Leroy Gardner

Buchtes, Go to the Top Flight web site and down load the manual of their ARF, it showes that the ARF alerons are set up like you want yours. I found that out after I had built mine and desided not to change it. I think the rudder and stab. fins could also be done in the same manner, pretty much eliminate any flutter all around. do it. Leroy[8D]

box car

It looks like the P-51 build has come to an end.  SO SAD

buchtes

My Feedback: (7)

thanks Leroy, I did do so and it looks great, much better then the angle that shows on the Plan.
Yes, I too think this forum has ended or at least stalled completely

jsanchez581

My Feedback: (2)

Hi countryboy.... do you have the part number for those sierra plastic units for the robart retracts? I don't see them in the web site.

Thanks

JS

thisoldman

My Feedback: (29)

my p51 is on hold right now. building a new work shop and untill i get it finished put the planes on hold. will be about a month and then will be back on it. Have lseveral planes to build. Now i will have the room and no more in the house. will make wife happy.

duber3

HI!!

I'm in the way of finishing my TF p51 and I have a question about balancing this plane
from your experiences, will this plane need weight in the nose or in the tail??
I will put a DA50 on it, I know that this engine is some kind of lightweight


thank!!

BobH

My Feedback: (2)

I have a G-45 in mine and it didn't need any additional weight. Your engine is lighter so you may need some nose weight.

duber3

Thank for the reply, I asked this because I plan to put the battery for the igniton and the RX&servos at the location of the gaz tank, and put the tank at CG location
I don't know if there will be too much nose weight

ForcesR

My TF P-51D kitis almost completed, all that remains is to paint the spinner dark blue with 2 yellow bands, paint prop tips yellow,install a pilot, attach the canopy, secure the flight controls, attach the gear doors and break in the FG-36 Saito on an engine test stand, then she will be good to go.

Roger

dasintex

My Feedback: (10)

Roger;

Nice looking Mustang; nice to see the RCAF markings; I am presently building the RTC Version; it will be an RCAF version as pictured; is your plane painted or Monokote, if it is painted, what did you use, I am glassing and painting mine and looking at different options.

Thanks, Doug.

ForcesR

Hi Doug;
I covered the Mustang with Monokote. A few people though I was crazy picking the P-51 as my first ever aircraftkit to build. Up untilnow,I have onlybuilt Schooners from scratch, of coursethe Bluenose is my favorite. You can see the bow sprint on my latest Bluenose sticking out from behind the TF Spitfire and Corsair kits waiting to be builtinthe photo I posted. I made a few minor mistakesbuilding the Mustang butmy previous31years in the airforce allowed for those mistakes to be corrected. I am really happy with the way it has turned out.
Whatengine have you selected to install in your Mustang?

Roger

dasintex

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Revolution 50

buchtes

My Feedback: (7)

Hi Guy's. I just discovered a big problem with my Robart 622's. I followed all Instructions to a "T", but something just doesn't look right. When I extend the gear and set it on my table, the gear is off and not 90 Degree to the table it sets on. Kind of looks like the gear on a M-109 where the Gear Legs tilt toward the Wing Tips and the Tires would run on the Inside of the treads. Now if I mount the gear to were the Strut sits straight on the Table as it should be, it probably will not lock in the up position, it will run out of space in the wheel well and hit the upper Skin of the Wing. What or where did I go wrong? Any help is appreciated.

FBaity

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Buchtes,

Are you referring to the Top Flite Giant Sales aircraft with Robart gear? I am confused.

Frank Baity
AMA 38026

Chad Veich

My Feedback: (60)

Are you sure you actually have 622's? They should be 85 degree units and not 90 degree. Sounds like you have a 90 degree retract which results in the issue you describe because of the dihedral in the Mustang wing.

ForcesR

Buchtes, it would help a great deal if you could take a few photos and post them to give us a better perspective on your problem. I am going to ask you what you think might be a stupid question. Are you positivethe Robart 622 is thepart numbernumber you have? The 622 is actually for the 1/6 scale P-51D. For the Giant TF P-51D the correct part number Robart is 622-5. If you have actually installed the 622 instead of the 622-5, there mayliethe problem. The 622 is 8 5/16 inches inlength and the 622-5 is 8 13/16 inches in length, bothare90degrees. See post #1434 above which showsthe 622-5Robarts on my giant TF P-51D.

Roger

buchtes

My Feedback: (7)

thanks to all that answered. Yes Frank, it is a Top Flite Giant Scale P-51.
According to the shipping Box from Robart ( Tower) it is labeled 622-5 and I measure from on top of the rotating unit collar for clamping the strut to the Bottom of the axle nut ( 1/4x20) a total of 9 7/8'. I do believe it is the correct retract unit. I have not measured the exact angle of retraction yet to see which angle it is.

ForcesR

Good morning buchtes, clink on the attached link and it will show the dimensional drawing for Robart's 622-5. You will notice that the drawing shows basically the same angle as your gear shows in the pictureyou posted. You may just have to shim the outboard mounting railof the retract unit to allow the strut to align vertical with the surface thatthe wheel sits on. That's what I had to do with my gear, I added a 1/32 shimunder each outboard mounting rail.

Roger

http://www.robart.com/retracts/drawings/622-5.pdf

buchtes

My Feedback: (7)

thanks & good morning to you to, ForcesR. How are things up in Canada? Yes I shimmed both W-Tip sides about 3/32 and it looks better. These Gears where a headache, I hate to think of the Doors. This Top Flite Kit is very poorly designed, the Print and Instructions do NOT match the actual building process, at least to what concerns the LG. Just look at the Landing gear Blocks and how beefy it's Support is??I contacted Product Support about this but their reply was that the design was made to cover all other landing Gear options and Manufacturers, why then do they claim that it was designed for Robart 622-5 and the fit is so poorly ? Seems like they was in a Hurry to get the Product on the Market and omitting Quality Assurance. Thats a good way to loose customers, they could learn from some European Manufacturers as Graupner, who's Kits a almost always flawless in Materials, Plans and Construction Procedures. I have been building for 40+ Years but this "snag" caught me off Guard, may be I'm getting too Old to play with this Hobby any Longer???
Again, thanks for your answer.

ForcesR

Good day buches, things are going quite well here in the great white north. I also found a few short comings with the TF kit, but over all it’s notthat bad, in my opinion.One never getsto old to play with this hobby. As we get older we seem to strive for perfection in what ever we do to keep ourselves busyand we seemtoexpect perfectionin the products wepurchase, nothing wrong with that perspective. Don't worry; I have a feeling you will be pleasantly surprised how well your Mustang will turn out when finished. What color scheme will you be going with and what engine are you planningon usingin your P-51D?

Roger

buchtes

My Feedback: (7)

Hello ForcesR. I'm building this Model for my Son who is in the Air Force, I'm the Builder, he is the Pilot and a lot better then I ever was or will be. Currently he's flying a 36% Extra with a DA-100, I never graduated bigger then a CG Cub J-3. We are planning on installing a DA-50 in this Bird, have not chosen a Color Scheme yet, but I'll probably will cover it in anything but Monocote, they switched something in the Progress of making it and I do not like the Way it responds. I may consider glassing it if I find someone to assist me, I never glassed a Model. Once we considered finishing it in German WWll Markings, we found a Picture of such a Aircraft on the Web and it looked good, also it would honor my heritage. Talk about looking strange???

ForcesR

Buchtes, I see nothing strange about the P-51D in theGerman color scheme. I think it looks very sharp. I probably seen the same paint scheme you are referring to from a capture WWII P-51D. I am also of German heritage and served 31+ years in the Canadian Airforce. I have had verygood results in applying Monokote to my Mustang, although I did have a flaw in a roll,TF replaced the roll. A friend at the club has a DA50cc in his ARF TF P-51D, it is quite fast but weights more then what mine will weigh when finished.I believe hisis around the 24lb make with well over a pound of weight in the tail. He is amazed that mine as pictured weight 18lbs, with the components that remain to be installed it should come in at 20lbs or less when finished.

Roger

buchtes

My Feedback: (7)

ForcesR, super job on covering the Mustang, it looks great. Is that a movable Canopy? Your estimated Weight on the finished Bird sounds like you put it on a great Diet, I have no way yet to estimate a target weight, I'm a long way from being finished. Still have to finish the Wing, Servo hatches- Gear doors-Tips etc. Then I have not even looked at the Fuselage yet. But then again, I'm not in a Hurry have to work as the Banker allows. My last Monocote Job was a Sig Hog Bipe and somehow the Covering seemed to act strange, would not stick or shrink as it used too, first I thought it was the colors I choose( black & yellow), but then later on a repair job for a friend,other different color's acted strange too, so I figured they probably changed the Process of making it. I'll use another Brand if that's the way I go, not sure yet.

ForcesR

Good day Buchtes, thanks for the compliments. I am really impressedhow well my covering job turned out. The flawed roll of Monokote I had did something strange when being applied. The adhesive seemed to separate form the color pigmentation which caused the area of the Monokote to look as if air bubbles had formed.The area in questionturned a darkcolor,I used a needle to puncture the Monokoe and tried to iron the bubble flat, it ironed flat but the darkcolor stayed. Thank goodness I only had 1/4 of the right side of the fuselagecovered at the time, re-sanding the area was a pain though, at least TF sent me a new roll. The canopy will not be moveable; I just used tape to hold it in place for the pictures. It looks as ifyou and I are keeping this thread going by bantering back and forth, which I think is a good thing. Take your time working on your son's gift, the Mustang should turn out to be a real treasure that will be cherished by him for a long time. Take care and have a good weekend.

Roger

buchtes

My Feedback: (7)

yes, thanks, and the same to you. We'll catch you later..............