Capt G

My Feedback: (8)

Where is everybody mounting the antenna?

Jeff Foley

My Feedback: (45)

HI Jerry,

I measured right up against the fuselage and came back 4.75". It seems to do fine at that location.

Jeff

budcop

My Feedback: (23)

Hi Jeff, nice to see that your P-51 did well, would the weight that yours come out to be an average or did you try to hold the weight down. I thought the model would be heavier than that. Also on the retract issue , I have a Zero with mech retracts and used a Cirrus retract servo, they come with a large wheel to hook the control rods to, but the servo was not adjustable using my 8103 radio, no end point adjustment or anything, I didn't know if this was inherent with retract servos or just that brand......Bud

Capt G

My Feedback: (8)

Whew! First flights are successful. Plane tracks very well and has good vertical performance with YS91. Using mainly 1/2 throttle settings, 10 min flights use just about 1/2 tank of fuel. Lands slow & stable. This one is a keeper. Pics later if I can only figure out how to get this thing to accept them.

Kace

Retracts - although I'm just getting into pneumatic retracts, it seems to me that if I were using servo mechanical retracts I would use a separate battery just for the retracts. That way there would be no danger of losing control due to battery drain. The worst that would happen is a gear up landing....Just a thought from a newbie.

Kace

Brylee

First fights yesterday. CG right on at 4.75" with Saito 1.00. Cowl appears to be fuel proof. There was complaints about this on other threads. Flys great lands like a dream. Only one issue. The retracts lock both in the up and down position but when up they hang down below the wheel wells about a half inch. Can one of you guys suggest a fix. Thanks

Capt G

My Feedback: (8)

I got first flights this weekend too and concur about great flying characteristics. Spilled some fuel while fueling and it washed the silver paint off!. I'm repainting now and then will clearcoat the whole cowl. Your retract problem might be fixed with just a little more travel. Try operating each wire by hand and see if it makes a difference. If it does - just increase the travel ( use a longer arm if necessary). If it doesn't - I'm afraid you may be stuck with what you have.

shanksow

My Feedback: (2)

Boy -

This is a great thread. Especially about the retracts. I bought my H9 P-51 last week and then discovered today that I might be the fifth or sixth person in town to have the same model IT has been a real popular seller for Hanger 9 - just like the old saying: its selling like hotcakes!

Would be pretty bad to one day show up out at Reese AFB and try to fly another yellow-tail P-51 around. Thus, I went and cut off the top skins of the wings and removed the yellow ultracoat covered tail surfaces and replaced them with a whole new scheme. I already had a roll of OD monokote so I began recovering the top of the wings (& tail planes) with it. When it is finished, I hope that I have a pretty good copy of Louie IV. Now, I just need to get some yellow spray paint and spray the nose.

The wings are now glued together and the servos installed. Thats as far as I have gotten to this date.

rcavi8ter

My Feedback: (19)

Don you can see pics of my recovered Mustang in the ARF forum. I am very please with the plane up to this point. Still waiting on graphics so I can fly her. Don't want to show her off NAKED. Anyway I also added a couple scale details. One was to move the tail wheel forward and I am making drop tanks for mine.


Chris Puckett
Puckett Model Aviation

bmustang

My Feedback: (4)

Jeff, most retract servos do not have feedback pots, only limit switches and if not allowed to go their full travel and hit the limit switch, the motor stalls and puts heavy drain on the battery. The least little bend in your gear strut can cause the gear to hang up somewhere and prevent the servo from going to the end of its travel. Guys, don't make gear wells that are a tight fit around the tire or strut - allow a little leeway. Even if the strut just bends inward a bit, the tire may hit the top of the well and stall the servo and everything still looks fine to a casual glance. Subtle, but deadly!

On one airplane I wired in a separate battery and switch just for the gear servo. The other battery powered the rest of the radio, so the worst that would happen would be losing operation of the gear, but not control of the airplane.

The instructions above for checking the drain are a very good idea. Another one is to get a long servo extension, cut the positive wire and put on some banana plugs that match your multimeter. Then plug it between any servo and the receiver and see what the amperage is when moving the servo AND WHEN NOT MOVING IT! If the servo is drawing current when not moving, it is stalled.

In the field, you need to be very attentive to the mechanical retracts and check before every flight that they are operating exactly right, especially after anything less than a perfect landing. There are about a million ways they can have a dangerous problem.

No wonder air retracts are popular!

Tom

Capt G

My Feedback: (8)

When the gear goes up the retract servo shuts off. When it goes down it shuts off. No problems. Check it if you're unsure of its operation in your setup.

BentWing

My Feedback: (1)

Tom brings up a good question in his post...

How easy would it be to install a set of Spring Airs on this model? Yes a little structural modifications may be neccessary but that would be a nice little setup, and would also look much better with a couple robo-struts on there as well

Anyrate, does anyone have the dimensions of the mechanical retracts installed on H9's 51? If so, could ya please post em here or email me? I'd like to compare them to some air retracts... see how easy/hard it would be to modify it.

Happy flyin'

Capt G

My Feedback: (8)

The real question here is why?? This is an ARF guys. Put it together and go fly. I f you are looking for an easy to build scale type why not try the Top Flite or Balsa USA. I've built both and you can make them as scale as you like. But I can promise you after flying them all - none will fly nicer than the H-9 ARF.

tailskid

My Feedback: (34)

My left retract has seemed to be bent forward and now will not fit into the wheel well. Tried bending it back - no go! Suggestions?

Jerry

Capt G

My Feedback: (8)

My right one has been doing that too. It bends back if you have a firm hold on the short part of the strut and use a good bit of force on the long part. Be careful. I check after each flight. For permanent more effective bending you will have to heat the strut.

rc34074

My Feedback: (5)

for wire bending i use a good size pair of vise grips and grip the wire just above the retract with the vise grips, then i bend the wire by hand. the vise grips are to keep from putting the wire bending force into the retract and the mounting area.

ed

JAkridge

Hello Guys, bare with me I'm a newbee. I've been watching this thread for over a week now. I'm new to flying RC Planes, although I have built over 15 planes from the time I was 14.
I started flying about 6 months ago. I have wanted a P-51D sense I was 14. (now forty something). Well I have a new H-9 P-51D in the garage with the wing and tail section built. I started flying a Zagi 400x my nephew got me, than to a C.G. Eagle II and worked up to a H-9 Ultra Sick and a H-9 Aresti 40 scale and can fly and land them fairly well. And yes I have a lot to learn, I am having a great time learning. The building of the P-51 is going well and will be powered by a new Saito .91, it’s the flying that has me a little scared, well a lot scared. I would hate to see my boy hood dream gone on the first flight. I have read you guys threads and replies about how nice it lands. I need a little help here Guys, should I take some more time learning or get a guy with experience and have him train me on this Beautiful Bird. Thanks Guys for any help in this matter. This is a great site to visit and learn from you great Guys.

Looking 50 filling 14

shanksow

My Feedback: (2)

Hi JAkridge -

I'll give you some free advise (for what its worth that is ). If you don't feel up to the task, then get your club's best test pilot to take it up for its first flight. Get it all trimmed, etc. Maybe even get on a buddy box if at all possible. After that first flight, you'll feel better.

A progress report on my own H9 P-51. I'm sitting around cooling my jets because I had to order a new replacement rx for this model. The last one no workie with my Futuba 9C. Retract servo and tray is in. I sprayed painted the nose cowling yellow to match my new color scheme I decided to put on this model. And I've put on the under fuselage invasion stripes. And thats as far as I've gotten so far.

Robotech

My Feedback: (9)

JAkridge:

If your rrreeeaaallllyyy nervous maybe it would be a good idea to get a test flier but this bird flies like a dream. People will give you horror stories about flying warbirds but this one is so light and well designed it flies like a low wing trainer. It has NO bad habits and will land at a slow walk. When you can get it to stall it just mushes forward a little until it regains speed. No nasty tips stalls. I know by your listed flying experience you will have NO trouble with it except maybe with your fear. :stupid:

rc34074

My Feedback: (5)

JAkridge- in my opinion your aresti is a more aggressive airplane to land than the h9 p51. one of the guys in my club has the aresti and the h9p51, and the aresti lands much hotter than the h9 p51. the aresti does seem to be a very nice flying plane.

anyway i would say that if you can land the aresti the h9 p51 will be no problem- unless you get butterflies on first flights. if that is the case then find a good pilot to fly the p51 the first time or two so it is trimmed out when you fly it. or find someone who can help you trim it out on the first flight- i have done this, where someone else adjusts the trims while you concentrate on keeping it in the air.

i am a p51 fanatic so i know what you mean about this plane. the one h9 p51 i have seen fly is very light on the wing for a warbird. i also have the midwest 60 size p51, the top flite 60 size p51, the pica fw190d9, and the top flite p-47. while i have not flown the h9 p51 (i do have one on order now thru my lhs) i would put it in the same class as the midwest p51 and the fw190d9 as the easiest to fly warbirds. next would be the top flite p47.

JAkridge

I fill alot better better now and understand the trim issue.
My nephew is a very good pilot and I would trust him fully at the controls for the maiden flight. He lives in Arizona and I live in So.California. But for this Great Bird, I will for sure make the 6 hours trek to AZ.
Thanks again and I will let you guys know how she does.

P.S. antenna location ? I was considering up and out the antenna mast and back to tail section like most standard setups.

Capt G

My Feedback: (8)

That's how I ran my antenna - out behind the canopy and up to the fin. For a more scale look you could run it out through the canopy through a rubber grommet and then back to the tail.

Longez

My Feedback: (1)

Re gear: in the air I was noting gear not fully retracted. My simple-minded fix was to slightly twist the gear-leg covers so that the air flow would help push them fully into the wells. Dumb, but it works! Antenna is routed thru fuse via Dubro outer plastic cable and exits just fwd of the elevator servo - range checks fine and keeps all tidy. In case I didn't say so, this is my new favorite plane..had to be with the $50 tru-turn spinner!

Brylee

Longez be careful If you turn the covers too much they will hit the wheels and you'll end up with unwanted brakes on one wheel.

shanksow

My Feedback: (2)

Just wondering where most of you guys are locating your fueling point. I was thinking of using a GP fueling point or just getting fueling dots.

And switch/recharging recepticles. I would have been finished by now if it wasn't for the fact I was having to waiting on the damn spinner.