Top Flite 1/7 P-51 Build
#3552
A couple other things to watch out for are;
Don't throw full throttle on takeoff, it WILL take a hard right turn. Come in nice and easy so you can keep it going the direction you want it to.
Also keep your speed up on landing, it's not supposed to float. It is a nice landing plane but it's a war bird and needs a little more airspeed than most other planes. Your better long or go around than low and slow and end up short.
#3554
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DanIsGo good Luck on your maiden, if you haven't so yet.. If so well hope it all went well!!
I'm about to start sanding mine and recover it with matching monokote aluminum and cover the rudder or maybe just paint it(not sure yet), but it's going to be yellow.. I'm trying to go for Lt. Richard Candelaria's P51 "My Pride and Joy"
I still need to decide on what engine..At first I was thinking a Saito, but then I don't know if to just go with an OS and the TF in cowl muffler.. BUT now I'm really liking the DLE20RA with the exhaust in cowl and towards the back..I'm los haha, but in no hurry since my home field is out of service, well the road is.. video of damage; https://youtu.be/eYjUOIiRd18
And I still have my H9 50 Corsair I'm almost done with..
I'm about to start sanding mine and recover it with matching monokote aluminum and cover the rudder or maybe just paint it(not sure yet), but it's going to be yellow.. I'm trying to go for Lt. Richard Candelaria's P51 "My Pride and Joy"
I still need to decide on what engine..At first I was thinking a Saito, but then I don't know if to just go with an OS and the TF in cowl muffler.. BUT now I'm really liking the DLE20RA with the exhaust in cowl and towards the back..I'm los haha, but in no hurry since my home field is out of service, well the road is.. video of damage; https://youtu.be/eYjUOIiRd18
And I still have my H9 50 Corsair I'm almost done with..
#3555
I used the DLE20RA and was more than happy with the fit and performance and that's an understatement. I think it is probably the best power plant you could fit in that airframe. I have a caution however as I experience chronic issues with radio interference that I was never able to eliminate, so unfortunately I can't tell you with any certainty it had anything to do with the engine. The possibility is there though that it was associated with the ignition on the DLE 20 and the ability to keep enough spacing from the receiver on that size model.
I think I chronicled some of my efforts earlier in this thread and if you can't find them you could also visit my U-Tube page (there is a link in the signature below) and there are a few videos about that plane available there. At the very least you can see some of the performance that engine provides to help make up your mind.
#3558
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e9IpYzSfbOw&feature=youtu.be
click for 720p quality ...
well the sun was very low so I had to use a hat to shield. my eyes so the landing from the sun was kinda hard to guess correct speed and height. I had to DR to 60 prc because it was reacting as an EPP
I noticed during looping it rolls. I am not sure if it is due to possible weight difference (which I tried to even) or different lift of the wings. But on normal flight I didnt noticed any roll with changing speed that would indicate that.
I wasnt brave enough to victory roll
Engine runs smooth, almost everything was in quarter throttle, and some full speed passes ... running ASP 91 on heli fuel 20% nitro (that I got for nice price, usually i would go on 5% )
but the wear on wheels with soft foam is substantial I guess it will last for 20 starts
well the sun was very low so I had to use a hat to shield. my eyes so the landing from the sun was kinda hard to guess correct speed and height. I had to DR to 60 prc because it was reacting as an EPP
I noticed during looping it rolls. I am not sure if it is due to possible weight difference (which I tried to even) or different lift of the wings. But on normal flight I didnt noticed any roll with changing speed that would indicate that.
I wasnt brave enough to victory roll
Engine runs smooth, almost everything was in quarter throttle, and some full speed passes ... running ASP 91 on heli fuel 20% nitro (that I got for nice price, usually i would go on 5% )
but the wear on wheels with soft foam is substantial I guess it will last for 20 starts
Last edited by hipik634; 04-02-2017 at 12:24 AM.
#3560
very nice indeed, if the engine isn't quiting on me after these landings I am little more confident about myself. all previous attempts were quite destructive. In this state I would think of repairing the wing sheets around gear ...
#3562
hi guys, any idea how to fix a hole in the wing, that it looks as a battle damage - i will be replacing a cover piece where AGAIN the wheel came through
I would be happy to make it somehow, that the flak got it and somebody repaired it ..
I would be happy to make it somehow, that the flak got it and somebody repaired it ..
Last edited by hipik634; 04-09-2017 at 11:30 PM.
#3564
I've moved on from mine which I think might have been cursed as well. It is in the hands of a fellow flyer now and it continues to display demonic tendencies. I still love it though!
#3566
I've fine tuned the gear fixings so the broken leg will fall free if killed and not take the rest of wing with that
fixed the wing like that
just to justify my fliing skills - my mind have been busy with thinking of how to land it with a stick instead of wheel and not damaging all the plane. Might have worked on the tarmac with some sparks. probably i would try to print the retract cowl to be easily replaceable
fixed the wing like that
just to justify my fliing skills - my mind have been busy with thinking of how to land it with a stick instead of wheel and not damaging all the plane. Might have worked on the tarmac with some sparks. probably i would try to print the retract cowl to be easily replaceable
Last edited by hipik634; 05-11-2017 at 05:04 AM.
#3568
Join Date: Nov 2014
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Alright guys so I have 3 flights on it so far. I had the dle20ra in it and I just wasn't a fan of it with all of the extra weight from the ignition and battery, and the crazy vibrations. I'm not knocking people that use it but it just wasn't for me. I had o.s. fs-110a that I had rebuild laying around so I switched it out, and had the first all trimmed out and well tuned engine flight this Sunday. All I have are some pictures right now, but hopefully I can have some videos before the flying season is over. It flies amazing, and floats right in with full flaps. The elevator is very touchy but was well cured with 60% expo.
#3569
Use Low rates on the elevator when flying, or you may find it snapping over if you pull up too quick. I had mine loop right into the ground because of it. At low rates its just the right amount of elevator. I use full rate at takeoff, and as soon as it leaves the ground I flip to low while also flipping the gear. Mine with a Saito 125 flies nice, its getting the 125 started that keeps it from flying.
#3570
its time to rebuild the yellow wing ... I had enough of broken retracts so I designed this holder , that utilizes the broken original retracts. printed it and build in. after that it came to a point, where again something went wrong. while landing, the engine shut down and i was trying to bleed airspeed it sudently again dropped the wing. The positive fact is that fuselage is quite intact. the wing would need again some rebuild, but i guess it already deserved it so I will replace the area around retracts. I guess, that the troublemaker are flap servos. they seem to not have enough force to keep them extended inflight. as the speed drops it tends to extract furthermore and breaks the aiflow so the wing drops in stall. Do you have this issue or how do you solve that? using some kind of lever or just stronger servos?
#3572
Actually its only partial fix, i would also add some turbulators over the beam. https://youtu.be/SlLmircul3M its just a stall .. But the speed should have been sufficient
#3574
I see you two have been keeping the thread alive . As I mentioned in a previous post, I do not have my 51 any longer. However I have again added fuel to the insanity argument surrounding my choice of aircraft by building a P38. But that is not why I chime in here.
My two cents here for advice on the landing characteristics of your 51 would be to make sure you are not trying to land it like all the other planes you might have. The 51 is a great flying plane however it is a warbird and as such it has to be landed with more speed. IT WILL NOT FLOAT like a sport plane. You WILL tip stall it every time if you try to do 3 point landings. Get used to landing with a little bit of power and as soon as the main wheels touch let go of the elevator/aileron stick and only then go to idle and fly it down the runway with just the rudder until the tail settles on its own. Especially if you are using flaps....keep the power on until the mains touch. Obviously it doesnt need to be a lot of power but enough that you can maintain some aileron authority and if you can teach yourself to get OFF the elevator and drop the throttle to idle as soon as the wheels touch it will will not have a chance to tip stall and mine always stayed nicely planted on the runway with a scale like roll out till the tail came down on its own.
I fly a lot of sport planes too and this technique was one of the hardest things to learn when you switch between warbirds and sport. It is so sweet to watch a sport plane settle slowly onto all three wheels. It is just asking for a tip stall if you do that with a warbird.
My two cents
My two cents here for advice on the landing characteristics of your 51 would be to make sure you are not trying to land it like all the other planes you might have. The 51 is a great flying plane however it is a warbird and as such it has to be landed with more speed. IT WILL NOT FLOAT like a sport plane. You WILL tip stall it every time if you try to do 3 point landings. Get used to landing with a little bit of power and as soon as the main wheels touch let go of the elevator/aileron stick and only then go to idle and fly it down the runway with just the rudder until the tail settles on its own. Especially if you are using flaps....keep the power on until the mains touch. Obviously it doesnt need to be a lot of power but enough that you can maintain some aileron authority and if you can teach yourself to get OFF the elevator and drop the throttle to idle as soon as the wheels touch it will will not have a chance to tip stall and mine always stayed nicely planted on the runway with a scale like roll out till the tail came down on its own.
I fly a lot of sport planes too and this technique was one of the hardest things to learn when you switch between warbirds and sport. It is so sweet to watch a sport plane settle slowly onto all three wheels. It is just asking for a tip stall if you do that with a warbird.
My two cents