Any suggestions for a trainer plane? I've flown low wings but have never flown a war bird. Any help would be great. Thanks The p-51 well have a 84.5 wing span with a 32cc size BT-32B 2-stroke Gasoline Engine from Fuji Imvac.

If you've never flown a warbird before, you might want to start out with something a bit smaller than 84". A good candidate for a starting P-51 could be the Hangar 9 P-51 PTS.

[link]http://www.horizonhobby.com/Products/Default.aspx?ProdID=HAN2845[/link]

Ken

I agree, it well be hanging in the hobby room until I'm good and ready. I'll take a look at the Hangar 9. Thank you

Hangar 9 P-51 PTS. ....Great Trainer. Very easy and with the flaps down land great. I just trained a friend on that bird last week. He handled it like a champ.
Shayne

The PTS is about your only option for a P-51 trainer. Warbirds don't land like low wing sport or funflies. They don't float to the ground, you have to fly them to the ground.
If you get the H9 P-51 PTS or ARF, don't put the "speed brakes" on the wheels. With the wing droops and flaps, it will float in kind of like a low wing sport plane, but easier to control.

Be advised that the wing loading on a "regular" trainer is about 16 - 18 oz.
The Hanger 9 P51 has a wing loading of about 25 - 27 oz.

MOST warbirds have a wing loading of 30 ++ oz.

This means the plane HAS to fly faster to stay in the air AND HAS TO land faster so it doesn't stall.

You may want to think about gradually adding weight to one of your low wing AEROBATIC planes so you will get used to flying AND landing faster.

as you can see on another post not everyone feels or has experience with the PTS MUSTANG in a positive manner.

I am one of those myself. I think the Hanger 9 PTS P-51 is a terrible trainer BUT it is a perfect airplane for his situation and goals.
ie... he is not using it to learn to fly just to hone his skills toward warbirds.

If you are looking for something that will be a good step into war birds without having to leap in I would recomend the Hanger 9 Spitfire or P-40. They will give you the weight and feel for higher speed landings but there wings designs are less prone to tip stalling. They will tip stall but you have to get them pretty slow before it will happen.