eric_monster

John,

Thanks for the support. It just boils down to the fact that my building skills were not as good as I thought they were. So I figured making the ARF more scale looking is the better route for me. Perhaps in the future I'll try cutting my teeth on another kit.

But a lot of the mods in this thread will be put to good use once I get the ARF.

ken graham

My Feedback: (10)

thinking about picking a kit up some time soon and start having some fun building it

charlesp

got this kit for xmass form the wife and just started sorting it all out. I will be starting the fuse first before the wings as I have the tail retract and not the main retracts

Doomking

My Feedback: (38)

Hello
I need help from those of you that installed a Dle 55 with this bird.
First the engine needs to be 7" 7/8 from firewall to back of the spinner. I need to come up with 1" 3/16 spacers to add to the standoff to have the proper distance......any suggestions how to do that?
Also how did you route the throttle and choke since the tank is right behind the firewall in line with the carb?
thanks for all the help and pictures are greatly appreciated.

Fabio

Leroy Gardner

Fabio I don't know if this will help but I used a Great Planes soft mount and built it up to use the standoffs that came with the engine (DLE 55CC). Made a very nice set up for this plane. throttle servo is mounted in the foward upper hatch I designed into it for ignition, engine kill ,batteries and switches plus the air fill for gear, choke arm is also in there. I didn't want any switches showing on outside of plane. Engine has a JTEC muffler made for this plane, no cowl side cut outs.

Leroy

Leroy Gardner

Forgot to mention that Top Flite reccomends that mount in the kit built plane of 1/5 scale mustang and for a good reason, mount it any way you want, it's your plane but it better be built for what ever you do. I have 3 planes with soft mounts and wouldn't do it any other way reguardless of what others say.

Leroy

Auburn02

My Feedback: (1)

Guys, I have a question. I think I already know the answer but I'll ask anyway - does the Robart air gear for this plane have adjustable stop points? My left gear seems to tuck up further than the right, and is hitting the bottom of the wheel well on retraction. The gear is already mounted at an angle on the rails with spacers to tilt it more towards the wingtip if that makes any sense. I could add yet more spacers, but even with the spacers as they are now my cover plate/hatch that hides the gear mounts does not sit flush with the bottom of the wing. I suspect when this plane was built the rails just were not place in the exact right spot and now I'm having to face the consequences.

I even managed to slightly crack the wing sheeting while retracting the gear on the bench, but that was probably my own fault for hooking my air compressor directly to the air fittings on the wing to shoot a boost of air straight to the gear cylinders. They popped up with authority!

My last resort is to remove the gear and sand/grind down the outboard rail to tilt the gear further without using additional spacers on the inner rail.

Any help or ideas is appreciated. I can grab a couple of pictures this afternoon if my explanation was pretty awful.

Auburn02

My Feedback: (1)

I'm going to bring this 14 month comment back to the top also, because I'm curious about wheel types as I'm trying to find a set myself. Robart does have a 10-spoke wheel. They have 2 in fact, one is listed as a "10 Spoke Aluminum Wheel" and then they have a separate item for "Scale P-51 10 Spoke Aluminum Wheel." So they do have 10 spoke wheels. What I can't determine though is the difference. Their photos on the site are identical, so I don't know what the difference is between their P-51 wheel and the other 10 spoke wheel.

All that said, I've heard great things about the Sierras as well, just not sure how they compare on cost since the price isn't listed. I'll have a hard time paying for either, so I've been rocking some 5" Dubros while I try to hunt for a used set of aluminum wheels.

FBaity

My Feedback: (2)

Cobra,

I use the Dubro 5" cheapies and they are fine. I also have one wheel that seems to retract further than the other as yours does. I shimmed mine some and the cover plate does bulge some but the gear leg does lock in the up position. It has been my experience to retract the wheels on the stand with fuselage up-right, not inverted, this will guard against damage as you mentioned. Hope this helps.

Auburn02

My Feedback: (1)

I'm sure it didn't help, I had my wing upside down on the bench and was literally hitting the air tubes with a jolt straight from my Slime air compressor. After the first couple of times when I realized they were smacking the bottom of the wheel well (top of the wing) I cushioned the blow with my hand, but too late. Some thin CA on the top of the wing and the cracks are hardly noticeable. When I finish my GS Corsair one day (hah), maybe I'll sand the Mustang back down for a re-finish.

Thanks for the reply Frank!

spitfire66

I received my Sierra p-51 mustang wheels last week. They are 5 inch 10 spoke and beautiful. $132 shipped. The only thing I didn't like is the screws used to bolt the two halves together has only 3 bolts where as the website had 5. The robart have 6. This is a minor detail that most will be left scratching their head saying "really, does it matter?" But unexpected as it differs from the pic nonetheless. No regrets as they are beautiful and use robart tuff tread tires. I researched wheels for a long time and no one would ever tell me the price.

The difference in the robart 10 spoke and 10 spoke p-51 is the backside of the wheel. The p-51 wheel has a 10 hole "d" pattern on the backside and does not look anything like the front.

Auburn02

My Feedback: (1)

Very nice! If you don't mind me asking, was that $132 shipped for the pair, or each? I have to assume each since all I've ever seen about the Sierra price is that it's more than Robart.

I think I get what you're saying about the Robart wheels. So the regular 10 spoke must be the same pattern (similar to the wheel on the right in your picture) on both sides. I am actually borrowing a set of Robarts as of this weekend, and they do have the "D" pattern on the back side so they must be the P-51 wheels.

spitfire66

I believe that when people say sierra is more expensive than robart they are referring to the landing gear themselves and not the wheels. The landing gear is $430 versus $300. If I didn't get such a deal on my robarts I would buy the sierra's without question. They are the best out there. As for the wheels, they are $132 for the PAIR! I know, amazing. They are awesome. The Robart are $182 I believe and i wasn't going to pay that much without first getting the info on the Sierra. You must call Darrel at Sierra early in the morning as I believe he takes orders in the early morning and works all day. I tried for 3 weeks at 3 or so in the afternoon without luck. Best of luck. I think I mention the tires themselves are the robart tuff treads that have the goodyear lettering.

bucho

My Feedback: (6)

WICH is the very best in cowl engine to this bird?

bucho

My Feedback: (6)

What do you think about the New evolution 62 fuel injection to this beautty ?

bucho

My Feedback: (6)

The os fg 40 four stroke ?

chrigall

Hi Folks

I`m start build on the ARC Version, and i`m looking for some Aerotech Accessory parts!
Maybe someone could help me
Wanted: 1/5 P-51 Aerotech Canopy, or Canopy sliding kit and gear door kit


Thx a lot & nice greets from Austria

Christian Gall
[email protected]

Chad Veich

My Feedback: (60)

You might try Dave Schwirian at Scale Specialties. He made many of the accessories for Aerotech but I do not know if the Mustang canopy and/or gear door kit was among them.

http://www.scalespecialties.com/

chrigall

Hi Chad,

thx for the info, i will try this contact
But independent from that contact, if some one have some Aerotech Accesories for sale, please let me know!

By the way, for all of you! > Engine discusions!

We here in Austria/German...etc... a lot of people here change completely to 4-stroke engines!
A friend of mine > Hans Kolm makes great Engines!!! http://www.kolmengines.com/HOME.88.0.html
i will use his 50ccm or even the 65ccm engine for my Top Flite P51 !
the big plus-points of these engines, they have much more torque than an 2-stroke engine with same size and that`s great to drive huge 4-blade props!!!
and they do not need such a huge exhaust system (with big cans or resos) to get the hole power out of the engine, like a 2-stroke engine!
aaand... the sound is sooo awesome

And here you get nice Scale Props! > http://www.sl-propeller.de/

Nice greets!

Chri

ken graham

My Feedback: (10)

anybody try a dle 55 with rear exhust yet? finally picked up a kit now need to build a bigger work bench.

Ralph White

Yes the DLE 55 RE runs and flies the Top Flite 1/5 scale P-51 perfectly. I have 53 flights on mine with no issues with the engine. Using a Mezilick carbon fiber 21 x 10 prop. Scale judges say I fly it too fast.
Ralph White

go_hercules

Hi, I looked through some of the old posts but didn't really find my answer. I just picked up a used GS TF P-51 in good shape. I am using an old Quadra 35 engine with magneto. My question is what to use for receiver battery. I mentioned the magneto engine since I won't be needing an ignition battery. My first thought is to use the old standby - 6V nicad around 3000ma or so. I have never used a lithium battery of any sort but was also thinking of an A123 pack. Any suggestions on this?

BuschBarber

My Feedback: (2)

I prefer LiFe/A123 for Rx battery. Fast to ReCharge and holds it's charge for months.

Also, the model I flew was with fixed gear and then Retracts. It had a Zenoah G45. I would think the Quadra 35 would be marginal. Of course, that depebds upon the weight.

nicoladestro

Quadra 35 is too small. P51 is a warbird. It needs SPEED

leadgofer

My Feedback: (8)

My P-51 is on its 13th season ( probably has 400 flights ). I have a G-62 with monocote covering. Weighs 24.5 lbs. Has been clocked @ 105 MPH. Mine balanced perfectly with the G-62, muffler, spring starter, vibration mount, so keep the tail light or you'll have to add nose weight. I also use a 6v 2400 mAh NiCad battery. You'll have to cut at least a 1/2" off the gear covers if you fly off of grass. I use full flaps to land, ( all throws are as reccommended in the instructions ). The G-62 has the same spinner back plate to motor mount distance as the US 41 shown in the plans. Used to use a 20 x 6-10 prop but the engine has broken in so well that I had to go to a 20 x 8-14 to keep the prop noise down. Probably a little faster too. I have flown formation with a DA 50 plane and they are very similar in speed.