“So I got one of the second runs of the P-28 in Pacific Silver, for better visibility. Assembly was straightforward, especially if you follow the comprehensive assembly video that Motion thoughtfully prepared. I have to remove my wings for transport, so I took the time to do the Multiplex connector mod. When I slide my wings on, the plugs connect automatically - no fishing for leads, no chance of swapped connectors. Speaking of wings, the one struggle I had was with wing fit, but that gets better over time.I was very intimidated by the size, weight and expense of this model and took it to the field twice before I flew it. As it turns out, it is a pussycat. All my control throws were done by the book and very little trim was needed. The stock plane is quite quick, and as I learn to relax with it, flying just gets better and better. I fly off grass and so far the stock landing gear is holding up fine, although I will spring for the landing gear upgrade when Motion offers it. Where the P-38 absolutely shines is landing. 90% of the damage I do to my warbirds is on landing. With this plane, I drop the gear, go full flap, line up with the runway and slowly back off the power. The P-38 descends like it was on rails and lands itself as lightly as a butterfly. Always gets ooohs and aaahs from the crowd. Somebody put a lot of thought and time into the design and set-up of this plane, it is perfect. I am using a single 6A lipo and have my timer set for 6 min, usually landing about 6:45 with 20% left in the battery (3.7V/cell).This has become my absolute favorite plane, better even than my tried and true FMS Zero. You won't be disappointed, this one is a peach.”
“This plane looks great on the flight line and flies as good as it looks. Only a little elevator trim needed. Set it up according to the video. Impressive in every way.”
“Of all the warbirds I own, this is by far, the best and most fun one I have!!! Docile or Aggressive, slow or fast, this bird is awesome no matter how you fly her. Even a stiff wind can't keep this bird from flying stable and smooth! The Build was easy and straight forward. I got mine during the first Pre-Order... and I am thinking of getting the Green one now...”
“Out of the box this is a great looking airplane. I could do without having to place all of those tiny decals but it really does add to the detail of the aircraft. The decals are great but a little better separation or numbering would have been helpful when choosing which pilot you were using. The aircraft goes together rather easily. The wiring can be a little confusing. It is best to watch the assembly video. The first flight was a dream. The aircraft lifted off with ease and is very maneuverable. Great looking and great flying aircraft.”
“What a terrific airplane to fly... Right out of the box, the plane assemble easy with no problems at all. Once at the field, it took off with ease and grace and needed very little trim. The motors purr in the air and the plane handles beautifully. The landing gear is strong enough to handle a less than perfect landing. The attention to detail is amazing as well. Great plane and I recommend to everyone who loves to fly warbirds.”
“Highly recommendedPlusses:-- Counter-rotating twin makes this a sweet flier. Great fun. This is really what matters anyway, so 5 stars.-- Great attention to detail – better than average foamie. Lights, chromate green inside the wheel wells, nice looking cockpit, magnetic drop tank attachment, etc.-- Easy to build, very complete. Control horns in place, control rods ready to install. Combo multi-connector & sequencer very convenient and easy.-- Multiple 12al sets, and incredibly complete 12al set for all the minor maintenance markings.-- Reasonably fast in stock configuration. Not like FMS 1700 warbirds, for example.-- Such a great plane that it is constantly out of stock.Minuses:-- Takes a lot of space. Tips are removable, but not the easiest. It will be better if it fits in your car whole. Note however that it can fit in a sedan backseat with the gear retracted…I have seen such photos.-- Screws could have been better organized.-- Mine had very slightly mis-aligned wingtips (see below).-- Constantly out of stock because it's such a great plane.Build Tips:1. First 09arate the screws into piles. It is not so easy to figure out what goes where. You may want to replace some of them with longer screws.2. It IS possible to fit all the wires in the channels on the inner wing panel, and cover them with the plastic cover. But it isn't easy. Keep the wires straight in this section. Also, I clamped and glued the wire covers. This makes them fit very flush and flat, but I also can never reroute a wire or replace a servo without surgery.3. At first, I couldn't fit the canopy with the batteries in place. The front of the battery pushed up the canopy. I carved out some foam, and it still didn't fit. What ultimately made it fit was that I removed the Velcro from underneath the front of the battery. So the Velcro only covers the back 2/3 of the battery, and removing this extra 1/8 inch of thickness from the front of the battery made it fit.4. The black servo bodies are visible in many places. This is particularly ugly on the silver one. But it takes just a few minutes to paint silver over them. Big improvement.5. The tips attach/detach, but mine were ever so slightly off. I couldn't see this, but I only know because after I trimmed it out in the air and landed, the ailerons were visibly off in one direction. Therefore, the tips must have been off in the other direction. I think the design makes it quite difficult to come out perfectly aligned, because unlike most planes, there isn't a single pair of rods that pass all the way through the fuse and align both wings.6. You might want to have several flap->down elevator mixes available on your maiden. Mine ballooned up with flaps, and I didn't have enough down trim. So I had to do my first landing without flaps (not ideal). If you have a three position switch, you might try two different flap->ele mixes on the lower two positions, and then see in the air which works better. Perhaps like 4% and 8%. You might need more than that, but it should get you in range.”
“So much fun flying I could care less about my earlier cosmetic comments.In keeping with the concept of rarely modeled warbirds, sure would like to see a twin about the same size---like an A-20 Havoc or the later A-26.”
“Just finished my silver flightline P-38L from Flightline & Motion R/C. Very easy build if you have assembled smaller foam P-38's in the Past. I'm very pleased that all servos, lights, gear, sequencers work without having replacement or adjustment. I will use 2 4000ma 4 cells for power they fit fine under the canopy & the CG is spot on. I really dig the strobe light & ldg. light very cool! Have taxied the plane over very rough pavement & the gear still works! Foam finish still looks like a lizards back but what the hey you can't buy a better or bigger P-38 model that you can build in a day! Will maiden as soon as weather clears however I expect no suprises! NICE JOB FLIGHTLINE!!!”
