Hey Fred, you started this thread and you at the very least should have the courtesy to finish it.
Leroy

<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt">Hello again to all subscribers of this thread. I have been away for a while and life and obligations (as we all know) sometimes gets in the way but my buddies and I are back on the task of the Aeroworks P51.</div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt">We have every expectation of flying her this weekend. I will have plenty of video to post as soon as we get back.</div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt">Rocco was very kind to get us the upgrades for the retract system and Hitec provided the servos needed to safely fly this monster. We are testing the pitch settings for the 4 blade and the DA 85.</div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt">We think it will be around 8.5 degrees of pitch, 7200 RPM, and 28 lbs of thrust. I will make sure we have a post no later than next Monday. (Hopefully sooner)</div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt">See you guys in a few days</div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt">Fred</div>

We found a broken plastic block in the left retract caused by the accident we had. The aircraft is now completed and we are waiting for the replacement part. As soon as we receive it she is ready to fly.

Here is a video of a taxi test we did prior to finding out we had a broken block.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a4SnrMQw7iM[/youtube]

Your audience still awaits with baited breath!

Lol me too. The plastic retract blocks arrive tomorrow so unless we get a hurricane here in the Carolinas she's destin for flight this weekend. With all of the time invested and promises made on this bird I am going to need a zanax to fly it. My gut is already fluttering.

I am sure she will do just fine though. Aeroworks provided a great aircraft. Time to man up and fly it. (meow)

<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt">As promised, Rocco came through with the plastic retract blocks. Received them today and will install them tonight. Whew, gettin nervous.</div>

<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt">OK guys, here&rsquo;s the report. Flew the Mustang today. Was only able to get one flight because prop pitch is way to low. We started with 8 degrees on pitch giving us 27 lbs of thrust at 6600 RPM static.</div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt">The problem is when she unloads at full RPM in the air we lose so much thrust she almost doesn&rsquo;t fly. It acts like a boat prop cavitating.</div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt">Resolution: We didn&rsquo;t realize how many RPM the DA 85 would pick up in flight. Anything over 6900 and the air between the blades becomes so unstable that the attacking blade has very little ability to produce thrust and it completely destabilizes. Almost like 0 Degree pitch.</div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt">We are getting away from the 24 inch and going with 23 with a static RPM of 5600 RPM. This will keep us under the 6500 limit we have set and should give us 30-32 lbs of thrust static or 27-28 in unloaded flight.</div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt">We set the factory specs for full throw on the surfaces with 60% expediential. Bad mistake. Plane was very mushy but could also be the 60 MPH flying speed we were producing.</div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt">We planned on a few flights to get everything set up for a nice video this afternoon but we were not able to accomplish this. I have to say that the Aero Works Mustang slow flying characteristics really saved our asses.</div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt">I did get to a high enough altitude to make a diving low pass across the field before landing the beast. Even at a washed out pitch her 4 blade prop was starting howl even over the Pitts mufflered DA 85.</div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt">I really wanted to thank Forrest and his buddies at the sod farm for all the support and advice today. They gave us the perfect unlimited golf course grass runway to work with. 400 acres of absolute Mustang heaven.</div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt">Another note for anyone following in our footsteps. NEVER NEVER use less than &frac12; throttle on this 4 blade. I was at 80 ft (maybe more) in a 40 degree dive for the runway with flaps down and it looked like I was going to overshoot the area I wanted to land in by a lot.</div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt">I pulled the throttle back to compensate and it was a like I took half the airspeed away from the plane in a moment or threw out a drag chute behind me. We hit hard on the gear (no damage to the plane) and bent the top of the struts. This thing wants a lot of throttle on landing and will coax you into giving in but you can&rsquo;t fall for it.</div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt">This 4 blade is a super turbo charged tie me to a tree air brake under 2000 RPM. </div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt">We will return to the field with camera, prop, new struts, and well earned confidence next weekend. Once she has the right setup it will be a baby in the air if we follow the Air Gods Mustang rules.</div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt">More to come.</div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt">Fred</div>

Weather on Sunday was cold and windy so the mustang didn't fly. However, Wednesday is looking real good so we are all taking off work to get a day of flying at our filming location. I will work all night if I have to so we can have the video posted no later than Thursday. Wish us luck.
Fred

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><font size="3" face="Times New Roman">Ok Fellas, here it is, The maiden flight on the Aeroworks P51. We had a few problems but have worked them out. The mixture on the engine was 30 to 1 and the needles are very rich on this video.
</font></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><font size="3" face="Times New Roman">
I never took it over &frac34; throttle just to make sure we wouldn&rsquo;t have any flutter problems. At &frac34; throttle she is at 117 MPH.</font></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><font size="3" face="Times New Roman">We set the pitch at 12 degrees and are getting 37 Lbs of thrust at 5600 RPM static on this 27 Lb airframe.
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I only moved the throttle to &frac14; and it leaped off the ground. Scared me to death. If you remember we cut the pitts muffler to keep it in the cowling. During this flight it blew off the welded piece and the mixture setting was even worse but we are installing a new pitts muffler tomorrow without cutting it.
</font></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><font size="3" face="Times New Roman">
This weekend we are going to mix a 50 to 1 fuel mixture, lien out the needles, and go for it. I will have more video Sunday night.</font></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><font size="3" face="Times New Roman">You will notice that one of the gear doors didn&rsquo;t retract for about 2 minutes. We had a servo failure on the sequencer. During our initial setup I over stressed the servo and forgot to replace it.
</font></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><font size="3" face="Times New Roman">
All in all, the maiden was a success and we now have the proper pitch setting. We did change the diameter of the 4 blade from 24 to 23 inches. This made a huge difference.
</font></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><font size="3" face="Times New Roman">
More to come. Please stay tuned.
</font></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><font size="3" face="Times New Roman">
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Emje4p2eWCI[/youtube]</font></p>

Very Very nice. Great Job on the Stang!

Nice work, Fred!
Gonna start putting my AW P-51 together next week. The 4-blade looks great, but do you still havethe sameair-braking characteristic with 23" of pitch as you did on the last flight? It would seem that the braking effect would get worse with the lower pitch setting (area rule). Have you looked into J'TEC builiding a new muffler for your DA-85, similar to thewraparoundthat they sell for the DA-50? It might provide a more streamlined fit.
Keep us posted...and CONGRATS on the successful maiden!

Just awesome.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">Great question Pat. No, the braking on the 23 inch prop was substantially different. Now that we have the prop producing 37 Lbs at 5600 RPM I had to pull the power around 1/8^th throttle to land it and as you can see still overshot.</font></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"> </font></o></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman">Thanks for the JTech idea. I need to find a different exhaust system. That pitt style is just to Fugly for Miss Behavin. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></font></font></p>

Some pics from the video

Great looking plane and flight there neighbor! Good video too Fred um I mean Abe or Dave or whoever took it. Like the looks of that field. Maybe I can go next time.

Jim from down the street!

Here it is guys. The Aeroworks P51 with the DA 85 and the Solo Prop 23 inch 4 blade. I know we are really late in posting but we finally got it done. Hope you enjoy


[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RlHdJQL4AGE[/youtube]