Ive been into RC in every way shape and form for the last eight years except for airplanes. I Just put the pts together and I was curious;To fuel it up you pull the carb line and pump it through to the tank right? How do I know when its full or approaching empty? It feels weird asking noob questions after so long haha

Yep , use the carb line for filling and draining. Watch the muffler line or pull it off and fill till it starts to come out of the muffler line.
Welcome to the world of 3 dimensions

The dog is correct, Either pull the line off the muffler and stop pumping when the fuel starts squirting out, or if you're lazy, just leave it on and stop when fuel starts pouring out of the muffler

Ok at least I was right on that one. What about when the tank is almost empty? I dont want a dead stick my first time out

I not sure if I`m getting your ? , but with airplanes , you refuel after each flight. And it`s good to know your time limit and use a timer to let you know your about out of fuel.

One way to get a handel on your airplanes as to their endurance is done by using a geared hand pump not an electric. Just count the cranks filling an empty tank and at the end of each flight defuel what is left counting cranks before refueling and you soon will have a good handlel on how long you can fly.

Do find a experianced mentor to get you started flying rather than going it alone. Going at it alone usually results in disaster no matter what airplane.

John

Here's what I do to find how long a plane will fly on a tank of fuel. Fill the tank and run the plane on the ground (after the engine is broken in). Run it wide open and time how long it takes to run out of fuel. I then use a countdown timer set to less than that time so I know how long I can stay in the air. When the alarm goes off it's time to land.

Ken

ok cool! I cant wait to fly it[8D] I've got a pilot who will buddy with me so hopefully I wont destroy my bird.

When you are learning and on a buddy box you won't have to worry about running empty, Most flights will be much shorter than a full tank will permit.
You will find you still have plenty of fuel left when you land.
Hand crank or electric fuel pump, doesn't matter which, you can still get an idea of how much fuel you used when you refill.
By the time you solo you will know how long you can fly on a tank.
In the two years (not much time ) that I have been flying I have only dead sticked 2 times because I ran out of fuel. I don't use a timer and I fly often.
One other thing to note, after a couple of deadstick landings you will find it is nothing to be afraid of. Some people will tell you that some of their best landing were deadstick. (I have had about 20 or so deadsticks, mostly from an engine I couldn't get tuned right and a gallon of bad fuel I had last year, and not a single one of them was a bad landing)

It's too bad you already have it together. I would have put a 3rd line on the tank for fueling / emptying the tank. Anyways, an 11 oz tank should last a .46 2 stroke or a .70 4 stroke at least 12 - 15 minutes. I limit my flight time to 10 minutes per tank on my smaller planes.

This plane should not be your first plane!!!!!!! It's not a trainer.

WELLLL
its not my first choice of a trainer but with a good instructer ( good move there BTW) it will be fine. may take a little longer to solo but
if you and the instructer are having fun its all good.

Since when is the P-51 PTS not a trainer? It was my first plane. We have had at least 3 in my club that new members have learned on and are still doing very well.

The only thing I would suggest is, don't use the speed brakes on the landing gear. If they are not set straight, they have a tendency to throw the trim off.


Here's the [link=http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_3102050/mpage_1/key_/tm.htm]THREAD[/link]. Read through it. There are some mods you may want to make.

Hmmm... I learned on one.

Three outings to certify... from complete novice to certified pilot using the PTS and an instructor willing to try something new. The instructor ended up liking the plane a lot.


It was a pretty good trainer for me.

I've seen many others learn on one too.

Just got into RC flight a few months ago and the PTS P-51 System is the plane I learned to fly on. Very docile but once you take off the items slowing it down and make the flaps functional it is suprisingly lively and aerobatic, but yes as stated in this thread previously, take the speedbrakes off, it will fly plenty slow with the flaps down.

The PTS is a great trainer with the right iinstructor . It is not as easy to learn on as a high wing , and if the landing gear airbrakes are left on , I beleive they do more harm than good.
Without the training gear , put on a decent prop and the throws turned up , its really a fun plane.

I think it's easier. It doesn't fly as SLOWLY as a high wing, but then, the student doesn't have to fight the plane's natural tendency to right itself.

I've trained several people on the Mustang TPS (as well as the F-22 Raptor TPS) and they are both fine trainers.

I learned on a highwing , so my mind keeps telling me it needs to fly like one. lol

I learned with this plane as my first plane with a good instructor. Take offs I learned fast it flew great. So how meny of you who had this "trainer" for your first plane broke the landing gear? It does not land like a trainer. You can bounce a high wing trainer and not break the landing gear. Bounce your pts and your fixing it.

I did`nt learn on it , mine is set up for as clean as it can get. But I am teaching 2 people that have them . And am meeting with one of them this afternoon for his first flight and my first student , that has`nt trained on one before.
My other student had flown her`s a couple of times with another instructor , but was afraid of messing up her pretty plane . So I put her on an old Eagle trainer , that's was`nt so pretty and she soloed in just a few flights .
Yep , the landing gear blocks are both repaired on mine. Flameout and a hot landing thru the mole hills , knocked them loose .

I tought my 12 year old on a P-51 PTS. He flew it till the covering started coming off. The F22 on the other hand I wasn't really impressed with. Watching it take off in grass isn't pretty, and you're pretty limited as to the engine you can put on it. Not a whole bunch of ground clearence.

It' ll work

A tip: field etiquette at some fields , put a "catch tank" on the exhaust line while filling to catch the overflow thjis way you don't cause dead spots in the grass. also causes less mess on you stand and field box[8D]

All I'm saying is a new pilot will be spending more time fixing landing gear then flying. Not all but most.
Brand new;
Landing;
Now magnum 70;

Great Tazmainian Devil Pilot.

Yeah the plane needs more work before flying than a standard trainer, but I wouldn't rule it out as a trainer though.

I wish H9 would cure the few issues that catch uninformed newbies on this plane.

e.g. the gear blocks, etc.

I've never broken the gear blocks.

Of course I wicked in thin CA extensively before installing the gear too, which is SOP for me.

I've had 3 of these planes and have had many hard bounces. Typically the gear splay out or the wire bends, but that's about it.

H9 should re-inforce the gear blocks as you've stated... they should also do this with most of their planes too, then again so should most other vendors.