willig10

Hey all, it's been awhile and the building bug has nibbled at me again. Been looking around for awhile and I have always wanted to build a Ziroli P-51. Well I stumbled upon a post in Craigslist from September 2016 and sent a message, and lo and behold the full wood kit, 2 sets of plans, a cowl and belly scoop were still available. We made a deal and now I am the proud owner of this aircraft.

I hope to build this aircraft and to do it justice. It is going to be a slow process. I will post progress as I can.

To all who have been here before me. Please chime in, don't be shy and thanks in advance for your advice and input.

I consider myself self to be a decent builder but I am no expert by any means. I am old school in my building techniques but am receptive to new ideas etc.

regards
Glenn Williams

willig10

Hmmmmmmm.

willig10

Need some help. I am looking for a scale exhaust kit and the vent kit for the cowl. Looks like the scale exhaust website is not taking orders as Tony has passed. Do any of you have a website link or maybe some drawing plans to build them?

thanks
Glenn

willig10

Got the fuselage on the building board today. I also leveled the model forward and aft and left and right. The previous owner started the construction of the fuselage but I don't think he built on a board. The model was tweaked and it took me awhile to get her straight. Probably will be awhile until my next post. I am trying to accumulate parts before I go too much further. I am wanting to get the tail retract, air tank and lines and of course the engine.

Glenn

willig10

Don't know if some of you are like me but when I read a thread of the airplane I am interested in, have you ever noticed that some of the parts you are most interested in are not talked about or the pictures are not clear or focused enough to get a good perspective of the item of your interest?

Well I challenge you to go to a Ziroli P-51 build thread and see if any of them speak of the building board in detail.

I couldn't find any. If any of you have a link or pictures, they are welcome here. This is my way and there are many other ways to get a board built so you don't build in a twist or have an airframe that looks like a banana.

I purchased a shelf board from home depot that is 72 inches long and about 12 inches wide. Cost is about 14 bucks. Then I bought a pine "anchor" board about 10 foot long and it cost about 8 bucks. I cut 4 pieces of the anchor board to about 11-1/2 inches and then I take a square and draw a line where my first former is going to be and drill 2 pilot holes and then screw it down to the board. then I find center and draw a line from the anchor to the vertical piece of maple about 1/4 inch thick and costs 4 bucks I buy 2 of those.

Once all the anchors are fit to the board and checked to ensure they are square you can start adding formers and stringers. I use clamps to attach the formers to the maple. once all the formers are in place I use another piece of maple and lay it across the main stringer/longeron and use bubble levels to get the fuselage square to the world both up and down and left to right.

Also bear in mind, the anchor blocks although square to the building board, when the fuselage is placed onto the vertical maple uprights the centerline of the formers more than likely will not be square to the board. That is fine as long as the bubble levels are center bubble the fuse will be straight.

again there are many ways to achieve this and this is just my way. I hope the pictures tell the story better than I can writing this.

Glenn

R/C Art

My Feedback: (38)

Hi Glenn
Good luck on your build. I am subscribed.
Cheers,
Art

willig10

Thanks and welcome to this thread. Any and all suggestions are welcome. Probably going to be a slow build.

Glenn

willig10

Added the F-13 aft fuselage former, The Fuselage belly ply 1/8" stringers and the stab saddles. I added some lightening holes.

Tmoth4

My Feedback: (1)

I like what you have done so far. It almost makes me want to build a Ziroli P-51!

You didn't put those big screws into that beautiful work bench did you?

willig10

Thanks, haha no screws in the table, just in the cradle i.e. Building board. So far the build has been straight forward just like building a any other airplane model just bigger.

Glenn

willig10

Started on the Robart tailwheel today. Well the F-11R former was missing so I had to cut a template. I copied the template from the plans to my printer using a thicker paper. Then cut that out and transferred it to some 1/8" ply. Then did my best to get it to look somewhat like a former and installed the tailwheel blocks and the tailwheel to the former.

After the glue dries I will install this assembly 2 inches forward of former F-11 and glue in place.

Glenn

Tmoth4

My Feedback: (1)

I have one of those tail units on my Ziroli Corsair. They work great but remember to put lock tight on the set screws. I had my wheel yoke drop off in flight and I had to order a new one.

Jim

willig10

Will do. Thanks Jim

willig10

Had to make the Former for the tail wheel as it was not in the kit. Then glued the hardwood blocks to the former. Enlarged the hole in the former so it would accept the nuts and then glued it in place to the fuselage.

Hope the pictures tell the story.

Glenn

Ralph White

Glen,
You might want to use screws from the bottom instead of the bolts on the upper mount of the tail wheel. Otherwise, how are you going to remove the tail wheel for maintenance?
Ralph

willig10

Ralph:
Thanks for the catch. I will reposition when I get home.

thanks again
Glenn

FlyerInOKC

My Feedback: (6)

Interesting project!

willig10

I was informed that my tail wheel mounting was not going to work for future maintenance. So I removed the bolts and nuts, re-doweled the holes then re-drilled and installed screws per the Ziroli Plans.

Next up was to install the cockpit floor assembly. This was a little confusing but after scrutinizing the plans I finally got it figured out. Basically it is CF1 (Long pieces) the CF2's (short pieces) followed by the CF (long oval piece).

Hope the pictures tell the story better than my writing.

Glenn

FlyerInOKC

My Feedback: (6)

Going back to the building board subject I used a shelf board for the Fuselage Jig I got from a friend in the UK it worked great. I general build on a card table with a piece of drywall on it when not using the jig. I have not any problems building straight and true.

2 Piece

My Feedback: (8)

I thought the P51 tailwheel retracted with forward motion? The way you have it setup it will retract towards the back.

willig10

Thank you. I will sort it out when I get back home. Don't know what I was thinking. Much appreciated 2 Piece.

FlyerInOKC

My Feedback: (6)

I haven't built a Ziroli design myself how does he compare to other designers in terms of complexity, number of parts, and overall design issues?

Tmoth4

My Feedback: (1)

I wouldn't worry about it too much. You're never going to see the action of the tail wheel after you take off. I would keep it simple.

Jim

willig10

I think he is ok. The plans could be updated (crisper) as they are old school. Also I wish he would have added pictures in his instructions. Other than that it is just like building a top flight kit etc. of course you are at the mercy of the laser cutter unless you cut the templates yourself.

Glenn

FlyerInOKC

My Feedback: (6)

I hear you Glenn! I think companies like Great Planes, Top Flite, and SIG have spoiled us with their photo illustrated assembly manuals. They make it hard to screw up but some how I always manage to make a few mistakes just to spite them. That's my story and I'm sticking to it! ;-)