linkadrip

Ok heres the plane i want to discuss. just got it couple days ago. Been searching for information on it, but nothing really good has come up. the CD manual is Poo, Very vague i'm glad i have some building experience. Looked at hangar 9's p-51 manual for there 60 size bird and it's alot better, will be using some of the tips from it. Doesn't look like this plane has a place for the retract servo to mount. going to have to do a better inspection.

I have only opened the box to make sure nothing is damaged and that all the parts are there. Been reading alot or some about the retracts that come with this plane being weak and the mounts are weak as well. Guess i shouldn't be disapointed didn't cost very much. and i guess you get what you pay for.. Appears to be a nice looking plane and tylored after the Tuskee Airmen Scheme in a way with its red tail.

The only other P-51 60 plane that i linked this thread too, has a yellow tail and is the Marie P-51 Mustang 60. Now i dont know if the two planes are basically the same plane with different color shemes or not.

Second Nitroplanes ARF i have purchased. They always seem to be a challenge in one way or another. Mainly due to the Poor Instructions, but i guess should be happy to get any type of information with the plane for the price its a good deal and now i have a P-51 Mustang Whoo Hooo[8D].

Now i want to know if anyone else has this particular Model P-51D and what type of servos and other parts you used in your assembly of this ARF. I have one thing purchased for this plane and on it's way, the powerplant for this Bird is going to be an O.S. 61 FX. I choose this engine cause I have one in another plane and is a strong running and dependable engine with lots of power and should haul this palne around with no problems.

But so far thats it. Other gear Pending Further debate. I want to know what other people have used in this particualr model. Just as i did with my other Nitroplane. and i found that starting a thread on a particualr model and finding out what others have done and getting tips Ect. is the best way to assemble an ARF that will be reliable. and not as much a pain to assemble.[X(]

linkadrip

Hmmm Seems to always be this way. Cant tell me no one has this plane. I guess those that do have it must be ashamed of it, or just don't want to talk about there frustrations with it. I'm hoping that gets a rise out of someone out there to start talking about this plane.

There is another thread that has a whole 2 pages on the Marie. but it doesn't say much pretty worthless information. Except for the retracts, guess thats the main issue with this plane. Guess i'll just have to use my own judgment in assembly on this one. No one seems to intrested in talking about it..

opjose

There are a couple of threads here on this plane, that I found some time ago.

For the most part the purchasers were quite pleased, though everyone seems to have changed out the included gear, and beefed up the mountings a bit by epoxying and adding a bit more wood.

Since it's a .60, standard servos should be fine, but you could go with inexpensive high torque servos.

I've used the cheapie Hextronix 5010's on a bunch of planes going up to 1.40 in size that have much larger control surfaces w/o problems.

And yes the two planes are basically the same.

linkadrip

Thanks Opjose for your input. Cant seem to find the chepo HextroniX servo's have to do some more looking..

opjose

Hobby City if NP is out...

They were formerly known as "TowerPro" servos...

I've purchased them by the boxful.

I've never had one fail in flight and I've only had 2 errant ones on over 140 or so of them.

linkadrip

Found it yea lol.. Cool there super cheap i need a bunch of them that is great. Save some Bucks there. now i can get all the servos for both planes i have..

http://www.hobbycity.com/hobbycity/s...idProduct=3743

Order placed for 13 Servos and 2 of the Corona Synthesized Dual-Conv Receiver 8Ch 72Mhz

Statement:
Throw away your crystals, say goodbye to glitches! The new Corona synthesized receiver is here!
This unit will work with existing Synthesized transmitters or crystal transmitters. In fact the accuracy of this receiver will improve the performance of all 72mhz crystal transmitters.

The new technology put into the synthesized series of Coron receivers is truely outstanding and will certainly make you think twice about upgrading to a more expensive 2.4GHz.

We shall see. for the price there worth a shot. otherwise i'm gonna have to spend the same amount on one futaba RX or Hitec RX as 2 of these.

opjose

I've had very good luck with Corona RX's.

They have been much more noise immune than say JR 6UL receivers for me.

I'll have to try the synth version now.

Thanks.

linkadrip

Well thats good to hear this will be the first time i have bought any off brand RX or servos except for the one that come with chepo stuff like Walkera Helis. So i'm hoping it is a good experience. will definatly make the hobby more enjoyable to get some affordable stuff..that works well. although i am going to be spending quite a bit on this plane just the same. Going to go with Pnematic retract system.

http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...5&I=LXES04&P=K

http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...5&I=LXET21&P=K

http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...5&I=LXES71&P=K

http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...5&I=LXES70&P=K

Dont know if this is really neccessary.
http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...5&I=LXES13&P=K

Or this i have a portable air tank and compressor that i could pressurize the system with so i may wait on this to see if its really neccessary.
http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...5&I=LXET26&P=K

And the Pitts type muffler i'm thinking about. i dont want to have to magle the cowling to much if i dont have too.
http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...5&I=LX8681&P=K

I'm thinking more of going this way instead to keep the cowling cutting down to a minumum. but not to sure about it. Never used an in cowl muffler dont know how it would work out.
http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&P=8&I=LXHY74
http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&P=8&I=LXHY77
Both are optional accessories for the top flight p-51 gold edition kit. So i'm thinking that this plane isnt to much different in size then that one. and can use alot of the same equipment as it does.
All in good time alot to invest in, So the parts will take time to aquire unless i win the lottery.

opjose

If you are going with struts why not get the strut ready retracts?

These have a larger bore hole in the aluminum, that grips the strut itself, instead of a wire.

It's a much sturdier arrangement for about the same price.



The on board valve is not needed. You'll be prone to putting in air in after every flight just in case anyway.

You can use any standard bicycle pump, but remember that the retracts may take up to 90 PSI, so a portable air tank may not do.

I purchased one of those in cowl mounted barrel mufflers, but I have yet to use it.

I typically use Pitts style mufflers w/o problems.

linkadrip

Looked at the robostrut ready retracts Doesnt look like the ones i need are avaliable.. i have a standard bicycle pump so thats good 2 things i wont need the on board valve and pump. wish they made this set for a 60 size..[&o]

http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...&I=LXES60&P=ML

srk866

I just got this plane last week and am just now getting time to start on it. You are right about the retract servo mount. No location and no wood pcs to work with either but building the mount is no problem.

srk866

This is my first 60 bird and can't wait to see it fly. I'm going with hitech or JR std bb servos and thinking about a supertigre 90 2 stroke for power. I am refering to the H9 manual . DON'T EVEN LOOK AT THE JOKE THAT CAME WITH THE PLANE. You might want to start by adding a third hinge to the ailerons mine only had 2 but i attatched them anyway i't should be ok. Both of my wheelwells were for the same wing and neither fit at all, i am ordering the retracts and wheelwells from H9 for their 60 P-51D. For now the only thing for sure that will be needed is a larger tank, the one supplied looks to be only an 8 ounce.

linkadrip

Yes the tank look pretty small. Let me know what size you get that will fit that is bigger. I'm still waiting for the stuff i order for the plane. i havent really dug into it to much yet until i get all the equipment i need. Then if i need other stuff i'll order it as i go. But the tank definetly appears to be small wont fly long on it..

linkadrip

Well i have finally started building this plane using the Hangar 9 manual of course i had to add a center hinge to each aileron Since there were only 2 on each one. Had to do alot of ironing to get my wings smoothed out. and i cut out the center section for a retract servo so now i'm at the point of Putting the 2 wings together. the Joiner whent in real smooth and both wing half join withg no Gaps so that is nice but the dihedral isn't 5 3/4 inches like the manual its a 4 inches when checking it with one wing on a flat surface on both sides should this be corrected to match the dihedral of the Hangar 9 p-51 or should i just go with the 4 inch Dihedral i have. Wondering if anyone else has noticed this or not.. i'm not sure how much a difference an 1 3/4 makes but i'm sure it would be significant.. So i'll wait and see what else i can find out on diehdral never really studied it to much guess now is as good a time as any..

OK some added info after studying the Dihedral concept some, it seems the the 4 inch is enough for the type of flying i plan to do and an increase would make the plane more stable in flight but is not really neccessary and the wing half's fit together so well the way it is. i'm not really wanting to sand the joiner to get the extra inch and 3/4 that the hangar 9 p-51 has.. The plane will be more manuverable with a 4 inch Dihedral..

Hope the rest of the plane goes together as nicely. one step at a time..

linkadrip

Wel now i'm a the point of installing the retract servo and the retracts. I'm using the H9 manual. but there plane has the retract installed and the wires installed. And of course the balsa ect for the retract servo mount. was wondering what others did as far as a servo mount for this plane?? i'm gonna have to make one. And i'm using the H9 mechanical Retracts cant afford the fancy air retracts. And i'm going to use a reguar servo for this too. So any pictures of a mechanical setups would be very nice?? I'll add some photos of were i'm at in my build here Soon..

crazy8s

My Feedback: (21)

linkadrip,

I was looking at this plane and had 2 questions for you. The web site says that it has a fiberglass fuselage, is this true?? It looks an awful lot like their Miss Marie that I built last year <using the Hanger 9 manual> and was wondering if the "fiberglas fuselage" was a misprint. Also, the main part of the ad says it has a "55.7 inch wingspan" but down in the specification section it is listed as 65.5 inches. Can you verify which it is?? I would greatly appreciate your help.

BTW, regardless of what some people may have told you, it is NOT a good idea to use a "regular" servo to drive mechanical retracts. You need to use a "retract" servo which is a non-proportional 180 degree servo. Once it reaches it's full throw in either direction it no longer draws current from the battery. A regular servo WILL continue to draw current even if you have the "end point" adjustments made. Besides, a "regular" servo will only have about 40% of the torque of a $30 Hitech retract servo.

thanks

linkadrip

mine is all wood no fiberglass except the cowling.. mine is 55.7 inches in the wingspan..Ipurchased a hitec retrac servo a regular servo would not fit or work correctly. I have put the build on hold and have yet to instal the retract servo and gear. Been to busy with other stuff but i'll get back to building it here pretty soon.

crazy8s

My Feedback: (21)

linkadrip,
Thanks for the info, you saved me from making a mistake!!!!
It sure is great when they advertise the wrong wingspan and construction materials.....................................

capo915

Linkadrip,

I have the Marie style P-51D from Nitro. I put it together last year and been flying it for about 5 months now with a couple of flight problems but nothing too major. First off I love this plane! It flies well and handles wind real good, although most low-wing aircraft handle wind well. As far as building, a couple of things to watch out for that I've seen with this model. First thing you should do, REINFORCE THE MOUNTINGS! It makes no sense to build this plane well and the first hard landing you have your retracts tear out. I found the retracts to be pretty solid, though there is no adjusting screw like the H9 version. Your nose will want to nose over if your wheels arent straight which is the main setback with these retracts. The wood is iffy at best so make sure everything is glued tip top. I had an incident where half of my elevator loosened in flight. My advice is to use toothpicks where you join the control surfaces to ensure they do not come apart. The sevro tray for the throttle seems a little off. Might want to see what you can do depending on how you set up your throttle. The fuselage is roomy so you can come up with good eletronics wiring if you choose. I found the tail was very light and on taxiing can lift the tail with no control on steering(even with full elevator up). Try adding a bit of weight to the tail to aviod this. Anything else just ask.

Crazy8s,

The only thing that is fiberglass is the cowl. And the wingspan is 65 not 55 inches.

linkadrip

Thanks i'll keep that in mind i have already reinforced the retract area. hearing of the problem of them being weak. I'll add some weigh to the tail kinda figured it would be nose heavy. Plan to use a flexiable pushrod system fot the throttle.. Seems to be working great in my other models and allows for alot of flexability in were the servo is located. i'm using robart hinges for the control surfaces. and a thicker steel joiner wire from hangar9 for the two elevator halfs. basically i threw away all the hardware thats came with the plane away and bought new stuff. It has become pretty much a must when buying a Nitroplanes model. i dont use any of the stock hardware. Most all the hardware is for the Topflight and hangar 9 p-51. and some great planes and robart pinned hinges i thought would be best to use for the control surfaces.. But been so busy with other things it has been put on hold for a time. Need to get back to doing it. But usually when i do have time to work on it i'm out flying one of my other planes.

Thanks for the tips appriciate it.

linkadrip

Retracts are frustrating....[:'(]

Crashtruk

Does anybody have an idea about the CoG for this plane. I lost the instructions.

linkadrip

this came from the CD that came from my plane. but i'm not sure if it would be the correct one to use the hangar 9 manual is different. it states that the CG is 4 3/4 Inches behind the leading edge think i will try hangar 9 Cg first then try the one with the CD..

Crashtruk

I tried the 137mm CG and it was way too far back. I almost stacked the plane. If I cant find the CG I will go with 25% of the MAC (mean aerodynamic chord) let me know how you go

linkadrip

Almost stacked the plane?? guess that would mean it almost crashed. then i would go with the MAC. let me know what it is but most people i hear are going with Hangar 9s CG. Not sure what topflight has theres at I'll have to check always better to have it to far forward then to far back.