Oosiksmith

My Feedback: (1)

Kind of at a stand still on the plane. I'm going to use BVM aeropoxy to glue the wings together, so I am getting all the main glue jobs ready to do at once so I only use up one mixing nozzle. I've made reinforcement blocks for the gear mounts, modified the servo tray I took from the wing and put it in the tail to control the rudder and tailwheel, and will glue the wing all at once. Before I do that glue job I was hoping to have the cockpit kit I ordered to see if it required any major gluing; I would do that glue job at the same time.

However, I still don't have my Flitemetal or my cockpit kit yet. I emailed Ed at Flitemetal last week and this week and both times he said he'd get back with me, but I still haven't heard anything. More waiting.

In the meantime, I added some CF to the fuselage interior to strengthen it. I will also add basswood mounting strips to the inside for the cockpit kit and this will add further strength.

Oosiksmith

My Feedback: (1)

The canopy had odd bumps along the bottom rail so I drilled them out and sanded the area smooth. They'll get filled in once I attach the canopy to the fiberglass frame. A hot X-acto was perfect for trimming the canopy plastic.

Oosiksmith

My Feedback: (1)

I got an email from Ed at Flitemetal yesterday saying my FliteMetal order had finally shipped and would be here in two to three days. It came in today. Finally, I ordered it on 18 April. However, no word yet on the cockpit I ordered, but two weeks ago he told me he'd check on it and I haven't heard anything back. Also, I didn't get the full set of tools that were supposed to come with the order; the plastic tool was missing. We'll see if he sends itto me. I've included a picture of what I received and what is posted on his site.

I'd read here on RCU they were a little slow on delivery, so I kind of expected I'd have to wait, I just didn't think it would be this long. On the plus side, the FliteMetal looks great!. It seems like a very good product. I hope the cockpit is just as good.

Oosiksmith

My Feedback: (1)

The reply from Ed:

"I await a reply from the cockpit kit shipping point. There should have been a Sharpie,
two soft burnishing pencils, a rivet wheel and a finishing pad in the Flite-Metal. We no
longer ship the clear acrylic burnisher. The supplier for that stopped making them three
years ago.

If you are short the Sharpie let me know. The gray end of the Sharpie replaced the hard
acrylic burnisher."

Guess I'm just waiting on the cockpit now.

chris j

My Feedback: (22)

Hey! I've been following your build. What exactly did you do to modify the tail wheel retract ? I've tried the robart retract and can't get enough ground clearance. I'm using a 1 1/2" wheel and can't get enough to clear the rudder from hitting the ground. I've ordered the century jet model retract and wanted to see how you got that much room to spare. The mods you've made to the wing and scoop look great. I just wish i had the time to do that kind of work.

Oosiksmith

My Feedback: (1)

I didn't really modify the retract too much. I moved the control arm, removed some of the plastic on the tailwheel arm, and ground down the end of the arm where the tailwheel goes so that it would slip past the nut on the scissor-arm, allowing it to retract another quarter inch. This picture shows how I moved the control arm and held the assembly on with a wheel collar. The tailwheel arms is spun around backwards in this picture. The area that has "51" written on it was ground down to match the shape of the wheel collar.

Hope this helps. I've seen some guys with posts saying the Robart 121 can be made to work.

Oosiksmith

My Feedback: (1)

Its been two months since I ordered FliteMetal and a cockpit kit from Ed at FliteMetal and BuyAero.com. The FliteMetal took six weeks to arrive and today marks the two month point since I ordered the cockpit kit. I've sent Ed several queries about the kit and all he keeps saying is that he has to check with the shipping point, but then he never gets back with me. Its a shame, as the kit is bought and paid for and it seems very nice. Others have posted here on RCU the kit is very good but to expect delays in delivery. This just seems like chronic bad customer support. I sent Ed the following email today:

"Ed,

Its been two months since I ordered this cockpit and I've had to put this build on hold while I wait for the kit I ordered and paid for from you. I've sent you several emails with no real response from you, politely inquiring as to when I should expect to get the kit I ordered. Please let me know when I will get the kit or at least what is going on.

Tim
----- Original Message -----
From: wclayman
To: Tim and Stephanie Smith
Sent: Thursday, May 31, 2007 4:56 PM
Subject: Re: AM625 & AK650 Flite-Metal shipment


Hello Tim:

I await a reply from the cockpit kit shipping point.

Ed"

The plane is kind of at a stand-still until I get the cockpit (60-day delay in construction!!!!). I did make some progress on the rear of the scoop. I added some CF sheet to the inside of the aft fuselage after I cut the openings and added some balsa structures inside the holes. I glassed these with .50 oz glass. I also picked up some BVM fliteskin and plan on using that to make the parts I need for the two vents on the bottom of the plane.

crazy8s

My Feedback: (21)

Tim,

Have you made a decision on the engine that you are going to use???

Oosiksmith

My Feedback: (1)

Reply from Ed:

Hello Tim:

I received notice your P-51 cockpit was to have shipped today and should arrive in three days.
I will receive the shipment confirmation number tomorrow by email and forward it to you when
it arrives.

Ed

Oosiksmith

My Feedback: (1)

I'm leaning toward the YS 1.40 sport. I was looking into the RCV-130 coming out this fall, but it may be better to go with the tried and true YS.

Oosiksmith

My Feedback: (1)

Got this from Ed today:

From: wclayman
To: Tim and Stephanie Smith
Sent: Tuesday, June 19, 2007 1:37 PM
Subject: Re: Cockpit tracking number


Hello Tim:

I have not received an email from Mary this morning. I just sent her an email asking for your
tracking number. They have had a lot of bad weather over the last two days. She is good to
get back with me when she receives my inquiries early. I expect to have your tracking before
the end of today.

Ed
BuyAero.com

Oosiksmith

My Feedback: (1)

Got another email from Ed. When the cockpit arrives I really won't have an excuse anymore for not working on the plane.

Hello Tim:

Your 1/6th P-51 cockpit kit did not ship earlier as stated. I received notice it
shipped today. It apparently was not on the shelf and it had to be vacuum
formed and packaged. It is traveling USPS tracking number:

xxxx xxxx xxxx xxxx xxxx

You should see it Monday or Tuesday at the latest. It had time today to get within
the system so it will travel over the weekend.

Ed Clayman
BuyAero.com

Oosiksmith

My Feedback: (1)

I built the outlet scoop using the piece I cut out of the bottom of the rear scoop, some BVM .020 thick poly ply, and some 1/16 balsa. Once the structure was built, I covered the balsa with .50 oz glass. I haven't decided if this will end up being movable manually or with a bell crank linked to a servo. I have to see how the cockpit goes in first. Once its covered in flitemetal it will be held on with CA hinges.

Oosiksmith

My Feedback: (1)

Here is the scoop in a more natural position.

Oosiksmith

My Feedback: (1)

I got my cockpit in today.....YIPPEEE! It was kind of a long wait, but it looks like I can make it work. This kit is supposed to fint 1/5-1/6 size planes, but it looks like it will be a little too big for my plane. You can see in one of the pictures how much larger the kit's hood is than the hood on my plane, but the panel looks like it will fit alright. I'll have to trim several of the pieces back, but I think it will be workable. Hopefully, it will have been worth the wait. The seat is from an A- or a B-model but thats not a show stopper. Also, it didnt' come with any pieces to make the gunsight or the radio bays. Those will habe to be fabricated. the radios and racks will be easy, but that sight looks like a lot of work. Last thing, you can tell they put a lot or research and work in to teh nomenclature they provide, but the copies are of such horrible quality they will be completely useless. Hopefully, I can use them as a guide to make my own on my computer.

Oh yeah, the kit came with a package of microburshes. Those should come in handy too.

Oosiksmith

My Feedback: (1)

I couldn't get more than one picture to load on the previous post, so here is the shot of their hood ontop my hood.

Oosiksmith

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I cut the cockpit plate out. I guess I'm committed now. Here is a picture of the instrument cluster crammed up under the console hood. With a little trimming it should turn out okay. I left a piece of the cockpit plate in near the dash to help keep the width of the plane correct. This will come out later.

Oosiksmith

My Feedback: (1)

I did a little work on the panel using a pretty standard technique. I found a picture of a real P-51D panel, cut out the instruments, then glued them to some 1/16 formers I made. After I paint the panel more details, like switches, will be added.

Oosiksmith

My Feedback: (1)

My three and a half year old son started, AND FINISHED, his first build on Saturday. He pulled the wood parts, built the plane, and painted it blue. After that he asked me why I couldn't work as fast as he could. He thought my P-51 should be finished by now.

When I saw his completed plane I noticed the blue he'd chosen was pretty close to a Blue Angels plane, so I added the stripes for him.

I did finish the T-handles by filling in some T-pins with solder, adding some brass tubing, and painting them red.

Oosiksmith

My Feedback: (1)

A pair of 109s vs. a Spit:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EtSA6No3EVM

Oosiksmith

My Feedback: (1)

The cockpit side rails that came with the cockpit kit were way too big, so I made a new set out of .10 styrene and push pins. The first picture shows the stock sides and the ones I made mounted to the cockpit interior pieces. The are ready for paint, then more detailing.

I did a little more work on the instruments, using push-pins, T-pins, tubing, and some wire. They still require more detail work, but I thought they were starting to look nice.

chris j

My Feedback: (22)

Hi,I"ve been following the tread but see you've haven't written anything lately. Have you finished the plane and if so how did it turn out?

Oosiksmith

My Feedback: (1)

Chris,

Sorry to say, I haven't done much with that plane. Summer has been busy. However, I have done a little on the cockpit and will post pictures. The cockpit kit I bought didn't really have any of the detail pieces for the cockit, so just about everything was made from scratch. The cockpit is about ready to be weathered and given a black wash. I had to trash some of the cockit pieces I made because I thought they were too heavy.

I was a little disappointed with the seat. The picture in the ad for the cockpit showed a tubular frame seat from a -D model. The seat that actually came with the kit was for an -A, -B or -C model. I thought I'd have to make a seat from scratch when I found a picture of a very early P-51D-5 with a late model -C seat in it. The plane was getting modified to be like later -D models and didn't yet have the faring on the tail either. That made my seat a little more acceptable so I thought I'd just go with it. I made the rails and the top brace for it and have covered it with flitemetal. I plan to paint it with yellow zinc chromate then interior green. Some light sanding and it should look nicely weathered. I'll post a picture of it too.

I haven't figured out how I will make the gunsight yet or whether or not I will make an early sight or the later sight. I'm still collecting pictures of them.

The wing is kind of at a stand still too. My LHS usually orders its glass cloth from Sig, but I guess he is having real supply issues with them. I want to use one piece of glass to cover the top and one to cover the bottom. He hasn't been able to get the glass in the larger sizes all summer. I guess I'll have to order a role online. I kind of like to support my LHS, just a small time operation but convenient, but I lost most of the summer waiting.

Tim

Oosiksmith

My Feedback: (1)

Here's the shots of the cockpit sides and the seat. Every knob, hose, or detail part was made by hand from scratch. The seat was my first attempt at flitemetal and I had some air bubble problems with it. I will have to refine my technique before I start the fuselage.

Oosiksmith

My Feedback: (1)

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