rayboy64

My Feedback: (3)

Hello all, Let me start my saying what a great place you all have here I just came across it and have been reading for last two days .. lots of information here to say the least . I have just purchased the P51 PTS MK2 RTF and Im needing a little assistance in selecting a servo for the flaps, I have searched youtube and here looking for details .

Im sure this has been done many times over . I am new to the hobby but im sure the mod is very dooable for my skill level. Can I use only one servo ? which one is best? my set up is equipped with the 6-channel 2.4GHz Spektrum™ DX6i full range radio system with AR6200.

anyone have any pics by chance ? or point me in the right direction.

sorry if this has already been addressed again im a neeebeeeee .

Ray .

karolh

Welcome to RCU and feel free to ask any question or join in any conversation here. Any good quality standard analog servo such as the Hangar 9 H9300 servo will work quite well in your model.

rayboy64

My Feedback: (3)

karolh, Thank you Sir for the welcome and advice, I look foward to spending many more hours reading and learning ..looks like a very informative site .

baronbrian

My Feedback: (13)

You can use inexpensive standard servos, but the plug in wings make using just 1 servo on the flaps unrealistic. Having flown this plane, the generous amount of wing area make the flaps not at all necessary for landing, but they are cool to play with and would be a great mechanical option for fun scale events.

rayboy64

My Feedback: (3)

baronbrian thanks for the input its much appreciated, my plane will be here tomm. I have looked at everything i can find on this plane whe n it comes to flaps.. I have watched every youtube vid i can find.. interesting enough still nothing really showing best way to do flaps.. I would like to ask you this if you dont mind. the adjustment that controls the flaps there is only one of them correct? and from the reviews from josh and josh Youtube vid he stated add A servo in the place of the adjuster..

I can see the point about the plug in wings so there must be a linkage connecting rod or something connecting both flaps Am I right on this ? My thoughts on the flaps would have been they could assist in landing on zero wind days .. being as you have this model I'm taking it as you have servos installed already for the flaps ..did you use two ? what brad and model and what wiring would I need I have also read that when using two servos for the flaps some people have actually had them going in opposite directions.. sorry for throwing so many questions out there ..but any help is always appreciated
Ray.

BuschBarber

My Feedback: (2)

I have flown this aircraft with Fixed Flaps and with Servo Operated Flaps. You have one pushrod coming from the servo arm which attaches to both Flap Control Horns (it is Forked), thus, you only need one servo for Flaps. With most other aircraft you would need a servo for each Flap half, but not in this case. There is a post on the wing where you can attach the Forked Flap Pushrod in either Flap Up or Flap Down configuration, if you are not using a Flap servo.

You would also be advised to remove the flat panels on the front of the landing gear, as they usually become dislodged anyway. They just create Drag and serve no other purpose. The AntiStall clear plastic pieces that cover the leading edges of the wing can be removed once you feel comfortable landing the aircraft.

rayboy64

My Feedback: (3)

AWESOME BuschBarber !! thank you sir for explaining.. and the tips.. I do think I will take youre advice . BTW what did you think of this plane ? I hope not to get off topic . just curious
Ray.

baronbrian

My Feedback: (13)

Rich, the mk2 version has two wing panels that plug into the fuse over an aluminum tube. The wing halves don't come within about 4" of each other. The mark 2 wing has two hatches on the bottom of the wings for the servos, you definitely want 2 servos...

The original pts mustang had a single wing and torque rods for the flaps iirc.

rayboy64

My Feedback: (3)

Im getting confused .. lol which isn't hard . I hope its ok to post link to the vid of this if not someone please remove
.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vwbjo0dYjAA

baronbrian

My Feedback: (13)

If you are a brand new pilot Iwould follow the manuals advice and set the flaps up without a servo first till you learn to fly. And get an instructor if you don already have one! Very important!

baronbrian

My Feedback: (13)

On your video there is a shot of the bottom of the wing at the 5 min mark. There is a pushrod on each flap that goes to a plywood standoff that let's you set a flap position without servos. When you add servos later you cut off these tabs. Both sides adjust independently. Once you get the plane the manual should make things clearer, but if you still have questions ask! For operational flaps you will need two servos and a Y harness.

BuschBarber

My Feedback: (2)

I guess I am not familiar with the MK2. I did not realize they had come out with another model of the PTS Mustang. In that case, It sounds like a servo for each Flap is necessary.

Another issue with the original PTS Mustang was the Torque Block that the fixed landing gear slipped into. It was glued to a rib in the wing, with hot melt glue. If you had a hard landing, it would pop off requiring you to cut open the wing and epoxy the block back in place.

It flew well.

rayboy64

My Feedback: (3)

Thanks guys for all the input it is much appreciated, I'll say it again this is a great site with friendly people that dont mind sharing knowledge.. that's AA++++ in my book
Ray.

Zeeb

My Feedback: (41)

+1....

I had some medical issues and basically had to relearn how to fly. I purchased one of these little Mustangs as part of the process and it's no piece of cake to learn how to fly. Setting up the flaps will make you crazy trying to get the travels matched so it doesn't roll when they are deployed (due to the way the servos are installed so one does not have to be reversed) and the Warbird tiny rudder syndrome will give you about all you can handle on a paved runway.

There is a point on takeoff where the tail gets light and the rudder isn't effective because it's not going fast enough yet, you're just a passenger at that point until it accelerates enough for the rudder to start working and the same thing happens on landing in reverse order. It can be done but it takes practice and I would DEFINITELY recommend a competent instructor who has Warbird experience.

rayboy64

My Feedback: (3)

thanks zeeb for the input , did you leave the training aids in place ? I do have instructor but not sure if he has done alot of the war birds ..I was kinda thinking this didnt fly so much like a war bird during the training mode.. any more suggestions are always welcome.. thank you
Ray.

Zeeb

My Feedback: (41)

Yeah I left the training stuff in place except for the partially deployed flaps which I figured I knew enough about setting up, that I could just go ahead and do it right off the bat. It was a bad idea... lol

Because the thing is designed to use a Y-harness on the flaps as well as the ailerons. Now usually ailerons aren't too much of an issue on a Y-harness and it was/is still used on a lot of smaller models including trainers. The flaps are another story; one side has the servo moved outboard farther than the other so the servo can turn in the same direction as the one on the other side. This causes a mechanical rigging issue since you cannot duplicate the arc of the horn travel nor match the servo travel precisely to the other side.

I put an eight channel rx in the thing and screwed around with it for two days trying to set things up on my JR 12X radio and couldn't make it work. If you select the flap function on the 12X, it automatically reverses the one servo. If you use the radio to manually change that reversed servo direction, the percentages of flap deployment are all reversed. I tried a plain mix and couldn't make that work due to the differences in travels required of the servos, I was getting an uneven flap deployment..... UGH.... lol

So I put the six channel rx back in it and used a Y-harness but you cannot match the travels through the whole arc so mine is setup where one flap is just a bit high when retracted and the other is just a bit lower on deflection with the total travel cut back. If I let 'em go down all the way, it produces a significant roll on the model.

As for the takeoff/landing rudder issue; it's real and there is a difference of opinion on how to handle it. Some advocate accelerating as rapidly as possible and just horse the thing into the air as it heads for the side of the runway. Others say a longer takeoff run with a gradual power application works better and that is what I wound up using. Landing rollout is another story as the model slows down and you lose rudder effectiveness but don't have tailwheel steering yet. I've tried but my model has the scuffed up wingtip bottoms from trying to keep it going straight down the runway.

All this makes me nervous as the last model I put together before the medical issues is a 1/5 scale AeroWorks P-51 which has not been flown yet since what happened is I lost my hand/eye coordination and have had to start over learning to fly. It has had it's share of challenges but in the case of the PTS, I didn't fly that for very long before I moved on to one of my glow powered aerobats. Those do NOT have the rudder issues the Warbirds have as that surface is substantially larger with substantially more travel than a Warbird rudder.

Here's a pic of my other Mustang that's not been flown yet.... []

karolh

Now that's a sweet looking bird.

rayboy64

My Feedback: (3)

WOW thanks Zeeb for taking all the time to type all that .. I am taking lots of notes.. btw anyone know which usb cable is recommended and whats good sim software ? windows 7



edit btw AWESOME mustang im jelous

carrellh

You can download the manual from http://www.horizonhobby.com/products...rtf-HAN4425#t6
It 'should' have detailed steps to do the flap servos as well as fixed flaps

LSP972

My Feedback: (13)

Dunno about this "Mark Two" version... but IMO, the first iteration of this model was definitely NOT suitable as a primary trainer. I had bought one for this purpose for #2 grandson; and found it to be somewhat of a pig in the air (and on the ground). Mine needed quite a bit of coordinated rudder to make smooth turns, and the general ineffectiveness of the rudder/tail wheel steering on take-off and landing has already been noted. FWIW, mine had a strong OS .46SF, single-servo flaps, no "speed brakes" on the landing gear struts, and the clear wing LE deals to enhance lift. The flaps really aren't needed for learning how to fly. I also fitted a Sullivan tail wheel unit. That helped ground handling a bit; but not much.

It is a stable model, and quite docile with low throws- until you need to turn it. Without that rudder input, mine wallowed quite a bit. Nothing a past-the-raw-beginner-stage pilot couldn't handle; but unimpressive, to me at least, nonetheless.

So to my mind, a "traditional" trainer; high D-tube Hershey bar wing, box fuselage, set up as a tail dragger to fix the tip-over-during-taxi-in-wind issue, is the way to go for a primary trainer. This P-51 "trainer" was an ingenious concept that simply doesn't quite make it, as far a I'm concerned. It would be an okay second model; but with so many other great-flying choices that have no bad habits... unless you simply MUST have a semi-scale warbird model, I'd look elsewhere.

Now... I realize that Horizon has sold thousands of these things, and lots of folks love them. That's cool. We all have different reactions and expectations. The OP was asking for opinions; this is mine. Dunno, maybe the "Mark Two" version is a lot better. But it looks pretty much the same (except for the slightly different trim scheme) to me.

.