I decided I needed a small project, so I picked up a Great Planes P-51 Mustang kit of the .40 size variety. So far the plans for the kit include my Enya .80 4-cycle engine and Hobbico mechanical retracts. Potential "just for fun" ideas include the addition of flaps, a retractable tail wheel, and functional landing gear doors. I know the lines of this kit are not true to scale anyway, but depending on how the beginning of the build process goes I might like to try those extra options just for the heck of it.

I'll update this thread with pictures, comments, and questions as the build goes on.

Very good Mr. Mike.
I will be looking forward to your build progress reports.
I know that you will do an exceptional job. :yes:

And after all that cool stuff Mike, :thumbup: Think about putting a 4 blade prop on it to Realy make it Cool :thumbup: It might not go as fast, but it will look better.

I use a Zinger 12x4 4 blade on a O.S. 70 Surpass 4 stroke. But I think your Enya will turn more RPM then my O.S. :thumbup:

I appreciate your vote of confidence. :thumbup:

Box of sticks!


Got the horizontal stab and vertical fin on the table, ready for sanding. This kit did not call for adding the counterbalance tabs to the rudder and elevators, so I added them myself.



I'm quickly remembering how much I hate balsa dust. :angry:

MIKE!!!! :wacko: 40 PERCENT YAK!!! 170 CC !!!! :thumbup: :banana:

hey, by the way. the F-20 tiger shark flew great. if i could get that webra .55 to run right. we flew it twice, it was pretty fast.butwhen it gets dialed in. that thing ought to scream :yickes: :thumbup: :spin:

The boxlike and unscale fuselage begins to take shape:



I believe I've talked myself out of any drastic changes including relocating the horizontal stab to the scale location, relocating the tailwheel (and making it a retracting tailwheel). One day when I build a 1/5 scale bird I'll put more detail to it. :thumbup:

just dont glue ur pecker to it. and it will turn out ok.

Well, progress has been a little slow as I've been sick and I've been entertaining a new friend as of late, but here's where things stand now:

Due to the length of the Enya .80 engine, I relocated the firewall mount position 3/4" back in the fuselage. Once I get the energy to remove the engine from the other plane it's in, I'll make sure I'm satisfied with that and install the firewall.

The right wing panel has been framed up and is now awaiting sheeting followed by the first retract installation.

Oh, and Justin made me buy a retracting tailwheel, so look for an update on me driving myself insane trying to get that mounted securely and finding a place for a servo to operate it as well as figuring out a way to steer it off the rudder servo without having to add a servo just for steering.

so is there any progress on the P-51?

A little bit, I just suck at updating the thread.

Have both wing panels framed up. Ready to smooth out the retract installation into the wings, but I need to use a vise to bend the gear struts to the proper angles. I could have sworn I had one of those, apparently not though. Once that gets done I can build the wheel wheels and finish sheeting the wings.

I looked for a good long while at the rear of the fuselage and started making some cuts for the retracting tailwheel. I really don't think there is room there to make it work so that idea might be getting scratched. I suppose I could still relocate the tailwheel to the correct location and just not have it retract, so that's the backup plan for now.

I'll snap some pictures tonight.

That will be ok :thumbup: So long as you put that other scale thing on the ft of the plane :P :) :dance:

As long as it is not a four blade prop. ;) :P
Those things not aerodynamically sound at model size.

And instead of getting finger cut two times per rev, it gets you four times. :biggrin:

I have a Zinger 4 blade on mine, with a O.S. 70 Surpass II 4 stroke, and it works just fine. The plane is not as fast with a 2 blade. But it's not about speed.
It just sounds better and it looks SCALE :thumbup:

The thing that stands out the most, is that scale looking prop :)

Well, thats what I think anyway :)

At least when it's on the ground... :D

Alright, some pictures...

I have the firewall installed, and you can see from the fuselage sides how I had to move it back 3/4" to accommodate the longer Enya .80 engine.



The right wing panel. This panel has the retract rails installed and is awaiting fitting of the retract/wheel and the wheel well followed by the bottom sheeting.



Left wing.



Here is where I opened up the rear of the fuselage and installed a mount for the retractable tailwheel, but I just don't think there's enough space in there to mount it and still allow room for pushrods for steering and operation of the retract.

You can see it in the air also :) When you slow down for your landing is when you can realy see it............

Two Blade Prop on a Mustang!!! YUCK :P

Mike, The P-51 really looks good and hope to see at the field soon. Of course, one has to wonder if you bought the 40 size P-51 as a practise kit and the giant scale coursar kit at hobbytown will soon have a new home!

You GO Russell. :windsock:

I think that I saw Russell's truck coming down Shillinger Road today, but he could not see me in his rear view mirror because of a big big kit box of some kind in back of truck.
Russell = Hobby Shop's dream. :spin: :hyper:

Mr. Mike, you ought to be able to figure some scratch built device to flip up the tail wheel that don't take up as much room as a retract unit.
Mabe something on a popcycle stick with a rubberband and a paper clip all piviting on a control surface hinge.

I left the Corsair there for you Russell. I think it would make a fine first kit to build. :thumbup:

Let's see...last night I glued in the ply reinforcing ribs for the retract rails on the other wing, and I glued the "chin block" on the bottom of the front portion of the fuselage. Next up is to install the control linkage tubes through the fuse, then I need to get the retracts finished up so I can piece the wing together before I can move on to finishing the fuse.

What kind of retracts will you be puting in it... Or rather do they make air retracts small enough for the plane??

They do, but I don't see the benefit in a plane this size. I'm just going with el cheapo Great Planes .40 size mechanical retracts.

Well It would be cool if they ,made a tail wheel that was an air retract, then you wouldn't have to wory about putting another servo back there.

Any progress?
More pictures?
We need details Mike! :D

Update: I moved the P-51 to the back of the bench while I work on my "LSU Sucks" coroplast combat plane. B)

Way To Go Mike, :thumbup:

I am counting on you to keep a combat plane flying :dance:

Progress continues to be slow, slow, slow. But, it's progress never the less.

Right wing ready for bottom sheeting with the retract installation complete:




Actually have the bottom of the wing sheeted now but didn't get any pictures of that just yet.

Got to work on the other wing and retract last night.

Here's what I used to make wheel wells for the retracts. I'm using 2 3/4" wheels, so I wanted the wells to be a bit bigger than 3". After searching the shop, I found the diameter of a balsa filler jar to be just short of 3", so I wrapped it with several layers of duct tape....and camouflage duct tape at that (I don't know why I have camouflage duct tape). I then took some 1/16" by 6" balsa sheet and cut out some 2" wide strips of it, and glued 2 pairs of them end to end making a 1/16" by 2" by 12" sheet.


I then wrapped the sheet around the balsa filler and cut off the excess so it was the correct length, and glued the ends to together. To hold its shape better, I took another 1/16" by 2" by 12" sheet and glued it over the first sheet, making sure the glue joints were not in the same spot. I was quite pleased with the results.


I'm leaving town for the long weekend but hopefully by next weekend I can have the second retract in and get the wing together. Once that's done the rest of the plane should go together fairly painlessly. :thumbup:

Mike, you are making me VERY tired... :blink:

One day Frits when you remember how to build an airplane maybe you can chime in. :angry: :D

Nice job Mike. :thumbup: Hopefully in the next month I'll have my Super Sportster 60 done and at the field. I was hopeing to get some work done on it this week, but I've been working overtime in Pascagoula all week and have to go back to Fourchon, LA, on Tuesday.

:sleeping: :o :angry:

At last, the two wing panels have become one. Need to run a little more epoxy in the seam as the surface of the two panels weren't perfectly flush, then a little fiberglass tape wrap, retract servo, flap servo, aileron servos, then I can mount it to the fuse.

Oh, and wingtips, I have to carve the wingtips. I HATE carving out wingtips.

You can see in this picture where I recessed the trailing edge for the scale-ish flaps. The flaps will not be in scale shape or proportions to the full scale plane, but I thought it would be cool to relocate the trailing edge of the wing for the flaps to at least give a little bit better look. The flaps will utilize the stock kit aileron torque rods and I will place an aileron servo out on each wing, giving me 4 servos in an already slightly high wing loaded .40 sized airplane, with an .80 4-stroke in it. :lol:

Just admit it Mike. It's okay to admit that you like to build. At least you know that everything is done right. I had several parts on my last ARF that weren't glued correctly from the factory.

Its good to have lots of power :thumbup:

When you are going to turn lots of prop :) ;) 4

:hysterical: i cant whait to see the lsu sucks plan :huh: :banana: roll tide.&yea mike war eagle. maybe i should do a saints sucks plane :dance: :banana:

The LSU Sucks plane is nothing more than a purple and yellow coroplast combat plane, same colors as the one Frits flies. It flew in the last combat, but I might be retiring it now. We'll see.

Got the center section glassed last night.

Any progress?

Sorry, haven't updated this in a while.

I remembered how much I hate carving, sanding, and covering and haven't made any progress since glassing the center of the wing. That's about it for now. :D