons loose effectiveness. Applying rudder causes a slight downward pitch while inducing a roll. Using elevator to pick up the lowering nose slows the airplane further. There is a lot of lift in this wing but it
starts to drop off on the left wing tip as the airspeed gets too low. In short, the airplane gets “wonky”—starts drifting to the side while the pilot is over-controlling far too much. It is then time to apply the throttle and try again. But the P-40 is so forgiving that applying full throttle even in this near- stalled condition yields nothing but a straight climb out. There is no snap roll ten- dency with full throttle application. Keep the nose under the horizon and use
power to control rate of descent. Set the throttle trim for 2000 rpm at mid-point and this airplane responds as a true friend. With full flaps, it can land and stop in about 50 feet. My friend, Dave Cooper, had a chance, in his early jet fighter pilot days, to fly a re- stored P-40E. His recollection is that the full-size P-40 behaved exactly the same way if the approach airspeed was allowed to de- cay. He pointed out that the full-size P-40 is actually very short coupled so the elevator is overly effective at low airspeeds. It is even more effective at speed so very little is re- quired even during multiple rolls. So, I guess Top Flite got this airplane very scale. Rolls, even in opposite directions, require
almost no “down” elevator while inverted. Use low rate elevator during cruise maneu- vers. The rolls are then prettier and the air- plane is easier to manage while inverted. To sum up its sport flying abilities, know
that you can trust this airplane to do almost anything in the air without its ever turning on you. Spins have to be forced using rudder and ailerons, rotation slows when ailerons are removed after the second turn (the spin stops if you remove them sooner) and recov- ers on point without requiring opposite rud-
der. Snap rolls stay on line, making inside Avalanches really pretty. Stall turns do need opposite aileron just at the pivot to counter the roll coupling. The one exception is outside maneuvers.
The effective elevator and generous dihedral combine to make outside maneuvers diffi- cult. Inverted flight is simple, requiring minimal elevator to stay level even in turns. However, applying full down elevator too rapidly causes the P-40 to snap back to lev- el, upright flight. Very slow elevator appli- cation is needed. So, for sport flight, I sug- gest limiting inverted maneuvers to level flight and outside Immelmans. There is too much chance of snapping out of inverted loops or spins on the pullout. While this is a great, very impressive
sport scale airplane. High performance fly- ing does require some trimming. Pitch cou- pling can be trimmed out by mixing 15% “up” elevator with right rudder. Left rudder however, requires 40%. This much elevator mix tends to make left stall turns difficult as the airplane flops back into the pivot. Elim- inating the roll coupling requires 25% oppo- site aileron mixing which also affects other maneuvers. My answer is to set these mixes on a switch. I employ them only during slow and point rolls. Go easy on elevator applications during outside maneuvers. Allow plenty of sky room for inverted pullouts; just in case. Mix in about 5% right rudder for vertical climbs with full throttle. Otherwise, the P-40 flies as well as any sport aerobatic airplane. It is exciting to watch fly, a joy to handle in sport flight, gentle on the controls, and one of the very best scale fighters at slow airspeeds that I have ever flown. The DLE 55 has started easily every time,
idles well and has more than too much pow- er. The Robart landing gear have functioned 100% and are so tough I don’t think they can be accidentally damaged during normal flight. Their scale-like retraction recalls every video I have seen of the full-size air- plane’s takeoff. I usually never say this, but I could not
have hoped for a better team than the rec- ommended engine, airplane and retracts in any model. I am very glad that I bought them. They form a unit that I am looking forward to flying a lot in 2012 and beyond. I hope you decide to join me with your own very special, Top Flite Giant Scale P-40E.
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