Gordon McConnell

Jon, I guess very few of us are Sultans of Scale modelling. My model close up shows lots of areas which could be better and with this recent experience, it would be better on a second try. When it is in flight, you wont see any of the minute detail, only the excellent representation of Richard's fine model. Keep going, you are doing very well. Gordon P.S thanks guys for your kind comments on my P51. Just fitting the rudder and elevator controls then on to the wiring before I add the decals, etc. Still to weigh it which will be an key piece of data. I expect it is a bit heavy. We'll see!

Finally making progress again on the P51. I have finished the basic paint work for Ferocious Frankie. I found the painting to be the hardest part of the build! My choice of paint probably made things more difficult than necessary. Here is the detail: Covering -Solartex white (seconds) with Halfords car paint grey primer Aluminium finish - Halfords acrylic car spray paint Aluminium Silver Olive drab - Express paints RAL 6022 semi-gloss spray Yellow - Guild Materials Chroma Gloss Yellow Enamel grey I found paint adhesion between the Halfords grey primer and the Guild yellow spray was rather poor. I had to re-do the painting after rubbing down. Also the guild yellow did not cover well at all and needed several spray coats to deepen the colour. The Aluminium Silver was difficult to get a consistent finish and needed several coats. The Olive Drab went on well. I think the lesson here is to pick a paint type and stick to it for all the colours. Mixing types contributed to my issues. Anyhow, its done and the next steps are add the markings, complete the controls and the electrics. Then wait for spring to fly!! I have really enjoyed the build and learned a lot for the next one. Richard has gifted us a great kit which is a joy to build and from all reports a dream to fly! Thanks Richard.

Well done Tim. Congratulations on a successful first flight, first of many I hope. Thanks for passing on the experience for those of us who have yet to get to that stage.

Tim, your model is looking great in the Princess Elizabeth scheme. I am at the painting stage and I must say that this has been the most difficult and time consuming part of the build!! Hoping it is worth it in the end - pics to follow later.

Sorry, Got my Tims and Trevors mixed up. Obviously, the first signs........... Thanks to both of you for the advice and to the others as well. Gordon

Trevor and Tim, Thanks for the advice on lengthening the flap control arm and also ensuring the servo travel is as far forward as possible when the flaps are retracted. After some experimentation with the servo travel settings in my Graupner MX-16 transmitter, I have more or less eliminated the humming activity on the servos at the extremes of flap travel. One disadvantage is that the full flap angel is a bit reduced, not measured yet but looking like 45 deg. However, I think this will be plenty of flap for landing at least until I get to understand the trim change with flap. Trevor, I will investigate the ability to set a non-linear profile on the flap control. I am using a rotary control to signal the flaps. I have adjusted the neutral servo position to correspond to around 10- 15 deg flap when the rotary control is around the mid point detent. The idea being to use this setting for take-off. Full rotation on the control knob gives max flap angle. So maybe I have found another way to have a non-linear response. Are you using a 3 position switch or a rotary control on your Frsky tramsmitter? Picture shows the servo arm position with flaps fully up. Gordon

All good advice guys. Thanks. Ball joints on the flap lever and lengthening the flap lever would be ideal. I will have a think about how to arrange it. I agree with you Richard on the single servo option. I used two servos as I thought that it would be easy to adjust the servo travel to have the exactly same flap angle each side. Probably adding too much complexity just to avoid making up a Y linkage and adjusting it to suit. Thanks again everyone.

Thanks Richard. I will check it out and do a little humming myself.?

Hi folks, Back to working on the P-51 after a delay due to all sorts of things. The wing and fuselage are covered now in Solartex and painted. Not the lightest or cheapest solution but will be strong! I have fitted the flaps and been installing the servos and the linkage. I chose to use two servos as Paul has done and run into a problem. I can get the servos to run the flaps from stowed to deployed position but the servos are jittering and humming at the extremes of travel. When the flaps are retracted, the servo is still actively trying to retract them further don't think they would last long doing that so I have been adjusting the centring and throws of the servos in an attempt to quieten them down. Part of the problem is that when the flaps are fully retracted, the linkage is over top dead centre so to speak and is not in a straight line causing a higher load on the servo. I am wondering if Paul or anyone else has run into this problem and found a solution? I am concerned that if one servo fails the flaps may be asymmetrically deployed with unspeakable consequences! Thanks. Gordon

Congrats Trevor. The aircraft looks terrific in the flying and ground shots. The attitude on the approach looks just right. Very inspiring! Well done Richard for producing such good flight characteristics. Must get on and complete mine before the summer has gone!! Gordon

I used epoxy after roughening up the edge of the magnets with sand paper. I suppose if the fit in the hole is good, cyano would work as well but more difficult to get off the fingers!

Nice work Trevor. Enjoying your build diary. Colour scheme looks good as does the Oracover. Will be very striking and authentic when finished.

Jon, I should also have said that you can lay the left and right sides over each other to make them identical in profile. This helps get the tail end aligned perfectly.

Jon, I should also have said that you can lay the Kraft and right sides over each other to make them identical in profile. This helps get the tail end aligned perfectly.

Hi Jon, l did it as Paul suggests. It has the advantage that you can lay the parts flat and true on the building board before gluing them together. The rear fuselage is very flexible without the fuselage sides fitted so having the sides complete for assembly makes it easier to true up the fuselage exactly before clamping it up. I am doing a D model so can’t help you on the B model profile. Good luck

I finally got restarted on my Mustang after a severe bout of work. Finished shaping the wing root fillet fairing. The design of the fillet with the thin ply base and the slotted balsa glued on top and to the fuselage side works very well indeed. Spent time razor planning and sanding it to shape this afternoon. Glad I had a good 3M mask as it created a lot of dust! Put some masking tape on the fuselage to protect it when sanding. Just needs a thin bit of filler to smooth everything. Now I wonder how that Jetstream got in the shot trying to land in the cockpit......? Then onto shaping the LE and TE of the fin/rudder and the tailplane/elevator. I think I noticed that Paul had used Robart hinges. I had not used then before but thought I should give them a try. Very easy to fit using the jig to drill the 1/8 inch hole for the hinge. The tails are ready for covering but the hinges won't be glued in place until the painting is complete. Nearly at the covering stage on the wings and fuselage. I have some white Solartex which I have tried on a flap and it goes on well. I will need to be sparing with the paint to keep the weight under control.

Paul, Congratulations on the successful first flight. Your model looks superb.

Neat solution Trevor. ?

Should be .....post.....not past!

Paul, Great past on the CG position and your mods to manage it. Not at that stage yet so no worries now that you have defined the changes to bring the CG further back. Thanks for all your very helpful inputs, including the cable ties! Gordon

Eric, Thanks for the information. Encouraging that the flaps deployment does not induce any roll. But then you have made sure the wings are symmetric and the flaps mechanism extends both flaps exactly in sync!! ? I have a 4S 4200 battery and an Overlander 580kv motor, possibly a little bit heavier than your set up. I have the FMS prop and an FWS spinner if needed. I have not had a watt meter on it yet, nor have I got to the stage of weighing the model. Speed is nice but the ability to fly at scale like speed is good too. The obvious secret is to keep as light as possible to lower the wing loading. Thanks again and happy flying.

Eric, congrats on a really nice version of the P51D. I am planning the same paint scheme. My build has stalled due work and domestic stuff so it is good to see you flying your model. Hopefully will get back to it in the next two weeks or so. Couple of questions if you don’t mind. Did you have to dial in any roll trim compensation with the flaps? You mention running out of batteries. What motor and battery do you have and what is the flight time? Thanks and good luck with the flying. Gordon

Followed this design and used some lock wire to anchor the u/c to the nylon fitting. Opened up the slot in the support plate to clear the lock wire. Covered it with epoxy and inserted it into the slot. Put in the two screws and job done! Thanks for the advice.

Paul and David, Thanks for your posts on good ideas on how to instal the tail wheel leg to prevent it swivelling. You wont be surprised to hear that I have already glued the support plate into the fuselage so no access to the top side of the plate. As shown in Paul’s sketch I will increase the length and width of the slot and epoxy the nylon fitting into the slot (plus the two screws). Thanks again guys.

There was a previous post discussing swivelling and fixed tail wheels. I am fitting the tail wheel and wondering how to install it to prevent it swivelling. Has anyone had a good idea how to do it using the nylon fitting supplied by Richard?