Every week here on flitetest.com, we like to highlight a special project one of our amazing community members has done. This week, it's Grifflyer and his mini Bell P-39. Built in the style of the Flite Test Mighty-Mini series, it ticks all the boxes for someone wanting to build a portable little warbird.
Grifflyer set out what he wanted to achieve with the design.
'Although this is a warbird, that doesn't mean it needs to fly fast or be a challenge to fly. I specifically designed this plane to be a great way to learn to fly warbirds while being stable yet having the ability to do some modern aerobatics and also still having very little bad characteristics.'
He also mentions how the plane was designed with limited resources in mind.
'the P-39 is only made with TWO sheets of foam, incorporates cheaper electronics [than the FT Mini Mustang], faster to build and repair, easier to fly, much more scale looking (in my personal preference).'
On the main forum thread for this project, Grifflyer has included shots of the inside of his model to help people see what's going on under the hood.
It's great to see the dedication that has gone into this airplane; there's even written build instructions so that you can build one of these mini warbirds for yourself. You can download this here: Bell P-39 instructions.pdf
When painted, the P-39 looks fantastic. The scale canopy and exhaust stacks really add to the overall effect.
The real Bell P-39 Airacobra was quite a radical design for its day. It had the engine positioned behind the cockpit. The plane's purpose was to be a high-altitude interceptor. One of the flaws of the P-39, however, was to do with the pilot; due to there being no engine up front generating a lot of heat, pilots found that flying the plane was extremely unpleasant in colder climates.
It was particularly chilly for pilots in Russia. The Soviet Union purchased P-39's from the US to fight on the Eastern front. This is why you see the planes, like one of Grifflyer's models, in Soviet colours.
If you'd like to see how this P-39 flies, Grifflyer has made numerous videos on his YouTube channel. It may be worth checking out his other airplanes on there too!
He was also featured on last year's Flite Fest South recap video. You can the Bell-39 and one of his other designs in that video (skip to 5.35 minutes in if you don't want to view the whole video!).
This is a great addition to the line up of fan-designed mighty-mini airplanes. If you'd like to build this P-39, head on over to the forum thread and download the plans and instructions. If you're thinking of designing a plane of your own, or are in the midst of a build, do share your experience with the community by creating your own forum thread or writing an article.
We can't wait to see what you make!
Links
Mighty Mini DIY Planes on our Store
Article by James Whomsley
Editor of FliteTest.com
www.youtube.com/projectairaviation
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