Author Topic: Lockheed P-38 Lightning Ideas and Inspiration  (Read 63065 times)

Offline GTX_Admin

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Re: Lockheed P-38 Lightning Ideas and Inspiration
« Reply #25 on: July 07, 2012, 06:22:48 AM »
Random ideas:

Twin turbo-prop P-38 maybe ala Piper PA-48 Enforcer?

High Altitude with extended wingtips and other mods and perhaps a large camera(s) in an extended nose?
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Offline Tophe

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Re: Lockheed P-38 Lightning Ideas and Inspiration
« Reply #26 on: July 07, 2012, 12:16:54 PM »
Maybe Kit (of PR_19Kit fame) will tell us how to increase span for this P-38. He is the expert for that. He registered but failed to login. I told him he mistyped in PT_19Kit and I hope he will come and enjoy here too...

Offline PR19_Kit

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Re: Lockheed P-38 Lightning Ideas and Inspiration
« Reply #27 on: July 07, 2012, 05:52:40 PM »
Thanks Tophe, at last I've managed to get in here.  :)

A P-38 isn't the best candidate for increased span actually. The problem is that the wing planform is markedly tapered already and you can't increase the span much more than what it is before the chord decreases to zero. I ran into a similar problem when increasing the span of my Wellesely BPRIII, and could only add a couple of inches on each side. The Welleseley is a bigger aircraft of course but the P-38 has similarly tapered wings. You'd probably get away with adding an inch on each side but that'd be about it with conventional methods.

On the other hand....  ;)

You could change the taper ouboard of the engines, and it wouldn't look too bad perhaps. Changing the overall taper, from the cockpit pod outward, would be quite difficult I'd venture to suggest, but then we're all Master Modellers here of course.....  :)
« Last Edit: July 07, 2012, 06:01:54 PM by PR19_Kit »
Regards
Kit

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Any aircraft can be improved by fitting longer wings

Offline Tophe

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Re: Lockheed P-38 Lightning Ideas and Inspiration
« Reply #28 on: July 07, 2012, 11:49:02 PM »
Kit, what is almost impossible in plastic is easy as drawing... Here is the KP-38 Kitning:

Offline PR19_Kit

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Re: Lockheed P-38 Lightning Ideas and Inspiration
« Reply #29 on: July 08, 2012, 02:40:23 AM »
All RIGHT!  :)

LOVE the conventional long span one Tophe. Luckily I don't have any unstarted P-38 kits to hand or I'd have the box open already!
Regards
Kit

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Any aircraft can be improved by fitting longer wings

Offline kitnut617

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Re: Lockheed P-38 Lightning Ideas and Inspiration
« Reply #30 on: July 08, 2012, 02:57:16 AM »
Hi Kit, you made it --- nice to see you here.

Anyway, what if you took the wings from a U2, join them together then graft all the P-38 nacelles onto it -- or even use parts from the XP-58 Chain Lightning
« Last Edit: July 08, 2012, 02:59:23 AM by kitnut617 »

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Re: Lockheed P-38 Lightning Ideas and Inspiration
« Reply #31 on: July 08, 2012, 03:25:53 AM »

On the other hand....  ;)

You could change the taper ouboard of the engines, and it wouldn't look too bad perhaps.

I think that would be the best way.  Cut off the existing wings at the outside edge of the nacelles/booms and then fit all new longer wings.

BTW, great to have you here and thanks for Tophe for helping out...I guess the right bait was the long span wings...
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Re: Lockheed P-38 Lightning Ideas and Inspiration
« Reply #32 on: July 08, 2012, 03:27:49 AM »
Moving away form the long span P-38 for a bit, here is something different I did:

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Offline PR19_Kit

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Re: Lockheed P-38 Lightning Ideas and Inspiration
« Reply #33 on: July 08, 2012, 07:43:22 AM »
I guess the right bait was the long span wings...

Greg,

Could well be right there.  :)

Robert,

The U-2 wing idea may work, yes. I'd need to check some plastic to see if it would for real. Sadly I don't have an unbuilr P-38 in The Loft.

LOADS of U-2s of course........  :)
Regards
Kit

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Offline kitnut617

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Re: Lockheed P-38 Lightning Ideas and Inspiration
« Reply #34 on: July 08, 2012, 07:50:37 AM »
Moving away form the long span P-38 for a bit, here is something different I did:




I think all you need to do is lose the side radiator pods and you got it Greg    :)

Offline Daryl J.

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Re: Lockheed P-38 Lightning Ideas and Inspiration
« Reply #35 on: July 08, 2012, 10:16:59 AM »
Which radials?   These look a lot better than the F6F cowlings someone used a number of years back.   
kwyxdxLg5T

Offline elmayerle

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Re: Lockheed P-38 Lightning Ideas and Inspiration
« Reply #36 on: July 08, 2012, 10:46:08 AM »
Moving away form the long span P-38 for a bit, here is something different I did:




I think all you need to do is lose the side radiator pods and you got it Greg    :)

Thin them but not eliminate them.  You still need provisions for the oil coolers and the turbocharger intercoolers.

Offline tc2324

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Re: Lockheed P-38 Lightning Ideas and Inspiration
« Reply #37 on: July 26, 2012, 11:34:46 PM »
One with jets......   ;)


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Offline ysi_maniac

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Re: Lockheed P-38 Lightning Ideas and Inspiration
« Reply #38 on: July 26, 2012, 11:53:16 PM »
 ;D ;D ;D ???

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Re: Lockheed P-38 Lightning Ideas and Inspiration
« Reply #39 on: July 27, 2012, 01:34:25 AM »
nice idea :)  Can we have another pic from a better angle ?

How about doing another one with the booms more inboard - coming off the tops of the engine pods ?

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Re: Lockheed P-38 Lightning Ideas and Inspiration
« Reply #40 on: July 27, 2012, 03:52:54 AM »
 :)
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Offline apophenia

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Re: Lockheed P-38 Lightning Ideas and Inspiration
« Reply #41 on: July 27, 2012, 07:16:22 AM »
Froglord: "... amphibious doom descends ... approach the alter and swear your allegiance to the swamp."

Offline tc2324

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Re: Lockheed P-38 Lightning Ideas and Inspiration
« Reply #42 on: July 27, 2012, 08:33:39 PM »
nice idea :)  Can we have another pic from a better angle ?



Here you go.


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Re: Lockheed P-38 Lightning Ideas and Inspiration
« Reply #43 on: July 28, 2012, 03:31:41 AM »
Which radials?   These look a lot better than the F6F cowlings someone used a number of years back.   

Oops...my bad for not answering earlier!!!  :(

They are actually Pratt & Whitney R-2800 Double Wasp radial...from a XF4U-1
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Offline Daryl J.

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Re: Lockheed P-38 Lightning Ideas and Inspiration
« Reply #44 on: July 28, 2012, 07:53:06 AM »
No worries.   Thanks.   :)
kwyxdxLg5T

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Re: Lockheed P-38 Lightning Ideas and Inspiration
« Reply #45 on: November 01, 2012, 07:20:44 AM »
Random idea:  P-38 as basis for modern UAV.  Pod provides area for recon equipment.  Change engines...
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Offline finsrin

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Re: Lockheed P-38 Lightning Ideas and Inspiration
« Reply #46 on: November 01, 2012, 07:50:12 AM »
That is a splendid build.  :)  :-*
Obviously built with much forethought.
Tossing in some F-138 pictures.  Built with minimal forethought.

Offline Jeffry Fontaine

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Re: Lockheed P-38 Lightning Ideas and Inspiration
« Reply #47 on: February 14, 2013, 04:51:46 AM »
Dana Bell has shared some images of a Lockheed P-38 Lightning Droop Snoot at HyperScale and several of the images show in rather good detail the inside of the bombardier's compartment plus the stores pylons that were added to the wings.  Certainly worth saving for later review. 
« Last Edit: April 24, 2013, 01:47:09 AM by Jeffry Fontaine »
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Offline dy031101

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Re: Lockheed P-38 Lightning Ideas and Inspiration
« Reply #48 on: April 22, 2013, 09:41:35 AM »
Funky looking engine cowlings.  I've a suspicion it would've been found underpowered with only R1535s.  On the other hand, it would give a starting place for developments with larger engines.
Which radials?
They are actually Pratt & Whitney R-2800 Double Wasp radial...from a XF4U-1

elmayerle, I have an awful sense of scale, so I'd greatly appreciate your opinion as to if PW's R-2800 Double Wasp might indeed work out for the Model 24 evolution...... or would I need another radial?
« Last Edit: April 22, 2013, 09:48:49 AM by dy031101 »
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Offline elmayerle

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Re: Lockheed P-38 Lightning Ideas and Inspiration
« Reply #49 on: April 22, 2013, 10:45:05 AM »
They'd probably work, but you'd need a tight cowling and need to take into account oil coolers.  If you keep the turbocharges in addition to whatever superchargers are on the engine, you should have quite an aircraft.  I would suggest the F4U or F8F as sources for the engines and cowlings, though I'm thinking that inverting the F8F cowling would better fit the P-38's lines.  If you can do a good fairing fro the firewall aft, using the engines and cowlings of the P-61 might well work.
« Last Edit: April 23, 2013, 12:27:50 PM by elmayerle »