O.K here are the after shots of the repairs the covering matchs pretty well as you can see, close enough for a warbird, after all they were well used and abused machines. Going flying this weekend can't wait to give it the gun she really does fly like on rails and landings are not a problem if you keep your speed up.

http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=1919777http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=1919778http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=1919779http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=1919782

Looks good, what did you decide for cooling?

I have not figured that out yet going to fly without the cowl for now but Rbeans idea worked for him so that is what I will consider doing. I need to get the air coming in the front ducted back to the rear of the engine mor

I was in Home Depot the other day and ran across some sheet rock repair clips that I thought might come in handy. Was thinking of cutting then down and using them here:http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=1919976http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=1919977

Had a great day flying today and had no issues, although I flew without the cowl. The engine ran great and the landing gear held up great. Will have to work on cooling next.

Glad I could help - That is part of what this hobby is about! Good to see it all worked out for you. Hope the next flight is wiithout incident.

Steve

Steve, thanks. I hope to take her out again this week. I see they are on sale right now, maybe you want to try again:)

RaptureBoy. Been down for a while. Working on radio install. Did you use any expo and any elevator mix w the flaps? Balance notes I have 5 1/4" if I remember correctly.
Any set up tips appreciated.

I like about 20% expo in my elevator ailerons, and I did not add in elv mix to the flaps. I set all the throws to the manual and the same with the C.G with the gear up. She will get up on the mains pretty quickly and will need plenty of right rudder on takeoff so watch the take off. Full up on the elevator to get her rolling and steady on the power as she gets up on the mains back down on the elevator and she will pretty much lift on her own when she gets speed up. She's a rock steady flyer and landing is pretty much a non event with 25% flaps. Maintain your airspeed and fly it to the ground, just like the real thing. I did notice that on low rates the elevator will loose effectiveness with the flaps down and you may want those high rates then. I dropped her hard a couple of times because of that. Reinforce the landing gear mounts as much as you can with epoxy they are really weak they way they are so close to the leading edge.

Awesome! Thanks! Yeah before I started I read through the threads... Beefed up the rails of the LG. Lots of epoxy, glass and a second block under the main blocks .. Ply rib liners tying the front to rear together. (Hope gear doesn't fall out on maiden roll out! *laughing* ).
I'll post updated pics before maiden... Love this thing! Looks awesome. Took the Expensive route w a cool 1000 in Engine, prop and gear. At least it can go in the next one when needed. LOL.

Have you gotten the Aeroworks P-51 yet Thunderboat? Just wondering, I remember some time back that you had mentioned this was a practice run for when you got an AW P-51.

Not yet on the AW. Had some health issues and surgery that I thought was going to be pretty serious going in Turned out not as bad as initially thought (cardiac)... and turns out not life threatining thank God. So everything was put on hold. I am just now getting back in the shop. still sore but moving. I got to fly a RCBrothers Cessna 152 aerobat. OMG that thing is fun!! So wanting one for me now... or the new Seagull 152 for my YS 120.... Just lazy fun

On the Next Mustang..... Now Trying to decide if I want to go with the Top Flight P51 with the KOLM 65 - spending the extra money on the engine side that can be used after the expiration date (ie crash) of the airframe.
The IL100 is tempting but probably would be a difficult fit. Hmmm but it would be COOL!!! and sound AWESOME!! :-)
http://www.vogelsang-aeroscale.com/kolm.html


The SPitfire has the In line twin in this video.... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eKxI7XFrkSo

THis is the IL 100 with the 270 firing offset... gives that merlin type sound -- fun to watch anyway ... this one is the long edition ... extended propshaft for the spitfire.. shorter shaft for the Mustang. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PbJSI4GHPG4


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hgssPNDqzjk

Anyway... lots of cool options....

I'm just glad I'm here to decide and build another day LOL

Happy to see that you're still around, I've been down the cardiac road and it can be very bumpy at times.

Hi everyone I'm getting ready to assemble my Mustang and I'm planning on putting a Saito 125 four stroke in it. I want to know what reinforcements I should make to make the mechanical retracts stronger and how to get the most efficient performance from the engine. I love the looks of the Biela four blade but would that eat up fuel? What kind of prop would give me the longest flight time? Would any particular type of tires take the shock of landing off the retracts? I don't know if I can afford robarts right now. Any suggestions would be great! Thanks!

Hello xtratorque,

You need a bigger engine to swing a decent 4 blade prop for the P-51 in terms of speed and pulling power (pitch and diameter). Not a lot have been successful with a 4blade prop in that engine range. I'd stick to a 2 blade 15x8/14x10 for the Saito 125.

Ton2di

I agree with ton2di about the prop, stick with a good 2 blade prop. As for the reinforcements, the main problem with mounts are that they are not glued very well and the wood they used is very brittle. You'll need to add a 1/4" ply plate under the mounting rails and add extra epoxy to every joint you can get to. When I was mounting my retracts I noticed that when I tightened the screws down that the plastic flanges flexed just a little. If I hadn't been holding the wing just right I probably wouldn't have noticed it. Several people have had the plastic flange break on a normal landing. I believe the plastic being flexed is what caused them to break. Make them tight but not overly tight.

I know this thread is a long one but there is a ton of info about reinforceing the retract mounts as well as other info. It is well worth the time it takes to read the whole thing.

That engine would turn a 12*8 - Sblade by Zinger on their hub. But it would look small on the plane. I have several zinger 4 blabe props. I can stick a 12" on mine to show you what it would look like. I used a 12*10- 4 blade Zinger and a 13-8 with my YS120SC on a coldberg Extra 300. (I like the downhill braking it provides). The Saito 200 will turn a 15*10 APC 4 blade and flies this plane great. There is a video on YouTube with it. I had to put the batteries aft of the servo tray to get it to balance with the YS170. Speaking of... I did get a couple of flights in even though not completely finished. To see where I am at. LOTS of prop torque!! Right rudder is good enough to handle yaw.. Need right Aileron for the 'bite' too. Come on hard and fast it wants to roll the plane akin to the FS Sea Furry or Spit on a 5 blade. I am researching the Eagle Tree to keep myself out of trouble since it can be turned on and off. May be a safe route for a possible aborted landing and hitting the throttle. I don't know. Going to add some engine isolators to the FWall and re-arange some radio stuf to clean up. Add cowl and stickers. Re robart gear. Electric is scale and I like at 4.8 volts for speed. I removed 1 coil from strut springs... Landing is absorbed without recoil bounce yet still holds the weight fine. I. Could prob remove another 1/2 coil and have it ideal but leaving alone for now.

Thanks for the responses everyone. I'm actually considering putting a DLE 20 in it now. Would the gas consumption be less than the Saito? The 4 blade is not all that important to me but I love the look, would the DLE handle a 4 blade better? Also wondering about the fire hazard of the DLE, I'll be flying in a forested area and I don't want to start a forest fire if the thing goes in. Any thoughts?

xtratirque, The DLE 20 will fly the plane with authority, plenty of power. I'm using a Master Airscrew 16-8 two blade prop, About 8,500 rpm with the pitts muffler. I tried a Beila 4 blade, a 14-8 I think. The DLE 20 would only turn about 4,400 rpm with that prop. Didn't try to fly it like that. I had vapor lock problems using a pitts muffler. I had to duct air from the scoop to the upper rear cowl and added and air dam to the lower air exhaust opening. This is a MUST DO, otherwise the heat from the muffler can right under the carb heats up the carb so much it will cause vapor lock, erratic running and engine failure. I used flex pipe from old glow exhaust extension. Posted this before, but its a long thread.http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=1964487http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=1964488http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=1964489http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=1964490http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=1964491

Bean thanks for reposting that! I was trying to figure out 'what' to use for the duct. I need to do the same and get cooler air back to the carb.

I did the math on the specifications of the full scale airframe and this TF model comes out to 1/7 scale. Using the scale factor the model wheel /tire assembly should be 3.75". Since I don't have the model as yet would this diameter wheel assembly fit into the wheel well housing? I ordered a set of EFlite electric retracts and now need a set of offset oleo P-51 struts. Can anyone point me to a distributor who sells such a unit. I'm aware of Robart but I feel their asking price is way out of line.

The wheel well is 3.75" so I'm thinking 3.25" would be best. The strut on mine is 6.25" from the face of the trunion to the center of the axel. I have never had good luck with Robart struts, in fact, I think I hate them. I don't know, maybe hate is not a strong enough word.
I have used a pair of the Hobby King struts on another plane and they have held up well.

Thanks for the reply. I received the plane today and your correct about the dimension of the wheel well. The measurement given is from the top and the well diameter decreases from the top to the bottom. I'll be ordering a set of Robart 3.5" diamond thread wheel assemblies and I'll check into the struts offered by HobbyKing

I had to grind down the Robart a touch to fit the wheel .. then pulled the the spring and cut one coil off to soften the strut to match the weight. I like them now ... just a little work.

Would an OS 1.08 FSR 2S be practical for this airframe? I had this engine installed in a WM 1/7 scale P-47 and it flew just fine.