asphalt252

My Feedback: (5)

Not sure if you could hear that over the engine sound when flying they would need to be very loud. I think it would sound ok in the pits before start-up or static display. But after all why would you be shooting them on the ground anyway not very scale. You could just go with electric power not so much noise then you may be able to hear it in the air, but I love the sound of my Saito 120 4 stroke way to much for that. They do make some very small digital recorders now something to think about on those long winter days hummmm!
Now lets talk a bit about that non retractable tail wheel that comes in the kit. It just seems to me we all try to put so much detail into the main gear with struts and doors we forget that tail retracts too on the full scale. Looks a bit goofy to be flying about with that hanging down in the wind. So i used a Robart unit and air powered it with the rest of my system, working on the door for it now enjoy.

Blue_Moon_

asphalt257, how did you get yor cowl to look like that? Is there any kind of paint in US that make a finish like that? (chrome finish)

asphalt252

My Feedback: (5)

Blue Moon,
Believe it or not it is just the same Ultracoat crome covering that is on the rest of the plane. Just keep the heat down and test it on some scrap first to get the temp right. And cut it into 2" strips to make it easer to work with ULTRACOAT ALL THE WAY BABY! PS With care you can use it on the canopy trim for a nice mteal trim look.

bull51

asphalt,

Is that a pull-pull system on the tail wheel? How did you connect to the rudder?

asphalt252

My Feedback: (5)

bull51,
Yes it is a pull pull system see drawing below. An air cylinder pulls the arm on the top of the unit back and the wheel goes up. This act puts slack in the steering pull pull cable so the servo can still operate the rudder freely. When down the cable tightens back up and simply steers the wheel just fine.

PaStang

Wow is this a great thread or what? I just started a TF P-51D back in December. Thanks to everyone who supplied info , great ideas ..This is my first build , and I am having such a good time , it won't be the last . I am on page 17 ...lol and so far so good .. Going with fixed landing gear and flaps . My son got a Great Planes PT 40 for christmas , Him and I will be training on this before the STANGS maiden voyage..lol . I've been checking everyday this thread since I found the site , I haven't chosen a powerplant yet , nor a controller, I'll be flying where there is likely going to be a breeze to say the least , any suggestions ??? What is the most wind speed that is tolerable for having some fun ? I live on a peak , and we have good days and bad days , as far as the wind goes . Wide open area though, no trees for like 13 acres or so , summer time tall grass for feed , I am hoping it will soften the blow ...lol...

asphalt252

My Feedback: (5)

PaStang,
I love to play with trainers in the wind, chop the power and let them fly in the wind like a bird. Some times you can make them fly back-wards. But I don't like to fly war birds on windy days my limit is no more that 10mph no gusts. Most war birds have high wing loadings and are rather prone to wing stalls(loss of lift)and high winds can augment this trait. As a rule low, thin, swept wings can handle the wind better than thick, high flat constant cord wings can due to there faster flying speeds. You'll get to know your plane and how it will handle the wind, but never test fly a new plane on a windy day. The only real way to learn to fly in the wind is to do just that watch your wing tips you'll be doing a lot of correcting. Remember though to always take-off and land into the wind. A cross wind landing or take-off is a whole different topic that requires complex rudder cross controls. Don't try it! I would truly recommend an RC flight simulator like Great Planes Real Flight G-3. You can have hours of fun with this simulator and learn at the same time. You can set things like wind velocity in mph edit aircraft and fields to resemble your own field. There are trainers, advanced aircraft, war birds and helicopters all at your finger tips see the link below. The best thing of all is you can crash all day long without the need for costly repairs. If you don't go this route make sure you have an accomplished RC pilot with you so you can be taught to fly properly. I do know of a few people that have taught them selves to fly but this is rare to say the least. Don't do it! Why risk your new plane? Get some help, you won't be sorry. In the USA you can contact the AMA for a club member near you see link below. As far as the tall grass goes taxiing around is always difficult in tall grass, more so for scale war birds. Cut it short and roller it smooth for the best runway surface. Hope I was helpful.
PS The fixed gear will look and work just fine you should put some Robo-Struts on the wires for better shock absorption. Simply cut the wires off a few inches below the bottom serface of the wing. Slip the struts on over the wires and tighten with the two set screws provided then attach the wheels and doors to them done deal. I do however recommend the flaps on the Mustang to help slow its landing speed they work trust me.
http://www.modelaircraft.org/
http://www.realflight.com/downloads.html
http://robart.com/RoboStruts/380_Series.aspx
That pee green color is a simulated aluminum primer color the military used in places like this. Then I airbrushed some black around the inside wheel well. On the full scale, as you might guess this area would not be very clean so the black airbrushing takes care of that.

asphalt252

My Feedback: (5)

m

bull51

asphalt,

Thanks for the great information and the pics. They're sure to be a great help to me and all others who read this post.

How do you plan on hinging the tail wheel doors? I saw a spring method, somewhere in RCU, which looked pretty easy to do.

asphalt252

My Feedback: (5)

This area is rather small so I don't have lots of room for fancy door hinges, like the ones from Sonic Tronic that work well in most cases. So I plan to use some thin ply for the doors with only CA hinges to hold them on. There is still lots of energy in our retrackts so take advantage of this and use it to open and close the doors. I use the thin music wire method for the door opener. Simply bend the thin strong wire(about the diameter of a paper-clip) into a shape that will engage the tail wheel unit when mounted to the inside of the doors so as to open the doors when activated. And close them behind when retracted. All this is so simple to do just think it through keep it simple it works better that way.


This is the same method I used for the main doors on my .60 size pusher F-16.
I like to play around with Photoshop and put my plane pics in flying situations you could never photograph.

pauluk2w

My Feedback: (7)

Jason great idea on the gear doors but i still like the way I had you set up the doors on my T-34. Alot more work I know but it was worth it in the end thanks for spending the time and extra effort to solve the problem of how to make them work.

asphalt252

My Feedback: (5)

bull51,
How far along are you on your P-51?

bull51

asphalt,

I'm just getting ready to take it out of the box. I've been reading the directions and studying the plans for about a week. Also I've been spending a lot of time here on RCU to get tip and building advice, such as glue to use, what to watch out for while building and all the other great advice supplied by you and the others in this post.

Thanks to all for the pics and information supplied!

asphalt252

My Feedback: (5)

bull51,
Do you plan to use the retracts or you going fixed gear?

asphalt252

My Feedback: (5)

If you do plan to use the retracts, follow my tip here for another way to install them. Firstly I'm not trying to bash anybodies building efforts here at all. I'm simply letting others know of a different way to do things and my reason for doing it this way. The fellow I borrowed the pic from is a very good and neat builder and I don't intend to diminish is workmanship at all.
The wing on this kit is a three section design and is rather flimsy before you get them all together. As we all know a straight wing with no warping is the goal. So glue the sections all together and sheet the wing first, then mark the location for the retract mount, strut and wheel onto the outer sheeting. Cut them all out with a sharp x-acto then start cutting out the wheel well rib at this time. Your wing will be much less sesceptible to warping if you do this step after it is all together and fully sheeted and much stronger. Due to the fact you must remove so much material it's better to wait until we make it stronger. Why make a weak section even weaker by removing material from it?

bull51

asphalt,

Yes I plan to use Robart 551RS retracts with 7/16 struts. I am undecided as to the tail wheel at this point, but still have time to decide. I will remember what you described when I start the wing.

bull51

Well,

I started and completed my horizontal stab today. The great planes multi sander is worth it weight in gold! I hope the rest of this project goes as well as the stab.

Sandyt

Hello all,

It's funny - I started my P-51 about 10 years ago like a lot of you guys. For some reason I got bogged down on it and set it aside until last month. Now I am in the process of slowly completing it. I had purchased a pumped OS FS120 way back then, but now that engine lives in my Super Chipmunk, and I am leaning towards an OS FX91 two stroke for the Mustang. I have old Robart retracts and struts which have also been sitting around for 10 years, but they should work fine.

I have a question for those who installed flaps. How did you determine the correct depth to bury the hinge points into the flaps to assure that the flaps would pivot properly? If I test fit them, I can't be sure that the hinges aren't moving a little bit in and out instead of simply pivoting like they should.

Thanks in advance for any good ideas (and even for any bad ideas)

Sandy

justrfb

My Feedback: (2)

Sandy,
Here is how I am going to do it... make sure you have the center pin of the hinge point lubed (I use petroleum jelly) and using the glue of your choice, glue the hinge points into the flap only. Then install the un-glued end into the wing, move the flap through it's range of motion there by setting correctly the depth of the hinge points and leave it alone for an over night. The next day, pull the flap off of the wing, make sure there is still sufficient lube on the point and glue the un-glued end into the wing, flex the hinge through it's range of motion again, leave it over night and there you have it. I will be doing it this way unless a better way is suggested... Good luck.

asphalt252

My Feedback: (5)

Sandyt,
Well here ya go. I made a drawing in AutoCad so you can get a better idea of the pivot point motion. You see the wing part(end sticking out) of the hinge must move freely in the flap V-notch. As far as the depth of the hinge goes; you just make sure the hinge pivot piont stops on the radius center line this is the flap pivot piont. To accomplish this drill the hole only as deep as you need to then the hinge can't go any farther inside the flap. (See drawing) Just don't get any glue in the gray area ( V-notch see drawing). Mine pulled out too when not glued don't worry about that. They will holed when you glue them up solid after the finishing work is done. Yes as the fellow before me has said lube-up that pivot point and just a bit of the plastic part that stays in the V-notch. I like to use 30min. epoxy NOT CA on these hinge points then they will break free if any glue is on the pivot point. Now put a little glue into the holes with a scrap push rod wire. Then put just a little on the rings of the hinge point and insert with care so as to not get any glue in that V-notch just the hole. If you do and it hardens in there it won't work and you'll be cutting it all apart and starting over not fun! Ask me how I found that out.

asphalt252

My Feedback: (5)

bull51,
Did you put those balance tab details on your stab?

bull51

asphalt,

No, I did not. I was not sure how they would work and quite honestly, this is only my second build and wanted to keep it somewhat simple. Plus, no instructions on how to install them.

bull

PaStang

page-17

Sandyt

Justrfb and Asphalt257

Thanks for the ideas (and pictures!), guys. I don't use hinge points too often, however I am familiar with the glue-it-and-move-it method. I guess that is the way to go, just make sure that the notch is big enough! BTW, I can't see why the instructions call for the notch to go above the centerline of the flap, since the flap only moves down. Maybe they were expecting to use a crow setting haha.

Sandy

asphalt252

My Feedback: (5)

PaStang please read this past quote of mine regarding your stock aileron servo set-up. go back to page 14 for pics.