RE: New Hangar 9 1.50 P-51 Build
Mufflers and prop report:
Kahloq, that spacer in the threaded part of the exhaust port in the Saito probably needs to be there. There were two flavors of Saito 220s made with different depths of threads. The hex-head part of the nut on the Keleo exhaust should not go in far enough to hit the exhaust port. You should still see a round or two of threads. If you're tightening the nut against the engine, put the spacer back in. If you can tighten the Keleo nut w/o the spacer and the nut doesn't bottom out against the port, you're good to go. Check with Kelvin on this if you're not sure. Rip is dead-on with the Permatex thing. Use it on all exhaust nuts. When you think you have the nut tight enough, tighten it some more !!
As for the ball links, I always use a washer between the socket head screw and the ball link so even if the link pops loose from the ball, it will still be retained (somewhat) by the washer.
I had made several flights with the 17x10 Bolly, but was still getting beat by my flying buddy with the TF Mustang. I tried a 16x12 APC today and picked up noticeably more speed and now beat him. The 17x10 was turning about 9,200. the 16x12 turned about 8,800 on the ground. It doesn't jump off the runway like the lower pitch props, but once she gets rolling, it's pretty awesome. If you're flying a 220 and looking for top speed, give one of these a try. It takes a bunch more runway rollout on takeoff, but you'll get everyone's attention !! I've got about 25 flights on it now, plus about a gallon burned before mounting it.
Nick