i wanted to start this thread for a few main reasons.. im going to be building a top flite p51 like most of everyone seems to have built one time or another.. I have read all the forums that i can find on the kit build. the surface u should use and many more things.. However being my first build into rc airplanes i thought it was smart to start a thread so that i can come on here and ask any questions that i might and (WILL PROBABLY HAVE). so heres where i am so far

Ipurchased the top flight p51 .60 kit

a hobbico building matt

all the glues

retractable landing gear( doesnt seem right not having it on a warbird)

scales, squares, pins, protector roll for plans

hing slotter, building triangles

rules.


so far with the electronics i purchased futaba 2.4 7 channel transmitter and reciever \
do not have the servos yet although i do have one for the retracts so shouldnt hold me back at all


currently im building a work table in the basement 2X4s and 3/4 inch MDF board as the table top

should have that completed tomarrow ( although still having doubts on wether the hobbico building matt will be enough for the pins to stick into ) i do hope so

I was shocked of the quality of the building matt i bought the largest one from towerhobbies.

table is gonna be 4x6 foot long should give me all the room i need

i was thinking of making the main part of the table into a peg board style but have chosen not to because doubt it will work the best

anyways enough rambling on the first post .. IF you guys that have a lot of experience in building please feel free in given me heads up on anything im missing tips of trade or anything (no matter how stupid u think it is ) that will help

ill keep posting my progress and my questions and concerns on the build and the beginning of a very self satisfying part of this hobby.

Oh by the way only good thing about a screwed up economy is that u have more time that u want to start a new stage in a very pleasant hobby.

thanks cls8995

SORRY LEFT A FEW OUT

great planes multi sanding bar ( couldnt think of a better way to get the trailing edges as good without it .. also will be making 3 sizes of tbars out of some pine wood figured 12 24 and a 36 should be fine.

well its 1 am in the morning ill follow up the post tomarrow evening ( hopfully should have the table built when i post new )

When you said you have the retract servo, did you mean you have a retract servo, or just a plain servo, the reason being is I hope you bought century jet retracts or robarts, not mechanicals, the mechanical retracts are not strong enough for the TF kits. I wouldn't recommend the mechanicals on anybody, they takeup too much power from the reciever battery and the linkage and setup needs to be real heavy duty, so it adds extra weight. But on a 8-9 LBS warbird, they will suffer in time. Just a for warning.

havent gone to sleep yet LOL

yes i got robart air retracts and robostruts

the servo i was talken about but didnt explain well is just to actuate the air valve in the retract kit

You definitely picked a nice airplane to build. I'd recomend starting out with something else your first time though. Even if your flying skills are very advanced you might consider starting with a more basic kit like a trainer, Sig 4-Star, Sig Somthin Extra, Goldber Tiger, etc. for a first kit. You can cut your teeth on these and learn all of the little tricks, frustrations and solutions of building.

The Mustang, while a well engineered, straight forward building kit, is still more of an advanced build. That's not to say you can't do it of course. If someone is mechanically inclined, has some decent wood working skills, is meticulous, patient, knows where to go for help, etc. they could probably pull it off.

Even though you didn't mention it, I suspect you bought a razor knife and a bunch of extra blades. Sharp blades are very important. I cover my plywood building bench with ceiling tiles from Home Depot (the most plain version you can find). I have not tried to stick pins in the building mat, but would not expect that to work well. It is normally just used to cut on.

top flite kits though well desighned I wouldn't recommend them as fist kits. The instruction usualy glance over allot of things since they expect you to know how to build. it can be done again i wouldn't recommend it

I'd recommend a sig something extera, tower uproar, or gp 40 or 60 cub as a first kit. the gp kits I find explain things very well for first time builders.

 to answer the question about the blades  yes i did by a top quality hobby knife  and a assortment of blades  but mainly number 2 blades.

i thought  about building a trainer as  it would probably be easier than building a ww2 bird.  Im very mechanically clined  with metal wood and fiberglass working ( did them all as a main career)  

I figure if it comes to the point that im worried about my abilitys on this kit to install it .   I can always put it to the side and work on a trainer..( haven an extra trainer by myside)  cant be a bad thing anyways.

but ive spent about 3 months finding every information on the trouble spots of the kits  on all the forums and there main site.. So i feel strong about the fact that i am very capable of building the kit ( however im sure to know when the kits getten the best of me) and ill put it to the side if that does come up .


Progress on the table

0%  the family stopped by

so ill beginn the table tomarrow 

I did here that many people use ceiling tiles as work service  however i like my work table to look as good as the project that im working on..

so i didnt want to just through some tiles down and call it a day ..


soon as the table is built  ill see what i can do

maybe ill route out  half the table  so that a few sheets of tile will sit flush inside the table.  and buy a standard tyle size that i can always get ahold of in the future

not sure need to do one priority first

and thats the table


LIKE TO THANK ALL THAT POSTED  PLEASE KEEP UP THE POSTS   SINCE ALL POSTS ARE GOOD POSTS AND AS MOST KNOW U CAN NEVER HAVE ENOUGH  INFO..


 thanks

oh by the way i did check out the sig something  sports    its a sharpe looking plane  (even though i lean towards the warbirds)

maybe that be my second kit if this one goes well

or maybe my first kit when this one doesnt LOL

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The one thing that I am not sure about, have you flown RC before?  If not, this, I am sure, is not a good plane to learn how to fly with.

Jon

If this http://www.hobbico.com/tools/hcar0454.html is the Hobbico mat you bought it is not meant to be used as a building surface. It is for cutting things. The blade cuts into the mat rather than a hard surface. Blades last longer and your hardsurfaces do not get scratched.

You can get a Balsa building board http://www.greatplanes.com/accys/gpmr6946.html that holds pins very well. It is expensive but I like mine. I have the 16x48 size.

Sheetrock is commonly used as a building surface. You'll want to tape the cut sides so it doesn't make chalky mess in your work area.

Acoustical ceiling tiles (smooth side up) can also be used.

TO CLERIFY A FEW THINGS I GUESS I NEED TO 


i currently already built 2  trainers arfs   i have a very good pilot teaching me  to fly the 2 trainers that i built ..   This is my first time building a kit  yes  i have 5 + plus years of metal  fiberglass and custom work ... behind me to procede  ( although my backup will be a sig kit if this one does seem more than i can handle ....)  IM SURE IT WONT BUT ONLY ONE WAY TO FIND OUT..

i thought about the building board but figured if was building a work table no strong reason to buy a building board...    Ive decided to build in my table  a .5 inch  2x4 ft section  so i that i can use cieling tiles and that they are flush with the table...  However  i will not to be sure of the size untill i go to lowes and pick some up  but that will be done after the table is built anyways  so the priority is still the table


I DO UNDERSTAND THAT THIS IS A COMPLICATED KIT TO THE BEGINNERS  HOWEVER I ENJOY THE CHALLENGE..

u probibly gonna say well your a bigginner pilot  why in the world would u make a p51..  Answer is very simple

i can take as long as it takes to build the kit  while my experience gets better   Im not even expecting the kit to be ready and done before the end of flying season next year ..  And if it is  only a well experience flyer will be flying it at the local club  for its first flight?

I started this hobby for 2 reasons   building the plane   then fly it..


so please anyone with any ideas on my table   any little things that u added to yours when u built your own that would be nice  and works well for organization or anything  please post

thank you all for the replys

i enjoy building things the most   thats the main thing that i enjoy..  ITs Satisfaction in my part  unlike the guys that go buy a ready to fly plane and have at it ..

so now think we understand where im at, at this point


Bigginer pilot=   Not goin to fly the plane till im sure i can handle it

Training to learn to fly airplane =  20+ year guy that is awesome at teaching so far

Building table =  actuall surface will be tiles that i buy  inlayed flush in my table

Kit  =   may be tough, but love a challenge

If the kit is 2 tough = probably gonna build a sig  to gain more building exp

Only if i feel that i cant handle the job (I KNOW WHEN IM BEAT)

lol post got cut  off


Thanks for all the posts


If anyone one of u guys  built your own table  and have any good ideas for setting it up let me know ..   I thought about the metal ones  but i chose not  to for a bunch of reasons


Hopefully if no one shows up tomarrow ill be able to get the table built  ill post some pics to people  See what ya guys thank


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it sound like you'd have little trouble building the kit. I have the same one on the bench right now, second build on my new bench. Picked up a 8 foot by 3 foot butcher block bench at costco for 200 bucks, I couldn't build it for that. Flying it now seem to be the issue. This is like a 4th-5th airplane, I think I built and flew about 7 before I did a warbird.

I'd say build a sig 4-star or somethin extra for some low wing tailwheel training.

Some people use hollow or solid core doors for the top of their tables. Occasionally Lowe's (or other supplier) will have a damaged door that you can buy at a huge discount.

If you download one of the trainer (PT-40 or PT-60) manuals from http://www.greatplanes.com/parts/index.html#kits it has some suggestions for building a table. You can adapt their ideas to accept a door or mdf table top. Keeping the surface supported so it stays as flat as possible is the main goal. Some people put threaded adjusters under the tabletop so they can compensate for imperfections.

From what you've written, you will have the patience to take your time on the build. As long as you understand each step, and even look ahead to see how it impacts a future step, you should be able to build the P-51. If you built a few simpler kits first it might make this build easier, but there is no reason that you cannot build the plane you want.

The Great Planes 40 size Corsair was my third kit (after a PT-60 and Uproar 60) and building the gull wing was quite a challenge. It sort of "burned me out" and my brother built the fuselage and finished the kit for me.

The ceiling tiles from Home Depot (the most plain version you can find) is a great idea. Also, I understand thatYou have built a ARF, I too would recomend a four star 60. It's all Lazer cut gooes together real easy. Would make a great first build.
john

Jeez,

He already has the kit, so I doubt he's gonna stop now. My first kit was a TF P-40. No problems, easy kit to build. And I disagree, the instructions are great with lots of tips and leave very little out. Ditch the bellcranks if that's what the P-51 instructions call for. Use two servos located in the wings for the ailerons. Have fun, take your time and fly somethingelse in the meantime.

the top flite kit is gonna be a tough first build. i built about eight kits before i built my top flite texan. i built my trainer which was a great planes 60 trainer. i then built atwo GP sportsters, sig something extra,GP 60 size piper cub,sig wonder,two 40 size lucky flys,and i framed up a 1/3 scale balsa usa sopwith pup. with all this building i thought i was ready for a top flite kit, it was a real eye opener. did i learn my lesson on top flite kits? no ,i am going tostart the 1/5 scale p47 later this summer. if you have you mind set on this plane then jump in and get started, as you can see there are plenty of us to help and give advise if you get stuck.

I agree with the fact that it's not a hard plane to build, there is very little massive shaping from blocks or anything like that, just alot of steps that need to be done right. Building surface suggestions will come in the truckloads! Just do the cieling tile on any hard flat surface and you'll be ok. Heck, I once used soft pine worktop, it was great because the pins stuck in it, but you had a solid flat surface to bear some weight down on, plus, it was a flip down hinged to the wall design I whipped up. I say go for it, you'll realize that to build it correctly, it's going to take time and paitence, use titebond 2 or regular wood glue to assemble the structure. There is nothing worse than gluing a part in place and then realizing that it's on the wrong side or positioned incorrectly. I'd pick up a tiger 2 arf or a 4* 40 or 60 ARF and continue your training till your ready for the warbird.

Go buy some Drywall to put on your table and build on. About $5.00 for the entire table, flat as can be, holds pins nicely, and when you are done you can just throw it in the trash.<div></div><div>SunDevilPilot</div>

One more thing, don't get so caught up in this or that, that You forget THIS IS FUN.  When it stops being fun and starts being stress, stop and take a break and regroup.  FUN!

so true.

Some days I just can't get though a step. I'll walk away and come back a couple days later and just breeze throught. Turn on the led zepllin some offspring and go to town.

gOT my table built  think itll work great its 60x 4 feet   tables huge but i wanted plenty of room to work and store things..  Only took me 2 weeks to clean out the room for it  but its great   simple and easy but solid and flat and level ..

Heres some pics  see what ya guys think 

2x4s  and  3qualter inch mdf  cost me 50 bucks for the materieal s   cant really beat that at all

the table top itself is supported with 6 additional crossmembers.

i screwed the table in on the sides  countersinking the wholes  (which ill fill up and sand  but maybe not)

screwed the table in the middle from underneath the bottom 


LoL ill post images soon as i figure out how too

If anyone wants to read the manual of the kit i can sit here and type it since its memorized.. spent almost a month reading it .. Kept sounding stupid for me to do but when u get the kit out it was great.



Hope they load since its my first time adding picture on this forum

guess well see

also ill be buying ceeling tiles to work on tomarrow


getting staples to copy my blueprints 25 bucks for all 3 but think itll be worth it

itll let me cut up one and use and save another set as a backup