Nightmair

That's a great tip! Since we coat chopper gas tanks with urethane, I figured it's as fuel proof as it gets. the epoxy formula sounds cool though! Thanks!

ZDS

Found my camera so here are some photos ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,ZDS

I should point out that when I modified the landing gear by cutting off the original axle , and installing the Dubro adjustable , I moved the wheel from the inboard side of the strut
(the vertical section of the wire gear) to the outboard side. This is maybe a difference of 1" . It's actually more to scale and I believe more stable given the wider stance.

The short piece of tubing added at a 45 deg angle connects the top of the strut to the horizontal section which might be considered the torsion bar (the section that absorbs the shock) . It makes this gear less prone to deform.

I placed a reciever battery monitor in the cockpit , and also used 4 screws to secure the canopy instead of sealer or glue.[/font]
You can also see where I split the cowling , so I can remove the top , or bottom or both to get at the motor without removing the spinner / prop.

I hade to make some small plywood bracket to have a location for the forward screws , and I just CA'd these in place , I have just learned of this nice fiber glass like material
you can use with CA. this would make these mods easy and even stronger ...............I went and got some ,,,,

The tail wheel mod I explained in a entry on the next page (19) .This also improves the handling.

I fuel proofed the Fire wall with thin CA. I think you get a little more structural benefit .

The tail block on mine did not clamp the horizontal stb very well on my plane so I added two 3/16" dowels for,and aft in the tail block with inteference fit holes in the center of the stabilizer . When put back together with the two little nuts at the bottom of the tail it was totally stiff , a much stronger connection. You have to be carefull with this mod because it takes perfect alignment (an assortment of various sze drill bits works good to keep things lined up).

For the life of me I can't figure out why the did not complete the connection of that receiver charging pack on the side of the fusealage..? All the parts are there ??

Casedit

ZDS - can you explain the work you did on the tailwheel? I don't like the way mine looks either - even before first flight the balsa was slightly split where it enters the rudder.

thanks

ZDS

I replaced the factory tail wheel with this unit I found in the local Hobbie shop .............It comes with a couple of springs of two different tensions . If you don't use the springs the tail wheel will castor 360 deg ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,however by using the spring , and slipping a piece of fuel tube over it and securing one end to the bottom of thte rudder you can make the gound steering more effective since you have the rudder movement moving the tail eheel in the desired direction through the piece of tubing.

It helps when taking off and landing ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,however it is less effective when you have a cross wind .............I think it has helped this plane.

The white plastic piece that attatches to the bottom of the fues tail block has 4 mount holes , I used all of them , and removed the covering so I could bound it on with a little CA glue . Makes a solid connection ,,,,,,,,,,and there is no real reason to take this off , Idon't think. Just get it on straight . I used the stiffer spring , it's also smaller . I don't know the makere of this ....I'll check


ZDS

Casedit

Thanks... interesting.

So the tailwheel doesn't insert into the rudder like the stock unit then? only under the rudder via the tubing? In the end though, isn't the steering just as effective as the stock unit which moves with the rudder? I"m looking more for strength because the stock wheel looks shoved up into the rudder and not sturdy.

Casedit

Spectere

My Feedback: (1)

If I'm not mistaken, Dubro Makes a Tail wheel. I know I'm using one on my 4 *.

Here's a link:
[link=http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXD850&P=7]Du-bro Tailwheel bracket[/link]

ZDS

Ya , this tail wheel wire is heavier and goes through a brass bushing that swivels in a boss which is part of the white plastic bracket that is mounted to the tail block of the empenage . One end of the spring is spring is run through the brass bushing , and the other is run into the fuel hose that you will screw mount to the bottom of the rudder,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,ZALE

ZDS

Du-Bro makes one , but it does not come with the springs????????, But looks like you could .......................Zale

ZDS

This Sullivan Tail wheel kit is 8$ so I know some one who needs one , I picked it up and thought you might like a picture.....................ZDS

Buteos

A note on landings..don't reduce your throttle to idle, trim your radio to about 1/2 throttle or a little less to give yourself some control power. You would be surprised to find how many "seasoned" fliers don't really do well at landings or take-offs. The plane handles pretty well in winds as I found last weekend..20mph with gusts of 25mph after 4 flights. It was funny seeing the plane crab naturally at 400 ft. due to cross winds, don't try to out guess what the wind will do and an additional note, there were NO high wing trainers in the air due to the wind. The plane allows you to make mistakes and although it isn't a high wing trainer it does make you better prepaired for bigger and better planes, most of which will share some of the same factors as what you are learning on.

I am in the process of building two more planes, one is the Miss America with a YS 110, Robarts and Oleo struts and the other is the H9 P-40 with a 100 Saito and Robart gear. I feel very comfortable about flying both of these planes due to what I have learned because of this "Trainer" AND the simulator. Buy the 9 pin seriel to USB connector and use it, it can save you countless hours of worry and possibly a crash.

Bob

Casedit

Thanks - so you didn't drill holes for the white mounting bracket's bolts, you just glued it on right?

G-Pete

OK, my turn with some pictures.

Here is my Pilot, a little more modern but pretty much scale. Also here the motor without the cowl, before the fuel proof paint. Yes, secure the screws – mine went loose after the 5th flight.
I liked always the big red mouth on these warbirds, finally I can apply one on my own plane. A fine brush and time makes the rivets and weather lines possible. My plan is – when I get better – to put retracts on it. The bird have plenty power to pull the additional weight. She
The statement “don’t pull the throttle to idle at landing� applied to me only when I had the flaps at 20*. The flaps in the zero position, the “idle speed� is a little higher. My Droops are still installed.
Today we will try the 10x8 prop w/o the flywheel.

Happy landings --- G-Pete

G-Pete

BTW: here some more [link=http://ImageEvent.com/germanpete]G-Pete's picture site[/link]

Casedit

Lookin good Pete - your garage looks a lot like mine - motorcycles and planes... my wife just rolls her eyes

ZDS

Actually I did make small pilot holes and put in all four screws , along with removing the covering in that spot and applying a small amount of CA glue when making the installation.

I wanted a strong mechanical connection and bonded with CA. so it won't come loose ............ZDS

G-Pete

...yeah I know exactly what do you mean, hehehe.
For all who like to remove the top of the cockpit, the clear plastic is only attached with soft silicone and if you use a letter opener, you do avoid any damage on the covering.
I used RTV clear sealer to put it back on and to make it sturdier – 4 screws were my choice.
Sometimes when I flip the pane over to mount the wings, the plane sits on this plastic. This made me thinking how long the silicone would hold. Besides I don’t like the idea to get fuel on my pilot.

Nightmair

I'll say it again, this thread is so great, we need to have it bronzed!

ZDS: Those are some great things you did to your plane. I spotted a major beef-up in almost every photo. I also noticed you really cut back the cowl around the airbleed(?) screw.

Gpete...cool pics. I'm tempted to detail mine but as a professional illustrator, I am likely to get carried away. Let's see if I can fly the dang thing first!

TIP: No offense to anyone......One common mistake I always see is making the panel lines and rivets pure black. In reality they are protrusions painted over with the plane's paint scheme. Everyone should get some matte black enamel paint of any kind and thin it down so the lines and rivets are more of a semi-transparent wash. resulting in seeing a darker shade of your plane's colors where the detail is added. You can detail with a brush and even paint straight lines with a brush with very little practice needed. Just hold a plastic ruler at 45 deg angle and run the brush alongside the ruler's edge. Practice on paper a few times, and when you get your groove, hop your skills to the plane. I would probably make a template for the rivet holes for consistency.

Other than that I am soaking in all the tips and flying experiences. This seems to be one of those planes you have to fly all the way to the ground. Now I know what to expect. I also told my LHS about this thread and all the weak spots that need to be addressed. maybe it will help the next customer.

Buteo: Model Av News. just reviewd the H9 P-40 as one of their top ARF's of the year. That should make your day! [8D]

So far for me: I used RTV silicone to re-attach the canopy, fuel proofed the firewall with engine in place, and just put a bead of RTV silicone around the motor mount...fuel shouldn't get behind it then.

I glued my wings together with exterior carpenter's glue. I won't glue to fuselage...I need the wings to come apart for transport.

I panted double white invasion stripes on my prop...looks so cool, I'll post pics this weekend. I'm staying with the 3 prop, I can't stand to see the P-51 with a 2 blade just on asthetics. I'm a form before function kind of guy...It's a quirk I have.

NJ Flyer 72

My Feedback: (2)

Looks like a nice one. I just slapped mine together today, and installed a flap servo also. I put in a 2000 MaH receiver battery, futaba receiver, 2-blade prop and aluminum spinner. I really didn't like the looks of that 3 blader, especially on a Mustang. I might look into getting a correct 4 blader in the future. Actually, probably won't because it'll look too small. I also plugged a VoltWatch2 into an empty receiver slot and put the unit in the cockpit.

LSP972

My Feedback: (13)

Dang it, dude... just when I had decided to scratrch this one off the list, you post those pics... it looks good with an aluminum spinner.

Let's see... turn the speed brakes sideways to look like gear doors, fit a flap servo, leave the wing droops on...

Heck, the more I think about it, it will be worth paying for the TX/RX I'll never use just to bring it out and mess with the big-time scale warbird guys at my club. They don't keep up with current events and have probably never heard of this thing...[sm=lol.gif]

2dawgs28

After reading all these posts I began to thoroughly inspect my P-51. I am new to this hobby and I didn't know a whole lot to look for until I read these posts.
My elevator and rudder servos were making some weird noises so I have sent them in to Horizon to be checked out. When I took them out I noticed some corrosion on the bottom cover screws.
A close inspection of my rear stabilizer, I noticed the right elevator was glued several degrees down from the left one. GGGrrrrrr. I believe the metal rod that was used is actually bent. The plane has two flights on it and seemed to trim out O.K., but I think I am going to send it back to Horizon for a replacement.
I called them and asked them about the dark gray oily residue after flying and "Josh" said it was normal. So we shall see. Other than that Everything on the plane seems O.K.

Chuck

roltech

You gotta be kiding about the dark gray residue! That is not normal I had my motor runnung this was because of a loose muffler, and also other time the needle set screw leaned out on it's own, I was given a new muffler from Horizon, but I still don't like the idea that the high needle screw could lean out. I took a small elastic band and secure it to the needle shaft. Leaning out a motor to the point of dark residue will shorten it's life.

roltech

NJ Flyer 72

My Feedback: (2)

Maidened mine today. The plane flies great and has plenty of power. Looking foward to flying it a lot more before it gets too cold.

navy_mustang_pilot

My Feedback: (1)

well i took up my nexstar with the electronics and motor from my p51 (see previous post) and low and behold almost the exact same thing happend. only luckily this time the pilot was several mistakes high when it happened. he was giving it a little aileron and all of a sudden straight down. when he got her back in we were ground testing and after about 15 minutes he was giving it sone aileron on the ground and everyting started going beserk. so i am going to send my radio back to horizon and see what they say.

RCVFR

My Feedback: (7)

A new flyer brought his to the field today, and I got to maiden it for him. I was amazed at how user friendly the engine is. Totally trouble free. The "package" is a brilliant combination of power, low speed stability and great looks. That 3 blade prop substantially cuts back the power so as to keep a new flyer out of trouble as much as possible. The wing attachments keep slow speed trouble free. Yet, the power is sufficient to do a large, round loop. From level entry. The only flight problems this plane will have are the pilot induced kind. I think it is a great leap forward in flight training.

It's also a second or third airplane. Replace the 3 blade with a 2 blade 11X5 or so, and stand back!

Remove the wing attachments and the gear mounted speed brakes, and you will have a hot sport flyer!

it's great to see a plan come together!

NJ Flyer 72

My Feedback: (2)

I agree, I took off the wing droops and airbrakes, and put on a 11x6 2 blader. Wow, this plane is fast and sporty. My overall impression is this is a great airplane.