Crash9

So Like most of you I like the P-51 and have built a few, but this one I will build it, Glass and paint it which is going to be new to me. I alway's bought the painted ARF in the past but after reading all the posting on here and other sites I decided it was time for me to do a build up so I picked the GWS P-51.
To start I picked up another GWS slope glider P-51 kit ($30) instead of getting the ARF P-51 that comes w/motor and painted.
I will be adding retracts first and then sand it and glass it.
The retracts are Wattage micro retracts that I had used on my last P-51 that had a telephone pole jump in front of it. They came out without any damage so I will reuse them, but this time I will use better wheels then what the GWS instructions use. This P-51 will be Glassed using 1/2oz FG on the top surfaces and 3/4oz FG on the bottom with Minwax Polycrylic. Like I said this will be my first time doing this (other then glassing surfboards,Jet skis) and any suggestion would be welcome.

Crash9

To install the retracts I first cut all the foam mounting area and replaced it with wood to make it a little stronger. Using a Dremal I removed all the foam in the wheel well area. Since I'm using bigger wheels I mounted the retract servo in a different position to allow plenty of room. I also added a .120 Carbon Fiber rod in the wings instead of the wooden one supplied by GWS making it longer also. Then I used Light wieght spackle to fill it in.

Crash9

Having used retracts before I could rarely get the servo to stop Jittering so this time I set up my End Point Adjustment (EPA) on my Hitec Optic 6 so there is no jitters when the retracts are in the up position so I won't have any power drain while flying and since the retracts are only in the down position for take off and landings. I can live with the slight jitters in the down position.

Crash9

Tonite I finished glassing the P-51. Man that is the way to go on a foam plane like this. I didn't fiber glass the cockpit or the control surfases so I could save on a little weight but I did give them a good coating of Polycrylic & craft paper. I found the Minwax Polycrylic with fiber glass cloth makes the plane fell stronger and it dosen't feel like that much wieght has been added. Cleans up with water and you can't beat that.... Very easy to do and cost about $30 for all the supplys for 2 planes (Me109 next http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_4056569/tm.htm ). Tomorrow I will do a final sanding and start the painting. I looked on the web for some paint ideas. I really liked most of them and it's hard to find one that I can pick. For now I will paint the silver base and do the invasion stripes.

Crash9

Anyone use A servo speed reducer on a retract servo, I want to slow down my retracts and the guy at HP told me to try one of these: http://www.hobbypeople.net/gallery/158236.asp but he didnt know how they worked all that well. Any advice on slowing down the retracts would be helpful. thanks

Crash9

This morning I got the base paint job done. I ended up just doing a "freelance" paint job that has no proto type that I'm aware of. I just looked at a half dozen P-51s and took what I wanted.

The Mad Hatter

Looks pretty good. Do you have any pics of you covering it. i've been wanting to do it to my Stryker but not sure how or what to use. Any help would be great. What setup are planning on running in it?

Crash9

This was my first time doing glassing. It is so easy all you need is 1/2oz or 3/4oz (.50 or .75) Fiberglass cloth, Sharp scissors, razor blades, Minwax Polycrylic (Lowes) and a brush). Cut the cloth a little large for the area you want to cover, lay the cloth down and brush on the Polycrlic and the cloth, it will form to the shape your covering. Don't over work it or it will get damaged. Of course there a few theads out there on step by step instructions that are even more helpful. Good luck, and I plan to do this to all my Foam planes.

Crash9

The set up I have for it : Park 450 BL outrunner motor or Himax 2015 inrunner, 9X7.5 APC prop, Tanic 3s 1550 lipo, Thunderbird 18 ESC, Cirrus MXR 6ch, Cirrus and HS-55 servos. Right now I leaning towards my 450 Outrunner motor. I have been using the 2015 Himax with a 4.4:1 gear in my last GWS Mustang and it was a perfect match, but this plane is 3.5oz more. Also i'm sick of replacing those weak shafts on gear driven motors everytime the prop has a brush with the ground.

Crash9

I'm not going to do the magnet deal that comes with GWS Stang to hold down the cockpit. I 've had that thing come off during high speed strafing runs on my last P-51 so I'm going to go with the latch set up that I removed from a Kyosho P-51. I feel better with a positive locking latch type set up even though the magnet deal is working fine on my E-Flite P-47. I also used the pilot w/radio gear and the decals.

Crash9

I was up late finishing the painting. Painting for me took longer then anything else I did to this plane. Theres blue tape everywhere on my floor but the results where alright for my first time. To finish it off I added some Kyosho P-51 decals that really added to the details. I used Testers acrylic spray paint, and I can't believe how expencive that stuff is ($5 for a little can,RIP OFF)and was the thing that cost the most on this build. So I needed some red paint so I tested a piece Fiberglass covered foam with Krylon and the results where great so I will use it on any other planes that are covered with glass.

I still have not put the motor in it, and hope to get her up in the air this week. Be kind this was my first. Here's pics.

Crash9

Looking at the last photo you can see the difference between the un-covered cockpit and the covered fus. Covering makes it a lot nicer for paint and hides a lot of the little foam beads.

Crash9

I should also mention that while the plane was still apart I glassed the inside of ths fus and control surfases with Polycrylic and craft paper. This works great for making the plane a little stronger and is a very, very light weight. You apply it the same way you would fiberglass cloth, other then you need the surface to be coated wet first. The paper will wringle and you can work most of them out as you apply the polycrylic.

r0bman

INCREDIBLE. that's one of the best GWS buildups I've ever seen... amazing job, my friend.

you may just have inspired me to build another spitfire... this time we'll be doing retracts

Crash9

Thanks rObman. I got the motor put in today. I'm going to try it with the Park 450 BL and a 9x7.5 apc prop tomorrow if the weather is as nice as it was today.

clovus

What a great looking P-51. Those decals from the kyosho sure make a difference to the GWS ones! The 'glass job looks superb. Let us know how it flies.
Clive

flmlm

Knowitall,

That's a great job on your Mustang! [sm=thumbup.gif]I'm just about ready to start putting a GWS Spitfire together and you've inspired me to try the "glassing" avenue. Thanks for sharing and good luck with the maiden.

Regards
Mike

Crash9

I got to fly her today, even though the wind was blowing (9-12) and since it was a crosswind I decided not to use the runway (dirt road) and hand launched it into the wind. The first thing that came to mind as I got it 60' plus off the deck "man this thing feels nice". It took a few minutes to trim out and then it came ALIVE!!! I had the biggest grin on my face as this thing came buzzing by and I kept it far away from the pole that killed my last GWS Stang (that pole can really jump). The Park 450 outrunner was a good match and I can fly at half stick all day long and then hit the gas and point it straight up and see'ya . Even though I perfer scale flight it's nice to have some extra boost when needed. As I approched for my landing I brought the gear down (man I like retracts) to scrub some speed and then back up again for a belly landing into the wind and on tall grass. Not a scatch. First thing open up the cockpit and check the battery to make sure it's not hot, it was barely warm with a 15min flight on it. After a flight check and a fresh battery up again it went for 20min. This time wanted to see how slow it can fly before stalling. Not bad at all. Maybe 2-3mph more then my last GWS 51 (no glass). This time my belly landing was a little harder then my first and as my plane did a "flop and roll" 4 feet above the deck(darn wind gust), my heart stopped, until I noticed there was nothing wrong but a scatch on the nose cone. This type of landing on my uncovered P-51 would have meant a couple of parts to reglue (wing tips, motor) and would of killed my Kyosho Stang.

I have to say my glassed P-51 flies almost as well as my E-fite P-47 with a lot more authority and speed. (Did someone say "Glassed P-47"). This weekend I'm going camping/riding in the Desert and I can't wait to get some more flight time in, and I will get some flight footage.

Here's a pic after her flights.

Crash9

I think I will name her LUCKY ONE.....

flmlm

Knowitall,

Congradz on the maiden my friend your descriptions left chill bumps running up my spin. That's just how I felt during the first flight of my "un-glassed" GWS P 51. It was love as soon as my mustang left my hand! However, my mustang didn't last too long but that's alright for thirty dollars I will resurrect a faster deadlier stallion ! Thanks for sharing your adventure.

Regards,
Mike

mrluke

What size wheels are you guys useing? I have some 1 3/4 laying around, will the do?

Crash9

I'm using the wheels that came with the Kyosho P-51 1-1/2" ,But I set it up for 1-3/4" wheels so I think yours should do just fine.

Crash9

This weekends P-51 flights went great. I'm finding that I now perfer this plane to my others. It looked really good buzzing our campsite and flies stable in strong winds. Here's some pics lifted from video.

Crash9

Here's some video. The video is shaky but it works..... http://media.putfile.com/P-51MojaveManix

mrluke

How did the retracts hold up after that landing?