Jerry Bates P-51B Build "Hell Yes Let's Go!!!"
11-04-2016, 03:59 PM
#126
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Got the scoop door finished out and installed. Still need to detail out the interior of the door and add the scale push rod that would have opened it on the full size
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Video of the scoop function:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R_u1...ature=youtu.be
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Video of the scoop function:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R_u1...ature=youtu.be
Last edited by propwashed; 11-06-2016 at 12:46 AM.
11-04-2016, 10:24 PM
#128
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I plan on trying to build a lightweight removable air duct that will run from the engine compartment all the way to the radiator scoop exit. I'm hoping that the vacuum created will pull the engine heat out.
11-05-2016, 11:22 AM
#129
The radiator exhaust door proved effective in cooling my electric TF GS P-51B. I did not use a duct, just let the air flow through(I never got temps higher than 90 degrees from the brushless motor inside my fuse). You will be dealing with much higher temps. from a gas engine though, A duct coated on the inside with Bob Violet's paint-on heat shield for turbine exhaust ducts will effectively keep the heat in the duct. I have used his product in this manner for several years.
I just got back inside the house from doing a runway mowing job on my property. We have friends coming for a barbeque-flyin. I have enough room to fly small electric planes in my yard (about 20 acres of airspace and a 5 acre runway).
I just got back inside the house from doing a runway mowing job on my property. We have friends coming for a barbeque-flyin. I have enough room to fly small electric planes in my yard (about 20 acres of airspace and a 5 acre runway).
11-05-2016, 06:14 PM
#130
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I had a runway on my property when I was living up in Washington. It was nice to fly anytime I wanted but I still went to several fields to socialize with other RC Heads. If I do build a heat duct it will be a bit tricky. It will require multiple bends and would need to be fairly narrow to pass between the wing and the bottom of the cockpit floor. It's possible I may let the hot air just pass through the fuse. I'll have to wait until the wing is built and everything is installed to determine what space will be available.
Built some push rods and finished sheeting the elev's. Also got one side glassed. I used 1/32" balsa sheeting and 3/4oz cloth. I sanded the sheeting down as much as I felt safe with. Push rods were made from a couple of boom support struts from an old large gasoline heli frame I had lying around. They are hollow 3/8" CF tube.
Any progress on your build?
Built some push rods and finished sheeting the elev's. Also got one side glassed. I used 1/32" balsa sheeting and 3/4oz cloth. I sanded the sheeting down as much as I felt safe with. Push rods were made from a couple of boom support struts from an old large gasoline heli frame I had lying around. They are hollow 3/8" CF tube.
Any progress on your build?
11-06-2016, 10:46 AM
#131
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Spent a little time detailing out the smaller oil radiator scoop that sits just ahead of the rear main scoop door. This is adjustable on the full size but will be fixed on this build. Vic has the outlines for this on his fuse making the location easy.
11-07-2016, 09:07 AM
#133
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Beautiful build...I've got about 1500 hours in Betty Jane and when I got back in to RC I swore I wouldn't build a Mustang...but seeing this, and Vic's fuselage may have pushed me over the edge. Keep up the great work and I can't wait to see her done.
Jim
Jim
11-07-2016, 12:26 PM
#134
jimharley,
Hi Jim, I don't know if you remember me. I flew in the Betty Jane P-51B with you when you visited Leesburg, Fl. March 2015. I really enjoyed that flight- It took about a week to get my feet back on the ground.
I have started construction of a new model P-51B Betty Jane using the glass fuselage and Jerry Bates plan set.
Hi Jim, I don't know if you remember me. I flew in the Betty Jane P-51B with you when you visited Leesburg, Fl. March 2015. I really enjoyed that flight- It took about a week to get my feet back on the ground.
I have started construction of a new model P-51B Betty Jane using the glass fuselage and Jerry Bates plan set.
11-07-2016, 02:05 PM
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I'll never forget that model! I was on the road 10 months out of the year and seeing that made me want to get back in to R/C in the worst way! Glad to see a fellow modeler on here,
JIm
JIm
11-07-2016, 03:14 PM
#137
I don't know how to describe it, I guess I felt something like the first pilots that transitioned from other warbirds felt the first time they strapped it on and pointed the nose towards the high clouds. You have to actually fly in it to experience the difference. I grinned for so long I had muscle cramps in my face.
11-08-2016, 10:36 AM
#139
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It's like anything in life, a lot of hard work and determination...being at the right place at the right time helps. I'm a modeler at heart though. Been doing it since 79. I do a lot of lurking watching build threads. R/C has come a long way but it still boils down to determination and skill to get the right "look"...keep up the great work!
Jim
Jim
11-08-2016, 11:34 AM
#141
Jim, after over 300 flights, a crash in the forest, a few hard landings, numerous new retract parts and 3 wings it has begun to show the stress. When I put it in the shop to tune it for the new flying season I found stress cracks in the fuse in front of the horizontal stabs and a nasty one over the wing saddle. I decided to temporarily retire it until I can overhaul or replace the fuse. It will have to wait until I finish the new B model and some other work needed on a new P-47 Razorback I finished earlier this year. I may strip the finish and glass it to help with the structural problems.
11-09-2016, 11:11 AM
#143
The particular wartime P-51B "Betty Jane" that I am modeling was delivered with Fabric elevator covering. For lack of actual evidence that it was ever upgraded to metal skinned elevators I am going to use film for my model. I may use Super Coverite if I can find silver.
11-10-2016, 06:08 AM
#144
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I'm not quite sure if "Rubber Check" the scheme I'm considering, had the fabric or alum sheeted elevator surfaces. Considering it was formally "American Girl" and had the Invasion Stripes on the fuse, it most likely had a sheeted tail. It did however have a dorsal fillet which I will be adding if I go with this scheme. There are not a whole lot of photos of this particular plane.
11-10-2016, 10:35 AM
#145
No way to tell unless you can find a former pilot or mechanic who remembers the plane. The Mediteranean Theatre planes were not well documented by the press, all the war correspondents chose to stay in the cooler climate in the British Isles. All of the existing photos (especially color) of the 31st Fighter Group were taken by one pilot for whom photography was a hobby. He developed and printed all of the pictures he took using chemicals he bartered for.
I, and others, hunted for years to find a picture of George Preddy's B model Mustang. A widow offered the wartime pictures of her husband's plane for examination and it was discovered that he had been flying George's Cripes A Mighty B model after the Ace moved up to his first D model Mustang. There are only a couple of grainy pictures but it was possible to see the faded script on the nose. I always wanted to do a Preddy plane, but being partial to B models and there are a lot of the two colorful D models that Preddy flew around I have waited for this kind of documentation.
I, and others, hunted for years to find a picture of George Preddy's B model Mustang. A widow offered the wartime pictures of her husband's plane for examination and it was discovered that he had been flying George's Cripes A Mighty B model after the Ace moved up to his first D model Mustang. There are only a couple of grainy pictures but it was possible to see the faded script on the nose. I always wanted to do a Preddy plane, but being partial to B models and there are a lot of the two colorful D models that Preddy flew around I have waited for this kind of documentation.
Last edited by sjhanc; 11-10-2016 at 10:47 AM.
11-11-2016, 11:20 PM
#148
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Mustang: The Story of the P-51 Fighter, by Gruenhagen (Arco [USA], 1980; 252 pages), which many consider to be the definitive P-51 reference, states on pages 209 and 210: "Two batches of D model Mustangs, under construction simultaneously at Inglewood, introduced the metal covered elevator and change of tailplane incidence. This change occurred with serial numbers 44-63560 and 44-72627 being the 401st P-51D-20NA and the 1st in the assembly lines of the P-51D-25NA airplanes. This change was incorporated at Dallas with the P-51K-10NT and P-51D-20NT and subsequest production and all P-51D aircraft already produced were eventually retrofitted."
In regards to them being retrofitted to B/C model Mustangs your guess is as good as mine. Without some sort of photographic evidence proving otherwise I would stick with fabric covered elevators on the earlier Mustangs.
In regards to them being retrofitted to B/C model Mustangs your guess is as good as mine. Without some sort of photographic evidence proving otherwise I would stick with fabric covered elevators on the earlier Mustangs.
11-13-2016, 07:02 PM
#149
For you guys who are assembling the wings, I found that the part labeled "L. E. Key", has two holes drilled for the wing retaining bolts. On my part the two holes are drilled incorrectly. The holes are the correct distance apart, but both are shifted 1/2 inch off center from the wing center line. The part can be installed with the label on top or inverted, but neither will put the holes where they should be. Make a new part or drill the holes in the right location (which may lower the strength of this part).
11-15-2016, 02:17 AM
#150
The profile thickness of the "A 2" rib is incorrect, you will have to correct this rib error. If you look at the plans sheet showing the rib airfoils, compare the aileron sheeting thickness to the other aileron ribs. The "A 2" sheeting thickness is smaller than all other ribs causing the A 2 rib to be physically larger. Not correcting this rib error will cause a bulge in the aileron that will weaken the ailerons if it is corrected after assembly by sanding the sheeting.
