P38 Lightening

i picked this up last night having purchased it on E Bay from a guy in Andover.I thought it was a foamy but its not.Its ply and balsa with plastic moulded acceories,Its electric but has ic props.it looks like batteries fit in trap doors under the nacelles.I can see an aeriel to the receiver in the cockpit so have to work out how to get to that.Also need tofigure the size of battery to be used probably 2 x 2200 3 cell by size.I also purchased a sports low winger electric from the same guy.It had a 4cell 5000 battery in it plus an on board battery thats hiding in the cowl.Interesting models

needs spinners

When you get to fly your Lightning (no 'E'!! Lightening means make less heavy - although that helps with aircraft, too! ) keep the speed up. Those tapered wings can be wicked tip-stallers. The full-size wasn't nicknamed the Widow-maker for nothing!

thanks Eric whats your opinion on ic props and there 11 x8

I/C props on an electric model, no problem, although a bit heavier than needed. The other way around - an electric prop on an i/c is a no-no, the prop won't take the pulsed power, and will shatter.
If you break down the combustion cycle of an i/c, the compression stroke is driven by the flywheel effect of the prop, so in effect the blades get 'bent' in the wrong direction as they try to push the piston up, then on the firing stroke, the crankshaft bends the blades the other way, as it tries to go faster than the blades.
If you keep bending something back and to, it soon breaks.

11 x 8 is an odd size. I'd need to know what motors are fitted, what amps the speed controllers are limited to, and what battery you intend to use, before I can offer any meaningful advice on that.

Those props look like APC 11x8.
Yes they are IC props but APC claim they are so efficient they make good "e" props too. .

As an aside - my Icon amphib has a Master 3-blade i/c prop on it, because I couldn't find an 'electric' three-blade 12 x 6 anywhere!

thanks gents Ill get that information Eric because I want the props to be correct.Last night I found the receiver buried deep in the fuselage and swopped it for mine.Lots of wiring to tuck away afterwards

you can also see the trap door where the battery goes one on each side.there are separate speed controllers in there also

What you really REALLY need to do is get yourself a WATTMETER.
It plugs in between the lipo and the speed controller, and it gives you a reading of how many AMPS and WATTS the motor and prop combi is drawing through the controller and from the lipo, when the motor is running at full power.
If you try to pull more AMPS than the speed controller is designed for, it very quickly goes phut! and then you need a new one!
I always aim for at least 25% more power in the controller, than the motor/prop combi can pull. (It's called headroom!)
If you change the prop diameter and/or the pitch, that changes the load on the motor, which in turn changes the load on the speed controller.
You cannot see or hear electricity, so you can't tell what load the motor is getting without the meter. With an i/c engine, if you under-prop it, it will spin faster, and if you over-prop it, it will spin slower, and you can tell by ear - up to a point. An electric motor will not. It will not go any faster than it's designed speed (the KV number). Under-prop it, and it draws less AMPS, overprop it, and it draws more - and more - until something goes phut!
The KV (K = thousand (rpm) - V = volts) number tells you how many revs per minute the motor will do for each VOLT it is fed with, Example, a 1KV motor running on 1 volt will go at 1000 rpm. Give it 3 volts, and it goes at 3000. A one cell lipo gives 3.7 volts nominal.
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Obviously (to most!) you do not fly the model with the wattmeter plugged in, it is just a test-bench tool!

I do have one Eric

Last time I used it the motor went phut

Without knowing what the motor was, and how many cells in the lipo, I'd guess too many volts, too big a prop, etc. Or maybe even reversed polarity between lipo and speed controller.
You say the motor went phut, but was it the motor or the speed controller?
Was the motor free-spinning BEFORE you connected the lipo? It might have been jammed.
Anyway that's academic.
Re the Lightning - find out what the motors are - first!
Then find out what the speedo's are!

thats my plan Eric as I need your advise when I get the information.Last night I worked on the low winger.In it was a well charged 4 cell 5000 battery and seperate on board battery.on this one the prop is a 13x8 electric.I was able to easily change the receiver and the controls are nicely trimmed