scratchbuilder46

Great flight Aaron! It is amazing how much difference 1/8 to 1/4 inch adjustment to the CG will make on these birds. Do you have any expo dialed in yet? I found about 30% on the elevator and about the same on the ailerons really calm her down a bit. If you try the inverted test, it should take no more that 25% of elevator to maintain level flight. That is not much considering the throws called for. They all fly a bit different. Just some suggestions that have worked for me. Thanks for sharing your build and the videos. 4.0

Riddle4U

Aaron that last video looked good, don't worry that you didn't smoke that landing. I think you are doing well with it. I seem to see the heaviness in the bird (not just yours, but scale models of this size in general). There must truly be the skill involved with making scale models look good "in the flying". It will come in time. I am behind you with scale model flying (I am a sailplane flier often). I fly my sport planes deliberately, but not where I want to be yet. Thanks for the video for us! I am glad this hobby isn't just about hiding away with balsa dust in the hair...but also the courage to risk it all! Bravo!!!

Corsair 29

Its been awhile, but I'm finishing up my P-51B. I plan on using Lustercoat, is it ok on the decals, or do I leave the decals for last?

Riddle4U

Looks great! Glad to see anyone moving on their project. Keep us all updated!

gmohr

Guys, you aren't going to believe this... some fisherman found my Mustang! 2 1/2 months later... Details to follow...

rotccapt

looking forward to the story

gmohr

So I get this phone call from my Dad, who got a call from a club member, who got a phone call from... etc etc.

It seems a fisherman from central Jersey was fishing in the Bushkill river in the Poconos. He saw something up in a tree in mid April, didn't know what it was, and kept on fishin. The next week he was back (good hole!) and saw it again, and this time curiosity got the better of him. So this older gent hikes his butt way up the side of a large hill, and finds this P-51 mustang fuselage on the ground, and most of the wing up the tree. He knows that a neighbor and friend is an RC guy, so he drags it back to the boat and home it goes. This neighbor and his sons disasemble the plane looking for identification (i had none ), but deduce that it must have been a fly-away, since the tank was bone dry and the prop wasnt busted (nice detective work there!). They try to locate clubs in the area of the crash for any mention of a lost p-51 but find nothing. Finally, they try a club in North Jersey (RAMAC), not knowing that our field is in PA, it was the last club he was going to check up on. Sure enough, the member he contacted knew about the lost plane. And thus, she returns home! The plane was found *at least* 3.5 miles from our field, as that is the closest point of approach of the Bushkill to RAMAC's flying site. Incredible.

The airframe is beat, dare I say destroyed. Fixable, but the work would be very involved. The wing is missing (still in the tree hahah), the fuse has a nuber of holes in it, and the stab is shattered internally. Here's the real kickin the pants though... everything works! Even the battery had some residual charge. I flipped the switch and all the servos came to life. I recharged the battery and did some thorough testing, and I can not for the life of me reproduce the lock out condition It even ranged checked out perfectly. So now I have a pile of radio gear that I'd be afraid to use in just about anything. Ah well at least the engine is perfect.

Thanks to Joe, Ed, and Arnold for the hard work getting my plane back to me. The nicest, most helpful, and most honest folks are in model aviaition.

Regards
George

PS the last pic is the one wing fragment I got back. Notice that my retract installation and reinforcements did its job very well, I'd feel safe recommending that mod to anyone.

scratchbuilder46

George: what a story!! It is too bad your bird is not fixable with out a major overhaul. You do know you can order a wing kit from TF and get her back in the air. I have never had a fly away except for a free flight I build many years ago. The last I saw of it, it was a small red dot with the engine still running. DT fuse probably went out. I hope you do a rebuild, you have too pretty of an airframe to junk it. Just put it in the corner for a time, let time takes its course and maybe one day you will look at her again and say maybe it isn't too much to fix. Great story on the equipment.............what radio gear did you use and whose retracts are those?

gmohr

They are LADO retracts. The radio gear is a Spektrum AR7000 and a mix of Spektrum and Hitec servos. And an A123 1100mah pack, all of which work perfectly now, of course :-/

-G

brazan

My Feedback: (2)

C.G. at 3 3/4 with no fuel ? she weighs 12  lbs ish with a G2300 and a 14.5 x 11 4 blade.
Measured from the leading edge break ?
I have been lurking around here for a 8 months or so  and have learned a lot !
Plan to maiden tomorrow .
Will post picks if i can figure out how.
Josh ( brazan )

gmohr

Good luck! CG per the instructions worked perfectly for me.

brazan

My Feedback: (2)

Lost it on the maiden.
uncontrollable roll to the right.
Possibly not enough air speed. Big motor lots of torque.
It really pulled hard with that combo.
Back to the building board I guess.
I think a B version this time.
- Josh

Live Wire

I hate to here of a plane going in on maiden. I lost my Royal on the second flight and still have not for gotten it. Still have my Gold P51 hanging from the ceiling. No guts

gmohr

Oh man, that sux.


PS I just noticed you put a G2300 in it. That's a 1.40 in cu-in. Mine was overpowered with a 1.20, so I'm not suprised that huge motor dominated it on takeoff. If i were to build another one, I'd put an OS 95 in it, no more.

Riddle4U

George that is interesting story! Go get the wing out of the tree! Monokote should have kept it a bit dry? It is amazing what repairs can be done to a balsa model! The fuse looks totally usable, and as one recommended TF will provide a wing kit. Buy that, and wait for the day you are motivated for that particular job. Yea; just move on with your next project, but someday not too far off, you'll strip the Monokote, fix the damage, and be more proud than ever of your bird.

Josh, sorry my man! Stick with it! Go back to your favorite flyer, and have fun. Then sometime get back in the saddle and remember what you learned (yes, think about what you could do better while you still remember). Good luck, and happy airtrails! -Eric

frankolin42

My Feedback: (2)

I'm looking forward to building this airplane, I build the P-40 some years ago, and it was a blast. Good Luck

nevermore73

Hey everyone, I have been following this thread since last year. I had to quit building my 51 due to the birth of my son. Now since he is not near so demanding on time I can put forth once again to start building. Of course I am at a mental roadblock. I bought last year the lado 85 degree retracts. Which now it seems as though I shouldn't have done that. I also bought 7/16 robostruts and the 3-3/4 robart wheels. I know gmohr had did some specialty work on his struts. Is there a way to have these sink all the way in. I am not too opposed to sinking the retract further but don't really know how much space there really is to do this. Rotccapt apparently has the same retracts and was able to sink them however I don't know what size struts or wheels or how it was done. Any input or suggestions would be helpful. Or just sell all this stuff and get the suggested robart retract.

Thanks all,
Kevin

gmohr

Hi Kevin,

You can make them fit without a doubt, but you have to modify the way the retract rails fit into the ribs. The key thing is to "angle" them deeper into the wheel wells, by allowing the inboard side of the rail to sit deeper into the rib. You'll need to deepen the cutout on the inboard ribs to acheive this, my guess would be you'll need to make it 3/16th of an inch deeper on that side (but that's just a guess!). Trial fitting as you go will be the key.

Regards,
George

nevermore73

Thanks Gmhor,

You know I am thinking of returning the struts and wheels and opting for the 3/8 struts and the 3-1/4 wheels I don't really know if this would make that much difference in the way the retract mounts. When you were finished with the bird did the 3- 3/4 wheels look out of place on the size of the 51? Again thank's this is my first kit build unfortunately I picked a difficult one. It was too hard to resist the mustang.

Kevin

gmohr

The wheels looked great imo. I didnt notice the slightly smaller size from scale 4". I dont think changing the wheel size or strut for that matter will fix the problem of retract depth. You either need to 1) angle the mount deeper into the wing, or 2) add offset to the strut (what I did). With an 85 deg retract (LADO), the retracts will not be perfectly perpendicular to the ground when extended if going with option 1, but thats better than not retracting fully imo.

nevermore73

Hmmm then i might be totally fubared then. I don't have a way to weld new struts like yours. (great job btw). Nor would I like the awkard stance of option 1. Time to think more.

Redwulf__34

Hey guys, I off topic just a little but I hope you'll humor me. I'm getting ready to start a Meister Scale 84" BF109 build and have had a hard time deciding on engine. They suggest a zenoah g38. I really would love to go to gas but I don't want all that engine hanging out. It seems to me the size on this is similar to the 51 here. I'll be adding some scale detail and covering with fiberglass and paint so I'll be a little heavier than ya'll. Can I get some expert advice?

Thanks,
Sean

PS I've learned a lot being tagged on here! This one is on the list to build too! Any of you guys close to Virginia we could get together when my 109 is finished.

gmohr

Hi Sean,

I'd have a look at the new OS 55 gasser. It has dimentions and layout more like a glow engine.

Regards,
George

EscapeFlyer

My Feedback: (1)

Has anyone here tried a foam wing core for this airplane? Don at Eureka offers a 4 piece wing core I am eager to use.

Brian

rotccapt

nevermore, i used the 85 degree retracts, 7/16 struts and 4 inch wheels. to make mine fit i had to sink the rails into the wing i kept them level but ended up shimming them later with a couple washers. also i chose to move the forward part of rib f1 closer to the center of the wing to try and get a more scale position for my doors. this also made more room for my wheels and allowed them to sit against the top wing sheeting and also extend to near perpendicular to the ground. did you get the offset gear legs? or are they strait? if strait return them and get the offset ones it will look better and will fit in the wells better. if you have any questions or want pics let me know