ok. First off, hello to everyone
New to the hobby and excited to be part of the community.I've been lurking around here for a while trying to learn as much as possible prior to making the plunge. Well, the 'plunge' came a little sooner than anticipated when i came across a 'deal i couldn't refuse' - at least i hope thats the case :-). Just picked up an esm p-51b, pre-owned rtf from a shop on ebay. See ad below. I called ahead and confirmed that everything was as advertised and was informed that although the ad states 'lightly flown', it actually hasn't seen the air yet. For that price, i figure that even if i get it and find that its damaged or was crashed at some point, the equipment in it alone is worth the $485 price tag. The dilema i have now is that i havent flown in almost 20 years and have never flown a tail dragger. I started in the hobby as a teen when i lived in germany, flying a 48" cessna type, high wing plane (not electric). Flew for about 2 years before my dad got orders to move back to the states where i 've been since. I wanted to continue flying here but started college and i never got back into it. So... i know my way around rc flight (4 channel) and was pretty comfortable before i stopped. No problems landing, taking off, performing basic maneuvers, etc. So i wouldn't consider myself new, however, i know enough about flying to understand the differences between high winged craft and the warbirds and that the tail draggers are a completely different breed. So i guess i'm looking for advice on the best way to get back into the swing of things given the fact that the craft i'll be moving to will be the p-51b. I've logged a good amount of time on simulators and plan to log a ton more. In my post purchase excitement, I went ahead and picked up the Hitec Aurora9, so the transmitter is out of the way. Would it be advisable to go ahead and purchase a basic trainer? Should i look at something like Hangar 9's P51 pts (or plane only equivalent)? Given my previous flight experience, do you think flying the p-51b via trainer and buddy box would be advisable? Sorry if these questions sound dumb. I just dont want to be the 'new' guy with the nice plane who dumps it 5 minutes into the flight because he underestimated the task. I also dont wanna sell my skills short and invest money into a craft i'll end up parking after a dozen flights because its too easy. Are there any rtf warbirds 'beginner - intermediate' i should be looking into?
Also, I've been perusing the few threads dedicated to the esm / kmp p-51b and have taken away some valuable info regarding weak points, innacurately documented CG, etc. Wanted to ask if there is anything in particular i should be looking for during an inspection to assure everything is as it should be (hopefully someone who owns this plane can chime in). I would also be interested in any opinions on the flight characteristics of the plane. I've read through a few posts on initial test flights and i've watched every video on it (all 3 of them :-)) on youtube about 10 times each... just looking for a little more input so that i know what i can expect.
Thanks in advance!
richard
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...#ht_1200wt_905