RE: New Hangar 9 1.50 P-51 Build
 

What did you do for a pilot in Frankie, looks like H9 only has the unpainted pilots. I am not the best painter, hopefully someone has a good suggestion. By the way nice pics of everyones Frankie.

RE: New Hangar 9 1.50 P-51 Build
 

It is the H9 pilot hand painted. It's really not that hard. Go to the Aces of Iron web site. They have some great directions and color suggestions. The H9 pilot unpainted was less than $10 (I think). Still need to paint the spinner, too.

Nick

RE: New Hangar 9 1.50 P-51 Build
 

Mdishinger,

Here's another alternative.

Somewhere back in the first half of this thread I posted pics of my pilot, which is a Dragon Models P-40 pilot. Since I didn't do a full-depth cockpit kit, I had to perform a hip-and-leg-ectomy by cutting him in half around the navel, mounted the trunk to a base I could attach to the cockpit "floor" with 4-40 bolts, and then re-clothed him in his shirt and the upper half of his flight suit.

Even I don't want to scroll back thru all those pages so I can tell you where to look! Much easier just to attach the pic files again...

Rip

RE: New Hangar 9 1.50 P-51 Build
 

GREAT PIX EVERYBODY! THATS WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT!!!!!!!

NICK,
Great looking Frankie, but yah! you need to get those famous exhaust shouds on her to finish off that all too familiar snout. The Tony Howard ones are the ones we're all using. They look great and are fairly easy to install. Other than that, she looks ready to go................GOOD LUCK! Be sure and share the highlights with us, pix and all of the maiden.


DANG! I LOVE THIS HOBBY............................................. ........CAPTAIN RON.

RE: New Hangar 9 1.50 P-51 Build
 

As Rip mentioned, you can get the P-40 pilot 1/6th scale on ebay quite regularly. I had bought the pilot some time ago and told Rip about it and decided to sell it to him since at that time I didnt need a 1/6th pilot(couldnt fit him in any plane i had at the time). I have since gotten another to use in my 1.50 P-51.
I've used the Dragon figures in several planes now. My KMP ME-109 has a full figure in it, but, I doubt I'll do the same with the P-51. All it does is add weight and a little more scale, but, its not a competition scale plane, so it really doesnt matter. My P-40, i did the hip and leg-ectomey as Rip likes to call it :)

RE: New Hangar 9 1.50 P-51 Build
 

Just looking for ideas....

What kinda carriers have you guys built to transport "Frankie" to the field? I copied someone's earlier post to carry the fuse but how to transport the wing safely/securely....any pic's would be great. (The Ford Class USS F-150 is my aircraft carrier...open long-bed/deck.)

thanks

RE: New Hangar 9 1.50 P-51 Build
 

Good question, I need to find some kind of tranport case for my Frankie as well.

RE: New Hangar 9 1.50 P-51 Build
 

I use the Sky Haul from J&L Products - it's a great product for transporting models, costs $80 but in my mind you get a product specifically designed for the job, is adjustable for various fuse widths, can be used in your hanger for safe storage and you will not end up wasting your time building something that is wimpy from plastic tubes glued together - besides, building a stand for transportation takes you away from your build and flying tasks. Here is the link - http://www.jlproducts.net/

RE: New Hangar 9 1.50 P-51 Build
 

I built that same thing out of pvc pipe in about an hour, including the foam padding and wing cradle. Cost? Maybe $25 for parts from home depot

RE: New Hangar 9 1.50 P-51 Build
 

Yeah ill have to agree, the very best transporter for Frankie will be found at Home Depot on that aisle with all that pvc piping, and its cheap. once you buy a pair of pvc pipe cutters and a bottle of the cement to connect it. youll want to make anything and everything for your planes. shoot i'd make a pvc pipe cradle for my transmitter case if there was ever a need to do so lol.

RE: New Hangar 9 1.50 P-51 Build
 

PVC is the way to go. Save the extra money for airplane stuff !! I use the 3/4 inch stuff. It's plenty rigid. After you buy the shears and glue, each new plane is less than $10.

Nick

RE: New Hangar 9 1.50 P-51 Build
 

I didnt even buy the pipe cutter...i just used a dremel wheel to cut the lengths. I little messy, but it vacuums up easily.
In any case...a pre-made one is fine too if you want to pay for it. Although make sure you measure your vehicle to make sure it fits.
A PVC one can be altered if required and instead of cement or glue to hold together the joints, some people put removeable pins in so they can disassemble the stand if they ever need to.

RE: New Hangar 9 1.50 P-51 Build
 

Man this thread moves fast!! I had to go back four pages to find this post from a week or so ago.

Anyway, on the old subject mentioned above, if anyone else is interested in the firewall mods for the FG 36, [link=http://www.horizonhobby.com/Articles/Article.aspx?ArticleID=1776]here[/link] it is. Happened
across it looking up a link for the new Saito 115. Printable templates for firewall and cowl. Ought to make
the mod easy now. Looks almost exactly like what I came up with.

RE: New Hangar 9 1.50 P-51 Build
 

teaser pic....paint scheme will remain a mystery until the plane is complete.
The muffler pipes will be cut down once the bottom cowl is installed.
I did have to modify the engine mount holes on the mount itself to shim it over. The spinner back plate lines up perfectly.

RE: New Hangar 9 1.50 P-51 Build
 

Hi Guys ,
Really keen to get a Report on the Saito 36 gasser
Has anyone run It and tested It In the Model ?

Regards G.

RE: New Hangar 9 1.50 P-51 Build
 

1.Thats not fair! I want another clue.
2.I am glad to see someone else is as messy as me when putting a plane together.
3. Is that a SkyShark P-40 cowl in the second pic?

RE: New Hangar 9 1.50 P-51 Build
 

Kahlog, I hope you do not wuss out and change your mind about the color scheme you told me you were doing! I have a new T-shirt that will go with it well. Looking forward to seeing it fly.

RE: New Hangar 9 1.50 P-51 Build
 

Heh :)
Yeah...i accumulate a lot of extra parts and they never seem to find their way to a storage bin

The P-40 cowl is from a VQ P-40. The plane is sitting in the basement drying after getting a lustrkote flat clear overspray.

RE: New Hangar 9 1.50 P-51 Build
 

I am not going to say what the scheme will end up as right now. Only will find out when the plane is done. Whatever it is, it is a scheme that both me and the wife agreed on after A LOT OF Debate back and forth and lookign a ton of pictures of both allied schemes and captured P-51's. I try to make her feel involved and ask for her input on what she'd like to see. Believe me, she likes the German planes just as much as I do.
That being said................................. I did tell you as well as several people in the FT Collins club what type of scheme I was leaning towards. It may end up being that way...it may not. If it doesnt, then I will probably do a German scheme on another P-51(probably a 60 size)...ala the TF 1/7thy scale arf.
Unfortunately, I kinda have to say.....no matter if its a german captured scheme or not....if is is...it is in no way a statement of political affiliation, desire, or love for any type of NAZI party, past present or future. Its a damn plane for goodness sake, not of life style. That is not directed at all towards you Vertical Grimace, but there are some that cant seem to understand that.

I like pin up art on my planes and its rather hard to find an AXI scheme that actually has that...although there are some. Mostly they used agressive animal pictures of some form when doing nose art, but there were a few that had more provacative displays.

RE: New Hangar 9 1.50 P-51 Build
 

Ok...mounting the engine is kind of a chore on this plane since I could see no other way but to bolt and locktite it to the motor mount and then bolt the mount to the firewall as there is no access to the bolts/screws that keep the motor in place when the motor mount is installed on the firewall. I dont really mind though as it keeps from having a a large fragile cowl instead of a half cowl. All of you thta have built, this plane obviously had the same issue.
Along with this, there is no way to know the carb drum position when setting up the throttle linkage except by feel of where the throttle arm is. That is, unless you use some form of mirror and slide it under the motor to see the carb barrel. So, I will have to borromw the Mrs. make up mirror to check endpoints and middle throttle position.

RE: New Hangar 9 1.50 P-51 Build
 

You think the 220 glow is bad, you ought to try the FG36!! Thought I had it dicked last night, only to take some measurements and find that I was 4 mm below center (complete firewall rebuild). Should have it ready to test by Sunday though.

RE: New Hangar 9 1.50 P-51 Build
 

Hey Rein,

I know I speak for a lot of flyers here when I say that we can't wait to hear about your FG36 pulling Frankie around the skies!

Your tail must be a waggin'!

Good luck!!

Rip

RE: New Hangar 9 1.50 P-51 Build
 

Rip my friend, more than my tail is waggin!! You started quite the long-lived thread here, and I've had a blast being here since day one.

As the pics show, I got the engine reinstalled tonight, (correctly this time:eek: )and it's all set up. First pics are for the 220 glow crowd, showing the similarity of the head exposure. The lst pic shows how deep the firewall mod ended up being. Spinner backplate is at 4mm from cowl. I was little nervous about the balance, since the Saito is quite a bit heavier than the Evo was. I moved the ignition battery (4.8v 2700 mah) to aft of the servo tray, were the rx battery sits, and it balanced out perfect on the first try. I ought to write that down, because it'll never happen again.:D

Break in may start tomorrow if the weather is favorable. B.I. prop will be a MAS Classic 18x8 (heaviest in the range I've got) and then will be switching to either a 19x8 or 20x6 for flight.

RE: New Hangar 9 1.50 P-51 Build
 

It's tomorrow and the weather is favorable! Here's a [link=http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=_CmxcaUYmRA]link[/link] to the video if your interested. Used my electric starter for the initial start, and then after I let the engine cool and refueled, one flip hand start. The engine sounds much better in person, believe me.

The numbers for the run are in the video info box.

RE: New Hangar 9 1.50 P-51 Build
 

Hey Rein,

Thanks for posting the video link!

No worries about the sound quality of the video; I heard a real FG-36 today and it sounded great! According to my friend, it really sips the gas compared to my 220, too.

Speaking of which: I finally got Frankie in the air today for her 7th flight! Yeaaaaaa!

The big 220 started right up (after sitting for 5 months!), and she roared into the air with that famous "bark!" Numerous fast circuits, low passes and a victory roll or two.

She took on a curious exhaust note near the end (which I'll get to in a moment) of her flight. Gear and flaps extended, she executed a nominal downwind, base and final leg down to the threshold. Being rusty flying her (previous flight was early last November!), I got a ballooning after a slightly-too-fast touchdown and she took a hard second bounce, but otherwise, was OK. Man, that stock H9 gear is pretty tough!

Back in the pits, I found the source of the exhaust note change: my Keleo single-pipe Pitts exhaust had not only unscrewed itself from the cylinder head, but the angle brace had broken away from the cross-pipe. Even if Kelvin could turn it around in a day for me, it'll be off the motor for two weeks, at least. I may just see if a friend with a welder can re-attach the brace for me.

Can't wait to get her in the air again!

Rip