Gordon McConnell

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?

Thanks Paul. ??

For the flaps gap with the wing, there is no gap on the top surface ( or bottom surface at hinges) as the clever designer (and his little helpers) have shaped the flap LE and hinge geometry to have a constant gap of zero mm during the 55 deg of travel??. Very smart, just like the real thing. I am wondering if the covering will cause the flap to foul the wing skin. We will see!

Jonathan, I had to cut Rib 2 as per Paul's post on the subject. The cut-out in the laser cut Rib 2 does not allow the flap to be installed as the torque shaft clashes with the rib. I extended the cut-out rearwards just enough to to be able to juggle the flap into position. Once I knew I could get the flap positioned and how wide the cut-out needed to be, I made a re-inforcing plate from 2mm ply to glue onto rib 2 to stiffen up around the cut-out.

Richard, Thanks very much for the insight on mounting the sound system. I have had a look at mounting it in the rear fuselage just aft of the wing and there is certainly enough room to fit the transducer on a 4” by 4” depron sheet replacing the balsa lower skin. I plan to wait to determine the CG location before making the final decision on location. Will pm you on the mesh. Meantime, getting on with the fuselage build, installing the instrument panel and figuring out how to fit the brave pilot.

Paul, very sensible advice, thank you. The transducer is quite heavy (I must weigh it) and will certainly move the CG forward if I instal it in the front fuselage. I will follow your advice and make provision for the sound system in the front and rear fuselage as retro-fit possibilities. Better to keep the options open until I find the likely CG location!

I am working on completing the nose section and considering how to instal the sound system. I am planning to mount the transducer (speaker) on a 2mm depron sheet. This will be screwed or bonded onto the lower side members which attach the bottom skin on the forward fuselage, just after the cowling. I am wondering what diameter of hole to cut in the bottom skin to allow the sound to exit. Does it need to be the same diameter as the transducer or larger. Will it work if the hole is covered in some sort of material similar to hi-fi speaker? Any advice very welcome.

Cool models Alan! You have been busy!

Alan, I found the same thing. Rather than touch the ply doubler, I rebated the 12mm cowl rail to allow it to sit down to the correct height and engage with the front former notch. Seems to have worked out ok. Gordon

Hi Jon, I removed the U/C legs from the retract units with the unit extended. The wire is held in by two grub screws in the side of the retract block that swivels to retract the gear. Don't try to bend the wire with it installed in the retract unit or worse, in the wing! You will cause some damage that way. Once the wire is out (see Paul's photo above) you can grip the end in a vice and gently bend the wire by hand in the plane of the spring loop to realign it. I tried to centralise the leg in the wheel bay. I did not have to bend mine very much to get it sitting perfectly. You then insert it back in the retract unit and tighten up the grub screws. Some trial and error might be needed to get it just right. My trailing edge is not as neat as Eric's one. The upper and lower skins are overlapped on mine which make the trailing edge a little thicker. Maybe more robust to damage but there will be no performance penalty at this scale! Hope that helps. Gordon

Paul, Great! Thanks for the photos. I wondered how the panel would fit, now it’s clear that cutting the support back and going through the ‘floor’ will do the job. I like the colour scheme on your B model. Paint and weathering looks excellent. I have a lot to do before attempting the covering and painting. Thanks again.