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The ParkZone P-51D BL comes well packaged in a full color cardboard and foam box. The Ready to Fly (RTF) version shown below comes with a 27 MHz transmitter.

The Bind and Fly (BNF) version shown below is identical to the RTF, but it is packaged without a transmitter. The BNF version also includes a pushrod and hardware for the optional rudder (servo not included).

The airplane includes a 1300 mAh 3S LiPo battery and charger. The charger is designed to be plugged into a 12V socket in a vehicle. The RTF version transmitter is packaged with 8 AA batteries. Also included is the screw that hold the wing to the fuselage, the tape that secure the horizontal tail to the fuselage and a piece of tubing.

Shown below are the optional rudder parts, a bind plug for the spectrum radio and the screw, tape and tubing shown previously. The manual is well illustrated and easy to read.

Both Versions (RTF and BNF)

• Phillips Screwdriver

Ready to Fly Version (RTF)

• Nothing

Bind and Fly Version (BNF)

• Full range DSM2 Spectrum aircraft transmitter
• Optional - Rudder Micro Servo

Next install the tail on the airplane. The elevator even comes with the control horn pre-installed. Just slide the tail into the slot on the fuselage, and secure it with 4 pieces of the supplied tape. Then connect the elevator pushrod to the control horn.

The ailerons come pre-hinged and the servos are installed and connected to the control surfaces. The motor, propeller and spinner even come installed. This airplane has some great details including molded in panel lines and wing guns.

Tucked under the canopy is a pilot decked out in WWII gear. The yellow and red tail is very eye catching, especially in flight. The cowling includes molded exhaust stacks. The only thing that is missing is the awesome rumble of a V-12 engine.

The ready to fly weight of the airplane (RTF) was 1lbs 7oz. With a fully charged battery, the ParkZone P-51D BL produced 2 lbs of thrust at 8055 RPM, 17.3 amps, 197 watts with 11.43 volts under load (12.60 volts no load). That gives the airplane a 1.39:1 thrust to weight ratio.

At partial throttle where the airplane is comfortable cruising around, the airplane was running at 49 watts, 11.52 volts under load and 4.2 amps, turning the propeller at 5000 RPM. At this throttle settings, I was able to fly the airplane for 12-15 minutes at a time.

Takeoff is easy. Apply full throttle and give it a good sturdy toss into the wind. I prefer to hold the model in my left hand so I can have my right hand on the ailerons and elevator in case something goes wrong. If it's very windy, I would recommend that you have someone hand launch it for you.

The ParkZone P-51D BL flies great. It's not pitch sensitive and it flies just as well fast as it does slow. After the first launch, I trimmed the planes out and left it there. Both models only required minor trimming.

Aerobatics are nice and predictable. Loops are generally nice and round from full throttle level flight. I found it helpful to dive slightly to make sure loops are round when flying at less than full throttle. Inverted flight requires a touch of up-elevtaor and rolls require just a touch while inverted to remain axial. The other two pilots and myself wished we had the extra control of the rudder while doing aerobatics. Having the rudder will also allow you to slip the airplane into tighter landing spots.

The P-51D BL will handle a fair amount of wind. Just be sure to launch into the wind. If your launching in moderate or gusty wind, get someone to hand launch it for you so you can be ready on the controls.

Landing is easy. The model slows down well and will not float as long as you don't come in too fast. The big scoop on the belly will slow this model down quick in the grass. Because this model is hand launched and belly landed, it's well suited for the smaller flying field like the local park or school field.

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The ParkZone P-51D BL Mustang is well suited for the park flying field. It hand launches easy and lands anywhere you can slide it to a stop. The airplane doesn't have any bad habits that I could find. While it's not a trainer, it would be a great second airplane. The kit comes well packaged and ready to fly. It takes longer to charge the battery than to assemble this airplane.

I was very impressed with the "Z-Foam?" construction. The fuselage has lots of molded in panel lines and the paint looks great. The thing that impressed me the most is that you can glue this foam with regular CA glue (you don't need special foam safe CA). One of the review planes needed some repair and I used a technique that I read on the fourms. Simply spray CA Accelerator (also called "kicker") on to one side of the repair. Put your medium or thin CA on the other side and press them together. I found this technique worked great. Without the accelerator/kicker the CA takes a long time to dry. I was able to glue a fuselage that was in 2 different halves back together in very little time. I also like that ParkZone has made all the individual parts available for purchase. That means if you bang up your P-51, then you'll be able to repair it at minimal cost.

I really liked the large hatch to access all the radio gear. This feature is one of the great things that ParkZone incorporated into this design from the T-28 and Corsair airplanes. It's held in with a rare-earth magnet and is very easy to remove and replace.

The only thing that I didn't like about this plane, is that the batteries and speed controller come with a proprietary "ParkZone" plug. That means that it's not compatible with my other LiPo battery's. I have several of the 3S LiPo 1300 mAh batteries that this plane uses, but could only use the battery that came with the plane. All my LiPo battery's use the very common Deans or UltraDeans connectors that is industry standard.

To sum it up, I had a blast flying these airplanes. It's likely I'll have one in the truck almost all the time so I can go get that quick flight in at the end of the day. It's the perfect airplane to release the stresses from the day. This pair of Mustangs got a lot of complements on the flightline and in the air. While faster than my ParkZone T-28, its still easy to fly. And you have to love those high speed passes. Now if we can get ParkZone to make this thing rumble like the full-scale P-51's.....